Haunter 1: The Shadow of the Haunter

20. No Rest for the Wicked

I didn't dig heading back to the Manor like nothing out of the ordinary was happening, but I did it anyway. Not that I couldn't suffer being away from Haunter charming. It had more to do with that cold spot in my belly that advised against leaving them without supervision.

We found Trisha having breakfast still in her pajamas, sharing the kitchen table with the twins, who were trying to use their drawing boards to practice their writing under Lizzie's supervision. My friend welcomed us with a bright grin, mug and waffle in her hands and a spot of cherry jam on the tip of her nose.

"I'm so totally moving in," she said as soon as we walked in, merry like Christmas. "I'm gonna spend the rest of my life spoiling these lovely brats and chatting with Lizzie. And if you have any problem, find yourself a new place."

I smiled, truly happy to see my friend adjusted and fit in so much better than I'd ever expected. Amy met my eyes with a discreet nod and I followed her to the east parlor, patting Trisha's shoulder on my way out of the kitchen.

Amy waited for me to sit at my usual end of the couch under the window, set the tablets and turn the internet off on my telephone. She glanced around, as to make sure the Blotters were there with us too. Then she faced me with the most serious face I'd ever seen her.

"That man is not himself," she said, cutting straight to the chase. "He's being manipulated by his parasite demons like a puppet."

I heard the soft beep of the touchpad and waited for Joseph to speak, but he kept typing, so I asked, "How can you tell?"

"We can see it," said Edward through the speaking app on the other tablet.

Amy breathed deep, looking for the best way to explain it to me. "If you could see the parasites, you would notice one of them seems to start like, pounding, and Price snaps and behaves like an arrogant bully. Then another parasite does it and he loses it over his meds, and so on."

"No self left," said Ann with my phone app.

Joseph was finally done typing and hit the TTS icon. "He's been under their influence for so long, there's nothing left of his personality. He's but what the parasites want him to be."

I sat up, frowning. Amy shook her head with a quick grimace. Her words sent a cold chill down my spine.

"We're not dealing with a real person like you and me, Fran. His emotional, psychological and energetic planes are gone. Not there anymore. Right now, he's just an empty flesh shell, generating and delivering the kind of energy the demons demand."

"Kujo is right. He is dangerous," Edward said, and I was surprised to hear him use the name, when only a week ago he still called him a demon.

"Whoa, whoa! What on earth are you talking about?"

Amy looked up at the empty space between the coffee table and the parlor door. "I can't tell how conscious they are. You think they're intelligent enough to recognize a threat to their survival?"

"I don't know," Joseph replied. "Kujo is."

"We need to lock up the Manor from now on, at least until he's clean. We don't know what he could be driven to do."

I raised a hand, trying to digest what they were saying. "You think the parasites can make him do things? Because I can get the mood swings. I mean, what you describe sounds like a Pavlovian response: the parasites learned that if they press a given button, they get food. So they cause him a migraine to make him take pills, and there you have pain and addiction, snacks for two. What you're suggesting sounds too next level."