The Haunting Season Read Online Free Page B

ghosts again. Maybe even Grams and Dad. Her pulse kicked up a beat.
    … Overactive imagination…
    We’re waiting for you, Jess.
    The first voice she heard inside her head was her mother’s, the second voice her own. Except, this time, the voice didn’t sound entirely like hers. It almost sounded like a young girl.
    Jess took a step toward the woods. “If you say someone’s there, then let’s follow them.”
    “No!” Allison pulled harder now, nearly toppling Jess backward. “Never mind. It was nothing. I...I was kidding. I do that sometimes—make stuff up. Please, Jess. Let’s go. We’ll be late for supper. Mrs. Hirsch will be mad.”
    Jess gave the woods one last look. Nothing moved. If she went to investigate she would be late. The mosquitoes were voracious and beads of sweat had begun to trickle down from her breasts to her stomach. “Yeah, sure. Let’s go eat. Besides, I’m tired of being dinner for the insect population.”
    They reached the front porch and Jess opened the door, relieved they were going back inside and away from the hungry insects and humidity.
    Allison stared up at the windows, just as Jess had done a short while ago. “It’s like this house is watching us.”
    A thrill ran over Jess’s skin. Yes , she thought. If any house could be a portal for talking with the dead, Siler House was it. Sure, her excitement contained an ounce or two of fear, but the way Jess saw things, it was like rock climbing or skydiving must be. A little fear and a little risk made life all that more adventurous.
    “I suppose,” she said to Allison. “But honestly? I don’t think there’s much to worry about. Trust me a little here, all right? I’m not sensing anything to be afraid of.”
    Allison was certainly uncomfortable here. If Jess were a glass half-full kind of person, then Allison would be the kind to imagine the glass half-empty, with the remainder tasteless, poisoned water. They stepped inside, and the cool air of the Great Room greeted them along with the enticing scent of food.
    “The house has fooled you,” Allison said. “It’s fooled you into thinking it’s something it’s not.”
    “How do you know?” Jess asked, curious. “Have you seen anything here?”
    “No—”
    “Heard anything?” Jess asked, hoping that Allison had.
    “No. I just know, that’s all.”
    “Why don’t you give the place a chance? Keep an open mind until something does happen?” Jess suggested.
    The clock on the fireplace mantel told her they had barely enough time to get ready for dinner. Allison didn’t reply to her question about the house as the two of them headed up the stairs. Jess liked Allison, she really did. But, she wasn’t giving this whole experiment a chance. Could bad spirits be roaming the halls at Siler House? Sure. But until someone could prove it, Jess decided to keep a positive attitude. Why was Allison even here if she didn’t want to be part of this? Why couldn’t Allison’s family understand that rational or irrational, her fear was real? She hadn’t asked Allison her age, but maybe she was underage and had been forced to come here.
    “Sorry,” Jess said sympathetically. “But, I’m not getting the same vibes you are. I’m not uncomfortable here. In fact, to me, it’s just the opposite—Siler House seems warm and inviting.”
    “It’s in the walls and floorboards.” Allison’s expression became pinched with fear or deep concern—Jess couldn’t figure out which. If she hadn’t been so determined to keep an open mind, she would have found her words unsettling.
    “It’s everywhere,” Allison whispered. “It’s like Siler House is diseased.”

 
     
     
     
     

CHAPTER FIVE
     
    It wasn’t the girls that Gage was keen on observing from the window in his room, although they proved to be a nice distraction. It was the damn graves that had him glued to the window—the ones behind the iron fence. He took a deep breath and forced himself to unclench his