Sanabalis searched Helen’s carefully neutral expression. “My apologies,” he said. “My concerns are not the only concerns present; they are pressing to me for what I hope are obvious reasons.”

Helen smiled. “Mrs. Erickson might speak to you more about her experiences, if you have the time; I am not certain those experiences will answer your questions.” She lowered her chin for a moment. When she raised it, the line of her shoulders tensed. “But I believe Mrs. Erickson has a rare gift, and a much stronger one than any I have encountered.

“I cannot move, as you well know; my knowledge has therefore been secondhand, if my observations were my own. It is possible that I am mistaken; that there are others who have the same strength of gift, and about whom information never reached me.” To Mrs. Erickson, she said, “If you would speak with the spirits Kaylin now carries, it is safe to do so here. It is safe to do so in the presence of Lord Sanabalis—or any other person of power you might encounter.

“It is not, in my opinion, completely safe for Kaylin to carry what she has carried—but Kaylin is my tenant, and my concern for her well-being is perhaps coloring that opinion.” To Kaylin she said, “I have a room for your guests, if you would follow me. Mrs. Erickson, if you wish to see them safely housed, you may also join us.”

She notably did not include anyone else in that invitation.

Sanabalis wasn’t foolish; he took the hint. He looked only slightly nonplussed when Helen split in two. To be fair to him, Kaylin found it surprising as well, although she shouldn’t have. Helen was not her Avatar; there was no reason that her Avatar could not exist in as many places as she desired. It’s just that Kaylin had never seen one version step out from the other.

“Allow me to offer you refreshments, Lord Sanabalis. I will find a quiet parlor in which we two might converse.”

Terrano immediately grimaced.

“Yes, dear. I feel that it is best for the moment to be able to fully focus on my answers to Lord Sanabalis’s questions without constant interruption or correction.”

“A moment, Helen,” the Arkon said.

13

“At what age did you first encounter ghosts?” Sanabalis’s question was softly voiced.

“I’ve always seen them,” Mrs. Erickson told the Dragon.

“Always? You have no memories of a time when the ghosts did not appear before you?”