Chapter Sixteen

Cardian

"What's in the shed?" Duke stopped outside of the red and white barn looking shed in the backyard.

"That's where your cousin keeps all his baking supplies, I think. Terrick mentioned something about it being temperature controlled."

Duke stopped and put his ear up to the outside wall of the shed and waved me over. I pressed my ear against the wall next to his and held my breath. Something scurried around inside. Whatever it was, its little claws sounded like nails on a chalkboard.

"Do you have the key?" Duke mouthed to me.

I held up a finger and sprinted back inside through the front door. As I wasn't prone to fits of baking, I didn't have a key to the shed. Since it was locked up tight, I hadn't considered it a security threat either. I did have a key to the house's front door. I'd restolen it out of the laundry when Dakota left it in his pocket the first night we met. Eventually, I'd have a copy made if we stayed in my brother's house long enough.

"Brother," I said over our family link as I stood outside Scott and Terrick's bedroom door, praying I wasn't interrupting anything too personal.

"Yes?" he called back aloud.

"Can I get the key to the garden shed? Something's scratching around inside of there."

"What? Nothing can get inside of that shed. It's Moonscale made and ---" he stopped mid-sentence and a second later he opened the bedroom door with the key in hand. "Come on," he said aloud. "Let's go hunt ghosts again."

"Sorry, brother," I sighed.

"Me too. I thought we left the hauntings behind."

"Bears, birds, and deer. What's next, lions?" I laughed and shook my head.

"They're not native here. So let's hope not," Terrick sighed as we made our way through the house into the backyard.

Duke still stood guard over the shed. The rustling around hadn't stopped.

"It sounds like someone is rolling around inside," Terrick said.

"Do you see them?" I asked.

"Oh, yes, brother. Not only can I see ghosts. Now I can see through walls," he rolled his eyes at me as he stepped past Duke to unlock the shed. "Scott's not going to be thrilled about whatever animals broke into his baking shed."

"We'll replace what we have to toss," I said.

"It's not that simple," Terrick sighed. "Scott alters a lot of the ingredients. It's all magic."

"Oh," I said and left it at that as Terrick swung the door open.

There was nothing inside the shed that I could see. The rustling was still there and so were tiny footprints in a pile of flour spilt from its bag. Terrick bit his lip and a second later burst into laughter.

"What's so funny?" Duke asked before I could.

Terrick squatted down and held out a hand, still smiling. Footprints scurried away from him and then back to him, slower.

"What is it?" I asked after Terrick ignored Duke's question.

He ignored mine for a long second too. Then he grabbed something Duke and I couldn't see and picked it up. Little paw prints of flour dotted his face soon after.

"Raccoon," Terrick finally said. "And a few birds are in there too, but bird spirits are really common. Birds sometimes just keep birding even after they're dead."

"But why are they hearing it too?" I asked Terrick as I followed him around the side of the house leaving Duke to watch the unlocked shed. Surely, the dragon-wolf could handle a few dead birds for a minute.

"I didn't know at first either," Terrick said, scratching his dead and invisible friend.

"But you do now?" I asked him.

"I have a theory. I'll ask Liam about it. I would ask Scott, but I don't want to stress him out. He's going to be upset enough at all that lost magical flour all over the shed floor."

"Are you going to tell me what it is or not, baby brother?" I asked.

He paused and scratched his invisible friend again.

"I think it's spirit food," Terrick said as another raccoon print appeared on his nose.

Laughing, he leaned away from the paws and scratched again.

"Spirit food supposedly not only soothes spirits but makes them stronger. Heck, if one of them ate enough of the stuff you'd probably see them. If I'm right anyway," Terrick said, stepping past me.

"Then why are you still taking him over to Liam's?"

"Her and because she shouldn't have to roam Earthside walking past too much yummy food she's unable to eat. It would be evil to leave her in this condition forever."