CHAPTER 9
"Gold dang fools is what you are," Nessy grumbled
under her breath as she double and triple checked both the capture gun and
banishing devices. She hated when even Wallace or Joshua fiddled with her
contraptions, so she was absolutely seething as Rachel Ferguson not only seized
both without permission, but used them, too. Wallace was actually impressed at
her self-control of not punching Rachel square in the nose. He wouldn't have
blamed her one bit if she had. He would have stopped her, of course, but he
wouldn't have blamed her.
While Bart, Rachel, and Abel hovered over the fallen Molly,
Joshua pulled Wallace aside. "What do we do? It's free to attack them at
any time now, and we can't properly fight it without endangering poor Molly
even further."
Wallace frowned and let out a sigh. "I have an idea,
but no one is going to like it. I don't even like it."
Joshua matched his frown. "I have a feeling I know what
you're going to say, and if I'm right, you're absolutely correct about the
popularity of it."
Before Wallace could reply, Rachel Ferguson looked up from
her daughter and towards the Spirit Wranglers. "I hope you lot have a plan
to fix this mess you caused."
"We caused?" Nessy snapped. She whipped one of her
work gloves off and hurled it to the floor. "If you'd have listened to us
in the first place and not gone off half-cocked, your daughter wouldn't be
lying there hovering near death."
"How dare you," Rachel growled, her face bright
red.
Before she or Nessy could descend on each other, Wallace
leapt forward to corral Nessy, while Abel moved to stop his mother. Both fell
back, but the nasty expressions on their faces remained. Wallace sighed.
Everyone needed to be on the same page to defeat the demon, and this wasn't a
good start.
Bart Ferguson stepped forward, holding the amulet out as if
it were the ultimate prize. "Hart tried to take this. That was
unacceptable."
"You don't even know what it does," Joshua said.
"That doesn't matter," Bart sputtered. "You
all felt how powerful it is."
"So much so that it's worth risking the life of your
family?" Wallace said. He motioned to Molly's supine form. "Your
daughter's soul?"
Bart opened his mouth, but just as quick closed it. Wallace
was heartened to see the elder Ferguson suitably chastised. Maybe they could
all get together on this yet. Of course, Rachel still had the misplaced anger
burning inside of her.
"You know how to banish the thing, so get to it, or
we'll withhold the rest of your pay. If we don't do so anyway."
"Mother," Abel said, exasperation in his voice. He
shook his head and headed over to his sister. Wallace likewise let go of Nessy,
but not before angling her back towards her equipment.
"Here's the situation," Wallace said, doing all he
could to keep emotion out of his voice. "If we battle this demon, there's
a better than average chance it will not only kill everyone in this house, us
included, but also everyone in town. Plus, who knows how far it will get into
Zephyria before someone is able to stop it? If we do nothing, though, it'll
take your four souls and be done with our world. No harm will befall anyone
else."
Bart and Rachel blanched.
"You wouldn't dare," Rachel said.
Behind him, Nessy chimed in with, "Pack up, boss?"
She didn't wait for any sort of answer, as she began putting her contraptions
away. Joshua moved to help her.
Wallace looked over at Abel, who knelt next to Molly,
cradling her head in his hands. He stared back at Wallace and nodded. "We
did this to ourselves. Go. Don't let Prosperity and Zephyria suffer from our
mistakes." He then dropped his gaze and focused all of his attention back
on his sister.
"Stop," Wallace said to his team. "We have a
demon to banish."
"Whatever you say," Nessy said. The anger had bled
off her, but a firm determination remained on her face, even if she was trying
to hide it with a look of aloofness. The Fergusons probably couldn't see
through her ruse, but he knew his sister too well. Joshua, on the other hand,
wore a slight smile, as if he thought Wallace had planned this scene all along.
The tension from Rachel and Bart Ferguson also lessened.
Wallace grabbed his team and huddled them in the corner so
they wouldn't be overheard. "Ness, we're going to need that contraption of
yours that can stop and restart a human heart."
"I knew it," Joshua said, while Nessy leveled him
a look that said she was waiting for him to say he was kidding. He wasn't.
"The only way to untether Molly Ferguson's soul from
the demon is to kill her."
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