Haunter 1: The Shadow of the Haunter

9. One Funky Deal

I couldn't turn the key to lock the basement door fast enough. Still dizzy, I snatched a soda from the fridge and gulped up half of it right where I stood, feeling I desperately needed a sugar boost.

"Are you okay?" asked the tablet by the flashing cat ball.

"Yeah, yeah, I just need a minute," I panted. "And a tea."

"Speedwell," said the phone.

"That's a great idea."

Five minutes later, I sat at the table, the phone offline on one side, the tablet with both apps open on the other. We lingered there until their dinner time, talking about what had just happened downstairs. Typing still demanded them a lot of time and energy, so Joseph and Lizzie shared the TTS, while Edward used the speaking up and Ann used my phone.

What Edward had observed over those few minutes in the basement left me speechless.

First of all, now he'd gotten a closer look at it, he agreed it was no demon from hell. In his supernatural eyes, it had a humanoid shape but moved on all fours, like a grizzly, and it was about the same size. We'd confirmed it understood my words, or at least their meaning, but he couldn't tell if it was too weak to speak, incapable of verbal communication, or just didn't want to even try.

However, Edward had been able to pick up its overall emotions, feelings or whatever it had. Seeing we knew about it, and that Edward and I were together, scared it to no end, afraid we'd gone down there to kill it. My friendly approach threw it off, but only for a moment. As soon as it saw I sympathized with its situation, it tried to take advantage of me. Edward wasn't sure how it'd done it without touching me, but it had somehow manipulated my emotions, making me feel sadness and pity. Another outstanding feat was that it had somehow made my feelings or emotions visible, allowing Edward to see what it did with them.

"It fed on them," Edward explained. "That's why I told you to leave."

"Why sadness? To win an ally?" I asked, truly curious.

"I think it's too weak to make you angry or scared."

"It feeds on sadness too, then," said Joseph.

"Yes."

"Oh! I see! That's why I felt so dizzy! It sucked my energy."

"That moment of sadness gave it enough to try to attach itself to you."

"Oh," I mouthed quietly. "You stopped it, right?"

"Yes."

"I heard it happen. What was it doing when you left it?"

"It was back to the corner. Walking on all fours, not crawling anymore."

"You mean my energy in that minute of sadness made it stronger?"

"It's so weak, everything helps."

"Jeez. Breaks my heart."

"Watch your feelings, child. It will attach itself to you if you let it."

I smiled when he called me child. Of course the distinguished 150-year-old gentleman saw me as a kid, no matter how much of a grownup I thought I was. I frowned a heartbeat later. Tell me about mood shifts.

"How come it's still here?" I asked. "Did it ever try to get out?"

"No," Joseph replied.

In the end, I had to admit they were right and we needed outside help. Somebody who could delve into the entity's nature and help us remove it from the house. I didn't want to go around town asking for a medium or a wiccan or whatever, feeding the rumors about the Manor. I knew the Blotters resented the reputation Brandon Price had given their home, and so did I. So I could only do as I'd promised and wait for the help to call me back, be it Trisha or Price.