Chapter 15 - Answers

Joe's collapse to the ground right in front of the main building drew the attention of the dean and professor Saul, whose lecture they should have shown up for at eight sharp.

"Castellanos," Mr Thornton called as he walked over to Frank and Joe where they still knelt by the fountain. "What happened?"

"Uh, Joe...he had a migraine last night," Frank replied, thinking fast. Joe blinked a few times and looked up, squinting at the dean of Lincoln. Frank could tell that his brother still hadn't fully recovered from whatever he had experienced through the spirit. "He didn't sleep well. He tripped over a rock just now as we were on our way to the class, sir."

Professor Saul adjusted his bottle-rimmed glasses and hummed. "Castellanos. Aren't you supposed to have the first two hours with me?"

"Yes, sir," Frank nodded before focusing on Joe's swaying form again. They both sported red eyes and dark circles already thanks to the late-night discussions and the nightmares. He had a feeling that the dean or professor Saul didn't need much convincing that they were both not doing well enough to sit through two hours of advanced behavioural analysis. "He just told me now that he forgot to take his morning dose. He was dizzy and couldn't see where he was going."

"Maybe you should take your brother to the infirmary, Franklin," the dean suggested.

"It's a chronic condition," Frank said, piling up on his excuse and Joe played along, staying quiet with a sickly look on his face. Frank was sure that he didn't need to act hard for it. "Joe has his meds. He just needs to take them and lie down, that's all."

"Alright," the dean said decisively. "Take him to the dorm then. Excuse them both from the classes, will you, Saul?"

"Sure, Mr Thornton."

"Thank you, sir."

Frank didn't hang around after the dean and the professor left. He hauled Joe to his feet and supported him along on the long trek back to their room. Joe's gait was unsteady and he was unnaturally quiet, which increased Frank's concern.

"You better start talking once we get up, kid," he muttered, almost to himself.

"I will," Joe mumbled, his gaze fixed on the ground while they walked as if it was taking every ounce of strength he had just to put one foot in front of the other. "As soon as I get horizontal."

It took some time but Frank managed to get Joe into their room and lower him to the bed. Then he got him some water which Joe finished in three large gulps. By the time he finished, Frank could see the colour slowly returning to his pale cheeks.

"Alright?"

"Yeah," Joe groaned and closed his eyes. "That was rough–"

"What did you see?"

"He showed me what happened to them."

Before he could begin however there was a soft, hesitant knock on their door, causing Joe to go quiet. Frank got up from where he was sitting on the edge of Joe's bed and went to check through the peephole. Twin worried frowns of Temperance and Constance greeted him from the other side.

"It's the Saunders girls," he mouthed, making sure not to be heard through the door.

Joe shook his head, rubbed a hand across his face roughly and slowly nodded, making up his mind. Frank read him easily enough. It was time they had a serious talk with the two of them. They both pushed their way in before Frank had the door fully open.

"Come right in," Frank muttered to empty air, closing the door back and locking it.

"Are you okay?" Temperance demanded, sitting next to Joe.

"How'd you even know?" Frank wondered out loud.

"Saw you two on the ground by the fountain when we crossed the yard, but Thornton and Saul were there," Constance said, making herself at home on Frank's bed. "We had to skip the corridor to avoid Saul–"

"Then we had to split from our friends," Temperance took over, staring intently at Joe. Frank sat next to Constance and watched as his brother slowly turned into a bright shade of red under scrutiny. "Couldn't have all of us showing up at your doorstep. Someone had to go to the class and cover for us, then we came straight here," she shrugged as if that settled that matter.

"Good timing because this saves us the trouble of hunting you down," Frank said, exchanging a glance with Joe. "You need to hear what he has to share." he nodded at his brother.

"What is it?" Temperance asked, settling on Joe's bed cross-legged.

"Have you seen Melvin yet?" Joe spoke for the first time since the twins' arrival.

"Melvin?" Constance frowned. "He's in the intensive care unit, at Hope memorial. We saw him a few days ago when we went to–" she cut herself off suddenly, glancing at Temperance guilty.

"See Willow?" Frank guessed.

"W-what?" Constance stammered.

"How?" Temperance glared.

"We'll get to that later," Joe interjected, breaking the three-way glaring contest. "But for now, the most urgent thing you need to know is that Melvin's back, looking rather healthy for a guy laid up in a coma ward, only instead of Melvin, it's Carl who's in the driver's seat."

That earned him two dumbfounded looks from the girls. Even Frank felt a knot of dread forming in his gut to hear his earlier guess confirmed with such certainty.

"Joseph," Temperance whispered faintly. "You need to explain that a bit more, darling."

