Page 35 of Into the Fire

Gabriella picked up a white pillar candle from inside the circle and held it in both hands in front of her, like a supplicant in a religious procession. “We mourn the loss of your betrothed, and the untimely death of your unborn child. May God have mercy on their souls, and on yours. You have carried your burden far too long.”

She set the candle down and lit a stick of incense from the flame. Simon recognized the scent of frankincense, frequently used at funerals.

“You, your beloved, and your child died far too young,” Gabriella said. “We grieve the lost years with you and for you. You will live on in our memory and not be forgotten.”

Could it be that in a century, no one thought to appease the ghost by offering a proper funeral and mourning her loss? Simon often found that the simplest solutions tended to be the most powerful and vowed to remember for the next haunting he faced.

The air in the middle of the room shimmered, and when Simon blinked, he saw the faint image of the same young woman. Deep sadness etched her features, and her eyes held the passage of a century.

Gabriella placed the smoking stick of incense in a holder, picked up the white pillar candle again, and whispered words of a spell that Simon couldn’t hear. “Dorothea Baker, you are no longer bound to this place. It is time for you to move on. Find your lover and your child in the afterlife, be at peace, and do not trouble this realm any longer.”

As Simon watched, the ghost grew more translucent, blurring until its form disappeared.

Gabriella blew out the candle and replaced it within the circle. “Stay where you are until I release the energies,” she warned Simon and Oscar before repeating the ritual from the beginning of the ceremony, only in reverse.

Simon could feel the power she had summoned gradually decrease, then vanish. When it was gone, the feel of the hotel was markedly different. The sense of dread and loss that previously permeated the old building was gone, leaving it just an interesting structure without the psychic residue of tragedy.

The normal elements of Dorothea’s haunting made Simon even more aware of how unusual the situation was at Ocean Visions, with a fire spirit that wasn’t the psychic remnant of a person, and its other supernatural hangers-on, the dark trickster entities and the fire salamander.

Gabriella thanked the powers, turning in the circle at the quarter points to acknowledge the primal energy. Then she swept up the salt into a bag embroidered with runes, put out the candles, and gathered up her belongings.

“Is it over? Is she gone for good?” Oscar asked.

For Simon, the ghost’s departure was a marked change in the feel of the building, so he had to remember that Oscar lacked his psychic senses.

Gabriella crossed herself and nodded. “Yes. She is at peace. There may be other restless spirits in the hotel, but Dorothea’s ghost has gone on and won’t return.”

“What about the diary and the rings? Do they need to be destroyed?” Oscar asked.

Simon looked to Gabriella, who thought for a moment and then shook her head. “I don’t think so, unless you have additional problems. In her case, it was the spell that bound her to the hotel, not the items. I believe Dorothea has truly moved on.”

“I’ll put them back in the case then,” Oscar replied.

Oscar thanked Gabriella and Simon profusely, and walked them out, locking up behind them and dismissing the guard. “I don’t know if that will be enough to save the Sea Foam Inn.” He sighed, looking up at the old structure. “But I’m glad Dorothea’s at rest.”

“I’m quite sure that her story will live on for a very long time here in town,” Simon said. “She won’t be forgotten. You might find that between the Victorian-inspired architecture and the famous ghost you draw a certain kind of travel adventurer.”

Oscar grinned. “I’m going to take that idea to my marketing person tomorrow and see if we can bring the hotel back to life now that we’ve sent the ghost on to the afterlife.”

When he got back to Grand Strand Ghost Tours, Simon sent Oscar the bill for services and was pleased when the man paid right away. He paid Gabriella for her time and thanked her for her help. Simon felt buoyed by the success at the Sea Foam Inn.

If personal items and a diary could help end a century-long haunting, maybe we can find something similar to help at the Ocean Visions Hotel.

He gave Vic a quick call to let him know everything had gone well and promised details over dinner. Then Simon called his cousin Cassidy.

Cassidy picked up on the second ring. “Great timing, I was just going to call you. I like this psychic thing.”

“Me too. Hey, do you have a minute? I have some new information.”

“Yes, I have time, and I also have some news,” Cassidy said.

Simon heard a muffled conversation, which he assumed was Cassidy asking someone to cover for her, before she spoke again. “All right, you first.”

Simon filled Cassidy in on the new information about Madame Mason and the Twilight Compendium, as well as his recent success at the Sea Foam Inn and the part that Dorothea’s diary had played in revealing the spell gone wrong that created the haunting. When he finished, Cassidy let out a low whistle.

“That’s good intel. You work fast.”

Even though Cassidy couldn’t see him, Simon felt his cheeks color. “Thanks. Sometimes pieces just come together.”