Starlight Web (Moonshadow Bay #1) - Yasmine Galenorn Page 0,40
they worked dark magic here, it would have served to destabilize the inmates even more.”
“Yes, you understand.” He sat back, nodding. “Spells were performed that invited chaos. And the men who were there—most of the inmates except three were men—were far too open to that kind of manipulation, given their mental states. It made things worse, and given some of the men had magical backgrounds, it not only increased the psychosis, but it increased their ability to manifest. You said the place is haunted?”
I nodded. “I got slammed against the wall by an invisible something this morning.”
“That doesn’t surprise me. I went there on a walk-through one time, and one time only,” Charles said. “The energy was writhing like a mass of snakes, and I could feel it waiting to strike. You don’t just have one ghost out there, January. You have several, and I’m convinced that they’ve all blended together into one entity, which has been fueled by the magic that George Leeland and his staff invoked.”
“I’m getting this vision of a hydra, a multi-headed creature like out of The Thing,” I said. “Is there one dominant personality, do you think? Or have they all been submerged into something different?”
Charles was quiet for a moment, then he motioned to the recorder. “Can we take a moment?”
I nodded, flipping the off switch. “What is it?”
“I am not going to go on record because this is speculation, and I don’t want rumors to fly, but I believe that Leeland and two of his nurses belonged to a death cult.”
“Well, that’s a sobering thought.”
“I think…there’s a powerful entity out there that absorbed the souls of the men and took over their bodies. When the asylum closed, they were trapped there somehow. Over the years, they’ve merged into one powerful being, and that creature’s tied to the land.”
I slumped back, grimacing. “That’s a nasty thought. Do you think that Psy is coming to the forefront each year?”
He shrugged. “It could well be. That was a trigger point for him. But turn your recorder back on. There’s more.”
I flipped the recorder back on.
“I’m sorry, I’m remiss in my hospitality.” Charles pointed toward a mini-fridge. “Would you like a bottle of sparkling water?”
“Thanks, I would.” I accepted the cold green bottle and opened it, swigging down a mouthful of the bubbling water. He followed suit, then sighed and leaned forward, resting his elbows on the desk.
“I delved into the background of the land. Before Leeland bought it for the asylum, it belonged to a developer who had purchased it for a housing complex. But the development never got off the ground. Every time the contractor took his men out there, something happened and someone got hurt. Once or twice? Coincidence. But five hospitalizations in five attempts? The developer decided to sell. He was a firm believer in omens and, when I asked him why he sold without breaking ground, he said that he wasn’t one to ignore the signs.”
“So the land had a history of problems before SICI was built?”
“Yes. I dug deeper into the history of the land. Even though the area was heavily forested with virgin forest, before the town was founded a family of settlers had built a house there. They had only cleared enough land for the house. In fact, the remains of that house are probably still hidden deep in the woods. The family had barely set up housekeeping when the father was killed by a mountain lion.”
I grimaced. “Ouch. What a painful way to go.”
“Yes. Well, the mother and her children had no choice. She had to sell and use the money to start over. The next person to own the land came out from back east. He had plans for creating a spa, but the moment he set foot on the land, he had a heart attack. His family decided to let it sit until somebody made them a fair price, and that’s when the developer bought it. The developer sold to Leeland.”
“What about before the settlers—the family who lost their father? Was the land used for anything by any of the local tribes?” I asked.
Charles flipped through his notes. “Actually, no. In Native lore, that area was considered dangerous. It was known as ‘the forest of secrets’ and they left it alone, giving it a wide berth. They believed that it was a gateway into a place of madness.”
I shivered. “Have you talked to anyone from the tribe lately? To see if they still feel that way?”