The atmosphere in the room would have been relaxed, but there was an edginess that had been building all evening.
Beth had been doing everything she could to counteract it. She knew Jonan had been doing the same. She could feel the brightness shining from his side of the room, but it quickly slammed against a heavy sludge that was putting everyone on edge.
Everyone apart from Amelia.
Amelia was growing more animated by the moment. Back in her heels, she seemed six feet tall as she laughed and flirted her way around the room. Men stared down her cleavage and eyed the expanse of leg that that slid through the high split in her slinky dress. Women watched her, measuring their own charisma by her impossible standards. She was irresistible and terrifying by turns.
Beth sighed. She was exhausted and was starting to feel dizzy. She could feel the energy of the monks pushing at her awareness, drawing in towards the packed room. That could only mean one thing. The Fear was rising.
Amelia was flushed. Her cheeks were pink, her eyes sparkling. She ran up the steps to the stage, not faltering despite her high heels and tight dress. ‘Welcome,’ Amelia purred into the microphone. Her voice was sultry, seductive and every face turned towards her. ‘Welcome to my party, and thank you so much for coming at such late notice. The Children’s Refuge is an amazing cause and one very dear to my heart, particularly at this troubling time.’
Beth looked around. People were sitting forward in their seats, leaning towards the stage, angling their bodies towards Amelia. The cameras were wheeling forwards. They were the real target. Amelia’s reach would be in the millions.
‘I promised I would tell you more about the spirits as soon as I could and I’m here to fulfil that vow. These spirits aren’t just permeating our society, they are actively on the hunt for susceptible people, and when they find them, everything is at stake.’
The room broke out in muttering. People fidgeted in their seats, murmuring to each other and checking their watches.
Amelia tapped twice on the microphone. The room fell silent.
‘I beg you to hear me out, because something awful has happened.’
The lights dimmed. Only a spotlight on Amelia and the glare of a screen lit the room, filling it with shadows. A picture of Bill filled the huge surface behind Amelia.
Beth frowned. There was something off about the picture. Bill had been unkempt when she saw him, but here he seemed hollowed out. His cheeks were sunken, dark smudges rimmed his eyes and his front tooth was newly missing. Overall he had an odd kind of pallor that she couldn’t place. What had happened to him since she saw him last?’
Amelia sat on a high stool that had appeared in the middle of the spotlight. ‘Bill spent his adult life caring for this hotel. He was a loner, but in all the years he worked for me, he seemed to be a good man. That was until last night when he abducted one of my oldest friends.’
Bill’s picture disappeared. The room went dark and Doriel appeared on the screen.
Shock hit Beth as a kick in the ribs. Her chest clenched and her breathing became ragged as the air was squeezed from her lungs. She wasn’t sure whether she heard Jonan gasp, or felt it.
‘Doriel was like a sister to me.’ Amelia put a hand over her heart, allowed her voice to crack. ‘Doriel welcomed Bill into her house. She thought he was hurt, but he was strong enough to do this to her home.’ A picture of the destroyed flat flickered onto the screen, and then settled. There was a collective gasp.
‘You have no right to show that photograph.’ Jonan strode towards the stage. ‘That is my home.’
‘It is. I’m so sorry for what happened to your aunt. I will not let the man, or those who control him, get away with it.’ Amelia had her best ‘sympathy’ face on. Her forehead furrowed in concern, her head tilted. Her eyes lingered on Jonan’s face. The cameras zoomed in on them both as she held out a hand to him.
He did not take it.
Amusement flickered across Amelia’s face, and then was gone.
Amelia turned back to the room. ‘This is deeply personal.’ Her breath caught in her throat. She brushed a single tear from her cheek. ‘Doriel is one of my oldest friends. I don’t want you to have to go through what I am suffering right now. These spirits, they aren’t just hovering around us in the atmosphere. They’re not benign. They’re here with intention. They want to take control, to get into your psyche and take over your will. They want to steal your soul.’
Amelia allowed the muttering to build into a roar. She stood, arms wide, head tilted slightly backwards.
Beth could see shadows shifting in her peripheral vision. They moved around the room, targeting those within reach. A shiver ran down her spine and spread out to the tips of her fingers. It was cold. Far colder than it should have been in a packed room. She called down the light, allowing it to flood her body, warming her where she stood. She looked at Jonan. He was doing the same. His hands moving in a fluid dance that strengthened the light around him and sent it throughout the room. Beth visualised her own light stretching out, pushing back the darkness of the monks. For a moment she felt silly, she felt the coldness start to regain hold, but she strengthened her resolve and the shadows receded.
Amelia looked at her, and then at Jonan. A tightness whitened the edges of her mouth. When she spoke her voice was soft, but it cut through the noise like a knife and the room fell silent. ‘I need every single one of you to know the danger so you can protect yourselves and those you love. I need you to be vigilant so no more innocent people are taken. Only this morning a little girl was targeted. Another photograph flashed up on the screen. The girl was pale, with large white-blond curls that sat on her shoulders. She looked about six years old.
Amelia took the microphone from the stand, kicked off her heels and stepped off the stage. Her pale, narrow feet and painted toenails brought an oddly intimate feel to the room.
‘This girl disappeared yesterday. She was on a school trip, taking part in a local parade. She vanished into the crowds and nobody could find her for a whole hour. Finally, she was discovered on the flat roof of one of the shops in town. There is no reasonable way she could have got up there unless someone helped her. She said nothing as she ran across the roof, and then jumped as though launching herself into a swimming pool.’
There was a gasp. A woman cried out.
‘Was she okay?’ a voice called from the back.
‘Fortunately for everyone, an off-duty fire-fighter was in the crowd. He acted fast and threw himself forwards, catching the girl and taking all the impact on his own back when he fell. She thought it was a wonderful game. The fire-fighter is bruised, but recovering. But the class’s teaching assistant has gone missing. Nobody has seen her since the incident. You have no idea which of the people around you are infected. All you can do, I repeat, all you can do is protect your family from everyone. Stay safe. Avoid anything and anyone that feels different.’
There was a crash from the other side of the room as a woman in a pale blue jumpsuit lurched against the chairs along the aisle. A man shouted as her bag hit him in the face, but she didn’t stop.
‘Wait.’ Amelia’s voice was sharp. The woman stopped, her body trembling as she turned slowly.
Beth could see shadowy shapes moving around the edges of the room. The woman in blue was surrounded. The colour drained from her face as the pressure increased.