A week passed without any word from the Paladin or the weird guy he referred to as a Necromancer. Nate was now allowed to on a limited basis walk around the hospital. If he’d been a normal person his body would be in excruciating pain. Luckily he was not a normal person.

  What was more lucky was the spirit inside his body. Its healing properties were accelerating things. It had such an effect that it was possible he wouldn’t be there for a month. At least that's what doctor Mei had implied to him. She was an odd one in her own right.

  The way she looked at him sometimes it felt as though she was looking into his soul. Which he’d surmised at this point was the pool the spirit was swimming in. Each day he worked on moving it trying to manipulate the unseen edges. There wasn’t any time to waste. If Paladin Wood returned he’d need to defend himself. He hadn't even thought about that weird fleshy lip topped thing. Whatever it was disgusted him.

  As his visitors dwindled, his time grew repetitive. The long halls were filled with spirits of all kinds. Nate was shocked at what he found. He had grown accustomed to the normal dichotomy of Full versus Decaying forms. In the hospital he found his first, monstrous soul.

  Nate’s room was located in ward F. Largely people who are being housed for extended periods of time reside here. This also was where VIP’s were taken for care. If he’d been a normal person he’d be here for three months. Other than Allison there weren’t many on this floor given its specialty. Most people were in and out in less than a month.

  Down the hall was ward G. Its halls were embedded with that spirit gunk he’d seen before. Each wall seemed coated in the layers of gunk but not the main walkway. He didn’t venture far into the ward for two reasons. The first being he couldn’t be sure something like Bolten ST would happen again. If he walked into a part of the hospital that didn’t exist would he wake up on the floor or outside a window? He could even collapse on the ground making him stay longer. It was simply too dangerous. The second reason was the large deformed spirit at the end of the hall.

  Nine feet tall with two heads. One was that of a new born baby letting out burps and squeals. The other was an old man's face. His white beard descended to his naval, and a mustache curled on either end of his lip. Large bags were under his eyes as the lumbering form walked the hall. Any ghosts unlucky enough to drift there were snatched in the large left hand of the old side. Then they were fed to the head of the baby. Each soul seemed to age the child and de-age the old man.

  If it was consuming other souls that meant trouble and he made the conscious decision to avoid Ward G. Allison was oblivious to the spirits and remained oblivious as she wandered the halls. Her desire for exploration brought her all over the hospital, much to the chagrin of the staff.

  Nate deemed the creature in the hall an Ogre. He would see about having Allison avoid it just in case. An odd but not uncommon sight appeared before Nate. From where he stood Allison was being dragged back to her room by one of the doctors. Nate didn’t recognize him. A man of medium height, he was either ripped or wore tight fitting clothing as his muscles pushed out of the scrubs. Maybe, it was both. He stopped dragging her along just a few steps from the Ogre.

  The massive heads turned to look at him, the bearded face snarling at the man. Its furious left hand swatted at his body. If he was a spirit then he’d be flattened to the wall, but it wouldn’t do anything to him since he was a human, right?

  He didn’t have to wait long to find out. It passed completely through Allison. Unwillingly leading the way and then slammed into an invisible bubble that was around the doctor. The bubble flashed for a second as the hand rebounded backwards. A wail released from the baby head and the Ogre stomped the ground. It was throwing a temper tantrum.

  Each stomp shook the hospital, at least for Nate. Allison seemed unaffected as she saw him she smiled and waved. A large foot passed through her body as she quickened her pace. The doctor hung back for a moment. He looked straight at the creature.

  “It seems a pest got inside. We will need an exterminator.”

  His voice was soft and unconcerned. A wave of his hand pushed out and another spirit formed. This one was a blaze of light. Blue flames filled the hall for a moment. From the torso up it was a muscular fireman wielding an axe. His bottom half was in the shape of an ornate chandelier wreathed in blue flames.

  Following the wave of the hand the axe carried out in an arch. Chopping through the center of the Ogre and turning it to ash. The walls began to melt. Not from heat or fire it appeared to be the spirit gunk. It flowed out in large and small blobs before disappearing.

  Nate was shocked that the guy had just summoned a spirit out of nowhere and destroyed the other spirit. Was he a Necromancer? A spirit medium? Nate had to know. He laughed internally, he sounded like Teddy.

  “Nate. I got caught again. It’s not fair. I just wanted to see what the dead bodies look like.”

  Allison said it nonchalantly but he saw something in her walk a wobble to her movement. He responded with some concern. She might be annoying but she was filling up the dead air of his room.

  “Why would you want to do something like that?”

  “Oh, well. Everyone ends up there. Everyone.. Also there are a whole lot of places that are famous burial grounds. Have you heard of the catacombs? What about the old mansion at the edge of town? They say it's got a graveyard.”

  She was her normal self except right at the start. Where she almost looked hollow. Nate didn’t know what to say and he didn’t have to say anything. They weren’t that close yet he didn’t have to be her savior. At the same time he got the feeling that he couldn’t just give up.

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  “Enough chatting, the morgue is not a place for patients. It's disrespectful to the dead. Now off to your room.”

