Page 10 of Medium
I didn’t roll my eyes, but it was close. “Grandfather, you see other ghosts all the time, and so do I.” Much to my everlasting irritation.
“Not like this ghost!” He zipped around to hover in front of me, startling me into backing up a step.
Fuck, he wasn’t going to leave until he told me his story. I sighed. “Okay, I’ll bite. What was so special about this ghost?” I looked around, but thankfully he didn’t seem to have brought her with him. Once a ghost meets you, it can show up anytime, anywhere. Those tales of salt keeping ghosts out are crap. Do you know how much salt is in the human body?
“She looked like a tree.” He crossed his arms and waited for my response.
I blinked. “Trees have ghosts?” I’d never run into one of those.
“No, no. In life she was a tree spirit. A dryad.”
“A dryad.” I dredged my brain for any related information. “Like, Greek myths?” I wasn’t sure I believed him, but on the other hand he’d never lied to me, even when he was alive.
He shrugged. “Not sure. When I first saw her, she had the form of a tree with a face, and she was standing behind that asshole Randolph Chamberlain, whacking him with her branches and yelling at him. But of course he couldn’t hear or feel her,” he added bitterly. Even after two years, Grandfather still hadn’t resigned himself to the limitations his new existence placed on him.
“Anyway, I went up and asked her what the hell she was.”
I winced. Grandfather had no tact.
“She changed so she looked like a human, and then she told me she was a dryad and Randolph Chamberlain was holding her daughter captive.”
“What?Captive?” Now he had my full attention. I palmed my phone. This wouldn’t be the first anonymous tip I’d called in to the cops.
“Yes, and the little girl’s dying. The fucker doesn’t know exactly what she is, so he didn’t put a tree in her cage with her.” He began to pace. “Lorraine, the dryad, was killed trying to keep Chamberlain’s goons from getting her daughter. She showed me the room where he’s keeping her. That jackwaffle’s got the child in a glass enclosure on wheels. Like he rolls her out for his parties or some shit.”
“Fuck.” I got ready to dial 911. “How do I tell the cops where to find her?”
Grandfather put a chilly hand on my forearm. “You don’t. Didn’t you get the part where the kid’s a dryad? She’s not human. The cops can’t get hold of her; she’ll only end up in a different kind of cage.”
Well, shit. It was a valid point.
“You have to go in and get her.”
My mouth fell open. “Me?”
“Yes, you. Do you know any other Mediums I can ask? There’s still time to go to the party. Put on your monkey suit and I’ll talk you through how to get in. Lorraine says there are a couple more ghosts who’ll help."
"Fuck." I stared at the floor, trying to think of any other way to get the girl out. Any way not involving me. “How old is she?”
“Thirteen.”
My head shot up. Grandfather nodded, grim-faced. “Whatever you’re thinking, Lorraine’s worried about it too. Assuming the girl doesn’t die. I don’t know how long she has.”
“Fuck me.” I sighed again and reached for the tuxedo Grandfather had badgered me into buying. I’d never worn it before, but last year he’d gone on a rant saying I might needto go to a fancy party for work. One of his tips regarding a company on the verge of imploding had made me over five thousand dollars, so I’d thought it was little enough to do for him in return.
I hadn’t considered I’d need it for a jailbreak, though.
I got dressed, and on the way out the door I grabbed a granola bar, since I hadn’t had dinner. The girl and I would have to stop for food after I got her out of there.
Assuming dryads could eat fast food, that is.
Oh, and assuming I didn’t get caught.
I took the stairs instead of waiting for the elevator. Luckily my parking spot was on the ground floor, so I didn’t have to wind through the parking garage to exit the building.
Grandfather popped into the passenger seat as I started my Range Rover. It was new, and I still didn’t know what’d possessed me to buy such a huge SUV. I only had one real friend to drive around.
“Grandfather, this car is nice, but it’s not on a level with the ones the other party guests will be driving. Plus, they’ll have a valet. I can’t make a quick getaway waiting on a valet to get my car.”
