Mine To Haunt

FIVE

She put on her glasses, and that's when I knew she was in business mode. 

She ran over to the bells and poked them, smiling as they chimed softly. "They are to keep evil spirits out. But used haphazardly, it could end up keeping the spirits inside instead." She fingered a blue ribbon tied to the contraption, her perfectly tweezed eyebrows pulling together. "There's got to be more around. I wonder if it has something to do with the peacefulness out here."

"Do those need to be removed for something to be... forcefully removed?" I thought about the Shadow, my gut doing a strange lurch. The feeling of being watched nagged at my psyche, but I ignored it. Ghosts were everywhere, watching me all the time. They knew I could see them, and that always piqued their curiosity.

Knowing something was watching me here, though, made my arm hairs stand on end. Don't let them know you are afraid. Pay no attention. Be brave.

"That would be a start," she mumbled, suddenly looking motivated. Her hazel eyes were thoughtful before she burst into action. She power-walked to the van, opening the side door. "I'll start unpacking. Why don't you get the place unlocked for me? Don't go in alone, though. We don't need you passing out like you did at the Reed's residence."

I flushed, remembering that domestic haunting. A wrathful phantom living in a farmhouse in Louisiana, hugging the Bayou Bartholomew. We expelled the spirit, but not before it revealed its entire tragic life to me, causing me to enter a state of near catatonia for two hours.

I shuddered.

"Catch!" She tossed a plastic bottle over to me. "Holy water."

I caught and eyed the bottle, resisting a snort. It looked like an average bottle of water to me. Then again, we were running on a budget. 

"Do you think whatever is in there is demonic?" I studied the water, trying to find something that gave it away other than plain water, but found nothing. When she didn't answer, I asked, "Did you bring your codex?"

I was referring to her book of spells and lists of entities that she always brought with us. Probably a stupid question to ask. She was never under prepared. The pockets in my shorts were rather big, so I stuffed the bottle into one with a crunch.

She climbed out of the van holding a duffle bag full of our equipment. "I don't know about the first question. And of course to the second. Should take me an hour or two to get set up here. Your job will be disabling the alarm system and hanging back until I'm ready."

"Do I really have to hang back?" I made a face. "The sooner I get started getting a psychic map of this place, the better."

"Not without proper protection, you won't."

"That's what she said." 

She rolled her eyes. "God damnit, Kayde." 

I was trying poorly at humor to get rid of my inner tension, but the antsy feeling under my skin beckoned me to open the front doors and venture inside. If you want to do this correctly, you have to do it with caution.

She was right. We needed protection. 

I sighed. "Sorry."

***

It took much longer for Darby to get everything set up in the van. I had already unlocked the front doors with the passcode. I paced back and forth on the porch, my heart racing as I tossed anxious glances through the windows, searching for anything amiss.

That odd tingling at the back of my neck persisted, but everything else seemed normal.

Odd. Really freaking odd. Why is it so quiet?