  The doctor now stood next to them; he was shorter than Nate but taller than Allison. It was easier to be taller than Allison. Her disease had seemingly affected her growth at one point. She wasn’t child-like but she’d lost out on a few inches.

  Allison swatted at Nate causing him to take a quick step back. She eyed him for a second afterwards and he peered down at her. She was practically a puppy compared to him.

  “You were thinking about how small I was.”

  “How did you?”

  “I knew it. You do it every time I stand next to someone. What the hell. Not cool dude.”

  The doctor looked like he was trying to keep his smile inside, choking back laughter. His attempt to maintain his doctorly composure broke. As he laughed heartily. His body shook vibrantly. He was in good health, around thirty with a strong body that might be making him look younger. His only blemish seemed to be the deep bags under his eyes.

  “What's so funny to you? You think I’m funny?”

  Allison turned to him with an odd hostility in her voice. Nate’d heard it before when she was talking to Doctor Mei. He still had no clue why she’d act that way.

  “Sorry, you two were cute is all. Like when I was a kid.”

  “Cute? Kid? Yeah, I'm sure you get a real kick out of us. Think we’re just here for you amusement. I ain’t here for…”

  “Allison.”

  Nate calling her name shut her up. She looked back once more angrily at the doctor before storming off to her room. Her attempt at slamming the door was prevented by the soft close function. Her frustrated voice could be heard from the other side of the door.

  “I’m sorry about my friend.”

  He spoke to the doctor apologetically.

  “It’s ok. I’m actually one of her main doctors. She normally gets along well with me. I think she just got some bad news. She comes to vent it in the morgue often.”

  The doctor also looked apologetic. The vibe was that he’d over reacted at some point either on the way here or down in the morgue. Nate was curious but that aspect wasn’t his business.

  “I’m Nate Cotton. Nice to meet you.”

  “Doctor White, Nice to meet you.”

  “So doctor, could I ask one thing?”

  “If it's within my ability to answer.”

  “How did you get rid of that spirit?”

  ***

  The week living with Mandy was eventful for Teddy. Time at school was normal. The meals were all made by chefs. He spent a lot of time with her in the library. That same ghost was now following the two of them around the whole property. She wasn’t really a bother.

  The first real event was when Renee showed up at the end of the week unannounced. She carried with her a letter from her father, Mandy’s uncle. Within it stated that he would have to return to his home in the neighboring town for a time. Given that Renee was going to school in Mawe, it would be best to stay at the mansion. At least till his return.

  When Mandy read the letter Teddy could feel that current that had been used on Nate slipped over Mandy. It was weaker and if he was to guess it was something to do with not needing as much power. Teddy felt weird about the subterfuge of her controlling Mandy. She could be trusted and the note seemed legitimate to him.

  “What was that?”

  Mandy’s question was the second event to occur as he was sure that she’d be affected. Renee also looked aghast at her charms not working. Nate had been affected and he’d mentioned to Teddy someone weird had tried something similar to no effect.

  “What was, what?”

  Renee tried to play innocent but Mandy narrowed her eyes at her. It was just the three of them in the study at the time. Teddy took note of Mandy balling her fist up as she looked at her. He tried to remember what Nate said she was like when they were delinquents. Ferocious?

  “Nate said you did something to him. Is that what it was? Did you have something to do with the Paladin?”

  She grabbed Renee with her unclenched hand pulling her into the air. The front of her shirt was held on by only a thread. Teddy was shocked at the turn of events. It also split him on who he should side with. He didn’t know anything about a Paladin, but Renee had definitely tried to control Mandy. Was this what Nate said when he said Ferocious?

  “Paladin? Me? I mean what's that?”

  Mandy had flustered Renee enough to knock her off her game. Her first response had been full of disgust. Her second was an attempt to cover her previous words. She didn’t like ruff people like Mandy; they were the hardest to pin down once they got wise. Her fist raised in a threatening motion caused Renee to let out a little yelp.

  “Answers now. The man I love is in the hospital. I won't be denied the reason why.”

  The little girl hesitated for a moment but could see she was running out of options. The nuclear method would work but Teddy would hate her. Renee looked at Teddy; he'd not even used any mind tricks to have her start liking him. A little truth wouldn’t hurt them, would it?

  “Fine, let me stay here and I promise to explain.”

  “Explain and I won’t pummel you.”

  Now it was Teddy’s turn to intervene in matters. He cleared his throat loudly. His curiosity had already hit its limit. He also didn’t want to see Renee hurt.

  “Mandy, I think she’ll do what she says. So let's hear her out first. I also want to know what this Paladin thing is about.”

  Mandy had a sheepish grin as she’d let slip about the Paladin to Teddy. Nate had asked her to keep it on the down low. She’d just put it on the Up high. Giving a warning look to Renee she lowered her to the ground.

  “Speak.”

  “Thank you Dear. So where do I start? Do you want to know about the spirits and go from there? Or do I skip to the relevant parts?”

  The rest of the day and night would be spent in an ad-hoc integration. They needed to know what she knew and then some if they were to protect Nate.