Chapter 2 #3
I can tell immediately that we’re all thinking the same thing.
This guy knows things about ghosts and demons and spirits.
If he comes here, he might discover the vortex, and what if the ghosts’ greatest fear comes true and he decides to exploit it?
They’ve guarded it for fifty years on their own, not asking for help lest someone use the energy of the vortex for wrongdoing.
Although I was angry and frustrated to learn we had a vortex to the spirit world in one of the guest room closets that nobody had told me about, when they explained their reasons, I got it.
I still get it. According to Josh, there’s a lot of energy coming from that thing.
Plus, who’s to say someone might not try to attract and capture another soul-eater?
Or one of these body-hoppers? Both could cause indescribable damage in war.
No, the ghosts were right to be cautious. But now what do we do?
“We can come to you,” I say. “Whereabouts are you? Skye and I will come see you.” Having both of us gone will put a lot of pressure on Josh, but hopefully Connor isn’t too far away and we can make it a day trip, or maybe an overnighter.
“You can if you want to, but the sensory input of travel and new places is likely to cause the body-hopper to take over more often,” he warns, and the stark fear on Skye’s face has me reevaluating.
“Can we talk about that for a second?” Ewan asks. “What can we do to stop it from doing its thing?”
Josh gestures at Carter and silently stands and moves toward the door.
“You can’t stop it,” Connor replies immediately. “But in the early days, they tend not to take over as much unless they’re lured out by sensory input.”
“So if we keep things boring and quiet and ordinary, it might stay dormant?” I ask, watching as Josh whispers something to Carter, who instantly pops out. My guess is that he’s gone to talk to the other ghosts.
“We already noticed that it reacts to food—to flavors,” Daniel adds, raising an eyebrow at Josh, who shrugs.
“Yes,” Connor agrees. “It will also react to loud noise, bright light, pitch-dark, or rapidly changing light… so don’t watch TV in a dark room.
Same to anything painful—try not to bruise or cut yourself.
No really hot or cold showers. No intense smells.
You want to keep everything as neutral as normal. ”
“And that will keep it from taking over?” Skye asks hopefully just as Carter pops back in and nods.
“No, sorry. It can and will still rise at will. But for these first few days, while it’s getting used to your body and all the sensations it can now experience, it won’t rise that much. Not unless you give it a reason to.”
“Great,” Skye mutters, folding his arms across his chest and pouting.
“Okay,” I interrupt, “so a trip is probably not a good idea. Could you come here? We know it’s a lot to ask, but we’d pay your travel expenses. And for your time.” I mentally rearrange the budget and cross my fingers that he won’t want a ridiculous amount of money.
“Not necessary. And yeah, I can come to you. This is what I do, troubleshoot paranormal problems. Where are you in Illinois, exactly?”
This is what he does? Like… full-time? “We have ghosts here,” I say sharply. “They’re part of our family. We won’t tolerate any interference with them.”
There’s a brief silence.
“Are they directly harming or through their actions causing harm to the living?” he asks calmly.
Josh scoffs. “Not unless you consider eavesdropping to be harm.”
“Then there’s no problem. Friendly ghosts aren’t in my job description.”
I really want to ask what his job description is, but it’s more important to focus on getting him here to help Skye. The rest can come later.
“I’ll email you the address,” Josh says. “We’re kind of between Peoria and Moline.”
Connor makes a humming sound. “I’m in Denver at the moment, so it’ll take me a few days to get there. I need to wrap something up here first.”
A few days? I run my hand through my hair, glancing at Skye’s tense face. “We’re happy to pay for you to fly,” I offer. He could be here by noon tomorrow, if we can find an early nonstop flight and he does his wrapping up tonight.
“Thanks, but I’ve got my car with me. And even if I didn’t, there are some things in my kit that airlines don’t allow on planes.”
Oh my god.
“Wait, what are you planning to do to Skye?” Daniel demands. “If it’s not allowed on a plane, I’m pretty sure we’re not going to allow you to use it on him.”
“I’m pretty sure too.” Skye’s eyes are wide.
Connor laughs. “Chill. None of that stuff is needed to get rid of a body-hopper. But my kit goes everywhere I do, and that means no planes.”
“Fine,” Josh agrees, shooting us a warning look. He’s right. We need Connor and can’t afford for him to get annoyed and walk away. “I’ll email you the address now. It’s a tourist attraction and hotel, so we need to ask you to be as discreet as possible when you’re here.”
“Of course,” he assures us. “I’m used to being discreet. Most people don’t like the idea of a paranormal hunter, so I try to slip under the radar.”
A hunter? I’m suddenly wishing hard for the days when I thought six friendly ghosts was freaky.
Demons, vortices to the spirit world, and body-hopping spirits pushes my limits.
Knowing that there’s someone out there whose whole job is to hunt things I know nothing about? That’s mental breakdown territory.
“Sure,” I acknowledge faintly. “I bet.”
“Does hotel mean you’ve got a room I can book?”
“We’re fully booked Friday to Sunday, but if you’re here on Thursday, sure.” Josh casts a questioning look at me, and I know he’s wondering if we should offer Connor the small room we use for staff to sleep in when Josh has a night off.
“The motel in town is decent, and it’s only twenty minutes away,” I say, shaking my head.
Maybe I will invite him to stay on the estate, but not until I’ve met him and can get an idea of how trustworthy he is.
Sure, he’s helped us before and seems willing to help now, but that might change if he realizes the type of energy the vortex has.
If he’s only visiting, we can probably keep him away from the Garden Suite, but if he’s staying overnight and decides to wander around, that could become tricky.
“It’s also not haunted,” Josh tacks on with a laugh. “Something I was very appreciative of.”
“You were?” Connor asks. “So when you told me that you had a friend who was a medium, you meant yourself?” He sounds genuinely curious, not at all accusing, but Josh still winces.
“Yeah. Sorry about that. It’s hard to know who I can trust and who’ll call me a nutball.”
Connor snorts. “Believe me, I get it. Okay, send me the address, and I’ll be there as soon as I can. I’ll keep you informed.”
“Thank you, Connor,” I say genuinely, suddenly feeling guilty. He’s coming to help us, and all we’ve done is keep secrets and tell half-truths. “We appreciate this so much. And what you did with the demon. We really, really appreciated that.”
“You’re welcome. Skye, stay boring till I get there. If anyone’s got anti-anxiety meds, they’re a good idea. Or weed. But the mellow stuff.”
I close my eyes and try not to imagine what would happen if the thing took control while Skye was having a bad trip.
“I’ll be mellow,” Skye promises, and there’s an edge of mirth in his voice that eases just a tiny bit of my tension.
Connor says goodbye and ends the call, and a big sigh goes around the room.
“All the ghosts are okay with him coming?” I double-check with Carter.
He shrugs. “Skye is the priority. We’d prefer he not be told about the vortex, though. Maybe after we get a sense of him, but Joe’s pretty adamant.”
“That’s reasonable,” Josh agrees. “We keep him away from the Garden Suite. There’s not really any reason for him to go up to the guest rooms, anyway. He can meet Skye down here, or in the break room.”
“Or at our place,” Daniel suggests. “He’s going to keep us informed when he’ll arrive, right?
So when he’s nearly here, Skye comes down to the farm manager’s cottage, and you send Connor there.
He doesn’t have to get closer to the vortex than the front entrance.
If we plan it well enough, he doesn’t even have to enter the house. ”
I exhale some more tension. “Yes. I like this idea. It will also keep him away from any nosy guests. And the ghosts can stay and keep an eye on things.”
“So now we wait?” Ewan asks.
“Now we wait,” I echo.
Please don’t let it be for long.