Chapter Eleven.
Lyra
I convinced everyone to go home, although Lia was clearly worried. After an hour of reassuring her, I finally agreed to let Lia come back tomorrow morning. I headed upstairs for a bath, needing to wash today away.
William’s casserole had been rich and hearty and had helped loads, even though I begrudged every bite. First, he made me sick, and then he cared for me. Did he have multiple personalities or something? Had being almost alive for so many years broken his mind?
Drying myself off, I wrapped a towel around my head and headed into the bedroom. I’d got dressed in the bathroom, unsure if I was being spied upon. Until I knew exactly what William was playing at and what he was doing, I wasn’t risking anything. William was dangerous.
I dreamed a dream the other night,
Lowlands, Lowlands, away, my John.
I dreamed a dream the other night.
Lowlands away.
Not again! Why did he keep singing that? “William!” I called.
“Yes?” He appeared in my bedroom.
“Why do you repeatedly sing that damn sea shanty? Are you trying to drive me mad?” I insisted as I crawled onto my bed and hugged my knees.
“Excuse me, I’m not singing,” William said stiffly.
“Don’t lie. Did dying cause something wrong in your brain?”
“What are you talking about?” William snapped. “Are you still delirious?”
“No! You keep repeating that song, and then you made me ill.”
“I certainly did not!” William exclaimed, affronted.
“What is your problem? I know you want me gone, but do you really believe I’d let you gaslight me?”
“Lyra, I’ve no idea what you’re talking about!”
I dreamed my love came standing by,
Lowlands, Lowlands away, my John,
Came standing close by my bedside,
Lowlands away.
“Who is that?” William demanded, looking at me.
“That’s not you?”
“No. What were you saying about your window?”
“You kept opening it and dragging the covers off me.”
“No, I didn’t…” William looked thoughtful. “What else do you think I’ve done?”
I listed the bangs, scratches, tapping, knocking things over, and William grew sterner with every moment.
“None of that was me.”
“Then who?” I demanded. “Is there a second ghost?”
William shook his head and paused. “Lyra, I’ve been haunting here since I died, and I’ve never seen anyone else. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t someone.”
“Another ghost? Wow, aren’t I the lucky one?”
“Is that sarcasm? It’s a little inappropriate if so. Because this other spirit means you harm. I merely want you gone,” William declared.
“Christ. Nothing like being honest! William, I’m not leaving—not now, not ever!”
“We’ll talk about that later. We need to set a trap,” William stated.
Incredulously, I shook my head. “I’m not obliged to do anything with you! This is you tricking me again.”
“No, Lyra, I give my word,” William said fervently. “None of that was me. It goes against who I am; I would never harm a woman.”
“I don’t know what to believe, and I’m so tired. Please stop bothering me, William,” I almost begged and crawled under my covers. Without another sound, I switched the lights off and settled down.
William
We weren’t alone, and I’d no idea who was here.
Someone was messing with my human, and that was unacceptable.
It was my duty to protect Leafpoint, nobody else’s.
What purpose did this second spirit have for interfering?
Leafpoint only answered to me, and for the last two hundred years, I had sensed nobody else.
However, it was only since Lyra arrived that this trouble began, and it appeared very directed.
I sat as the kettle boiled and replayed what had happened.
Lyra was given a cold welcome in Penhaven.
Keith suddenly wanted to buy the land. Lyra being served notice to tear down Leafpoint.
The town meeting and the hostility it brought.
Lyra saying I was doing things I hadn’t.
The mob forming. An intruder trying to break in.
Everything felt directed, as if someone was pulling the puppet strings. This unknown person didn’t want the Jaspers here for some reason, but I couldn’t fathom why.
Lyra was a direct descendant of Charles. What did that mean? Her relatives weren’t nobility anymore, but they were land- and cash-rich. Was this individual from the opposite side of Lyra’s family, attempting to take back what they believed was theirs?
I noticed faint footsteps and dematerialised.
They were not Lyra’s. Leafpoint became alert as I straightened.
Another ghost was here! But who and why?
Alert, I floated through the air and followed the sound.
They paused outside Lyra’s bedroom and then continued upwards.
Was the lantern in danger? I didn’t hesitate, but immediately transported to it.
I checked the oil level and that the light was still working before fading away.
Silently, I waited in, then heard a shuffle and guessed the unwelcome guest was here.
Patiently, I wondered what they’d do next.
