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“Thank you,” Leo said from the counter.

“Did he say something?” Jonah asked.

“He agrees with you,” Nate admitted.

“Of course he does. He’s a smart seal.”

“I am not a seal!”

Jonah set the phone down on the counter next to Bartholomew and put it on speaker.

Their mother’s voice came on. “Hello, Jonah.”

“Hi, Mom. I have a weird question.”

“Weird questions are the best ones.”

“Okay, here goes. Did you ever do anything to Nate’s seal?”

The line went quiet for a moment.

The woman knew something. Of course. Everything always came down to Mom’s meddling.

“Is Nathan there?”

Jonah looked at him. Nate looked at the ceiling.

“He’s here,” Jonah said.

“Hi, Mom,” Nate told the ceiling.

“Hello, sweetheart. What happened to the seal?”

“There’s a ghost stuck in him.”

“Oh dear.” A pause. “Is the ghost all right?”

Naturally her first question was for the ghost’s wellbeing. “He’s fine,” Nate said.

“I am not fine!”

“He says he’s not fine,” Jonah reported. “He sounds fine, though. He threatened my kids earlier.”

“That seems fair, under the circumstances,” Mom said. “Although, to be trapped in the ward, he had to come at Nathan with intent while he slept.”

“He probably did,” Nate said. “He was sulking about all day.”

“I was not sulking. I’m not a child!”

Nate ignored Leo’s outburst as he leaned against the counter and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “You warded Bartholomew?”

“Yes, dear.”

“Why?”

“Just a safety precaution. Strong mediums attract ghosts, it’s just the way it is.”

Nate looked at the stuffed animal on his counter. Twenty years and he’d had no idea that ghosts actually hated his seal. “You could have told me.”