Title: Guardians
Name: Misha
E-mail:
Rating: PG-13
Category: AtS S.3, through Provider
Content: A/C romance, adventure/action. Whatever you want to call ghost hunting. :)
Summary: Kids camp, bunk beds, charmed/possessed camp items.
Spoilers: AtS S.3 Provider
Disclaimer: Not mine. Don't claim them.
Distribution: Just let me know when and where.
Notes: This is my first attempt at a story that didn't just mainly center around building up Angel and Cordelia's relationship, as well as my first "ghost" story. Be gentle…? :)
Thanks/Dedication: Damnskippy for the "Kids camp, bunk beds, charmed/possessed camp items" challenge. Hope I did it some justice.
Prelude
The evening at Moreno Lake was a warm one, lacking the typical breeze that cooled the area. Katie and Marissa were walking along the lake, looking out at the calm water as they spoke.
"This is beautiful!" Katie said as they walked out onto the pier, taking a seat at the edge. "I'm so happy a spot opened up."
"It is so pretty here, especially at sunset. I'm glad you're so enthusiastic. When Amanda left, you were the first person on the waiting list."
"Yeah, I was surprised to get a call. I heard the camp counseling positions were all full, and I know a spot rarely opens up. Why'd she leave?" Katie tried to sound nonchalant, her bare feet dangling off the pier and into the lake, her sandals beside her. Marissa looked at Katie for a second, seemingly debating whether or not to be honest. Marissa sighed and looked down at her own feet in the lake water.
"There are a lot of rumors going around about it. Some say she found something better. Others say she went crazy. Some say she was just too scared to stay."
"Scared? Of what?"
"Well, that's probably the only part that's stayed consistent. She kept talking about ghosts."
"Ghosts?" Katie's tone was skeptical. "Seriously?"
"Yeah," Marissa said, but Katie noted her tone didn't hold the same incredulous tone.
"You don't believe that, do you?"
"I-I don't know. I didn't at first…none of us did. We just thought she was a little off. She was into all that paranormal stuff. I think we all had weird experiences, but just brushed it off."
"Like what?"
"Nothing major. Cold chills, lights flickering on and off, same with the showers. We just figured it was shotty electricity and plumbing. But now, with Amanda…I don't know…"
"What happened with her?"
"None of us know. She talked to Mr. Reynolds; told him what happened, and then she quit. He wouldn't tell us what she said. He probably doesn't want to cause a panic."
"She was probably just imagining it. Just seeing something that wasn't there since she was so interested in paranormal activity anyway. Like you said, the electricity and plumbing…"
"I know. I think that's what we all keep saying. We're trying to rationalize it, but you can only call something a coincidence so many times before you really start to wonder."
It was 2:00AM when the steady pounding of a drum awoke the camp. The camp counselors all exited their cabins, all gathering together and staring out into the dark woods. Outside of shadows from the trees, nothing could be made out. Several lanterns burned amongst them as they made their way closer to the dark cluster of trees.
As the group approached, the sound of the drum seemed to grow louder. With a single gust of wind on an overall still evening, the lanterns all blew out. A few gasps and screams sounded amongst the group. As soon as the lights were extinguished, a glow became faintly visible from the center of the woods, and the soft sound of singing in a language none of them understood was heard.
The group inched closer to the trees, then stopped as footsteps sounded around them. They huddled in tighter together as the sound of circling steps seemed to grow nearer. It stopped suddenly and they each turned in the direction they last heard it.
A semi-transparent apparition appeared before them, said something in that same strange language they had heard before, and then vanished. The group gasped upon first visage, too started to do much else as the ghost disappeared. A second later, the woods and camp echoed with the sound of screaming.
Chapter 1
Angel watched Cordelia from across the room. She was walking around the lobby, rocking Connor gently in her arms. He was so entranced by the sight of her holding his son that he didn't realize the microwave has stopped until he heard the fifth ding. He finished making Connor's bottle, then joined him and his seer.
"Look Connor," Cordelia cooed as she laid him down. "Daddy finished your bottle." Angel smiled down at his son as he pressed the bottle to Connor's lips.
