Page 24 of Into the Fire

“Could the ghosts you summoned tell you any more about where the entity came from or what it is?” Simon asked. “I get that it’s scary, but so far we don’t know enough to figure out a way to cram it back in its box.”

“Alicia passed along to me what the ghosts told her,” Rowan spoke up. “My coven and our sisters have been digging into our archives. From what we’ve found, we think the spirit is akin to the Norse landvaettir. They are a spirit tied to a specific geographic location, so they can’t be sent away.

“Usually, the landvaettir are protective. But they can become very dangerous if they aren’t respected. I’m still working on the details, but I’m betting there was an original land spirit in the place where the hotel was built which was disregarded for many years. As it got angrier, its customary tribute cycles no longer pacified it.”

“Wow. So, it was not only disrespected for a century or more, but jailed on its own land and starved,” Simon replied, putting the pieces together.

“That’s the working theory,” Rowan said. “Land spirits don’t sound fearsome, but they can be very powerful, and it’s never good to piss them off.”

“Gabriella mentioned an ‘elemental.’ Would that be similar?” Simon asked.

“Yes,” Rowan replied. “Similar enough for our purposes here.”

“You said a landvaettir is Norse? Gabriella and I were wondering if a fire salamander might be the kind of spirit causing the minor fires, and it’s from Northern Europe too,” Simon told them.

“Interesting,” Rowan remarked. “Very possible, although I hadn’t considered it until now. Fire salamanders would be attracted to a landvaettir’s energy. They’re not exactly evil, but they have a penchant for mayhem, as if they feed on annoyance as much as damage. They’d also be protective of the landvaettir.”

“Can ghosts and spirits be parasites?” Simon asked. “Like the landvaettir is the main problem, but the fire salamander sucks off some of its energy, and a bunch of low-level dark ghosts pick up the magical scraps like supernatural roaches.”

The analogy made the others chuckle. “It sounds funny, but you’re more right than wrong,” Rowan told him. “Unfortunately, it will take more than bug spray to make them go away.”

“I’m trying to reach the ghosts of witches from the Myrtle Beach area who might have been involved before and would know about binding it,” Alicia chimed in. “As well as other witch ghosts. It’s a slow process, but unless they’ve all passed over, I think I’m likely to find someone who remembers.”

“That’s very positive.” Simon was sure that with their psychic sensitivity they could read his apprehension. “I think that the spirit is gaining strength, out for revenge, and the longer it stays loose, the worse it will become.”

“You’re likely right,” Cassidy said. “I haven’t dealt with exactly that sort of entity, but spirits have a large capacity for revenge. We’re still digging into the lore and the grimoires, but if it was possible to bind it before, it’s possible again.”

“That’s the only thing keeping me sort of sane right now,” Simon admitted with a nervous chuckle. “I’m counting on you.”

“We won’t let you down,” Cassidy assured him. “You know all the basic wards and protections. They’ll help until we can figure out a solution.”

“Call me any time,” Simon told them. “I don’t think I’ll be getting much sleep until this situation gets resolved.”

Landvaettir—maybe now we have a name for it, Simon thought. Names can be powerful. He called Gabriella and gave her a quick rundown of the news from Cassidy, including the possible identification, the group’s agreement on the plausibility of the fire salamander, and the roach theory about the dark ghosts.

“That’s fantastic information,” Gabriella told him. “If it’s really a landvaettir, then it isn’t a regular ghost. It’s more of an elemental presence, and that changes how we need to deal with it. It’ll be a challenge if this is a layered situation dealing with three types of energies. I haven’t handled something like that for a long time. I need to do some research, but I’ll be in touch. Great job!”

Simon spent the rest of the afternoon reading anything he could find about landvaettir, fire magic, flame salamanders, dark spirits, cyclical entities, and binding spells. Liam and Dr. Jeffries had sent him links to information or excerpts, and he dove in, grateful for their help since some of the material was very difficult to find.

His phone rang late in the day, and he recognized Sanderson’s number. “Hey there. What’s up?”

“I’ve been digging through boxes in the attic looking for all that stuff you asked for: personal papers, diaries, letters, that sort of thing,” Sanderson replied. “I found a box full. Not sure how much help it will be since I haven’t read through them all, but I can bring them over, and you can see if you find anything useful.”

“Thank you.” Simon was already coming up with a list of the kinds of information he was going to look for. “That could be exactly what we need.” He ended the call and sat back, gathering his thoughts. He sketched out a list of items he hoped to find in the information Sanderson would be bringing and warned himself not to expect to find all his answers in one place.

If the Sanderson family knew how to end the fire entity’s grip, they would have done it. But maybe I can get a clue to whether someone bound it and how they did it.

Before Simon realized it, the afternoon had flown. Pete leaned into the back room. “Working late again?”

Simon shook his head. “Not tonight. Vic would send a squad car down to drag me home.”

“Good for Vic,” Pete said. “My grandma always said we do some of our best thinking when we’re asleep.”

“Your grandma was a smart lady,” Simon agreed. They locked up and walked to their cars together, after Simon scanned the area to make sure nothing was lying in wait for them. Whether it had to do with Gabriella’s spell or the entity being erratic, tonight Simon didn’t sense any supernatural dangers.

“Drive safely,” he told Pete, knowing his assistant was well aware.

“Don’t worry. Mikki and I are still warded out the wazoo,” Pete assured him, mentioning his long-time boyfriend. “Be careful. See you tomorrow.”