“Not well. I’m going to have to start giving that boy hazard pay.”
Wade moves to the front of his little group. “About that, we have some questions.”
“No time for questions right now.” Doc brushes his attempted inquiry aside. “We have to talk about the ghost. We’ve identified the type of ghost it is, and I think it’s too dangerous for everyone to be in the house tonight.”
“Type of ghost?” Jordan asks. I’d forgotten the little guy was there buried in the computer monitors. He hardly ever speaks, at least in the time we’ve been around him. “I didn’t know there were different kinds.”
“Oh, yes.” Doc nods sagely. “There are many different kinds. This particular one feeds off the souls of the living until there’s nothing left. It’s what happened to Seth. His body went into shock when a part of his soul went missing.”
“She likes the way little kids tastes, specifically,” I clarify. “Her name is Matilde Hernandez. She and her infant son died in the fire of 1922.”
“No one died in that fire.” Wade shook his head. “We checked.”
“You didn’t check the Historical Society,” Doc chastises in his critical tone. “The library lost a lot of records in Katrina, but the HS moved their sensitive documents out before the hurricane hit.”
Wade blushes. No one likes to be made a fool of in front of their idol.
“We are not sure how to remove her, though.” This time it’s Doc’s turn to be unsure. “I’ve been scouring through research all day and have made inquiries into the community, but we are all at a loss.”
“I have something that may help.” I hand him the sketches I’ve been clutching since I got out of the car. “These are what she and her son looked like. I’m hoping we’ll be able to get through to her with them.”
“How do you know what they look like?” Wade’s expression is calculating.
“I’m a little psychic,” I lie. “I picked up on it yesterday and just drew what I saw.”
Wade pushes through Mary and Eric to get to Doc, who’s going through the drawings.
“These are excellent, Emma. They definitely can’t hurt.” Doc hands the drawings back to me, ignoring Wade’s attempt to get a better look.
“May I?” Cass asks, and I hand him the drawings. He lets out a whistle. “Where’d you learn to draw like this?”
I shrug. “I’ve always been able to.”
“Magnifique,” Cass says and hands them back to me.
“Thank you.”
“I don’t want everyone in the house while we deal with the ghost. It will be too hard to keep everyone safe spread out. I want only a few of us in here while we exorcise this ghost.”
Doc’s words drop like a bomb, and Wade’s face screws up. “I have every right to be here. Mr. Duchaine agreed we could film this for our channel.”
“Your safety trumps your channel, mon amie.” Cass walks over and throws an arm around Wade. “We can’t have you dying on film, now, can we?”
Wade shrugs him off and scoots several feet away. Cass winks at him, causing both Eric and Ethan to laugh. They look at each other, and you can’t miss the blush on either of their faces. It’s cute, and Mary’s smart enough to keep her mouth shut this time.
“And you’re an expert?” Wade grouches.
“Oui, cher. We are the ones who get called in when a ghost goes rogue. Can you say you’ve ever faced down a deranged ghost and lived to tell the tale?”
“We’ve been in plenty of situations…”
“I’m sure you’ve been in ‘haunted houses’ before, but I guarantee you’ve never faced a soul eater.”
Cass’s words shut Wade up, but I know he’s not done arguing. If all else fails, he’ll sneak in and see what’s going on.
The computer monitors go dead, and Jordan lets out a noise somewhere between a whine and a cry of alarm. “What the…”
“What happened?” Wade frowns and runs over to his screens.
“I don’t know. It all just died.” Jordan leans down and makes sure nothing came unplugged.
Robert winks at me.
Poor Jordan. He’s going to be trying to figure that one out for a while.
“Hey, my camera’s dead too.” Nathan takes it off his shoulder and starts inspecting it. “I put fresh batteries in this thing right before we came inside.”
“What did you do?” Wade’s hostile gaze centers on me.
“Me?” I look around, the most innocent expression I can muster on my face. “How could I do anything to your computers? I’m standing way over here. I haven’t gone near them.”
