Page 64

Incredibly, I laugh.

Blue glances at me. “You okay?” he asks gently.

I nod and then change my mind and shake my head. “Probably not. I was possessed?”

“Yes, but it’s okay now.” He sits next to me and takes my hand. His fingers are warm on my cold skin.

“But what? Who? How?”

Branok sits forward. “The entity who possessed you will have been under the control of someone else. It is the way it works. I do not know who that is. The how can be explained. Tell me, on the morning of your run, did you take anything from anyone?”

“No, nothing. I—” My hand tightens on Blue’s as something stirs in my mind.

“What?” he says, his eyes narrowing.

“I met a man on the sea front. He gave me a painted stone as a holiday gift.”

Blue turns his head sharply, meeting my gaze.

“Did you see it?” I ask.

“Yes. I found the stone in your jacket. Apparently, when you took it from the man, the spirit or entity was able to possess your body. Branok says possession requires an object of transference.”

“But it was just a stone with a picture of our cottage on it. He had loads of them with different designs that he’d painted on them.” I bite my lip. I’m terrified but at the same time, I’m oddly calm. Maybe that’s because the situation is so completely bizarre. It’s like something from a horror film. I look down at my body. Has the entity completely gone? Will there be any lasting physical effects from it? Blue’s obviously completely freaked out by the situation, so I doubt any answers are going to come from him, and it’s not exactly something I can ask a doctor about. A sudden thought occurs to me. “Was that man a ghost too?”

Branok considers me for a beat. “I do not know,” he finally says. “It is probable if this is something to do with me. My feeling is that he was a spirit.”

I bite my lip. “Do you think he was responsible for whatever it was that possessed me?”

“That’s a good question,” Blue says, glancing at Branok.

The ghost puffs on his pipe, his brow furrowed. “I would say yes. It is the most likely scenario. What did he look like?”

I open my mouth, the words on the tip of my tongue, but then they vanish like sugar into tea. “I don’t know,” I say. “Or I mean, I did, but I can’t picture him anymore.” I look helplessly at Blue and Branok. “What does that mean?”

Branok’s eyes gleam. “It seems that your memories have been tampered with.”

“Can spirits do that?” I ask.

Blue nods and Branok says, “Of course, if they are an older spectre. ‘Tis a simple matter for us. The younger ones are not so organised or coordinated.”

I rub my forehead. “I hate feeling like this,” I say. I feel sick and my body aches as if I’m coming down with the flu, but the primary emotion surfacing is revulsion. Something was inside me. It took me over without my knowing anything about it. I want to scratch off my skin until I feel clean again.

Blue throws his arms around me, hugging me to him. I bury my face into his neck, letting the smell of peaches soothe me. “It’s going to be okay,” he says fiercely.

I want to scoff but I restrain myself. It’s like he wrote that phrase down on a cue card this morning and thinks that the more he says it, the more it will be true.

“Why don’t you take your lad to bed?” Branok says.

“No,” I say. “I’m fine. I want to find out what’s happening⁠—”

“’Tis sensible to rest now, Levi. You have been through a terrible ordeal. When I was a lad in the navy, my officers would always emphasise that a man should push on and endure whatever he is given in the service of his country. My short time captaining my own ship taught me the contrary—that people always need time to calm themselves and find their centre once again.”

“You were in the navy?” I ask.

His smile is tinged with a bit of sweetness. “Aye, but that is a story for another day.”

“That seems to be the theme of the week,” I mutter.