Page 27 of The Devil and His Ghost

Blowing out a breath, I quickly directed the conversation to safer waters. I pointed at her camera. “Since no ghosties want to come out, should I pose for some photos for you like old times?”

Her own expression evened out. She pursed her lips and pushed her glasses up her nose. “Do you not remember how Bethelma reacted to your presence the last time you acted up? I’m not sure a demonic haunting is the vibe she’s going for.”

Before I could respond, there came a shift in the air. We both felt it, because at the same time, we turned to look at where the presence had appeared. Crouched behind the wheelchair but peeking around it was the same ghost girl from yesterday. She looked around six or seven years old, but just like the day before, I caught the unmistakable cloud of fear hovering around her.

“Hello there,” Kendyll greeted sweetly.

The ghost girl’s grip around the edge of the wheelchair tightened. Thanks to my Mischief demonic ability to sense terror and related emotions, I felt her apprehension spike. She was about to disappear again.

Kendyll must’ve realized it, too, because she quickly continued, “You don’t have to be scared. I’m not here to hurt you. My name’s Kendyll, and I’m new here. I was hoping we could be friends.”

The little girl stuck her messy head out a little more to get a better look at Kendyll. Kendyll took that as a good sign and pointed toward the common room down the hallway. “I saw a bunch of fun toys back there. Do you want to go play together?”

The little girl glanced at me and nearly shrank back again.

I plastered on my own smile and waved while making sure my human guise was firmly in place. “I’m Xander. I’m her friend.”

The child looked back at Kendyll, who brightened and extended her hand. She made no other move to stand or rush toward the ghost, most likely afraid of scaring her off. The little phantom resembled a skittish rabbit that who ready to flee at any slight shift from us. We seemed to be at a stalemate where Kendyll and I didn’t want to move but she was too nervous to come closer, either.

Catsper suddenly appeared between Kendyll and me, and he began to purr softly. The ghost girl’s attention zeroed in on the ghost cat, and a bright twinkle filled her eyes. The black cat rubbed his head and back along Kendyll’s legs before sauntering over to me to do the same. His one milky green eye looked on at the ghost child, who stared at him with barely restrained excitement.

“Do you like cats?” Kendyll hedged as Catsper returned to her for her to run the tips of her fingers along his spine. “This is Catsper. He’s my good kitty. Aren’t you, Catsper?”

The feline meowed in response.

The ghost girl inched a single shuffle closer on the ground.

“You can pet him if you want,” Kendyll offered.

The cat acted as a bridge of trust between the child spirit and us. The dark-headed girl reached out to lightly tap Catsper’s phantom head, and he, in turn, rubbed against her palm. She giggled gleefully, and it was like all of her defenses were fully blown through. When Kendyll next extended her hand, the little girl took it with hardly any hesitation.

Kendyll and the ghost girl walked down the hallway hand in hand while Catsper padded across the open air around them. I followed at a distance, not wanting to add any unnecessary unease on the timid spirit, but more than that, I just couldn’t help but take in this view and the warmth Kendyll exuded from her smile to her soft movements as she handled the little girl.

The sight made me think about our plans to create the first human-demon child, which had always been more of a joke than anything serious. But seeing Kendyll now, thinking about the daughter of our imagination who looked like Kendyll, envisioning the three of us and our ghost cat … I couldn’t breathe past how much I longed for that impossible future.

Instead of joining Kendyll and the child by the stuffed animal cubby, I leaned against the dusty nurses’ station to watch the two pull different animals off the shelves. Catsper swatted at a stuffed orange cat that had seen better days, though his paw went right through the toy. The plushie was losing a leg and had a few spots stained with some sort of substance.

Kendyll chatted softly to the tiny human, but the ghost didn’t respond. She simply stared at Kendyll or watched Catsper. The spirit glanced at a stuffed animal Kendyll held out for her and hesitantly reached for it, perhaps uncertain that she’d have enough power to interact with the toy. I focused on the two and let the energy I’d been stockpiling extend outward for the play date. The phantom happily played with a stuffed bear while Kendyll slithered a snake plushie along the floor.

Unbothered by the child’s silence, Kendyll carefully prodded for the girl’s name. When she still received no answer, she began guessing silly names like Cupcake or Princess Puffles to get small giggles out of the phantom. I couldn’t help but smile.

It wasn’t long after Kendyll started listing off names that a heavy, dark ripple of silence echoed through the building. I sucked in a sharp breath, all smiles gone, and pushed away from the nurses’ station while ordering Kendyll, “Wait here.”

Before she could respond, I merged with shadows and moved toward that new strong presence that had appeared. Following the trail of energy, it brought me to the first floor of the building, specifically to the hallway with the doctor’s and director’s offices. The demon I’d sensed arriving wasn’t here, and that dark trace of their presence was already dwindling.

I frowned and took my time peeking into each of the doctor’s offices on either side of me, just in case the creature from Hell was still here and hiding somehow. After finding no sign of another demon, I returned to the corridor in time to see Kendyll rounding the corner at the other end.

“There you are,” she said, tucking her black hair behind an ear as she surveyed the empty hallway. “What’s wrong?”

I shook my head. “I felt another demon show up, but their presence is gone now.”

Her brows rose. “A demon? Was it one of your friends?”

“No. I didn’t recognize their aura, though I could tell it was another Mischief demon. They were probably just wandering by, thinking the place was still a functioning hospital. When they saw there were no patients, staff, or even really any ghosts here to mess with, they left.” I gave her a slow once over. “Why are you here? I told you to wait up there with your new friend.”

“She left when you did. She suddenly seemed really scared again and disappeared.”

I frowned, not liking that the ghost vanished at the same time that a demon appeared within the building.