We have wards around our property, but we''ve gone past them… Punsiv must sense it, too.


    you''re acting weird, too."


    Stretching it might help, he convinced himself.


    can''t–not right now. I don''t think I can stand up."


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    you''re doing in your spook''s clothes this late? Are you going after the ghost?"


    She has a point… But I''m not sure how much longer the spirit will stay in the vicinity. If it leaves, I won''t be able to help it; if it stays, it poses a threat to us. Either way I need to act now. "You''re right: I should go back to bed," he conceded. "But you should, too."


    Suddenly the spook was younger, playing out in a yard.


    Then he heard yelling coming from an unfamiliar man in the doorway of a house: "Get in here!"


    The next thing he knew, he was standing in the dark corner of a living room while he heard two adults chatting behind him. His legs were sore from standing for so long. Instinctively he crouched to relieve the pressure on them.


    The cracking of a belt near enough that he felt the air stirred by it startled him to his feet once more.


    "What did we tell you, Pete? You have to stand there until your punishment is over," said a gruff man''s voice.


    "How much longer…?" The child flinched when the belt struck again.


    "It was an hour… But since you''re talking back, I''m making it two hours."


    The child opened his mouth to protest, but with the realization that anything he said would prolong the punishment, he stayed silent.


    "That''s better. Learn your place."


    Gadalik snapped out of it. He possessed me…? He shook his head. "I''m sorry you were treated so badly…"


    "I wasn''t allowed to live," Pete explained. "All my life I''ve been punished for the most trivial things…until I decided to run away. For the first time, I had a shred of hope that things could get better for me… And then I was killed in a hit-and-run."


    anything, I get punished for it, so why try anymore? I thought death would finally be the end of it all, but now I''m still here, still miserable…! Why?!"


    chance to be…! Nothing can hurt you anymore."


    Adya?!" her brother cried with shock. "Get out of here! Now!"


    disfigurement spell tag on it. When the spirit lashed again, Gadalik caught the whip around his weapon, the tag''s activation dispersing the specter''s form into a cloud. "Pete, this isn''t you…! Get a hold of yourself!"


    run," Gadalik tried again, panicking at the sight of her blood.


    No! Gadalik threw his staff expertly at the ghost, knocking it off-target. Desire to protect his sister overcame his back pain as he took the moment it spent recovering to use a confining spell in his hand, grabbing hold of the spirit until its body became tangible.


    Pete isn''t responding anymore… There''s no point in trying to save him when he''s this dangerous. My main priority is keeping Adya safe. With that in mind, he tried something he never thought he would.


    you?"


    okay," she said for the third time.


    What? " Gale exclaimed. "You should''ve at least waited until your back was better! And what were you thinking, taking your sister with you for this?"


    It''s easy to forget how much influence we have over kids…


    Punishments…? "W-Wait!"


    I''ve passed by that house before… I had no idea about the cruelty of the owners. But now''s a chance to set them straight. "Dad, since you''re a bounty hunter, do you think you can take care of a few…bad guys…for me…?"