Joe did. He told them about what he had seen when the spirit of Melvin touched him; about his beating by five guys because he had yelled at Aline Fairweather, about Sienna Phillips' sick, manipulative games, her appearance on the rooftop just before Carl's suicide and finally about how Carl's enraged spirit had stolen Melvin's body in the midst of Willow's failed protests.

The silence that followed in the wake of his account of events was full of unspoken horror.

Temperance's eyes were glazed over as she stayed unmoving and Constance dropped her head in her hands, curling around herself. Frank turned towards Joe to find him staring back with an exhausted look.

"So, Melvin, who's actually Carl, is here to kill Sienna, and probably do something bad to the Fairweather twins, since the gang who beat him up is not here anymore, and Melvin is now stuck as a ghost outside of his body unable to go either way and Willow is missing in action…"

"That sums it up, I guess," Joe sighed.

Their short conversation broke the girls out of their stupors.

"Please tell us how you found out about Willow?" Constance begged. "And why you decided to let us in on what you found out."

Frank could see the question in Joe's eyes and he nodded minutely, agreeing wordlessly to break their cover. Constance and Temperance had far more knowledge about this new, supernatural world they had only discovered recently. They needed help from the Saunders twins, especially to deal with what seemed to be mind-controlling powers of the Phillips girls.

"Well," said Joe. "We found out about Willow yesterday night when we came back to our room because I felt her reaching out through you," he nodded at Temperance. "We asked our handler to look into your family to see if there were any recent deaths–"

"Your handler." Temperance intoned.

"Yeah," Frank picked up where Joe trailed off. "We're not really here to check the college out. We're here to investigate your group and the strange things that have been happening around here. Dean Thornton knows about it as well, in fact, he was the one who made the request to our dad."

"Investigate us?"

"Yeah," Joe answered Constance's question. "We have a lot of experience in solving criminal cases," he said, letting a small grin quirk his lips sideways. "You see, our dad's a private detective, not a rich, private investor. Our actual surname is Hardy."

"Wait!" Temperance cried. "So you mean to say you two are like two detectives in training or something?"

"Something like it."

She looked so flabbergasted that Frank had to smother his own grin.

"Do you at all know what else you are?" Constance demanded. Her tone was harsh and Frank felt that it was because she was more worried than enraged. "We could have sworn you had no clue. But now you just sit here and tell us you managed a complete merge with a ghost–"

"Uh, about that," Joe said, ducking his head and scratching behind his neck. "Um, not really, no. Although we're pretty decent at solving crimes, we have no clue about this ghost stuff. The first time we ever encountered something of a supernatural nature was only about a week ago–"

Both Temperance and Constance shared a horrified glance at his sheepish admission and looked up at the ceiling at the same time as if praying to high heaven. "Dear Gods," Constance shook her head and pinned them both with a narrow-eyed gaze. "Can you please tell us what happened that time? Maybe Temperance and I can actually help you here–"

"That's what I thought," Joe said with a small smile. "When I felt Willow the first time, I thought she was something really bad. Her attack was unlike anything I'd ever felt before. But now I know that she didn't mean to attack me like that. She just didn't know how to react to me, and I think she was relieved when Frank broke the connection. Then, today, I saw how hard she fought to stop Carl even when she knew that he was way too powerful for her. So I figured if she managed to hang on to her sanity for this long, and still fight for the right thing, you two shouldn't be that bad."

Joe's smile was matched by the grins the twins flashed at him. Frank was just glad that Joe's charm still seemed to work, even when he was dishing out backhanded compliments. They needed the girls on their side, not plotting murder because his brother hurt their feelings.

"What a glowing compliment!" Temperance said sarcastically, shaking her head. "Thank you, darling. Now tell us what happened when you encountered the spirits the first time."

Joe and Frank took turns sharing the story. They told them about what happened when they encountered the freak storm, how they found out about the spirit of the dead terrorist, how they were drawn to help their friend and how they managed to ultimately send the malevolent spirit and Iola's ghost back somewhere through an impossible tear in the sky.

"The sky turned back to normal after she disappeared," Joe concluded. "I stopped having bad dreams and Chet told us that they stopped seeing and hearing things."

"What an incredible event," Constance muttered so softly Frank was sure he was the only one who heard it.

"Oh, Joe," Temperance said sympathetically. "I'm so sorry you had to go through that. To say goodbye to your girl for the second time…"

Frank saw the familiar grief-ridden look darken Joe's eyes before he hid it behind a small sad smile. "It was the only thing I could do," he murmured. "Letting her stay would have destroyed her."

"Yes, it would have," Temperance agreed gently.

