Chapter 8 of The Power of Steam Compels You

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CHAPTER 8

At the mention of them giving the amulet back to Hart, Wallace felt the spirit flitter into the room and appear at the far side. Nessy must have recognized Wallace's stare, because she flicked on the power switch of her contraption that let them see the spirit. The Fergusons didn't realize the spirit was with them for a moment, but they each gasped when they followed the intent looks of the Wranglers.

"Nessy, we need the communication device on, too," Wallace said.

He didn't look at her, but still heard the eye-roll in her voice. "Gee whiz, give me a half-second, will you? These things haven't been primed yet."

While they waited to talk to Ronald Hart's ghost -- it was already chattering away, but none of them could hear so much as a whispered breath -- Bart reached into his inside jacket pocket. It did look like a pocket watch, but supposedly there were no watch mechanisms inside. While the casing was a shiny brass and there were a few sparkling gems decorating it, that wasn't what held Wallace's attention.

The thing shimmered, which had nothing to do with its physical appearance. As the Fergusons had so cryptically mentioned, the artifact was magic. Wallace didn't need any of his supernatural talents to realize that. He wished more than anything at that moment that he could grab it from Bart Ferguson and posses it forever. True, he had no clue what sort of magic the thing carried, but if it were his, he'd have plenty of time to figure it out.

Snap out of it, Wally. He shook his head and noticed everyone else in the room, including Hart's spirit, transfixed on the artifact. It then started to draw him back in, but at that moment, Nessy's communication device screamed to life.

"Well that was weird," Nessy said, her voice breathless. Everyone else in the room gasped for air of their own.

"It's never been that powerful," Bart said.

"Because it knows it's mine," Hart said. "Be a good man, Bart, and lay it down, and then take a step back. Once I have it, I'll banish the demon."

Wallace didn't miss the look that passed between Bart and Rachel, but at that moment, he guessed she was simply giving him the encouragement he needed to set the amulet down. He did, and Hart glided forward. Before the spirit got close enough to touch it, Rachel dived towards the ghost hunting equipment, and grabbed the capturing gun. With the dexterity of one who was used to holding firearms, she leveled the gun at Hart and pulled the trigger.

All three Wranglers shouted at her to stop, but before any of them could reach her, Bart dove forward, knocking Joshua sideways, blocking him into Wallace and Nessy. In the same motion, Bart grabbed the banishing device and slid it to Rachel. At least now Wallace knew how Rachel had talked Bart into relinquishing control of the amulet, and why she'd taken such a shine in Nessy's contraptions last night.

Before Wallace could fully wrap his head around the situation and shout a warning (he knew what was coming), the demon exploded into the room. Though it flew far too fast for anyone to see, they all knew it was there. The Wranglers left Rachel alone and scrambled to grab their demon-fighting tools. Bart leapt out of their way, while Abel and Molly, who had been so quiet and still that Wallace almost forgot they were there, let out strained gasps. Hart cackled through the communication device, though he was frozen in place due to being shot with the capture gun.

Nessy grabbed a device that they hoped would distract the demon, while Wallace got his hands on the bag of sulfurous salt, and Joshua went for the holy water, already loaded into a water-blasting hand cannon. As they did that, two things happened simultaneously, both of which Wallace wished he could have stopped. First, Rachel swapped the capture gun for the banishing device and obliterated Hart's spirit. Second, the demon ceased its devilish spin around the room and shot through Molly's chest, knocking her off her feet and hard onto her back. Bart rushed forward too late to save his daughter, but he did manage to pull his son out of the way as the demon doubled back.

Rachel aimed the banishing device at the demon, but Wallace couldn't let her hit it.

"No! You'll kill your daughter!"

Joshua was both close enough and nimble enough to leap at Rachel and disrupt her aim as she pushed the trigger button. The banishing beam went well wide of the demon, but it did connect with one of the family's steam-powered lamps, exploding it in a flash of sparks and smoke, but, thankfully, not igniting anything in the room.

When the air cleared, the demon had vacated the vicinity for now, and Wallace could sense they were safe for the moment. Everyone rushed over to Molly's prone body, Abel reaching her first.

"She's breathing," he said, "but it's very shallow."

Wallace shared a look with Joshua, who also at once understood their predicament. Banishing the demon would prove difficult, but exponentially harder would be banishing it in a way where they could also save not only Molly Ferguson's life, but her soul, as well.

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