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“Oh, Christ.” Grant gulped.
The thrum. The endless power. The pounding pulse…
“We’re inside the Staircase, aren’t we?” Grant barked. “You brought us in here? How?”
“Good job,” she taunted. “You aren’t as stupid as I thought you were.”
“What the fuck is wrong with you?” Grant stalked toward her. “Let me out of here. Right now.”
“Do you have any idea how long I’ve waited for this moment?” Janice beamed. “Baus has been waiting for even longer, you know.”
“Baus?”
“You and your little idiot ghost friends call him the Thing.” Janice sneered. “Baus is ancient, timeless, everlasting. He was worshiped as Xipe Totec, loved by his people as a god, before he was cruelly bound to the tree—”
“Yeah, to make the stairs. I know.” Grant’s heart thumped uncomfortably. “How do you know what we call it? How do you even know about the ghosts?”
“Oh, please.” Janice laughed. “You sweet little idiot. You think you’re the only medium in the world?”
“Holy fuck.” Grant’s eyes widened, and his stomach stopped. “You…?”
“Yes.” Janice smirked smugly. “You don’t hide it as well as you think you do. I’ve had the gift ever since I was a child. Homer Bonvoy, the leader of the Rising Sun, knew what I was and recognized my powers. My mother never believed it. But she sure as hell believed Homer would sacrifice me to free Baus, and that’s when she called the police and ruined everything.”
“She saved your life!”
“You idiot. Baus is a supreme being of rebirth and regeneration. I wouldn’t have died. I would have been reborn as the vessel of a god!” Janice snapped her teeth. “Anitorsoul, a bright soul, is the last thing he needs!”
“A nitor soul,” Grant repeated. “A medium. You’re talking about a medium. That’s what a nitor soul is!”
“Gold star for you,” she sneered.
“So, what?” Grant glared. “You’re gonna sacrifice yourself to Baus and be a puppet for an inhuman spirit?”
“No,” Janice replied with a little wink. “You are.”
“What? Fuck you!” Grant tried to shove her, but his hands went right through her. He stared at his hands in shock.
Janice laughed.
Grant swung at her face as hard as he could, and again his fist slipped through her. “The hell?”
“Like I’d actually appear to you in the flesh and give you a chance to hurt me.” Janice chuckled cruelly.
“You fucking cowardly bitch!”
“Tsk tsk. There’s no need for that kind of foul language, you know. You should be honored Baus wants you.” Janice shook her head. “I’d always planned to be his vessel, you see, and I knew I could get QuikTV to send me back here with the right show. Once I got signed on with theParanormal Probe, however, I wasn’t about to have any competition.”
“Me?” Grant scoffed. “That’s why you wanted to get rid of me all of this damn time?”
“Yes. You’re a much more powerful medium than I am.” Janice’s upper lip twitched. “I didn’t want to risk losing my position as Baus’s vessel to you, some ignorant and undeserving piece of garbage. I tried, and I tried, but Finn and Cary just wouldn’t get rid of you!”
“Boo fucking hoo.”
“Oh, don’t worry. There’s a happy ending.” Janice snorted. “Baus said after he takes you, I can continue to worship him as his priestess, and being the dedicated head priestess of a god is still not a bad gig, you know?”
“You’re fucking insane.” Grant backed away from her. “He’s going to fucking kill me. Just like he did Huck and the others.”
“All necessary sacrifices for the ritual.” Janice waved her hand dismissively. “Homer didn’t understand what Baus was asking for. He didn’t know what a godneeded, but I do. Baus needed one more purified soul before thenitorsoul, and—”
