"Mistress," Athena asked as we walked up the street. "What are ghosts, exactly?"
I was suddenly and powerfully reminded of a day several years earlier when I had asked Master Tremane the same question. His response had been amused laughter.
Now I understood why. It had taken me weeks of study to even start to approach the answer to that question, and I still didn't have a definitive answer years later. I doubted that anybody ever would.
"That's not an easy question to answer," I said with a smile. "There's lots of different theories about what ghosts are, why they come into existence and what their purpose is. The problem is that most of them are right, at least to some extent."
"Oh," Athena replied, non-plussed. "I...I see."
I laughed softly. "No you don't. But that's okay. I asked my master the same question years ago and he just laughed in my face. I guess now I understand why. It's a question that doesn't have an answer. Not really."
She gave me a confused look and a sheepish smile as I considered my next words carefully.
"Well," I said finally, "a lot of people think that ghosts come into existence as a result of traumatic death. That's certainly true in many cases - many ghosts are the spirits of people who don't completely realize that they've died and are still trying to live out their day-to-day lives."
"That's...kind of awful," Athena said quietly.
I nodded. "I agree. That's why we try to help those ghosts understand that they're dead and that it's okay to let go of the world and pass on."
"Into the afterlife?"
"That's the theory," I said. "I suppose if you want to be theologically correct, they'd go to whatever afterlife is appropriate to the god or gods they worship."
I tried to ignore the lingering doubt left by the question I'd asked Master Tremane when he'd explained that to me. I'd looked him squarely in the eyes and asked bluntly what happened to the souls of people who didn't believe in gods, or who didn't worship a particular religion. His expression had become uncomfortable, and his explanation about not really knowing what awaited souls on the other side of death - even those that belonged to the most devout believers - left me as uncomfortable as he had looked.
"What about people who don't follow a religion?" Athena asked, perhaps inevitably.
I sighed. "I really don't know, pet. There's no real answers about the question of what happens after you die. Even for wizards, it's a question best left to theology, not science."
"So," she said softly, "By convincing a ghost to move on..." She trailed off into an uneasy silence.
"Yeah," I said quietly. "We don't know for sure. But the act of passing on appears to be a peaceful one for most ghosts. The ones I've seen let go of the mortal world look relieved and relaxed as they fade out."
She seemed relieved by that herself. "Oh. Okay."
I nodded. "That's why we keep doing it that way. Until we learn for certain otherwise, it's the least traumatic of the available alternatives." I huffed out a little breath. “Heck, for all we know, those ghosts are just imprints of the person who died and not actually them at all.” I gestured idly with one hand. “It’s why I prefer to leave those questions to religious leaders, at least until someone comes up with hard evidence one way or another.”
Athena digested that in silence for a moment, then asked, "So are all ghosts like that?".
"No, that's just one type," I said. "There are ghosts left behind by people who have unfinished business that they feel compelled to take care of. Ghosts of people who loved a place so strongly that they don't want to leave it after death. Some are the spirits of people who were so...so malevolent in life that they wanted to keep being evil after they died. That covers - broadly speaking - most of the intelligent hauntings."
"So part of our job is to figure out which type it is?"
"Exactly," I said with a nod. "And it's not always as easy as it sounds."
<
I smiled. "This one was complicated long before people started looking into it, pet."
<
Athena giggled.
I shrugged, unable to argue the point. Artemis had a piercing ability to point out humanity's flaws that I found deeply amusing. Probably because she was speaking my own feelings about humanity's foibles. "It's true. At any rate, there are also non-sentient hauntings. If the conditions are right, a person's surroundings can sort of record what's happening to them, especially if there's a lot of emotion involved. Even more so if they're magically gifted. Then later, those events are essentially played back as a psychic imprint, visible to people who're on the right frequency, so to speak."
"Then," I went on, "There's non-human spirits. They may or may not be intelligent, depending on the circumstances. Poltergeists, elementals, negative entities and even some demons fall into this category. My master told me that about twenty years ago they had a brief flurry of problems with Djinn in Greater Britannia after a group of cultural anthropologists returned from a trip to Arabia."
Athena was giving me a bewildered look, so I smiled. "Don't worry about it right now, Athena. Suffice to say, there's lots of different types of ghosts, so there's no single ‘right’ answer to your original question."
She nodded. "I can see that!"
