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pain. When you’re older you’ll understand.”
    “I hate it when you say that.” Stephen’s muffled voice made Jacob smile.

Chapter
10
    Mom wanted to pry Jacob’s arms from around her son. Stephen didn’t try to break free from his father, instead he crumpled up into the embrace like the child he was. She sensed the warmth of the cuddle and writhed in the pain it caused her
.
    In these kinds of moments she couldn’t touch her son. Couldn’t call him back to her. His name on her lips meant nothing. The coldness of her fingers merely made Stephen shiver. Her breath stagnated in the air, having no way to reach inside the world of the living. Jacob blocked her spirit and strengthened the hold the tangible world had on her son
.
    When father and son broke apart, Stephen slid down on the sheet and allowed his father to throw the blanket over him. His mother moved closer to Stephen’s pillow so that she could whisper in her son’s ear
.
    “Mommy is still here with you. I would never leave my little boy. I’m here to rescue you from the evil persons surrounding you. I will give you the strength to defeat those with evil purpose toward you, for they have destroyed me.”
    The boy appeared to flinch from her silent words
.
    “It’s only Mom. Don’t be afraid, Stephen. We can’t hug yet the way you and Daddy do, but I promise we will be joined together again. I will fight for our union, Stephen. And you will learn how to take revenge for the both of us. Jacob, Grandma, and Molly drove me away from you, leaving you without my protection. Soon though we’ll find our way back to each other. The spirits are waiting to help you in the basement. Listen to them call to you. Every spirit I have brought into your world, Stephen, awaits your orders. Such tiny lips as yours can command the devil’s comrades. Your small hands can crush those who have hurt us.”
    The lights went out in Stephens’ bedroom, but his mother still saw her son clearly. His fisted fingers grabbed the blanket up over his chin, and his teeth bit into the woven wool. He gave a half-hearted sigh and pulled the blanket out of his mouth to say his prayers
.
    Mom bowed her head, but she couldn’t remember the words to the prayers he recited. His long list of blessings tried her patience. She wanted to speak to him again. She wanted his full attention
.
    The last blessing called for peace for Mom’s soul
.
    “Yes, yes, Stephen, you can bring me peace. But only when you meet with those waiting in the basement. They know of you. They call to you each night, but their voices never reach your ears. Open up to the world beyond your own, Stephen. Allow us to come into your heart and mind
.
    “Now I lay me down to sleep. I pray the Lord my soul to …”
    She faltered over the last word. The Lord didn’t have her soul, and He wouldn’t have her son’s
.

Chapter
11
    The basement furnace exploded into action. For the next ninety minutes it would take the chill from the air of the house, then shut down until needed again the next day.
    But there were denizens of the basement who loved the heat and wished the cranky furnace would never quit its job. A field mouse, who had burrowed in from the outside, sidled up close to the warmth. It sniffed the air, trying to sense food, its nose twittering quietly in the dark. The mouse sat up on its hind legs, the front legs stiff with anticipation, but it didn’t like the odor in the air. Didn’t like the chill that tried to wrap itself around the heat of the furnace. Didn’t like the barely perceptible whine echoing in the basement. The field mouse’s ears flicked several times before the mouse fell back down on all four legs to scurry for the hole through which it had gained admittance.
    The box on the table pulsed, the beasts throbbing to the beat of their mistress’ wishes, the grunts and groans verbalizing their frustration, energy igniting the tiny figures on the box.
    A forked tongue pierced the air, stretching