The walls Dash had put up to protect himself were gone, and what Slate saw was the kind man who’d been willing to die to protect him. Slate was determined not to let the near sacrifice be destroyed.
He heard Dash recite the words, but didn’t pay attention. Power thrummed through the floorboards and up through his legs as the circle activated. The candles flickered despite the still air, their flames bending toward the center. Finally, the chalk lines glowed with a faint blue light that had nothing to do with the basement’s overhead bulbs.
Gradually, the temperature dropped. Across the circle, Dash’s breath misted in front of his face as he finished the summoning.
Spectral energy coalesced above the paper, swirling like smoke caught in a whirlwind. It was beautiful in its own way, all silver and blue light twisting and condensing. Slate kept his focus on keeping the energy between him and Dash stable. They didn’t want to lose this when they were so close.
The shape elongated and shifted. Soon Slate could make out arms, legs, a torso, and a head. Then the features resolved out of the light until Gary Torrente floated in the center of the circle.
“Whoa!” Gary’s form flickered as he looked around, disoriented. His expression was loose and wondering, like someone who’d just woken from a vivid dream. “That was trippy, man. Like that first time I got high. Some dude handed me a fat doobie and?—”
He drifted toward the circle’s edge, still talking, still oblivious. Then he hit the barrier. Gary bounced back, his form rippling like disturbed water. He stared at the invisible wall, then at the chalk circle beneath him, then at Slate and Dash.
His expression shifted from confusion to understanding to anger in the span of two seconds.
“What the hell, man?” Gary’s voice had lost all its casual warmth. “I thought we were cool!”
Slate forced himself to hold Gary’s gaze. “We are, but?—”
“No, seriously, what is this?” Gary gestured at the circle beneath him, his movements sharp and agitated. His spectral form brightened, casting harsh shadows on the basement walls. “You trap me like some kind of criminal? I haven’t hurt anybody!”
The hippie persona was missing, and Slate imagined this was how Gary had been when he worked at the bank. “We’re not trying to punish you,” Slate said. His voice was steady, but even he heard the tension underneath. “But you’re not listening, and you’re jeopardizing something very important with this party.”
“It’s a party, man.” Gary spun, looking at Dash. “How is having a good time dangerous?”
“We’ve explained this several times,” Dash said. “Every conversation ends with you drifting off to invite more spirits or plan a new demonstration. Your party threatens the portal souls can use to cross over.”
“That’s your solution?” Gary asked. His appearance sputtered, and Slate glimpsed a bloody, mangled face and body. “Lock up the guy trying to bring joy to other dead souls?”
This was more than just a happy-go-lucky stoner who couldn’t comprehend complex explanations. The refusal to listen seemed deliberate to Slate. “That’s exactly the problem, Gary. You care only about your party. We’ve told you several times how important the portal is, and this party is going to drawunwanted attention to the town. Spirits won’t come because they’re afraid of ghost hunters and mediums who want to banish innocent souls just trying to find peace.
“But we told you all that—several times—and you still act like this is all about the fun. We’re trying to get you to act responsibly.”
“So you went straight to imprisonment.” Gary crossed his arms, his form still flickering. “Real peaceful of you. Real groovy.”
“Cut the act,dude,”Dash said in an icy voice. “You know exactly what we’re talking about, but you don’t care. You think if you act like some hippie bro, we’ll look the other way. Guess again. This is too important to risk just so one ghost can hold agroovyparty.”
Dash was slow to anger, but he didn’t hold back when he got mad. He’d also caught that thedude-manpersona was an act. “Do you know what happens when too many people notice genuine paranormal activity?” Slate asked. Gary swung around to face him. “What if someone with a camera catches undeniable proof that ghosts are real?”
“People would finally understand we’re all connected, man.” Gary’s affect was noticeably less hippie. “That death isn’t the end. They?—”
“No,” Dash’s voice cut through Gary’s rambling like a knife. “It means the government gets involved. Special agents will descend on Oriskany Falls. That will attract other mediums who think ghosts shouldn’t exist. They will scare away the spirits who want to use the portal to cross over peacefully. That’s what your party will do.”
“That’s pretty paranoid, dude.” Despite his objection, Gary’s demeanor dulled a bit more.
Dash might have embellished a bit, but the result would be the same. “No, it’s reality,” Slate said. “Why do you thinkmy great-grandmother kept you away? My family handled the occasional medium who came to Oriskany Falls to rid the world of ghosts, but if you make us go viral, we won’t be able to handle the number who will descend on us.”
“Viral?” Gary sounded confused. “We’re not carrying any viruses.”
“Viral is the modern equivalent of the front page,” Dash explained. “If you put us on the front page of the paper, it will cause big problems.”
“Man,” Gary’s form flickered, but the anger bled out of his posture. “I’ve waited fifty years to party here on Halloween. Now that your great-granny is gone, you’re telling me I still can’t because it will hurt a bunch of spirits. That’s heavy, dudes.”
They’d reached a tipping point, and Slate needed to nudge Gary a little further. No pressure at all. “We know, but what if you could still party here, and not cause a problem?”
“You just said the party was the problem.” Gary folded his arms and appeared to backtrack from a moment before. “You dudes are confusing me.”
“The party isn’t a problem,” Dash said. “The way you and your friends act is the problem. There are too many of you, and you’re here for an extended period of time. With that much spectral energy in this small town, things happen that people can’t explain.”
