SJ smiled sadly. “Deceased souls can’t maintain corporeality in the Human Realm. He’s right here. I can feel him in my arms, he’s just …”

“A ghost!” Humphrey piped up from the corner near my bookshelf.

I think that was when I hit my limit. I collapsed onto the lounge, burying my face in my hands.

“No!” I shouted through fingers that shook. “It’s not fair! He deserves … something, after all he’s been through!” Every muscle in me felt wound tight like a spring, but my eyes were dry when I looked up at Joe.

“He’s been down there, reliving the night of his murder, for eighteen years! All because he got tricked into selling his soul!” I pinched the bridge of my nose. “And now he just gets to … what? Float around up here forever? He’s traumatised! He needs help!”

I turned to SJ, the only person in the room who might have a chance of doing something … anything … for him.

“Can you …?” I pleaded.

SJ watched me warily, his jaw twitching. “I … there might be something I can do to fix this.”

“Please!” I begged. “Whatever it is, please just … do it.”

He knelt, his arms still cradling an invisible weight. His eyes searched mine, the warmth of him so close, so comforting. “I … I do not wish to leave you …” He sighed. “I … have much to atone for.”

My heart leapt at those words, and I longed to reassure him that I knew, I knew everything he’d done was all for me. But the thought of Dad, incorporeal and confused, and probably stuck in an endless loop of violence and death after eighteen years of it.

I had to make Dad the priority.

“Please, SJ.”

He moved his arm as if resettling the weight of Dad’s spirit. “Very well.”

He stood, turning away, his shoulders lifting and falling with a huge breath. With his free hand, he conjured another one of his newly multicoloured portals.

“Wait, Boss!” Beezle barked, galloping up to him. “You can’t go back there alone!”

“Go back where?” I asked faintly.

SJ turned, his expression unreadable. “Back to Heaven. I’ll explain everything … after.” My jaw dropped, but his eyes fell on Beezle. “I can, and I will, go alone. Besides, you need to stay here, guard Jemma … in case Hellen realises she’s missing and comes looking for her.”

With that bombshell dropped, he stepped into the portal and disappeared. Beezle stared at the spot where he’d been for a moment, then sat, ears pricked and alert.

“Will she try to come and find me?” I murmured shakily. Beezle tilted his head in my direction. “She … she was waiting for Dad to wake again before she returned. Maybe she’s gotten distracted by something?” The hope in my voice was thick.