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“I have full faith that you’ll figure it out,” Vic replied.

“Be extra sure to do those cleansing rituals I recommended since you went to the property,” Simon warned. “We don’t know what we’re dealing with, and psychic residue is worse than anything stuck to the sole of your shoe. It really can follow you home.”

“I’m one step ahead of you,” Vic chuckled, then his tone turned serious. “Already did all that, and I threw in some holy water, an Our Father, and a couple of Hail Marys just in case.” Although Vic was no longer a practicing Catholic, his Italian upbringing ran deep.

“Good,” Simon replied. “Don’t be afraid to say something if you think you picked up any supernatural hitchhiking energy. I notice you didn’t tell me you were going to go.”

“Didn’t want you to worry,” Vic replied offhandedly, a dodge Simon figured was learned in a house full of boys evading their mother’s watchful eye. “I was careful, and I didn’t take crazy chances.”

“What did your detective instincts make of the scene?” Simon respected Vic’s trained perspective, which was different from his own paranormal insights but equally valuable.

“I’m not a firefighter, but it didn’t look like that blaze started from a dropped cigarette butt,” Vic replied. “Jimmy didn’t think so either. It was too hot, spread too fast, and didn’t move through the building in a logical way.”

“What do you mean?” Simon probed, hearing confirmation of what he and Sanderson had talked about.

“Fires usually follow stairwells, elevators, and ductwork because they’re natural chimneys. It looked to me like this fire stuck to the oldest parts of the hotel even when that wasn’t the easiest path,” Vic said. “The feeling I got was that the fire attacked the legacy portions first.”

“Attacked is a pretty strong word for a fire,” Simon noted.

“That’s the word that came to me when I looked at the damage,” Vic replied. “They train us to go with our gut, and that’s what mine came up with.”

“Did you get to see the basement?” Simon was torn between wanting Vic’s impression and hoping his husband hadn’t endangered himself for the view.

“Not much of it, since the firefighters had particularly dangerous areas cordoned off. But Jimmy confirmed finding the bricked-up rooms, which still seems weird. He said one of them looked as if it had been blown open from inside. None of the possible reasons for that are good. I thought the team gave the basement area a wide berth, so I wondered if they got some instinctive, hindbrain warning too,” Vic said. “I warned Jimmy about smaller, otherwise unconnected, fires happening in a cluster, and he said he’d keep an eye out.”

Simon tapped into his ability to read Vic, glad his husband had stayed safe. “There’s something else you’re not saying.” He knew Vic didn’t like him to worry but needed to know.

“I was going to tell you tonight when we were together, and you can see for yourself that I’m all in one piece. As I was leaving, the air turned very cold, I got a strong sense of evil, and something shoved me, even though there wasn’t anyone around. I’m okay, honest,” Vic assured before Simon could ask. “But it was definitely creepy, and I took it as a warning.”

Simon didn’t like the sound of that at all. “That makes doing the cleansing rituals even more important. Thank you for telling me. I’m glad you’re okay.”

“I’m working my connections with the fire department to get whatever information they’ll share,” Vic replied. “I’ve got regular channels, and then there are some guys who owe me favors. We’ll see what I can come up with. And I sent Jimmy over to the store for protective amulets.”

“I’ll make sure to take care of him. So…I went over to the site too, with Sanderson, and we picked up on the same things,” Simon admitted. “I don’t know what started the fire, but it’s not an average ghost.”

Vic took a moment before responding. “I notice you didn’t tell me either. But go on.”

“I’m going to reach out to my contacts to see what kind of a read they can get on the energy, and whether they have any idea of what sort of ghost, spirit, or entity can act like that,” Simon said. “Then I’ll go looking for ideas of what to do about it.”

“Watch your back. I think we’re definitely dealing with something more dangerous than our usual spooks. Don’t take chances.” Vic’s caution was filled with concern.

“I’ll be careful.” Simon ended the call and opened his laptop. He had his favorite research sources. Some were online behind academic firewalls, while others required arcane ability to access or membership in supernaturally focused groups. He brewed a fresh pot of coffee and dug in.

He started with anything he could find about the Ocean Visions Hotel’s past, making notes about the names of owners and cross-referencing those with news mentions of local scandals and business problems. Running a hotel in a tourist area was a difficult way to make a living, since so many things could go wrong.

The first few years, the hotel struggled, up against normal challenges of bad weather, competition from other venues and destinations, and the difficulties of running such a large, complex business. In the fifth year, the Ocean Visions nearly went bankrupt, then had a sudden, remarkable turnaround with a sustained run of good fortune that lasted for five more years before crashing into another slump. Each slump included a disastrous fire, then rebuilding.

Simon knew enough about the hospitality industry to expect boom and bust, but the Ocean Visions seemed to have more extreme swings—and fires—than usual. He noted the dates and what was going on in the news during each cycle, looking for connections and possible supernatural timing.

After the lead Vic gave him, Simon also checked the timing of the hotel’s fires against reports of nearby arson on other properties and found the same unusual correlation without having a good reason. That reinforced his worry that there was a second, less-powerful fiery creature involved as well as the main entity.

He sat back and drummed his fingers, thinking, then picked up his phone and found the contact he wanted. His friend Liam Reynard picked up right away.

“Simon, great to hear from you. To what impending catastrophe do I owe the pleasure?” Liam’s snark fit his personality as a fox shifter. He was also the head of the library in Fox Hollow, a New York town that was home to a lot of shifters and people with special abilities. Liam had an encyclopedic knowledge of supernatural lore and resources.

“I need to know anything you can help me find out about ghosts, spirits, or entities that can cause fires.” Simon then gave Liam a quick overview of the situation.

“That’s different,” Liam noted. “Interesting. I need to do some digging. I remember seeing something to do with that, but I don’t remember offhand where. Let me see what I can find and call you back. I assume you’re going to call in the usual cavalry?”