Amy and Trisha got to the Manor at noon, when I had already bitten my nails up to my elbows and was pretty much pacing up and down the walls. Turned out the medium had decided to tell my friend about the Blotters and explain the whole situation before leaving Boston. She wanted to assess Trisha’s reaction to be sure she was the right choice to come lend a hand.
That was why, to my utter surprise, my friend didn’t storm in calling out for ghosts and demons, never minding who was around. Instead, she got out of Amy’s flashy car already filming with her phone, using an SLS app to detect humanoid forms on screen. Which in Trisha’s world meant she was being the queen of discretion.
Susan was still around, with the excuse of making sure our guests had everything they needed right as they needed in their rooms, so we didn’t talk until she left and we sat down for a late lunch.
“Where are they?” Trisha asked Amy, a bundle of exc
Amy spent about an hour in the basement. When she came back up, she nodded with a tired smile when I offered her coffee and sat down at the table with a long sigh. “Pennhurst Asylum,” she said, and she did sound exhausted. “That’s where Price picked it up.” I rummaged the pantry for more cupcakes and was lucky to find one last tray. I needed to tell Susan to get a dozen more for the weekend, or I would suffer withdrawal symptoms. “Did he tell you anything else?” I asked, bringing her coffee and the cupcakes to the table. Trisha sat down opposite her. Amy raised her eyebrows, like gathering her thoughts through the fog of exhaustion in her head. “He was born there when the asylum was still open, and remained there after the courts closed it. Plenty of bad vibes around to feast on for centuries. He’d never paid attention to the living until our lovely Haunter came around. Looks like he started calling on any and all entities around. He invited them to use his and his teammates’ ener
It took me some time to fall asleep. Amy had stayed downstairs after dinner, for a little chat with Ann and Edward about what would be put in motion the moment Price drove past the Manor gates. Trisha slouched down the second-floor hallway to her room, still whining and complaining about her poor aching knees. She was knocking on my door in under a minute, all fussy and flabbergasted about her private bathtub. “I’m so taking a long bath with relaxing oils!” she cried, clapping. “Hush!” I chided her, nodding to the nursery. “It’s late, Trish!” “Oops!” she whispered, hand to her mouth. “Ghost kids go to bed early? Do they actually sleep?” “You should ask them yourself tomorrow morning. Early. Cause I’m waking you up at seven tops.” “What? You crazy? My religion forbids it. Waking up before ten is a deadly sin.” “Suit yourself. The celebs are arriving at nine.” She narrowed her eyes like I’d just stabbed her in the back, shook her head and slouched back to her room, grumbling under
“Your meds, Mr. Price?” asked Amy from the fireplace. She couldn’t have faked a smile at him even if her life depended on it. He turned to her, frowning. “Come again?” “I need your meds.” “I need them back by noon to take them.” Amy held his eyes for a heartbeat and turned to me. “The bag, Fran, please?” I hurried across the room to give it to her. And stayed as close to the heater as I could without falling into the fireplace. Man, I loved to feel the flames after being outside on such a cold morning. Price breathed deep, annoyed. His voice thundered across the whole house. “Isaac! Our prescriptions!” The wingman trotted down the stairs like an obedient poodle a moment later, carrying a belt pouch overflowing with pill bottles. He handed it out to Price, who nodded to Amy. “Let’s go one by one,” she said, taking out a bunch of small glass dropper bottles from her bag and lining them up on the mantelpiece. The wing— Enough of calling him that. Isaac grabbed a random orange bot
I didn’t dig heading back to the Manor like nothing out of the ordinary was happening, but I did it anyway. Not that I couldn’t suffer being away from Haunter charming. It had more to do with that cold spot in my belly that advised against leaving them without supervision.We found Trisha having breakfast still in her pajamas, sharing the kitchen table with the twins, who were trying to use their drawing boards to practice their writing under Lizzie’s supervision. My friend welcomed us with a bright grin, mug and waffle in her hands and a spot of cherry jam on the tip of her nose.“I’m so totally moving in,” she said as soon as we walked in, merry like Christmas. “I’m gonna spend the rest of my life spoiling these lovely brats and chatting with Lizzie. And if you have any problem, find yourself a new place.”I smiled, truly happy to see my friend adjusted and fit in so much better than I’d ever
Trisha endured the cleansing like a champ, even though it took me longer than it took Amy. She opened her eyes and flashed a serene smile I’d never seen before, not caring about her wet locks sticking to her temples and cheeks. We took her hands and helped her back to her feet without a word, waiting for her to say something.“I could float away in the wind,” she said, and she seemed to glow in the golden daylight coming in through the kitchen windows. “But I would rather take a nap.”“You have an hour,” Amy replied softly.Trisha’s hug took me by surprise. “Thank you!” my friend whispered in my ear, and left the room with a light, placid gait that left me gaping.“That’s the effect?” I asked.“When you’re clean, this harmonizes your energy centers and sweeps away all the stress.” Amy went to the sink for more hot water. “Your turn, Fran. This is g
Needless to say Susan was still in the Manor when we got back, giggling and commenting on the last hour at the guesthouse. She insisted on serving our dinner, and I almost had to push her out the backdoor to get her to leave.As soon as I was done eating, I went down to the basement to check on Kujo. I didn’t know why. I just felt I needed to make sure he was okay.“Do I still smell of sage?”“Stink.”“You mean thing!” I protested, laughing.Joseph was still there, and I lingered with them, telling them about the cleansing. Back to the first floor, I was surprised I wasn’t tired, but wide awake and ready to spend the whole night up.Amy and Trisha were still at the kitchen table, watching something on TV, and Amy flashed a little smile when I told them I didn’t feel like going to bed at all.“What have you done to me, Amy Taylor?” I asked.“When yo
No wonder I dreamed of him all night. Of him climbing up to my window, and kissing me the moment I opened it to let him in. Of course there was more to the dream, but I’m gonna let you fill in the blanks. I woke up at eight-thirty to a cold bright morning, feeling like I’d slept ten hours straight, full of energy, in the best of moods and ready for whatever the day may throw at me.Looking out while I got dressed, I had a flashback of my dream and chuckled, shaking my head. I really needed to tone down my body chemistry if I didn’t want to make a fool of myself. At the same time, everything I saw through my window seemed to call out to me. So I wore my jogging clothes and trotted down the stairs.Amy was already in the kitchen, making breakfast. She looked happy and energetic too.“Going out so early?” she asked, handing me a steamy mug.“No, thanks. It’s too beautiful a morning to stay indoors. Wanna join me?&rdq
my eyes, narrowing his, and his face hardened in a calculating expression for a long moment. Until he set his jaw, breathed deep and finally rolled his eyes with a curt nod.“Okay, okay,” he grumbled.“Then get a shower and a bite and go to sleep,” said Amy. “We’ll be back at four.”Trisha and I had already put everything away, and headed to the front door after Amy in complete silence.Back to the Manor, Amy sent us both upstairs for a shower and stayed in the kitchen, instructing Susan about what we needed for lunch. I don’t know if it was because of our face-off the week before or because Amy was almost her age and gave orders like a five-star general, but Susan did as she said without any questions.I was startled when I heard Amy knock on my bathroom door to check on me. She seemed worried after seeing the state I was in when we’d finished the cleansing a while earlier.“Mind t