“We were all sitting around because we had a lull because of the farm party and the next thing you know the door blows open. It chimed the bell so we all laughed thinking the wind was picking up. They’re calling for storms tonight and over the weekend. So, it wouldn’t have been surprising but then it beelines for the counter and tosses the computer at me. Then it decided I wasn’t the target and went after this coyote guy. Well, I ghost hunt for a living. I did before anyway,” Amorti was obviously shaken up and rambling. “So I grabbed the coyote guy—”
“Dewie,” I said, knowing exactly which cuddler he meant.
“Yeah, I tossed him over my shoulder and tossed my blend – it’s a secret but it gets rid of spirits usually – at it. The fuckingthing hissed at me!” Amorti’s accent was growing thicker by the second. “But it left in a plume of black soot!”
“Is anyone hurt?” I reached for the door handle.
“No, thankfully. Jeran is big time pissed about the computer, though. He only bought a new one last week and— Well now, Moonscale Security and everyone else is all over the place in there. Didn’t you get the alerts?”
So that’s why my ass was vibrating.
“Do they need any help?” I asked, pushing open the truck door.
“No, they’re asking people to go home if they can,” Amorti said.
“Do you need a ride?” I asked.
“I’m going to stay in case the ghost comes back. I know Moonscale Security is supposed to keep spirits out, but I’ve never felt such a horrible spirit. It had the sort of energy of something that would eat its own young,” Amorti said.
I pulled my phone out of my pocket as Amorti walked away and called Brent.
“My brother’s mate owns The Cuddle Club,” I said as I waited for him to answer.
“Congratulations. Go home. Take him and go home. We’re overrun in here with security. Jeran’s okay. No one’s hurt. Well, Dewie has a bruise around his middle from being slammed into a bear’s shoulder but it’s better than being beaten to death with a flying computer that kept coming back at him. The security tape is fucking wild! Just go home, okay? We’re okay. We loveyou, but we’re trying to get everyone to go home and clear out because we don’t know what’s going on.”
“Love you. Let me know if you guys need anything,” I said.
“That’s my line about meeting your mate. If you can’t get the truck off the street, leave it. Isaiah is going to shut down the street. I’ll use my copy of the key and park it behind the club later when things calm down.”
“Thanks,” I said, stepping out of the truck as he ended the call. I rounded the truck and opened Vatten’s door. It took all my might not to hoist him over my shoulder and carry him home.
“We’ll walk to the apartment, and my brother will move the truck later,” I explained, taking his hand in mine. “It’s just a few minutes walk.”
“I mostly walked here,” he shrugged. “Walking doesn’t bother me.”
Chapter 7
Philip
Canton Valley Farm
Canton would come home late because some goofy dog named Gooseberry ate chocolate on the day all hell broke loose. As soon as Ty sent out the first alert, I herded all the kids into the Burrow. They knew the drill and not even the littlest ones hesitated to head toward the nearest trap door. We strived to keep violence out of the territory but most of us had long ago learned you can’t control every asshole with a power complex. So, we taught the kids what to do when shit hit the fan.
After the party was successfully moved into the Burrow, I headed into Bernard and Nashen’s new house where I knew a sheet from Pras’s book was hidden. If Pami had escaped through that page, I was going to shove Pras into a dirty diaper and toss him onto the trash truck.
“Would serve him right,”my bear chimed into my thoughts.
I found the page easily enough. It was tucked into an old photo album on the bookshelf. The magic was still intact. My first thought had been that she was out causing mayhem on behalf of Sharon Claudis but if it wasn’t her, it might’ve been Sharon herself. She’d lived here a long time after all. I put the page back into the photo album and headed out to look aroundthe farm. I checked all the secret places to ensure nothing was amiss and no one got caught out on their own and decided to hide there. It was all clear, but I didn’t go down into the Burrow with the others. Someone had to stay top side and keep an eye on things. It wasn’t like the horses could go down a ladder.
“It’s not Pami,” Pras said, appearing next to me as I walked back to the main part of the farm. I shot him a bird and had an inklin’ to give him a real piece of my mind. Sure, I volunteered to house Clarence and Medwin until their book was finished but Pras could’ve ended this all by just moving on. Some things were more important than pride and the dead should rest.
“What do you think is gonna come of this, you bougie, so-called ‘revolutionary’?” I spat the question out.
“He’s makin’ a council,” Pras said. “He’s acknowledging my descendants. You’d do the same for yours.”
“I hope mine would clock me upside the head if I pulled the shit you’re pulling. Risking everyone and everything because your feelings are hurt. You could’ve told the truth and moved on with your afterlife. When I brought you here you said you’d keep it in line but apparently, you’re a liar like your brother.”
“You wound me!” Pras said, floating in front of me. “That was not Pami. That was not Ferrick. Maybe it was the shebear? Maybe it was someone else.”
