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Something outside in the backyard—or maybe it’s the neighbor’s yard. I don’t know. I can’t leave the house. When I returned, after . . . I don’t know where I was. But I woke up and found myself here, and I can’t leave. Not even if I wanted to. Some force keeps me here.”
    That didn’t sound right. I frowned and leaned back, foldingmy arms across my chest. “I’ll see what I can find out. Maybe there’s something my friends and I can do to help you. I can’t make any promises, but I’ll look into it. Meanwhile, I have a house, but what about if I can find somebody who would love and take care of the place? Maybe someone who can help to hold the negative spirits at bay?” I had no idea who the hell I was talking about, but it seemed like a possibility that either Bette or Ralph or Alex would know someone who might be in the market for a haunted house.
    Mary regarded me quietly for a moment, then nodded. “It’s worth a try. Follow me.” She stood and led me out of the kitchen. She didn’t seem to be walking so much as floating, and it suddenly occurred to me that I was palling around with a ghost in an abandoned house. Yeah, my life wasn’t exactly turning out to be how I’d expected it to be.
    She led me along the hallway, to the door under the stairs leading into what appeared to be the basement. As she motioned for me to open it, I hesitated.
    â€œAre you sure you want to go down there?” I stared at the gaping darkness. Once again, the energy unsettled me and I wasn’t sure exactly why.
    â€œI hid money down there when I was alive.” Mary was right next to me now, urging me on. She was standing to my left, and even though she was insubstantial, I was beginning to feel a little hedged in. I glanced at her. Now that she was up close and personal, something seemed off. Maybe it was the glint in her eyes, maybe it was some sensation that was just beginning to creep through me, but the friendly old grandmother suddenly reminded me of the wolf out of “Little Red Riding Hood.”
    I jerked back, but not before she reached out. Her hand slammed me into the stairwell, though I didn’t feel her actual fingers, just the force behind the shove. I lurched forward and would have fallen down the stairs had I not caught myself on the railing. I whirled around in time to see Mary cringing as a dark shadow loomed up and over her. Shelooked terrified, trying to shake it off like she might shake off a cloak that had wrapped around her.
    I took that moment to leap back, away from the steps, and though I couldn’t do much, I gathered what water molecules there were in the air around us and solidified them into a thin spate of rain that pelted down into the hallway. While there was no way the water would hurt the creature who was attacking Mary, I did manage to startle it and the shadow let go, vanishing as I stared at it. A very ghostly Mary leaned against the wall, wincing as she rubbed her head.
    â€œWhat the hell was that?” I pointed to the basement, yelling.
    She let out a soft moan. “He doesn’t want anybody to buy this house and land. He hounds me, and I run from him. And then I fight back, and he comes back stronger.”
    And right there, I decided enough was enough. I might not be able to clear an entire district, but I wanted my section of the neighborhood back. And if it took working with a brigade of friendly ghosts, so be it—that was what I’d do.
    â€œI’m going to find help. I’ll be back. And we’ll do our best to get someone in here who knows what they’re doing when it comes to ghosts.”
    And with that, I headed toward the front door, wondering just how I was going to keep my promise. I might not be an exorcist, and I sure as hell wasn’t a miracle worker, but I was stubborn and I was a dragon. It wasn’t in my nature to let anybody else win out