I did dream that night, and I knew it was from Anna, but it was nothing but scattered pieces of random images. The fragments flashed by in near silence and a haze of emotions. I had planned on talking to Anna about any dreams I had, but everything was so insubstantial, I couldn’t figure out where to start. All I could do was hope they’d get clearer the more I was around the ghosts. I privately vowed to give them as much attention as possible.

We spent the first part of the day wandering around the mansion. I reveled in my job as an emissary and a guide to modern life. The children were awed by everything—which was delightful—and curious—which was a little more troublesome since I only knew so much.

I mean, really, how does a lightbulb work? And how do you explain the concept of electricity to a seven-year-old ghost who doesn’t know what a particle is?

I bluffed my way through their questions the best I could, and, thankfully, they seemed satisfied with my answers. Once they understood all that fancy technology was life-as-usual to us, they accepted it as if they’d been born to it. I marveled at their adaptability. The person who struggled the most with culture shock was, by far, me.

That afternoon, I crashed through the private study door at a billion miles per hour. Olivia jumped and almost dropped the silver dagger she was holding.

“Oh my god! Emerra!”

“Sorry, Olivia, but I have a super-duper important question to ask you!”

“What?”

I hesitated. “What’s that knife for?”

“It’s for spelling rituals and stabbing people that come bursting into the room without knocking first!”

I held up my hands and took a step back. “Very sorry. Won’t do it again.”

“What do you want?”

“Do you have a speaker? A loud one?” I held up my phone. “Preferably one that works with this?”

She stared at my phone, then her eyes slid over to me.

“Yes.”

“You’re a goddess. Can I borrow it?”

The newly promoted deity narrowed her eyes. “Why?”

There was no way I could over-dramatize the horror of the situation, so I let all the anguish come pouring out.

“The kids have never heard music!”

Olivia paused, then put the dagger down. Without another word, she left the study. We crossed through Iset’s room and went down the hall to the witch’s room. The stereo was on her desk. She pulled the cord and brought it back to the door.

“I’ll help you set it up,” she said. “Where are the kids?”

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“They’re in the front hall. I was telling them we needed some Christmas music while we hung up the garlands. Hymns, Olivia! They’ve only heard hymns! No organ. No piano. Just a bunch of people chanting psalms.”

When we reached the bottom of the front stairs, Anna and the boys were watching a rather lively pile of garlands.

“Kappa, get out of there,” I said as we passed by.

“No!”

“That sounds like a bog-creature that doesn’t want dinner.”

“Then it couldn’t have been Kappa,” Olivia said. “Kappa likes dinner.”

Neither of us looked around, but we heard the garlands rustle as Kappa crawled out of them.

We went over to the hall table and moved the decorative vase to the side. While Olivia plugged in the speaker, I scrolled through my extensive collection of music. A bright yellow cover caught my eye, and I laughed.

I handed my phone to Olivia.

She glanced at it, then up at me. “This isn’t a Christmas song.”

“No, this is the best song.”

She rolled her eyes, but there was a tiny smile hiding at the edge of her lips.

I called the kids over.

A melody that was half percussion and all ukulele came pouring out of the speaker. Olivia reached out to turn it down, but I stopped her.

John took a step closer.

I twisted the volume knob up until it felt right.

Meghan Trainor started singing.

Well, I had to translate, didn’t I? The kids wouldn’t understand the lyrics otherwise, and all I had to do was sing along—which wasn’t a problem. I had every note of that song memorized.

“Don’t think about it.

Just move your body…”

It would have taken a much stronger will than mine to sing “Better When I’m Dancin’” and not start dancing.

Anna and Jacob laughed with delight as they watched my antics. John bounced on his toes. Kappa, who had a strangely good sense of rhythm, padded the floor with his hands. I started singing to him. He ate it up.

Olivia’s hint of a smile was now a smirk.

I pointed at her and rolled my finger back toward me, summoning her to my makeshift dance floor. She shook her head. If it was only going to be me, I knew I’d have to step it up. I tried to mimic a dance moved I’d seen once, years ago.

Olivia had to raise her voice to say, “You’re doing it wrong!”

I grabbed her arm and pulled her out in front of the tree. “Then show me how it’s done!”

Much to my irritation, the witch had the move mastered.

During the next chorus, I swept Olivia up into a do-si-do. She was kind enough to join in. Thank god. Trying to swing around with someone who doesn’t want to is painfully embarrassing for both parties.

As we twirled, I caught sight of Conrad and Igor peering at us from the kitchen doorway. The moment I made eye-contact, Igor looked up at Conrad and said something. It was probably a warning to hide before they got drafted. The next time I swung around, they were gone.

By then, John had caught the dance bug. Anna and Jacob were still happy to watch, but John started doing his own moves. He was such a natural.

At the bridge, Kappa held up his arms and shouted, “Me!”

I couldn’t disappoint my biggest fan. I danced over, turned up the volume a little more, then picked him up and twirled with him as he laughed.

When I got dizzy, I put him down beside me, and, together, Olivia, John, and I finished dancing to the last few measures of the song while Kappa hopped around us.

As soon as the last note faded, Darius’s voice boomed down the stairs.

“Pop music is nothing but the moronic yowling of a vapid mob!”

Olivia bit her lips to keep from laughing. I clapped a hand over my mouth.

When I was sure I wouldn’t giggle, I removed it and yelled up, “Good afternoon, Darius! Sorry I woke you!” I stood on my toes. “Don’t worry, I’ll turn it down!”

[https://i.imgur.com/f011ZNa.jpg]

Iset and Mrs. Park were sitting beside each other in the library. The housekeeping list was up on the computer screen in front of them, but it was momentarily forgotten.

The mummy’s slim shoulders were shaking with quiet laughter.

Mrs. Park smiled as she gazed toward the hall. When she turned back to Iset, she said, “You know, this house has gotten a lot louder since Emerra moved in.”

“It has,” Iset agreed.