I’m starting to get the feeling good old Wade doesn’t like me.
“I don’t know what you did, but I know you did something.”
“Chill, man.” Ethan puts his camera on the coffee table. “It’s a setback, but we’ll deal with it. We can use the smaller camcorders in the van. It’ll all be good.”
No, it won’t, but I’m not saying that one out loud.
“So, what do you want to do?” I ask Doc when Ethan and Wade go to look for more cameras.
“They’ll be vulnerable, and we can’t take that chance. We need them out of the house.”
“Call the Duchaines,” I suggest. “If they tell them to get out, they’ll have to.”
“I should have thought about that,” Doc mutters and pulls out his phone. He steps away to make his call.
“They are annoying, especially that one arguing.” Caryle flops down on the couch, ignoring Jordan’s gasp of outrage.
“They’re the Scooby Gang,” I tell her and crack a smile.
“Ohmygosh!” she rushes out all at once, her face lighting up with her laughter. “That so fits.”
“We are not the Scooby Gang,” Jordan tells us both, trying and failing to look tough. A guy with curly red hair just can’t look tough. Caryle and I both break down in a fit of laughter. I think I’m gonna like this girl.
Wade storms back in the house a few minutes later, livid and shouting about how we ruined his show. Big deal. I wouldn’t care at all if it weren’t for Mary. She looks ready to cry because he’s throwing daggers at her with his eyes.
“I’m not throwing you off the property, just out of the house while I work.” Doc doesn’t look the least bit apologetic. “You are more than welcome to interview me afterward, but I can’t risk your safety. I’m not letting Eric or Mary in the house while we do this either.”
Much to their credit, neither say a word, which further calms Wade. At the mention of an interview with the renowned parapsychologist, Wade deflates like a sad balloon after a four-year-old’s birthday party.
“Now, if you’ll all move this party outside, we can get to work.” Robert opens the front door and waits until everyone is outside except for me, Nathaniel, Doc, and the Willows.
Time to work.
Chapter Nineteen
Robert and Caryle go to make sure none of the cameras will capture us as we work. I’m a little hesitant letting them go by themselves, but then I remind myself they’re hunters. They can probably handle themselves better than anyone else.
Doesn’t mean I can shake the worry from my mind after what happened to me and Seth. This ghost is dangerous.
Cass throws a duffle bag on the kitchen table. Where did that come from? I don’t remember him carrying it before, but one of the others may have had it, and I just didn’t notice.
He pulls out a shotgun and several knives.
“Why do you need a gun?” I ask, curious. It would be the last thing I’d think to bring.
“Shells are filled with rock salt, cher.” Cass loads the gun then sets it on the table. “It will make the ghost scatter.”
Another memory hits me of the last ghost hunt I went on in New Orleans when I first met the Malones. They’d used a shotgun to make the demon trying to kill me scatter to the wind. I’ll have to look into getting one and keeping it in the car. Which means I need a permit. Might not go over so well if they can get
access to my juvie record.
“You don’t have a hunter’s kit, cher?” Cass looks up from inventorying the weapons in his bag.
“I’m not a hunter.”
He cocks his head and stares. “Caleb made it sound like you were.”
“I’m not. I try to stay as far away from using my gifts as I can. Nobody wants to be a freak show.”
“Then how are you involved in this?” He raises a brow in question.
“It’s a long story, and one we don’t have time for now.” I hear Caryle and Robert coming back down the hall. “Now that I’m here, the only thing I want to do is help.”
“We’re all clear.” Caryle bounces in the room, her dirty blonde pigtails flying behind her. “I think our ghost is here. The whole place feels off, especially the nursery.”
“She’s been feeding off the baby.” Doc closes his laptop. “She also attacked Ma…Emma and Seth in there. She’s attached to that room.”
“Probably because it’s a nursery. The whole reason she’s so pissed is because they murdered her baby. It makes sense she’d feel stronger and more at ease in a nursery.”
