I was hoping Thomas or Gwendoline might have some insights in how to deal with Tessa that I could share with Edie. We didn’t know how she’d died, but we didn’t need to. It was the police’s problem, not ours. What was a problem was that Edie couldn’t escape her. So, I went to the graveyard Monday morning, after taking a couple of books from the library. For pleasure. And to see Ben.
Except Thomas wasn’t there. There were no signs he’d been there, either. It was unnaturally quiet, even for a graveyard. I even went inside the church, but that was empty, too.
He could travel, he just didn’t usually want to, so I went to see Gwendoline on the new housing estate. Maybe he’d gone to visit her?
‘Hey, Niamh,’ said Gwendoline, floating over.
I sat on the bench in the middle of the green. A dozen or so houses looked directly on to the circle of struggling grass, so I put in my hands-free kit, and made a show of tucking my hair behind my ear and resting my phone on my lap, so if anyone was nearby they’d think I was on the phone.
‘Hey. Have you seen Thomas?’
‘No, why?’ She floated in front of me, her blonde hair flowing behind her.
‘He wasn’t in the graveyard this morning, but I’ve only known him to leave it to visit us.’
‘That is odd. If I hear anything, I’ll let you know.’
‘Thanks.’
It seemed strange that Thomas had gone missing around the same time Tessa had died, but it seemed unlikely the two events were related. As far as I knew, there were no signs Tessa’s death had been supernatural. Although it wasn’t like the police were sharing how she’d been killed, or would notice if it was supernatural, so it was possible, just unlikely.
‘Did you hear about the murder?’ I asked Gwendoline.
‘It’s all anyone can talk about.’ She gestured to the park, which was usually full of ghosts. ‘When they’re here, of course.’
‘Where is everyone?’
Gwendoline rolled her eyes. ‘Exploring, I suppose.’
Someone in the house opposite where we were talking screamed. A moment later, a ghost flew out from the house in question, cackling, before disappearing out of sight.
Gwendoline’s jaw tightened. ‘I don’t tell them they can’t leave the park, I just tell them to be careful. Unfortunately, some prefer to terrorise the residents instead.’ She sat beside me, resting her head in her hands. ‘Some of them like to materialise for a moment at the top of the stairs, spook people. That’s what Stanley just did.’ She shook her head, as if she was all but ready to give up. ‘We haven’t had any accidents yet, but it only takes one person with a heart condition.’
I wished I could reach out and give her a hug, but the most I could offer was a frown and some empathetic words. ‘I’m sorry. That sounds terrible.’
‘It is. They don’t seem to want to listen to me anymore. It’s like I’ve lost all authority and I don’t know why.’ Gwendoline had made it her mission to help the lost ghosts in town, so them not listening to her must’ve really hurt. All she ever wanted to do was help people.
‘I’m sure they’ll come around,’ I said.
‘I hope so.’ She stared off into the distance, her gaze sad and vacant. It didn’t seem like she wanted to discuss it any more, and it wasn’t like I could do much, anyway. If they weren’t going to listen to Gwendoline, they sure weren’t going to pay attention to me when I barely even had any powers.
‘Is it true the victim is a ghost?’ Gwendoline asked.
‘Yeah. She’s haunting Edie’s ex. They were classmates.’
Gwendoline turned to face me. ‘Oh. I’m sorry.’
‘They never got along, but nobody deserves to have their life taken away like that, let alone at such a young age.’
‘No,’ said Gwendoline, shaking her head. What was I saying? She was around Edie’s age when the mine collapsed. Idiot.
‘Sorry. That was stupid of me to say.’
‘It’s OK. I’ve had a long time to accept my fate. I feel like I’m living a second life, now. Guiding the community, helping you when I can. It’s fulfilling. Much more than my life was when my heart was beating.’ She fidgeted in her seat. ‘When they’ll listen.’
I smiled. ‘That’s good. That’s really good. Mostly.’
A guy walked past the edge of the park with his dog. He looked over, seeing me talking to myself. I waved, gesturing to the earphone in my ear. He nodded, shifting his gaze and carrying on walking. I really hated those encounters. You could never be completely sure if people thought you were nuts or not.
Who was I kidding?
I was nuts.
My whole life was.
*
After an unhelpful conversation with Gwendoline, I went to Mrs Brightman’s house. Something smelled pungent. I really should’ve cleared it of perishables the last time I’d visited, but I hadn’t been ready to. Now, I didn’t have a choice. A smell like that wasn’t going to go away on its own. Served me right.
Holding my breath, I opened the fridge and chucked all the milk, vegetables, fruits, and meat into the kitchen bin. There wasn’t much – she hadn’t eaten much – but it was enough to create a smell.
I tossed the smelly bin bag into the outside bin, waving at a neighbour as he walked past. I didn’t know him, but I was pretty sure he’d gone to church with Mrs Brightman, so he was no doubt aware that someone else owned the property now.
Clearing the fridge and freezer wasn’t interesting work, but it kept me occupied. The near-silence of the quiet cul-de-sac was soothing, offering a little reprieve for my growing headache.
I met Edie at Ben’s after she’d finished college. We were going to explain her plan to him and Fadil. It seemed like Edie had already made her mind up about casting the spell so that I got my powers back and she was less of a target. But it wasn’t just up to her. I liked the idea of having more powers again, but I didn’t like the idea of her having less protection. As a bigger target, it meant she needed more protection, not less.
