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When Cassie passed through the doors to the emergency room, it felt like she had walked into a different world. When she had visited the hospital previously, she’d been able to resist the ghostly tendrils that reached out for her help.
Now, she didn’t have the strength to stop them from pulling her under.
Here, it tasted like fear. It oozed like a black, amorphous mass as it sucked her in, threatening to obstruct her airways. Its icy fingers trailed up her arms, along her neck, and down her back until her entire body erupted into goosebumps.
All hospitals held energy from the spirits that passed through them. It was inevitable when so many had died in the same place over the years. The older the hospital, the more that energy had concentrated and transformed into something else. Something that touched the edges of sentience.
The ghosts here, in the emergency room, were different, too. Few spirits were stronger than those who had met a tragic and sudden death, and they lined the walls in this area. Cassie could hardly believe the building was still standing. The dead pushed against the walls as though they thought touching the frosty night air would be enough to bring them back to life.
She stumbled as she approached the main desk, dizzy and weak. She had to catch her breath, slow her heart, clear her mind. If she let them get too close, she’d have too much trouble shaking them. They’d burrow into her mind, attach themselves to her body, and she’d be dragging their spirits behind her until she cast them out or they took her completely.
One deep breath followed another. A woman approached. The sound in Cassie’s head drowned her out. Concern lined her mouth. The shape of her words carried a heavy burden Cassie could feel rather than hear.
“My mom.” Cassie could barely make out her own voice. The pulsing of her blood was too loud. “I’m looking for my mom.”
The woman said something else. Cassie shook her head. She couldn’t concentrate. Couldn’t hear what the woman was saying. The noise was crippling. It threatened to crush her skull beneath the weight. She felt her knees give way.
Strong arms kept her upright. She turned to see her father’s face inches from hers. Cassie felt the world rush back to her. Laura was there, her eyes wide and her lips parted as though she could see the ghosts, too. The grip of the spirit realm retreated, not gone but just out of reach.
“Cassie?” Her father still held her. “Are you okay?”
“Mom?”
“She’s okay. Come sit down.”
Cassie let them take her over to a corner of the waiting room where they’d made a little nest out of jackets and tissue boxes. She collapsed into a chair but refused to let go of her father’s hand. Her sister handed her a bottle of water, and Cassie felt it refresh every cell in her body, making her come alive once more.
“What’s going on?” Laura’s question held meaning only the sisters understood. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. Better now. Sorry.” Cassie swallowed. Her mouth still tasted like ash. “Got a little overwhelmed.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m sure.” She did her best attempt to smile. “I just need a minute.”
“Your mom is fine.” Her dad patted Cassie’s hand reassuringly. “They’re running some tests right now, but we should be able to see her soon.”
“I called you, like, six times.” Laura tried to keep the blame out of her voice, but Cassie heard it anyway. “Where were you?”
“I was with Agent Viotto. We interviewed Connor Grayson’s girlfriend. Then they brought the senator in for questioning.” She looked to her dad. “Anthony Lewis didn’t kill him.”
“Let’s wait until your mom is a little stronger before we mention that to her.”
Cassie nodded. “I’m sorry. I thought you wanted to talk about the fight, but I was still mad and upset and embarrassed—”
“You have nothing to apologize for.” He patted her hand again. “You had a right to be upset.”
“But I shouldn’t have stormed out.”
“That’s in the past now.” He looked at a set of doors that Cassie presumed led to her mom. “They think she had a panic attack. She was complaining about chest pain and a racing heart. They’re just making sure she didn’t have a heart attack, but it doesn’t seem likely.”
“Oh God.” Cassie bent over and put her face in her hands. “What if I’d given her a heart attack? What if she had—”
“No.” Laura’s voice was angry enough that it made Cassie look up. “Don’t do that to yourself. You can take responsibility for the way you reacted, but you can’t take responsibility for something that didn’t happen. That’s half the reason why mom’s in here.”
“What?” Cassie looked from her sister to her father. “What are you talking about?”
