by Elle Adams
15
Despite the loud sound of the kitchen door collapsing downstairs, the invisible force continued to push against me as I tried to climb the stairs. I gritted my teeth, shadows flooding out from my body to cover the ground beneath my feet and stop me from losing my balance and falling downstairs.
I’d never had access to the full repertoire of Reaper tricks, but one of the most useful ones was the ability to set foot in places no ordinary person should be able to access. If need be, we could walk through walls or into the ocean to find a soul in need of escorting into the afterlife. An invisible shield conjured by an angry ghost ought to be nothing in comparison.
I climbed the stairs, the shadows bolstering me. Every step was painful, but knowing Carey was trapped upstairs spurred me on, kept me climbing. Five steps to go. Four. Three…
The house gave another tremor, and the stair gave way beneath my foot. I caught my balance against the banister, cursing under my breath. My foot wavered, then I managed to hop over the collapsed stair without falling through.
I could hear the ghost laughing above my head. Then a pair of invisible hands tugged at my ankle, threatening to pull me downstairs.
“Cut it out!” I kicked out, but of course, the ghost was impervious to physical damage.
Shadows flowed around my leg for long enough to detach her grip. I held onto the banister and pulled myself upwards. I will do this. I will.
After what felt like an eternity but was probably no more than several seconds, I dragged myself to the top of the stairs and hopped over the hole in the floorboards. Then I faced the darkness ahead of me.
“Carey?” I called out.
“Maura!” Her voice was faint and came from behind the closed door to the master bedroom. I didn’t need to try to open it to know the ghost’s power held it shut fast.
“Not cool, ghost,” I said. “Let her go.”
“She had the nerve to try to banish me.” Mrs Renner’s ghost appeared slowly at first, flickering into existence and hovering above the floor. “Too bad her simple witch tricks are no match for someone as strong as I am.”
I was afraid of that. Carey had thought I’d left town, and with the Reaper still refusing to help, she’d decided to try out a banishment of her own. But the ghost had simply been too powerful.
“You’ve stayed way past your sell-by date,” I told her. “You lied to me. More than once. There was no hostile spell used on your house by someone out to harm you. You put a spell on the house yourself to protect it from the floods, then refused to accept anyone else’s help or move out when it inevitably started falling apart on you.”
She didn’t say a word, neither to confirm nor deny my accusations.
“And then you tried to scheme against poor Dolores to stop her from persuading you to move out,” I went on. “Your spell backfired, and the house collapsed on your own head. Is that right?”
Mrs Renner gave a sniff. “It’s her fault, not mine. She kept trying to convince me to give up the house, as if it was any of her business.”
“Forgive me if I don’t believe you,” I said. “You died by accident, I’ll give you that, but then you used your ghostly skills to terrorise everyone who tried to move in. I suppose you wanted to drive away the police at first so they wouldn’t find out what you did. That’s why you were so set on Detective Drew staying away.”
“He should have left me be,” she said. “So should you.”
“You didn’t want him coming here because you knew he’d be persistent enough to figure out the truth,” I said. “You were deceiving me from the start. And then to add insult to injury, you killed poor Dolores the way you always planned to when she came here to help you out.”
“She came here to drive me out,” she said. “She truly thought she could persuade me to leave. As though she’d be any more successful when I was dead than when I was alive.”
“Then I’ll have to do it instead.” I looked her in the eyes. “This is your chance to come with me calmly and without further strife. If you want any kind of peace to come of this, I’d suggest you take my advice.”
“Never,” she snarled. “This is my house. I won’t give it up, not to the police or my ungrateful offspring or anyone else.”
The whole house trembled as she spoke. She was more powerful than ever now, drawing on the fear and anger and negative emotions of the others while they’d been trapped inside. If I didn’t get her out, and soon, the ripple effects might spread to the neighbouring houses, too. She was far past the point of calming down enough for me to be able to lay her to rest peacefully.
