Shall we investigate?Percy sounds rather excited by the prospect. Sometimes, I think he likes what I do more than he actually likes me.
“We were. Frankie wanted to make sure you were okay,” Felix tells him.
I’m fine, darling witch. Let’s see what’s afoot.
“Afoot?” Remy questions with a chuckle.
Happening, occurring. You dolt,Percy snaps, then darts out of the room.
“You know I can hear you now, you little asshole,” Remy shouts after my familiar.
“I’m pretty sure that’s why he said it.” Gray exits the room as Remy mumbles under his breath.
I suspect I know the cause of the noise,Percy says shortly after making it downstairs.
“What?” I look around, but I don’t see anything out of place.
The presence from the farmhouse is here.
Dread fills my gut so quickly, it’s as if I expected this very thing. “A spirit shouldn’t be able to do that unless he wasn’t earthbound or he came from a cemetery,” I say mostly to convince myself. Ghosts that inhabit places or are attached to people are usually tied to them for a reason—a family connection, the home they lived in, or someone involved in their untimely or tragic death—but none of those reasons tell me how this spirit could have followed me home.
Ghosts with enough energy can do a great many things.Percy’s whiskers twitch, and the little hump in his back gets more pronounced. It seems as if he’s quite unnerved too.
I look over my shoulder, not liking the thought that someone could be lurking around unseen. “There has to be a reason it’s here, right? Should we try to speak to it?” Felix suggests.
“I don’t know. Even acknowledging its presence can give it power.” I don’t think I want to jump into anything too quickly, but it could be my apprehension making me leery. “I’ll reach out to Lewis tomorrow. The MBI has entire teams dedicated to working with spirits and infestations. Maybe they can give me some advice.”
For now, I suggest you ignore its attempts to get your attention.Percy’s advice sounds sage to me.
“Want me to salt your den?” I know I will be doing our room to make sure we don’t get any unwanted visitors tonight.
There’s no need. I cannot be possessed, nor am I worried for my safety. However, I do believe it’s a good idea for you to do so.
“Am I the only one who thinks that was super ominous and creepy?” Remy bounces his eyes around our group.
Gray shifts on his feet, but I’m the only one that concurs. “Definitely.”
THERE’S SOMEONE FOR EVERYONE. FOR YOU, THAT PERSON IS A PSYCHOLOGIST.
The thick line of salt I spread in front of our closed door is still intact the next morning. I use a hand broom made from natural fibers to sweep up the large crystals and dispose of them. The barrier did its job, but using the same materials again would be careless, because I don’t know if the full integrity of the salt is still intact.
I look at the bathroom door. The water is running, so I know Felix is still in the shower. I’m avoiding leaving the room by myself, even though Remy and Gray weren’t in bed when I woke up and I’m pretty sure they are in the house somewhere.
“Come on, Frances, it’s a ghost. You deal with worse shit than that every day.” I square my shoulders and reach for the door handle, and then I scream the moment I open it. Gray is on the other side of the door. I almost run right into him in my haste to prove I’m tougher than I feel.
“Oh, baby,” he coos sweetly, but there’s too much mirth in his tone for it to feel like genuine concern. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“You didn’t scare me,” I challenge. “You startled me.”
His hands come up to my shoulders as he fights a smile. “Either way, sorry.” I could pretend I’m aggravated, but I’d rather get a sympathy snuggle out of it, so I step even closer and rest my head on his chest as he rubs his palms over my arms and continues around to my back.
“You guys are up early. Anything going on?” My voice is a little muffled against his chest, but it’s still clear.
“Just Remy trying to kill me,” he answers. “I came up to shower. You good?”
“I’m fine. I was just going down to make a call and see if anything else happened last night. I was thinking about going over to Aisling’s too. I want to check up on her and see if she knows anything about our guest.”
“Well, don’t leave without me,” he murmurs, planting a kiss on the top of my head.
