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Owain stepped away to bustle around the kitchen, Bronwyn materialising to babysit the food preparation.

I felt a little at a loose end until I spotted Harri and Larri trying and failing to pour bottles of beer into their incorporeal mouths. It fell right through them and splattered on the floor at their feet.

I snatched the bottles from them. “Stop wasting Owain’s money and clean this up.”

Harri glared. “You don’t know our suffering. Do you know how many years it’s been since we had a pint!”

I took a swig of the beer. “Want me to describe it for you?”

They floated uncomfortably close to my face. “Describe everything.”

“Or burp. Maybe that would help.”

I opened my mouth to tell them how disgusting that was only to pause as the lights flickered overhead. I glanced up on instinct, too cynical to think it was just a problem with the old wiring in the place.

I put the beer aside and reached for my tool belt. “That wasn’t you guys, was it?”

“Not us,” Harri said.

“Probably you,” Larri said at the same time.

“Oh, of course you blame me!”

I tuned them out and kept my eyes peeled. Owain seemed to be oblivious.

I walked up behind him and put a hand on his hip. He jolted and whipped his head around to look at me over his shoulder. His glasses were steamed up.

I smiled despite myself and helped window-wipe them with my finger.

“Thank you!” Owain chirped.

“I’m going to take a quick walk around the building.”

Owain frowned. “What happened?”

“I know the flickering lights are probably common around here with so many ghosts—”

“They are.” Owain smiled like that was a charming feature of the place, not a problem.

I shook my head, but something was niggling at me. “I just wanna do a quick perimeter check. We don’t want anything disturbing dinner.”

Owain glanced down at my PolterPulse dubiously and I unhooked it. Even though that was stupid as fuck. I placed it firmly in his hand. “Okay?”

Owain cuddled the Pulser to his chest like I had just presented him with a fifteen-carat diamond. His eyes were fucking sparkling. “Yes. Be quick though; dinner will be ready to be served in…”

He looked at Bronwyn.

“Five minutes if you don’t burn that soup!”

Owain hopped back into action and I stepped away from the chaos.

I peeked in on our guests, mainly to make sure Seth was where I’d left him, casually being tortured by Barth. There was a puppet with tentacles that looked suspiciously penis shaped that was probably meant to be a kraken now attacking the paper boat.

“And then Ol’ Barth turned tail and ran, he did!” Barth said.

“Yay, Barth!” Adriana cheered, clapping.

“Again?! What the hell kinda pirate runs away every time he comes across something?” Seth blustered.