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“It stumbled in here like a drunken pirate in search of its next barrel of rum and then collapsed. I’m not sure what to do.”
“I think that decision is now out of your hands.” He lowered his gaze to the walkway, where black liquid oozed from beneath the creature.
I listened closely. The sounds of life had fallen silent. The ghoul’s body began to fold in on itself and crumbled to dust. I scrambled backward to avoid the sticky goop, as well as taking a face full of ghoul debris.
“A puddle of ghoul,” Kane said. “That will stain your pavement unless you treat it right away, you know.”
I could practically feel the ghosts stiffen in response to that information.
“I’ll get a bucket of water,” Ray announced.
“And I’ll find a sponge,” Nana Pratt added. “You’ll need to buy another 3-pack next time you go to the store. This one will need to be thrown away.”
I mentally added ‘sponges’ to my grocery list.
“Any idea what happened?” Kane asked.
I tucked away my dagger. “None. And now I’m worried about the second one.”
Kane’s gaze swept the property. “There’s a second one?”
“Not here, but it must be somewhere. They don’t travel solo.”
“I flew across town and didn’t see anything out of the ordinary.”
“Would you mind doing another quick circle overhead? If there’s a sick ghoul nearby, I’d like to know.” It was one thing to darken my doorstep; it was quite another to endanger the people of Fairhaven who didn’t know about them.
“Do you think the creature knew you lived here?”
“No, but it’s possible the ghoul was drawn to my energy.” They were, after all, creatures partial to the dead. Although they didn’t obey me in the way some did, they might sense my presence and gravitate to me without being aware of it. Ghouls weren’t known for their brains, only that they feast on them.
Kane’s six-foot-four frame spouted black wings as he morphed into a blackbird and flew away. I watched as he disappeared from view. Nope. Nothing wrong with the way he looked.
I heard a thunk and turned to see Ray slide through the door. “What happened?”
He winced. “I forgot the bucket can’t go through solids like I can.”
I hopped onto the porch and opened the door to liberate the bucket.
“You’re very smiley for someone with a dead ghoul on her sidewalk,” Ray observed.
I touched my cheeks. “Am I?”
“It’s her gentleman caller,” Nana Pratt said. “Brings out the sunshine in her.”
“You’re giving him too much credit,” I replied. “I had bacon and eggs for breakfast.”
Ray nodded sagely. “Bacon always puts you in a good mood.”
“I wish it didn’t. I have a fondness for pigs.”
My gentleman caller returned a few minutes later, and the warm sensation in my body repeated. Interesting.
By now, Nana Pratt and Ray were hard at work on the puddle of ghoul, and I’d moved to the porch to avoid stepping in black goo.
“No sign of any ghouls.” Kane observed the moving sponge and bucket. “They’re like those two mice to your Cinderella.”
“Jaq and Gus,” I said.
