Page 25 of Mack's Horribly Hellacious Ghost Town
“That it is, ma petite chère. Well, usually, or it’s a ghost becoming a demon through obsession and intent. Fortunately, you know two Exorcists.” He winked at her. “Now, these white trails, these are just ghosts who haven’t passed on, not malicious beings.”
Mayor Hernandez interrupted at this point. “Why do ghosts not pass on? Unfinished business?”
“Sometimes. Sometimes their death was so quick, so sudden, it takes them a while to realize they’re dead and they miss the timing to pass on to the other side. Sometimes, something holds them here in the land of the living. On the plane ride here, I had a ghost who stayed to safeguard his daughter’s inheritance. There’s all sorts of reasons for it. Now, for these ghosts, I offerto move them on rather than just exorcise them. They’re not meaning harm, after all, and it’s better for everyone if I can move them on.”
Knowing what he’d need, I reached into my bag and pulled out several tea lights. The battery-operated ones. “Where do you want me lining them up?”
“Toward the door, mon cher.”
I figured; he liked to use doorways when possible. Gave the ghosts an easier target to focus on.
Mack explained what he was doing, how the mechanics worked, and Gwyn plopped down to the floor so she could write frantic notes. Mack would repeat it for her later if she missed something, but I liked how gung ho she was on learning. I’d bet she was naturally a good student.
Shit, school. What were we going to do about school? We constantly jumped all over the globe. Maybe a virtual school would work better for her? So she could catch up on schoolwork between the ghost busting.
Another question for Sylvia. Hopefully she had an answer. So far, I’d yet to ask my boss a question she didn’t have an answer for.
I got the lights laid out, and Mack barely let me stand before he had a ghost in hand. I, of course, saw jack shit. But Gwyn clearly could see the ghost and was both fascinated and unnerved, her eyes wide.
“Ma’am, would you like to pass on?” Mack asked in his Southern gentleman way. He cocked his head as he listened, a habit of his. “No, nothing painful about it. See the lights leading to the door? Just walk the path with me. You’ll pass right along to the other side.”
Apparently the ghost was amenable, and Mack started walking the path, his hand stretched over the lights as if he were truly escorting her. Now, I’d seen him do this a hundred timesor more, but for the first time, I saw an outline. The shape of a dress, of a head with a bonnet on. Barely more than a reflection of light to me, but I could see it. Mack must have boosted her the second they started walking, though why he’d chosen to boost her to the level I could see confused me. Typically, he never bothered.
Seeing ghosts always fulfilled a kid’s dream in me. I loved seeing them, and part of the reason why this career was perfect for me was being able to see them on the regular. Just living with Mack did that. It never became humdrum or commonplace, a spark of happiness lighting up every time.
The ghost paused at the doorway and turned her head. “Ever so kind, sir. Thank you.”
“You’re quite welcome. Go on through.”
She did so, and the bright light beyond the door dimmed to natural sunlight once more.
I almost didn’t say something but felt I should. “Uh, babe?”
Mack turned to look at me, then his brows beetled together. “Why are you looking like you just saw a ghost?”
“I kinda did?” I used my hands to draw out the general shape. “I also heard her. She said you were kind and thanked you. Did you boost her enough to be audible? You normally don’t.”
Mack’s eyes locked with mine and I could see the realization dawn before he looked around once more. “Oh, mon trésor, I know getting to see and hear her was exciting for you, but that’s really not good. I didn’t boost her any more than normal.”
I nodded. Yeah, not a great sign. I was super happy about it, selfishly speaking, but in general? Ghosts having enough energy for me to see and hear them when I was as sensitive as a pizza oven was not a good thing.
Gwyn looked between us and cautiously asked, “I didn’t think Brandon could see anything?”
“I can’t, normally.” I chafed the back of my neck and tried to form this into a succinct summary. “Usually I’m not able to sense anything at all, which is kind of a requirement for an anchor. We can’t let our sight be confused because we’re our Medium’s seeing eye dog in some situations. I can only see them when Mack boosts their energy to a certain level.”
Mack huffed, amused by the description, but he notably didn’t offer up a denial. “The problem with this, ma petite chère, is what it means for all of us. There’s so much limestone and flowing water in this area, it’s giving the ghosts asignificantboost. So much of a boost, even Brandon can see one. The mean spirits are going to be harder hitting than usual. It’ll take more effort and work on our part to subdue them. This situation right now is not a good sign.”
I’d already battled with ghosts not wanting to pass on or do anything but wreak more havoc. Now I had a town full of them and they were supercharged.
Sylvia had called everyone she could think of to get a big enough team to handle Black Rock. Standing here, knowing what I now knew, I was no longer convinced our team was big enough to do the job.
And that was a problem.
7
I tried very hard not to overwhelm Gwyn. There was so much to teach her, and I felt like the information I shared was all over the place. I had no idea of the process, of what to teach her and in what order. All I’d done today was tell her what was applicable in the moment, which didn’t seem the best method. Too hodgepodge. I was bound to miss important things. I definitely needed to ask Beau for guidance.
Still, it felt good to pass along what I knew and watch her gain some confidence in the process. I liked teaching, although it was taking me a minute to find my feet. Gwyn had gone from herparents’ home, to us, to learning how to handle her gift. Any of those activities would be a lot to process on its own. Today, I only wanted her to watch and observe—watch how to guide a ghost to pass on, peacefully. Watch how we interacted with the mayor to get the access we needed. I liked how she took notes, even using her tablet to take pictures of the setup. She was a good student and keen to learn.
