“Why does he need to talk to his father so badly?”
“His father was murdered because he was a suspect in some pretty horrific crimes—serial murder.”
“Oh, that’s unique. Why would he want to summon somebody so evil?”
“Well, because it was never proven, he’s not sure if it’s true or not, and he wanted answers, so he thought this was the way to go about getting them.”
“I see. So he didn’t know this about himself, and now he’s being haunted?”
“Big time. His house is trashed from these rogue spirits that got through, and apparently his father’s spirit is aggressive and really has some kind of plan for Keagan.”
“What do you mean, a plan?”
“I don’t know what it means either, but he didn’t just come here to have a nice father and son bonding day. He’s up to something.”
“You’re calling the Horror he. I’ve never heard you talk like that about a Horror before.”
I drag my fingers through my hair. “Good point. I guess it’s gotten me kind of confused as well. Normally, the Horrors are so, I don’t know, detached, right? But this one still feels more human than it should.”
“Hmm, that’s probably not a good sign, is it?”
“No, I don’t think so. I think it’s gonna be hard to catch.” I blow out a breath. “He also said something about visiting Keagan last night, which means he’s able to transport away from his anchor point.”
“Oh, okay, so maybe we can use the spell that traps him in one location.”
“That might be helpful. Right now, my biggest concern is trying to protect Keagan, the target, from any more physical attacks. Last night, I found him being attacked by a spirit in my house.”
“Inyourhouse?”
“Yeah, exactly. I’ve never had that happen, so it must have followed Keagan. I have protections in the guest bedroom, but not in the rest of the house, so I could use your help with that too.”
“Absolutely. Okay, let me consult my grimoire and a few of my coven members to make sure I have the best plan in place, and then I’ll head over to you. Sound good?”
“That’s great, Calliope, thank you.”
“Of course. This is definitely an interesting one.”
“To say the least. I’ll see you soon.”
After hanging up with her, I put the car in reverse and back out of Keagan’s driveway.
Fortunately, from the outside, everything looks peaceful, so it shouldn’t draw too much attention from the neighbors. I’d hate for someone else to go in there—law enforcement or a neighbor—and potentially be hurt by the negative spirits in the house.
Driving back to my place, I let my thoughts go where they want, pondering all the things I need to do to ensure Keagan’s safety, and what tricks I can pull out of my bag to capture this particular Horror.
There’s no way he’s going to give me his underworld name easily, so that means I’m gonna have to force it out of him.
Good times.
Chapter 12
Keagan
Being alone at Wilder’s house doesn’t feel as scary as I thought it might, even after what happened last night. I’ve spent my time roaming around his house. He told me I could make myself comfortable, after all, and now I’ve settled in what I assume is his study, given that the walls are lined with shelves of books. There’s a fireplace and a comfy couch next to it, which is inviting, but what’s more interesting is the wall of pictures behind his desk.
I walk over to it, checking out all the different looks and realizing that either Wilder has some mad editing skills, or he was telling the truth about how long he’s been alive.
There are pictures on the walls of him and others that seem to span many decades. In one photo, he’s with a man. It’s sepia toned, but the man’s hair looks light, maybe blond. The man is sitting in a chair with Wilder standing behind him, but they’re both dressed in really old-fashioned clothes, like something out of a period movie.
