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Dixie Mafia, Simon thought.

“Why have you called?” Simon chose his words carefully, making sure not to sound confrontational.

“Word on the street has it that you’re going to bottle up something that gave us a fair bit of trouble in the past. We heard it got loose and would like to see it go away again. I wanted to let you know that we’re working our own channels to weaken it so you can make sure it doesn’t get out again.”

Something about the man’s tone and phrasing made his words sound ominous, despite the implied help.

“That’s a generous offer. It sounds very helpful.” Simon made sure he didn’t suggest an obligation, although he wanted to show gratitude for the unexpected assistance.

“We’ll know when the magic show starts,” the man said. “We’ll do what we can beforehand and send energy your way during the ritual. Got a common enemy in this case. Good luck.”

The call cut off, and Simon suspected the number was from a burner phone. He sat for a moment, thinking how wildly out of control this whole situation had become, and how different it was from his usual well-defined ghost whispering.

He thought again about the military research project that claimed to now be disbanded. Simon wasn’t expecting any surprise offers to help from its members and was just as glad not to hear from them, but he wondered if any of the participants were still alive and if they were even marginally aware of the havoc caused by the landvaettir. Unfortunately, the entity seemed too likely to be something the military would covet and think they could exploit as a weapon, so he was grateful they had not surfaced.

Simon made a note to mention the Dixie Mafia contact to Donaldson. He was grateful for all the help they could get, but siding with the Mafia was a step further than he had ever expected to go.

He decided against any more coffee and made a cup of calming tea and took his time drinking it, emptying his thoughts and taking regular, deep breaths to cleanse his chi. When he was ready, he closed his eyes and reached out to the spirits for counsel.

Several familiar ghosts showed up first. They had chosen to remain earth-bound, at least for now, and he thought of them as spirit guides.

“You face a powerful enemy. And you are frightened,” one said.

“Yes, it’s strong. Of course that’s scary,” Simon replied.

“You have allies. They are also powerful,” the second ghost said.

“Can you see anything on your side that we need to know? About the landvaettir or any spirits supporting it?” he asked.

“Other ghosts may follow in the wake of the ancient one, but they keep their distance. Its fire can consume us,” Ghost One said. That was new. Simon hadn’t considered that the landvaettir could actually destroy the wandering remnants of souls.

“Does it hunt other ghosts? Does destroying them give it energy?” Simon asked.

“It doesn’t seem to look for us, but those ghosts that have gotten in its way were absorbed. I don’t know if that gives it power or just eliminates a distraction,” Ghost Two added.

“Is there anything else?” Simon needed to know everything he could to help bind the entity.

“It is a protector of the land. It attacks because it has claimed the land as its own. The hotel is trespassing,” Ghost One replied.

That was something Simon hadn’t thought about, especially since the hotel, in one form or another, had occupied that location for a century. Then again, one hundred years was a very short time for an immortal.

He wondered whether the hotel had damaged the land or the environment but didn’t find any public citations or reports. Then again, the spirit might have its own interpretation, and just existing on the land might be enough of an offense.

“Thank you,” Simon told his ghostly advisors. “Go in peace.”

Maybe the entity’s possessiveness was something Gabriella and Donnelly already knew, something so basic to the concept of a landvaettir that they didn’t think it needed to be said. When he read up on the legends, they linked land, air, water, and households to specific types of guardians, and said that fire was a weapon for a landvaettir.

It’s not just the entity. It’s also the fire salamander and the dark ghosts it attracted that we have to get rid of. There are layers, he thought.

Next, he called Alicia Peters and filled her in.

“Wow, you’ve been busy,” she said. “How can I help? I’m sure Rowan will be on board as well.”

“The landvaettir attracted a fire salamander and dark ghosts,” Simon reminded her. “Gabriella and Donnelly are going to handle the fire entity, but I don’t want to presume that will automatically make the others go away, and I sure don’t want those to get in the way.”

“That’s a reasonable concern,” Alicia confirmed. “Do you want Rowan to deal with the fire salamander? You’ve got your hands full with the landvaettir. I can deal with the dark ghosts, and I’ll make sure we’re coordinating with Gabriella.”

“I don’t know whether it would be better to try to stop them before the landvaettir is bound so they don’t interfere, or afterward, when they might be weaker,” Simon told her.