“Jeremiah, if you wish to talk, we can listen,” Lucky called.
A dark hollow laughed echoed, and then everything fell silent.
“The command room,” I ordered, and every trouped back to the main lounge where we’d set up.
“I’m going to ward the room,” Michelle said before I could speak.
We watched as Michelle ran salt around the outskirts of the room and over the window ledge and door frame. Not a badidea. Ghosts can walk through walls. It wasn’t hard for them. Jeremiah could enter and listen freely. This way, we blocked him.
“Anyone want to start?” I asked.
“We need to find the trigger. He’s gaining strength too quickly to have been triggered by just Gloria seeing him. They brought something here that is his,” Callie said, and I nodded.
“Agreed, but nobody’s found anything that stands out,” Sunny stated.
“We need to do that second search now,” I agreed. Quickly, I split everyone up. Michelle and Lucky headed to check stock levels and note what they needed. Sunny stayed with Callie and me as we kept researching while the others checked the room by five a.m. We’d found nothing, and, calling it an early night, we hit the sack.
Reaver
Because we’d gone to bed early, we rose earlier than usual. Haunt was downstairs when I arrived, hair still wet from a shower.
“What’s up?” I asked, heading for the coffee urn.
“Lucky and Michelle have left and are collecting provisions. They placed a huge order last night. Callie and Sunny headed into town for errands, while Angela makes her way over,” I stated.
“You alone down here?” I asked, concerned. With this creature amping up, nobody should be alone.
“Dive and Trunk went to fetch snacks.”
I rolled my eyes at Haunt. “Typical. When are you going to realise that you’re just as important as the rest of us?You shouldn’t have been alone without someone watching your back.”
“You’re here,” Haunt stated, and I sighed. He’d no sense of self-preservation.
“Stop being an asshole,” I replied.
“Then stop being overprotective.”
Bemused, I shook my head as I poured my coffee and handed a second to Haunt. Silently, we waited for the others and Angela to appear. Her staff had been in today to clean the Inn, but they’d worked in pairs. Unfortunately, an aura of fear emanated from them, which worked against them. That would feed Jeremiah, and I’m sure he was lapping it up. Haunt sat staring out of the window, clearly chewing things over, and I left him to it. I knew better than to disturb him.
Haunt
One by one, the team rolled in, and an hour later, Michelle and Lucky arrived back, each carrying a box.
“There’s more in the car if you can get it,” Lucky said as he placed the box down at the end of the room.
Ghoul, Suga and Gizmo ventured out for it, and Coffee came in with Angela. She looked better than when I’d last seen her, but she was pale and slightly shaking.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
“A little scared. This is my home, and it’s a terrible thing to be frightened of it,” she replied.
“I understand that, and we believe we’ve got a lead. We’ll wait for everyone to come back, but things have escalated here, Angela. It’s a good job you called us when you did,” I replied.
“How bad is it, Haunt?” Angela murmured, looking like she didn’t want the truth.
“Bad. And worsening, but we think we might have something, a lead we believe may give us answers. Callie and Sunny are here.” I nodded as they walked through the door.
“Hey,” Callie said with a warm smile at Angela. “We have something. You may wish to hear this news before others.
