Chapter Text
Edwin’s energy had started slipping hours ago but he needs to keep functioning for just a little longer. He sits upright in his desk chair. Charles sits to his left on the corner of the desk. The client: a young man, seventeen years old, absently picking at his nails.
Edwin takes a deep breath and does his best to disconnect himself from his next words. ‘We found your killers. They were the three boys from school that you remembered. They killed you because they wanted to attempt a ritual sacrifice and decided to use your blood among the offerings. They took too much and you bled out. We’ve got a friend who’s helped us file an anonymous report to get these new findings investigated and hopefully bring your parents some closure. We, however, have done all we can for you. We are very sorry.’
Edwin decides it’s kinder not to tell the boy that the sacrifice failed. That a successful one would have sent this young boy and his killers off to hell. Yes, it could be worse, but he’s dead now either way.
The teen nods. ‘Thank you, for everything.’ He stands up. ‘I’ll go now, I guess Death will show up soon.’
When the boy phases though the office door, Edwin sags a little.
Charles steps behind him and massages Edwin’s shoulders. ‘Are you okay?’ He asks quietly.
Edwin shakes his head. ‘You know how difficult I find cases like that.’
Charles leans forward into Edwin’s space. ‘Well, it’ll just be us two for a while and I’m here if you need me for anything.’ He ruffles a hand through Edwin’s hair and something about that touch makes Edwin feel so at peace all of a sudden that he loses all sense of form.
+ + +
Charles startles when Edwin transforms. One second he’s got his hands on Edwin and then a moment later Edwin’s ghost form has vanished and now he’s a glowing white ball on the desk chair.
‘Oh, mate,’ Charles murmurs as he snugly cups Edwin in both his hands.
Edwin sits there in Charles’s palms, just glowing. He could float if he wanted to, but Charles has found that Edwin seems to like being held like this. Charles holds Edwin to his chest. ‘You rest, I can take it from here.’
Charles checks the old black clock on the wall. There’s still a few hours before sundown when London’s supernatural side begins opening up. They had plans for tonight: items to buy for cases, advice to gather, questions to ask of other local ghosts.
‘Guess things will be a little different for our errands today,’ Charles murmurs. ‘But for now, I need to do some research for our next case. You were meant to do that, weren’t you? I’ll cover for now though.’
Charles keeps Edwin in his left hand while he parses the bookshelf for volumes on vengeful spirits. Charles sources four books, stacks them next to the lounge and lies back against the armrest, his feet up on the other end. He rests the first book on his tummy and Edwin on his chest. Charles flicks through the books looking for relevant information or key points to bring to the merchants that will be opening up around town soon.
Edwin’s soft glow makes for a cosy reading light. Charles reads bits and pieces to him, especially the parts he thinks might be relevant to this case. He knows from being in this form that having someone else’s voice nearby is endlessly comforting. It’s easy to feel like you might lose yourself in that state.
When it gets dark enough to turn on a lamp, Charles decides to pack up and head out. ‘Time to run those errands,’ Charles says and tucks Edwin into his right coat pocket.
Charles starts at their local magic shop a block away. The attendant is an eccentric young woman named Lola who inherited this shop - and her arcane gifts - from her mother, who inherited all of it from her mother and so on. Some of the knick-knacks and dust in this shop would pre-date Edwin.
‘Hey Lola,’ Charles calls as he walks through the glass door.
‘Charlie!’ Lola looks up from the tome spread out on the cluttered counter and brushes her bangs out of her face. ‘Where’s Edwin?’
Charles reaches into his pocket and pulls out the orb. ‘Right here.’ He can’t help grinning as he shows off his friend.
Lola gasps in excitement and leans forward to look. ‘His true form?’
Charles nods. ‘Sweet, innit?’
‘Very,’ Lola nods. ‘I don’t think I’ve ever seen a ghost’s true form. I mean, I’ve read about them and seen illustrations, but never up close. Thank you for showing me.’
‘You’re welcome,’ Charles says. He places Edwin on the nearest bookshelf - a tall pine number full of dusty volumes - which he would likely start browsing if he wasn’t an orb. Charles pulls the shopping list from his pocket. ‘As nice as this is, it’s not the real reason I’m here, I need your help with a few things…’
Charles and Lola go through the list together. They find something to calm a dog haunting his family’s home after death. (The grandmother already haunting the home found the dog was causing more disruption and fear for the family than she would like).