"Here you go, Little Guy." Cordelia smiled at Angel's high pitched tone. Cordelia leaned into him, her shoulder touching his as her hand covered his on Connor's bottle. He turned to face her, knowing they needed to talk about the previous night.
Cordelia had slept over, in his bed with him and his son. Angel had never felt as happy as he had when he woke up to the two of them this morning.
"Cordy…"
"Yes, Angel?" She looked into his eyes. Cordelia knew he was going to bring up last night, and found herself both nervous and hopeful about what he may say.
"I…um-"
"Excuse me?" They both turned to the main doors and the man who entered through them. He was standing at the bottom of the steps and had a look of desperation on his face as he stared at them.
"How can we help you?" Angel asked gently, stepping away from the crib as Cordelia picked up Connor and walked him up the stairs.
"I'm looking for Angel Investigations."
"This is it."
"And…are you Angel?"
"Yes."
"Thank God. I'm Paul Reynolds. I…I heard you specialize in…strange occurrences?"
"Why don't you have a seat?" Angel directed him to the couch as Cordelia made her way downstairs. He sat across from Paul, and Cordelia sat next to Angel.
"Tell us what brings you here." Angel said.
"I run a camp in Campo, California. Over the last few weeks, my camp counselors have been coming to me, talking about strange occurrences."
"Strange how?"
"Lights on and off, really thick fog randomly rolling in, cold chills on hot days, water on and off, noises in the woods. Nothing I really thought too much about initially. Then, one of the counselors quit, too terrified to stay another night."
"Well, a camp. Electricity and plumbing can be inconsistent; and the noises in the woods…all the animals…" Cordelia said.
"That's what I thought. But last night, they heard drumming, so the entire staff came out of their cabins. Their lanterns were extinguished, another light started to glow from the woods, they heard footsteps circling around them, and then the steps stopped. They all turned and, according to all twenty of them, saw a ghost. Next moment, I hear them all screaming and running to tell me." Angel and Cordelia exchanged a meaningful look.
"Can you give us any information on the area? Any previous history of hauntings? Anything you can think of that's been done differently or has happened that might have triggered this?"
"No history. The camp itself has been around for ages and nothing. But recently, about a month ago, is when they built these cabins. Maybe that triggered it somehow? I don't know…but the camp is scheduled to open in one week and with all this happening, I don't think that will be possible unless something is done. I have the means to pay, if you will just take on the case." Again, Angel and Cordelia exchanged a look. She gave him a nod and a small smile.
"All right Mr. Reynolds, we'd be happy to take on the case."
"Thank God. When will you be able to start?"
"We can drive out this evening." Cordelia said. "We'll need the rest of the day to get everything in order." Mr. Reynolds thanked them and, after giving them directions and more basic information, left the hotel.
"What do you think?" Angel asked Cordelia. She shrugged.
"I don't know. Could be legitimate. Either way, we go, figure something out, ghost or non-ghost, and get a paycheck out of it. Win-win, I would say." He sent her a small smile.
"Okay. To Campo, then?"
"Yup. I'll let the guys all know we're going so they can watch over Connor."
"Any chance I can go alone and you can stay here safely with him?"
"No shot." She beamed at him and disappeared back upstairs to get the baby. Angel smiled.
"Didn't think so."
Chapter 2
The drive to Lake Moreno Campground took about three hours. Though it was dark, the car lights and occasional street lamps shone on chaparral covered hills and huge, old oak trees. They drove up to the main office and met up with Paul Reynolds. He walked them to their cabin.
"It's a private cabin, so it will just be the two of you. It's not as nice as the others, but they're all occupied with the camp counselors. I figured you'd want your privacy. And, it prevents the curtains and door from being opened during the day." He smiled sheepishly at Angel. Angel looked at Cordelia.
"I called him before we left. Figured he needed to know why you wouldn't be working much during the day." Paul unlocked the cabin and let them in. Cordelia's shoulders slumped as she took in the room. Angel smiled as he watched her face fall. The room was small, with four bunk beds inside. There was a small refrigerator, a fire place and a stove. Two of the bottom bunks were set up with sheets and blankets.
"You have your own bathroom," Paul said, pointing to a door off to the left. "And your own stove and fridge. The room's small, but the fireplace will heat the whole area, so you should be comfortable in case it cools off. I'll leave you to get settled in. Have a good night." The cabin door closed behind him.
