Chapter Twenty-Seven

Something felt off in the house tonight.

I should have known the high of spending my day with Jason wouldn’t last. The minute I stepped in the house I felt suffocated. Reminding myself it would all be over soon usually helped, but it didn’t. Now I was worried about the house being too still and quiet.

As I walked up the huge staircase I couldn’t help but be nervous. Catherine seemed to come at me when I least expected it or had my guard down. The closer my birthday got, the more time I spent looking over my shoulder.

Near Marietta’s room I heard voices.

The door was partly closed but no light came from inside. I paused to listen. Cold air drifted out of the room so I knew Catherine was in there as well. Standing as still as I could, I strained to hear what they were saying.

“Why can’t you leave me alone?”

It was Marietta. Her voice sounded hoarse and pleading, beaten down. It pulled at something inside of me. I wanted to rush in and help. I imagined her huddled in the dark talking to shadows, sort of like Gollum in Lord of the Rings.

I never imagined the shadows would talk back to her.

“We’re not done yet.”

Catherine. I knew her voice as if it was my own. It was dainty, feminine, and accented strongly. The echo beneath it chilled me every time she spoke. It was dark and sinister, a complete contrast to the soft Southern voice. It gave the voice depth, making it come alive.

Marietta whimpered and said, “I’ve done everything you asked of me.”

I leaned closer. How Marietta ended up with Catherine inside her and controlling her was one mystery I needed to solve.

“Yes, you have.” The voice drawled out, as if contemplating the answer. “I’ve been pleased with your cooperation. I can feel myself getting stronger every day. Soon I’ll be able to complete my plan.”

“Then, please, let me go. You promised...”

Catherine snarled, “I’m well aware of what I promised but you’re stuck with me until I’ve taken care of that sad little stepdaughter of yours. She has something I want.”

Marietta started crying in earnest now, loud sobs that made me want to cover my ears. I forced myself to stay still though. I needed to find out what Catherine had in store for me. What could I possibly have? Absently, my hand reached for the necklace I still wore. No, she wanted me dead long before Margaret gave it to me.

“I never wanted to hurt Quinn. Everything you do to her, I feel it. You make me feel it.”

One of my earliest memories of Marietta swam to the surface of my thoughts. Not long after marrying Daddy and moving into the house, she took me shopping for back-to-school clothes. I remember being excited and nervous. Marietta was such a well put-together woman and I was an awkward teenager. I wanted some of her poise to rub off on me.

We had lunch, shopped and talked. It was like having a mama again. I was a flower starved for the sun. At the time, I saw it as a bright beginning and it was.

At least it was for a while.

The voice laughed. “You will do as I say until I’m through with you. Don’t worry. It won’t be much longer. I’ll have my revenge and the life I deserve and you’ll be free of me.”

I listened as Marietta continued to sob while the air grew colder. If I’d been paying attention it would have clued me in to the fact that Catherine was coming closer.

Suddenly, the door slammed open and I was face to face with a dark, towering mass. I braced for pain but all I felt was her presence in my head.

Eavesdropping is not very ladylike.

I backed up to the other side of the hall until I couldn’t go any farther. The shadow pressed close, enfolding me and I gagged on the smell.

Don’t have anything to say now?

Wanting to show her I was strong, I spoke instead of thinking my words. “I have plenty to say to you. Go away and leave me and my family alone.”

Your family? That’s an interesting choice of words. They don’t want you, they never did. I’ve been inside Marietta’s head long enough to know she can’t stand the sight of you.

“Marietta treats me bad because you force her to. I heard you just now. She wasn’t like that until you possessed her. Why can’t you move on and get over it?”

You think I want to be stuck here? In this horrible period? I would love to be somewhere else, some place where memories of the past won't assault me. Do you think I enjoy being stuck in this house with Jackson? He’s a constant reminder of everything I lost, my dreams, my future, my soul.

“All you have to do is let go, Catherine. Let go and all of your pain will be gone. You don’t have to hurt me the way you were hurt.”

I will never let go of my dreams. You’re an important part of that, Quinn.

All the fear and uncertainty welled up at that moment and I brought myself to a new low.

“Do you want me to beg, Catherine?” Even to myself I sounded hysterical. “I will. If you want me to get on my knees and beg you to let me live, I will. Please, don’t do this. Don’t do to me what William did to you. I’ve never done anything to you! Please, leave me alone.”

The shadow stilled momentarily and I wondered if my words penetrated into any humane part of Catherine that still existed. As the seconds dragged on and on I began to hope.

But the hope was shattered when Catherine advanced on me with renewed force. Again, I expected pain but got none.

When I first realized I was dead, the need for revenge filled me up until I wasn’t myself anymore. It feeds me and gives me power. Year by year that need for revenge grows. It consumes me and licks at my skin every hour of the day. I can’t let it go because without it, I won’t exist. Imagine being in excruciating pain every second. Exacting my revenge is the only thing that will make it go away. If I do this, the darkness goes away.

Her words terrified me. They were so malicious and focused. That crazy voice in my head craved revenge, like it was a drug. Getting Catherine to give up the power her quest for revenge fueled would not be easy.

Some part of me still thought I could reason with her.

“You do realize, don’t you, that once you get rid of me, your vengeance will be over? When I’m gone, who will you focus those feelings on? Everything that you’ve been obsessing about for years will be over. What will you do then, Catherine?”

She leaned forward and a tendril of shadow reached out in the shape of a hand. I tracked it as it came closer but had nowhere to run; I was trapped. The hand reached up and stroked the side of my face, tracing down the jawbone to my chin. The touch was light and extremely cold almost numbing my entire face.

Then, to my shock the hand grew solid. I felt the fingers clamp onto my chin and turn my head from side to side as if assessing me. My entire body shook in fear.

When you’re gone, I’ll have everything I ever wanted.