“Any ideas?” Lucky asked Callie, who was frowning.
“A couple. Have people been physically injured?”
“Yes. Scratches, shoves, handprints, slaps and kicks. One receptionist had a burn on her wrist that literally appeared before three witnesses’ eyes,” Reaver added.
“I’d say demon,” Michelle said.
“I’d agree, but two exorcisms and it gets stronger after them?” Lucky pointed out.
“That’s strange, and maybe not demonic. Poltergeist springs to mind,” Michelle pursed her lips.
“Except there are no conditions for a poltergeist to form. No angsty teens, no emotional upheaval, no bereavement; everything was fine until this hit out of the blue. The spirit dislikes being filmed or interacted with, destroying severalexpensive cameras and blowing up a spirit music box,” Reaver said.
“Really?” Sunny glowered. “Callie!”
It was Callie’s turn to glare at Sunny. “Remember our agreement!”
Sunny began muttering under his breath. Clearly, we were missing something here. Callie ignored him. “Do you have any footage?”
“Yeah, here,” Lucky said, loading up his tablet and turning it to them. Callie and Jack both leaned forward.
“May I?” Jack asked.
“Yeah.” Lucky handed it over. I knew what they were looking at. It was captured on the security cameras at two a.m. a week ago. The bar area was ready for the cleaners in the morning. The chairs had been turned upside down and placed on top of the tables. In the black-and-white, grainy image, a figure appeared. While you couldn’t decipher any features, it had a male-shaped form. It stayed put for around thirty seconds and then, one by one, chairs got pushed off the tables they had been on.
The figure turned its head and stared at the security camera. Then the mirror behind it exploded. As lights came on in the hallway, the shadow grew in size and flew towards the camera, and everything went black.
“The camera was ripped off the wall, and the security system was overloaded,” I muttered as Callie wound it back.
“Slow it down,” Callie ordered Jack. I leant forward. Had she spotted something?
“What is it?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” Callie frowned. “Lucky, can you put it on a frame-by-frame?”
Lucky took possession of the tablet, adjusted it, then gave it back to Callie. She watched it twice over, her frown deepening.
“Callie?” Sunny asked, his patience clearly coming to an end.
“Something is ringing a bell, but I... wait, there, it’s a faint flash before the figure appears.”
We all leaned over to see what she’d spotted and, fuck me, if she wasn’t correct. “How did we miss that?”
“Because it’s so quick, the naked eye couldn’t see it,” Jack said.
“I was looking at something else, actually.” Callie pressed play, and I pursed my lips. We overlooked two things. The mirror behind the stranger lifted from the wall before he appeared. Damnit.
“What does that mean?” Sunny asked.
“No idea. But it’s interesting. Michelle, any ideas?”
“I have to say, demon, but I’m not convinced. This thing wants attention and is doing everything possible to get it. But as soon as it has it, it reacts negatively. I’ve no idea,” she replied.
Callie
I was confused. This was unlike anything I’d experienced previously. This could be an amped-up spirit new to the Inn or an existing one that got a power boost and became interactive. Demon didn’t ring right to me, but I’d leave it on the list. Same with poltergeist. The flash meant something, and I’d have to hit the books.
I was making a list of possibilities when Haunt’s phone rang. He drew it from his pocket and answered.
