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his chest still smarting from the strange pressure he’d just experienced. “We’ll make this into a showplace,” he said sarcasticallyto himself. He set the paint can on a pile of papers to prevent them from moving. Flipping through the stack of paintings, he pulled out four that looked like they might be worth something. One was of the house in better days. A smile graced his lips as he thought Julie was right—it had the bones for beauty, but time and circumstances had not been kind to the old house.
    He paused at the portrait of a woman in nineteenth-century clothing, her hair up in a tasteful chignon, her wistful smile catching his eye. She was not exactly beautiful by today’s standards, with her strong jaw and longish nose. But there was something special about her. Using a rag, he dusted off the filthy frame. Nails caressed the back of his neck, and he whippedaround, rattled, his eyes wild. He knew what he felt, and his body had reacted, he thought uncomfortably, adjusting himself. Flames danced down his arm, goose bumps appearing. His breath harsh in his chest, he used the filthy rag to brush away imagined insects. Insects? he thought wildly. What kind of insects could affect him like that? His lips prickled as though Julie’s sweet breath were upon them. He backed away from the pressure of a hand on the center of his chest, until his back touched the ratty wallpaper that hung in strands from the top of the walls. Whispers echoed in his ears, a cold fog surrounding him, and he heard feminine laughter. He looked out the window, wondering where the sound was coming from, dismissing it as a passing car.
    Tessa leaned against the warmth of a vital human, her lips caressing, her tongue licking him. Wrapping her arms around him, she inhaled his male scent, her eyes dreamy. She pressed into him, sliding her legs against the hardness of Brad, hooking hers around his lean legs. Smiling, she heard his breath catch, then closed her eyes and covered his mouth with her own, when a roar deafened the room, a claw grabbing her by the neck to shake her like a wet puppy and throw her violently against the wall.
    “Get out of my house!” Tessa screamed at the black shadow hovering between the two of them, unseen by the human. It laughed, mocking her, becoming a solid wall as she rose to go through it. It was as dense as obsidian, cuttingher vaporous form into tiny splinters to break apart like shattered ice. Tessa reformed, angrily backing out of the room, watching the black cloud grow to encompass the entire space, including the human. She bared her teeth, words failing her, and left in search of Gerald. The thing had come back, and she was not happy.
    Brad watched in amazement as the floor lit up with scattered dots of light, like sprinkled raindrops. They reminded him of the tiny tea lights he had used to propose to Julie, but vanished seconds later, leaving him to wonder if he had imagined the whole thing. There was a heaviness weighing him down, pinning him to the wall like a butterfly specimen. His ears rang as though a gun had gone off. He rolled his neck,Afghanistan coming back to him in a rush. Sweating, he slid down the wall, wondering if PTSD had finally gotten to him.
    A coldness invaded the room. Brad squinted at the descending sun, wondering why its bright rays failed to penetrate the gloomy space. Cocking his head, he thought it strange, as the room faced the west and should be filled with warm light, yet there was an oppressive pall that smothered the place. His phone rang, breaking the silence, and he slipped it out of his back pocket.
    “Hi, honey.” Julie’s voice filled the vacuum of the room.
    “Yeah,” Brad said tonelessly,unaccountably irritated by her happy greeting.
    “You OK?” Julie asked.
    “Great,” he replied curtly.
    “I just left the office. I’ll be home in forty-five.” She paused. “Do you want to pick up Chinese food?”
    “I’m filthy. Don’t you have anything in the