Page 12 of Written in Red

“I know.” He stepped a bit around the shrub, snipping off overgrown bits. “This estate is endlessly perplexing.”

“But happy,” she said.

The rake moved beside Holly Hock, her hand guiding it without touching it.

“I very much want it to be a happy place for every ghost who calls it home, for however long they are with me.” Mercury was proud that he had succeeded in that.

“And,” she said, “you have been happier here than you have been since before the orphanage.”

The rake grew suddenly entirely still. So did Holly Hock.

So did Mercury.

In a shocked whisper, Holly Hock said, “How do I know that?”

He lowered his arms, no longer interested in trimming shrubs.

“I remember that. But I shouldn’t.” Holly Hock looked a little worried. “What is happening?”

Mercury stepped closer, wishing he could set his hand reassuringly on hers. “They are called Phantomic Memories, when ghosts gain memories of things they have never known. It has been happening increasingly often around me.”

“You are an orphan?” she asked.

“I am.”

“There are laws about orphans and ghosts.” Not everyone—person or ghost—was aware of that. Holly Hock, apparently, was.

“Hence the reason hunting me has become profitable.”

Holly nodded slowly, the leaves in her hair fluttering a bit. “You really were happy before the orphanage, before something tore your family apart.”

“Family?” The word stuck in his lungs as emotion wrapped tightly around his chest. Family. He’d never let himself think too closely on the possibility. “Do you remember my family?”

“Almost.” Her translucent brow pulled tight and her eyes slid away.

Baby Blue rushed toward them, a frantic look on his beloved little face. Mercury forced back thoughts of families and long-forgotten memories and focused on the distressed little ghost.

“Is the Captain taking his head off again?” Mercury guessed.

But Baby shook his head. “I can feel his voice.”

There was only one ghost whose words shook inside Baby Blue.

Mercury froze for only a moment before firming his resolve once more.

“The Violet Giant.” Mercury set his shoulders. “That means the Vanns are somewhere nearby.” His other ghosts were moving toward him. He held his hand up to stop them. “You’ll give away who I really am if you gather around now. We’re about to capture our first prisoners.”

“Into the entrapment room?” Baby Blue asked, hovering nearby.

Mercury shook his head. “Their ghost doesn’t need to be contained. Let’s take them down the third tunnel and into the first room. You all know your assignments.”

They scattered, doing an impressive job of doing so casually enough to not draw too much notice. Tacey, dressed in the plain clothes of a servant, stood beside Mercury. Her doing so wouldn’t give anything away. They would appear, at a distance, to be a couple who were part of the staff.

Mercury snatched hold of Holly Hock’s abandoned rake and held it, along with his trimming shears, in one hand. He offered his other to Tacey.

They strolled toward the back of the house. Their demeanors were outwardly unconcerned. From his place at her side, though, Mercury could see the worry she was working hard to hide. The Vanns were dangerous, not just because they were so directly tied to the threat hanging over Mercury’s head. They knew Mercury and Tacey. They could recognize them if they came too close.

“Will you ask your Invisible to find the Violet Giant and give him a message?” Mercury whispered. “Tell him we need the Vanns to go in the southeast door, down the stairs, and through the dungeon. The ghosts will do all they can to nudge them that way, but the Violet Giant’s help would be welcome.”