Madelyn immediately stood up from the computer she was working at as they walked into the living room a moment later. Before she could ask, Amelia laid out the whole story as they’d told her. Gabriella went straight over to the couch and sat down, grateful to be out of the cemetery and sitting somewhere comfortable and warm .

“We didn’t even go in that far,” she said, glancing over at James, who was sitting with his head tilted back against the couch. “It played us. We went in to hang the construction sign and it just toyed with us until it felt like striking. Then it hit James.”

“Who hit James?”

Bradley was coming up the stairs from the gym as he spoke, a white towel slung over his shoulder. He walked over to where the others were gathered.

“Mischief,” Amelia said. “They went to hang the sign to divert people, and it got them.”

Bradley wiped his face with the towel, then frowned as he looked from Gabriella to James. The handprint was still as bright as ever and James flinched slightly as Bradley reached out to trace it, his frown deepening as he studied the mark.

“How long has it been?” he asked. “And why didn’t you have anyone on comms with you?”

“Thirty minutes,” James replied. “And we were just going to hang the sign, it wasn’t a case.”

“You should get it looked at,” Amelia said.

James shook his head. “I’m fine. Gabs, you should get checked though.”

“You got punched in the stomach too,” Gabriella said.

James turned to glare at her as Amelia took out her phone. “You are definitely seeing a doctor,” she said.

“Excuse me, I didn’t die,” James retorted. “You’re not in charge.”

“Deal with it.”

“This wasn’t Foundation business. I don’t want to get Father McEnerney in trouble.”

“Then we’ll make something up,” Amelia said, putting her phone to her ear. “Listen, you’ve got a handprint burned onto your face. That’s not something we can go to a normal doctor for. And we can’t just ignore it, sorry.”

He went to say something else, but Amelia held up a finger as someone answered on the other end. “Hi,” she said, turning away from them. “I’m looking for Dr. Jolene Oliver? Is she available? Yeah, I’ll hold.”

---

Gabriella had expected a potential telehealth visit, or maybe to be told to see their own doctors when they got a chance. What she wasn’t expecting was for the doorbell to ring about forty-five minutes later.

Amelia answered it and after a moment of quiet conversation, she was walking up the stairs with the doctor. Dr. Oliver was young, probably close to James’s age, and pretty. Her red hair was pulled up into a similar bun to what Gabriella’s had been in when the mischief yanked it out. She smiled calmly as she walked in, white coat on over casual clothes and an actual black doctor’s bag in her hand.

“So who wants to tell me what happened?” she asked in a smooth voice.

Amelia and James exchanged a look. “Um, he got slapped in a haunted house,” Amelia said.

Dr. Oliver nodded and pulled a chair over to sit in front of James, whose face was still marked with no sign of it fading. Gabriella tried to look away and give them a little space as Dr. Oliver inspected the handprint.

“It doesn’t look like a burn,” she said. “Does it hurt?”

“Not anymore,” James replied as she turned his head to get a better look at it. “It felt like someone slapped me, but it didn’t linger.”

“It punched him in the stomach too,” Gabriella added.

James gave her another dirty look as Dr. Oliver looked at him. “Let’s go somewhere a little more private so I can check you for any abdominal injuries,” she said.

James reluctantly got up and followed Dr. Oliver as Amelia motioned them toward the bedrooms. As they passed Bradley, who was sitting away from the others, Dr. Oliver pointed at him. “You didn’t follow up with me,” she said.

Bradley scowled, but Dr. Oliver just shook her head and walked away with James. Gabriella stayed where she was. The place where the spirit had torn out her hair was throbbing now. She knew it wasn’t as big of a spot as she thought, but it was big enough. And now she was bald and bleeding, right before the one night she was supposed to look pretty.

James and Dr. Oliver came back a few minutes later. “I’m fine,” James told them. “She says I’m fine.”

“I say you are probably fine,” Dr. Oliver corrected. “I’m confused as to what’s going on with that mark on your face, but I don’t think you have any other serious injuries. Has it been like this the whole time?”

“Yeah,” Gabriella said. “Since we got back from the cemetery.”

