CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
DARKNESS ENVELOPED THE SHADOWY, DILAPIDATED BRICK STRUCTURE. Low clouds hung over the landscape, heightening the eerie feel, and a thin, wet drizzle had begun. The limo dropped them off on an unlit street on the side of the asylum, everyone but Lucas, who had left supper early and gone back to his room to make last-minute preparations for the ordeal ahead.
Ran and Zane had come over while it was still light to find the best way in. Zane had pulled some boards off a broken window, gone in and come out through an old arched doorway mostly hidden by overgrown shrubs.
Now they were back. Eve walked next to Ran as Zane silently led the group to the hidden door.
“Stay in the shadows,” Zane said. “I’ll be right back.”
Eve watched him disappear around the corner out of sight. No one spoke until the old wooden door inwardly creaked open and Zane motioned them inside. Both Jesse and Katie carried canvas bags slung over their shoulders. Jesse used his flashlight to lead the way. Katie followed with a light, then Violet, Eve, and Ran with his own flashlight.
Zane went back outside to wait for Lucas. The limo had gone back to the hotel to pick him up, and Eve prayed he would be there soon.
Flashlights burned through the darkness as Eve walked inside the asylum and the group picked their way through the filth and debris into the main salon. One of the large paned windows was broken, letting in the wind and drizzle that continued to build.
Ignoring the smell, the scummy water on the floor, and the graffiti on the walls, they continued to the little chapel off to one side of the main structure. Ran had told Lucas about the asylum chapel, and he had insisted that was the spot the exorcism should take place.
Shining a light over the walls and the altar at the front, Jesse went in ahead of them. Eve followed, holding on to Ran’s hand. The place was as grim as Eve remembered, the destruction and bloodred Satanic symbols filling her with dread.
The pew in the front row was splintered and unusable. While Katie held the light, Jesse righted the second pew and one on the other side of the aisle near the back of the room. Pulling a towel from his gear bag, he wiped down the wooden seats as best he could; then he and Katie positioned themselves on a pew near the back, hoping to get something with their handheld equipment—what little remained after most of it had been destroyed in Eve’s cellar.
Ran guided Eve to the front of the chapel. “We’re waiting for Lucas?” she asked.
“He just texted. The limo’s outside. Zane’s bringing him in. Let’s take a seat.”
Both of them were dressed in jeans, sweatshirts, and warm jackets. Ran wore his low-topped leather boots, and Eve wore the hiking boots she’d been wearing in the tunnel. All of the team members were dressed warmly. There was no way to know how long they would be there. It could be minutes or hours, or maybe nothing would happen at all.
Eve heard a noise at the back of the room, and Jesse shined his flashlight in that direction. Lucas stood in the doorway wearing a long white robe with a wide gold band that slanted in a vee from his shoulders to a line down the front. A heavy crucifix dangled from a long chain around his neck, and Eve could just make out the thin gold chain that held his St. Michael’s medallion, which he’d tucked inside the robe.
Lucas held a Bible in one hand. A string of rosary beads was draped over the palm of his other hand as he walked down the aisle in her direction.
Lucas bent, brushed a kiss on each of Eve’s cheeks, and took a compact Bible out of his pocket. He handed her the Bible. “God be with you, Eve. God be with all of us tonight.”
Lucas walked back up the aisle toward the doorway, his robes floating out as he turned to face the front of the church.
As per the plan, Jesse took a portable light out of his gear bag that could be angled in any direction, set it on the floor in the middle of the aisle at Lucas’s feet, and powered it up. A soft yellow circle illuminated the former priest, a man who had special dispensation from the church to do God’s work. All the other lights went off.
In the glow of the yellow circle, Luke made the sign of the cross. Eve sat on the second pew facing the altar, Violet on one side, Ran on the other. The faint cooing of pigeons came from the rafters near the broken stained-glass window. There was a jagged hole in the roof above the altar, letting in the wind and misty rain.
“I’m right beside you, dear,” Violet said, squeezing her hand.
“Whatever happens, Violet, I’m glad you’re here.”
Ran shifted toward Eve on the bench. “Go ahead, honey. See if you can reach Herbie.”
Eve clenched her hands together in her lap and said a silent prayer. She wished she had brought Wally’s little sailor hat, though it might not have worked to attract the ghost of the older boy.
She took a steadying breath. “Herbie . . . ?” Her voice echoed across the empty chamber. “Herbie, it’s Evie. You remember me, don’t you? I’m Wally’s friend.”
Nothing.
“Wally’s gone to a place where it’s warm and bright, and there are people there who love him. It’s the place where all of you were supposed to go. He’s waiting for you and the others to join him.”
Nothing.
In the background, Eve could hear Lucas repeating the rosary over and over, first in Latin, then in English. She recognized the conclusion of the Lord’s Prayer.
“ ‘. . . forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.’ ”
She listened as he started speaking in Latin again.
“ ‘Ave Maria, gratia plena Dominus tecum benedicta tu in mulieribus, et benedictus fructus ventris tui, Jesus. Sancta Maria mater Dei, ora pro nobis peccatoribus, nunc et in hora mortis nostrae. Amen.’ ”
Eve concentrated on reaching Herbie. “Can you hear me, Herbie? I came here to help you and the other boys. You can be with Wally. You don’t have to stay here anymore.”
Lucas continued the exorcism, each of his words heightening the tension gripping her insides.
“ ‘Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death.’ ” More Latin followed. “ ‘Gloria ria Patri, et Filio, et Spir-itui Sancto, sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper, et in saecula saeculorum. Amen.’
Eve concentrated on Herbie, forming a mental picture of the bone-thin boy who had lived in the orphanage.