While they chat, Edwin gets the energy to float through the shop and disappears around a corner to hang out with some other dusty knick-knacks.
Charles and Lola discuss the finer points of handling a banshee; Lola explains that she already told Edwin once that you cannot get rid of a banshee. Finally, the ghost of a young man, victim of a double homicide, had hired Edwin and Charles to help with his friend who had become a vengeful spirit. They need more provisions for handling that.
After an hour or so of chatting, theorising and problem-solving, Charles has a much fuller backpack. When he hits the street again, the mix of people out now include business-y types out for dinner with clients or colleagues, young people chasing a night out and some of London’s ‘finest’.
His next haunt is a few blocks away. Charles gets caught in the hustle. Though he doesn’t need to, he makes sure to weave between people. He doesn’t want to make them shiver or startle them. Most of all, pretending he can bump into people makes him feel more like a normal person again.
When Charles arrives at the pub, he phases through the brick wall and scans the booths and high tables. This pub in particular is haunted by an older guy, William, who decided to spend his afterlife watching football and keeping his ear to the ground. He’s among their most reliable sources for information on shady characters.
Charles spots him in a darker corner, sitting up on a wooden high stool. Seriously, the amount of wood furniture and wood panelling on the walls makes this place grim.
Charles waves and joins William at the corner table. ‘Hey mate, how you been?’
William examines Charles over the top of his glasses. ‘Been well. Quiet couple of days ‘round here. Where’s your boy?’
Charles grins. He really can’t help doing that when he thinks of Edwin. ‘Oh, he’s…’
He frowns when he realises there’s nothing in his pocket. He checks the other one and finds it just as empty. ‘Shit, I just had him.’
A cold feeling curls around the core of Charles’s being. He left Edwin in Lola’s shop.
Though Charles knows that Lola wouldn’t do anything to hurt Edwin, he cannot guarantee the intentions or actions of other patrons. Images fall through his mind of horrible things happening. Another curious ghost. A child looking for a toy to play with. A witch taking Edwin away to experiment on. (And that already happened to him before, Christ).
‘I’ve gotta go, mate,’ Charles says as he stands. ‘I’ll be back.’ And he runs across the pub and into the street.
This time, Charles pays no attention to the pedestrians. He just runs and leaves people shivering from cold spots in his wake.
Charles stops just as he falls through the door of Lola’s shop. He looks to the bookshelf by the door where he last placed Edwin - still empty - and dashes through another bookshelf dividing the shop in half. No Edwin back here either. The world falls away. Charles walks back through the bookshelf, ready to interrogate Lola who is looking up at him with wide green eyes from behind the counter. With Edwin standing right there flicking through the book she’d been poring over earlier.
Edwin flicks his eyes to a small grandfather clock. ‘Twenty-five minutes,’ is all he says.
‘Edwin I am so sorry, I came straight back, I’m never gonna do that again, am I?’ Charles leans forward with his hands on knees as he comes down from the panic that had consumed and spurred him.
Lola grins. ‘Don’t worry, Charlie, he was as safe as anything with me.’
‘Yeah, um, thank you,’ Charles says. He only has eyes for Edwin right now. All those panicked thoughts are collapsing into relief and then sliding into anger at himself. He left Edwin behind. He forgot about him. Anything could have happened.
Edwin smiles softly and puts the book down. He steps forward and touches Charles under the chin. Charles looks up at him and Edwin just stares at him with mixed amusement and adoration. ‘I’m okay, silly,’ he says, a laugh at the edge of his voice.
‘Anything could’ve happened,’ Charles says. Part of him is desperate for reassurance that it didn’t. Funny how Edwin is always the overthinker until Charles gets in knots like this.
‘But it did not,’ Edwin reassures. He searches Charles’s eyes for a moment longer and wraps his hand around Charles’s bicep. ‘Come on, we have a ghost dog to calm down. Goodbye, Lola.’
‘Have fun!’ She calls as Edwin pulls Charles through the door.