Guardian

Chapter 11

Thomas muttered at the lighter as it inched closer to the fuses. Suddenly, his shirt seemed slightly too tight and very uncomfortable. His back itched just at the spot he couldn't reach.

It seemed likely that this would be one of those key moments. The type that stayed with Thomas for the rest of his life because of the sheer stupidity of it. Because of that, everything moved in slow motion. Every feature of the room he kneeled in came into sharp focus: the stale smell of the floor, a soft breeze from the open flue in the fireplace, and air that brushed icily across his skin. No wonder, the room was chilly. There was a pile of dust bunnies an inch thick under the four-poster bed. "How did I end up here?"

Aidan posed casually in the doorway, leaning his tall frame against the wood. "What was that? I couldn't hear you?"

Thomas snorted. "Nothing. Nothing at all." Who in their right mind set off bangers in the house? What if he set it on fire? What if....

He held the lighter to the fuse, and it hissed to life. He jumped and pressed his back against the wall. The bangers went off with a loud crack that seemed to ricochet off the walls. So much so, that even when silence filled the room again, the only thing he could hear was the ringing in his ears.

Well, that did it. He'd officially lost it. Was ridding himself of a pesky tradition worth the possibility of having to pay Aidan for this house if it burned down?

His eyes darted right and left checking for any potential sparks that could start a fire. Everything seemed unscathed except the pile of ash in the center of the black spot on the floor. Was the spot slightly darker than before? Maybe, but who could really tell?

Aidan shouted something.

Thomas looked at him confused. "What was that?"

Aidan strode over and shouted close to Thomas's ear, "I said, THAT WAS AWESOME!"

"AND THAT WAS UNNECESSARY."

"Sorry." Aidan patted Thomas's shoulder.

"And how was that amazing? I could've blown our heads off and for what?"

"Well, I've never done anything like that before in my life, so." Aidan shrugged. "Plus, how much worse could this room get?" He deliberately scanned the room.

The man had a point. This house had definitely seen better days.

Abruptly, the temperature in the room dropped even more. Thomas could see his breath in the air.

Eleanor floated through the open door.

Aidan's girlish squeal further enhanced the ringing in his ears.

Suddenly the man was cowering behind him like he was some larger-than-life barrier that would protect him from all bad things.

"Wow," Aidan said, "I didn't think it would actually work."

Thomas wondered how he would feel if he knew that his physical body was no real obstacle for a ghost. She could just move through him as if he didna even exist.

He'd heard all the stories, but seeing as this was only the third time he'd seen a ghost in real life, he thought his barely racing heart was a pretty good response.

Aidan poked the middle of his back and whispered, "Aren't you going to do something?"

Ah right, the second part of me plan.

Thomas headed for the corner by Aidan's bedside table where the vacuum cleaner sat, forlorn and forgotten. Aidan moved with him and made sure to keep Thomas's body between him and the ghost.