Evie . . . ? The word was so faint and distorted she almost didn’t recognize the sound of her name.
Her heart rate kicked up. “I’m right here, Herbie. Let me help you.”
Something was happening in the asylum. The grating noise of wood scraping across the floor sent chills creeping over her skin. One of the broken wooden pews was moving. The sound of the wind outside intensified, rustling the branches against the windowpanes.
Eve’s heart rate speeded. “Herbie? I’m right here, Herbie.”
The soft strains of an old-fashioned music box began to play. In her mind, she could see a tiny carousel with miniature horses spinning around. Her breathing quickened. “Herbie, are you here?”
I’m here, Evie. I wanna be with Wally.
A piece of wood crashed down from the ceiling, smashed into the once-ornate altar, and slammed to the floor. The music suddenly stopped.
Eve’s pounding heart accelerated. Behind her, she recognized part of the Latin incantation Lucas had chanted that night in the cellar, and the shaft of golden light appeared as it had before.
It was beautiful. Mesmerizing. Eve took a shaky breath and focused on Herbie. “Are the others here, Herbie?”
Long seconds passed. The wind increased and the rain picked up, heavy drops knocking against the slate roof.
Eve’s breath caught as thin drifts of eerie white fog began to glide into the chapel, emerging through the walls and ceiling. As the fog began to take shape, little by little, she could make out what appeared to be a group of hazy figures.
Dear God, the boys from the orphanage. The translucent shapes were of various sizes. Children ages three to thirteen had died in the disaster at Victoria Hall.
With a flutter of wings overhead, the pigeons swooped down from the rafters, then shot out through the hole in the roof. A gust of wind rushed in, followed by a bright bolt of lightning outside that lit the stained-glass window.
Eve heard the roar of the evil voice she had heard before.
Leave this place! Now!
Lucas’s tone subtly shifted, grew deeper, more intense. “In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, I command you, demon, to depart this place. St. Michael, the mighty archangel, defend us in this battle. Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray; and, you, O Prince of the Heavenly Host, by the power of God, cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits who prowl the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.”
Eve was shaking. “Can you see the light, Herbie? Take the other boys and move toward the light.”
Lucas was repeating the intonation in Latin, calling for St. Michael to help them.
Eve steeled herself. “Herbie, move the boys toward the light. You’ll all be free. You’ll be with people who love you. You’ll be with God, Herbie.”
The thin white wisps began floating toward the light, the tallest in front, Herbie, she thought, leading the way, inching closer and closer to the golden shaft that would lead to their salvation.
“Keep going, Herbie.” The shapes continued to move, floating closer and closer to the warm golden circle. Then another figure began to take form. It was a cold grayish black, dense and obscure, with round, glowing red eyes.
It shot into the air and hovered above the children. You will not leave! You belong to me!
The small ghostly figures stopped moving. We’re afraid.
Eve’s heart clenched. She didn’t think anyone else could hear them; the thought had just come into her head.
“Keep going,” Eve said. “God will protect you.” Eve prayed it was true. “Just keep moving toward the light.”
The small apparitions started drifting again, floating above the floor.
Stop! Now!
The figures paused, their hazy images shaking with fear.
“Don’t be afraid. Don’t let the evil monster stop you!”
Something moved through the air, something dark and deadly. Eve kept talking.
“You can save them Herbie!” Tears rolled down her cheeks.
Herbie began to move, leading the other children. He was the first to reach the light. In a sudden flash of brilliant white, he was gone. Two more shapes stepped into the circle. Brilliant light flashed, and they disappeared. Each pair disappeared into the light until only the smallest figure remained.
“Keep going!” Eve shouted above the roar of the wind.
No! He is mine! Lightning cracked and thunder rumbled.
A second voice argued, Let him go!
Eve recognized the other man she had heard in her hallway.
Mama? The smallest figure began crying for a mother lost long ago.
Eve swallowed. “Don’t be afraid!” Fresh tears streamed down her cheeks. “The others are waiting for you!”
I will kill you! The broken stained-glass window began to crack, spidering out in a jagged pattern, and pieces of colored glass started flying across the room.
“Get down!” Ran shouted.
Violet ducked behind the broken front pew, and Ran pulled Eve down just as the stained glass exploded into a thousand pieces, slicing like knives across the room. Shards of colored glass flew over the heads of everyone crouched on the floor. Then the wind tore at the hole in the roof, and a deadly barrage of slate roof tiles shot through the opening.
“Run!” Ran shouted as soon as the barrage had passed overhead. “Hurry!” He urged Eve and Violet up the aisle and they raced toward Lucas, who stood like a statue, repeating, over and over, the incantations he had spoken before.
Zane rushed into the chapel and ran toward Katie, who had stumbled on her way up the aisle. Violet made it out the door, but Eve pulled away from Ran and turned back toward the small gauzy figure still floating near the light. “Keep going, sweetheart—you’re almost there!”
The child-size ghost drifted a few feet farther. The small figure floated, inching closer and closer to the golden light.
“Go!” Eve shouted.
In a single quick flash, the small ghostly figure was gone.
The children were safe. A sweet burst of joy swelled inside her as more tears poured down her cheeks. Eve was smiling when Ran scooped her into his arms and carried her out of the chapel. Lucas strode out of the chapel behind them.
“Don’t stop!” Ran shouted to the others, all of them scrambling through the main salon toward the arched wooden door where they had come in. As they raced outside, every window in the asylum imploded, vicious shards of glass slicing through the freezing air inside.
They were out of the building, racing for the limo, when Eve realized Zane carried Katie draped lifelessly over his arms.