Talk about being caught between a rock and a hard place. If we tried to leave the room, we might be torn to pieces by the spirits in the hallway. At the same time, they were apparently unable to enter the room as long as its preservation enchantments remained intact. And obviously we couldn't stay there for long. Not only did we not have any supplies - food and water - but I wasn't sure what effect the enchantments on the room would have on us if we stayed inside them for too long.
"What are they?" Athena asked, staying between me and the door as much as she could. "And why don't they come in?"
"They don't enter," I replied absently, thinking hard, "Because one of the enchantments on the room is keeping them out. I'm not sure which one. As for what they are..."
I trailed off into silence. They weren't poltergeists, which were almost never known to manifest visible forms, nor were they ghosts in the traditional sense of the term. The vast majority of ghosts simply couldn't affect their environment, and one of these had scratched my face. I couldn't be sure that the rest would be able to do that, but I was intuitively certain that they could and not eager to test the theory.
Although anger and hatred poured off of them in an almost tangible aura, they were incorporeal - I could see through them, however hazily - which ruled out wights. And ghouls and every other sort of physical undead I could think of off the top of my head, thank goodness.
Wraiths. They had to be wraiths.
Wraiths were a sub-species of ghost, so to speak, which were defined by two major factors:
First, like wights, they were created by the death of a person who was furiously angry, dangerously insane, or basically just plain evil. Pick at least two, and insane has to be one of them. We were certainly in the right place for that.
Second, unlike wights, they were usually bound to a single location and had no physical form. It didn't mean it was impossible for them to manipulate their environment, but it did make it very difficult. And attempting to cause someone harm made it easier, which made them vastly more dangerous than normal ghosts.
As evidenced by the handkerchief I was using to clean the cut on my cheek.
I was scared. I had never dealt with anything like this on my own, and had no idea how I was going to get myself and my familiars out of this mess in one piece. I supposed that I could try to blast our way out. Lightning had a powerful effect on spiritual entities, as did fire - though I was loath to use fire in a basement for obvious reasons, even if it was mostly stone. That much fire would make it hard to breathe, for one thing.
And yet, Master Tremane taught me that violence should never be the first solution, unless your life is in immediate danger. I had responded to the thugs at the docks with violence because it was obvious that Athena, Artemis and I were in danger. That was not necessarily the best response with ghosts.
Many types of ghosts have a trait in common - they're often still on Earth because of some sort of unfinished business. It could be anything from a lost trinket all the way up to simply wanting to see how the world continues to develop. Rumor has it Leonardo da Vinci's ghost haunts his home city, and has been seen leaning over the shoulders of people reading newspapers and books.
But I digress. If I could figure out what it was that this group wanted...
Or maybe my fear was clouding my mind and making me stupid. I mean, I was standing in a morgue, surrounded by their physical bodies. I practically smacked my forehead with the heel of my hand, turning and moving to the wall of lockers.
"Mistress?" Athena asked, following me closely.
"They're trapped here," I said. "It's the combination of enchantments designed to keep their bodies..." I grabbed one of the big release levers as I spoke, yanking it open and sliding the locker out to reveal a perfectly preserved corpse under a sheet. "From decaying," I finished.
Athena made a face and took a step back. "Why do that?"
"Medical experimentation, probably," I said quietly. "It happened a lot during the last century and the early part of this one." I slid the locker shut again, turning back towards the door where the wraiths had clustered, suddenly unmoving and watching me with unnerving intensity.
"Not every problem is solved with magic, Alys," I murmured, unconsciously mimicking Master Tremane's voice. Then I huffed a little sound and moved back to the door.
Artemis side-stepped to make room for me, though she had her fangs bared at the wraiths. To my surprise, they actually seemed to be a bit intimidated by her. But then, animals - especially felines and canines - interact with the spirit world quite a bit more easily than humans. It was possible that she, more so than I or even Athena, would be able to hurt them. And they seemed to know it.
I shifted my staff to my left hand and held up my right, palm outward in a sign of peace. "Be easy, spirits. If you will allow us to pass without harm, we will see to it that your mortal remains are laid to rest with due dignity."
