Page 20 of Into the Fire

“Good timing. I was trying to figure that out myself,” Simon admitted. “They’re paranormal parasites. The fire salamanders aren’t as strong as the main creature—the fire entity—but they are drawn to its power and siphon some off for their own use, while protecting it. Same with the dark spirits. They power up from the fire entity as well. They feed off fear and other dark emotions, whereas the fire salamander is strengthened by flames.”

“Then it’s like three separate hauntings?” Pete said.

“Pretty much. Stopping one won’t stop the rest,” Simon replied. “We’re going to have to go after them individually.”

On a hunch, he called Sanderson. “Hey, is there any chance we could get a look at the basement where the fire started?” Simon asked.

“I can find out from the fire restoration people who are on site,” Sanderson replied. “I’m with them now. And the fire marshal just cleared the space. Although I can think of a million reasons I’d rather not go down there.”

Simon silently agreed, but knew that the more information they could gather, the better prepared they would be to confront whatever type of spirit haunted the old hotel. “Is now okay?” he asked.

“It’s as good as any time, I guess,” Sanderson said. “I’m not sure what we’ll see, but I understand why you want to look.”

“I’ll be right over.” Simon told Pete where he was headed and made a quick call to Vic as well, then drove over before Sanderson could change his mind.

A couple of days made a difference. The fires were out, the smoke was gone although the smell lingered, and the damaged areas were marked off with hazard tape and neon cones. Simon recognized the name of the industrial cleanup company emblazoned on the service vans and spotted several workers hauling away charred debris. Other workers wearing shirts from different restoration firms eyed the wreckage and took notes on tablets, probably preparing bids for different aspects of the cleanup.

“Watch where you step,” Sanderson cautioned when he came out to greet Simon. “I got permission to poke around a little, but we need to take a hazard guy with us for insurance reasons. We’ve had too many accidents, and they want us to be extra cautious.”

“That’s fine. Have there been any reports of strange things from the fire or cleanup crews?” Simon asked.

“No official reports, but I’ve kept my ears open. Some have mentioned a weird feeling like being watched, or cold spots; I even heard a few claim they’d been pushed. It’s also unusual to have a repeating cycle of fires if there isn’t an arsonist involved,” he said.

“Haven’t heard that anyone has seen any ghosts, but the team hasn’t been here very long,” Sanderson added. “The place definitely gives the workers the creeps, especially the basement.”

A man in one of the company shirts and hazard vest strode toward them. “I’m Reggie.” He shook hands with Simon and Sanderson. “I can take you into at least part of the old basement; we’re still working on clearing debris. We’ve had some minor mishaps with things falling or giving way, so be extra careful. That’s the most dangerous area, so please stick close and move fast if I say there’s trouble.”

Simon could pick up on Reggie’s worry and his understandable concern for safety, as well as a layer of unspoken discomfort, and wondered if Reggie also picked up on the haunting. Were the mishaps actually accidents or attempts to make people leave?

He “listened” with his psychic abilities for any hint of spirits or a glimpse of what he increasingly believed to be a fire salamander. A place like Ocean Visions was host to a lot of ghosts that hadn’t moved on but didn’t mean any harm. Simon could sense faded spirits from long ago in the background, as if they were keeping their distance.

He also sensed another, stronger presence that was clearly supernatural but not the same as the other ghosts, and he wondered if that was their problem presence from the basement. Simon picked up traces of other darker ghosts that didn’t seem like the usual haunts and wondered if he was right that they were drawn to the main fire spirit. Are they protecting it, feeding off it, or guarding their turf?

But if so, do they help the fire spirit, or sap its energy? He had never heard of parasite ghosts but resolved to ask Gabriella about the idea.

“This way.” Reggie gestured for them to watch their footing. Part of the ceiling over this section of basement had burned away, and pieces of charred wood littered the water-soaked floor. The smell of smoke and wet wood hung in the air.

Simon felt a shift in the ether, and knew that the strongest ghost, the one he guessed was the fire spirit, had become aware of them. He was grateful for his amulets and said a silent litany for protection.

He listened for spectral voices or projected images, but instead he received a wave of emotions: angry, hateful, and hungry. It didn’t speak, but the message was clear: “Get out.” The vehemence surprised Simon and put him all the more on guard.

“Do you know what might have been stored in this section?” Reggie asked Sanderson. “We didn’t find any residue, but it seemed to burn especially hot here.”

“I didn’t even know these rooms were here, so I don’t know. All I can say is that it hasn’t been used in a long time. They weren’t on the most recent blueprints, as if this section had been closed up permanently.”

“Huh. That’s unusual,” Reggie noted. “I’d have guessed a gas leak, but one of the rooms didn’t have any connections or openings to the other spaces.”

Simon let Reggie and Sanderson discuss the cleanup while he edged closer to the room where something had blasted the bricked-up entrance open. That room had clearly taken the brunt of the fire, but even with the damage, Simon picked up traces of a presence and dark rage that seemed to have seeped into the walls themselves.

Stretching out his senses, Simon saw sigils on the walls and the doorframe of one of the hidden rooms. The marks were carved into the wood, and even though time and the fire had obliterated some of them, Simon felt certain this was where the spirit had been bound, and the glyphs had been part of the magic that trapped it inside. Although the magic had likely been weakened by time, it must have been quite strong when it was first worked. It made him wonder if they’d also used a ritual to trap the fire ghost in the warded room.

The normal spirits seemed to be avoiding this area, another clue that they wanted to stay well away from the fire ghost.

On a hunch, Simon moved closer to the least damaged wall. He could still pick up traces of salt, and he wondered if the plaster itself had been imbued with protective substances. Smudged glyphs and runes had been painted on the walls, now mostly destroyed by fire. What might look like old graffiti to the cleanup crew, he knew was part of the magic binding the spirit inside, and he took pictures so he could study them later and share with the others. If the fire spirit had been successfully bound between disasters, he needed to study what was done so it could be repeated.

“You said there were other rooms that were sealed. Can we get to those?” Simon asked.

Reggie nodded. “Yeah, there’s another beside this one, blocked off the same way. Wasn’t on the newest blueprints either.” He shook his head. “There’s also a third door that’s still blocked by debris; no idea what’s behind it. Weird that someone would close up two rooms like that. Same strange markings. Makes me wonder if kids got in at some point and vandalized them, but why were they boarded up to begin with?”