Opposition (Apparition Investigations #2)

Case #3: The Horton Grand Hotel (Part 4)

"I said I'm sorry," Oliver grumbled again, his voice floating near my ear. "But really, how was I supposed to know the flight attendant had slightly impacted perceptions?"

"Maybe when he kept shivering as you flew through him," I hissed.

I marched through the gate and into the terminal, away from the ghosts and my friends, too annoyed to slow down or stop. We'd nearly been busted on the plane. Ok, well, not really. You couldn't exactly bust a ghost for stowing away on an airplane.

But the flight attendant had kept shuddering as Oliver flew through him. His eyes had widened when he heard Rose and Bronte excitedly talking about the case. He had kept glancing over his shoulder at the four of us. And I'd definitely seen him whispering to another one of the flight attendants.

"I'm sorry," Oliver said again.

"If we're put on a no-fly list because you kept running through the aisle like...like some kind of child, then I'm going to kill you," I snapped.

Rose finally caught up, catching the tail-end of my threat. "Don't worry about it. I'm sure they can't put you on the list for that."

I rolled my eyes. Optimists.

Cyril's voice came from my other side. "It won't happen again."

"Some help you were," I grumbled.

Apparently, Bronte had seen Cyril staring out the windows for most of the trip. He'd floated through the cabin, getting different views of the ground beneath us and the sky around us.

"Just relax," Rose said.

I whirled around, ready to lash out at her, when I spotted Noah over her shoulder.

For a second, I thought I'd go up to him and complain. He'd be on my side, no doubt.

Then I caught the vacant expression on his face. He kept walking, straight past me, and headed down the terminal towards the exit.

Ok, maybe he wouldn't be on my side, no doubt.

Rose sighed, watching as he left. Then she hurried to catch up with him.

"Ok," I admitted aloud, causing someone hurrying past me to slow down, wondering if I was speaking to him. I waited until he turned and kept walking before I continued. "Ok, Cyril, I see what you mean. He's acting strangely."

"He would have relished the opportunity to scold us."

I pinched the bridge of my nose, pushing up my glasses as I did. Bronte came up beside me. "I think that went well," she grinned.

I gave her an exasperated look. "You didn't see the flight attendant shivering?"

"Oh, that. Yeah, that could have been handled better. We need to be more prepared on the flight home to not have the ghosts fly through anyone. I meant Noah not trying to exorcise the ghosts just because he was annoyed. Though, truth be told, I think I might prefer him previously to now. He's acting...distant."

"Yeah. Cyril picked up on that too. And if we could get Oliver to stop running around like a child, I'm sure he'd notice it too."

"Hey," Oliver whined.

Bronte frowned at the same time. "Why do you think he's acting that way?"

We'd told her about the graveyard. She knew everything that had happened. But being there and hearing about it second-hand are two different things. She hadn't watched him leave afterward. Hadn't seen him struggling to hold Esperanza against the ward the same way murderers held their victim's head underwater.