Affairs of the Dead by A.J. Locke Page A

corpse, but it’s not quite adding up to your situation. You were supposedly kicked out of your body, and an existing ghost jumped in. That’s unheard of in the realm of reanimation, so I don’t know what the hell to make of it.”
    “You said supposedly,” Ethan said. “Do you really not believe me?”
    “Maybe I just have to see it to believe it,” I said. “I mean, this sounds ridiculously insane.”
    “If you could track down my body, then you’d be able to see for yourself that I’m telling the truth,” Ethan said. “Could you please try? I’m telling you that my body is still alive, walking around out there, and I have to be put back into my body.”
    I regarded Ethan for a while, not really knowing what to think. Here I was, my first night back on track and retrieve in several years, and I ended up with a ghost who claimed his body was still alive and wanted my help in getting him back into it. Yeah, this should be a piece of cake. I sighed and stood up, releasing my hold on Ethan and indicating for him to stand up as well.
    “Since I have my own questions about what’s going on with you, I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt for now,” I said, which made him look relieved. “I may be able to track down your body, but I’ll need something that belonged to you, a personal item from your house.”
    “I’d get it for you, but I kind of can’t touch anything.” He sounded sad.
    I thought for a moment. Sure, I could let him lead me to his house so I could break in and grab a pair of his undies or something, but my shift didn’t end until midnight. Then I had to report back to the office with the ghosts I’d rounded up. Plus, I also had to prepare for tomorrow’s reanimation inspection. Therefore, I was going to let Ethan help himself here.
    I fished into my bag and pulled out my energy runes. I hadn’t handed them in even though I’d been taken off client work. I pulled two of them out and placed them around Ethan’s neck, then picked up a piece of debris from the ground.
    “Take it from me,” I said. Ethan reached out and tentatively slid his fingers around the object, then gasped at the fact that he was able to do it. “The rune stones are channeling energy into you to make you tangible. So you’re able to touch things, and you’re also able to be seen by people, so keep that in mind. No peeping Tom behavior when you have those stones on. Go to your house and bring me back something personal. The best bet would be a piece of dirty laundry. Then come to my house.” I recited my address and made sure he remembered it.
    “Okay, I can do this. I can definitely do this,” he said. “Thank you…”
    “Selene,” I said.
    “Thank you, Selene.”
    “Don’t thank me yet,” I said, turning around and walking toward the door. “If I can find your body, then I’ll expect all the thanks in the world.”
    “Right,” Ethan said.
    We were back outside, standing on the sidewalk.
    “Be careful and try to blend in,” I said. “Don’t talk to people if you don’t have to, and definitely don’t tell anyone what you just told me, even if it’s another necromancer. Got it?”
    “Got it,” Ethan said resolutely.
    We parted ways, and I watched him weave through people with some trepidation. He’d probably gotten a little used to walking through things. Even though Ethan had left, the tracking rune was still glowing, so that meant there were more ghosts in the area. I headed off in the direction the stone was leading me, hoping I wouldn’t encounter another wacko story like Ethan’s from any more ghosts tonight.
     
    * * *
     
     
    When I got home, Luna immediately let me know how enraged she was that she had not yet been fed or taken out for the night. If she was a bigger dog, she probably would have mauled me. As it was, she yapped and nipped at my feet until I filled up her food bowl. Then she was quiet for a full ten minutes before she started pawing and barking at the front door,