STACIA KANE
CHASING MAGIC
Book Five of the Downside Ghosts
To the doctors, nurses, and surgical staff at Lister Hospital Stevenage, without whom I would literally no longer be alive
Table of Contents
Title Page
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-one
Chapter Twenty-two
Chapter Twenty-three
Chapter Twenty-four
Chapter Twenty-five
Chapter Twenty-six
Chapter Twenty-seven
Chapter Twenty-eight
Chapter Twenty-nine
About the Author
Also by Stacia Kane
Copyright
About the Publisher
Chapter One
The pursuit of material goods must never eclipse the pursuit of Truth.
The Book of Truth, Veraxis Article 1745
All of the documents were in place: the Affidavit of Spectral Fraud, the Statement of Truth, two Orders of Imprisonment and two Orders of Relinquishment, and, of course, the list of Church-approved attorneys. The Darnells would want thatwell, theyd need it, because they were about to be arrested for faking a haunting.
At least, they would be when the Black Squad got there to back Chess up. She didnt always want the Squad to come along; police presence tipped people off, made things more difficult, and most people came pretty quietly once they realized they were busted, anyway. The Darnells didnt seem like the come-quietly type, though. Something told Chess they werent going to take this well.
But shed told them shed be there at six, and it was five past already and their curtains kept twitching. They knew she was there.
Right. Shed taken a couple of Cepts before leaving her apartment in Downside, so they were starting to hitsmooth, thick narcotic warmth spreading from her stomach out through the rest of her body, a pleasant softness settling over her mind.
That was the best thing about the drugs, really; she could still think, still be coherent, still use her brain. She just didnt have to if she didnt want to, and it was so much easier to keep that brain from wandering into all those places she didnt want it to go.
And she had so fucking many of those places.
She grabbed the Darnell file from her bag, locked her car, and started walking along the cobblestoned path to the front door, weaving around the flowers and plants scattered like islands across the impossibly green sea of grass. Bees made their way from bloom to bloom, doing whatever the hell it was bees did. Sure, she knew it was something to do with pollen or whatever. She just didnt give a shit.
By the time she reached the porch sweat beaded along her forehead and her body felt damp. Summer sucked. Only the middle of June and already it was scorching.
Brandon Darnell opened the door before shed finished raising her hand to knock. Miss Putnam. Youre late.
Asshole. She faked a smile. Sorry. Traffic.
At least they had air-conditioning.
The entire Darnell family sat in the pretentious high-ceilinged living room, slouching on the ridiculously overpriced suede couch and chairs that were partly responsible for the enormous debt they were in. Debt theyd planned to clear by faking a haunting and getting a nice fat settlement from the Church of the Real Truth.
Too bad for them, the Church wasnt stupidbeing in charge of everyone and everything on earth for twenty-four years proved thatand had contingency plans for such things. Chess was one of them.
Brandon Darnell indicated an empty chair along the back wall. Have a seat.
Alarms started ringing in Chesss head. He seemed a little too calm, a little too cheerful.
But all the other chairs were full, so she sat, shooting a glance out the window to see if the Squad had arrived yet. Nope. Damn it!
The Darnells sat there, unmoving. Watching her. Because that wasnt creepy at all.
Mrs. Darnellfrowsy, bad perm, blue eye shadow up to her browsshowed her perfect white teeth in what could pass for a smile. Do you have any news for us? When will you Banish the ghost?
Chesss phone beepeda text. A text from the Black Squad, thank fuck, they were almost there. Good. She didnt have to sit around wasting time with these people.
I do have news. She pulled the forms from the file. This is my Statement of Truth, copies of which Ive already filed with the Church. This one is for you to sign. Its the Affidavit of Spectral Fraud, which is basically your confession, and this one
What the hell are you talking about? We havent committed any fraud, theres no
Mr. Darnell. Normally shed stand up for this part, but what the hell. The chair was pretty comfortable. I found, and photographed, the projectors set up in the attic. I wont bother to point out to you where the holes in the ceiling are, since you already know. The ectoplasm on your walls has been analyzedtwice for confirmationas a mixture of cornstarch, gelatin, iridescent paint, and water.