little bit of Justin Wilson with his lack of communication skills, but the more I thought about it, the more I wondered if the spirit was cloaking itself on purpose.”
“Cloaking? Like the Romulan ships on Star Trek?” Jude looked around the room. “Can spirits do that?”
Cole was shaking his head. “None of the ones I’ve worked with have ever wanted to. Usually, spirits are happy to find a conduit like us.” Cole motioned between himself, Carson, and Tennyson. “They know we can hear them and pass their messages along to their loved ones.”
“Even if they have darker purposes, we’ve always been able to see and speak to them.” Tennyson wore an uneasy look on his face. Cope knew Ten was going back through the cases they’d worked together and the nasty spirits they’d come up against along the way.
“So where does that leave us? We’ve got a spirit ninja who doesn’t want to be seen or heard. That doesn’t leave us a whole lot of room to investigate.” Ronan was staring down at the typed pages, using a plastic fork to keep it from folding back in on itself. It was clear no one wanted to touch the typewritten pages.
“Cope and I came here last night to keep Wolf safe. How do I keep my son safe from a spirit none of us can see or communicate with? Is it as simple as taking the typewriter and bringing it to the dump?” Jude pressed a kiss to the back of Cope’s hand. He looked more worried than Cope had ever seen him.
The psychics took turns looking around the room at each other. No one seemed to have an easy answer.
“NO!” Everly shouted from the other room. She sounded angrier than ever. Wolf and baby Aurora started to cry.
Jude and Ronan were out of their seats charging toward the living room. Both men stopped short when they reached the doorway.
Cope managed to shove Jude to the side so he could get a peek at what was going on. Everly was standing in front of Aurora and Wolf wearing the fiercest look he’d ever seen on a one-year-old. It was crazy to think, but to Cope, it looked like Everly was protecting the smaller kids.
“Is the spirit here?” Ronan asked in a near whisper.
“There are so many protection wards and charms on this house that nothing should be able to get in here that we have not invited.” Tennyson gripped Ronan’s hand.
“Which only leaves one question,” Cope said quietly. “Did we somehow invite this spirit into our lives?”
14
Jude
There were still so many unanswered questions. Would they be safe in their own home? Was the spirit only able to hurt them if there was paper in the typewriter? Jesus Christ, Jude never imagined a question like that was even possible.
No one had any answers. They had four of Salem’s best psychics and one kick ass warlock, and they were no closer to figuring out what was going on with the typewriter now than they had been last night, when Cope first explained it to him.
Sitting at his desk at West Side Magick, the last thing Jude wanted to work on was the Beecher case. He understood how annoying it could be living with a spirit who liked to slam things in the middle of the night, but the family who lived in that house was safe. The spirit had never once tried to harm any of the people who lived there. In Jude’s mind, what was going on at home was so much more important.
Ronan and Tennyson had extended their invitation for Jude and Cope to stay with them as long as they needed. Since no one had any clue who this spirit was or what it wanted, and no one could speak to it, only God knew how long it would stay in their house and pose a threat to his family. They couldn’t live with their neighbors forever.
“I’ve been thinking.” Cope rolled his chair around to Jude’s side of their shared workspace.
“So have I, but it hasn’t helped anything. It’s only given me a headache.” Jude reached into his top desk drawer and pulled out a bottle of Tylenol. He took two with a long sip from his coffee.
“We need to go back to that antique shop. They might have information on who owned the typewriter before you bought it. We might be able to trace its roots backward. That way we might be able to figure out what we’re dealing