The Ghost That Got Away

Chapter 2-3

A hospital is an eerie place in the middle of the night. I sample the air, but nothing supernatural flavors it. All that lingers on my tongue tastes antiseptic and medicinal. I want to ask for another piece of pumpkin pie, but except for the occasional shuffle of soft-soled shoes, the hallway is silent. I suspect the cafeteria is closed for the night.

I stare up at the ceiling, my eyes wide open, growing unease gripping my stomach. My limbs ache; I’m starting to feel the aftereffects of the attack. I reach for the call button, but I don’t know what the night-shift nurse could do except hand me some Tylenol. Still, I clutch the cord. When a voice sounds near the end of my bed, I yank it closer.

“Good evening, Katy.”

My heart pounds, feels as though it might shoot out of my chest. It’s a good thing I’m not hooked up to any monitors—I would’ve sent the readings off the chart. I bolt upright. My entire skull protests the sudden movement. I sink back down against my pillow, fingers searching for the call button.

It’s nowhere to be found. Or rather, the shadowed form at the end of my bed is holding the cord.

“I didn’t mean to startle you,” he says.

“Yes, you did.” The accusation bursts from my mouth as my mind scrambles to assemble the pieces of the puzzle. I’ve met that slight southern drawl, recognize his voice. The light in my room is too dim for me to fully discern his features. Considering how bright Carter Dupree is, that’s just as well.

“You’re right,” he says, his voice both quiet and filled with humor. “I did. And I apologize, but think of it as a demonstration.”

“Of what? How to creep someone out?”

“No.” This time, there’s a slight edge to his voice. “The power of necromancy.”

“I’m not a necromancer.”

“That’s not what we’ve been hearing.”

“And you’ve heard what, exactly?”

I’m not up to this. After that jolt of adrenaline, my muscles are sluggish, and my head throbs. Despite being wide awake moments before, I feel waves of sleep crash over me.

“Ghosts talk. I’m sure you know that. We have a pretty good idea what happened.”

“Great. Then you can let me sleep.”

“Are you tired?”

“Very. Please leave.”

“All right, Delilah,” Carter says to the air. “That’s enough.”

All at once, a fog lifts. My eyes flutter open. My heartbeat climbs again, and I’m certain if I lunge, I can grab the call button from Carter. I also feel another presence in the room, unfamiliar, but definitely otherworldly.

“Delilah,” I say. “I don’t think we’ve met.”

“She’s not much for small towns. This may be her first trip down here,” Carter says. “She’s rather sophisticated.”

“She’s your ghost?”

“Not exclusively, but we work well together, so for all intents and purposes, yes.”

Once upon a time, Malcolm had a ghost. Selena. She helped him play the stock market, propelled him into being named Broker of the Year. But that was before he came to Springside, before … everything.

“Don’t you see, Katy?” Carter says.

“You’ve lost me. I have no idea why you’re here, in the middle of the night, and if I could call the nurse, I would.”

“I’m here, in the middle of the night, without any detection or consequences—”

“None yet.”

“Because of Delilah and the power of necromancy.”

I glance toward the nightstand. It’s still more than an arm’s length away. I could try diving for it, but I’d only catch air. Next to the phone, something glimmers, but with Carter in my room, there’s no time to investigate.

“Okay, great,” I say. “You can sneak around.”

“And throw my voice.”

“Mistletoe and bad luck? That was you?”

“It was, and I can get you out of the way of a very angry ghost.”

Delilah’s presence is a tangible thing. She flits around the room. Strong—oh, she is very strong, and yet, at the same time, tethered, like she’s on a leash.

“Thank you, Delilah,” I say. “That was quite a shield you created.”

“Hm.” Carter folds his arms over his chest, the cord for the call button dangling from his grip. Any moment, he’ll start tapping his foot with impatience.

“What?” I say. I’m in no mood to be grateful. “If you’d been there alone, that ghost would’ve thrown a vase at you, too.”

The air vibrates, the feel of it like delight, like laughter building in the back of your throat. I think Delilah is laughing. I tilt my head because I’m not sure I’ve heard a ghost this strong laugh before. Sprites don’t count. Their default setting is laughter.

All at once, the sparkle of the otherworldly drains from the room, as if it’s being sucked up by some supernatural vacuum. Delilah’s presence slips away, and the stale ordinary returns, the air filled with that medicinal, antiseptic odor.

Then I know. Carter has pulled her back inside himself, and the room is lonelier for it.

“There you go, Katy. The power of necromancy. Aren’t you intrigued?”

“Not really.”

“Don’t you see what this means? What you can do?”

“I’m a ghost hunter. I separate people from ghosts.” I pause, then add, “When they want to be separated.” Lately, I’ve also brought people and ghosts together.

“So none of this tempts you?”

“Should it?”

“Oh, it should, and greatly. Perhaps I’ve done a poor job in showing you just how amazing necromancy is.”

“No, I don’t think it’s you. It’s me.” I nod toward the call button. “You can give that back to me or I can start screaming. Either way, you’re out of here.”

Carter drops the call button on the end of my bed, then raises his hands in a gesture of surrender.

“You win, Katy, this round. But I came to Springside to convince you, and I’m not leaving until I do.”

I pull the cord to me and hover my thumb over the button. “Three … two …”

Carter backs out the door. His footfalls are nearly nonexistent as he makes his way down the hall, but I catch a telltale hint of them. Delilah’s doing, perhaps? It almost has the feeling of a gift. I wrap the cord around my wrist and sink back against the pillow.

Before I can close my eyes, that glimmer on my nightstand teases my peripheral vision. I sit up, lean across the bedrail, and inch the nightstand closer.

A single rose in a vase is sitting next to the phone. I pluck the card free with two fingers. There is just enough light that I can make out the scrawled message.

Katy,

Sleep well tonight. I’ll see you in the morning.

Malcolm

I hold the card in my hand and do what he says. Despite my still-pounding heart and late-night visitors, I sleep amazingly well.