There was a long moment of silence. Then the wraiths shifted around, and one drifted forward. He was taller and better defined than the others, to the point that I could actually make out the features of the person it had been in life. His face was broad and craggy, with no beard, thick lips, and a nasty looking scar which started high on his forehead, bisected his right eyebrow, and went all the way down his cheek to his chin. His head was bald - either naturally or shaved clean - and he had the look of a man who had once been muscular but had lost it through inactivity.
"Promise..." he said, his voice ephemeral and almost inaudible. It was a cold, dead sound that made my skin pucker with goose-flesh and raised the hairs on the back of my neck. "Swear..."
"You have my word," I said firmly, "Given freely. I will see to it that you can finally rest."
He seemed to consider me for a long moment, his colorless, translucent eyes fixed on mine. Then he nodded and glided back away from the door, saying simply, "Go..."
The rest of them took their cue from him, turning and drifting away, most of them fading out and vanishing. After less than a minute, only the one who had spoken remained, waiting across the hall from our door.
"Come on, girls," I said softly, shifting my staff back to my right hand and moving out into the hallway. I nodded politely to the wraith and made my way back down the hall, Artemis and Athena flanking me.
When I glanced over my shoulder at the entrance I'd opened in the wall, he too was gone. Most of the sense of malevolent observation had faded away, and the darkness in the basement was a natural one for the first time since our arrival. The magelight atop my staff cut through it effortlessly, lighting up most of the basement.
Mrs. Muldrew was waiting for us at the top of the stairs looking confused. "Did you do something?" She asked. "The whole atmosphere of the house just changed...that feeling of being watched is gone, and it's like the house is waiting for something now."
I took a deep breath and let it out. "Yes, and no. We've found out why the house is haunted, and what we can do about it. I need to consult with Wizard Ellister and find out how to get the ball rolling...there's a lot of work to be done."
It took most of the next two weeks to make all of the arrangements and get everything done. Hollis came with me the next day to strip away the enchantments keeping the bodies from decaying, and we had to get the police involved for propriety's sake. They were understanding and helpful, providing as much assistance as they could in removing the bodies to the city morgue where they would be documented and cremated as quickly and efficiently as possible.
The law enforcement officials of most countries have a working relationship with at least one of the magical communities under their jurisdiction. In the case of Albion, it’s the Order of Hermetic Wizardry that worked with the police in a semi-official capacity. It was a two way street, giving Mages like myself the freedom to take care of situations like this one without having to involve the police (who often would have had to call in a specialist anyway), and giving the police the ability to call on us when our skills were needed.
I don't carry a badge or anything like that, but unless I really step over the line it's not likely they'll do more than ask me a few questions and send me on my way. As evidenced by that little fracas down on the docks, however manipulated it had been by Hollis.
It makes life easier for everybody.
Of course, it's not as simple as 'bang, you're a wizard, off you go now and fight evil.' When studying for my Mage's license, I had to learn all about law enforcement in Albion, both for the entire region and for the individual kingdoms that comprise it. I had to prove to the satisfaction of a panel of officials - both state and national, magical and judicial - that I knew the boundaries of my work and what my responsibilities were if called upon to serve.
This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.
It had not been easy, but getting my Mage license had been a proud and satisfying moment in my life. And it made it possible for me to do things like this: making arrangements for the removal of bodies to set ghosts to rest.
In the end, ninety-seven bodies were removed from that old underground morgue. Some of them had clearly been autopsied or experimented on, others had evidently just been stored there for later use. Athena and I learned more about pathology and mortuary procedures than either one of us ever really wanted to know, but Hollis insisted that it would be good for us to see it through.
And it was. When it was over, I felt strangely cleansed and good. When I spoke to Athena about it, she agreed - we had done a good deed. As difficult as it had been for us emotionally, we had come out the other side stronger and as relieved of the burden as the ghosts themselves.
Artemis was, of course, largely indifferent to the whole thing, not understanding what the big deal was. It was enough for her to stay near us, watching every day's new tasks with mild interest for a few minutes before finding a place to sprawl and nap.
The day before we were to dispose of the remains, we went back to the former asylum to make one last visit to the basement. Hollis accompanied us out of curiosity, since I hadn't been able to adequately explain to him why I wanted to.
