Simon Green - Spirits from Beyond

“I haven’t taken anything,” said Happy, finally, not looking at JC or the writing-desk.

“Maybe you should,” said JC. “If that’s what it takes to get your head back together.”

Happy looked at his pills. “You’ve got to admit, JC, it’s an impressive collection. Uppers and downers and sideways. . Things to shut my mind down, and others to blast it wide open. Pills to make me brave, or smart; but nothing there to make me strong. How do you do it, JC? How do you stay so confident all the time?”

“Because I’m team leader,” said JC. “And because I’d rather die than let you and Melody down.”

Happy looked at him then and actually managed a small smile. “Word is, you did die, down in the Underground. What was it like?”

“If something like that really did happen,” JC said carefully, “which I am not necessarily ready to accept, I don’t remember.”

“Probably just as well,” said Happy. “Why is it, JC. . that all the people and things we encounter, come back from the dead, are always so very angry?”

“I don’t know,” said JC. “Perhaps the hereafter disappointed them by not being what they wanted it to be. Or perhaps the hereafter didn’t want them because they were unworthy. And spat them out. Mostly, I tend to think of most of the dead things we encounter as escaped prisoners. Jail breakers; bad things, on the run. And it’s our job to herd them up and send them back where they belong.”

“Except that it’s rarely that simple,” said Happy.

“No,” said JC. “But then, life is complicated. Why should death be any different? It’s important to remember that not all ghosts are bad. Case in point. . Kim; would you come in here, please?”

Kim appeared immediately, standing demurely in the middle of the room. She’d refined her ectoplasm again and now seemed to be wearing a Salvation Army Girl uniform, complete with tambourine. She smiled sweetly at Happy and dropped him a wink.

“I thought you could use a little cheering up. Hi, Happy!”

He barely smiled. “Thanks for the thought. How long have you been here, at the inn?”

“Ooh, ages and ages. I got here long before you. I’ve been studying the King’s Arms, inside and out. Dreadful place. Not only the inn, mind you, not just the building, but the whole surrounding area. It’s all soaked and saturated with retained information. Layer upon layer of memories, ghosts, weird phenomena. Some of it going back centuries. .”

Happy was already nodding in agreement. “Yes, called here, like moths to a flame.” He perked up quickly, the colour seeping back into his face as he became intrigued by the problem. “Something must have happened here, long ago, that made such an impact on this site, and this area, that in a sense it’s still happening. A psychic irritant, if you like; like the grain of sand a pearl forms around, inside an oyster. We have to dig down, separate out and identify the original causal agent, and shut it down. Hard. And then everything else should fall apart and disappear. Except, of course. .”

“Nothing’s ever that simple,” said JC.

“You read my mind,” said Happy. “There are ghosts operating here in the inn. But I think that’s just the surface. There are other things here, far more powerful than I am comfortable thinking about. They like being here, like pigs rolling in shit. Something really nasty tried to scare me off. Possibly because it sees me as a threat. I suppose I should feel flattered. . Kim, can you detect anything out of the ordinary in this room with your more-than-ordinary ghostly senses?”

The ghost girl drifted slowly round the room, taking her time. “I don’t See anything,” she said, finally. “Which is, frankly, a bit suspicious. I’ve no doubt something was here, but it’s gone to great lengths to cover its tracks.” She stopped suddenly. “Someone’s coming. A live person.”

She turned to look at the door, and the others did, too. The barman Brook peered in through the open doorway and jumped as he found everyone staring at him. He smiled weakly and nodded but decided not to actually enter the room.

“Sorry to intrude,” he said. “I thought I heard. . something. Thought I’d better. . pop up and check. Is everything all right here?”

He took in Kim properly for the first time, and his eyes widened. She threw him a dazzling smile and rattled her tambourine at him. Brook looked at JC.

“Another one of yours, is she? Working the case on the quiet?”

“You could say that,” said JC.

“Will she be requiring a room, too?”

“Almost certainly not.”

Melody yelled for Brook to get the hell out of her way, and when he jumped back, she barged in through the open doorway, with her suitcase. She opened it and pulled out assorted scientific equipment. She quickly set it all up, talking quickly as she did, perhaps so she wouldn’t have to acknowledge Happy.

“This is all I have with me. Just the basics. A multi-sensor package, linked in to a very discerning computer. It may look to you like a lap-top plugged into a box, with assorted scanners; but it will do the job.”

She piled it all on the bed, then set about firing everything up, still talking to herself. Mostly in terms no-one else there understood. Everyone nodded vaguely, for fear she’d start explaining things. Brook was back peering through the open door again. Still refusing to come in from the landing. Melody studied the readings as they came in and scowled unhappily.

“This inn is old, JC. And I mean really old. We’re talking centuries. . Damn! I’m getting readings that say this building, this basic structure, goes all the way back to the fifth century.”

“Druid time,” said JC, a bit bitterly. “I should have known. . I should have known the Boss wouldn’t send us off to cover some everyday haunting!”

“You think there’s a connection?” said Happy. “Between what happened in London Undertowen and what’s going on here?”

“Don’t you?” said JC. “Go on, Melody. What else have you got?”

Melody scowled at her glowing lap-top screen. “This is really very limited tech, JC. But. . I’m picking up serious dimensions. Weak spots, incursions, doorways opening up to God alone knows where. . There’s so much supernatural activity going on here, it’s weakened the walls of reality, and all kinds of things are getting in.”

She stopped suddenly, to look suspiciously at the rear wall where Happy had seen a door that wasn’t a door.

“You had a visitor here, all right, Happy. And it wasn’t any ordinary ghost or revenant. I don’t think I’ve ever seen such readings, such raw power. . Be grateful your training protected you; it would have eaten the soul off anyone else. I’m not picking up any evidence of a cold spot, though, which is unusual. Did you feel one, Happy, at the time?”

“No,” said Happy.

“Then where was it drawing its power from?” muttered Melody, her fingers moving quickly across the keyboard. “Ah. Yes. I see. . Okay, this is seriously not good, people. There’s a power source here, maybe inside the building, maybe outside. . a really old and really unpleasant power source. Been here for ages, maybe all the way back to the fifth century. . But the really weird thing is, it’s not dissipating. In fact, I’d say it’s still growing, gaining strength all the time. . It’s what all the other phenomena are tapping into.”

“Excuse me,” Brook said diffidently from the doorway. “But what is she talking about?”

“Beats me,” JC said cheerfully. “I’m usually lucky if I get half of it. Mostly I nod and go along.”

“Right,” said Happy. “Wouldn’t surprise me if she made it all up.”

“I do not!” said Melody. “Wait! Wait! Hold on to your underwear, people, I’ve got something. . I think, I might be able to bring your blonde woman back!”