Dominic hadn’t been able to tell I was less powerful than my mother, he’d only known I was part of a powerful family line. I figured if someone targeted Edie because of her powers, they may not be able to tell that Fadil was leeching her powers, either. It would depend on their powers and skills, I supposed.
Ben’s house was filled with the aroma of chicken casserole as I walked through the front door. Fadil had been learning how to cook, and he was pretty good at it. There’d been the odd failed experiment – like a chocolate yule log we weren’t allowed to talk about – but even Maggie’s cooking hadn’t been perfect when she’d started out. Fadil was learning to cook with ingredients that hadn’t even been around during his first life. So, based on that, he was doing pretty damn well.
‘Dinner smells amazing, Fadil,’ said Edie as she went into the cupboard to grab a mug. It was tea time, obviously. And we spent enough time there that we knew where pretty much everything was in the kitchen, so just helped ourselves. Ben did the same at our place.
‘Thanks,’ he said, a proud grin over his face. ‘It’s a new recipe, with a few experimental ingredients, so I’m a little nervous. But I’m hoping it will turn out better than the recipe.’
‘I’m sure it will,’ I said. My rumbling stomach agreed.
Conversation between the three of us usually flowed easily. This time, awkwardness hung in the air. I couldn’t work out who it was coming from, but it meant we all stood there, not knowing what to say or do as the kettle whistled in the background.
‘Anyone want tea?’ Edie offered. She was technically already making us drinks, as she’d got the mugs out and filled the kettle, but I supposed she was trying to break the silence.
‘Please,’ Fadil and I chorused. It wasn’t often we agreed on something.
Edie met my eye. Was she waiting for me to raise the topic? Nope, definitely not. That was for her to deal with. It was her idea, she had to talk to Fadil about it.
Once our tea was made, we went and sat in the living room. The awkwardness continued until Ben came home a few minutes later. He walked over and kissed me, then went into the kitchen. ‘Wow, that smells good!’
When he returned to the lounge, the atmosphere was still there. He frowned. ‘What’s wrong? Did someone die?’
‘No!’ said Edie, jumping up. ‘It’s not that.’
‘Then what is it?’ He stayed standing, studying everyone, waiting until someone explained what was going on.
Edie rubbed her hands together, her eyes darting around the room as she spoke. ‘OK, so I have an idea. And it’s one that will help Mum, and probably me, and probably other people, as well.’
Ben adjusted his glasses, resting his weight on his right leg. He seemed confused. She was babbling slightly, so I wasn’t surprised. ‘Right…’
Shifting in her seat as if she couldn’t get comfortable, Edie looked to me for confirmation.
I nodded, trying my best to encourage her to continue. If I seemed calm, I hoped it would help her feel it, too.
‘As we found out recently, Mum’s powers are wonky because Fadil is constantly using her powers as his own, magical, subconscious translator. So we never really know when Mum is going to be able to do something, or what that something will be. It basically makes her human.’ She cleared her throat, settling on sitting on her feet. ‘So I thought, since I’m stronger magically, but also my powers are dangerous, make me a target, and are more likely to hurt someone, I could help Fadil instead.’
‘You mean you cast the translation spell instead?’ said Fadil.
Edie nodded. ‘Having more power means I can afford to lose some. And if I don’t have as much, it makes me less of a target.’
I still wasn’t convinced being less powerful made her less of a target, but I was going to let her continue with that logic until we could prove otherwise.
Ben nodded a few times, a pensive look passing over his handsome face. ‘I think you’re right. I’d like to contribute, too. That way, it will draw less of your power when you cast the spell.’
Edie shook her head, her hair falling into her eyes. ‘While I appreciate your suggestion and input, I think it’s better if I do it alone. Your powers are helpful. You’ve never hurt someone with a forcefield, and you’re not tempted to cast a spell to hurt someone. It’s getting harder for me to not use my powers, and the more frequently I use them, the stronger that lure is. So the less power I have, in theory, the easier it’ll be to stop. And if I can’t stop, at the very least I’ll be able to do less damage.’
Ben crossed his arms. It was hard to gauge what he was thinking. ‘You understand you could be sacrificing a significant portion of your power for the rest of your life? That’s a long time to not be able to use it.’
Edie tensed, looking at Fadil. ‘I can’t think of a better use for my powers than to help Fadil.’
Fadil reached over and squeezed Edie’s hand. She smiled, placing her other hand on top of his. It was getting easier and easier to forget he was a four-thousand-year-old not-mummy. He’d fitted into our lives so well and become an important part of Edie’s life. I wasn’t sure our little family would feel complete without him. Helping him adapt to the twenty-first century in any way we could was an important part of that.
Ben nodded again. ‘As much as I dislike you being solely responsible for this, I understand what you’re saying and I agree with you.’
‘You do?’ I said. For some reason, I’d expected him to be more against her idea.
Ben chuckled. ‘You didn’t think I would?’
‘I thought you’d have a full pros and cons list or something.’
To be honest, I was kind of hoping he would. Edie was afraid of her powers and wanted to be protected from them, but she didn’t know how to use them, either. Would there come a day when she’d need to use them but couldn’t because she’d never learned how to?
It wasn’t like we could leave Fadil to learn English from scratch. We may also need him at some point. And there weren’t many places that taught Ancient Egyptian to English and would allow him to adapt so quickly to modern life. He enjoyed his documentaries and was beginning to leave the house more and more now that he didn’t look like he was four thousand years old. Could we really take that away from him and make him start all over again? Again?