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CHAPTER SEVEN

We gathered in my living room that evening—Rowan and Tarvish, Kerris and Bryan, and Killian and me. Xi and Klaus bounced through the room and Kerris caught Xi up and gave her a snuggle.

“I have three Maine Coons,” she said. “Agent H., Gabby, and Daphne. They’re doing really well for their ages—they’re all eleven now. They’re littermates.”

“Cats make the world a better place,” Tarvish said. “We have four kittens?—”

“ You have four kittens,” Rowan said, laughing.

“You love them and you know it.” Tarvish leaned over and kissed her. It still seemed odd to see a demon kissing my grandmother, but I’d mostly gotten used to it.

“So what do we do about Penelope? We have two days to rescue her and to free the ghosts that want to leave,” I said.

“We’ll have to sneak in there at night,” Kerris said. “That’s the best time for me to talk to Penelope. But we have to get her sarcophagus out of there, too. They stole the entire thing. They had to, because during the day she sleeps in it.”

“Then we’ll need the men,” Rowan said, glancing at Killian. “Are you willing to help us?”

“Whatever you need,” Killian said.

Bryan and Tarvish nodded.

“If you’re moving a sarcophagus, then we’ll also need a truck to carry it in,” Tarvish said. “Mine should work. We’ll have to drive over to Whisper Hollow to return the sarcophagus to you.”

Kerris blushed. “I hadn’t even thought of that. How could I be so dense?”

“It’s easy when you’re flustered and facing a serious problem,” I said. “So, what do we do? I know it’s already late, but we might do best to go tonight. How do we deal with Abernethy? We don’t want to alarm him so that he calls Wily and Cleese.”

“Leave that to me,” Rowan said. “But rather than go tonight, let’s aim for tomorrow night.

That way we can prepare charms to free the ghosts who want to cross over the Veil, and we won’t have to go back a second time.

I guarantee you, once we rescue Penelope, the security on the Pest House will go up by tenfold. ”

We all agreed that Rowan was right, so the rest of that night we prepared.

As Rowan prepared a spell to knock out Abernethy and keep him asleep, Kerris meditated for guidance on Penelope.

I meditated because my focus would be on freeing the other ghosts who wanted out of there.

The men prepared Tarvish’s truck to hold Penelope’s sarcophagus, and all the while, the October night mirrored our moods with rain and wind and storm.

* * *

By the next afternoon, we were ready to go. Rowan took the first step. She headed out for the Pest House in a taxi, freshly baked cherry pie in hand. When she called an hour later—at four o’clock—it was with the news that Abernethy had taken the bait and was in a deep sleep.

“He won’t wake up till morning,” she said.

“I put a sign on the door that the Pest House is closed for cleaning this afternoon, and we’re good to go.

Come on over. I also took the precaution of making certain that there are no cameras around here, and when his employers texted him, asking how things were going, I texted back as Abernethy, stating that I was a little under the weather and going to bed early.

They said they’ll be down tomorrow to prepare for the ‘grand opening’…

so we have to finish this before morning. ”

“We’re on our way,” I said. I was driving, with Kerris and Killian riding along.

Tarvish was driving the truck, with Bryan riding shotgun.

We were bringing everything we could think of to help, from magical gear to ropes and hammers and whatever else we might need to physically extricate Penelope’s sarcophagus from the mausoleum.

Twenty-five minutes later, we pulled into the Pest House parking lot. Rowan, who had been waiting by the door, hustled out.

“Abernethy fell for it like a piece of cake. Or piece of pie. I put enough sleeping potion in there to keep him out for the night. It won’t hurt him, and he should wake up tomorrow, feeling chipper and alert.

As I said, I checked for any security cameras and bugs, but there aren’t any.

I imagine they’ll be installing some tomorrow when they prepare for their haunted tours.

They’re not going to want groups in here without some sort of supervision. ”

She led us into the house. Abernethy was sleeping soundly on the sofa, and he didn’t even twitch when we came in. I wondered what herbs my grandmother had used, but I could ask her later.

“So we get the sarcophagus now?” I asked.

“Yes, before Penelope wakes up. We’re going to want to seal it, and to break the spell that’s keeping her under their control,” Kerris said.

“Leave that to me,” Rowan said.

We headed out to the mausoleum. The wind rose, buffeting us as we crossed the cemetery.

The ghosts were active—I could feel them all around.

I glanced at Kerris, who was looking pale and drawn.