The lantern was positioned inside a hexagonal glass cage with a small door. A bowl filled with fuel held the wick. The glass chimney sat atop the wick. The door opened, and I released a burst of power. A shriek sounded, then a dark shadow fled the lantern room.
I gave chase as it fled down the stairs. Unlike me, it didn’t seem able to teleport. It raced ahead, hugging the darkness until we reached the kitchen. Then it yanked up the trapdoor and escaped down it.
I paused, a hesitation stopping me from following.
Every piece of me screamed not to follow, and I slammed the trapdoor shut.
Cold fear began settling in my belly, and I backed away as I slid the bolt into place and stared.
I had never feared the cellar before; however, something in there absolutely terrified me.
I melted into the shadows. Tonight I’d stand watch and let Lyra rest. She had earned that, but tomorrow I wanted answers. Leafpoint poked at me in puzzlement.
“Can you not feel anything down there? Are the caves sealed?” I asked.
Leafpoint offered a mental shrug.
Underneath Leafpoint was a cave system that led down to a dangerous ledge.
When she’d been built, the cave entrance had been blocked up.
But if they were open, what difference would that make?
I was missing something. It was at the edge of my memories but like mist; the answer kept slipping through my fingers.
“This is frustrating. I’m missing something, and whatever it is, is important.”
Leafpoint sent an image of me holding Lyra’s hand.
“Are you telling me to call a truce?” I asked.
Leafpoint slapped me harder around my head.
“Hey! There was no need.”
A vision of a thick plank of wood popped into my mind, and I got her gist. Leafpoint wasn’t holding back her insults tonight.
I appreciated the distraction, though; the fear was fading in my gut.
I did not intend to raid the cellars tonight.
Nope. Not a chance in hell. Call me a coward; I didn’t care.
I was a simple man. Nothing more, nothing less.
Lyra
I came downstairs the next morning still unwell, but I was surprised to find William, fully formed, at the range oven.
“I’m making eggs,” he tossed over his shoulder.
“Are you going to spit in them?”
William turned to me, horrified. “Who would do that?”
“Many people. I guess you won’t poison them either.”
“I’ll take the first bite,” he said.
“You’re already dead, no offence. Can you die twice?”
William looked thoughtful. “Good question. We’ve another ghost here.”
Well, now. That shut me up.
“Who?” I finally asked.
“I have no idea. He wasn’t fully formed, although he was capable of interacting with things. And he was fast, quicker than me,” William admitted grumpily. His handsome face screwed up into a scowl.
“That was painful to admit.”
“Yes,” William grumbled, and I tried not to smile. William really didn’t like being outmatched.
“So we’ve a renegade ghost,” I said, sipping the tea William placed in front of me.
“No. We have a spirit trying to hurt you and succeeding.”
“How did he get away? I’ve seen you leave Leafpoint.”
“He entered the cellar, and I couldn’t follow him.” William looked uncomfortable and turned his head.
“What am I missing?”
“Something stopped me from following him.”
I frowned. “Like a force?”
“No. Fear. That’s a feeling that I have not experienced since that night.”
I thought about that as William placed scrambled eggs and toast in front of me.
“What does that mean?”
“I don’t know, Lyra.”
I began eating. If William wasn’t wrong, and I didn’t think he was, then we had a random ghost trying to harm me, and for what? I didn’t understand any of this, and currently, I felt like throwing in the towel. Everything was piling up, and I couldn’t discern why.
“What makes Jasper lighthouses so special?”
William shrugged helplessly. “I can’t answer that because I don’t know.
What I can tell you is that they were built to prevent shipwrecks.
And the lighthouse keepers who manned them couldn’t be bribed.
The Damerell gang left us alone. They attempted to bribe and threaten us to turn the other way, but it was half-hearted.
As if it were expected of them and they didn’t expect us to accept.
I’m sure George would have been happy if we had. ”
“What were the other keepers like?”
“Again. Nothing special. Guy was Kingfisher’s keeper.
Perran was Seareef’s and Gilbert ran Clamshell.
They were good men. Decent, honest, hardworking, and dedicated to our mission.
George Damerell tried bribing all of us and failed miserably.
It grated on him, especially as we kept those lanterns lit. ”
“Did he have you killed?”
William stared at the tiled floor. “I don’t know. George and the Damerell Gang committed murder for certain. They took down anyone in their way. Maybe they’re tired of dealing with us.”
“Except they all disappeared the same night.”
William’s head snapped up. “What?”
“You were unaware?”
“What do you mean?”