Taming the Familiar

Chapter 22 Oh Woe to my toes

Alexa jogged up to help Patrick with the horse. He'd been taking her out daily for rides and the horse seemed to be loving the attention. He already had the saddle fitted on. all Alexa really did was hold the horse still by the fence and watch him ride off down the road. Their parents had gotten home two days ago and Patrick had been showing off ever since. She couldn't blame him. She was secretly very proud of her little brother for finally putting an effort in and getting results. She walked slowly back up to the house. It was after supper so her parents were just watching tv. She headed up to her room with Pitch. Kaleth was confined to her room when she couldn't be with him. She had borrowed a whole box of salt from her mother's pantry and surrounded her entire room in it to keep Ramona out. She was extra vigilant of the doorways where it could get brushed away. She had learned that the hard way the night before when she woke up to the ghost attacking Kaleth. Her mother's cast iron frying pan had come in handy.

Kaleth had been in uncharacteristically good cheer since Ramona had injured him last. Alexa wasn't quite sure what to make of it. She was so used to him being ill-tempered that this was a welcome change of pace. Kaleth was lounging stretched over the daybed when she entered. She sat on her bed for a minute before flopping back with a groan.

"I think I need to go check the lair for a book on ghosts." she said quietly. She wasn't sure if she wanted to go back down there but she needed more info if she wanted to be able to fight off the ghost's next attack. Kaleth was considering quietly.

"It should stink less." he said with a small smile and Alexa couldn't help but snicker. The last time he'd been in was removed Ramona's body, how ironic that only shortly after doing that she started attacking him. Alexa slowly got up from the bed and walked over to her dresser where she had hidden the keys to the lair. She lead Kaleth out the balcony doors and he gave her a lift to the ground. Pitch bounded down to follow them curiously. Alexa walked slowly, still not sure she want to go back down there. Especially after seeing it through Jacob's eyes in her dreams. She arrived at the secret entrance behind the shed. She looked around to make sure no one was watched and took a deep breath. The she let it go as a calming breath before opening the door and heading down. It still felt damp and when she got to the heavy steel door it was still pitch black. But it felt different. Maybe some of the evil juju had worn off. She put the key in the lock and opened the door, flicking the lights on herself this time. She looked around the room this time a little more prepared for it's creepiness. Kaleth was right about the smell without the decaying body it wasn't as overpowering. It smelled more like the nasty herb cupboard than death and despair. Alexa stepped up to the bookshelf and starting browsing while ignoring the skulls, taxidermy, and preserved appendages. After looking through a few she took one labeled 'Spirits, Ghosts and Poltergeists' She looked around the room again. They had left the door to the cell open, and she could see a brown stain where Ramona's body had laid. She looked around the room remembering what Jacob had seen. There were a lot more skulls and disturbing items on the shelves now. Alistar had obviously collected a lot since Jacob had died here. She walked over to the area where Kaleth had cuffed him in her last dream. She stared at the brown spot in the floor and imagined hos many people's blood was there. Suddenly she felt very lightheaded. She needed to get above ground and get some fresh air. She turned to leave, and saw Kaleth beside the door. She only took two steps toward him before she blacked out.

Jacob whimpered pitifully, hanging almost at a forty five degree angle with what was left of his feet in the air. All that screaming and no one outside had heard. His feet were agony. He couldn't even look at them. He'd felt blood splatter up his ankle as the demon had dis-articulated and removed each toe. He gulped back another full fledged sob. He had tried not to make too much noise. He knew Liz and Haley were in the next room and could hear him. But the agony, what was left of his feet throbbed with his pounding heart. His face was soaked in tears and his throat was raw from screaming. He coughed a couple times, gagging from the blinding pain in his feet. He watched as quietly as he could while the demon handed his digits to the old man. The senior took the happily. Jacob shut his eyes. His head was spinning again and he could only hope he'd pass out. No suck luck and he heard something rattling by the alter. He opened his eye to look out of morbid curiosity. The man was sprinkling something over his dismembered toes. He shut his eyes again. They were gone, he didn't need to see where they went. He prayed for the blackness to take him back but it didn't seem to want to. Eventually he heard sloshing and looked to see the old man had a jar full of yellow tinted liquid. He dropped the toes in and seal the jar then turned to the demon.