Chapter Eighteen

The great art of life is sensation,
to feel that we exist, even in pain.
~Lord Byron

CAPTAIN ALESSANDRO PULLED UP A SEAT at Flint’s bar and ordered a Coke, but if I hadn’t been watching, he probably would’ve ordered something stronger. Shuttling my dad and me to Bandunchuch Island on his boat, he’d endured Dad’s fearful complaints. You’re going too fast! Where’d you get your license? I can’t swim! Slow down!

By the time we arrived, I wanted to bury my head in the sandy beach to die of embarrassment.

But the sketches in my bag, clearly etched in my mind, drove me to continue searching for clues. When I asked Flint if I could borrow his golf cart, he gave me a sad nod and tossed me the key.

“Hey, Chelsea?” Flint called, stopping Dad and me as we headed to the cart. “I guess you’re still looking for Geoff. I miss him, too. I owe him a lot. Ever since the sheriff’s deputies quit searching, all we’ve had around here are the locals, Geoff’s mom, and now you. Everyone else figures he drowned. I don’t blame you a bit for lookin’, though. He was a good kid.”

“Thanks.” I made a fist around the key and gave him a smile.

As I drove, Dad held on for dear life. He’d never ridden with me driving before, and now we were in a vehicle with no doors. I tried to keep my speed down, but my heart dashed against my ribs with anticipation.

“Baby girl?” Suddenly, he gripped my shoulder as the dilapidated house came into view. “I know that place. It’s the one from my sketch.”

Seeing the creepy old home again put a knot in my throat. Last time I’d been there, Geoff had been beside me.

I parked and led Dad up the rotten steps. The porch swing from his drawing sat in a pile of old boards and rusty chains, mildewing in a corner.

“I-I dunno if we should be here. Someone owns this.” Dad touched the weathered balustrade of the porch while eyeballing the roof as if it might cave in on us at any moment.

“Nah.” I shook my head. “Obviously no one cares about the place. But it’s important to us somehow, or else you wouldn’t have drawn it. Don’t you want to know why?” I didn’t wait for his answer.

The windows were missing panes, and the front door hung on one hinge behind a battered screen. I led the way, choking down my fear.

Hell, I’d fought Boo Hags and had spoken to my own personal ghost. What did this abandoned building have that should scare me?

In the front room, my gaze immediately went to the light beam coming down from where the ceiling had, in fact, caved in. A pile of roof tiles lay in the middle of the floor, and against the walls were a sink, a stove with no oven door, and a sofa with the stuffing chewed out by some animal. The stench of rot and dirt hung in the air.

Dad clutched my hand. “Okay, baby girl. We’ve seen it. Let’s go.”

I shook my head. “Not yet.” There was another door left, leading to a room I still had to search. I couldn’t stop looking. Not when the house might give me an answer as to what happened to Geoff.

My pulse kicked up a notch as I turned the brass knob, bracing for more odors and the possibility of wild animals. I pulled the door open and gasped.

A clean, comfy-looking bed, covered in twisted sheets and a quilt pulled off the backside, sat in light from a curtained window. A bed table stood littered with open takeout containers.

Fast food? Here?

I started across the room to check out the freaky trash, when movement behind the bed froze me. A shaky hand grasped at the fallen bedcover. Someone was hiding.

I screamed, clutching my heart reflexively.

The hand pulling at the covers bore a silver ring that glinted in the sunlight. A skull with onyx eyes.

“Geoff!”

I bounded over the bed in a move that would’ve made a pole-vaulter pee in his Cheerios with envy.

I found Geoff lying on the floor. Wearing only dorm pants, he held himself up by the bedcover as if it took every ounce of strength he had. His face was buried against the side of the mattress, seemingly unaware of our presence.

“Oh, God. What’s happened to you?” I touched his bare shoulder with a trembling hand.

He flinched as if I’d hurt him, hissing through his teeth. “No. Let me go,” he growled.

“Geoff.” My voice broke as tears stung my eyes. “It’s me. Chelsea.”

His face lifted, and his gaze slowly met mine. His pupils were enormous, making me tighten inside. Stella and Mom had had the same look when the hag possessed them.

He squinted against the light. “Vincent?” His lips parted in amazement.

“Yes. I’m here.” I sighed, smiling. “So’s my dad.”

I stroked his shaggy hair away from his face. He needed a shave, but his skin felt normal—no fever to explain his condition.

“I knew you’d come.” The tiny grin on Geoff’s face made my heart flutter.

Dad touched my shoulder gently. Leaning to my ear, he whispered, “I think he’s high. We should go get some help.”

“No way! Someone’s done this to him. I’m not leaving.”

I pushed Geoff upright, straining under his weight. He gave me a grateful look, taking my hand and squeezing, as if I would vanish if he didn’t hold on.

