Page 49 of Unruly
The identity of the spirit pops into my mind. Benign, yes, escaped forty years ago. “Julia Cartwright.”
“I won’t go back,” the spirit says.
“Perhaps that’s true if you can make yourself useful. What do you know about the object?”
“Bad news,” the spirit says. “We ensure it never leaves the hotel again. The last time it did, people died.”
“There’s a spirit attached to it, then?”
The spirit nods. “A Horror. It’s been there so long I assumed no one was looking for it.”
“Interesting. What else should I know?”
“The Horror is weak. It’s been unable to leave the object on its own. Look inside the box.”
Borja opens the box to find a small ruby in the corner.
The spirit nods. “Put the gemstone in place on the brooch, then get ready.”
Borja hands me the gem and I find the one empty spot on the jewelry. I slot it into place, and as soon as I do, the item vibrates in my hand.
“Don’t let it go too long,” the spirit says, “or it will destroy this room. Again.”
“Again?” Borja asks.
“The current owner figured it out when she was still a girl. Her father dropped the brooch one day, the ruby fell out, and the haunting stopped.”
I remove the ruby from the brooch, and sure enough it stops vibrating.
“As long as it’s incomplete,” the spirit continues, “it isn’t strong enough to cause problems. We don’t know why.”
“I think I do.” I turn to Borja. “This has to be another object in the puzzle.”
“How do we get it out of here? That would be stealing.”
“Temporarily. We’ll return it.”
“We can help,” the spirit says. “If you plan to rid this hotel of that Horror’s presence, I am more than willing to offer my assistance.”
“In what way?”
“There’s a fake brooch under the display. They put it out when they take the original one in for annual cleaning and inspection.”
Borja digs in the cabinet, finding a box containing the replica. “Here it is.”
“Put it in its place and we’ll unfreeze the clerk and make her forget the interaction she had with you.”
I nod. “Very helpful indeed.”
“And we get to stay here,” the spirit says while Borja makes the jewelry switch. “We cause no harm.”
“I’m not interested in returning you to the Below. I don’t have the time or the resources.”
The spirit smiles. “Very good.”
“Thank you.” I unfreeze the clerk. “Come on, Borja.”
Borja nods, awkwardly waving at the spirits hovering nearby. We slip out of the hotel and I tuck the brooch safely away inside the box, taking care to keep the loose ruby separated from it.
