Starlight Web (Moonshadow Bay #1) - Yasmine Galenorn Page 0,41

I did, this morning. Old Jim Solomon, one of my contacts whenever I talk to the Lhaq'temish or the Lummi People, told me that they still avoid the area. In fact, they tried to warn Leeland about it. They told him that building his facility there would just exacerbate the illnesses of the inmates. The land seems to be under an ancient curse, but nobody knows where it came from, and nothing can be done to negate it. Jim told me that the tribe has tried to cleanse it, witches have tried to exorcise it, and a few Christian priests tried to bless it, but no one has managed to even make a dent in the energy there.” He paused, giving me a shrug.

“Sometimes, the land itself takes on an anger and when that happens, it’s almost impossible to appease it.” I stared at him, then turned off the recorder. “Do you think we can manage to clear out this thing that’s taken hold there? Not the land, I get that it’s probably doomed to stay a dark place, but the hydra creature?”

“With a lot of work, you might be able to dislodge it and send it on its way, but if you take it on, be certain you understand what you’re doing and what you’re dealing with. Don’t underestimate it.”

And with that, the interview was over. I thanked Charles and he invited me back any time I might need some information on town history. I took his card and in turn wrote down my number for him, then headed out to my car. As I eased out of the parking lot and slowly made my way along the icy streets, back to the office, it occurred to me that this was one case Conjure Ink might not be able to solve. The best thing might be to just destroy the asylum and build a wall around the acreage.

Chapter Nine

“And that’s everything I’ve found out so far,” I said, pushing my notes back. I was sitting at the table with the others. It was nearly 5:30, and I had just finished telling them about everything that had happened out at the asylum and everything I’d talked to Charles about.

“I honestly doubt we can cleanse the land, but we might be able to clear that creature out of there. I think Charles is right, now that I’ve had time to mull it over. Whatever I sensed in there feels…bigger…if you know what I mean. I’ve dealt with plenty of ghosts in my life, and this felt like a conglomerate.”

Hank let out a long sigh. “I can tell you this,” he said. “If that thing has some elemental or something woven into the mix, it’s going to be hell to dislodge. So, the next step—we’ll be going in there with cameras, a FLIR—”

“A what?” I asked. He had pronounced it like the ‘flur’ in ‘flurry’.

“FLIR—Forward Looking Infra-Red. It’s a device that records localized temperature variations and changes—kind of like night vision goggles. We also want to set up sound recorders, along with Evie.”

“Evie?” I asked.

“That’s my pet name for our EMF device. It records electromagnetic field radiation.” He turned to Tad. “So, time frame? I recommend we go in midday and stay till the next morning.”

I stared at him. “Go in and stay? You’re kidding, right?” I had no intention on camping out in that hellhole of a place. At least not alone.

“No, I’m not joking, and we’re all going. We go as a team. We need everybody there, not only for safety’s sake, but to be certain we don’t miss anything.” Hank shook his head. “Sometimes, we also take a couple of grunt buddies, so we have some muscle with us.”

“Grunt buddy?” I had never heard the term but it was pretty self-explanatory. “I take it they’re the brawn?”

Tad spoke up. “They’re brawn, all right, but both Shawn and Dell have damned good brains on them. They’re bear shifters, and they have one advantage that we don’t. Bear shifters can’t be charmed or possessed unless it’s by a bear spirit. And that doesn’t happen very often.”

He pushed his glasses up—they kept sliding down his nose—as he looked through my notes. “So Crichton thinks this place is cursed? He errs on the conservative side, so we may well be dealing with some very heavy land magic.”

“Actually, it’s more common than you might think,” I said. “My mother used to talk about her great-grandmother, who came from Ireland. She said there are some