two realms. They create a portal where they can easily come and go.”
“Why wouldn’t they just stay down there?” Courtney asked me.
“Because it wouldn’t be nearly as much fun,” Heath said, without a hint of mirth. “Spooks like that want access to the lower realm to learn how to manipulate things in our plane.”
“What do you mean, ‘manipulate things’?” she pressed.
“Well, they learn how to gain and utilize energy. If they can invoke fear in you, they can raise the electromagnetic current you produce. Your own electromagnetic energy gets a boost, the same way your heart beats faster when you exercise. These spooks can hitch a ride off that energy and use it to their advantage by moving or throwing things like rocks and small stones, by manipulating electrical currents to start fires, or by taking over a person.”
Courtney gave in to her shudder this time and Steven wrapped an arm around her and began rubbing her back. “This is so scary,” she whispered.
“I know,” I told her. “But Heath, Gilley, and I are very good at this type of thing. Hopefully we’ll know what we’re dealing with after tonight and we’ll be able to put a plan into action.”
Steven pushed his chair back and held his hand out for his fiancée. “She’s right,” he told her. “If anybody can help Luke, M.J. and Gilley can.”
Next to me I felt Heath bristle.
Steven eyed him sideways, a slight smirk on his face. “I’m sure you’re good too, Whitefeather.”
I gave Steven a withering look, but he hardly looked contrite. After Courtney gave her brother one final hug, she and Steven were off to his place. I walked Luke to the door. “Think you’ll be able to fall asleep?” I asked him as he zipped up his jacket. It’d turned cool that evening.
“Falling asleep is never the problem. It’s staying asleep that’s hard.”
I gave him a light pat on the shoulder and told him we’d keep a watchful eye on him, then went back to the table to hunker down for the long night ahead.
Chapter 5
Around two a.m. my eyelids began to droop and my head started to loll forward. “Take a nap,” Heath suggested.
I blinked blearily at him. He looked just as tired. I inhaled deeply and dipped my coffee cup toward me to take a peek at the contents. It was nearly empty, which was a good thing because I’d had so much coffee that my stomach was a little upset. “I’m okay,” I said, leaning back to stretch and rub my eyes. Then I got up and tried to shake off the fatigue. We’d been watching the monitors diligently for the past three hours without a hint of trouble. I figured if we got past four a.m., we’d be in the clear, but the question of why this spook hadn’t shown up yet was a troubling one. I thought again about my suspicion that Luke might be making some of this up, but for the life of me I couldn’t imagine what he had to gain. And then there was what Courtney had said—she’d seen a shadow at Luke’s old house. I believed her even if I didn’t quite believe him.
“Man, this is dull,” Gil said into my ear.
I hadn’t heard a peep from him in over an hour. “Where you been?”
“I took a nap.”
“Of course you did,” I said flatly.
“It’s not like I missed anything,” Gil replied, without a hint of apology in his voice.
I opened my mouth to say something smart when Heath suddenly put a hand on my arm. “I think we’ve got something.”
Gilley gasped and I sat down quick, my eyes searching the monitor, but at first I didn’t see anything. Heath pointed to the lower left-hand side of the screen, which showed the front hallway. It took me a minute, but I finally realized there was a shadow against the far wall. It blended into the background so well at first I didn’t see it until it sort of oozed out of the wall and hovered at the base of the stairs.
“Whoa!” Gil said.
The shadow was about six feet tall, maybe a little shorter but not by much. It had the rough shape of a
“Why wouldn’t they just stay down there?” Courtney asked me.
“Because it wouldn’t be nearly as much fun,” Heath said, without a hint of mirth. “Spooks like that want access to the lower realm to learn how to manipulate things in our plane.”
“What do you mean, ‘manipulate things’?” she pressed.
“Well, they learn how to gain and utilize energy. If they can invoke fear in you, they can raise the electromagnetic current you produce. Your own electromagnetic energy gets a boost, the same way your heart beats faster when you exercise. These spooks can hitch a ride off that energy and use it to their advantage by moving or throwing things like rocks and small stones, by manipulating electrical currents to start fires, or by taking over a person.”
Courtney gave in to her shudder this time and Steven wrapped an arm around her and began rubbing her back. “This is so scary,” she whispered.
“I know,” I told her. “But Heath, Gilley, and I are very good at this type of thing. Hopefully we’ll know what we’re dealing with after tonight and we’ll be able to put a plan into action.”
Steven pushed his chair back and held his hand out for his fiancée. “She’s right,” he told her. “If anybody can help Luke, M.J. and Gilley can.”
Next to me I felt Heath bristle.
Steven eyed him sideways, a slight smirk on his face. “I’m sure you’re good too, Whitefeather.”
I gave Steven a withering look, but he hardly looked contrite. After Courtney gave her brother one final hug, she and Steven were off to his place. I walked Luke to the door. “Think you’ll be able to fall asleep?” I asked him as he zipped up his jacket. It’d turned cool that evening.
“Falling asleep is never the problem. It’s staying asleep that’s hard.”
I gave him a light pat on the shoulder and told him we’d keep a watchful eye on him, then went back to the table to hunker down for the long night ahead.
Chapter 5
Around two a.m. my eyelids began to droop and my head started to loll forward. “Take a nap,” Heath suggested.
I blinked blearily at him. He looked just as tired. I inhaled deeply and dipped my coffee cup toward me to take a peek at the contents. It was nearly empty, which was a good thing because I’d had so much coffee that my stomach was a little upset. “I’m okay,” I said, leaning back to stretch and rub my eyes. Then I got up and tried to shake off the fatigue. We’d been watching the monitors diligently for the past three hours without a hint of trouble. I figured if we got past four a.m., we’d be in the clear, but the question of why this spook hadn’t shown up yet was a troubling one. I thought again about my suspicion that Luke might be making some of this up, but for the life of me I couldn’t imagine what he had to gain. And then there was what Courtney had said—she’d seen a shadow at Luke’s old house. I believed her even if I didn’t quite believe him.
“Man, this is dull,” Gil said into my ear.
I hadn’t heard a peep from him in over an hour. “Where you been?”
“I took a nap.”
“Of course you did,” I said flatly.
“It’s not like I missed anything,” Gil replied, without a hint of apology in his voice.
I opened my mouth to say something smart when Heath suddenly put a hand on my arm. “I think we’ve got something.”
Gilley gasped and I sat down quick, my eyes searching the monitor, but at first I didn’t see anything. Heath pointed to the lower left-hand side of the screen, which showed the front hallway. It took me a minute, but I finally realized there was a shadow against the far wall. It blended into the background so well at first I didn’t see it until it sort of oozed out of the wall and hovered at the base of the stairs.
“Whoa!” Gil said.
The shadow was about six feet tall, maybe a little shorter but not by much. It had the rough shape of a
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