Everly looked to Jude. Ronan watched in fascination as the two seemed to have a complete conversation without saying a word.
“We can give it a try. Everly can help get you out of your body and I can take us where we need to go.” Jude turned to Ten. “What do you think?”
Ten sighed. “You’re sure you can bring them back?”
“I am,” Jude said, sounding solemn.
“What about you, little miss?” Ten asked Everly. “Do you think you can talk to Bellamy and help bring yourself and Daddy back home?”
“I think so, but I need to sit and think about it for a bit. I’ll talk to Mimi Bertha too.” Everly got up from the sand and dusted herself off. “I promise to tell you if I don’t think I can do it.” She hugged Ten, then Ronan, before walking up to the house and going inside.
“Now that Everly’s gone, I need you to level with me, Jude. Is my daughter in any danger whatsoever?” The thought of even one hair on her head being harmed made Ronan feel sick to his stomach.
“I’m not sure, Ronan. We don’t know exactly how Warden Benedict is keeping the spirit inmates in the prison. If he’s using some kind of binding spell, I don’t know how to keep him from spinning it on Everly. If he’s using good old-fashioned coercion and fear, it won’t work on Everly and on the off chance it does, we’ll be there to pull her back.”
Ronan sighed. “Okay. I know you’ll keep her safe. Ten?” He wasn’t about to agree to this without Ten’s say so.
“If you can keep Everly’s presence under the radar, I say let’s do it. We have to help Bellamy and the other inmates, but, to be honest, I don’t want to visit that prison twice in one day, especially at night. God only knows what else comes out to play in the dark in that cursed place.” Ten shivered in the hot summer sun.
“I won’t let you down, guys.” Jude got out of his seat and headed for the house.
Ronan trusted Jude with every fiber of his being. He couldn’t count the number of times his partner had saved him in dangerous situations. Jude was always there to back him up, no matter what. Ronan knew his best friend would keep Everly safe under normal circumstances, but the idea of astral projection or spirit walking was far from a normal circumstance.
He was going to have to rely on Jude and Everly’s gifts to get in, get the job done, and get out.
10
Tennyson
Ten climbed the stairs, stopping in front of Everly’s bedroom door. The room was silent. He could sense she was meditating. His conversation with his daughter could wait. Continuing downthe hall, Ten walked into his room and shut the door behind him. “Are you here, Bertha?”
There was no response.
In a way Ten was glad. He needed a minute or two to wrap his mind around the idea of spirit walking and that Bertha had been teaching astral projection to Everly. To be honest, he wasn’t mad and might be a little jealous.
“Jealousy doesn’t look good on you, Tenny!” Bertha Craig said. She was perched on the foot of Ten’s bed, smiling brightly.
“Hey, Bertha.” Ten wrapped his arms around her. “I’ve missed you.” Pulling back, Ten took a seat beside her.
“Me too, but I’ve never been far away. Watching you go through aftereffects of this thing with Autumn Miller hurts my heart. What hurts more than watching is you not wanting my help.”
Ten sighed. He’d had this very discussion with himself at least once a day. “I needed to handle this on my own, Bertha. I had to find my own way back.”
“Bullshit!” Bertha shot back, pulling no punches.
Ten’s eyes widened. He’d hadn’t told Bertha the real reason it was taking him so long to bounce back and why he’d wanted to go it alone.
“You can’t hide anything from me, Tennyson. I’m not sure why you’d want to. That’s what’s worried me the most.” Bertha looked confused and a little hurt.
Ten got off the bed and paced in front of it. He’d spent the last two weeks battling against the demons Autumn Miller left behind. “I haven’t said this to anyone, but I’m ashamed of myself.”
“What do you mean, ashamed?” Bertha asked.
“I never sawanyof it coming.” Ten stopped pacing and stared at Bertha. “I’m a psychic. People come to Salem to see me. I’ve got appointments booked out six months in advance. I’m good at what I do, but somehow, I missed how mentally ill Autumn was. I missed her devious intentions and actions toward the man she claimed to be in love with. Worse, I never saw my arrest coming or my time in jail, in court, on the outs with Carson.” Ten felt his long suppressed emotions bubbling up to the surface. “When I was arrested, I was terrified. I had no way to defend myself. No way to stop what was being done to me. When I got to the prison, I thought I was going to die. Not because I was anxious or losing my own mind, but because I could feel the hatred the other prisoners had for me. Being gay and psychic is obviously death penalty worthy. I’ve never been so scared in my life. I’ve never felt that kind of fear before.”
Bertha was silent for a few seconds. She seemed to be studying Tennyson. “I don’t tell this story often. I’m not even sure Carson knows about it. Back in the 1980s, I had a client named Jennifer Clinton. Sweet girl but was married to an abusive asshole. She would come in twice a month and ask unimportant questions about her future. I think what she really wanted was to talk to me and get my advice. Her mother had passed away years before. Anyway, Jennifer finally got up the courage to file for divorce. I was so proud of her. She told me Burt, her soon-to-be ex-husband had been taking the news better than she’d thought.”
Ten knew this wasn’t going to be a happily ever after story.
