An Inner Darkness Book 5 Bay City paranormal

as precisely as we can in a controlled way. Do you understand?” Sam thought there was no way he himself would’ve understood that at eleven, but Adrian nodded as if it were all perfectly clear. “Uh-huh. So what do we do?”
    “Let’s see.” Bo rubbed his chin, brow furrowed in thought. “We should set up everything first. After that, you should get in bed and get comfortable, just as if you were getting ready to go to sleep any other night. Then just shut your eyes and let your mind wander. Pretend Sam and I aren’t here, that the cameras aren’t here, think about all the hard things in your life and just…let yourself get angry.” Adrian’s throat worked. “What if something happens?” The tremor in the boy’s voice brought out protective instincts Sam hadn’t even known he had. “Your dad and I will be right here. We won’t let anything hurt you.” 106
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An Inner Darkness
    Bo’s eyes widened, and Sam realized—too late—that he’d basically just told Adrian this might be dangerous. Thankfully, Adrian seemed to latch onto the promise of protection rather than the idea that he might need protecting.

    Of course, Adrian might have known all along that he was in danger. Such a perceptive child wouldn’t question the instinctive feeling of threat. “Sam’s right. Nothing’s going to happen to you.” Bo pushed to his feet. “Let’s get started setting up. Adrian, would you mind running downstairs and bringing up a folding chair or something? We can put the laptop on that little table in the hall, but we’ll need a place to sit while we’re watching it.” “All right.” With a narrow-eyed glance at his father, Adrian sauntered out of the room.

    The second he was gone, Bo went straight to Sam and clutched him in a tight embrace. Sam wrapped both arms around Bo, one hand stroking up and down his back.
    Neither spoke. They didn’t need to. Both knew what they might have to face.
The sound of footsteps thumping up the stairs announced Adrian’s imminent arrival.
Bo drew out of Sam’s arms, took one of the cameras and started hooking up cables.
    Meeting Adrian’s nervous gaze with a smile, Sam took the other camera and crossed to the shelf on the other side of Adrian’s room, beside his closet. “What do you think, Adrian? Would this shelf be a good spot to film your bed?” The boy watched with a thoughtful expression as Sam nudged aside a couple of Star Wars action figures and set the camera on the shelf. “Probably. How do you tell if it’s right?”
    “We’ll connect the cameras to the laptop,” Bo answered. “Then we’ll be able to see what they’re recording on the laptop display.” “Oh. Okay.” Adrian leaned the folding chair he carried against the wall. “You want me to help connect the cords and stuff? I know how.” Bo’s eyebrows went up. “Where’d you learn that?” www.samhainpublishing.com 107

    Ally Blue “In school. We have computer classes, and my teacher showed us how to hook up different things.” Adrian shrugged. “We haven’t done cameras, but I bet I could figure it out.”

    “This one’s ready to connect,” Sam said, securing the cord to the camera. “Why don’t you and Adrian go on and boot up the laptop while I double check the cameras, then y’all can connect both of them?”

    “That sounds fine.” Bo squeezed Adrian’s shoulder. “Come on, son. Bring that chair out in the hall, please.”

    Adrian hefted the chair and followed his father into the hallway. Their voices floated back to Sam as he inspected the cameras to make sure both cables were properly plugged in. He looked up when he heard Cecile and Dean greeting Bo and Adrian.

    “Hey,” he said as Cecile entered the room. Dean remained in the hall, talking.

    “Anything interesting next door?” He kept his voice as casual as he could make it, but a thread of tension still ran through it. Maybe Adrian would be too busy to notice.

    “Nothing, really. EMF’s about the same level as the rest of the house.” With a glance over her shoulder, Cecile sidled close to Sam and lowered her voice to a whisper. “I felt it, Sam. It’s hard to pick out, but it’s there.”

    “Did it feel like a potential portal to you?” She nodded, dark eyes wide and solemn. “It’s hard to say if it’s ever been active, or is ever likely to become active, but the potential is there, in my opinion.”
    “Shit.”
“Absolutely.”
    Sam glanced over