The moment Mark Halloway's body went limp, the atmosphere in the Rusty Anchor Bar snapped back to normal. The residual warmth was gone, replaced by the mundane chill of a rainy Maine evening.
Chief Brenda Hollis, however, was not mundane. She stood up, her eyes narrowed, fixed on Elias.
"Seizure, heart attack, or stress," the Chief mumbled, reviewing the unconscious man on the floor. "But I saw you, Vance. You threw dirt at him. You were talking about bindings."
Elias quickly tucked the Ledger away. "I threw dirt? Chief, I thought he was choking. The man's anxiety was through the roof—he just had a medical event, probably stress related to his recent loss. I panicked."
"You came into a bar, talking about 'bindings,' and then a recently buried man has a sudden collapse right after you touch some kind of silver watch," Hollis said, her voice dropping. "Oakhaven has always had its stories. I tolerated your grandfather's eccentricities because he kept the property quiet. I won't tolerate yours."
Elias knew he couldn't tell her the truth—that the man on the floor was an empty suit possessed by a vengeful spirit.
"Chief," Elias sighed, adopting a tired, apologetic tone. "I inherited a failing, deeply superstitious business. I'm overwhelmed. I promise, I'm not running a cult. I'm just trying to figure out which end of the shovel to hold."
Hollis didn't look convinced, but the medical reality of the situation took precedence. Two paramedics rushed in and began stabilizing Halloway, who was now breathing steadily, though unnaturally pale.
"He goes to the County Hospital," Hollis decreed, pointing a finger at Elias. "If he wakes up and claims he was possessed by a demon, you and I are going to have a very long talk, Mr. Vance."
The Gatekeeper's Dirty Work
Elias watched the ambulance lights flash through the fog, feeling a cold dread replace his adrenaline high. The Echo was contained, but the problem was only temporarily solved. The body—the Anchor—was now off the grounds.
He immediately radioed Silus, using the ancient, dedicated communication system his grandfather had installed in the office.
"Report. Halloway's Echo is contained, but the body is en route to the County Hospital. I need a retrieval plan. This can't leave Oakhaven."
Silus's voice crackled through the antique receiver, devoid of surprise. "The body must be returned to consecrated ground before the Echo stabilizes itself in a hospital environment. The Gatekeeper's duty is quiet. No witnesses, no chaos."
"You mean, break into a high-security hospital and steal a corpse?"
"No," Silus corrected. "We retrieve the Anchor, not the corpse. The physical body doesn't matter, but the residual energy binding the Echo to Halloway's clothes, blood, and vital organs does. We need the physical shell back in Plot 714 for a Permanent Sealing Rite."
Elias felt the weight of the task settle on him. This was beyond his historical expertise. This was espionage mixed with necromancy.
He met Silus back at the cemetery gates. Silus had traded his shovel for an antique backpack and two dark, heavy cloaks.
"We go now," Silus stated, handing Elias a thick roll of bandages. "We must enter the hospital, locate the body, and perform the Rite of Temporary Obfuscation before we transport it."
"Obfuscation? You mean a simple glamour spell?"
"No," Silus said, his face grim in the moonlight. "Obfuscation is the Rite of Misdirection. It doesn't make us invisible; it makes us forgettable. It makes the human brain refuse to process us as a threat or a memorable event. It's draining, and you must hold the center of the Rite."
The Ledger's Demand
Before they left, Elias opened the Ledger in the Study. He needed to understand the cost.
He turned to the general principles section. The pages documenting the use of the Rite of Immediate Disassociation (the Veil-blast he had used on Halloway) were glowing faintly green.
And beneath the entry, a new line had appeared, written in a strange, smoky ink that hadn't been there before:
> Cost of Disassociation: One week of uncharged spiritual depletion. Side Effect: The Watchman will temporarily perceive the Veil as 25% thinner than reality, making illusions nearly indistinguishable from threats.
>
"Great," Elias sighed, running a hand over his tired face. "I just made myself temporarily insane."
He looked at Silus, who was patiently waiting. "You knew the cost."
"Arthur paid it many times," Silus acknowledged. "The Watch makes you powerful, but it's a leash. Now focus. We must be invisible."
The Rite of Temporary Obfuscation
The County Hospital was a stark, modern building, completely opposite the ancient decay of Whispering Pines. The contrast made Elias feel immediately vulnerable.
They entered through the rear ambulance bay, using the dark cloaks to blend into the shadows. Silus, despite his age, moved with the quiet grace of a predator.
Silus led Elias into a secluded janitorial closet. He produced two small vials: one filled with ground Rowan Berries (for protection) and one with Grave Mist (the solidified fog from the cemetery, used for blending).
"This is the Rite of Obfuscation," Silus whispered. "You are the focus. You will pour the Grave Mist onto the Rowan Berries in your hand. The resulting cloud must feel to you like wearing a second skin. Do not let the skin break. If it breaks, everyone sees us."
Elias poured the thick, shimmering mist onto the berries. A faint, sweet smoke hissed up, smelling like damp soil and old tea. He rubbed the mixture onto his hands and face. Instantly, the high-pitched whine of the Watch dropped lower, as if the Veil itself were helping to quiet his presence.
"Now, we walk," Silus ordered.
They moved quickly through the hospital corridors. Doctors and nurses passed them, their eyes sliding right over Elias and Silus. The Rite was working perfectly. Elias felt an odd, dizzying sense of weightlessness, as if he existed slightly outside the normal frequency of human attention.
They located the room: Isolation Ward, Room 309. Mark Halloway was strapped into a bed, still unconscious.
The Retrieval and The Witness
"Elias, quickly," Silus urged, already pulling a heavy, canvas body bag from his backpack. "We have five minutes before the Obfuscation fails due to the sheer concentration of life energy here."
They worked swiftly, carefully transferring the limp body into the canvas bag.
Just as they were zipping it up, Elias's Watch began to scream. It wasn't the ambient whine of the Veil; it was a sudden, localized SHATTER right behind the door.
Elias froze. "Silus, someone is here."
Silus tensed, pulling his sharp-edged shovel—carried concealed inside the backpack—out. "The Obfuscation should hold!"
"No," Elias hissed, gripping the Ledger. "The Watch says the Veil is 25% thinner. I'm seeing illusions—but someone just saw us."
The door creaked open, revealing a slender woman in a lab coat. She had sharp, intelligent eyes, slightly disheveled dark hair, and she was carrying a bulky, antique camera, not medical charts.
She looked directly at Elias. Her expression wasn't fear or confusion—it was recognition.
"You shouldn't be using the Obfuscation in this concentration of life force, Gatekeeper," the woman said, her voice low and academic. "It causes permanent neural damage. And you just broke protocol. The Halloway Anchor was meant to be studied."
She took a decisive step forward, blocking their exit.
"My name is Dr. Vivian Reyes," she announced, her eyes flashing with a strange, calculating intensity. "And I was your grandfather's researcher. We need to talk about the Ledger, and the organization that just sent you to retrieve this body."
Elias was trapped. He was holding a corpse in a stolen body bag, his head reeling from the Obfuscation Rite, and he was cornered by a beautiful, calculating woman who knew far too much about his new, terrible job.