As we reached the entrance I'd opened in the basement wall, the wraith I'd spoken with faded into view, blocking our way. "Promised..." he whispered.
I nodded. "I did, and it's almost done. Your remains have been cremated. Tomorrow, we're taking them out onto the ocean, where they'll be spread during a funeral ceremony."
He seemed to sigh in relief. "Thank you..." Then he faded away again.
None of the other spirits appeared to us, and the house no longer had that strange feeling of being watched wherever you went in it. The feeling of waiting that had taken its place was gone as well.
I guess I had needed the closure as much as the ghosts had.
On our way out, we stopped to have tea with Mrs. Muldrew. "The house feels so different now," she said as she poured cups for us in her sitting room. "It's quite amazing."
Hollis smiled and sipped his. "Mrs. Muldrew, you have no idea how clever this young lady really is. Most young Mages would have made a mess of your basement trying to blast those poor spirits. I am quite impressed."
"You've obviously picked up a good assistant, Wizard Ellister," she said in response, using his formal title. "And her familiars are some of the best behaved and most intelligent I've ever seen."
I was blushing furiously under this assault of praise. But I caught sight of Athena, standing by the door and beaming proudly at me. Even Artemis, sitting beside her sister, was clearly pleased that we were being spoken of highly. Her ears were perked up, and an attentive - frankly, rather smug - look had settled onto her feline features.
Their pride eased my embarrassment. We had every reason to be proud. We had freed a household from a potentially dangerous spiritual problem, and had given rest to spirits bound to this world through the misdeeds of others.
So I simply nodded my head politely and said a quiet, "Thank you. May I ask what your plans are going forward?"
Mrs. Muldrew smiled warmly. "My husband and I intend to subdivide the house into individual homes. This is simply too huge a mansion for any one family to live in or maintain with ease, especially in central London. That was our plan from the start, but we could never get anyone to work here for long. Now we shouldn't have any problems."
"If you have trouble finding renters or buyers when all is said and done," Hollis said, "Let me know. I always have colleagues in search of larger living quarters."
"I will," Mrs. Muldrew said. "And thank you. For everything." She rose with us and came to me, taking my hands. "Especially you, Mage Kinnear. You have done my husband and I a great service, and we won't forget it."
The next day, we went out onto the Atlantic Ocean in a small steamship we'd chartered for the purpose. A local priest and few of the police officers who'd helped us remove the bodies came along on their own time, saying that they wanted to help see things through. Athena looked a little bit green at first, but quickly found her sea legs. Artemis was completely unbothered by the experience, and spent a lot of time on deck with her forepaws up on the railing, peering out at the ever-changing water.
We didn't go far from shore. There was no need to. The funeral service was short, quiet and dignified.
"We ask the gods to take these poor souls into their arms," the priest finished softly, "And see to it that they rest easy at last."
It took a bit longer to spread the ashes over the water. There was quite a lot, but at least there was no wind that day. When we were done, we went our separate ways secure in the feeling that we had done something good and right.
That evening, Hollis and I sat in deep, plush chairs in front of the fireplace in his sitting room. I sipped at a mug of steaming tea, while he slowly swirled a snifter of brandy. Artemis was sprawled in front of the hearth - a location that was quickly becoming one of her favorites.
Athena sat on the floor in front of my chair, leaning lightly against my legs. She was carefully copying the letters of the alphabet onto a pad of wide-ruled paper, a children's primer open on her lap. Her reading skills had progressed at an incredible rate, much of it having evidently been imprinted in her mind by the Elevation ritual. It had just needed the right trigger to come to the surface. But writing had eluded her and needed to be amongst her first lessons.
"That was done very well and very satisfactorily Alys," Hollis said finally. He turned and smiled at me, his eyes sparkling with good-natured warmth and pride. "Jonathan was right about you. You have a good head on your shoulders. You're going to go far."
I smiled shyly. "He really said that?"
He laughed. "You're more interested in what he had to say than the praise I'm giving you now? You are most assuredly his student. Yes, girl, he said that. And I'm saying it too."
I blushed. "I'm sorry. Thank you. You really think I did all right?"
