They got down to the reception area and found Magnus frozen, shock on his face, staring at a gaggle of ghosts hovering there.
“Magnus?” Sven asked carefully.
Magnus spun around. “Sven? You…Flo?”
Flo paused at the bottom of the stairs. “You can see me?”
Magnus nodded and then pointed at the ghosts. “And them.”
Erickson laughed, pleased. “He can see us, Sven!”
Lottie nodded. “The rift is open. We can move back and forth, and apparently, we can be seen. In this house only.”
Mercedes came out of the elevator and paused, looking at everyone standing there frozen and staring. “Whoa, this is like a standoff. What is going on?”
“I can see the ghosts and Flo,” Magnus replied, rubbing his eyes.
Sven and Flo came down the stairs rest of the stairs.
Mercedes gasped. “Sven, your curse…it’s broken?”
“Yes, and so is Flo’s,” Sven explained. “Her memories are returning.”
“She’s still a revenant though,” Lottie said, then something sparked in her expression. “Ah, that’s why the doorway opened. The revenant has come into her own. She remembers and her curse is lifted.”
“So, I can see ghosts now because of what?” Magnus asked, confused. “I’m a ghoul.”
“The rift is open apparently,” Flo stated. “The one we explained about.”
Magnus scrubbed a hand over his face. “What are we going to tell guests about this?”
“You can advertise our existence,” Lottie responded sarcastically. “I think, for the most part, we’ll be quite content with it. We’re stronger here now that the bridge to the etheric plane is open.”
“I don’t know how I feel about this,” Magnus said wearily.
“What choice do we have?” Sven countered, but then he faced the ghosts. All of them who were clustered in the reception area. “There have to be rules.”
“Rules? I don’t follow rules,” Sal snickered.
“You will,” Flo said sharply.
Lottie smiled proudly. “That’s right. Flo is a direct descendent of mine. This house is hers by birthright and she is the revenant.”
Sal looked mollified. “Fine. What rules then?”
“No excessive nudity,” Flo stated. “Sorry, Mario, you need to put on your clothes when there are guests.”
Mario sighed. “Fine. Only here though, right? I can be nude on the other side, right?”
“Sure,” Flo said.
“Good, because I hates wearing them, doll face,” Mario said.
“What else?” Lottie asked, impatiently.
“No going into guest bedrooms if they’re occupied. Give them privacy,” Sven said firmly. “And no floating into our apartments.”
“Exactly,” Magnus agreed, crossing his arms.
