There are a lot of Haunts and Wanderers around, though they seem to be keeping their distance. That’s definitely not normal. The Wanderers at the very least should be swarming me, hoping for a free lunch whether I’m on their side or not. I walk toward a cluster of Wanderers on the street corner and they all back away from me, generally keeping about ten feet of distance.

No shit. Looks like that anti-ghost talisman works. It must only work near the hotel grounds, because I saw plenty when I was leaving Union Station and they didn’t have this reaction.

That decides it, then. I slip to the other side. The color leaches out of everything, leaving it dim and blue, the jet engine noise blasts through my head, and I’m over. I head toward the hotel, the ghosts keeping their distance, though some of them are straining like mad dogs at the end of short leashes. I quicken my step. I have no idea how effective this talisman really is. It’s doing its job, but it feels like the power could snap at any moment. If that happens I might not be able to get back fast enough. And with the new construction, who knows where I’ll actually end up. I won’t materialize into solid matter or anything like that, but I could find myself in an inconvenient spot.

The entrance of the hotel is just as grand on this side of the veil as it was when it stood on the other. It stands out from everything else on this side. Brighter, more color, not the drained look of the dead. Guests and hotel staff bustle around, most not noticing me. They look off. Too solid, too busy, too . . . alive. Are these just Echoes from the hotel’s past? Not quite ghosts?

“Take your bags, sir?” a bright-eyed bellboy says, stepping into my path. Vibrant red uniform, pillbox hat. If the staff is talking to me, there’s more going on here than I thought, but for the life of me I can’t figure out what.

“No luggage,” I say, holding up the key. His eyes flash on it and his smile grows impossibly large.

“Ah, of course! Mister Carter. We haven’t seen you in quite some time. But as per our agreement we’ve kept the door to your suite in tip top shape. The maid hasn’t been inside to clean it, obviously, but we’ve noticed no degradation in the spells you cast to keep things clean and in good working order.”

“Uh . . . thanks.”

“All part of the service, sir. Your contribution to this hotel has allowed us to keep things going for quite some time. You’re paid up well into the next century.”