“A lot of people have abilities that they never uncover,” she explains. “We’re conditioned to forget how powerful our minds are. The world shelters us from this knowledge, and unless we go seeking it out and become open to those abilities, they stay dormant.” She levels me with a stern look, placing the book in front of me. “You came in here ready to make contact, and because of that, you unlocked your gift.”
I slink back in my chair, suddenly exhausted.
I have no idea if I believe a word coming out of her mouth, but with the events that have occurred over the past few days since I left this place, I can’t argue that something is different with me.
“What do I do?” The words come out dejected, and Corinne clucks her tongue.
“What all mediums have to do.”
I scrunch my nose, open my mouth, and shake my head in what is sure to be a very unattractive face that I hope reads as follows:Get to the damn point.
She smacks her lips together but continues. “You need to study.” She nods her head toward the book. “At some point, you need to learn to harness your abilities and block out unwanted spirits.”
“That sounds like a lot of work. Something that’ll take far too long. I need this ghost gone, like yesterday.”
She shrugs. “I wouldn’t know how long it takes. I’ve been begging the universe to bestow these powers on me my entire life.I’mnot trying to block out anything.”
I eye her warily. “If you had this mouthy bastard stalking you, you’d be doing everything in your power to block him out.”
She ponders this. “Most spirits that haunt a particular person do it for a reason. Sometimes they don’t even know what that reason is. He’s stuck in a sort of limbo,” she explains. “If he continues to come back to you, even when you’ve asked him to leave, you’re the only person that can help him cross over.”
I scoff. “How the hell am I supposed to do that? I didn’t even know the guy.”
“That’s the question you need to answer,” she says.
“I can’t even be in the same room as the man without shrieking in terror or wanting to bodily harm him. Which I can’t, by the way.”
She shrugs one petite shoulder. “Why don’t you try having a conversation with him? Ask him how he died. Ask him what unfinished business he has.”
“What if he doesn’t go away?” I counter, not at all convinced that having a conversation with Billy Garet will result in my peaceful pre-mediumship world returning.
“We can always purify your house. Sage his ass out.”
I bob my head. “I like that. Let’s go with that.”
She rolls her eyes. “Try helping him first. Can you imagine being stuck here?”
I consider her words. I can’t. I’d probably be just as snarky as he is. When death comes for me, I want to head straight to that promised beam of light and be whisked off to the land of wine and chocolate.
“If you want, I’ll help you communicate with him.”
My head snaps to Corinne. The thought of having someone next to me is much more comforting than going about this alone.
“Can you bring whatever clarifying things you have, so if he gets unruly, we can just snuff him out?”
She smirks. “I’ll bring the sage.”
I nod. “Let’s go,” I say, jumping to my feet and grabbing the book. “I’m assuming you’re letting me borrow this?”
“Yes on the book, but no to the leaving. I still have clients.”
“Cancel them. This is important,” I grind out, waving my free hand in the air to signal for her to hurry up. “You caused this. You’re going to fix it.”
“I didn’t cause anything,” she bites, tugging on her flowy black skirt that’s caught on something. “You did, with your overeager openness.”
“You make me sound like some sort of psychic hussy.”
She yanks once more and the skirt rips, causing Corinne to stomp her foot in annoyance.
