William let out a low whistle and he gave me an impressed nod. “I didn’t know you had that kind of skill, young lady.”
“No, no,” I denied, panting for breath. “That was panic.”
Skylar got a hand on my shoulder and I realized her phone was on speaker.
“Hi, Mack,” I greeted, still breathing a little hard. Definitely need to calm down. I sounded like an asthmatic right now.
He answered with caution in his voice. “Ma petite chère, everything all right?”
“Debatable. I just did my first exorcism.”
“I’m on my way.”
Heh, figured that would be the answer. “He was a very low grade ghost, and I think I got him completely? But damn, Mack, that was insane.”
“First one always is. You’re not sure whether to ride the high or be overwhelmed.”
Yeah, that was a pretty good summary. Almost not wanting an answer, I asked William, “Was that the guy you were talking about, or is there more than one?”
“No, that was him,” William promised. He still looked very impressed. “It’s safe now, I think. He was the only trouble I know of in this neighborhood.”
I’d believe that only after Mack and I swept the area. “Okay. Mack, the grandfather of the family stayed because he found fourteen kids here that weren’t able to pass on. He’s requested I help do so.”
“Good lord almighty, a fourteen? Well. Good on him. I think you could pass all of them, but especially after what just happened, I’m going to come and supervise.”
“Okay. I’d feel better with you here.”
“Of course, ma petite. What’s the address?”
I had no idea, and had to ask the family to rattle off an address. Mack repeated it to make sure he had it down then promised to be there within the half hour.
Abby suddenly hugged me from the side, and I leaned into it, letting my shaking nerves settle. That had rattled me in all the wrong ways.
“Girl, you are a boss.” She hugged me a little tighter. “I could barely follow what he was doing, but my heart was in my throat the whole time. What a fight!”
I nodded emphatically. Yeah, it had been.
Skylar stood on my other side, and she eyed our surroundings like she didn’t trust shit right now. “That was insane. Anyone—or anything—else that we need to worry about?”
“No, fortunately, or at least I don’t see anything.”
William said, “I’m sorry, Gwyn, I didn’t think he’d try to harm the living.”
“Yes, well, bad ghosts view Mediums as a threat.” Which, heh, granted I was. I’d so brag to Eli about taking him down later. After I had enough to sugar to process.
Skylar still glared mistrustfully at the backyard. “We’ve seriously got to find you an anchor. I don’t know how to support you in situations like this.”
I extended my free arm and gave her a quick hug. “I’m okay for now. Thank you.”
“Let’s go back in,” Isabella suggested. She looked unnerved, too. Like she hadn’t expected an altercation and wasn’t sure how to slot it into her worldview. Didn’t think she was the only one, her husband also had that wild-eyed stare going on.
Abby, able to read people much better than I could, reassured them. “It’s alright, Gwyn can handle whatever comes. We’ll talk about how to lay in protections on the house before she leaves, though, okay?”
Reassured, both parents nodded.
The hug had steadied me, and the feeling of victory was overcoming the adrenaline shock. I felt like I could actually go inside and sit down. Actually, I really wanted to sit down. Like, seriously wanted to sit down. My knees still felt weak and shaky. Since I had time to kill, I offered to William, “I can boost you, if there’s anything you want to say directly.”
“Is that alright? I really would appreciate it, there’s a few things I didn’t get a chance to pass on.”