"Yes, I do," he replied firmly. "I meant what I said to Mrs. Muldrew. One of my previous assistants ended up involved in a similar - but considerably less difficult - situation and tried to blast his way out with lightning. Made a right bloody mess of things, and the property damage he caused cost him two months' wages."
He shook his head before continuing. "No, you did very well indeed, Alys. That was potentially a very dangerous situation you had to manage, and you came through it with only a scratch to show for it."
<
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Hollis cleared his throat. "If you're discussing me behind my back..."
Artemis yawned in a distinctly bored way, as if to say "Why would we?" Athena laughed softly as I shook my head and said, "No, not at all. They were just saying that I handled the situation well."
"And they're right. Listen to them, Alys," he leaned forward, setting his mostly empty snifter on the table between us. "You kept your head and used it too. You not only cleared the house of its ghosts, you did so in such a way that the spirits themselves went peacefully rather than having to be forced out. That sort of thing, driving out spirits or performing a ritual cleansing, leaves a sort of metaphysical stain on the environment."
"Why?" I asked curiously, turning a little to look at him.
"Oh, there's more than just one reason," he replied thoughtfully. "A religious cleansing, for example, leaves behind a strong positive residue that will wear away over time. In my experience, when a mark like that becomes worn and frayed, it acts like a beacon to entities that might want to destroy or take advantage of such a thing."
"Demons," I interjected.
He shrugged. "Amongst other things. Demons aren't the only entities interested in soiling or destroying holy energies. And believe me when I say that drawing the attention of such entities can often be worse than living with what was originally driven out."
"I believe it."
He smiled at the fervent note in my voice. "Yes, I forgot that you'd seen something like that during your apprenticeship."
I shivered a little, remembering an incident I had witnessed Master Tremane take part in two years earlier. A family had asked a Christian priest to bless their house and drive out a ghost that was living there peacefully, and in doing so had fired off what Master Tremane had equated to a psychic beacon that a stronger and more malevolent entity had come to investigate.
The new entity had found the family's teenage daughter, only a few years younger than I was at the time, to be an easy victim. She had lied about what the haunting spirit had done to and around her, engaged in petty theft and at least one fairly minor instance of fraud. In other words, she had been a wide open, easy to use channel.
It had taken two days for the Christian priest and Master Tremane to drive the new entity out of the house and away from her. They had been two of the longest days of my life, watching what the entity had done to the girl and convinced her do to herself. I felt it was amazing there had been anything left of her mind when they were done, but she had been intact and sane when it was over. A testament to the strength of the human soul, the priest had said.
On our way back to his house, Master Tremane had quietly told me it was more likely a side-effect of how the entity had been trying to possess her. Why torment her if she wasn't alert and sane enough to feel anguish over what it was doing, he had asked.
I didn't sleep well for weeks afterwards.
Hollis seemed to understand the direction my thoughts were traveling in, because he nodded. "Yes, I've seen that look on my own face often enough. You know, it's not uncommon for an exorcist's hair to turn white early in their career, no matter what magical tradition they hail from. That's why it's more often a calling than a career choice."
I nodded. "I can't see anyone doing that because they thought it would be a good way to make a living."
He smiled. "Nor can I."
"Mistress?" Athena asked quietly, holding up the pad of paper for me to look at.
I took it from her and looked over her work. "Much better pet. Your lowercase 'q' doesn't look so much like an a anymore. Keep at it."
She smiled up at me and took the pad back, flipping to a fresh sheet and returning to work.
"Well," Hollis said after a minute of comfortable silence, "I think I'm off to bed." He rose slowly and stretched. "Who knows what tomorrow will bring, after all. Don't stay up too late, you two. Get some rest."
Athena and I both looked up at the same time and replied simultaneously with identical, "We won't"s. Then we looked at one another and giggled as Hollis left, shaking his head and muttering about having too many girls in the house.
I sat back in my chair to finish my tea while Athena finished her lesson. It had been three exhausting weeks, but I had arrived in London without too much trouble, gotten myself two of the best familiars anyone could hope to have, and brought my first job for Hollis to a successful conclusion. I couldn't wait to see what happened next.