Starlight Web (Moonshadow Bay #1) - Yasmine Galenorn Page 0,42
places out in the bogs, the land is soaked in blood and cursed. The ghosts have all sort of run together to form a cloud of malaise.”
“I suppose, anywhere a great battle took place will be tinged by all the bloodshed,” Caitlin said. “So what day do we go in? I refuse to work on Saturday—that’s the day of the Winter Carnival and I won’t miss it.”
“I vote for tomorrow night—Thursday night,” Hank said. “I have a date Friday night.”
Tad shrugged. “Thursday night it is. Bring a sleeping bag, backpack of supplies, whatever else you might need.” He turned to me. “If you don’t have a sleeping bag or camping supplies, we do have some extras. We’ll leave here tomorrow at noon and get set up before dark.”
I was seriously disconcerted. I didn’t want anything to do with staying the night out there. My alarms were shrieking full tilt. It occurred to me to ask Ari to come along. She was also a powerful witch and she had more practice than I had lately.
“Can I bring a friend? She’s… Consider her magical brawn.”
“Fine, if she can keep her mouth shut,” Tad said. “I admit, this case sounds a lot more dicey than ones we’ve investigated before, but we can do this. Okay, that’s a wrap for today. See you tomorrow. Bring your gear.” He paused, turning to me. “Conjure Ink promises to do the best work we can for our clients. We’d be lax if we just told them we thought they shouldn’t buy it without at least seeing if we can’t negate some of the negative energy out there.”
And with that, we were done for the day. As I walked to my car, I wondered again about the job. I liked it, and I felt like I was part of something bigger than myself. But the thought of staying the night in that complex set me on edge and, as I drove through the increasing gloom, I kept asking myself if this was really worth it.
I called Ari the minute I got home and she told me she’d be over in a few minutes. Then I called Killian, inviting him over. I had promised him dinner. While I was waiting for them, I made grilled ham and cheese sandwiches, opened a large can of tomato soup, and decided against salad as too much rabbit food.
By the time Ari got there, dinner was almost ready. Killian followed a few minutes after. We gathered around the table, and I broke out my mother’s china, thinking again how much I missed my parents. As I set the table, Ari poured wine all around, and Killian took out the trash for me.
We gathered around the table by the glow of the tree, and I leaned back, sighing. “It’s been one hell of a day,” I said. Killian and I filled Ari in on what had happened out at the asylum, and then I told them both what Tad had decided. “So, we’re spending tomorrow night there. I’m so not looking forward to this.”
“Do you think you really want to keep this job?” Ari said.
“I’ve been thinking that over ever since I left work. And I’ve come to the conclusion that yes, I like the job and want to keep it. I suppose I just hoped for a gentle immersion instead of being thrown in to sink or swim. By the way, he said we could bring friends with us.” I gave her a long look. “We could use some extra magical help.”
“No,” she said.
“If you take Friday off, I’ll make it worth your while. I’ll owe you a massive favor.”
She snorted. “I said—”
“What about if I invoke the best friend clause?”
She scowled. “I have work, too. I can’t just take the day off to go ghost hunting. Especially since I took Monday off. My clients depend on me—”
“When’s your last appointment of the day?” I wheedled. “What about coming out after work and staying for the evening?”
She finally caved, laughing. “All right! You wore me down. My last appointment tomorrow is at three. It’s a foil and highlight, so it will take me about two hours total. I’ll come out around 5:30.” She shook her head, taking a big bite out of her sandwich. “I can’t believe I’m agreeing to do this.”
Killian stared at me. “You’re seriously going to go out there and spend the night? Do you realize what the hell…” He stopped, then sighed. “Of course you know what you’re facing.