"Oh, this sucks." Cordelia muttered as she laid her suitcase beside a bed. Angel laughed and she glared. "Shut up, Angel."
"At least we have our own bathroom."
"That's true."
"Get settled in. I'm gonna call the guys, check on Connor."
The sound of a door slamming startled Cordelia awake. She sat up in bed, looking around the dark room. She made out Angel's sleeping form a few feet away in the dark. Her hand found the bedside lamp and she turned the dial. She heard a click, but no light came on. She frowned at the lamp, feeling goose bumps raise on her arms. She pulled her blankets tighter around her as she felt the cold rush over her.
"Angel," she called, seeing her breath in front of her, even in the dark. "Angel! Wake up!" Her voice was a harsh whisper, and he stirred.
"What?"
"Do you feel that?" Angel sat up and turned to her, senses slowly coming back to him.
"Why are you sitting in the dark?"
"The lights won't turn on." He furrowed his brow and got out of the bed. Though it didn't bother him, he felt the cold fall over him. He turned to Cordelia, seeing her shivering.
"I'll light a fire." Moments later a warm, orange glow filled the room, the fire warming the entire cabin.
"The light's plugged in. It was working earlier…" Angel said and Cordelia looked over at him.
"I think that answers the haunting question."
"It could just be bad wiring, Cordy."
"No, Angel. The door slammed and woke me up. Then, within a second, it was freezing in here. You weren't awake. You didn't feel it."
"You okay?" He asked her, concerned by her tone of voice. "You seem edgy."
"Haunted room, Angel! Combined with a freezing log cabin and tiny, tiny bunk beds. Yeah, I'm a bit edgy!"
""But, you [I]live[/I] with a ghost…" he pointed out gently.
"Dennis is harmless. This ghost, or these ghosts…whatever. We know nothing about any of it. It's one thing to deal with evil things, it's another to have them floating around your room while you sleep."
"It'll be all right, Cordy. We'll start working on figuring all of this out tomorrow, okay? Try to get some rest." She sighed, yawning. The fire and his comforting voice warming her, inside and out.
"Okay. I'm going back to sleep. Night, Angel."
"Night, Cordy."
Chapter 3
"Angel, wake up." Angel groaned as Cordelia shook his arm.
"Why? It's still early."
"It's noon."
"Connor didn't let me sleep the other night. Let me get a few more hours. I can't go outside anyway."
"Angel, get up and get in the shower. Then meet me outside." Angel raised an eyebrow and sighed, crawling out of bed. He stretched, trying to roll the kinks out of his shoulders and back, then walked to the shower. When Angel emerged, Cordelia was standing in front of their open cabin door.
"It's overcast. No sun rays shining through. Come on." Angel grabbed his coat just in case, and hesitantly followed Cordelia outside. "Look," she pointed to bare footprints in the dirt around the door.
"They don't lead anywhere," Angel said. "Just vanish."
"Told you. Ghost."
"Let's go check out the Rec. Center. See if maybe we can get some clues and talk to some of the people who said they saw the ghost."
"Okay." They walked along the lake and back up toward the Recreation Center and main office. "Wow, it's so pretty during the day. The lake and all the trees…"
"It's probably even better when the sun's shining." He said, looking out at the water. Cordelia grabbed his hand.
"I don't know…I'm pretty happy with the view as is." She said with a shy smile, cheeks reddening slightly. He laced his fingers with hers, smiling down at her as they walked.
Cordelia sat with a small group of camp counselors. Most of them were in their late teens. They all still seemed very skittish.
"So, it sounded like someone was circling you?" Cordelia asked them.
"Yes." A young man named Jason responded. He opened up quickly, eager to tell the pretty, young stranger asking questions anything she wanted to know. "Then it stopped. We all turned to where we last heard it. Then, right there, was a ghost."
"What did it look like?" Off their questioning looks, she elaborated. "Was it a man? A woman? Old? Young? Did it look like it was from a different century? Anything?"
"It didn't really look like anything. It was mainly translucent. And where it wasn't, it was just blurry."
"And the eyes," another guy chimed in.
"Yeah. Dark eyes just staring out as us. It was freaky."
