The Haunting of Highdown Hall Read Online Free PDF Page B

could I do? The message she had to relay was important. I couldn’t not say anything.”
    “Tough call.” The expression on his face was suitably grave.
    “On occasion, yes,” Ruby agreed. “But at least I’ve had expert guidance in how to deal with my ability. It runs in my family. Through the female line.”
    “Guided by your mum you mean?”
    Keeping her voice steady, she replied “No, not my mum, my grandmother.”
    “Oh,” said Cash, leaning forward slightly, clearly interested in hearing why – Ruby, however, was not about to go into details with a complete stranger.
    Cash must have sensed her reluctance because, to his credit, he didn’t pursue the matter. After a few moments, he said, “Can it be taught, this psychic ability?”
    “Taught? Not exactly. Developed perhaps.”
    “Even in me?”
    “Even in you.”
    Seeing the doubt cross his face, she continued, “You say you have no psychic ability at all, but how many times have you thought of someone, your mum say, and the next minute she’s ringing you? Or perhaps you’ve left the house one morning feeling uneasy? Because you need to be somewhere fast, you dismiss it as paranoid nonsense. You drive to work and a car comes out of nowhere, narrowly avoiding you. You remember that feeling of unease; you think perhaps I’m not paranoid after all. Any of that sound familiar?”
    Looking surprised, Cash thought a moment. “Yeah, yeah, I can identify with that.”
    “Well, that’s your sixth sense – an ability to tune into the unseen world around you. And you do have it, Cash, even you.”
    “Hmmm,” said Cash, tongue-in-cheek now. “I’m psychic after all!”
    Ruby returned his smile, noting as she did so how white and even his teeth were. She liked good teeth in a man. And a good set of strong, wide shoulders. Just like his.
    “Another drink?” he asked after a while.
    “Are you trying to get me drunk?” she teased.
    “Maybe...” he batted right back. “Another rum and coke?”
    “Okay,” Ruby capitulated, the relaxing effects of the first two drinks kicking in. “But this will have to be my last, I’ve got a busy day tomorrow. Here, my shout.”
    “No, you can pay next time.”
    Next time, thought Ruby as Cash returned to the bar. How come he’s so sure there’s going to be a next time? Annoyingly, her intuition remained silent.
    Returning with the drinks and settling himself in beside her once more, Cash asked, “So why do you do it? This job you do. Why spend a lifetime dealing with the dead?”
    “Because they need help; every bit as much as the living. Because... it’s my duty.”
    “Your duty? How come?”
    “Look,” said Ruby, picking her drink up then placing it back down without taking a sip. “The spirit world is not full of crazed ghouls, it’s populated by those who were once human, ordinary people like you and me, who have found themselves caught between this world and whatever lies beyond. They can’t move on, for so many reasons – perhaps their death was sudden, unexpected, perhaps they can’t bear to leave a loved one behind, a child perhaps; very often a child. But they have to. Their time on earth is over. The next adventure calls. If I can help them on their way, then it’s my duty to do so.”
    “That necklace you’re wearing, it’s nice. What stone is it?”
    Her hand reaching up to touch her throat, she was surprised at how swiftly he had changed the subject. Had her talk of other-worldly matters finally unsettled him?
    “Erm... its obsidian,” she replied after a few moments.
    “Unusual,” he said, still eyeing the purply black stone in its solid silver setting.
    “It’s...” she hesitated and then, thinking Sod it, she continued. “It’s one of several stones used to protect against negative energy. It can come in handy sometimes.”
    Cash was grinning now, quite openly, definite amusement in his eyes.
    “What?” Ruby said, unsure whether to be offended by his reaction or to laugh