Carrie Vaughn - Kitty's House of Horrors

“Can I get you something? A glass of water?” Jeffrey said, and Tina smiled a thanks.

I didn’t like it. Tina wouldn’t act like that unless something had really gotten to her. She had guts. I’d seen her scared, but she never backed down.

Someone turned the lights back on, and the group broke into different conversations. Grant and Anastasia were watching Tina closely, studious, like they expected her eyes to roll back in her head while she chanted in tongues. Which I’d seen her do before, but still.

Then they caught each other watching. Exchanged the briefest glance. Grant left the table and made his way to the living room window, to look out at the night. At nothing.

Tina had her hands around the glass of water Jeffrey had brought her, but she hadn’t taken a drink yet. Jeffrey was hovering. Something was definitely sparking between those two. If I had my way I’d have shuffled everyone out of the room and let them have their moment. But the cameras were probably eating this up.

I sat at the table and folded the Ouija board out of the way; I had the feeling it was staring at me.

“Jeffrey, are you sensing anything?” I asked.

He hesitated, glancing around like whatever it was had physical form and he could really see it. “It’s hard to tell if there’s really something here, or if it’s the strain of a dozen strangers pushed together in an artificial situation. I wouldn’t expect the energy here to be rosy.”

“Maybe that’s it,” Tina said. “Just normal weirdness.”

“You know how odd that sounds?” I said, and she smiled.

“Tina,” Grant said, turning from the window and marching over. “I’d like to try something, if you’re game.”

She looked wary. “Depends. I may just have a beer and call it a night.”

“Do you trust me?”

“Hell, no,” she said, glaring.

“You saw something,” he said. “You didn’t like it, and I think your mind decided to block it. Now, I suspect you’re the kind of person who doesn’t scare easily. If something has scared you, I’d really like to know what.”

“What do you suggest?”

“I’d like to hypnotize you.”

“Can you do that?” Tina said.

“I can try. It may not work. I may be wrong and you may not have any idea what’s bothering you, subconsciously or otherwise.”

She didn’t look convinced. “I’ve seen a lot of freaky stuff, but I’m not sure how I feel about that.”

“We can do it here, in the open,” Grant said. “The moment you’re uncomfortable, we’ll stop.”

“Is it dangerous?” I said.

“It can be,” he said. And that was why I liked Grant. He could be evasive, but he didn’t sugarcoat.

She looked at Jeffrey, gave him some expression I couldn’t see. He shrugged and said, “I’m curious to see what would happen.”

She took a deep breath. “Okay. We can try it.”

Sounding amused, Conrad said, “So, you have a watch on a chain? A crystal ball or something?”

“No,” Grant said. “Lie down on the sofa, here. Everyone else, you can watch, but keep your distance.”

Under the gathering’s watchful, curious stares, Tina moved to the sofa and lay down. Jeffrey didn’t leave her side. He sat on the edge, near her knees. She shifted to give him room, and they both looked at Grant, daring him to argue. The magician didn’t. He moved a pillow under her head and asked if she was comfortable. She shifted and fidgeted for a moment, then settled. Even I could tell she was tense. The room smelled tangy. It wasn’t just the smell of a house filled with people and growing ripe; it was nerves, tension. Lee and Jerome, the other lycanthropes, glanced at me. All our noses were flaring. This was getting thick.

Grant knelt by the sofa near Tina’s head.

“Relax,” he said, his voice soft, steady. “Take a deep breath. In, and out.”

He managed to project even more intensity than usual. Like he had collected all his focus, which had been spread equally around the room, observing, and pointed it toward her. If he had pointed all that attention toward me, I’d probably have jumped out of my skin. Never mind relaxing.

I had to say something: “I’m sorry, weird question, and if I don’t ask now I’ll forget.”

I expected the glare Grant gave me. But it was an indulgent glare—he knew me pretty well by this time. “Yes?”

“Are psychics like Tina more or less susceptible to hypnotism? You know, are their minds more receptive to being open like that, or do they actually have stronger defenses against that kind of prying?”

Grant said, “I wouldn’t call it prying. When it’s done well, it’s more like drawing back a curtain. It all depends on how cooperative the subject is. We’ll find out soon how cooperative Ms. McCannon is.”

“Just get on with it,” Tina said.

Grant raised a brow, asking my permission. I ducked out of the way.

“All right,” he said, returning his attention to Tina. “Again. Relax. Breathe in, and out.” He spoke slowly, calmly, and in moments her breathing matched the rhythm of his speech. He didn’t use any of the movie “you’re getting very sleepy” clichés. He just spoke softly, rhythmically, creating a mood, like the peace of a gently rocking boat. I was getting a little woozy listening to it.

The room was dead quiet.

“You’re in a dark room, safe and warm. Protected. You feel calm and powerful. Nothing can touch you here. Warm, protected, very safe. In a moment, a light will come on, slowly. A soft, warm light is growing brighter. You start to see what else is in the room. Tina, do you remember the séance you performed a short while ago?”

“Yes,” she whispered, her lips barely moving.

“Go back to the start of the séance. Remember what you felt. What you saw. Replay those events, those feelings. Remember what contacted you. What happened first?”

Her lips moved; the words came slowly. “It’s moving. I can’t feel my hands. I know when it starts because I can’t feel my hands.” Her brow furrowed. Grant murmured words of comfort.

“Jeffrey is helping,” she said. “They trust Jeffrey.”

“Who trusts Jeffrey?”

“Them.” She wet her lips. “Natalie. Conrad’s sister. She’s with him, looking after him. She’s worried—”

“Now, wait just a minute—” Conrad said, lurching forward. Anastasia caught his arm, held him back. He looked hard at her, as if surprised by the strength of her grip. He met her gaze. And I bet that gave him a shock.

Conrad stayed back and stayed quiet.

“That was the first contact you made during the séance,” Grant said, his tone never wavering. “Move forward now. You tried again.”

“Asked a question. Who hooks up.” She smiled a little.

“You felt something.”

Tina’s smile vanished. “No.”

“You’re safe here. The room is protected. The scene playing now is only an image, a memory. You can see the memory very clearly. It can’t hurt you.”

She shook her head, just a little. “It’s here, closing around the house.”

“What is?”

“It’s ugly. No.”

Jeffrey reached for her hand, but Grant shook his head sharply, warning him away.

“Whatever you saw, it can’t hurt you here,” Grant said. “You have control over this memory. What do you see? What is it, closing around the house?”

“Hate,” she said.

Grant pursed his lips. “Where does the hate come from?”

“It’s a plan—it’s all part of the plan. I can’t see the plan, I can only see what it means, and it’s full of hate. Nobody makes it, nobody—” She grimaced, her head started shaking, and a whine began in her throat, at the edge of a scream. Her whole body tensed. The hair on my neck bristled.