14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

At lunchtime the scuttle amongst us supernats was that no further poltergeist activity had been seen. Maybe speaking to Aoife had exhausted it, I thought hopefully. Maybe her words had made it rethink its actions.

Unfortunately it struck again, halfway through the DV class after lunch. This time, instead of attacking our instructor or knocking over a podium, it marched the two flags that were sitting up front around the room like little skinny soldiers then flung them on the floor.

‘The windows are closed,’ Jones said into the tight silence. ‘It wasn’t a breeze that made them do that.’

Fischer laughed and picked up the flags to put them back in their stands. ‘Okay, recruits, our resident ghost Petty Peril is blowing off some steam. Nothing to worry over. Let’s get back to work.’

We looked nervously at each other and started whispering. No one minded ghosts in theory, but for the humans in the room this was an unwelcome suggestion that something beyond their understanding truly did exist.

Fischer had complete control of the room; when he held up a hand we fell silent for him to continue his lecture as if nothing had happened. I tuned into his words and forced myself to think of something other than the damned poltergeist.

As the lecture ended, my attention wandered and I started thinking of other things I could do to further my investigation. I wanted to go back to the TAC officer’s room and do some more sleuthing to see if I could find a file on Petrovich.

My ears pricked up when Fischer said something about Commander's Weekend, and my floppy heart fluttered a moment in my chest. Connor was coming to see me – and soon! This coming weekend! Hearing it announced made it more real and I could hardly wait.

After class, Sidnee and I walked to supper with the other supernats and I brought them up to speed about Aoife’s conversation with Petty. I figured they could help look for anything that was putting the academy in danger.

‘What kind of danger?’ Danny asked.

‘I don’t know. The answers were vague – apparently poltergeists aren’t that chatty. My banshee said they spoke on a different frequency so communication was a bit shambolic.’

‘Did Petty say who is to blame? Who we should be watching?’ Eben pried.

I sighed. ‘I don’t know,’ I said again, ‘but it makes sense that we should check out the new TAC officer, since his office was targeted and he was attacked. But I also think we should look at any shifty recruits like Thorsen. This violent behaviour is new, which suggests that whoever is causing it is a new arrival. Hey, Margi, you and Eben are witches. Do you know any way to speak to, or diminish, the poltergeist?’ I wanted to give myself a face palm that I hadn’t thought to ask earlier.

‘No, sorry. I’m an elemental water witch,’ Margi said. ‘Maybe an air witch could do something, but I’ve never been taught anything about ghosts. All I know about them is from the movies.’

‘I’m a shaman, not a witch,’ Eben said sourly. ‘Ghosts aren’t my thing.’

‘Sorry, my mistake,’ I said faintly. I could have sworn that he’d introduced himself as a witch – and when I searched my memory, sure enough that was definitely how he’d introduced himself.

Why would he lie? A shaman was totally different to a witch. Had he felt pressured or awkward because there were no other shamans on the course? Maybe he’d blurted out ‘witch’ to fit in with Margi, but now felt comfortable enough to tell the truth? Either way, it was weird.

Eben was from a small village up by Nome and, like me and Sidnee, he already had a job: he was a VPSO, a Village Public Safety Officer. There were village police officers from all over Alaska here at the academy for training so they could go back home all polished and up to date.

He went on, ‘We have some rituals for hauntings, but I’ll have to consult with my elders at home. It might take a while to get the stuff we need, but I’ll do my best.’

‘Thanks!’ I said brightly. ‘Let us know when you get a hold of someone.’

He mumbled indistinctly. As soon as the other supernat recruits joined in and we were talking about our training experience and how hungry we were, I sidled up to Sidnee. ‘Eben totally introduced himself to me as a witch,’ I said in a low voice.

She looked surprised. ‘Are you sure? He definitely said he was a shaman to me.’

I rolled my eyes. ‘Of course I’m sure.’

‘Oh right – freaky memory.’ She frowned. ‘Maybe it’s because vamps and shamans don’t always get on? Mers and shamans don’t have any issues, so maybe that’s why he told me the truth but not you?’

‘Maybe,’ I conceded as I checked my memory again. Sure enough, I’d introduced myself as a vampire before Eben had said anything about himself. ‘Vamps don’t get on with shamans?’ I queried. Anissa in Portlock had never shown me anything other than kindness.

Sidnee grinned. ‘It’s not a specific feud or anything, and it’s not as bad as werewolves and vamps! I think maybe vamps don’t really like anyone except other vamps and it shows.’

‘I like plenty of other supernats,’ I protested.

She laughed. ‘You’re an anomaly.’

Oh yay, lucky me.

The funny thing was, she was even more right than she knew.