Page 5 of Daddy's Protection
Something told her this threat was supernatural, too. There was the off chance that a burglar could have broken in or something. But why laugh loudly and announce their presence? And what about that cold? Was the burglar just like, “Hey, I’m going to turn on the AC and jack down the thermostat just to be funny?”
No, Cami thought. If there was a threat, it was most likely supernatural.
Pausing at the staircase, she drew a deep breath, steadied her nerves, and then began her descent.
Cami jumped and yelped at a loud noise. She recovered quickly, though, after realizing it was just the step beneath her feet creaking.
“Old houses,” she whispered. “They’re noisy, Cami.”
She stabilized herself by gripping the polished wood banister as she crept down the stairs. After pausing on the midway landing for a moment, she walked the rest of the way until she was on the first floor.
It wasn’t very long before she saw the first two ghosts.
They were mere flickers—quick movement in her peripheral vision. But she caught a long enough glance to make out the spiritly form of two people dancing.
The woman’s dress was long and flowing. The man looked quite dapper in his tuxedo complete with tails. They glided across the floor of the wide entryway and into the parlor.
“What the?—”
This can’t be real!Cami thought.
Hearing strange noises and even faint laughter was one thing. But actually seeing ghosts? That was entirely another!
Now the fear was replaced by curiosity, allowing her to dart from the staircase and toward the front parlor.
She came to a skidding stop before going into the room as her eyes landed on the woman who stood—or maybe hovered was a more accurate description—in front of her, near the room’s center.
The strange visitor was translucent, lacking color. Her dress spoke of the Victorian era, as did the way in which her hair was piled atop her head. She was actually pretty.
For a moment. Right until the point she wasn’t.
The skin on her face melted away, revealing her skull. Her mouth opened wide and she emitted a blood-curdling scream before vanishing altogether.
Cami screamed, too, before spinning on her heels and bolting back up the stairs.
Once in her room, she leapt for her phone, found Iris’s number, and called.
“I’m sorry to call so late!” she panted. “But… I… need the Daddy Guard! Fast!”
“Cami, what’s wrong?” Iris asked frantically.
It took Cami a moment to respond. Finally, her breathing subsided enough for her to offer a brief and shocking explanation.
“It’s… there are… they were dancing. In my house. And the lady. Oh gosh! She screamed!” She closed her eyes, exhaled loudly, and then voiced what she’d been suspecting for some time now.
“Iris, my house is haunted!”
Chapter 3
Isaiah brought his pickup to a stop in front of the curb and stepped out to examine the house before him.
“Itiscreepy. I’ll give her that,” he mumbled under his breath.
The rest of the Guard had stayed home, as they didn’t feel this was an all-hands-on-deck situation. They took the call seriously when the young woman—Cami Foster—had dialed them. But there was more than likely a logical explanation for all this.
Ghosts weren’t real, after all, Isaiah thought as he walked toward the gate. The woman inside the house wasn’t in anyrealdanger. This was all probably just the product of an overactive imagination. He’d been around enough Littles to know how they could be. That was part of their charm. He wouldn’t have them any other way.
That didn’t mean she was really in need of his protection, though. But she was scared. That alone broke his heart.
