Page 56 of Call Off the Dark

And bending down beside the glowing bars

Murmur, a little sadly, how Love fled

And paced upon the mountains overhead

Helen opened her eyes. Isaac was waiting with a soft expression, and it made her feel exposed. She said the last line barely above a whisper. “And hid his face amid a crowd of stars.”

For a moment, neither of them spoke or moved, until finally Isaac said, “Wow, Helen. You got every word exactly right.”

“I know.” She flashed an ironic smile. “Enjoy the occult stuff. It’s creepy as fuck.”

She left before he had a chance to respond, but she thought she might have heard him laugh to himself as she closed the door.

She stood in the hallway for a short time, letting the poem fade away, trying to shake the strange feeling that was circling her again. As she started toward the bedroom, Wade stepped out with a canvas bag in hand. It was stuffed so full he’d been able to close only one of the two top clasps, and she saw the sleeve of one of her dresses poking out.

“He still in there?” Wade murmured, nodding at the closed guest room door.

“Yeah,” Helen said warily.

He took her arm and began leading her down the hall toward the front of the house.

“Wade, just wait a minute.” She spoke evenly, trying to mollify him. “I saw Isaac’s scars. He was clearly injured, and he’s clearly healed.”

As they entered the living room, she pulled free of his grasp. “Wade!”

“He’s a ghost, Helen. A ghost!”

“Ghosts aren’t real. They don’t come back to haunt us. Even when we want them to, okay? That is a man in the next room.”

Wade grabbed her arm again.

“Stop it!” Helen hissed, fighting to keep her voice down so Isaac wouldn’t hear them. “We can’t just take off and leave him in our house.”

Wade managed to pull her into the kitchen, and she managed to shove him away. He bumped into one of the kitchen chairs.

“Knock it off,” she said. “You’re scaring me.”

Wade pointed toward the hall. “He’s scaring me. And that’s why we’re leaving.” He opened the front door. “Get in the truck right now, or I will put you in the truck.”

Helen’s expression changed as she stared at him. “You will physically force me into the truck?”

“Yes.”

Helen took a step back. “No, you won’t.”

Wade dropped his bag and lunged for her.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Wade grabbed Helen around the waist. These were hands that had touched her countless times—warm, sensual, and plenty of practical touches—and now they were being used to drag her toward the front door.

She didn’t feel fear so much as anger. She struggled against him but didn’t shout, didn’t want Isaac to hear them, so it was wordless and it was red-faced as he hauled her outside the farmhouse. When she felt her feet leave the ground, Helen thrashed about and slipped free almost immediately, but he grabbed her arm and tugged her onward, down the two front porch steps. She twisted and hit him on the shoulder, hard enough that he grunted in pain. She didn’t swing at his face but a part of her wanted to, and he grabbed her around the waist again and said, “Helen, stop!” as if she were the one being irrational.

Halfway to the truck, she pulled completely free and fell to the ground. She couldn’t keep quiet anymore and shouted, “What is wrong with you?!”

Wade stood over her, breathing hard, a different kind of horror registering on his face. He knelt beside her, his aggression gone.

“Helen, I’m sorry. Are you okay?”