Page 26 of Chillingham Castle
“But that doesn’t explain La Llorona,” Haunt drawled.
“This is a mother whose children were brutally slain, their bodies tossed in a lake. Murder. Mother. Grieving. Water. She’s not a vengeance spirit, which we can exorcise; this is a mom who has probably been here since she was murdered. She wasn’t loud enough to be noticed until some fuckin’ idiot played with powers they couldn’t comprehend.”
I looked around. “Now she’s awake, free, and has the power to destroy the living. The current owners are distant descendants of those who owned the castle when this happened. It’s obvious what her goal is.”
“Oh shit. She’s after making them pay for her children’s death.”
“Which brings us back to La Llorona. The lake is half a mile away, close enough for her to be classed as a La Llorona. She is growing in strength daily. She’ll also destroy anyone linked to the castle, which is why Evie and the staff have been hurt. They’re English and working voluntarily for the family that killed her and her babes. Yeah, she’s gunning for everyone,” I said.
“How the hell do we stop her?” Suga asked.
“Usually a banishment, recognition of the children’s deaths, and a wreath on the water. Acknowledging her pain and remembering the place where her children died works. That won’t work this time. One, there’s racial hatred between her and the English. Two, her kids weren’t given a burial, although we don’t know for sure if they were thrown in the water. Three, she was summoned, and with the wrong runes being used, we can’t dismiss her easily,” I explained.
“What about an exorcism?” Lucky suggested.
“Won’t work. La Llorona can escape the castle. Because the summoning was cast outside in the air, there’s no boundary to hold her,” I replied.
“Fuck. Dive, get onto this, contact Callie—”
I interrupted Haunt, “She won’t have anything. Callie’s never encountered something like this.
“We can’t walk away,” Haunt said, frustration clear in his voice.
“No. We need to think outside the box. The one thing La Llorona won’t deal with is English men. It was one of us who stole the lives of her and her children. She sees us; she’s gunning for us,” I replied.
“The castle has archives. Guess we’d better check through those and search for clues,” Lich remarked.
“Yeah,” Haunt rubbed a hand over his chin.
“Okay, this is the plan. Gizmo, Cammie, Lynnie, and Jayna remain on the cameras. Keep an eye out for anything unusual. Dive, Trunk, Suga, I want you in the archives. Lich and Lucky, you’re with me. We’re heading to King James’ drawing room. Jack, you have Reaver, Coffee, and the Still Room. Ghoul, stay here and help for now, but you’re on standby,” Haunt said.
“Should we continue investigating?” Ghoul asked.
Haunt paused. “I think we should. Jack’s given us an explanation, but we gotta rule out everything else. That’s just due diligence.”
I nodded at Haunt. I totally agreed.
“Be careful. La Llorona is clever and devious. She wants revenge. We’re two steps behind whatever she’s got planned, and that makes her highly dangerous,” Ghoul warned.
“Everybody needs crosses, salt, and holy water,” Lucky declared.
“I’m unsure if that’s enough power to stop her. But we need to shore up the dungeon protection or get rid of him tonight. If she discovers a demon is down there…” I said, and everyone paled.
“Change of plan. We’re taking the demon out now. Jack, your team is with mine. Ghoul, we need you down there,” Haunt instructed.
“I’m going to prepare,” Lucky said, heading for the door.
“Coffee, Lich, you’re with him. Do not leave him alone. Suga, Trunk, and Dive, stay on the archives.” Haunt ordered.
“Well, this isn’t what we expected,” Jayne murmured.
“Welcome to the team,” Haunt grinned, but there was no mirth in it. Just a grim determination.
“I’ll start checking how Mexicans deal with La Llorona. There might be something in their folklore,” Cammie suggested.
“Do that from here. I doubt anything in the archives will help with La Llorona.”
“There is one other thing we’ve not considered,” Reaver interrupted, looking worried.
