A middle-aged man with a thick beard stepped up to my side. “Sir, name’s Harry.”
“Hello, Harry. What can I do for you?”
“Well, sir, since you’re helping us like this, figured I should pass along a few things.” Harry scratched his beard, bushy brows drawn together. “There’s some bad men in this here town. And the old town ain’t much better.”
I oriented toward him, paying better attention. “Tell me more.”
“Well, this here town, there’s a ghost that’s nigh on demon. It’s a sad situation.” Harry shook his head, expression falling. “Don’t know much about him, but heard whispers, know he’s responsible for some of the violence in town. Be aware of him. Especially with this young apprentice here, I worry what’ll happen if he gets his hooks in her.”
Well,shit. “Good to know. What’s his name?”
“Sorry, I don’t know any more, sadly.”
“I thank you for the information. We’ll deal with him.” Somehow. I truly hoped he wasn’t pure demon yet. Getting a demonologist over here wouldn’t be an easy matter. God almighty, I didn’t like this at all. I was worried enough with this workload; it already felt like I was about to get in over my head, and this news didn’t help. My eyes went to Gwyn, who was basically defenseless, and my worry amped up a whole other level. I’d be an anxiety-ridden mess until we left this damn place and I could get her somewhere safer. “What about Miner’s Creek?”
“It’s a different kettle of fish. The town was abandoned because of a bad explosion. Tore the mine apart and killed dozens. Bankrupted the company and they pulled out. Something dark grew in its wake. Don’t know what. Can’t tell you, as none of us were curious enough to go in there. But it’s bad mojo.”
“Is it a physical beast or demon or what?”
“Can’t tell you,” Harry repeated with a disturbed look over his shoulder, like even speaking of it would bring trouble on his head. “Any ghost that goes near don’t come back.”
And I say again, shit. “I understand. I’ll investigate with caution.”
Gwyn passed me, a hand held out. “Sir, would you like to go next?”
“I would, young lady.” An older ghost took her hand and followed her.
I focused once more on my apprentice. Gwyn had gained confidence with each ghost she passed. She didn’t seem overconfident, she was still taking it slow, but I could see she had a good grasp on the technique. I’d let her do another ten, then stop her.
While I watched, my thoughts spun. An almost-demon and a mystery in the abandoned mining town, eh? Because that was what this case needed, more monkey wrenches. I was going to keep Gwyn very, very close until we were out of here. If she wasn’t with me, then she’d need to be with some member of the team. Leaving her unguarded for even a moment would spell disaster. I wasn’t going to take chances with her. I wasn’t going to let her be bullied anymore, or harassed, or hurt. Those days when ghosts had power over her werelongover. I sidled over to Brandon and sat on his knee so I could quietly relay to him what Harry had told me.
Brandon loosely wrapped his arms around my waist and heard me out, dark brows drawing together in a frown. “So, summing up, we’ve got two major problems and we’re not even sure what the second one really is.”
“That’s the size of it, cher.”
He groaned, head coming to rest on my shoulder. “One of us is having a stroke and I’m worried it’s me.”
“I couldn’t have said it better.”
At least today would go smoothly?
8
Beau and Hannah met us in town for dinner, as they had finally arrived and were starving, according to them. Davina didn’t come—she could barely stomach soup right now—but the rest of our group went in. Lachlan finally joined us, giving Gwyn a chance to properly talk to him.
I think she was immediately charmed by the accent, but then he started telling her how we’d met and she was pretty captivated.
It did make a good story. I wouldn’t want to live through it again, though, that’s for sure.
We’d chosen a little Mexican joint, as Mexican food was something Mack could navigate around with his food sensitivities, and I saw Beau waiting next to the entrance. His white hair lifted a little with the wind, and he was dressed in clothes that looked to be loose and comfortable, which made sense with traveling. He waved, perking up when we started piling out of the SUV. Hannah was quick to join his side, also waving hi. She’d caged her white hair in some kind of updo, also dressed very comfortably and with sandals on in concession to the heat.
“Hello, hello, we finally made it. Ah, this must be Gwyn.”
Mack promptly took her over to him to make introductions. I could see how it delighted Beau, his own apprentice now being master enough to take on a student. Gwyn seemed nervous to meet new people, but she did strike me as an introvert. She was also tired, granted, after a long-ass day. She’d even passed ghosts today on top of everything else.
Hannah told us our table was ready, so we went in, sitting around two long tables shoved together.
I ended up at the end cap, Quinn on the other side, our respective Mediums close at hand just in case. The restaurant was lively and clearly popular. Even after calling ahead, we’d had to wait for a table. Despite all the conversations flowing around us, and the divine-smelling food, there was this air of unease I couldn’t quite put my finger on. A tension lying just below the surface. I didn’t like the feel of it whatsoever.
