I scanned the room, and strained to listen, to see some sign of Kristof. It was one thing having a ghost around when you didn’t know it. But if you knew it, and if you tried hard enough, surely you should be able to pick up some sign. But I couldn’t.

“Savannah’s outside,” I said. “Playing basketball with Lucas.”

Nothing. Not even a twinge of awareness that told me he was there.

“Basketball was never your thing, was it?” I said with a smile. “Mine neither. But she’s good at it. And she likes it. That’s what counts.”

The silence swallowed my voice. I shivered, and the quaver went right down into my gut. What if something went wrong, and I couldn’t get back? Was this what it would be like, stuck here, talking to myself, wondering whether he was still listening? At least on the other side, I could see this world. From here, the separation was absolute.

Savannah yelled something outside, and I jerked up. If Savannah and Lucas were outside, that meant I was alone in here with the Nix. And if she was making no effort to come and get me, I had to give her a push.

“Sorry, Kris, but we gotta run.” I grinned. “Time to try getting myself killed.”

I found the Nix in the living room, sitting on a chair—my chair—and staring into space. At first I thought maybe she saw the crying woman residual. She wasn’t looking toward the dining room, though. She was staring straight ahead, eyes as blank as a mannequin’s.

“There you are,” I said, walking into the living room.

“No!” the Nix leapt to her feet, lip curling in a snarl.

“Get out!”

I feigned a wide-eyed back-step. “Jaime? Uh, are you okay?”

Her eyes flicked to mine and she frowned, as if just noticing me.

“What?” she snapped. Then she blinked fast. “Oh, Paige. Sorry.”

“Ghost bothering you?” I asked.

Another quick blink, startled. Then a sharp head shake that morphed into a nod and a wry smile. “Yeah. You know how it is. They never leave us alone. So is your work done?”

“Pretty much. I just popped down to see whether we had anything in the freezer for dessert. I should be able to dig up a pie.”

“Sounds good.”

“If Lucas or Savannah comes in, just tell them I’m downstairs. In the basement. I may be a while—that freezer’s packed with stuff.”

She nodded, then sat back down, gaze going blank, as if she’d already forgotten I was there. I headed for the basement steps. When I reached the back-door landing, I looked outside. Lucas caught the movement and glanced over. I motioned that I was going into the basement. He nodded, then distracted Savannah before she saw me, and they resumed playing.

“Heading downstairs now,” I murmured under my breath. “Into the dark basement. All alone.”