“Bad mojo,” Robert mutters. “Little kids should be off limits to everyone, living and dead.”
He and Cass pound each other’s fist in agreement. Caryle rolls her eyes at their antics. One thing I’ve noticed is that guys will be guys, no matter how old they are.
“So, what’s the game plan?” I ask, steering everyone’s attention back to the task at hand. “Any ideas of how to take her down?”
“We don’t have our blessed blade, but we do have iron.”
“That’s only going to piss her off.” I’ve seen her pissed off, and it’s not pretty. “Let me try to get through to her first, to make her remember who she was.”
“With those pictures of yours?” Cass nods to the drawings I’m still holding. “Not sure she’s gonna give you time to talk, cher.”
“The Cajun could be right.” Nathaniel pushes off the wall to come join the group. I’d almost forgotten he was here, he was being so quiet. “Especially after what you did to her yesterday.”
“What did you do?” Caryle looked curious.
I don’t know if I should say anything. I’m not one for telling strangers about my abilities.
“She trapped the ghost in a circle of The Between and then defused her when she started eating souls from in there.”
That got their attention, and I shoot my brother a look that says he’s toast later.
He merely shrugs. “Don’t hide who you are, Emma. You’re special, and you shouldn’t be ashamed of that.”
“How did you do that?” Cass asks, clearly intrigued.
“I’m a living reaper. I can see ghosts even when others can’t, the good ones and the bad ones. Hunters usually only see the ones that have gone bad. They’re as real to me as all of you standing here.”
“Really?” Caryle squeals. “I’ve read about living reapers, but I’ve never met one before.”
“I don’t advertise it.”
“You should,” Cass says. “Nathaniel is right. That’s a rare gift, and it can help so many people. Not just living people, but ghosts too. They deserve to move on, to not be trapped here. Why would you hide that away, cher?”
“Because I don’t want to be a freak.” I turn away from them all. “I came to New Orleans to get away from that part of me. I don’t want to be known as the weird girl.”
“You’re not weird, cher, not to us.” Cass takes my arm and pulls me around. “You’re a freaking legend come to life for hunters. Your gift would help us more than you could ever imagine. You could save lives. I can’t tell you how many hunters die because they can’t see what you do. Isn’t that as important as being normal? Maybe even more so?”
He’s like Dan and Eli all rolled into one. He makes sense, but there’s an element of devilry in him.
“Can we talk about this later?” I am not up for this conversation. “I want to get this ghost gone.”
“Of course, darlin’.” Cass winks, and I know this conversation isn’t over. He’s like a dog with a bone. He’s gonna try to wear me down until I give in.
“Let me try first. Nathaniel, you’re with me. I want everyone else outside the door in case we need help.” I don’t wait for an agreement, and head toward the staircase with Nathaniel on my heels.
The nursery is just as I remembered it, very girly and cold. It’s not quite as cold as it could be, but the ghost is here. I can feel her watching us from the shadows. She’s pissed. It’s not hard to feel all that anger pulsing from the very walls. I close the door behind us and walk to the center of the room.
“Matilde, I know you’re in here.”
There’s a shift in the air. My knowing her name surprised her.
“That’s right,” I say and spin slowly in a circle, looking for the slightest abnormality in the shadows. “I know what happened to you and your little boy. I’m sorry about that.”
The temperature in the room takes a nosedive. She’s listening.
“Do you want to see your little boy again? I can help you do that if you let me.”
The anger ratchets up another notch. Nathaniel shifts closer to me. “I don’t think this is working. It seems to only be pissing her off more.”
I agree, but I still have to try.
“Do you remember this?” I hold up the drawing of her and slowly turn, making sure she can see it wherever she’s hiding. “Or this one?” I do the same turn, this time of her standing over a baby’s bassinet. “It’s you and your little boy.”