I had to tap into my Reaper skills, because I was all out of other ideas.
“Maura!” Carey yelled from behind the closed door. “Help me!”
The house gave another tremor. I hopped aside as the floorboards shook and splintered, and plaster dust rained down from the ceiling.
“Stop that!” I moved to the door and gave it a shove. The wooden door wouldn’t give. Okay. Time to see if my Reaper skills are up to scratch.
I let shadows unfold around my hands and feet the same way I had when I’d climbed the stairs. Then I stepped through the shadows—and straight through the door as though it didn’t exist.
Carey startled upright when I emerged in the master bedroom. “You… did you just walk through the door? When it was closed?”
“Reaper trick.” I crossed the room to her side. Despite her screaming, she looked unhurt, while there wasn’t any significant damage to the room. A few herbs lay scattered in heaps around the edges, a constructed spell intended to drive away spirits. It wasn’t a bad idea, and if Mrs Renner hadn’t been so powerful, it might have worked.
Carey rose to her feet, her goggles bouncing on her head. “How is she so powerful?”
“She knows she’s close to the end, and her desperation is making her stronger,” I said. “She’s getting a boost from our fear, too, so I’m gonna have to ask you to be brave for a moment. Can you do that?”
She gave a frantic nod. I, meanwhile, faced the door, which remained held closed by the invisible force of the ghost’s determination.
“There’s no point in holding the door shut now,” I said to Mrs Renner.
“I beg to differ,” her voice came from thin air. “There’s no way for you and the girl to both escape this room. She’s no Reaper.”
My hands fisted. Shadows flowed around me, and I heard Carey exhale in panic. “Show your face, Mrs Renner.”
“I won’t.”
Another blast shook the house, and then a series of crashing noises came from outside. The floor heaved beneath our feet.
This might hurt a little. “Carey, hang onto me!”
She grabbed my arm with a stifled yell—and the floor gave way beneath our feet. At the same time, I conjured as many shadows as I could muster, willing them to break our fall. The shadows masked the house, spread out wider and wider. Surrounding us in a dark mass.
It was too late to turn back. I’d brought Carey with me into the afterworld.
“Carey, hold onto me,” I whispered. “Don’t look around. Hang on…”
Mrs Renner appeared, a twisted grin on her face—but a hand grabbed hers before she could reach for Carey.
Dolores Malone’s ghost appeared, holding Mrs Renner’s hand in her grip. “That’s enough, Elizabeth.”
“You again?” said Mrs Renner. “Couldn’t you leave me be? Don’t tell me you still want my house even now.”
“Nobody wants your house, you twisted, evil old woman,” said Dolores. “I won’t let you hurt any more innocent people.”
Mrs Renner’s eyes narrowed, her grey hair blew around her transparent face, and fury radiated outwards from her body. “I will not die!”
Conscious of Carey clinging to my back, I focused hard, crossing my fingers that the afterworld would still recognise me as a Reaper. After a short, painful pause, a door appeared among the shadows. Tall, glowing around the edges, and suspended in mid-air. Mr
s Renner spotted it and broke from Dolores’s grip with a furious yell.
“I will not leave!” Her ice-cold arm gripped mine. “And if I must, I’m taking you with me.”
“Let go of my sister!” Mart collided with her from the side, knocking her grip loose.
As Carey cowered behind me, I caught Mrs Renner’s hand in my own, and held fast. “You’re coming with me.”
Mrs Renner flailed, kicking and screaming, but the door opened at my command, revealing a yawning chasm of absolute blackness. Even on the brink, she fought me. Weaker this time, as though she’d used up most of her strength. She gave one last desperate tug, then I let go, pushing her over the door’s threshold and into the true afterlife.
The yawning blackness swallowed her, and then blessed silence descended in her wake.
Dolores hovered at my side. “Is she gone?”
“I hope so.” I turned to her. “And you?”
She floated forwards, a dreamy expression on her face. “Yes… yes, I think it’s time. Thank you, Maura.”