"So can you maybe share what you think is going on with the two of us?" Frank asked, breaking the uncomfortable moment for Joe. "We haven't really had the time to dive into research like you girls. We don't even know where to begin."

"Yes, dear, we can," Constance declared. "He's the conduit, the Shepherd, and you're his Shield."

Frank hadn't realised they had titles. Judging by Joe's frown, he hadn't either. "Okay, what does it mean exactly?"

The twins shared another glance and came to a wordless agreement.

"Your patron or the deity who has chosen you is the Guardian of the spirit world, Cailleach," Constance started to speak. "Have you heard of her?"

"We came across the name on one of the books we got from an antique shop," Joe replied. "The name kinda brought back a memory from my childhood. I can't remember much but I think I saw her when I was about three. I also heard her in my dreams last time when we dealt with that spirit. She was calling me to do my job?"

"Goddess! I don't know how you're not surrounded by the entire horde of lost spirits in the NY State…" Temperance muttered.

"He wouldn't be because of this one," Constance said reasonably, jerking her head at Frank, adding to his confusion. "Anyway, Cailleach is a World Guardian, so she performs the function of taking care of lost spirits or ghosts in her domain until they attain their second chance to pass on to the level higher or below. Or in some cases, to join the circle of the living. It's all up to the souls."

"Second chance?"

"The ghosts are the souls who missed their chance to pass on after their death, the ones who managed to avoid going with angels or reapers. They get herded by Cailleach because they aren't allowed to roam this world," Temperance took over. "At any time, she has twenty-one human agents who aid her in this task. They are called the 'Shepherds'. A Shepherd is also called a conduit because they bridge the two worlds."

"I'm the twenty-first," Joe mumbled. Frank saw a faraway glaze cloud his brother's eyes as he recalled a bit more of his mysterious memory.

"So that means you're her latest," Constance said thoughtfully. "That could explain why she left you alone this long. Letting you kind of grow into your power before she called for your services. When she recruits an agent, the agent gets to select a Shield for themselves to keep them grounded in this world. Now, this Shield, or the anchor, could be a sibling, a friend or even a lover. The only requirement for a Shield is they have to be someone a Shepherd could trust with their lives,"

"Which you two have plenty, by the way," Temperance grinned. "The way your auras are intertwined, one would say you'd die for each other in a heartbeat–"

Frank saw the look Joe aimed at him. We've come close, his brother's gaze said. Yeah, more than a few times, Frank nodded in agreement.

"According to accounts we've read, there's some sort of a ritual involved," Constance said. "Cailleach shows up, chooses the Shepherd and the Shield and extracts a promise. The details aren't really clear on how it happens. Anyway, once you're chosen as a Shepherd, you get access to her world, and the ability to sense spirits. So, your job is basically to catch them and send them to where they belong."

"Now, some Shepherds can sense spirits any time of the year but can only send them back on the night of the Samhain," Temperance added. Then, seeing Joe's frown of confusion, she elaborated. "That's Halloween, the day of the year when the veil between the worlds is at its weakest. Some Shepherds can only actually see ghosts on Halloween night. That kinda makes them only useful one night a year."

"None of the accounts say anything about a Shepherd who's able to open a tear into the world of the spirits whenever he feels like it," Constance aimed a pointed look at Joe. "So, we obviously have a lot more to research."

"Not like I did it on purpose," Joe mumbled, ducking his head. "I don't even know if it was me. It just happened."

"Oh, trust me, darling, it was you." Temperance patted him on the shoulder.

"When one is chosen as a Shepherd, they become vulnerable in a way because that means they draw the attention of all the spirits roaming this world," Constance continued. "While some of them are just lost and confused, there are some who've been around long enough they are just determined to stay behind. They can be very violent and dangerous, like the one you encountered."

"It's all about the moment of death," Temperance said. "It's the emotions they die with that are responsible for the kind of spirits they turn into as time passes. That's why a Shepherd always needs a Shield, to basically shield you from a spirit that would fight back."

"That's why you could heal Joe's hand," Constance turned to Frank. "And your friend later. The influence of a spirit, the sickness they spread, does not belong inside a living soul. But none of us has any defence against that kind of attack. You, on the other hand, are anathema to that, which is why that black poison disappears at your mere touch."

"Which was why you were able to keep Joe from being dragged into the nether with the spirit you banished," Temperance took over. "Which was how you snapped Willow back into her senses. It's your job to anchor Joe to this world while he sends the spirits across the veil."

"Is that why you asked me not to touch you when you shook hands with Melvin's ghost?" Frank asked Joe.

"Yeah," Joe shrugged. "And you broke the contact the moment you did."

