Ace
The last remnants of smoke from the burned talisman faded, and the room finally felt... normal. Or at least, as normal as a haunted Gothic mansion could be. Phoenix was still catching his breath, leaning against the wall with shaky hands. I gave him a once-over to make sure he wasn't about to pass out.
"Alright, Nixy," I said, handing him my
notebook. "Take notes on what we did here."
He gave me a tired look, but took the notebook anyway, pulling out a pen from his jacket pocket. "You mean you did it," he muttered under his breath. I shot him a warning glare, and he straightened up a little, trying to look more attentive.
"You know the drill," I said firmly.
"Identification first. What did you see?"
He hesitated, tapping the pen against the paper. "A... woman. Mid-thirties, I think? She looked... angry. Desperate. Her aura was dark gray with these weird flashes of red. I couldn't tell why she was stuck here, though."
"Good. And the possession attempt?"
Phoenix frowned, chewing on the inside of his cheek. "It felt... cold. Like she was trying to crawl inside me. I couldn't move. Everything hurt. It was like she was pulling my soul out through my chest."
"Textbook possession attempt," I confirmed. "And how did we counter it?"
He glanced at the talisman scraps on the floor and scribbled down a few words. "You put a talisman on my chest and recited a chant. The talisman got warm and burned out the spirit's influence."
I nodded. "Good enough. Next time, don't freeze up. You've got your own talismans for a reason. Use them before things get that bad."
Phoenix gave a reluctant nod, his lips pressed into a thin line. I ruffled his hair roughly, ignoring his half-hearted protests.
"Come on. Let's go get our paycheck."
We found Mr. David waiting just outside the living room, nervously wringing his hands. He looked relieved when we stepped out, probably because the house didn't feel like a freezer anymore.
"It's done," I said, slipping my hands into my pockets. "The spirit's cleared out. You shouldn't have any more problems."
Mr. David almost collapsed with relief.
"Thank you — thank you both so much. I don't know how to repay you—"
"The agreed 200 bucks will do," I cut in, keeping it professional. He fumbled with his wallet, finally pulling out the cash and handing it over. I did a quick count — all there. I nodded and gave him a brief nod before heading out, Phoenix trailing behind me.
We walked down the cobblestone path, the late afternoon sun cutting through the trees. Phoenix kept glancing back at the house, like he was expecting the ghost to come running after us.
"So," I said, breaking the silence, "you freaked out back there."
He shot me a glare. "No kidding. That was my first possession attempt, Ace. Kind of hard to keep my cool when I'm turning into a popsicle."
I couldn't help but snort. "Welcome to the job. Spirits don't care if it's your first time or your hundredth. You freeze up, you're done. Gotta be quicker next time."
Phoenix huffed and stuffed his hands into his pockets, looking frustrated. "It's easy for you to say. You didn't almost get turned into a meat puppet."
"Actually, I did," I corrected. "My first run was worse than yours. The spirit didn't just try to possess me — it broke half the stuff in the room before I could even figure out what was going on."
He glanced at me, a little surprised. "You never told me that."
I shrugged. "Didn't think you needed to know. Point is, you learn from it. Next time, you'll react faster. You just gotta toughen up, Nixy."
He looked thoughtful for a moment, then glanced down at his hand, like he was still feeling the cold from earlier. "Yeah... I guess I just wasn't prepared. I thought I was, but... I don't know."
I gave his shoulder a light shove, almost sending him off balance. "You'll get there. You're not as useless as you think."
He glared at me, but there was a hint of a smile tugging at his lips. "Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence."
We reached the bike, and I tossed him the helmet. "You earned yourself lunch," I said with a smirk. "And maybe a hot chocolate so you stop shaking like a leaf."
Phoenix scoffed, but he didn't refuse. He climbed onto the bike behind me, his grip around my waist just a little tighter than usual. I didn't comment, just revved the engine and took off down the road, leaving that creepy house and its restless spirit far behind.
By the time we pulled up to the parking lot of our building, the sun was already dipping behind the skyline. I killed the engine and waited for Phoenix to hop off before swinging my leg over the bike and stretching out my shoulders. Felt like we'd been on the move for hours — probably because we had.
We both stared up at the building, our heads tipping back to see the top. The thought of climbing 22 floors again made me groan internally. Elevator was still busted — just our luck.
"Ready for round two?" I muttered.
Phoenix shot me a look like I'd just asked him to run a marathon. "Nope. Can we just sleep in the parking lot?"
I snorted. "Yeah, sure. I'm sure Kuro will love that."
Reluctantly, we headed for the stairwell, our steps dragging more than usual. Each flight felt like a small victory — or maybe just one step closer to collapsing. Phoenix was quieter than usual, probably still shaken from the possession attempt. I didn't push him to talk. Sometimes silence was better.
By the time we made it to the 22nd floor, both of us were out of breath. Phoenix leaned against the wall, hands on his knees. "Never... doing that again," he panted.
"Until next time," I shot back with a smirk, fishing out the keys and unlocking the door. I pushed it open and stepped inside, letting the familiar warmth of home settle over me. Kuro was already there to greet us, his yellow eyes narrowed as if to say "You're late."
I toed off my shoes near the entrance, sliding them into their spot on the rack. I kept my socks on and slipped into my home slippers, rolling my shoulders to ease the leftover tension from earlier. Phoenix did the same, mumbling something about his legs feeling like jelly.
Once I was all set, I walked over to Kuro, who had parked himself near the couch, giving me that "pick me up or else" look. I scooped him up and plopped down on the sofa, letting his soft fur brush against my chin as he rubbed his head under my jaw. The little guy purred loudly, like he was trying to drown out the leftover tension in the air.
"Missed us, huh?" I muttered, running a hand down his sleek black fur. He gave a soft meow, then nuzzled closer. Felt good to just sit there, no creepy houses or pissed-off spirits to deal with. Just me, the cat, and some well-deserved peace and quiet.
Phoenix dragged himself to the bathroom to freshen up, and I just leaned back, stroking Kuro's head as the purring gradually lulled me into a sense of calm. A long day, yeah — but we made it through. I glanced toward the bathroom door, listening to the sound of running water and knowing that, despite how freaked out he'd been, Phoenix had held his own back there.
"You did good, Nix," I mumbled, even if he wasn't around to hear it. Kuro just gave me a contented hum, and I couldn't help but smile a little, letting the exhaustion settle into my bones as I stayed on the couch, holding onto that small, quiet moment.