Page 24 of Ghostridden
“Again, several reasons. Although in my experience, they’re all motivated by some major life event. Something that they need orwant to do. Something that left a big enough impact on their soul that they couldn’t quite sever themselves from life.”
“Unfinished business?” I said dryly.
“Hey, don’t knock it. It’s right up there in the top ten. But from what I’ve learned—Hootie being a case in point—they can pick up new reasons to remain on this plane. Just because they check one thing off their cosmic to-do list, doesn’t mean they can’t replace it with something else. In Hootie’s case, it’s a poker addiction and a terrible busybody tendency. He’s too nosy to move on.”
“Can you, well,encourageone to move on? And where do they move onto?”
“Yes to the first, although there are consequences you might not like, and as for the second? Nobody knows. As far as I’ve heard, once they move on, they never come back to tell us what’s out there waiting.”
“Say I did want toencouragethis guy to move on. How would I go about it?”
“Well, since he can communicate with you— Is he there now, by the way?”
“No. He vanished a while back, when my friend was here.”
“Once he comes back, ask him.”
“Ask him what?”
“Who he is. What he wants. What would make him happy.”
“Make him happy? How the heck do you make a ghost happy?”
“Idon’t know,” she said, exasperation clear in her tone. “That’s why youask. Don’t complain, pal. You’ve got a huge advantage. Most people who are haunted just have to guess.”
I sighed. “Okay. Is there, um, any danger? I mean, he was able to throw books around. Could he hurt me? Hurt my cat?”
She hummed tunelessly, obviously thinking. “Can’t rule it out. Most injuries are more collateral damage—like if you’d beenstanding in the way of one of the books. But your guy is already high on the haunting scale, so ordinary rules may not apply. Might be a good idea to keep a go-bag ready. Just in case.”
“Thanks. That’s so comforting.”
“Hey. I don’t make this shit up. Ghost still has that occult shop on Main Street, right?”
“Sort of, although it’s merged with a needlework store.”
“Then give me your email and I’ll send you some info on protective herbs and crystals.”
“Okay.” I gave it to her. “And thanks. Really. What do I owe you for the consult?”
“Don’t worry about it. This one’s on the house. Good luck, kid. Keep in touch. I want to hear how things turn out.”
I disconnected the call and sighed. “Just ask him,” I muttered to Gil. “Like that’s so easy. I don’t know when he’ll show up again.”
However, I decided to take Marguerite’s—Peg’s—advice and prepare for a quick bug-out. It wasn’t like I’d actually be able to sleep tonight, not when I was wondering when that transparent guy might pop in and peer at me from the ceiling like River Tam inSerenity.
So I prioritized my most precious possessions: to wit, Gil and my laptop. I loaded Gil into his carrier with a few treats. He complained a bit, but settled down to snooze after gobbling the treats. I tucked my laptop into my messenger bag and slung it over my shoulder. Then I sat down at the table, my car keys clutched in my hand, and waited.
And waited.
And waited.
Andwaited.
After about half an hour, the keys had made painful ridges in my palms and my shoulder itched under the bag’s strap. Clearly I needed a better strategy.
I uncurled my cramped fingers and set the keys on the table to shake out my hand. Transparent guy had shown up when I’d been reviewing that awful memoir. Maybe he’d show up again for the same reason. It hadn’t appeared that he could scroll the screen before, so maybe his ability to interact with the environment, so to speak, was limited to things that didn’t require the touch of actual skin.
I set the laptop up again and opened the document. I waited for another ten minutes, and when still nothing happened, I decided to escalate. I scrolled down to the beginning of the second chapter and cleared my throat.