That gets her attention. A blast of cold air hits us so hard, we both stagger back under its weight. Toys are picked up and thrown at us, hitting us and the wall in the process. A wooden block catches me on the forehead, and a small trickle of blood flows from the wound, leaking onto the paper I’m holding.
The sharp intake of breath from Nathaniel tells me that one drop of blood did what I never wanted anyone to find out I could do. My blood brings images to life. Glancing down, I see the image shift and move, the woman bending down and tucking the little one into bed.
While Nathaniel might have seen it, Miss Piggy either didn’t or simply ignored it. She’s coming at us again, this time with furniture.
“Emma, you okay in there?” Caryle shouts.
“We’re fine!”
“No, we’re not!” Nathaniel yells at the door. “This crazy ghost has gone psycho!”
I glare at him. “I’m the reaper here, not you. Sometimes it takes time to get through to them.” I dodge the rocking chair, but barely. Dang, this ghost is pissy. “Don’t come in here, Caryle!”
I can hear either Cass or Robert cussing so loud it comes through all the noise in here. She’s furious. Furniture, toys, books, they’re all flying through the air with the sole purpose of harming us.
“Why am I in here with you, then?” Nathaniel asks. “If you don’t want my help…”
“You’re in here with me because you’re my brother.” A flying clown slams Nathaniel in the chest, and he freaks out. Like, starts screaming, freaking out. He flings the thing so far across the room, I’d be dying laughing if we weren’t in danger.
“You’re afraid of clowns?”
“You’re not?” Nathaniel shudders. “They’re creepy.”
Silence.
Everything falls to the floor around us, and we’re left with eerie silence. Even the temperature spikes upward.
She’s gone.
“Where did she go?” Nathaniel whispers.
“I don’t know, but she’s not here.”
Well, this sucks.
I open the bedroom door, and everyone stares in at the complete mess. “You get her?” Robert asks.
“No. She just left. Now we have to go track her down.”
“And then what?”
No one answers because no one has a clue.
Chapter Twenty
We split into pairs, this time Nathaniel going off
with Doc, and Cass with me. Doc asked for Nathaniel to go with him, and I guess maybe he wants a chance to get to know him, same as me. I shake my head slightly at Doc to let him know I haven’t told Nathaniel about him, and he nods in understanding before they head off to check the living areas. Robert and Caryle take the other bedrooms, leaving me and Cass with the basement.
My favorite spot in any house…not.
Cass leads the way down the steps. At least it’s bright down here. They must have hundred-watt bulbs or something. The basement itself isn’t scary. It’s not finished, per se, but there is sheetrock up on the walls, and we can see a layout for a bathroom roughed in in the far corner. I’m grateful it’s not all dark crevices and exposed dirt or crappy brick that’s Lord only knows how old.
It does smell, though. It’s what a haunted basement would smell like—rot and decay. It reminds me of the scent earlier at the library, tinged with anger and putrid hatred.
“This is a bad place, cher.” Cass stands beside me, surveying the open space around us. “She’s here.”
“Yeah, I know.” I wrap my arms around myself, the drawing clutched tightly in one hand. “I don’t think there’s much we can do to get through to her.”
“Sometimes there’s no saving them.”
And that’s the God’s truth.
We move deeper into the underground lair. “The first time we saw her, she sank through the floor under the rocking chair.” Glancing up, I make a guesstimate as to where Hailey’s nursery would be. “There.” I point to the east corner. “That’s where she would have come from.”
“They been remodeling?” Cass moves toward the corner of the basement, his shotgun up and at the ready.
“Yeah. The owners inherited the house and did a complete remodel. We think that’s what started this whole mess.”
“That’ll do it.” Cass stops a few feet from where we assume the ghost resides. This corner is darker, and there seems to be some water damage on the new sheetrock. The floor is warped, the same water damage as the walls.
The temperature has slowly been dropping since we descended the stairs. I noticed it right away, and I’m assuming Cass did as well. It’s so cold we can see our breath every time we exhale.
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