“As am I.” But Beth noticed something that she hadn’t before and took a step back. “Panther? I’ve never met a panther before.”
“I’m not sure that’s a good thing or not. Until Steele and his men, I’d only heard of necros, and the stories I’d heard were not fit for bedtime stories.” Kari smiled and turned to go in the house. “I was told that not only could they raise the dead, they would eat their souls if it was still left behind. Stupid now that I think on it, but….”
Kari was in the house, and Beth looked at Steele. She’d never hesitated, not once in her story, to see if either she or Steele were following. Steele was looking at the door his wife went in and smiling. It was a happy smile, one that made her slightly embarrassed. But it was so full of love that Beth felt her own heart melt a little.
“She has made me extremely happy.” Steele looked at her then and smiled. “She will you as well. I can’t tell you how thrilled we all are that you’ve come to visit us. If I had my way, I’d have you live here all the time. But I know that’s going to take some time.”
She nodded, her heart suddenly pounding in her chest. “I don’t know if I can do that. So much has happened here that I can’t…it’s still hard for me to think that the man who changed my life forever lived here.”
“Yes. He’s gone now though. And will never harm you again.” Beth nodded and walked with Steele as he moved to follow Kari. Beth smiled, wondering if the poor girl was still talking to them. But when she entered the hallway she saw the one man she had missed more than any other thing in her life.
“Oh Daddy.” He nodded. Her father, who had left her alone so many years ago, was now standing in the big hall surrounded by others like him. She moved toward him slowly and her feet felt leaded, her heart no longer just pounding but nearly leaping from her chest.
“My baby.” Tears blurred her vision as he smiled at her. “I’ve missed you so much. And when we found you, it was all I could do not to show you myself so I could comfort you.”
“You left me.” He nodded and put out his hand. They couldn’t touch, of course, but she did put her fingers over his. “I’ve missed you so much too, Daddy. So very much. Every day it was all I could do not to join you and Mom. If it hadn’t been for Emil, I would have.”
“I’m glad you were strong and that you had her. When I think of all the times that I told you that you were dreaming…well, I know a great deal more than I ever did back then. And now…well, now we can visit all we want.”
Beth didn’t answer him. She wanted to visit with her dad and get to know her son, but she was sure that she’d never return here. There were too many memories; too much that had happened here that she’d never forget. But the woman that stepped to her then was someone she’d missed more than she thought possible.
“Mrs. Aster.” Again the feeling of being loved but not touched moved over her. “You were always such a force. I thought I’d die when I read about your death. But I couldn’t come here, not with them still around.”
“It was for the best, I’m thinking, that you did stay away. And I had to do something to shake up the underworld, didn’t I? I mean, you know how much I loved to make things happen. There was nothing I could do around here anyway.” They both laughed, and Mrs. Aster smiled at her. “You’ve done well for yourself under the circumstances. I have seen your paintings in the homes of some of our friends. Also that big showing you had in Chicago a few years back. Of course, I had no idea it was you, but I thought even then that the artist had known pain like none other.”
“I lost myself in them and that’s what emerged. Emil helped me. She is my muse.” They both turned to look at the other ghost who was arguing with Carlton over something. “She paints them for me.”
“I doubt that. Somewhere you’re there.”
Beth again didn’t answer but watched her friend. She’d never thought of her as a ghost who might miss people like herself, and now she could see that her friend and companion had given up so much to stay with her all the time.
“Come on now. Let’s get you settled.” Beth followed Kari up the stairs. She wanted to tell her it was unnecessary, that she had a room booked at the local hotel, but she didn’t. Her luggage, two smallish suitcases, was lying on the end of the bed when they entered the room.