It took Kasper a second to process what had happened. Then he burst into action, furiously writhing underneath Felix. He had to get back inside the body and retake control before it disappeared for ever. It was his, and Felix had no right to force him out. It had felt so good, being inside something so warm and alive and full of energy. He needed that back, right now.
Felix hissed, “What the hell are you doing?” and held on more tightly to Kasper.
“It’s mine!” he yelled, struggling to escape. “Let me go! I need it!”
Panic exploded in his mind like fireworks. He couldn’t live without a body, not now he knew what it felt like. It was so cold and vulnerable and dull out here without a solid form. His instincts had been right all along. He was meant to have a body. It was his right.
Felix fought him, pinning Kasper to the ground with a surprising amount of strength.
“Someone help me!” Felix yelled, voice thin and frantic. He clamped his hands around Kasper’s shoulders, knees locked to the ground, but his arms were trembling. He couldn’t hold Kasper down for long. And the body was still there, frozen in shock while its current soul tried to process what had just happened.
He still had time to claim it. For him and Felix. It could be theirs, to share. Kasper heaved upwards with all his might, and in one smooth movement rolled Felix over to the side. He broke free of his grip and staggered to his feet.
Then a hand touched the back of his neck. Gentle, soft fingers stroked the skin, and then sharp fingernails dug in.
Suddenly, he was filled with a staggering, overwhelming terror, so complete that it stopped him in his tracks. Everything went monstrous and threatening. He was so so scared. Whatever it was, it hurt. Kasper’s vision went blurry. He fell forwards as everything abruptly faded to black.
In the late twelfth century, there was a ghost here who could possess people, like Kasper. This was before Mulcture Hall was built, of course. When there was nothing here but farmland, ancient ruins and one little wattle-and-daub barn.
It was quiet, for a century or two. The only time we got new company was when a tramp took shelter alongside the cattle and died in his sleep. Though for one golden summer, the farmer’s son brought the butcher’s daughter here every night at dusk. That kept us all entertained for a while.
We fed off the spirits of calves and lambs from the slaughterhouse next door – and sometimes, when everyone got bored, we’d hunt the youngest ghosts and feast until we were bright with energy for a few more decades.
One day, a pedlar took shelter in the barn during a spot of light drizzle. He hit his head on the door frame, dying quickly. He adapted to being a ghost even faster.
The pedlar’s power worked like Kasper’s, but he wasn’t afraid to use it. The farmer was convinced the barn was haunted, because any time he came near, he would lose control of his limbs and dance the jig. It made us all laugh – and stopped us from hunting the pedlar down, for a little while. That didn’t last, but the pedlar had a good run of it.
After a dozen possessions, the farmer started to change. He became jumpy and confused, holding tight to his dog’s collar for comfort whenever he fetched something from the barn. He would often stop and stare into space, lost inside his own brain, like he had forgotten how to think for himself after having someone else take the reins so often.
Still, it was a lot of fun. Kasper is missing out – I don’t know what he’s so worried about. But then, I’m still getting the hang of morals and ethics and all those modern concepts. My father raised me according to his own rules, which valued power, secrets and control above ethical concerns. You haven’t met him yet. You’ve only seen traces of him, heard echoes all over the hall.
You will meet him soon enough.
Chapter 12
FELIX
Felix’s breath left his chest in a whump when Kasper collapsed on top of him, unconscious. Harriet was staring down at them both in complete shock.
“What just happened?” Felix asked, wheezing. It had been so quick that his brain was threatening to short out. Kasper had rescued Harriet, and then lost control and accidentally possessed a police officer. Felix had used hypnotism to force him to release the woman and then Harriet had touched his skin, and – what? What had Harriet done to him?
“I don’t know,” she said, and looked from Kasper to her hand, still raised from where she’d gripped his neck. “I think I knocked him out.”
“What?”
Behind them, Felix heard a paramedic say to the police officer, “Are you all right, Petra?”
“Just had a dizzy spell for a second there,” Petra said, sounding stunned.
Felix winced. Kasper – who was completely unconscious and breathing damply into Felix’s collarbone – was going to be horrified when he woke up and realized what he’d done. His biggest nightmare had come true. He’d accidentally possessed someone. Kasper wouldn’t be able to live with the guilt. For his sake, Felix hoped that he stayed asleep for as long as possible.
“Sorry, what did you do?”
Harriet was still staring at her hand, blindsided. “I think it’s my power.” Slowly, like a cobra preparing to strike, she smiled. The expression, combined with the unnaturally white hair, sent shivers down Felix’s spine. “I think I can control emotions. I can see them all inside you – like harp strings waiting to be plucked.”
Felix was chilled to the core. Harriet was dangerous. And stronger than they’d ever imagined.
“I don’t understand,” Rima said. “Invisibility is your power. Isn’t it?”
Harriet shrugged.
Harriet had two powers? He’d never heard of such a thing.
At that moment, Kasper gave a little groan.
“Come on,” Rima said.
