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Wherever that is.
But most people couldn't handle sticking around long enough to pinpoint the location for an exorcism, or, in this case, a good old-fashioned chat session. Which was where I always came in on poltergeist duty for IPCA.
Steve nodded. His extremities had already vanished. "You're right. About time I gave being dead a shot. "
"That's the spirit!" I smiled encouragingly.
"Thanks. At least one of us will finally be free of this nightmare. "
"Oh, I-" I was going to explain that I was free now and it was my choice to be here tonight-or at least, kind of, since Jack hadn't really given me a chance to turn him down-and honestly, I had such mixed feelings about the whole thing, I wasn't sure what to tell Steve, other than that I wasn't a prisoner or even an employee and he shouldn't assume I was-
Before I could form a coherent thought, he had disappeared. For good, this time. I hoped.
"Bye, Steve," I whispered to the empty room.
I sat there for a few seconds, but being alone here was far more frightening than any haunting could have been. This room didn't need dramatics to give me nightmares. I scrambled up, waited for the door to open, and stumbled into the hallway.
"Raquel?" The blank hall stretched out, empty. Great.
I walked toward her office, lost in thought about Lish, and poor Steve, and all the other souls I'd sent out of this life, some quite literally. Where did they go? Did Steve go the same place as Lish? And was it vampire Steve or normal Steve? What exactly happened to the souls when their human bodies died and became vampires? And then when the vampire bodies died?
Hello, headache.
I sighed and put my hand on the door pad. Only when it didn't open did I look up and realize I'd unconsciously gone back to my old unit.
I stared, dumbfounded, at the door. It felt like part of me, old Evie, should break off from the rest, smile and wave, then go through and flop down on the purple couch. Instead, all of me stood on the threshold, barred from a life I said I was done with.
I had thought so many times about the things-actual, physical things-that I'd left behind. A pair of red peep-toe heels in particular plagued me. Now I actually had excuses to wear them, and they were stuck in my unit. I had even composed a running list in my head of all the stuff I would snatch from my room if I ever had the chance.
But I couldn't get in, couldn't go back. I didn't think I wanted to, either. That unit was a tomb for the Evie who had lived there, oblivious to the complexities of the world around her, clueless as to what she really was. I didn't want anything from her.
I turned and made my way carefully to Raquel's office. I needed to get out of here. Now. Claustrophobia had set in with a vengeance, and the sudden panic of realizing I couldn't get out unless theylet me out made it hard to breathe. I turned the corner and nearly ran into Jack, who looked equally startled to see me.
"Why, Evie, you look like you've seen a ghost. "
"Har, har. " I felt wrung out, empty. I wanted to go home. "Is Raquel in her office?"
"How would I know?"
"Weren't you just there?"
"Nope. "
"Oookay. "
"Evie?" I turned in relief at Raquel's voice as she walked up behind me. "How did it go?"
"The Center is officially Not Haunted. " At least, not by any poltergeists. If memories were ghosts, it was positively oozing with them. And now I was, too. "Can I go
now? I'm pretty tired. "
"Of course. Jack, if you'd-"
We were interrupted by a door forming on the wall next to us. A tall faerie with pure white hair and skin the color of a ripe peach stepped through. "You!" Her voice rang like cold metal through the hallway.
I jumped back. "I won't-"
"I didn't do it!" Jack shouted, interrupting me. I looked at him, puzzled. Did he think the faerie was after him?
