The Invited(100)

“That’s absurd,” Nate said.

“You write about her like she’s a human being, Nate. Like she’s got magical abilities. Like you have some kind of special relationship. Like she’s your fucking mistress!”

He turned from her, reached down, grabbed the remaining three beers. “We’re done here.”

He walked away, down to the trailer, where he slammed the door so hard the whole sad little tin building seemed to shake.





CHAPTER 34



Olive





SEPTEMBER 11, 2015

“Dammit!” Helen said when she missed the nail, smashed her finger with the hammer.

“You okay?” Olive asked.

“Fine,” Helen said, shaking her finger. “I just need to take a break for a minute.”

Helen looked tired, worried, and, all of a sudden, way older. There were dark circles under her bloodshot eyes and her skin was pale and pasty looking—Olive could see the blue traces of veins underneath.

They were in the house, putting up the trim around the last of the windows. Olive was holding the boards while Helen nailed them in place. Then she used a nail set to sink them, and Olive covered the holes with dabs of wood putty.

Nate had gone into town to pick up more caulk and primer. Olive was relieved he’d taken off because things were weird and awkward. Nate and Helen were barely speaking—just giving each other measurements and passing boards back and forth. Olive could tell they were really pissed off at each other. Maybe that was why Helen looked so worn out.

Olive imagined she didn’t look all that much better than Helen—she hadn’t gotten much sleep last night. She’d tossed and turned in bed, thinking about her talk with Riley at breakfast and how frightened Riley had looked. About her promise to stop looking into things, to stay safe and leave things to Riley. And their plan to maybe go to the police.

When she did sleep, she dreamed it was her own hand ripping the necklace from her mother’s throat. Then choking her.

She woke up damp with sweat, heart thumping. She jumped out of bed, downed three cups of sweet, milky coffee, and skipped breakfast entirely—the idea of solid food turned her stomach. On her way to catch the school bus, she stopped by the hollow tree and thought about dumping the necklace back in there but found she just couldn’t part with it.

    She’d come to Helen’s straight from school, not even heading home first to drop off her backpack. She didn’t want to be alone. Not even for a minute.

Olive looked at the stack of books on the kitchen counter: Ghosts and Hauntings; Witches in New England; A Guide to Haunted Vermont; Spells, Hexes, and Curses; A Witch’s Guide to Spell Casting. The one on top was called Communicating with the Spirit World.

She set down the tub of wood putty, reached up, touched the necklace under her shirt. Then she picked up Communicating with the Spirit World and started flipping through it, not really reading, just skimming. She came to a passage that made her stop. She felt goose bumps form on her forearms and a chill on the nape of her neck. She read it out loud, slowly:

    A spirit will sometimes attach itself to an object. Often this happens with an item the spirit had a strong personal connection to in life.

A spirit can also attach itself to a living person.

This can become quite troublesome, even dangerous. If you are experiencing missing time, blackouts, or nightmares, or find yourself acting in ways that are not normal for you, it may be that a spirit has taken hold of you.



Helen chuckled. “Pretty crazy stuff, huh?”

“Helen, do you think that’s possible? That a spirit can attach itself to an object or a person? And, like, make them possessed or something?”

Helen smiled. “I think those books have a lot of strange ideas, some based in reality, some not so much. But me, I’ve come to believe there’s more to this world than meets the eye, so I try to take it all in with an open mind.”

“But if there was a haunted object and you carried it around, could it make you do things that you normally wouldn’t do?”

“Some might believe it would. But I think that an object, even a haunted one, can only have the power you give it. You can choose what effect it may or may not have on you.”

Olive thought over what she’d said. She believed her mom’s necklace had some sort of power. But maybe it was also kind of cursed. Maybe that was where her nightmares came from.

    Or maybe they came from something far worse.

“And what about a spirit attaching itself to a person?” Olive asked, her throat dry, voice crackly. “Do you think that ever actually happens?”

Helen leaned forward, brushed a chunk of unruly hair back from Olive’s forehead. “I don’t think that’s anything you or I have to worry about.”

Olive swallowed hard, forcing a you’re absolutely right smile. “Do you think I could borrow some of these books?” she asked.

“Sure. They’re mostly library books. I keep checking them out, then returning them, then checking them out again. They’re due again in another week, but I’m done with them.”

“I can bring them back to the library for you,” Olive said.

“Great,” Helen said. “They’re yours. Hey, how’s the treasure hunting going?” Helen gave Olive a tired-looking smile. “Found anything yet?”