Epilogue
JOSH
Istare at the blinking cursor and will the words to come. It doesn’t work, and I can’t say I’m surprised. There’s no standard format to thank someone for telling you how to banish a demon. I already looked for an e-card.
Sighing, I put my fingers back on the keyboard and start with a basic greeting.
Hi,
We spoke on the site, and you gave me instructions to banish the soul-eater demon in my house. I just wanted to thank you so, so much. It worked, and the demon is gone. I can’t tell you how grateful we all are.
The house is still haunted, and I think something else hinky might be going on. Is it still okay if I email you with questions if some come up?
Thanks again,
HauntedByMistakesOfOthers
I read it over, then bite my lip. Whoever this is seriously saved our bacon, and it seems wrong to treat them like a predator. I quickly add (Josh), then hit Send on the email before I can change my mind. It’s a pretty common name, so I doubt that will give anything away.
I push back from the computer and stretch my arms over my head.
It’s been over a week since I banished the demon, and things have been hectic.
Kieran insisted that Daniel, Ewan, and I all go to the hospital in the next town to be taken care of.
I was fine—just exhausted. As in, that was the literal medical diagnosis.
Since I’d fallen asleep in the car on the way over and then again in the ER while I was waiting, I don’t think it came as a surprise to anyone.
I slept for the better part of the next day, ate enough to sustain a herd of horses, and feel amazing now.
As I suspected, Ewan had a concussion and also sprained his knee.
It’s only a minor sprain, and even though they said recovery could be two to four weeks, it’s already mostly better.
He only gets pain if he’s been on it all day (cue eye roll, right?
My guy can’t stand to be laid up). The concussion is more serious, and the doctor thinks he’s going to be dealing with the effects of that for another couple of months.
Daniel got the worst of it, though. His doctor keeps saying how lucky he is, because he’s going to retain the full use of his hands once they’ve healed.
There might be some minor numbness occasionally, and if he’d been a surgeon or anything like that, his career would be over, but overall the biggest reminder of it will be the scarring.
Daniel being Daniel, he laughed that off and asked if the doctor wanted to see the scars on his leg from the time the scythe got away from him.
As long as his hands will heal and he can go back to farming, he doesn’t care about scars.
The ghosts and the senior staff have been taking turns to look after them both.
Daniel just came home two days ago, but obviously he can’t use his hands yet, and Ewan’s still getting bad headaches.
He’s been banned from the smithy until the doctor gives the all-clear, so Kieran found someone to fill in, though they can only be here on weekends.
The smithy is closed during the week until further notice.
He also found a couple of teenagers to look after the farm.
Daniel’s already declared that he plans to continue giving farming lectures himself, though the teens can do the actual demos until he’s got the use of his hands back.
He wanted to start working again right away, but Skye and Kieran insisted he have a few more days off.
He’s still on pretty heavy-duty painkillers.
“Hey.”
I turn my head and smile at Ewan where he’s lounging in the office doorway. “Hi. How’re you feeling?” When I left his place right before lunch, he was sleeping off a headache.
“Better. Kieran wants to see us—in the Garden Suite.”
Ah, the vortex. I’ve been expecting this.
I get up, grab the portable monitor that will let me know if anybody comes to reception—although this late on a Tuesday, it’s not likely—and head toward the door.
I pause beside him and kiss his cheek, just to see him smile.
This whole wanting-him-to-smile thing is new, but I like it.
I like how it feels to have Ewan in my life.
To go to sleep and wake up in bed with him.
To rub his temples when he has a headache.
To be held by him. To kiss him. To glance over at him and see him looking at me like I’m the most precious thing in his world.
I like talking to him and knowing I can say anything, and even if he thinks it’s stupid, it won’t change how he feels about me. He loves me.
I like being loved.
He grabs my hand, kisses it, then keeps hold as we walk through the house to the elevator. His knee might be nearly better, but I refuse to let him test it with stairs just yet.
The others are waiting in the Garden Suite, which seems lonely without most of its furniture.
And crowded, with six living people and six dead ones in it.
As I always do, I glance over to the vortex.
It’s ringed with salt and quartz, which we check every day, but nothing’s changed.
Part of me had been hoping that when the demon was banished, the vortex would close, but it didn’t.
Honestly, we don’t even know how the vortex was opened.
Nothing in Emma’s diary even hinted at it, and while NEDDT might know, the ghosts are too nervous to let me ask.
I get it, but it leaves us in a weird situation.
“Thanks for coming, everyone,” Kieran begins. “I won’t keep you too long.”
“Feel free to keep us until bedtime,” Daniel says. “This is the most exciting thing that’s happened to me all week. You know, since someone won’t let me do anything.” He glares at Skye, who throws up his arms in exasperation.
“Do you want to lose the use of your hands? Well? Do you? I’m trying to help you, and you’re whining like a toddler who doesn’t want a nap!”
“Anyway,” Kieran interrupts hastily. We’ve all heard this argument many, many times over the past few days. “Now that the demon’s gone, we need to decide what to do about the vortex.”
As one, we all turn to look at it. Well, I think it’s just the ghosts and me actually looking at it. The others are just pointing their eyes in that direction.
“What can we do?” Arissa asks. “We don’t know what it is or how it works.”
Kieran sighs. “Yeah. That’s the stumbling block.”
“Do we have to do anything right now?” Maisie asks. “I don’t mind sharing my room with it, as long as no more dark spirits come through.”
“The block is still there,” Johnny says helpfully. “Maybe nothing else will come?”
The silence speaks volumes.
“We’ll keep the block strong,” Joe says at last. “It’s easier now that we don’t need to expend any energy checking on the dark spirit.”
“And we can keep researching,” Skye says. “Maybe we’ll find something. In the meantime, the block worked for fifty years. That probably won’t change?” It sounds like a question, and he glances at me.
I shrug. “We can hope. The demon was pretty well contained, so it might not have been its presence keeping others away. It could have been the block.” I honestly have no idea.
Kieran runs his hands through his hair. “Okay. I guess that’s really our only option.” He squints at the ghosts, then sighs. “I’m going to put a TV in here for you. That way you can hang out and relax while keeping an eye on the vortex.”
Johnny cheers and grabs Maisie in a hug. “Yes! Having representation works!”
Um… okay?
“With cable?” Carter demands. “I want porn channels. Gay porn, so I can do research, since I’ve been banned from my own home.”
I roll my eyes, and Ewan squeezes my hand.
Since I’ve been staying over at the farm manager’s house to be with Ewan and look after Daniel, I had a very firm chat with Carter about boundaries, then threatened to salt him out of the house when he protested.
He was so offended by the very idea that he left the house of his own accord and hasn’t come back.
I’ve explained several times that he’s welcome in the house, just not the bedrooms, but he’s too busy enjoying his snit.
“To watch in a shared space?” Freddie gasps, aghast.
“No porn,” Kieran says as Daniel snickers. “And just basic cable. But I’ll get a smart TV and log you in to all my streaming services.”
The ghosts huddle up to confer, and Kieran shakes his head in exasperation.
“Nobody would ever believe this,” he mutters.
Smiling, I lean against Ewan. Kieran’s right: nobody would ever believe this. I have firsthand experience with that. But here, in this room, on this estate, these people know the truth. They believe. They accept.
“Agreed!” Hattie declares, holding out her hand for Kieran to shake. He does, and Maisie immediately begins nattering about new curtains and a plush sofa.
“Something to make it feel like home,” she insists.
Ewan kisses the top of my head.
Home.
Finally, that’s where I am.