The house we had been sent to turned out to be a four-story brick building with four gabled windows along the top floor, probably an attic of some sort. It had four windows facing the street on each floor, though the ones on the ground floor were spaced more tightly together to make room for the front door. The window frames were white, and had red shutters that nearly matched the color of the bricks.
The front door had been painted red to match the shutters, and had three steps leading up to it. As we got closer, I could see four dark, narrow windows at ground level, suggesting that the house had a cellar as well as an attic.
As I climbed the steps with Athena close behind me and Artemis lingering on the sidewalk for a moment, I could sense something a bit off about the house. It wasn't anything I could put my finger on...there was just something not quite right about the house's atmosphere. It looked like a friendly enough building, especially as it was wedged in between two newer six story apartment buildings that had no character whatsoever. But it felt like it was brooding and looming over the sidewalk.
I frowned slightly and shifted my staff to my left hand. I raised my right hand and spread my fingers, moving my hand in a clockwise semi-circle as I murmured the words of the spell that would let me see the house's aura. "Feicfidh mé fuinneamh."
Yes, I do my more complex spellcasting in butchered Gaelic. My mom had a tendency to wince whenever I cast spells in her presence, but it came more naturally to me than Latin. Since I grew up speaking Gaelic as well as English, it was easy enough for me to throw together a spell on the fly.
Intentionally using bad grammar kept me from casting a spell by accident, since it took an effort and the application of Anima to make it work. It had nothing at all to do with not having spoken Gaelic on a daily basis since I was eight or nine. Really.
The spell came together and I sucked in a little breath. Athena must have felt my alarm because she placed a gentle hand on my shoulder. "Mistress? What is it?"
"The house..." I whispered, staring at it wide-eyed.
Contrary to what the Druids tried to teach me, everything has an aura - even non-living things. For the most part, a living creature's aura will be more vibrant and easier to read than an inanimate object's. It stands to reason.
But an inanimate object - especially something like a building, which contains living beings, and most especially a home with emotional ties to its occupants - will have an aura too. Even pebbles have auras...they're just very narrow and difficult to see.
Usually.
As I stared up at the house, it seemed to be outlined in a sickly gray-black color. The windows throbbed with a muddy red haze that made me shudder.
For the uninitiated, these are not nice colors to see when viewing an aura. Black should be obvious - it devours energy, captures light and can indicate sickness and grief. Grey is a residue of fear and can indicate health problems. Muddy red is anger.
This was not a healthy house. I really did not want to go in there. But I had a job to do. I took a deep breath to steady myself and let it out, releasing the spell and letting my aura-sight fade. Looking at the house's aura for too long might make me flee without doing my job.
"We need to be careful in there," I said quietly to Athena and Artemis. "The house's aura is not good."
Without waiting for a response, I stepped up to the door and rapped on it three times with the metal-capped top end of my oak staff, putting on my best polite smile. I felt Athena standing close behind my right shoulder, and Artemis brushed lightly against my left leg, both of them hovering protectively. Their concern for my wellbeing made my smile a bit more genuine.
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After a few moments, the door was opened by a middle-aged woman in black heels, trousers and a cream-colored blouse with an old-fashioned ivory cameo brooch pinning the blouse shut at her throat. It was a very formal look, and suited her somewhat stern expression and iron-gray hair tied up in a neat and rather severe bun at the back of her head.
She stared down at me in my mostly home-made leather clothes, then glanced at Artemis and Athena before returning her gaze to me. Her expression never changed, but when she spoke I could hear the disapproval in her voice. "Yes? Can I help you?"
I bowed slightly. "Good afternoon. My name is Alys Kinnear, Mage and assistant to Wizard Hollis Ellister. He sent me in response to your missive."
Her expression changed instantly, some of the formality and most of the cool indifference vanishing. In its place, I saw exhaustion, stress and relief. "Oh, thank goodness. Do come in, and your familiars."
I entered first, Artemis slipping in behind me. Athena came last, politely closing the door behind her and shutting out the noise of the street.
"But I'm being terribly impolite." She paused in the foyer and extended her hand, which I shook as she introduced herself. "Aramina Muldrew. My husband Jameson isn't home at the moment, but should be returning in a couple of hours."
"Mrs. Muldrew," I said with a nod, "How severe are the manifestations?"