Dad murmured, “It might not be safe to stay if someone’s holding him here against his will.”

“Carol,” Geoff rasped.

My stomach sank. Now he thought I was his mother?

“My mum…” His eyelids drooped closed, then opened again while he struggled to speak. He sounded as if his tongue could barely move. “She’s gone crazy. Gives me medicine…leaves me while she’s at work.”

Good Lord, his own mother had done this!

I glanced at Dad. He gave me his best warning glare, but I gave back one of my own.

“All right, I can see I can’t fight you on this. I’ll take the cart to Flint’s and get somebody.”

“Thanks, Dad.”

He left, and the cart crunched over the gravel as it sped away.

Geoff attempted to lift his body off the floor, but fell against me, as if woozy. I pushed him upright, draping his arm around my shoulders.

His head lolled against mine, still clinging to my hand, and he blinked as he peered up into my eyes. “I may be messed up, but you’re soooo beautiful.”

My cheeks heated.

My love, he’d said in the video. The video I wasn’t supposed to have seen yet, I reminded myself.

I snorted. “Yeah, you’re messed up. But I’ve missed you! Everyone else thought you were dead.”

His leg bumped against mine. Was he trying to scoot even closer?

“I take it you’re not hurt?” I bit my lip, trying to conceal my smile. The heat of his bare chest permeated my thin shirt and made me tingle everywhere.

He shook his head. The motion must’ve made him dizzier still, because his hand tightened on my shoulder as he tried to brace himself. “Nope. Not hurt. Just sleepy. Daaamn iiit!” he said hotly, wincing at his sluggishness.

I laughed aloud this time. “Well, try to stay awake.” I pushed his chin up, then watched his head drop again.

“I am. I’m scared to sleep.”

“Why?” A tear welled in my eye. What had Mrs. Ramsey done, and how dare she try to keep him drugged this way!

“Cuz I might be dreaming. When I w-wake, you might be gone.” He turned his face into my hair and inhaled. “You smell real, though. You smell like mmmm.”

I rubbed the ring on his hand, pressing the hard metal into the pad of my thumb to make certain I wasn’t dreaming, either. “I’m real, and I’m not leaving your side.”

“Good.”

His breath fanned across my neck in a deep sigh, and then his hand went limp as the drugs won the battle, carrying him off to sleep.

For the next forty-eight hours, Geoff’s hospital room was the site of an endless parade of visitors, cheesy balloons, police detectives, medical scrubs, and white coats, while I sat in a dark corner, trying not to be noticed.

From my vantage point, I could keep an eye on Geoff—still not feeling brave enough to let him out of my sight—and observe the mannerisms of our acquaintances.

The Boo Hag—or hags—was still out there, and I wasn’t about to let her have Geoff again.

Kept on sedatives for the two weeks he’d been missing, Geoff needed a doctor’s care and close monitoring of his heart and lungs before he could be released to his father.

While Geoff had been lying on a bed strapped to an IV, heart monitors, and EKGs, Carol had been found and arrested at her office and was now awaiting arraignment in the county lockup. I’d heard Geoff’s side of what had happened, but I hadn’t been alone with him since I’d found him on the island. He’d not spoken to anyone about the evil we’d seen…or about George. Like me, he must’ve been too afraid his dad would send him away—especially since he’d been hospitalized before.

His present visitors, Stella and Lewis, had brought him a new movie, Castle Nightmare, and now sat on the side of his bed. Lewis punched buttons on the bed’s panel, making the contraption shudder as it went up and down beneath them like bad hydraulics.

Stella shook her head. “Sometimes I wish I wasn’t related to my cousin. I’m so sorry, Geoff.”

“Yeah, can you knock it off, Lewis?” Geoff smiled. “The last thing I want is the nurse to have a reason to come in here again.” He rubbed his arm, which still bore a Band-Aid from the most recent time they’d drawn blood.

Lewis held up his hands. “Right. My bad.”

“It’s okay. Thanks for the movie, mate. I’m sure Ben’s gonna make me stay home for a week, so it’ll come in handy.”

Lewis glanced my way, sliding me an expression that was neither friendly nor hateful. Maybe we had an understanding.

I gave him a small smile.

“All right, cuz. Let’s roll.” Lewis stood, turning his back to me. “Mama’s waiting on me to bring back good news.”

“Give Anita a hug for me.”

I’d asked Lewis to tell his aunt about the women in the painting and find out if there were any old Gullah stories or legends about sisters or lovers. I was curious if the pair might’ve both been possessed by Boo Hags. Nothing seemed beyond the realm of possibility anymore, so Geoff might be right. His brother could still be alive somewhere on the island.

But Carol had only managed to keep Geoff hidden a few days. Could someone hide his brother George on a tiny island in a popular tourist area for two years?

Stella gave Geoff a brief hug, then bounced over to me for another bigger one. “Bye.” Text me, she mouthed, then followed Lewis out.