Frank curled his lips in distaste. "Your face kinda scrunched up like you were hurting. Melvin lost a few more shades of his already ghostly pallor and well…I said, screw it."

Joe smiled and nodded while Constance grinned. "That's just you doing your job. Then again, you're only supposed to be a deterrent against ghostly influences, not all magic in existence."

"I don't understand–"

"Frank, you dissolved my magic yesterday night just by making contact," Constance said, her voice bordering on disbelief. "You weren't even trying. Temperance and I have already agreed that you're way too unusual for a Shepherd/Shield pair."

"Let's hope it's not a bad thing," Frank couldn't stop the words from slipping out.

"What are your, um, magical abilities anyway?" Joe asked, deflecting the attention away from them. Frank could see that Joe was just as uncomfortable about the entire thing as he was.

"I'd say what we have is more of an affinity than an ability, which is what you and Frank have," Constance reflected. "I'm more aligned with nature. I can influence flowers, trees, vines and anything that grows on Earth. I can either speed up some processes like you saw me doing yesterday or slow them down."

"I'm more connected to animals," Temperance joined in. "Think of like a dog whisperer but to all animals. Birds, reptiles, snakes, insects and such. I can make them change their minds by touching them, like calling them to me or calming them down. That sort of thing."

"Willow was all about forces of nature," Constance said with a sad smile. "Rain, thunder, lightning, sunshine, moonlight, stardust and ocean. She could just make the world come alive around you when she concentrated."

"Wow!" Frank said, staring at them wide-eyed. He hadn't really expected them to share that much about themselves.

"That's so amazing!" Joe sounded just as awed.

"Our mom and dad both come from ancient lines of witches and wizards," Constance explained. "Although we don't really practise Old Religions anymore, we inherited the gifts from our parents. Our entire family is more connected to nature in our affinities."

"What about Sienna and Sierra Phillips?" Frank asked, diverting their attention to the not-so-stellar pair of twins in Saunders' inner circle. "What can you tell us about them and their affinities?"

"They both have the power of suggestion," Constance admitted quietly.

"Mind control," Joe said just as softly. "I could almost feel it, you know, when Melvin showed me what happened to Carl. It was like he knew something was wrong with him. He knew he didn't want to be around her. But there was this thing in his mind, making him do things. He couldn't resist no matter how much he wanted to," he visibly shuddered. "It was a horrible feeling to lose yourself to some foreign influence like that."

"They also belong to some ancient lines of witchcraft practitioners," Temperance said. "Only difference is that they still worship their Old Goddess and follow her laws and rules. Hecate is known to be a volatile deity on a good day. She holds domain over crossroads, doorways, witchcraft, magic and the moon. She likes to make bargains and deals with her believers. She demands certain virtues, promises and sacrifices in return for the favours she grants. It is also believed that she's constantly fighting with Cailleach for her title, to gain access to her domain."

Frank exchanged a glance with his brother who looked just as lost. On any other day, both of them would have discarded all of this as unbelievable nonsense. But after what they have seen and experienced, they couldn't ignore the existence of other powerful beings.

"Is this deity the reason Sienna and Sierra have been playing these sick mind games with Carl Winters?"

"That's what we think."

"You know, when we first met you, you were sure that Carl was troubled and that he would come back in another life," Frank reminded them.

"We were," Constance implored. "We knew since the first day we got here, two years ago. He and his brother were so nice to us and we all became friends quickly. Carl had depression and anxiety. He would be great for weeks and then he'd take a dive. He would just withdraw and spend his day angry at the world. The only thing that could coax him back would be the practices, and games or Melvin. He just never admitted he had a problem though. And didn't really want to talk to any of us about it. So when he changed only a few weeks ago, by becoming irritable, confused and paranoid, we thought it was just another episode."

"When he killed himself, it kind of shook us. I think we just consoled ourselves by reverting back to our old beliefs that he would come back someday somewhere," Temperance said softly, her voice full of guilt and sorrow. "What we told you about the afterlife is an actual part of teachings from our Old Religion. We probably came across as callous, because… well, we didn't really know you two, and we didn't want to talk to you about him just then."

"Guess that's understandable," Joe murmured.

"Only he seems to have returned in a much more dangerous way than we ever thought he would," Constance muttered.

"Yesterday night, when you guys were in the other room, Sienna kind of admitted that she influenced Carl with her sister's help," Temperance admitted. "She said that was because he was bothering her. Darren and Dylan agreed. She said she influenced him so that he would leave her alone and basically said good riddance. She never mentioned being next to him when he jumped. That means she effectively murdered him." She turned pale just like her twin did at the conclusion she arrived.