"They weren't bad until about two weeks ago," she replied weakly. "But they've been getting progressively worse. Over the last few days, they've grown intolerable in parts of the house." She gestured for us to follow her into a sitting room. "Would you care for some tea?" She asked politely.
A quick look around the room showed me rich rosewood furniture, an old-fashioned globe in one corner by a book stand with a huge tome of some sort on it, and a large fireplace on the opposite wall. There was a handsome sideboard with an array of bottles on it - no doubt including both scotch and brandy of some sort - beside an ice bucket and several tumblers and snifters. There was a reproduction of the Mona Lisa on one wall, and a few of what Master Tremane had called 'trophy books'...books meant to enhance the appearance of a room rather than to be read.
I smiled. "No thank you. How long have you lived here?" I took a small notebook from an inside pocket of my coat, then rummaged through my pockets until I located my pen.
"About three months," she replied, settling onto an ornately carved chair. "My husband and I moved here from Bath. We were shocked to find such a beautiful old house empty right in the city proper, and were pleased when it came for such a comparatively low price. I imagine now that the former owners were just as pleased to be rid of it."
I took a few notes as she spoke, nodding. "It wouldn't surprise me. The government has laws about not selling property without full disclosure of supernatural events that took place on the premises. You may have grounds for a grievance case."
"So my husband believes," she said with a nod. "Which is why we decided to call on Wizard Ellister. We hoped that he could document the haunting and provide us with the evidence we need to make the case, not to mention cleansing the building, if possible. We are, of course," she added, "Willing to pay any reasonable fee for his services. Or yours, if he prefers."
I could hear the doubt in her voice and chose to ignore it. The fact that I'd made Mage rank stood as its own statement of my basic competence. I had no need to defend it.
"Of course," I replied with a polite nod. "We'll do whatever we can to help. And if I feel that I'm in over my head," I added with a smile, "Wizard Ellister will join us promptly." I may not have had to comment on my competence, but it wouldn't hurt to show a little humility.
She returned my nod, obviously reassured. "Very good. Where do you want to start?"
"There are a few other questions I'd like to ask first." I slid my bag from my shoulder and leaned my staff against the wall by the door before sitting down across from her, notebook and pen in hand. "What do you know about the history of the building?" I felt Athena's presence at my back, and knew that she was standing behind my chair.
"Jamie did some research into it after we started experiencing strange things," she replied. "According to public record, the house was part of an asylum that took up the whole block until the early 1930s, when it was closed down and purchased by a private citizen. He broke it up into individual plots, and it underwent extensive renovations before being listed as a place of residence, an office building and some apartments. Actually, the apartments on either side of us just finished additional renovations recently."
<
<
"I see," I said out loud. "Before we take any action, I'd like to examine the house, if I may. It will help determine the best course of action if we have a full picture of what's going on. And we'll look into the house's history in greater depth. Wizard Ellister may have access to records that your husband couldn't get to."
Mrs. Muldrew nodded. "Of course."
"Where have the most severe manifestations been?" I asked.
Throughout our conversation, I had been aware that Artemis was slowly making her way around the perimeter of the room, sniffing here and there and looking around in the penetrating way cats have. Now she stopped moving and the fur on the back of her neck and all down the length of her tail bristled. Her ears flattened to her head and she backed up a step. <
I followed her gaze and saw a crystal decanter with some amber-colored liquid in it slowly floating away from the sidebar it had been resting on. Mrs. Muldrew followed my gaze and flinched. "All over the house in the last few days," she said in response to my question, "As you can see. The most intense manifestations have taken place in the attic, my husband's study and in the basement."
By the time she finished speaking I was halfway across the room, moving in a slow circle around the crystal decanter. It was now floating a good five feet off the floor, suspended by nothing at all that I could see. I repeated the spell I had cast outside to see the house's aura, passing my open hand left to right across the bottle, trying to narrow the spell's focus as much as possible.
Frankly, I did not want to subject myself to the house's aura while I was inside it.
I was not surprised to see a faint nimbus of muddy red aura surrounding the floating decanter. The same angry color that had outlined the windows from the outside. Anger is a powerful emotion, one which can fuel all kinds of unpleasant things, including giving stronger spirits the ability to affect the physical world. As evidenced by this floating decanter.
With a slow movement, I reached out and took hold of it. After a moment I felt its weight settle entirely into my grasp, and I released my spell. The bottle's aura faded from my sight as I put it back on the sideboard.
