Page 45 of Medium
Both of them smiled in what appeared to be relief. Greg said, “Yes. Thomas Baird, is his ghost here?”
Dimi scoffed. “Wasn’t dead when they took him, so how could his ghost be here?”
I blinked and turned to Greg. “He wasn’t dead when they took him.”
Greg and Cal gaped at me. Greg said, “But his connection to me was severed. Death is the only way that can happen.” He looked at Cal. “Right?”
Cal threw up his hands. “Why are you asking me?”
“Right. Sorry.” He pulled out his phone. “Excuse me, I’m going to see if anyone else knows.”
I turned back to Dimi. Several ghosts ranged behind her. Some were in modern dress, and some looked like they were from much earlier time periods. Most of them were staring at Ms. Jackson, who was nosing at some flowers with Manny and Pia a few yards away. Shane was heading over to join them, and Ellis wandered in the same direction, looking glum.
I addressed the group of ghosts. “Did any of you follow the, uh, vampires?” I had trouble even saying the word. How did I get to be here, talking about vampires, driving around with a dryad and a... whatever Ms. Jackson was?
The ghosts all shook their heads. One guy in the back shouted, “If they done that to an imp, they mighta been able to do it to us!” He looked like a cowboy, complete with hat and a shirt with silver snaps on it.
I held my hands out, palms up. “What exactly happened?” Cal came to stand beside me.
A woman in a power suit with large shoulder pads glided forward. “We didn’t know anything was wrong until the imp came over the wall.” She pointed at the stone wall separating the cemetery from the forest. “Three of those... well, I guessthey were vampires as you say, but we didn’t know what they were at the time. None of us had ever seen magic like they had. Anyway, they came over the wall after him. One of them jumped from the top of the wall andlandedon him.” Several of the ghosts winced and nodded. “He didn’t move after that. The vampires lifted him up, and all his connections....” She looked around at the other ghosts. Then she shrugged. “Disappeared.”
“Like they drained his magic?” Could that happen? They were vampires after all.
The ghosts all shook their heads. The cowboy who’d spoken before came forward. He said, “The magic didn’t go nowhere. It was like they chopped off anything going outside him.” He made a slashing motion with his hand. “Cut him off from anyone else.”
I wasn’t sure how connections worked, but that sounded awful. “Okay. Then what happened?”
The first woman said, “They carried him back over the wall. We didn’t follow, in case they could see us.”
A young guy, probably about sixteen years old, said, “I wish we’d gone after them, though. They didn’t notice us standing around. It would’ve been fine.” He threw a frustrated glare at the others.
A new man zipped up. He hadn’t been with the group up until now. He was dressed like he ran a saloon in an old Western movie, with a white shirt, string tie, and a vest. His hair was slicked back, and he even had big sideburns and a mustache waxed into curls at the ends. He positioned himself between me and the teenager. “You’re new here, Ethan. You’ll learn it’s safer not to meddle with magical beings. Look at this one. A Medium.” He pointed at me. “Sure, he’s being all nice now, but he could suck out ourenergy or rip us into shreds with just a thought if he wanted to.”
My mouth dropped open. “What? No. I can’t do that.”
The man sneered at me. “Seen your kind afore this. All,Tell me what I want to know or no more afterlife for you!” He spat on the ground—or appeared to. “Or drain us of what life we have left so we’re only a remnant, doomed to nothing more than walking through the same room over and over for eternity!”
He ballooned in size, looming over me like an old timey Incredible Hulk. “We’re done here! Get out!”
CAL’S CAMPAIGN COMPENDIUM
COMBAT MODE, ALSO KNOWN AS HUNTER MODE
Overview: Certain magic carriers, such as District Monitors and Hunters themselves, can, when needed, go into a state called Combat Mode or Hunter Mode. This gives them heightened senses and faster reflexes than the baseline for their type of magic carrier.
While the specific attributes of Combat Mode can vary slightly by individual and type of magic carrier, overall they include:
Hyperfocus
Even greater enhancement to the senses