The current of air from the open door caught her, and she passed through it into nothingness.
I turned to Mart next, my heart in my throat. “You…”
“Don’t even think about it.” He wrapped both ice-cold arms around me, solid in a way he couldn’t be in the waking world. “I’m going nowhere, Reaper Witch. Now close that door before something nasty gets out.”
The shadows folded back, and the door closed at my command. I released a slow breath, letting go of Mart. Carey stared open-mouthed at him. Here in the afterworld, nothing was hidden.
“This is Mart,” I told her. “My twin brother.”
“Oh,” she said, looking slightly dazed. “Hey, Mart.”
“Nice to meet you.” He jerked his head at me. “Go on, get us out of here.”
“You can fly,” I pointed out. “Carey, hang onto me. I’ll get us both out.”
She held onto my hand as I walked through the shadows, my brother floating at my side. A glance confirmed the stairs were still intact beneath me, but I didn’t dare let the shadows drop until we stood on solid ground. Then the shadows folded outwards, revealing the ruins of the collapsed house around us. The construction crew filled the back garden, along with Mr Renner… and Drew, back in his human form again.
Carey shifted at my side. “I don’t think my camera recorded all that.”
“I hope it didn’t, otherwise the Reaper Council might have the two of us arrested.” I tried for a jokey tone, but it didn’t really work, considering the chaos surrounding us. “C’mon, let’s get out.”
As we were picking our way through the ruins, Drew noticed me first, striding towards the house. “Maura! You’re alive. I thought—”
“It’s over,” I said. “She’s gone. Into the afterworld.”
Only now did I realise I was shaking. I hadn’t banished any souls in months, and now I’d used my powers twice in a day. I really needed a nap, but it seemed I wouldn’t get one. Drew and the others descended on the pair of us, along with a sizeable crowd who must have been drawn by the noise of the collapsing house. Questions bounced off me like pebbles, none of which I could answer.
I like to think Drew was the one who caught me when I passed out, but I think the shadows got me first.
16
“Hey, some of the footage came out okay,” Carey said to me. The two of us sat at a table together in the restaurant, my laptop open on the desk. I’d loaned it to her to help her extract the useful bits of the footage from Mrs Renner’s house, since the couple of computers here at the inn were out of date and didn’t have the right software.
Since both Carey and I had been stuck indoors since our close call at Mrs Renner’s house, we’d spent the last few days going through the recordings and the footage Carey had captured of the ghost. It would still take a lot of editing work to get it into good shape for her to upload, but it gave her something to do while she was grounded.
I wasn’t technically grounded myself, of course, but I’d been paid on the condition that I didn’t drag Carey into any more scrapes. I was more than happy to stay out of trouble for the foreseeable future. At least until Mr Renner packed his bags and left, which seemed a long way off. Things were tense between him and Carey’s mother—who’d found out about his insulting comments towards her daughter—but since his grandmother’s house was in pieces, he didn’t have much choice but to stay here at the inn until everything was finalised.
Not that I in any way regretted helping her move into the next world. With any luck, she and Dolores would both be at peace now.
“I doubt Mr Renner will want to be included in the footage.” I pointed to the screen. “Um, also, Drew doesn’t want the whole universe to know he’s a shifter.”
She giggled. “Everyone knows, though. Everyone in town, anyway.”
I rolled my eyes. I hadn’t seen the detective since he’d been forced to step in to deal with the aftermath of Mr Renner losing his inheritance in the house’s collapse and to stop him from taking out his anger on the construction workers. I’d been hoping to see him, if just to clear up any loose ends, but I’d been happy enough helping Carey write her blog account of our misadventures—with the names changed, of course.
“That bit works.” I pointed out a section of footage of the house shaking under Mrs Renner’s assault. “Though if you’re going to keep picking such dangerous places to go ghost-hunting, maybe you should invest in some more equipment. Like a safety helmet.”
