The Harrowing by Alexandra Sokoloff Read Free Book Online Page A

fingers.
    Robin felt drowsy from the pot and from the comfortable darkness. The heat from the fire shimmered in the room. She gazed into the shimmering, and again felt the presence that she had noticed before from the house, a sense of curious waiting, of leaning forward
    Violent longing stabbed through her—a wish that something would happen, that someone would hear, move, respond, that a door would open and everything, everything, would change.
    There was a sort of electric tingling under her fingers….
    The planchette suddenly moved to
    YES
    Robin jumped.
    Across the table, Lisa gasped slightly, then looked sharply at Robin. Her green gaze narrowed. “Way to go.”
    Robin stared back at her. So that’s the way it’s going to be , she thought. The Lisa show .
    Patrick rolled over on the floor, raised himself up on an elbow to make a circular motion with his hand. “Ladies, ladies—momentum.”
    Robin jumped again—and saw Lisa flinch, too—as the planchette began to move under their hands, slow, sweeping circles. Robin looked at Lisa. Lisa’s eyes sparkled back at her.
    The pointer suddenly took off, racing across the board Robin watched the letters appear under the cutout circle in the middle of the planchette. The pointer spelled quickly, continuously, with slight stops in the neutral center between each word.
    I AM
    Lisa read aloud for the others with exaggerated import. “I…am…”
    HERE
    Patrick made spooky sounds on the floor. Martin glanced over in spite of himself. On the couch, Cain shook his head, flicked his Zippo to light another cigarette. But Robin saw he was smiling.
    Lisa’s good, she thought. The movement of the planchette was smooth, credible—no obvious pushing. The pointer felt like it had a life of its own.
    Lisa smiled into the darkness flirtatiously. “Well, hello.” She swept her hair back from her face with a ringed hand before she put her fingers back on the planchette.
    The pointer instantly moved to
    HELLO
    And then it spelled quickly
    LISA
    Lisa read out with the moving indicator and turned away from the table with childlike delight. “Guys, he knows my name.”
    Patrick put his hands to his mouth, mock-shuddered. “It must be real.” He was grinning, clearly enjoying himself. He’d stripped down to a tank and now basked bare-armed in the heat of the fire, leaning back on a sofa cushion, watching the girls as if they were his private show. Robin’s eyes traveled up his thighs to the juncture of his legs, remembering the soft thrill of his
    lips on hers, his breath hot in her mouth…. Her face flushed, and she was glad for the darkness.
    Lisa shook her hair out of her face and raised her voice, addressing the board. “Do you have a name?”
    The pointer jerked to life. Lisa read out with it.
    CALL ME
    The wooden piece hesitated. Robin and Lisa watched it circle aimlessly over the board, as if unsure how to answer.
    Patrick chuckled from the floor. “Make it good, Marlowe.”
    Then, as if inspired, the pointer spelled out quickly
    ZACHARY
    Robin felt a tingle up her neck, like fingers brushing her hairline. The candlelight flickered, making the black letters seem to pulse.
    Lisa’s eyes jumped to Robin’s, a quick, probing look. Then she shrugged, spoke lightly. “Nice to meet you, Zachary.”
    “Charmed,” Patrick drawled over the top of another beer, then belched for emphasis.
    The pointer responded instantly, smooth circles and a slight pull between letters. Robin found herself both lulled and impatient at the slow-motion conversation; waiting for the letters was like trying to run in a dream.
    THE PLEASURE IS MINE
    Lisa finished the sentence triumphantly and looked up from the board. Her eyes were sparkling. “A gentleman.” She glanced sideways at Patrick.
    “Those are the ones you wanna watch, hon,” he retorted.
    Lisa turned back to the table and beamed at Robin. Robin smiled back, warming to her enthusiasm. So what if it was a game? The fire was blazing,