Keagan is rubbing his hands together now, looking deeply concerned. “Do I even want to know what just happened?”
Calliope looks at me first, then at him, trying and failing to neutralize her startled expression. “Okay, so Wilder was right. You’ve had a few entities attach to you, and they’re not real keen on my presence here.”
“Entities,” Keagan repeats. “Like ghosts?”
“If that’s what you want to call them.”
“They’re not Horrors like what Wilder deals with, right?”
“No, no, nothing like that. Just some energy around you. I’ve got a couple things that should help though.”
“Please.”
She smiles again, but I can tell it’s an uneasy one. “Of course. That’s why I’m here.”
I help her off the floor, and she walks over to her bags, digging through them, obviously looking for something specific. I watch as she pulls several vials and a smoke stick out of her bag.
“Okay, Keagan, why don’t you join me over here?”
“Sure.”
He stands up and walks to the center of the kitchen where Calliope is.
“I’m gonna see what I can do. Just stick with me and stay exactly where you are. Don’t move unless I tell you to.”
“Okay.”
“It’s very important,” Calliope says, her expression serious.
“I understand.” He sounds unsure, glancing over at me for reassurance.
“It’s okay, Keagan, I’m still here.”
He nods, blowing out a slow breath as Calliope sprinkles a powdery substance around his feet, containing him in a circle.
Then she directs her attention to me. “Okay, what I’m gonna do is attempt to draw the entities to the surface. If they come out, I want you to grab Keagan from the center of the circle and pull him out so we can keep the entities trapped.”
“Got it.”
Keagan visibly shivers, but he stays put as directed.
“All right, Keagan,” Calliope says, “a final reminder. I need you to stay exactly where you are. Don’t move unless you’re told to. Wilder is here to help me, so you’re gonna be just fine.”
“Okay,” he says, his voice trembling. “I trust you.”
“Good. You should trust me. I’m only here to help.”
Calliope gets on her knees and starts chanting as she mixes powders together and then adds a few drops of liquid to the mixture.
As she chants, I keep my eyes trained on Keagan, whose body visibly vibrates.
“What’s happening, Wilder?” he asks.
“Don’t worry. Calliope knows what she’s doing.”
He nods, clearly concerned, but accepting my answer. I know Calliope will do everything she can to make sure he isn’t harmed in the process, so I simply keep my eyes trained on him, waiting for any sign of an entity jumping out of him. Calliope rubs some of the mixture she made on Keegan’s palm, which causes his eyes to widen.
The more Calliope talks, the more agitated the spirits become, rattling Keagan’s body to the point where I can almost hear his teeth chattering.