"It could be poltergeist activity," I said thoughtfully, "though this wasn’t particularly violent. Has it been in any way harmful and directed at you or your husband?"
"Only when we're in his study on the second floor, the attic and the basement," she said. "Then it seems to be directed towards us rather than just happening. But I still wouldn't call what happens in the attic and Jamie's study harmful, just...direct."
I looked back at her as I resumed my seat and picked my notebook and pen back up. "What do you mean?"
She considered the question for a moment before answering. "Whenever we're in the attic, there's a distinct feeling of being watched. It's not a friendly sensation, but nothing ever really happens other than that. We're using the attic for storage, and occasionally we'll hear thumps and bumps from up there, but when we go to look there's never anything out of place."
"And in his study?" I asked.
Mrs. Muldrew actually blushed when I asked. "Actually, Jamie has never experienced anything in there. But whenever I go in, I feel like I'm being watched. It's not like the attic and basement though..." She blushed more deeply. "It's more like...young lady, from one woman to another, have you ever had a man look at you in such a way that you felt like he was undressing you with his eyes?"
I knew exactly what she meant, and nodded.
She returned my nod. "That is what I feel in Jamie's study. And occasionally, something will pinch my...my bottom!"
I resisted the urge to smile at how completely offended she sounded. It wasn't funny, not even remotely. It was just the way she'd said it. I concentrated on writing my notes for a moment until the urge passed. "I understand. What about the basement?"
"The basement," she replied after a moment's hesitation, "Was where I intended to put my washer and dryer. But every time we go down there, we feel that same feeling of being watched, and the light bulbs have a tendency to flare up and burst. It got to the point where it felt futile to keep replacing them, so we stopped trying. We just don't go down there now. There appeared to be quite a few of the previous owner's possessions still down there, but we never had a chance to go through them."
"It sounds rather more sinister than the rest of the manifestations in the house," I noted.
She nodded. "It is. As I said, we no longer go down there."
My notebook and pen vanished back into my coat - in the same pocket this time - and I rose. I picked up my bag and slung it over my shoulder again, then collected my staff. "I'd like to start in the basement, then. If you'll show me where it is?"
"Of course," she rose and led the way out of the room.
In the kitchen - which was every bit as large and impressive as I'd expected, but considerably more modern - she showed me a door that opened onto a dark staircase going down. I tapped my staff on the floor twice and poured a bit of Anima into it, causing the rune-engraved steel cap at the top to glow with blue-white magelight. It would shed plenty of light for me to see by, and I could adjust its intensity and focus at will. A very useful spell, magelight, and one that every Hermetic Mage learns early in their training.
She stopped me with a hand on my arm as I moved towards the door. "Miss Kinnear," she said quietly, "I do hope you'll forgive me if I don't go down there with you. Frankly, I can barely stand being alone in the house at all."
I nodded. "Of course, Mrs. Muldrew. Don't worry about it. Come on, Artemis, Athena."
Artemis stopped at the top of the stairs, her tail bristling again. <
Athena stood beside her sister, her own tail bristled out similarly. <>
Animals have always been more sensitive to the supernatural than humans. I've always thought it was one of the reasons why spellcasters started taking animals as familiars. You ignored the senses of your familiar at your own risk. If they felt something bad down there, they were probably right.
But this was my job, and I did not want to disappoint my new employer on my second day. Not to mention the fact that it'd get back to Master Tremane, which would be even more embarrassing. I was trained for this sort of thing.
<> I replied to them. <
<
Athena smiled. <
<
Athena rolled her eyes.
I choked down my laugh, hiding it behind clearing my throat. "Mrs. Muldrew, Artemis is going to stay with you while Athena and I go downstairs. If anything happens to you up here, I'll know instantly as long as she's with you."
Mrs. Muldrew immediately looked relieved, bending a little to hesitantly pet Artemis' ears. "Thank you, dear. That's very kind of you."
Artemis took the opportunity to purr like a rusty motor and lean against Mrs. Muldrew's leg. She was charmed by my familiar's antics, and I could see the tension leaving her muscles.
I smiled. <
<
I turned back to the darkness and directed a beam of magelight from the tip of my staff down the stairs so I could see them. "Come on, Athena."
"Right behind you, Mistress." <
Having familiars really was quite awesome. I have no idea how I ever got by without them.