Chapter 9
Chapter Nine
JOSH
“Iwant to talk about the vortex some more. Before, you said it was mostly blocked. What does that mean? Mostly? Can other spirits get through?”
They exchange doubtful looks, and my heart sinks. “We don’t actually know,” Hattie confesses. “We’re fairly certain that the vortex is the reason we’re able to manifest so easily. That ability began after it was opened, and when we blocked it, manifesting became harder.”
“So you think the energy is flowing here from the spirit world? And what is the spirit world?”
Hattie shrugs. “The world where the dark spirit came from?”
Wow.
“When the dark spirit was contained, we were able to spend some time examining the vortex. None of us were able to enter it—”
“You tried?” Holy crap. “What if there were a bunch of soul-eaters on the other side? That’s such a dumbass thing to do.” The thought of these annoying yet sweet and caring ghosts being consumed really bothers me for some reason. Am I… getting attached?
“We had to determine our options,” Joe huffs. “For all we knew, there was a spiritual sheriff on the other side who could take the dark spirit off our hands.”
Ha! If only.
He shakes his head. “But of course, since we couldn’t check, we’ll never know.
What we did learn, without the dark spirit’s taint distracting us, was that energy was flowing out of the vortex.
We think that’s what allowed us to manifest so easily, though we’re not sure if it’s because the energy is a different type to what we have here or just the volume of it.
But a few days after we locked up the dark spirit, we felt a presence on the other side of the vortex. ”
“A presence? What kind?” My voice is sharp. This story just seems to be one nightmare after another.
Freddie shrugs. “We don’t know. It didn’t feel dangerous like the dark spirit, but who’s to say that’s not because the vortex was between us? Maybe it would feel completely different once it came through. So we decided we needed to close the vortex, for safety’s sake.”
“Only we couldn’t.” Maisie pouts. “We just couldn’t work out how to do it. The best we’ve come up with is a kind of plank of energy pressed right up against it. That seems to have stopped anything else from coming through, but it also reduces the flow of energy from the spirit world.”
“Which makes it harder for you to manifest,” I say slowly, the pieces finally slotting together in my head. “Does it ever seem like anything is trying to break down your barrier and get through?”
Maisie looks at Hattie, who shrugs and looks at Joe. “No?” she says. “If they are, we’ve never noticed the difference.”
“Okay, so… can we think of the vortex as a doorway? Somehow, a doorway was opened between here and the spirit world. The energy flow from there is like, um, like a strong wind, right? It blows right through the doorway. Or actually, let’s say it’s water.”
“Is it water or wind?” Johnny whispers to Carter, who shrugs.
“It’s water,” I insist. Fuck, I hope this analogy pans out. “There’s a lake on the other side with currents and everything, and once the doorway opened, the water started pouring in.”
“Are you saying we’re draining the spirit world?” Maisie asks in alarm.
“No, I—look, just let me finish. The water is pouring in, and all the creatures living there have noticed the resulting shift in current.” I can barely remember learning this stuff about water pressure and currents in high school, so I hope I’m not making it up.
“And they come to check it out. Like the dark spirit did. It found this doorway with energy flowing through and a tasty soul on the other side, and it decided to see what was up.”
“And then once it was here, there were lots of other souls nearby!” Maisie’s excited by my analogy, even if Joe still looks doubtful.
“Right. Maybe there weren’t any on the other side. Or they were harder to get to?”
“That could be it,” Freddie says slowly.
“We’re positive nothing else came through the vortex while the dark spirit was roaming around free—what if other spirits can sense its nasty aura like we can?
And they know to stay away and fight back.
That would make hunting harder for it. But here, most living humans can’t even sense that it exists, and if they can, they think it’s an air-conditioning malfunction.
So even though it has to kill its prey first, it’s still easier for it to hunt. ”
“Because its prey doesn’t even know it’s there,” I finish.
It’s just a theory, but it seems to fit.
And makes me want to vomit, especially when I think about how many guests are currently asleep and vulnerable in this building…
and how many have been over the past twenty years. If the spirit had ever gotten free…
“You said before that it’s been trying to escape. How high are the chances of that happening?”
Hattie seesaws her hand. “We’re pretty sure it won’t get free again.”
