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Zoe’s eyes widened as Spooks floated upside-down before the pair. She watched as the playful poltergeist blew a raspberry at the newcomers, before he pulled his face into a series of elaborate contortions. But no matter what tricks Spooks pulled, Swindleton remained expressionless.
Most mortals don’t share your talent for seeing ghost-kind. No matter what stunts I pull, or what tricks I perform, they remain oblivious to my talents.
“You… you can’t see him.”
Swindleton scratched his head in confusion. “We can’t see who?”
“Of course the fleshies can’t see me! It’s a shame they can’t hear me either.” Spooks cackled, before he blew a trumpet into Swindleton’s ear. “Without the Ecto-3000, your kind are completely oblivious to the spirit world. But fear not, I still have some party tricks that should get their attention!”
Zoe gulped as Spooks started pulling elaborate contraptions from thin air, while Cerberus barked in excitement. She returned her gaze to Swindleton and Gus, and forced a smile.
“It’s nothing. Although I really think you should be on your way.” She yelped as Spooks readied a vast catapult loaded with spiderwebs, and pulled Swindleton to the ground. “Look out!”
They hit the earth with a thud, just as a vast net of spiderwebs sailed over their heads. Zoe ignored the raspberry Spooks blew in her direction, only to be greeted by Swindleton’s scowl.
“Just what are you playing at, Zoe? You’ve got dirt on my shirt, and I sincerely doubt there’s a dry cleaner’s in this ghost town!” Swindleton grimaced as he dusted himself down. “Now stop avoiding my question. What are you hiding?”
“It’s nothing, I, err…” She glanced at Spooks who chuckled as he loaded a cactus into a cannon. With a curse, she raced towards the mischievous poltergeist, and stamped out the lit fuse. “Would you cut that out?”
“Would who cut what out?“ Swindleton watched Zoe uneasily, none the wiser that he had been saved from being covered in a canon’s-worth of cactus pulp. “I demand you tell me what’s going on, this instant!”
“It’s just… well, there are some locals in this town who are a little… eccentric.“ Zoe watched as Spooks merrily plucked papers and files from Swindleton’s briefcase and juggled them in the air, while Cerberus poked his head through the open car window curiously. “And I think it would be better if you left before they all spot you.”
Despite the panic in Zoe’s voice, Swindleton rolled his eyes in disdain.
“If you think you can scare me off with imaginary tales of eccentric locals, you have another thing coming!!” Swindleton laughed arrogantly, oblivious to the poltergeist who performed a juggling act with his paperwork. “It will take more than that to stop me from discovering whatever it is you’ve found here.”
Zoe glanced at Cerberus, who hoisted himself on his hind legs, and squeezed half of his body through the open window of Swindleton’s car. She watched fearfully as the giant pup reached towards a half-eaten sandwich on the front seat, his tail wagging merrily in the air.
“Really, Swindleton, I don’t think it’s wise for you to stay here…”
“I won’t let you, or whatever you’ve found in this town, stand in the way of my promotion. Because unlike you, I’ll do whatever it takes to win.” Swindleton folded his arms and shot Zoe a victorious smile. “And there’s nothing you can do to stop me.”
A sharp click filled the air, followed by the crunch of gravel beneath tires. Zoe watched in horror as Cerberus lunged towards the sandwich, his giant body knocking the parking brake free, until the car slowly rolled towards the cliff edge. With a contented bark, Cerberus wiggled out of the window and devoured the sandwich in one gulp, while Swindleton’s eyes widened in horror.
“My car!” He gasped as the vehicle teetered off the cliff edge, before it raced down the smooth rocky walls and into the valley beyond. “Gus, you idiot! Get it, before it’s too late!”
With a cry of despair, the pair chased after the car, scrambling down the steep cliff paths as the car sped away in a plume of dust. Zoe breathed out in relief as he disappeared into the distance, for once grateful for Cerberus’ never-ending appetite.
“The fleshies are gone already? But I was just about to pull out my best party tricks!” Spooks sighed like a deflating balloon, before he flicked through the papers he’d been juggling. “Spring Valley, Paradise Heights… hey, do those fleshies work with you too?”
“Umm… sort of…”
“Well then, let’s hope they come back soon!” Spooks let out a gleeful cackle at the mere thought. “And in the meantime, I’ll be sure to work on my pranks. Next time, there’ll be no way they can ignore me!”
“Spooks, no, I…” But Zoe drew a breath as she thought of Gus’ superstitions about the town. “Actually, that’s a great idea.”
Spooks blinked in surprise. “It is?”
“Absolutely.” Zoe smiled as she watched Swindleton’s silhouette raced into the distance. “If you see those fleshies again, you have my full permission to give them the fright of their life. Something that will scare their socks off, and have them running from this town as fast as their fleshie legs can carry them.”
“Oh boy, this will be magnificent!” Spooks somersaulted in the air joyfully. “I just need to make a few minor adjustments to the Ecto-3000, and then I can give the performance of a lifetime! Come on Cerberus, there’s no time to waste!”
Zoe couldn’t help but smile as Spooks left in a trail of blue smoke, Cerberus following close behind. But her delight at the poltergeist’s excitement soon faded as she glanced at Swindleton’s retreating figure in the distance. Something told her that even the magical memory-wiping properties of the River Lethe wouldn’t be enough to stop Swindleton’s ambition. She had to find the source of the Underworld’s power, before he returned. Because one way or another, her time was running out.
11
Zoe screwed up another sheet of paper, and tossed it into the trash. She glanced at the overflowing pile of paper balls that lay behind her, and groaned in defeat. That must have been her three-hundredth hare-brained idea to access the center of the maze. And yet, she was still at square one.
