| |
My flashlight lit up the sidewalk as we walked around the front of the house. I filled Killian in on all the details of my encounter.
"So, why is there an ancient mariner wandering the streets of the Other Side?" he mused.
"Looking for someone to remove the albatross?"
"I do not understand, Maggie," Killian replied.
"There's this old poem... never mind. Just don't go shooting any birds."
"I did not have any plans to do so."
"Well, stick to those plans."
It wasn't hard to follow the ghost. There was a trail of wreckage in his wake. Fences uprooted and trees knocked over. I couldn't believe I had gotten wrapped up in this mess. Lacey knew I didn't do ghosts.
About two miles down the road, we ended up at the last house on the block. As in, literally. Beyond it, there's nothing but graveyard. It's why my parents picked their place. What's the saying? Shop local suppliers?
I hadn't been here in years. My house was in the opposite direction and there was no real reason to swing by. It was haunted, something I worked really hard to avoid.
Most of the inhabitants were over at Mom's place by now, but the darkness was deep enough and the moonlight strong enough that I could see the flickering shapes of a few homebodies. Mom's the one with the gift. I got just enough genetically to make it a real pain in my backside.
"They are a miserable bunch," remarked Killian, staring out at the graves.
"You can see them?" I asked.
He shook his head. "No, but I can hear them."
"This is going to make our life so much better," I replied, slapping him on the back. "What are they saying?"
"Moaning about how cold the earth is and how no one comes to visit anymore... something about 'ungrateful offspring'..."
"Sounds like Sunday dinner at my parents' house," I replied. I turned to the house on the hill. "I suppose we should just bite the bullet and go in."
"Are you sure this is the right place?"
Lightning crashed across the sky and the ghost-rain began pelting down on my face. I sputtered out the water. A bedpost came hurling out the top window, bounced, then landed in the middle of the yard. "Yeah. I'm pretty sure."