"She also implied that she did it as a favour to Willow," Constance whispered. "She said by eliminating Carl, she made space for Willow to return to this world. Life for a life, the oldest bargain, that's what she said–"

"I think there's more to it," Temperance added, thinking furiously. "Bargaining and sacrificing, those are Hecate's rules. Serra and Sienna might be making deals with their Goddess to heighten their affinities. Neither of them could have influenced Carl to jump off the rooftop like that otherwise. They can't give anyone new emotions, only manipulate the ones that are already there. But never to a point like you described," she nodded at Joe. "And I don't believe they are doing all of that just for Willow…"

Frank looked back and forth between the twins. He didn't have the slightest clue where to even begin processing what they were hearing. Apparently, there was an entirely new and hidden world full of supernatural beings and humans with abilities to do impossible things, and he had no idea how to navigate this world.

"For the record, Willow doesn't care," Constance implored. "She just wants to become whole. She's perfectly fine to either come back to her body or pass away to whatever awaits her on the other side."

"Yeah," Joe said, looking completely overwhelmed. "That part was clear at least."

"What about Darren and Dylan?" Frank asked. "Or Harry and Aline Fairweather?"

"Darren and Dylan are regular rich kids, they are aware of our gifts, but they don't have any on their own. The Fairweather twins, however, are like Sierran and Sienna, they share the same gifts, but Fairweathers aren't as skilled as the Phillips girls."

"At least those two are out of the picture for now," Joe said, remembering that the Fairweathers were out, attending a family event somewhere.

"So, we have a body-snatching ghost on the premises, intent on going after the Phillips twins for revenge, the girls who supposedly can make you commit suicide just by talking to you," Frank said, summarising the situation. Then he aimed a crooked grin at Joe. "You know, I'm almost tempted to let them fight it out among themselves and then deal with whoever comes out on top."

Joe snorted. "Wouldn't that be easy?" he shook his head, becoming serious. "I don't think we can, though. We can't let a spirit commit murder, we won't be able to send it back if it does."

"He's right," Temperance added. "That's the ultimate crime for a ghost. It's going to destroy itself by doing that, and according to the legends, it's an act that could interfere with the balance between the two worlds, and that's a very bad thing."

"Besides, Carl would be immune to their powers since he's a spirit inhibiting Melvin's body," Constance said.

"Guess we go deal with Carl first then, and find a safe way to contain Sierra and Sienna?"

"What we need to do right now is a cleansing ceremony," Constance said decisively. "To make sure that they haven't tampered with us already and if they have, to get rid of that influence," then noting their frowns of confusion, she added, "it's a simple ritual and we can do it here. It won't take too long."

"Then we'll wear repellent charms," Temperance said, nodding. "They are just bracelets with protection woven into them. The girls will know what they are and won't be able to influence us unless they take them off of us," Then she turned to Frank and grinned. "You don't need one, though: all magic dissolves around you."

"I'll wear one anyway," Frank grinned back, shrugging. "No need to give the game away if they don't know that about me, right?"

"Huh," she said, thinking it through. "No, I don't believe they do. We never shared that bit about you with them…"

"What are we going to do now?" Joe asked, straightening from his sprawl into a lotus position next to the younger Saunders twin.

"After this ritual, we'll go find Carl," Frank suggested. "Hopefully, you can do your thing and get rid of him, and maybe then Melvin can either go back to his body or pass away–"

"What can we do about the Phillips twins?" Joe asked the girls. "I highly doubt they are going to confess to their crimes, and I don't know if we can even have them detained," then he glanced at Frank and shook his head. "They'll just get out by asking nicely."

"We can't," Constance said. "All we can do is contact The Council. They can send somebody to deal with them."

"We'll make the call as soon as we complete the ritual," Temperance declared.

Frank frowned. "The Council?"

"We have our own ruling body of sorts," Constance explained with a self-deprecating smile. "Can't have all of us with funny powers running around unchecked, can we? We all take vows and everything when we come of age," then her eyes went wide in pure excitement. "Oh! Which reminds me… they'll be simply delighted to meet the two of you, and not to mention, you'll get to find out about Cailleach's other agents…"

Frank looked to Joe who stared back at him with the same conflicted expression. On the one hand, it would be nice to meet an organisation that dealt with the supernatural on a daily basis. But, on the other hand, if they really were different from others like them the way Temperance and Constance implied, it might be for their own good to be hidden from this Council as long as they could. Then again, Frank couldn't deny the fact that meeting others just like them had an appeal on its own.

"We'll cross that bridge when we have to," was all Joe said, putting that worry away to deal with later, once they were done sorting out the urgent matters.