Angel walked around, glancing from Cordelia, to the people inside, to the walls of the center. He approached one wall, looking over the pictures hanging there.
There were two of them, portraying the area as it was prior to colonization. Below the two portraits was a display case with various Native American artifacts, one of which was a large clay jar.
"Admiring the display?" A young woman asked, approaching Angel. She appeared to be a little older than the others. Angel would guess early twenties. "I'm Marissa."
"Angel." He shook her waiting hand. "What is this?" He asked, addressing the jar.
"Artifacts of the Kumeyaay people. They used to occupy this area."
"No, I know that," he said with a smile, making sure to keep his tone friendly and non-interrigating. "But the jar…I've never seen one like this before."
"I'm not sure, really. It was a recent find. When they were building the cabins, they came across it. Just some pottery, I guess." He nodded, then looked back to Cordelia and the young man attempting to flirt with her. Angel's eyes narrowed.
"Thank you Marissa. If you'll excuse me…" Angel walked over to where Cordelia was sitting. He rested his hands on the seat of her chain, one on either side of her hips, seemingly wrapping himself around her. He pressed his cheek next to hers as he spoke, looking at Jason, who straightened up and sat back. Cordelia shivered, but unconsciously leaned closer to him.
"I'm going to head back to the cabin and call Wes. I want him to check something out."
"Okay. I'll come back too. Thanks so much for your help Jason." Cordelia said, standing. She waved goodbye, then walked outside as Angel held the door for her. The sun had set while they were inside and a cool breeze wafted through the trees. Angel laid his coat over Cordelia's shoulders and she slipped her arms through the sleeves before linking her arm with his.
"I'll light a fire. Feels like it's gonna be a cold night." Angel said as they walked. They looked out at the dark lake, stopping to stare at the endless sky of stars reflected in the water. He held her closer to him, wrapping his arm around her waist.
"Sounds good," she murmured as she leaned into him.
Chapter 4
The fire warmed the cabin, filling the area with a comforting glow. Angel lay in his bed, the lamp beside him on, an open book in his hands. Cordelia dug through her suitcase, pulling out clothing and her toiletries, before retreating to the bathroom. She walked past the bathroom stalls, down a hallway to the right and into the shower room. There were four showers, each in their own private stall. She stripped, leaving her shower sandals on, and stepped inside, closing the door behind her.
Outside, the fog had rolled in heavily. Angel felt the cold and added another log to the fire, intent on keeping their cabin as warm and comfortable as possible. The scent of burning sage filtered through the room. Angel's brow furrowed in confusion and he stared at the fire,trying to find the source of the scent. When he was satisfied it wasn't coming from the fireplace, he returned to bed, unable to shake the sudden knot of tension growing between his should blades.
Cordelia was rinsing the shampoo out of her hair, humming a song happily, all thoughts of ghosts and haunted camps elsewhere. Instead, her mind wandered to standing in front of the lake with Angel, his arm around her as they stared out at the stars in the sky and those reflected in the water.
Cordelia's thoughts were interrupted when the lights flickered and the sound of footsteps echoed in the empty bathroom. She froze as the footsteps approached her shower stall, and then stopped. She felt goose bumps raise on her flesh again, despite the hot water spraying over her.
"Angel?" At her question, the lights all shut off and every shower turned on at the same time. Cordelia jumped, gasping. She grabbed her towel and wrapped it around her body, shutting her shower off. At that moment, all the others went off and the lights returned. Cordelia froze again, hand at her chest, forcing herself to take in calming breaths.
"Calm down, Cordy. It's just the plumbing and electricity." She dried herself and got dressed, pulling on a pair of comfortable flannel pajama pants and a t-shirt. She dried her hair with the towel, then brushed her teeth. She was just about to run a brush through her hair when she thought she saw something flicker behind her in the mirror. She turned around and saw nothing. With a sigh of frustration, she ran an irritated hand through her hair.
"God, Cor. Get a grip." With a roll of her eyes, she turned back to the mirror. Cordelia froze, the brush falling from her hand with a clatter on the cold floor.
An old man with long, black hair, dark skin and deep brown eyes stared back at her through the mirror. Cordelia's mouth opened in horror, but nothing came out. She stood, entranced, as the ghost muttered something she didn't understand, then vanished. Cordelia screamed and ran from the bathroom. Angel tensed at the scream, and didn't even have time to stand up before she ran into the room.
