“Yep. There are two bardia sitting in the park across the street, watching the building,” I confirmed. “And Charlotte walked me home.”
“It feels like we’re under lockdown,” Papy commented a bit begrudgingly. “A couple of them followed me home from work today, too. I’m not actually sure we need all of this security. You girls do, of course, but it’s not like they have any interest in me or your grandmother.”
“Just be glad for it. With all of this strangeness, one can’t take too many precautions. And whatever is going on, we still have to eat,” said Mamie from the kitchen, before yelling, “Georgia. Your sister’s home. Time for dinner!” She appeared carrying a tray with a huge steaming puff pastry shaped like a fish. “Saumon en cro?te, served with carrots in curried butter,” she announced.
“Mamie, that’s gorgeous! Did you make it?” I asked, the combined odors of the baked pastry and steaming salmon making me realize how hungry I was.
Mamie made her tutting sound. “I worked all day, dear Katya. This was made by Monsieur Legrande,” she said, referring to the fine food boutique down the street. “But I’m sure he made it with love.” She winked.
“I’d eat it even if he made it with lust,” announced Georgia as she entered the room, “although picturing a lustful Monsieur Legrande . . . ick.” She wrinkled her nose.
Papy rolled his eyes. “à table, everyone.”
“Any word on the research, Katie-Bean?” Georgia asked as she sat down, but it was just a formality. She knew I would have phoned if anything important had happened.
I shook my head.
“Well, even though a solution hasn’t been found, you must be relieved that Vincent is free for a few days, at least,” Mamie said, setting the dish down and skirting around the table to wrap me in her arms. “And that healer seems to know a lot about the revenants. He’ll find a solution, I’m sure,” she said soothingly.
We took our places around the table, and after Mamie wished us a bon appétit, everyone tucked into the delicious food.
“I was actually wondering if you had come across the topic of re-embodiment,” I mentioned, hoping that Papy would latch on to the topic without much prompting. My bet paid off. I could see his thoughts racing.
“Re-embodiment,” he said. “Infusing a spirit into an inanimate object. Now that’s an interesting idea.” He tapped his chin. “I mean, there is the symbolic re-embodiment in the Christian Eucharist—transforming the communion wafer and wine into the actual body and blood of Christ. Which was probably based on the Egyptian ‘divine bread’ ritual performed by the priests of Osiris. But I can’t think of an example where there was a re-invention of a body and then possession with a soul.”
“How about Frankenstein?” suggested Georgia with a helpful expression.
“Georgia. Shush,” urged Mamie, spearing a carrot and placing it delicately in her mouth as if demonstrating for Georgia what she should be doing instead of spouting out disturbing ideas.
“No, I mean it. That’s an example of a body that was created pretty much from scratch, and then electrocuted to give it a spirit.”
“I think that the electrocution part just animated the reassembled body parts,” debated Papy. “It didn’t give the monster a soul.”
“I distinctly remember him playing by a river with a little girl and crying,” insisted Georgia. “You can’t cry if you don’t have a soul.”
“Um, can we pull the conversation away from horror movies and back to real life?” I asked, posing my silverware on my plate as I watched Georgia pop more salmon in her mouth. The idea of sewn-together body parts apparently didn’t affect her appetite. “I doubt the revenants are going to reassemble a Vincent-shaped body and then wait for a lightning storm to shock him into existence,” I said.
“Wouldn’t have to,” responded Georgia, holding her fork up to make her point. “Nowadays you could probably do it with defibrillators.”
I squeezed my eyes shut in frustration.
“Georgia?” Mamie asked.
“Yes?”
“Please shut up.”
“Okay.” My sister shrugged as if to say we would regret not having listened to her.
I turned to my grandfather. “Although Monsieur Tandorn remembers his family’s records mentioning something on the topic, I thought I’d ask you anyway, since you’re my resident expert on every strange bit of mythical lore under the sun.”