a bit of a temper. She came to Joey’s work on two occasions and had to be escorted from the building by security. He declined to press charges. She and her new husband have had three domestic disturbances in the past five years. She doesn’t seem like the type to take a potentially cheating husband lightly.
Interesting. I leaned back in my chair, absently playing with the pendant around my neck. I hadn’t been wearing it long, but touching it randomly had already become a habit. The stone was yet another mystery I had to unravel. Just how did you give excess energy to a glorified rock? And how would that help me make a resistant ghost cross over?
Now wholly distracted, I tried some of the magical sounding words I knew. “Hocus Pocus. Abracadabra.” I squinted at the stone. “Chaka Khan?”
Before I could talk myself out of it, I picked up my phone. I pressed a familiar number even as I checked the time. It was a little after eleven, but he’d said I could call anytime. I hoped he meant it.
Dakota answered on the last ring, just before the voicemail kicked in. “I’m kind of busy here,” he said by way of greeting.
“You don’t have a social life,” I reminded him. “Especially at this time of night.”
“Shows what you know,” he said snootily. “I’m on a date.”
“You.”
“Yes.”
“On a date.”
“Yep.”
“With another person?”
He made an exasperated noise. “Maybe there’s some sort of smart dog over there that I can talk to. Can you put him on the phone, please?”
“All right, all right. No need to get testy.” I swore I could hear some sort of low music in the background. “Are you in some sort of club?”
“No, we’re in my dorm.”
“Oh. Oh.” I blinked. “Please don’t tell me you answer the phone during… you know. It wasn’t that bloody important. No one is dead, after all. Well, Joey is dead, but it’s not like that just happened—”
“Will you get to it? Freddy is in the kitchen getting snacks, but he’ll be back any minute now. He said, and I quote, ‘I’m not done with you yet.’” His voice was a little breathless, and I could picture the dreamy smile on his scholarly little face. “No one has ever said that to me before. Isn’t he just so… so passionate?”
“Freddy?” I snorted. “I’m assuming Jason and Michael Myers didn’t respond to your google invite.”
“Fair warning, I’m hanging up on you when he comes back.”
“Horny bastard,” I muttered. “You just got off.”
“We’re thinking about going for round two. You remember round two?” Dakota’s voice was mischievous. “Something you did before you got old?”
I growled but got to the point, mostly because I knew he wasn’t kidding about ditching me for sex. “I got the stones from my mother’s store. What do I do with this black tourmaline?”
“It doesn’t do anything—at least, not by itself. It intensifies the powers you already have.” I heard the rustling of covers as he probably sat up in bed. “You know, I’ve been doing some research about resistant spirits like Joseph. I think he’s going to need some help crossing through the veil. Forceful help.”
I frowned. “I’m not sure I’m all that eager to banish someone from the earth.”
“You’re not banishing anyone. It’s helping them move on to where they’re supposed to be. If you ask me—”
“I didn’t.”
“If you ask me,” he repeated patiently, “that’s why they call you a bridge. You’re their path between our world and theirs. Even if they’re not willing, it’s your job to help them walk that path. The spirit guides on the other side will take care of the rest.” He paused. “That’s what I think, anyway.”
“You don’t know?”
“Well, I’m not dead, am I?” He huffed. “I think I found a spell that could help.”
“A spell,” I repeated slowly.
“Yes. Et dimittere de.”
I frowned as I remembered the faded inscription on the back of the stone. The first word had been Et. That was too much of a coincidence to ignore. “My Latin is a little rusty,” I said, running my finger across the inscription. “Does that mean, I release you?”
“Exactly,” he said earnestly. “You should memorize it, so you’ll be able to use it when the time is right.”
“Yes, I suppose pulling out a Post-it during a ghost battle would be very awkward,” I murmured.
He laughed. “I know I’m throwing a lot at you, but—oh, wait. Hang on.”
I heard a deeper voice in the background and Dakota’s murmured response. Then, the unmistakable sound