She realized her mistake as the words left her mouth. Amelia glared at her while James turned red, the handprint standing out even clearer on his face as Dr. Oliver turned to him.

“A haunted house and a cemetery at the same time, huh? Busy day.”

She studied him for a second and Gabriella wanted to climb into a hole. Amelia was still glaring at her, eyes fierce as she shook her head. But then Dr. Oliver’s face softened.

“You aren’t subtle,” she said. “And neither is Father McEnerney.”

Gabriella’s heart caught in her throat as the others exchanged surprised glances. Dr. Oliver shook her head and took off her reading glasses.

“I know what he’s doing,” she said. “He asked me to make sure the kid was okay after his encounter. And I know why you lied, I get it, but if you’d been honest about the mischief spirit from the get-go, we could have all saved ourselves some time.”

“What do you mean?” James asked.

“I mean that mark on your face isn’t a burn, but the entity was present and able to interact with you physically. So it got to have its fun and you’re dealing with the result. It’ll probably stay visible to at least some level for a while. And if you start throwing up blood or rosebuds, for God’s sake, call me and be honest about everything.”

James looked like he might be ill. “Will that happen?”

“Probably not, but take it easy, just in case. Was anyone else injured?”

James gestured toward Gabriella, who was still sitting on the seat, hoping that nobody would ever notice her again for the rest of her life. “It tore out a chunk of her hair.”

Dr. Oliver was suddenly standing over her, intimidating in a way Gabriella wouldn’t have thought possible. “Let me see,” she said.

Gabriella ducked her head, exposing the spot where the hair had been ripped out. Dr. Oliver inspected it carefully, her fingers cold on Gabriella’s scalp. “What happened?” she asked.

“It grabbed my hair as we were trying to get out,” she mumbled.

“She was pulling me away from it after it knocked the wind out of me,” James said.

“That was good of you,” Dr. Oliver said quietly. “You’re fine. Just use your hair to cover the spot while it grows back if you’re worried about it. Here.”

She took a hair tie out of her white coat and put it over her wrist. Then she ran her hands through Gabriella’s hair, gathering it all into a tangled mess and smoothing it out as she went. Gabriella held her breath as Dr. Oliver pulled her hair into a bun, carefully arranging it.

“There,” she said with a smile. “Completely hidden.”

Maybe it was exhaustion, but there were tears pricking her eyes again. “Thank you,” she whispered.

Dr. Oliver nodded and stood up. “You’re fine,” she said. “Both of you. But if it’s hurting people now, it might be time to get the Foundation officially involved.”

James nodded reluctantly as he sat back down on the couch. Dr. Oliver smiled at both of them, then picked up her bag.

“Alright,” she said. “I’m going to go. Talk to McEnerney, you need to figure out a plan. Call me if it gets worse or if there’s rosebuds, I mean it.”

She paused before turning to Bradley, who was still trying to blend in with the wall. “Are you good?” she asked him.

“Yeah.”

“No lingering issues from the tranquilizer dart? How long did the effects last?”

Gabriella glanced at James, who looked like he was trying to keep a straight face despite his own misery.

“Not long.”

“Good,” Dr. Oliver said, tone professional despite Bradley’s obvious reluctance to engage. “You look like you’re doing better.”

Now Bradley was the one who was turning red. “I’m fine,” he said.

“I’m glad. Call me if any of you need anything.”

Then Dr. Oliver headed out the door. They were all quiet as she walked out.

“I like her,” Amelia said.

“Of course you do,” Bradley muttered.

He glared at Gabriella. “You couldn’t keep your mouth shut for five fucking seconds?” he snapped.

All the lightness she’d felt over the past few minutes evaporated. “I’m sorry,” she said, unable to think of anything else to say.

“It worked out fine,” Amelia said. “We got lucky. But seriously, think before you talk, okay?”

Gabriella nodded, then stood up, trying to keep her knees from shaking. “Yeah,” she said. “Yeah, I’m sorry.”

James looked like he was about to say something, but she walked out of the room, trying her best not to hurry as she went down the stairs toward the gym.

---

CONTINUE TO CHAPTER 15