Geoff’s head fell back on his pillows with a deep sigh. “Finally.”

He beckoned me closer.

I left my corner seat and sat beside him. Not satisfied, he drew me closer still, giving me space beside him on the pillow. Heads together, we sat in silence, and his fingers threaded with mine. Up close, his skin looked more normal—almost pink, turning redder the longer I sat staring at him.

His mouth quirked up at the corner. “I’m so tempted to rip these things off me and blow this joint.”

“Yeah, but you heard what the doctor said. The meds might’ve hurt your organs. Better safe…”

His gaze dropped to our hands and he frowned. “You know someone will post Carol’s bail. She has friends on the city council—everywhere, really.”

“I heard what you told the police, but Geoff, did she…was the Boo Hag in her?”

He shook his head, and a muscle tightened in his jaw. “She was on the other side of the island meeting some Yemassee Shores investors at the villas. When we were leaving, she spotted us on the boats, watched me go overboard. When I was underwater with that thing, it pulled me to shore with it. I blacked out, and the next thing I knew, Mom was there, helping me onto her golf cart. I thought she was taking me to get help for you guys, but instead, she took me to that abandoned house. She gave me a pill, said it would calm me down. The prescription was hers, I think. Then I was so out of it. I wound up on the bed, and she was hand-feeding me take-outs and more pills.” His face contorted with the memory. “I even heard her call her doctor for a refill. I couldn’t convince her to stop and let me leave. She kept rambling on about first losing George and now me. Said something like ‘Prometheus won’t like it’…whatever that means. Over and over. In her warped mind, she blamed me for losing her Yemassee Shores deal, too. She’s crazy, all right, but no, I didn’t get the idea she was possessed or bewitched or anything.”

I wanted to find this so-called doctor and kick his ass for allowing Carol to get her hands on the medications. Maybe she’d bribed him. Or maybe, knowing about her psychological problems, he’d taken advantage of her. Either way, I wanted to be there to support Geoff when he spoke with her.

I put my other arm around Geoff’s waist and rested my face against his shoulder. “I’m so sorry. This shouldn’t have happened to you.”

He gave a short laugh, and I felt his fingers playing with my hair. “Aw, it’s just another day in the life of the nutter Ramsey family.”

Maybe Carol knew something more about George’s disappearance. Maybe she’d seen the Boo Hags, too, and that had made her mental. Geoff would want to talk to her when he’d had time to get over the experience—when she was safely behind bars.

I sat up, remembering Ben’s actions the night Geoff had fought the hag. “Your dad was torn up when you were gone. Despite everything he does or says, I think he cares about you.”

His face hardened. “Yeah. He cared enough to set a date, despite everything he saw, everything that happened.”

I cringed. There was nothing I could say to answer for our parents’ sudden plans. Grief must’ve made them want to cling to the nearest warm body like a lifesaver on a stormy sea. Perhaps the two ladies, or hags, on the island had once been separated, leaving them desperate to be together again. Stella had recalled wanting something out of her reach while she’d been possessed. I kind of understood how they must’ve felt—even our parents—first losing the people they loved and then finding each other.

“It’s hard to believe our folks want to marry so soon. I’d really hoped my dad could’ve stayed another week.”

“You think he could’ve stopped them?” He raised a brow of skepticism. Then he brushed my cheek with a gentle finger, and I heard him inhale softly. He spoke as if thinking out loud. “Look, they’re going to want us to act like siblings. If we…if there’s anything more, Ben will find a way to keep us apart again. He’s already pissed that I ruined his business investment.”

“Yeah, but I’m so proud of you. You saved Flint’s business and protected the island from more greedy land developers.” I heard my voice cracking as fear gripped my heart. “It was the right thing to do. I don’t care what he thinks!”

“Chelsea, I-I don’t want to get sent away again.”

Our parents could walk in on us at any moment. I sensed he wanted me to back off. Maybe permanently.

A fist-sized knot formed in my throat. I eased away from him, pain squeezing me inside.

“No, I don’t want you to leave.” Geoff rose off the pillows and reached for me, catching my arm. His gaze went to my lips. “We’re going to get to live together for good, just like before…only now we’ll just have to be super sneaky.”

I grinned, hope lifting my mood. “I can be sneaky.”

“Good. C’mere, Vincent.” He beckoned me close, and our lips touched.

Maybe, like one of Byron’s jilted lovers had described the poet, Geoff was “mad, bad, and dangerous to know…”

But so was this girl.

The End

YOLO…unless you’re George Ramsey.

Should life be just a one-and-done?

What if you could live forever? Would you?

What if someone you loved died and you had the power to bring them back?

Would you?

What if that person wasn’t the same anymore?

Prometheus Unbound

Book two of The Prometheus Order series, coming soon!