“My ancestors shoved ghosts through a rift before?”
“Not ghosts,” Jacques says. “Demons.”
Thomas shakes his head, not liking the idea. “How do we know something else won’t get out?”
“We don’t,” Jacques tells him. “You can’t kill what’s already dead, especially when the ghost has no real form.” He turns to another page. I’ve looked at this one before and immediately flipped past it. The handwriting is tiny, the words crammed together, and the ink is faded and smeared in some places.
“Spirits belong in the spirit world,” he goes on. “Bringing one across the veil in the way the ghost in the pink dress did gave her powers she shouldn’t have. She needs to be sent back.”
“How do I do it?” I ask.
Jac looks up, and the expression on his face tells me everything. “It’s too risky on your own.”
“You basically said it’s my only option.”
“The banishing spell works.”
“Temporarily. It’s like putting a band-aid on a bullet wound. She’s going to go around attacking people, and sooner or later she’s going to kill an innocent person and that’s on me. I have to do the spell. Just…just tell me how.”
“Youcan’t,” he stresses. “You need a coven.”
I throw my hands up in defeat. “Of course. That’s the one thing I don’t have. There’s no way to swing this on my own?”
“The spell has three parts. Open the rift, hold a barrier, and put the spirit in. Ideally, you would have two witches working on the same thing. You’ve already proved you’re capable of opening a rift without intending to. I have no doubt you’d be able to open it and perform the spell to put the spirit back, but my fear is holding a barrier until the rift can be closed.”
“Can we do it?” Thomas asks.
“I don’t know.” Jacques shakes his head. “Some spells are simple, and if Ace prepared them for us, yes, we could carry it out. The strongest barrier comes from tapping into a ley line, and that is something only an experienced witch could do.”
“Fuck.” I put my head in my hands. “So that’s out. What the hell am I supposed to do? Chase this ghost around with a handful of herbs and do the banishing spell?”
“You don’t know where she’s going to be,” Hasan tells me, missing my sarcasm.
“The spirit is responsive to external forces,” Jacques thinks out loud. “Hearing her name was enough to jar her, and salt made her abandon her victim.”
“Right. Part of her is still in there.” I get up, peering through the foyer. I can’t see Jared or Gilbert, but I hear Gil’s voice echoing through the house. “I’ll give him a smudge stick and tell him to put salt around his bed. That should suffice, right?”
“I’d think so.”
I yawn, mind still going a million miles an hour, but my body is so tired. “I’ll get on it.” I take the smudge stick from my purse as well as a lighter from the kitchen and go back into the sitting room. Jared and Gil are talking about football, and I’m impressed that Gil is able to keep up.
“Here’s what you’re going to do,” I start, and hand Jared the sage. “Light this if you think the ghost is coming back. Waft the smoke all around you and it’ll keep her away. In the meantime, line your room with salt if you can, but if you can’t, just your bed will do for tonight.”
“We’re not going after her?” He looks disappointed.
“Not tonight. It’s late. I’m tired and I’ve had one hell of a day. And think about it, kid. She’s a pissed-off spirit with the ability to choke you. We’re at a little bit of a disadvantage.”
“You sound like you’ve done this before.”
I look at Gil, a small smile on my face. “Not quite.”
“But you’ve fought other things?” Jared’s eyes light up.
“Don’t go getting excited on me, okay? This isn’t like the movies. I’ll drive you home and I want you to go to your room, make a safe circle of salt around your bed, and sleep until you have to get up for school in the morning.”
“I’m on summer break now.”
“Really? Oh, yeah, I guess it is that time of year. Regardless, do what I say, okay?”