"Cor-" he didn't finish as she leapt into bed with him, throwing the covers over her entire body. "Cordy." He pushed the blanket down, and wrapped his arms around her. She held him back, shaking, face white with fear. "What happened? Are you okay?"
"I saw something. First, the lights and the water, then in the mirror. It was a man. Then he was just gone." Angel frowned, holding her. He laid down on his back and pulled her into his side. She held him tight as he ran his hands over her back, soothing her
"It'll be okay, Cordy. We'll figure this out. I promise." His warm voice and comforting words soothed her. She felt her body calming and, with a few deep breaths, combined with his tender ministrations, fell asleep.
Angel watched her, a combination of both happiness and worry welling up inside him. Worry for his seer and what they may be facing; and happiness because he was falling asleep with the woman he loved in his arms.
Chapter 5
Cordelia woke up first and looked around. Initially, she felt a pang of fear, but the strong arms holding her extinguished that feeling. She was facing him, her head on his chest and her left arm around him. His left arm was holding her, his hand on her hip. She looked up at his sleeping face and smiled.
She ran her hand over his face gently. Angel took in a deep breath, waking up. His eyes opened to Cordelia in his arms, smiling up at him, her scent surrounding him. He was glad his heart didn't beat at that moment, because he was sure his would be pounding.
"Hi." Angel mentally kicked himself for saying something so lame. Her smile only broadened.
"Hi." She said, then bit her lip for a second, her expression turning slightly serious. "Thanks…for last night. For dealing with my little freak out." He held her tighter, bringing her body flush against his.
"Anytime, Cordy. You know that whatever you need…whatever you want, I'm here." She smiled, her hand cupping his cheek.
"I know." His hand slid up her neck and tangled in her hair as he slowly brought her face closer to his. Angel pressed his lips gently to Cordelia's, allowing her time to pull away. When she didn't, his other hand cupped her face.
He deepened the kiss, while still keeping it sweet, his lips showing her all the emotions he hadn't been able to express verbally. She ended the kiss slowly, resting her forehead against his, their eyes locked. Angel smiled up at Cordelia and she returned it.
"I love you." He whispered before he lost his nerve, tucking a strand of her hair behind her hair. She tensed, her face once again serious.
"Really?" Angel couldn't read her tone or her expression. He swallowed the lump in his throat.
"Yes." The smile that lit her face was brilliant. She placed another kiss to his lips.
"I love you too." His smile matched hers. "Took you long enough to speak up." She said, a mischievous glint in her eye.
"It's not like you said anything." Angel said, tone incredulous, yet amused. "You're the one with all those old-worldly views; the courting and all that. Figured you would've said something…if you were interested." Her eyes flickered away from his in that moment of vulnerability. He brought her gaze back to his.
"Of course I was Cordy. I was just scared. It'd be hard enough if you didn't love me back, but possibly losing your friendship too…that terrified me." She smiled sweetly, playing with a strand of his hair. A light laugh escaped her.
"We face demons and vampires every day. But when it comes down to something as important as this…well, aren't we two chickens?" Angel smiled back, returning the laugh.
"Fighting evil…that's the easy part. Love…now that's scary."
"Agreed." He brought her lips back down to his.
Angel and Cordelia walked around their cabin, the day once again cloudy enough to allow Angel to be outside. Cordelia had his trench coat in hand, just in case a ray of light broke through the clouds.
He didn't see fresh footprints from the previous evening, but thought he caught the scent of sage further into the woods. He grabbed Cordelia's hand, and led them down an overgrown path into the trees.
"Where are we going?" Cordelia asked, the sound of crunching leaves and breaking twigs beneath their feet echoing eerily.
"I'm not sure." They continued to walk for several more minutes, the trees becoming denser around them, hiding even more light. The temperature seemed to drop as they moved deeper into the woods, then Angel stopped. He slowly approached a circle of stones and knelt down by it. "It's a fire pit. And it looks like it was used recently."
"Like, last night?"
"I think so." He picked through the ashes, finding a few sage bundles.
"What?" She asked, seeing his puzzled expression.
