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that covered her grandmother’s resting place. But she had never known Rose Bohique and didn’t really expect her to show. If ’Bastian wouldn’t come, then why would Rose? And if ’Bastian wouldn’t appear, than why would any spirit appear to her? They wouldn’t, she decided. The drums were silent, and she felt like an idiot, like a child, standing in a cemetery at night. Like Linus Van Pelt waiting for the Great Pumpkin to rise from the most sincere pumpkin patch.
    She got to her feet. Charlie steadied her, but she shook him off. “Let’s get out of here,” she said.
    “Gladly”—from Ramon, and he led the way back to the gate.
    This time, Rain got into the backseat with Charlie. Marina was trying to be supportive. “It helps to see something concrete sometimes. To make it real, you know?”
    Charlie nodded. Rain just sulked. “Can you take me home now,” she said. Marina looked at Ramon, who nodded and turned the car around. They drove past me without noticing. Turned off Old Plantation Road and drove past Maq on his bench, without seeing or waking him. If nothing else happened, they’d be back at the Inn in less than five minutes.
    Five minutes for Rain to stew in her own juices. There’s no such thing as ghosts. You’re a dope. Or a nutcase. Marina would periodically turn around to look at the younger girl. Ramon was quiet, but even he was checking his rearview to see if Rain was okay. Charlie, who wanted to hold her, tried desperately to not even brush against her. Rain noticed none of it.
    Trouble is, I saw them. I know I did. The Dark Man. The Eight. I saw them.
    She remembered Charlie’s words: It’s grief. Playing tricks on you. It has to be.
    In the backseat, she nodded absently to herself. That’s right. I’m grieving. I—
    But a new thought occurred, or rather an old one resurfaced. She stopped nodding and raised her eyes to meet Charlie’s. She spoke aloud: “You said I was messed up because of ’Bastian. Grief was playing tricks on me, right?”
    Marina practically turned around in her seat. Charlie answered carefully, “Yeah. That’s right.”
    “Except I saw the first ghost before I started grieving!”
    Marina said, “Excuse me?”
    Charlie held her gaze. He recognized this expression. He’d just told her to turn right, and she was determined to go left.
    “What if I’m not crazy?” she said. “What if it’s all real? This started before I knew he was gone.” He could see her searching her memory, see the lightbulb click on. “The night he gave me the armband! When I first put it on, I felt…” She struggled to remember, but the sensation slipped away, like water, like smoke. So she shook off memory to focus on something concrete. “I have to find it. But where…”
    She grabbed his arms, as if maybe he could tell her. But he didn’t know what she was talking about. All he knew was that she was on fire. The cold moonlight shone in her eyes, but the light that reflected back burned. He didn’t know “where” this was taking her. He just knew he’d follow.
    She stared past him, like the Eight had stared past her. “Where, where, where?” Then her entire body went rigid. She smiled and growled.
    “Callahan!”

CHAPTER NINE
    SEARCHER
    Rain had a master key that accessed every room in the Inn. It did not usually represent an awesome responsibility. Usually, it was a simple means to a mundane end. Yippee, I get to change more sheets! But tonight it felt different. Tonight, after knocking softly and calling out to confirm an empty room, it felt like she was using this key to cross an important threshold in her life. “To unlock a door, you need two things: a key and someone who knows how to turn it.” The girl who turned this key and entered this room would never be the same again.
    And typical of Rain, she didn’t hesitate.
    She immediately set to work. Each spring, the whole family did a thorough cleaning of every room. Rain had found some pretty goofy stuff