“How sure is pretty— Wait. Again?”
They exchange glances.
“Well, when the estate was sold and they began renovating—how long ago was that?”
“A little over twenty years,” I tell her. Weirdly, it’s something the guests ask about a lot.
“The owners thought they could finish the basement and use it for the guests. We didn’t know anything about it until one day the workmen went down there and started poking around.”
A vague memory wriggles to the surface. Didn’t Ewan and Daniel say there was a mean ghost when the renovations first started? And that the other ghosts had kicked it out?
“Let me guess—they unbricked the dark spirit.”
Joe harrumphs. It’s so weird hearing a ghost make that kind of visceral sound.
“They did. And the only reason they’re still alive is because it was so weak after nearly thirty years surrounded by quartz.
It tried to smash their skulls in with the tools they were using but didn’t have the strength.
They both had broken bones, though—an arm and some ribs, if I recall correctly. ”
“We were able to get it sealed back in before it could regain enough power to do more harm,” Hattie adds.
“And then we had a serious talk with the owners and made them promise to leave the basement alone. They were talking about hiring an exorcist and getting rid of all of us, but they also wanted to use the estate being haunted as part of the attraction, so we were able to convince them we had it all under control.”
“Why did you do that? You’ve asked me to help you close the vortex—why didn’t you let the owners hire an exorcist or a medium and get the job done then?”
Silence.
“Not gonna answer me?”
Nothing.
“Fine. We’ll come back to that. Let’s talk about the vortex. You said that when you blocked it, you lost the ability to manifest quite so easily.”
“Yes,” Maisie, Johnny, and Freddie all say, obviously eager to make up for not answering me before.
“So that fits with the energy-as-water analogy, right? If the water can’t flow through as easily, you’re not going to be able to access it.”
“And it explains why nothing else has tried to get through,” Carter says thoughtfully.
“If we think of the vortex as a doorway and the block as a door, the energy can still seep in around the edges—it’s not watertight—but there wouldn’t be such a big change in current on the other side.
So beings over there might not even notice it until they happened to be very close already. ” He nods. “This makes sense.”
“It’s still just a theory,” I caution. “Okay. So… now what? You want me to close the vortex? I have no idea how I’d do that.”
There’s another exchange of glances.
“Stop doing that,” I snap. “You need to talk to me. You’ve come here and unloaded all this on me for a reason, so now you need to tell me what that is.”
“We’re tired,” Hattie says quietly. “It’s hard work keeping an eye on the dark spirit and maintaining the block on the vortex. We worry all the time. We just want to make sure everyone here is safe. And that means getting rid of the dark spirit and closing the vortex.”
My annoyance and anger drain away. They’ve been doing this for nearly fifty years. That’s a long time, even for centuries-old ghosts. Of course they’re tired and worried. I’m tired and worried just thinking about it.
“I know you don’t want to talk about it,” I start quietly, “but why did you refuse the owners’ offer to hire someone?
And why haven’t you told Kieran? He told me there have been several mediums here over the years.
Surely one could have helped? Did none of them ever notice the vortex or the dark spirit?
” I sure didn’t, but I’m not trained. Would that make a difference?
I got a bad vibe about the basement, but that’s in an area guests don’t have access to, so presumably a medium wouldn’t have gotten close enough to sense it?
I did feel the difference in energy here, though, and from what Kieran’s said, others have commented on it. Did none of them look into why?
“How can we know who to trust?” Joe asks.
“Before the renovations, people would come. Not just young people—adults, ghost hunters. Some were harmless with their silly rituals they saw in a movie, and we’d put on a show for them.
Well, they’d put on a show,” he adds, jerking his thumb toward the other ghosts.
“It’s a waste of time, if you ask me. But there were others too, talking about the energy here and how if they could work out how to channel it, they could use it to influence others.
They could use it to become wealthy and powerful.
They talked about using ghosts as industrial spies, or military spies.
How do we know any medium or exorcist we asked for help wouldn’t get a taste of the power on offer and decide to do the same? ”
“We needed time to get to know the right person,” Maisie says earnestly.
A combination of pride and utter horror floods through me. “And… you think I’m the right person? You barely know me.”