Page 7 of Hot Ghost Summer

I watch Theo beeline for the open foundation trench on the far side of the building, with the heat of the midday sun strong on my back. My fingers tighten around the EMF Meter, and stress pumps my blood through the vein in my forehead.

I wouldn’t have allowed another recruit to get away with that, but Theo… The Dom in me is already wondering if his arse will match the colour of his vest when I’m done with him. This is why Theo and I are a bad idea, I chastise myself.

Depositing my phone safely back in my pocket, I pinch the bridge of my nose and count backward from five, but I don’t make it to three before a loud “woohoo” echoes from across the plot.

My eyes snap to Theo, whose sneakers hang perilously over the edge of that blasted trench.

He spins around then, seeking me out. “It’s so deep I can’t even see the rock I just threw in!”

“I’m going over there to take some EMF readings.” Stiff and straight, I sling my arm out wide, pointing to the western edge of the plot, furthest away from that deathtrap hole he’s obsessed with. “It’s probably best if you don’t get too close while I do so.”

I don’t wait for Theo’s reaction before striding into the cooling shadow cast by the building’s only wall. My burgeoning headache fades when the unmistakable sound of curious and defiant footsteps come from behind me. The corner of my mouth tugs upward into a small smile.

Turning up the volume on the EMF Meter, I pretend I haven’t heard him approach. When Theo circles left, I turn right. When he heads right, I redirect left, and walk along the wall, keeping within its shadow. The steady clicking of the apparatus is all that can be heard. I wonder how long before he…

“This is a pretty big building,” he comments loudly. “What do you think it’s going t’ be?”

“Offices,” I state flatly.

“Right, yeah.”

More steady clicks sound from the EMF Meter, and Theo tries again. “Except, this is a leafy borough for affluent families. What kind o’ company is going t’ buy an office building in this area?”

“None, if we don’t resolve the client’s problem.” I briefly turn and use the EMF Meter’s antenna to point at the Kestrel Meter that still swings, forgotten, from his wrist.

But I’m keen to maintain this more professional conversation, so I indulge him. “This is a multifunctional site, meaning it offers a mix of residential and business properties, and a development of this scale will fetch a pretty penny. Whatever bonus they’ve offered ExorSquad will be nothing compared to that.”

“How big are we talking?”

I shrug; I don’t have the figures. Likely, they’ll be in the attachments included in the email chain, but I wasn’t afforded the time to study the case before being harassed out here. A sour reminder that Gerald sent me to an active haunt site with an untrained recruit so he could collect a few pounds. An exasperated sigh escapes me.

“This is a prime location, as you pointed out, yet no crew will set foot on site. There’s been too many injuries, and if we don’t handle it, I’d estimate a loss of twenty million on this plot alone.”

Theo’s whistle is long and low.

I aim a meaningful look at him over the gold rim of my glasses, then extend my arm towards the LPA Synchrotron.

He stares at my up turned palm for a long minute, then shakes his head.

I step into his personal space. “There are consequences for disobedience, Theo.”

In the shadow of the towering wall, only the EMF Meter’s flashing LEDs reflect from the dark surface of his eyes.

Clearing his throat, he nods, smiles, and steps around me. When he grabs the rungs of a ladder that leads up to the first floor, he winks at me.

I watch until his sneakers disappear from sight, and only then do I allow myself to smile. Oh, Baby, I can be patient.

Eventually, I follow him up what might be a lift shaft, given its location, but the moment I haul myself clear the atmosphere changes.

The quiet rumbling can’t be heard, but I can clearly feel it through the rough concrete. The passing of an underground train through a tunnel far below, perhaps? Except there’s no east—west line this far north.

Theo hasn’t noticed anything. He has the plasma ray gripped in both hands and his back pressed against the only upright support pillar so far constructed on this level. Emulating a tactical room-clearance procedure, he peers around its other side as if what haunts us plays by the rules of logic and physics.

Still on all fours, I click the EMF Meter on, and its lights instantly cast long shadows from each piece of grit and debris in front of me on the dusty floor. The clicking rhythm is steady and constant. No presence detected.

Exhaling my relief, I push up onto my knees, and at that exact moment the vibrations come again.

This time, the floor shudders more notably, and the needle on the EMF Meter’s dial moves erratically higher. The rumbling sound is louder too, like that of distant thunder, and the tiny pebbles on the concrete bounce and jiggle.