As a particularly nasty gust swiped past us, its chill razor-sharp, she tightened the belt of her jacket, crossing her arms.

“You can feel them too, can’t you?” I asked.

She nodded. “The ghosts are active. They know something’s up. Everything feels agitated here, and it reminds me far too much of the Pest House over in Whisper Hollow. The Covenant of Chaos really intends to offer a disturbed presentation, don’t they?”

“They delight in chaos,” I said. “They’re banking on the fact that there are actually ghosts here. They’ll be able to pull in thousands in revenue if they carry this off. No one can say they’re faking it. They’re just taking advantage of a number of trapped spirits.”

“They seem crueler than even the Hounds.”

“I don’t know about that, but they’re definitely a threat.” I fell silent as we reached the mausoleum. As we stood there by the threshold, the wind caught up a whirl of leaves, spiraling them around us like a vortex.

Rowan, who was in the lead, pushed open the heavy door and the three of us stepped inside.

The mausoleum was empty except for a sarcophagus.

It was smooth stone, and it looked heavy as hell.

I wondered if the men would be able to lift it, although with a demon and two wolf shifters, they should be able to.

I wasn’t sure what the stone was made of, but it was smooth, and felt cool, like marble.

Embellished with rune work, the moment I touched it I could feel Penelope.

Even though I’d never met her, I recognized the energy from working with the dead.

“Is she asleep?” I asked.

Kerris nodded. “She seldom wakes before sunset.” She brushed her hand across the stone. “Yes, she’s sleeping right now. And we need to keep her that way until we get back home to Whisper Hollow.” She turned to Rowan. “You said you have a charm or talisman?”

Rowan held up a wax seal. She crossed to the top of the sarcophagus and gently pressed it against the marble. There was a silent hush, and suddenly, everything about the sarcophagus felt muffled.

“I’m pretty sure this is what they used on her to kidnap her,” Rowan said. “And a second use will nullify their control over her. I found the recipe for the charm in an old book that I have about spirit shamans.”

“What’s the book?” Kerris asked.

“I’ll lend it to you, if you like. But I need it back. There aren’t too many copies in existence. In fact, I’ll make a copy for you, because the copy I have is from the early 1900s and it hasn’t been reprinted in decades.”

As Rowan turned toward the door, there was a noise at the back of the mausoleum. I glanced over just in time to see two skeletal guards appear, manifesting right in front of me. A pale green illuminated their eye sockets, giving them a freakish look, and they began to advance on us.

“Crap,” I said. “They set up a booby trap.”

I had only been planning on taking care of a few ghosts. I wasn’t prepared to fight a skeleton.

“Killian!” I shouted.

Killian immediately rushed in, taking in the sight.

“Get out,” he growled.

Rowan, Kerris, and I dashed out of the mausoleum as the men pushed in. We weren’t equipped to fight walking skeletons—but they were. Shifters were always stronger, physically, than witches, and demons trumped both. As they dove in, fighting the skeletons, we backed off to give them room.

I heard something and turned to see a swirl of mist heading toward us.

It began to coalesce into a ghostly form as it approached, driving anger and fear before it.

The form took on a shape and features—it was a man, in a doctor’s coat, with a malevolent glare in his eyes.

He barked a silent command and three glowing orbs of light shot forward, heading toward us.

Before I could move, the spirit of Dr. Myopa slammed against me, his hand forward, and what felt like an icy sharp needle pierced my shoulder, the sensation ricocheting through my body in a shockwave of pain.

I screamed and stumbled back, surprised by the amount of pain the ghost had inflicted.

As I struggled to recover, Kerris jumped in front of me.

“I am the spirit shaman of Whisper Hollow—hear me and despair!” She held up her athame and the ghosts hesitated.

“Well, we know they’re not friendly.” I stood, trying to shake off the pain. I pulled out my own athame from my tote bag. The blade glistened in the dim afternoon light. Crossing to Kerris’s side, I began to draw a series of runes in the air to bind enemies.

By earth and air, by water and fire, I cast this spell from my desire,

By cave and storm, by wave and warmth, I bind thee from inflicting harm.

Back to the Veil, I command thee fly, Back to the spirit world, all who’ve died.

Back to the grave, back to the ground, away from sight, away from sound.

Away from life, away from thought, all spirits flee and harm us not.

As I poured energy into the spell, Kerris joined me.

I had taught her the incantation this morning, and she used her force as a spirit shaman, drawing her own series of runes with her own dagger.