Page 80 of The Devil and His Ghost

The Monster of Mountview.

That was who I’d seen earlier that day, and if what he said was true, it wouldn’t be the last I saw of her.

Chapter 28

Xander

(Present Day)

“I DON’T NEED YOUR HELP, Xander.”

My humming and steps never faltered where I walked alongside Kendyll down the hospital stairs. “Maybe I need your help.”

She gave me a bland and disbelieving look. “With what?”

I grabbed her hand and clutched it to my chest. I gave an exaggerated sigh. “Mending my broken heart.”

She yanked her hand away with a roll of her eyes. I smiled as her pace quickened down the steps and toward the doctors hallway. She didn’t hesitate when walking past the open elevator, which was good. That was what I wanted.

I, on the other hand, lingered behind a step to shoot a suspicious gaze at the dark and small space. Just like yesterday, I sensed nothing. No ghosts. No demons. No aura that promised something malicious. It was just your normal old elevator in an abandoned building.

Except Kendyll saw something.

When I’d heard and felt her terror, I’d shadow-walked to her without a second thought about my boring task in the file room. I was at her side in a second, but when I’d arrived, all I found was her with her arms up in defense, face pale, and expression scrunched in fear. I didn’t see or feel anything.

I’d wanted to distract her last night, which was why I’d gone to the rooftop to play music for her. I’d long owed her a performance on the guzheng anyway. When the other spirits showed up, I was shocked at how many were apparently here that I couldn’t sense. There was no way that many ghosts should’ve been undetectable by me, but hearing the janitor talk, things were starting to make a bit more sense.

I believed Kendyll and the janitor. I believed that she saw something, and if shadows came with what she saw like she said they had, that meant it wasn’t a ghost. Shadows meant demons, and if I couldn’t sense them or a trace of their being here, that meant it wasn’t a weak demon.

Was it a coincidence that this Monster of Mountview thing appeared after running into that Mischief demon in Hell’s Gate who took an interest in Kendyll? I didn’t fucking think so.

Worry ate away at my insides, so I’d decided no more splitting up in this place. I was going to keep Kendyll where I could see her.

I joined her in the first of the many doctor’s offices. She was sitting at the desk and rummaging through its drawers, pulling out papers and office supplies. She glanced up at me before continuing her search. “Are you done in the file room?”

“Sure am.”

“How is that possible?”

“Because I’m a demon with superior abilities.”

She shook her head. “Okay, well, did you find anything interesting? Maybe files on the ghosts we ran into last night or Maria?”

“Interesting? Sure. Most patients fit for a psych hospital would have pretty interesting medical reports and files. Though, most of the charts in there were older, since Mountview started using electronic medical records. I didn’t find Maria’s chart, which must mean she’s either from when Mountview went digital or her chart is so old, it’s lost to time.”

Kendyll nodded in agreement. “I thought that might be the case. Hopefully, we won’t need her chart. She’s getting more comfortable with me. I have faith that she’ll talk to me about her story eventually.”

The first few offices we went into were pretty basic with not much to offer. When we reached a closed door with a familiar name on its plaque, I glanced down at Kendyll to gauge her reaction. She didn’t meet my eyes, nor did she hesitate to walk into Dr. Paul Roberts’s office as though the name and room meant nothing to her.

I never knew whether to be in awe of her strength or angry that she constantly tried to hide any pain she was in. There had been a time when she’d finally let me in to catch glimpses of the wounds she kept covered. My heart twisted sharply when I thought about how I’d had her trust, only to lose it all over again.

What would she think if she knew what I was currently keeping from her? How broken would her already fragile trust in me become then?

I cleared my throat of the tightness gathered there and followed her into her old physician’s room. It looked about the way it had when I was here seven years ago. With a chair across from it, the desk remained while the same ugly, frayed fabric sofa sat against a wall. Bookshelves that had been emptied of personal photos and touches but still held random medical books stood opposite the mildewy couch.

“Wonder what a ‘ol Paul is up to,” I mused as I grabbed a binder to mindlessly skim through. “Do you think we fucked him up long term with our antics?”

“Do you really want to help me?”