Chapter One #2
Their screams fill the night as they all get dragged under.
It’s pretty horrifying to watch.
It’s also really fascinating.
I have questions. Lots of questions.
Like, who is making the holes of terror? Because I’m reasonably certain that it’s not one of us.
Where are the ghosts going?
Will they come back?
Why were they attacking House in the first place?
Who do I need to kill for attacking House?
How was Van physically fighting with one of them?
They were all clearly ghosts, so how did we see them? Although we can all see Ribit, and our magic that we were gifted from the Choosing is death magic, so that probably explains that one.
See? Lots of questions, and I’m sure I’ll think of more.
“Well, now that’s dealt with,” Ethel says rather primly. “It’s nice to see you all.”
I spin on my heel, turning to look back at House, and sure enough, Ethel, the skull that I haven’t seen anywhere but on the side in the kitchen, is floating on the front porch.
“Was that you?” I ask, unable to hide the shock in my tone.
“Of course it was,” she replies, like it’s a ridiculous question. “Now come on, dinner is getting cold.”
Ethel disappears, and I’m left completely and utterly stupefied. I’m reasonably certain that’s a word and that I’m using it in the right context.
“That just happened, right?” Doc asks.
“Pretty sure it did unless we all licked the no-no mushrooms accidentally and are on some kind of group trip,” I ramble in reply.
“Erm,” Griff starts. “I really do think that we need to know that story. That’s the second time you’ve brought up licking something that you shouldn’t have licked and have consequently ended up tripping.”
I pull a face, “I’m fairly certain that the one I mentioned before was about the time I accidentally licked a frog and tripped balls, this time I said mushroom.”
I feel like clarifying that is important.
“Just how many things have you licked that you shouldn’t have, and that have ended in you being high as a kite?” Coen asks, looking amused and slightly worried.
“More than a few, less than a lot,” I reply after a moment's thought.
“How do you accidentally lick things that you shouldn’t?” Ransom asks, his eyebrows drawn down in confusion as he tries to work it out.
I shrug, “It happens.”
“Clearly,” Doc replies. “But I think it only ‘just happens’ to you.”
I open my mouth to retort when Van interrupts us.
“Guys!” He exclaims, and we all turn to look at him questioningly, “We got way off track. Maybe we should go and see if Ethel can explain what the fuck just happened?”
“Oh yeah,” I say, resting Betty on my shoulder. “Good shout. I was just about to suggest that.”
He smirks, “Sure you were, Nene.”
“Rude,” I retort, as we all turn around and head toward House.
“Wait,” Ransom says suddenly.
I turn back around to find him staring out at the darkness that surrounds us, “Are you okay?”
He nods, “Yeah, I want to put some wards up though. I think I can feel some, but they’re different from anything that I have come across, and I would rather put up a set of my own. Especially since the place just got attacked, and with Casimir after us, I don’t want to take any risks.”
“That’s a good idea, actually. We can ask House and Ethel about the wards that feel odd to you,” Van agrees. He adds, “After we’ve asked all the other questions that we now want to ask them.
“Let’s do this then,” Coen says with a smile. “I’m assuming that we’re all putting our magic into the wards.”
“That’s probably the only way to make sure that they are as strong as we need them to be,” Ransom nods in agreement.
“Is there any way for us to stop the ghosts from getting in?” Doc asks. “Is that something that you usually build into the wards?”
Ransom shakes his head, “It's not, and I now realize that’s a massive oversight on my part.”
“It’s not your fault, man. I mean, up until recently, we weren’t even aware that ghosts were something that we needed to guard against,” Raiden says with a frown. “The dead should stay in the Spirit Realm.”
I want to point out that technically, I’m dead, or at least I have been dead a lot.
So his statement isn’t strictly true, but the guys don’t know how many times I’ve died, and I’m not entirely sure that conversation needs to be brought up now.
It’s a really long one. It’s also not that pleasant for me to talk about, for obvious reasons, so rather selfishly, I don’t want to bring it up until I have to.
Wow, there was some serious rambling in that sentence. I think if the guys could have heard me, then they wouldn’t have understood a word I was fucking saying anyway.
I am aware that the conversation needs to be had at some point. That’s a given. I just don’t think that it needs to be had right this moment.
“If you can add protections against ghosts to the wards, then I would perhaps add some caveats,” I suggest thoughtfully.
His eyes light with interest, “Such as?”
“Well, for one, this property is really old. There could be ghosts on these grounds or even in the house. Hell, House, and Ethel could be classed as ghosts, so I think that you should make it so that all those who call this place home, and mean no harm, can stay. We don’t want to eject someone from their home,” I start to explain.