"Last night, before you saw the spirit in the mirror, I smelled burning sage but couldn't find a source."
"This is a little weird, Angel."
"I know. I want to come back tonight; see if we can figure something out."
"Okay."
Chapter 6
Angel had stayed awake, reading a book in an empty chair by the fireplace. Cordelia had fallen asleep, after making Angel promise to wake her up before he left to investigate anything. His eyes were starting to feel heavy, and he was just contemplating crawling into bed next to Cordelia, when he heard something.
The noise was a soft pounding. As it grew louder, Angel realized it was a drum. He stood and walked to Cordelia, gently shaking her shoulder as the volume and frequency of the drumming grew.
"Cordy, wake up." She opened her eyes and a moment later, as her senses came to, she heard it.
"Is that a drum?"
"I think so. Come on." As she was throwing on her shoes and a sweater, the temperature in the room dropped, despite the fire.
"Angel."
"I know." A breeze blew through the room, extinguishing the fire and carrying with it the scent of sage. Angel grabbed the lanterns Paul had given them.
"Smell that?"
"Sage."
"Come on." She said, and he opened the door for her. The two stepped outside and Cordelia gasped, staring into the thick blanket of fog that concealed everything beyond five feet from them. "It's so think I can feel it." Angel linked his arm with hers and led them along that same path they had taken earlier that day.
The deeper they traveled into the woods, the louder the drumming became. They kept moving closer to the sound. An orange glow and moving shadows become visible and the sound of singing was heard. They moved past the fire pit they had found earlier, approaching a small clearing surrounded tightly by trees. As they looked past the large oak trunks, their lanterns blew out.
Angel and Cordelia looked into the clearing, both a little surprised by what they saw. A large fire burned in the middle of the clearing, smoke from burnt wood and sage filling the air. Around the fire were five semitransparent figures, each hitting a small hand drum and singing.
Angel gave Cordelia's hand a soft tug and she gasped, surprised by the touch. At the noise, the drumming and singing stopped. The figures turned toward them, piercingly dark eyes staring at them. Angel tensed and Cordelia took in a sharp breath. The eldest looking, seemingly the leader, was furthest from them. He spoke to the others.
The fire died and they all disappeared. A moment later, the sound of footsteps approaching them was heard. Angel pulled Cordelia's hand hard, and the two quickly made their way back to their cabin. Once inside, Angel relit the fire, and then took a seat next to Cordelia on his bed.
"They didn't seem threatening." Cordelia said.
"I don't think so either. This was all Native American land before, so it's not surprising to have spirits here."
"Paul said there's no history of a haunting. Maybe they just never came to the cabins before…but why now?"
"There never used to be cabins here. That must have triggered it."
"But how?"
"I'm not sure." Angel was quiet for a moment. "Let's just get some sleep. I'll call Wesley tomorrow; see if he found anything out."
"What did you guys find?" Wesley asked.
"The spirits." Cordelia said from her spot next to Angel.
"Really?"
"Don't sound so excited, Wes. Not much to tell."
"Cordy's right." Angel said.
"I'm on speaker, aren't I?" Wesley asked.
"Yes." The ex-Watcher sighed.
"So…"
"I'm thinking Native American burial ground or something. It looked like some kind of ritual, but I really can't be sure yet. How's the research going?"
"Hit and miss. I'm trying to look further into the pottery jar you described, but I haven't found anything yet. The Kumeyaay, like most tribes and clans, are very private with their ceremonies. I'll keep searching and make a few calls."
"Okay."
"Why are they targeting me more than Angel?" Cordelia asked.
"I'm assuming because you're a seer. The spirits must sense your psychic energy and feel you may be able to help them."
"So, I'm more useful than Angel. Cool." She sent him a teasing grin. He rolled his eyes with a smile.
"Yes, well, we need more information…" Wesley pressed.
"I know," Angel said. "All we know is the cabins are new-"
"New? As in, newly built?"
"Yeah."
"You didn't mention that before. And, the haunting is new?"
"Yes."
"And…the pottery was discovered where the cabins are now…I'll call you back." The line went dead. Angel and Cordelia exchanged a look.
"So, we wait?" Cordelia asked.
