Page 34 of Leafpoint Lighthouse

“So, you had nothing?”

“No. I grew up poor. My dad, Lyle Jasper, left my mum once he knew she was pregnant. Mum raised me alone.” Oops. That clearly affronted William.

“Scoundrel,” he hissed.

“Yes, Charles’ bloodline certainly didn’t hold up well in Sonia and her sons. Anyway. Would you explain something?” I asked, finally warming up.

“I can try.”

“William, if you were dormant, how did you stop evil rising?”

“It is relatively simple. I was never dormant, as you described it. The evil was trapped with my death. It was, one might say, put to sleep. I kept people out by haunting Leafpoint. In that time, I realised Leafpoint was helping me confine him.

“Then, just before Christmas, a surge of power erupted from the ley lines. Ajax told me there’d been a battle and the ley lines had absorbed a lot of energy. I think that awakened him. Leafpoint and I were struggling to keep him under control, and then Ajax came along, and we both got a power boost. Leafpoint almost woke up compared to how sluggish she was back then. And as for me, I could perform many things I couldn’t previously.”

“Have you considered that me being a Jasper means I should be here?” I asked.

“Do you realise, I’ve no idea what is trapped here? It could be anything or anyone. The only thing I am certain of is that it’s male.”

“It could be a man or a creature?”

“It could be a damn siren for all I know,” William stated and rubbed his chin. “Tell me, did you win against your ex-beau?”

“Yes. And Joseph is filing charges against Cale and my former employer.”

“Can you afford to pay?” William asked with a frown. I cottoned on to what he was thinking. William was trying to figure out if I would somehow wrangle the land sale.

“Let me explain my inheritance. You don’t have to worry.”

“I’m not,” William denied.

“Of course not,” I replied, but went ahead and explained, anyway. It was the least I could do.

Chapter Eight.

William

Lyra patiently explained her financial situation, which eased much of my guilt. She still had to leave, but frightening her now wouldn’t make me feel bad. Lyra had money and could go elsewhere. Somehow, I understood that if Lyra stayed, the evil would escape. Even if Ajax hadn’t stressed how that couldn’t be allowed to happen, I felt it deep in my bones.

Nobody would call me a religious man, nor a holy one. Things happened beyond my control and comprehension. I was an ordinary person born of simple people. We didn’t wish to rule the world or make decisions for the country. All I wished was to do my job with pride. That wasn’t much to ask. Why I’d been thrust into this, I had no idea, but it was not something I could walk away from. That was unthinkable.

Sudden shouting erupted downstairs, and I wondered what had happened. When I found Lyra, she was pacing back and forth and angrily speaking into her phone. Another female was also angry and making threats.

“Lyra, I’ll skin him alive,” the unknown woman seethed.

“Thea. Have you contacted Joseph? Keating has gone too far.”

“Not yet. I called you first. If this doesn’t bring Ophelia and Poppy running, then they’re fools. No doubt, they received letters too,” Thea snapped.

“He knew about this. Keating’s smug face yesterday should have warned me. Did you get that structural survey completed?” Lyra asked.

“Yes. And Seareef is sound, like it was five years ago when Sonia did the last one.”

Lyra kept pacing. She ran a hand through her hair. “Okay, contact two other companies and bring them in. Nothing local. I’ll do the same. Send me the names so we avoid using the same firms. Also, find other electricians and plumbers to do the job. We’ll fight fire with fire. Let me call Poppy and Ophelia and get them to act. Kingfisher and Clamshell must be as sturdy as ours. Neither could be worse. If Leafpoint and Seareef have been maintained, they must have been too.”

“What happens in terms of The Trust if they’re condemned?” Thea asked.

I was trying to catch up, but I’d caught the main points of what was happening.