Allie cleared her throat behind me. “Carey is going to take some time off ghost-hunting for a while. She’s missed enough school already.”
“I haven’t had enough,” she insisted. “This was a special case. I want to keep blogging. I’ve already got two extra subscribers, look.”
“I think Drew is one of them,” her mother said.
“Don’t spoil it,” she said.
He’s been reading Carey’s blog, but he hasn’t stopped by to talk to me? I shoved the thought aside. He didn’t owe me an audience, and besides, he was busy.
Still. I wanted to see him before I left town… which would happen as soon as I had the heart to leave Carey behind. Or her mother kicked me out of the inn. One or the other.
Allie turned to me. “Maura, can I talk to you?”
Oh. I guess this is it. My heart gave an uneasy drop, and I rose to my feet, trying to hide the panic from my expression. “Sure. I’ll be back in a second, Carey.”
Bracing myself, I left the restaurant and walked with Allie through the glass doors connecting it with the inn’s lobby. “I don’t think I ever properly thanked you. For saving my daughter’s life.”
“Oh.” I felt myself flushing. “Honestly, I’m just glad I could help her.”
“Yes, it’s good that she finally has a friend.” She shook her head. “She’s had a difficult few years, and while I’d berate her for taking risks, this is the most adventurous she’s been in a long time.”
I fidgeted, unsure what she was getting at. “I feel like I’ve overstayed my welcome. I thought it would be a quick job. Getting rid of the ghost, I mean.”
“Don’t worry about it,” she said. “You did a really good job helping out at reception the other day, too.”
“Honestly, it was no big deal. And it’s the least I could have done to repay you for the trouble I’ve caused you.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.” She extended a hand, holding out a handful of twenty-pound notes. “This is for the shift you worked, on top of the payment for banishing the ghost.”
“But—” I protested.
“You saved my daughter’s life.” She pushed the money into my hand. “And you helped the town deal with a dangerous spirit. You’re welcome to stay here at the inn for as long as you like. I understand you have another home… or do you?”
“I have an apartment.” With this payment, I could afford another month’s rent, but without a secure job, I might well end up in the same position
again within a few weeks. “But I’m only there for a short while. Then I have to figure out my plan.”
She nodded. “Well, if you want to take on any shifts here at the inn, you’re more than welcome to. We’ve had the need for more staff for some time, but we haven’t been able to find anyone willing to make the commitment.”
“All right. If you need me to do any more shifts, let me know.” I pocketed the money. “I’ve already stayed longer than I planned.”
She smiled. “We don’t get many new people in town, but I think you’re going to be a good influence.”
“I agree,” said a deep male voice.
I nearly jumped out of my skin. Drew had appeared behind her, in a stealthy way which I suspected had to do with him being a shifter.
“Whoa.” I held a hand to my racing heart. “Don’t make me jump like that.”
Laughter sounded from behind me, and Mart grinned across the lobby. I studiously ignored him.
“I apologise,” said Drew. “Can we talk? If you aren’t busy.”
“She isn’t, yet,” said Allie, and winked at me.
Honestly. Anyone would think she’d been talking to my brother.
Mart’s laughter pursued me as I walked outside with Drew. I could sense him watching me, but I had no idea what was going through his head. Nor was I quite sure what to ask first. “Have you finished dealing with Mr Renner?”
“Almost,” he said. “I expect he’ll leave town within the next day. Which is both good news and bad news, because the town needs the business.”
No wonder Allie had been able to give me such a high payment. “I think the construction team will be glad to be rid of him.”
“I agree,” he said. “There’s nothing left of the house to sell, so he tried to blame it on the witch coven his mother belonged to. Since multiple eyewitnesses saw that his own grandmother demolished the house, though, the coven leader was able to overrule him.”
“Good,” I said. “With that many witnesses, he had some cheek trying to blame anyone other than the ghost for knocking the place down. I know most of them couldn’t see her ghost, but still.”