"I guess so. And I can't even go outside to find clues," he said, pouting. "Feeling kind of useless here, Cor."
"Hmm. I wonder what we could do inside to pass the time that will keep you from feeling useless." Her tone was flirtatious as she sauntered over to him. She sat on his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck.
"I can think of something…" he muttered with a smile, bringing her lips down to his.
Cordelia was lying on her bed near the fire, wrapped in Angel's arms. He placed a soft kiss to her neck as they watched the embers burn.
"This is nice." Cordelia whispered.
"It really is. I could get used to this, Cordy."
"Me too." He snuggled in closer to her, a rumbling purr escaping him. "You're purring!" She said with a giggle. He laughed back.
"Is that okay?"
"Definitely. I like it." He smiled. He was just about to kiss her again when his phone rang. He answered and put it on speaker.
"Wes."
"Angel, the pottery. Was it more a jug, like something to carry water in? Or was it more urn-like?"
"Urn-like? What?"
"The Kumeyaay cremated their deceased and buried the urns they placed their ashes in. They believed the cremation aided the spirits journey to the afterworld. Burial sites are sacred. If the remains were disturbed and moved, spirits will manifest."
"Thus, the haunting."
"It's not so much a haunting as protection. Native American spirits manifest to protect the burial grounds, their ancestors, when they're disturbed. They're guardians." Angel and Cordelia let the information sink in.
"Thanks Wes. That really helps. We'll see you soon."
Epilogue
Angel and Cordelia waited until the sun set before they made their way up to Paul Reynolds's office. Angel knocked on the door.
"Angel. Cordelia. Please, come in. Sit down." They did as requested, sitting across from Paul. "Any news?" He asked hopefully.
"Actually, yes. The jar you have in the display case inside the Recreation Center…we believe it's actually a Kumeyaay burial jar."
"What?" The color drained from Paul's face. "As in…an urn? With a body?"
"Yes. The haunting started when the urn was removed from the ground. The burial site was disturbed when the cabins were built. That's why the only area being affected is where the cabins are. Were any other urns uncovered?"
"About five."
"The five we saw last night." Cordelia said.
"Exactly." Angel agreed.
"Five?"
"Yes. We saw five spirits last night. I don't believe they are necessarily the spirits of the disturbed remains, but a guardian for each."
"Guardian?"
"They're guarding their ancestors, trying to protect their remains and, thus, their spirits."
"So, what should I do? Rebury the urns?"
"No. There's an entire burial ceremony the Kumeyaay people believe in. I would contact someone from the tribe and return the remains. Once they perform the appropriate ceremony, the haunting should stop."
"Really? That's all?"
"Should be." Relief flooded through Paul and a small smile flickered over his face.
"Thank you." He said, gratitude flooding every cell of his body.
"Our pleasure." Cordelia said with a smile.
"Are you going to stay another night?"
"I think we'll leave tonight. Avoid a sunny drive home tomorrow." Cordelia shot Angel a smirk.
"Of course. Well, have a safe drive home. And thank you again." They both stood, said their goodbyes to Paul, then retreated back to their cabin to pack up. Twenty minutes later, they were on the road.
Two weeks later, Cordelia was sitting on the lobby counter, going through the mail. A postcard addressed to her and Angel caught her attention. She smiled and ran up to his suite, entering without knocking.
Angel was sitting on his couch, feeding Connor when Cordelia came in. She sat next to him, holding out the postcard. On the front of the postcard was a picture of the lake and cabins, with Lake Moreno Campground printed at the top. On the other side, was a brief note written out to them.
[I][B]Dear Angel and Cordelia,
Thank you for all your help. We couldn't have done it without you.
Always,
The Lake Moreno Camp staff and campers [/B][/I]
Around the note were dozens of signatures in various colors from the staff and campers alike.
"Isn't that sweet?" Cordelia asked, taking Connor from him. Angel wrapped an arm around her, bringing her into him as she took over feeding his son.
"It is. Maybe we should be sending them the thank you note."
"Why?"
"Without that ghost scaring you, we might not have ever gotten together." She rolled her eyes, but cuddled deeper into his embrace. He placed a soft kiss to her temple, then to his son's forehead. They sat there together, watching the embers burn in his fireplace.