Page 29 of Malice

“Otto wants to come.”

I give him a hard look. “Don’t tell me you can talk to my dog.”

“I wouldn’t call it talking. It’s more of an impression. Animals have always been able to interact with the spirit world. He doesn’t want to stay home without you.”

“Is it safe for him?”

“Most Horrors and other spirits aren’t at all interested in animals. They’re here for the humans.” He pats my shoulder. “Besides, I’ll keep an eye on him.”

“Promise?”

“Absolutely. We should get going though. Things aren’t good for Hudson.”

I nod, turning to walk swiftly back to my apartment. “I don’t know what I’m doing, Crash.”

“No one does at first. You’ll figure it out, and I’ll be there to help.”

“What if I screw up? Do any Soul Chasers screw up?”

The woman I pass gives me an odd look then takes a step back. Right. I look like I’m talking to myself. I offer an awkward smile and she turns away from me. Crash laughs.

After grabbing my keys, I head to my parking spot and secure Otto in his harness in the back seat. I take a deep breath, then start the engine and pull out of the lot on my way back to Hudson’s, having no idea what I’m about to find.

Ten minutes later, I pull into his driveway behind a navy SUV. Otto growls at the house as his fur stands up in tufts. That means something not nice is in that house.

After unsnapping Otto, we walk to the front door, and before I can knock, it swings open and a woman grabs my arm, pulling me inside.

“Tell me you know what you’re doing when it comes to this shit?”

“I’m sorry?”

Hudson is leaning against the stair railing with his arms folded around himself. “Aster, this is my sister, Jocelyn.”

“Okay. Hi.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Jocelyn glances over her shoulder towards the kitchen. “Do you know how to banish poltergeists?”

“You believe in this?”

“Obviously. I used a spirit board and pissed someone off. Pretty sure it’s that asshole Chester, but it might be any trickster entity pretending just to have a way in.”

“How do you know all of that?”

Jocelyn gives me a hard look, and as I study her face, I see the resemblance between her and her brother. “As much as I’d love to tell you all about my fascination with things beyond the veil, my brother has a serious problem in his kitchen. Can we deal with that first?”

“Yes, of course. Let’s go.”

As we move down the hallway, the other spirits of the house gather around, all of them looking very concerned as we pass.

He’s getting stronger.

I feel the statement more than I hear it, and when I glance down at Otto, he’s focused on the doorway that leads to the kitchen. The closer we get, the louder the chaos. I step over the threshold, and I’m immediately hit with a strong, freezing wind that takes my breath away.

Otto yelps, tearing off and cowering in a corner, but I’m faced with the glowing red figure of one very pissed off Horror.

“Can, um, can either of you see what I see?”

“No,” Hudson says. “I don’t see anything, but I feel how cold it is in here.”

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