Unquiet Souls

Prologue Michael Covenant stared down at the single name on the piece of paper he held and told himself to count to ten before he spoke. Voice remarkably steady, he said, “Audrey Barrett wasn’t on the list I gave you.” Colin Turner, the producer of Project Demon Hunters, shrugged, looking completely unconcerned. “She should have been. Don’t know why you left her off. Master’s in psychology, post-grad work with the Rhine Institute — she’s the real deal when it comes to parapsychology.” Wearing a knowing grin, he added, “Besides, she’s a hell of a lot more photogenic than any of that lot you suggested.” Unfortunately, Michael couldn’t really argue with any of those completely valid points. He’d had his own reasons for keeping Audrey Barrett off the short list of potential co-hosts for the show he and Colin had been pitching to various cable networks, reasons he needed to conceal from his producer. When Colin messaged him earlier in the day to tell him that they’d been given the green light by a travel cable network, Michael had guessed there had to be a catch. And it sounded as though Audrey Barrett was that catch. “She doesn’t have any experience actually working out in the field,” he said, still doing his best to sound calm and unruffled. Inwardly, though, he could feel himself already tensing. If he ended up being forced into this…. “What ‘field’?” Colin scoffed. Even after more than a decade in Los Angeles, his Manchester accent was decidedly obvious — probably an affectation more than anything else at this point. He always looked slightly rumpled, fair hair untidy, skin too pale for your usual Angeleno. “Wandering around in old houses with those little ghost-detecting whatchamacallits?” “EMF meters,” Michael said, an automatic response. “There’s a bit more to paranormal investigations than merely wandering around old houses, you know.” “If you say so.” There wasn’t much point in pressing the issue, because Michael knew Colin was in this simply to cash in on the current craze for ghost-hunting shows. They’d come up with a slightly different angle, one that promised plenty of jump scares to keep the audience on their toes, and the cable network was interested enough to offer them a limited six-show series to start airing this coming October. Because really, what were ghosts compared to actual demons? “Have you contacted her?” Michael asked. “Audrey Barrett takes herself seriously, you know. I have no idea whether she’ll even say yes.” Colin tilted a sandy eyebrow, clearly unimpressed by his co-producer’s concerns. “Who’s going to say no to a lead spot on a reality TV show?” While Michael knew not everyone wanted to be on television, he guessed that Colin would only scoff at such an assertion. Actually, Michael himself had been reluctant when Colin first approached him to act as host and co-producer of Project Demon Hunters, mostly because the thought of such widespread exposure was troubling on many levels. It was one thing to work the paranormal circuit, the lecture halls and the conferences and the guest appearances on various fringe podcasts and radio shows. But to have your face beamed into millions of households each week? The chances of having his carefully constructed identity torn apart were very small, and yet he still wasn’t sure he wanted to take that risk, not when he could lose everything if the truth about his past was ever revealed. But Colin had worn him down, arguing that he was the leading voice in demonology today, and the sort of person a demon-hunting show needed. The money hadn’t been bad, either. Even on a cut-rate cable show, the pay scale was a lot higher than what he’d been getting from his various convention and seminar appearances. While he was comfortable enough, he knew he would have been foolish to pass up that kind of cash infusion. “Audrey Barrett is exactly the sort of person who would say no,” he remarked. “She’s not in this for the fame and fortune.” “Which is why I need you to talk to her,” Colin said reasonably. “Expert to expert. She’ll understand that.” Michael had his doubts, but he knew if he continued to dig in his heels, Colin would wonder why he was being so stubborn. On the surface, Audrey Barrett was exactly what Project Demon Hunters needed — someone smart, articulate, and photogenic as hell. Never mind that Michael had done whatever he could to stay out of her orbit, not always an easy thing to do in a field as small and fringe as the paranormal, even though the topics they focused on were very different. Well, it looked as though he wouldn’t be able to avoid her any longer. “All right,” he replied. “I’ll get in touch with her tomorrow.” Colin corrected him at once. “Today. Glendora’s only an hour drive from here, and the execs want a commitment ASAP so we can get production started now. I’m already getting the crew put together — I don’t want to waste any time.” Probably because February and March tended to be two of Southern California’s gloomiest months, and so any location shoots set here would look properly foreboding. There was some money for travel in the show’s production budget, but not enough to travel out of state for each episode. They’d have to pick their locations wisely. Luckily, he already knew exactly where they needed to start…a place that was almost around the corner from Audrey Barrett’s house. “On my way,” he said, since he knew he’d only be wasting time if he attempted any more arguments. He got up from his seat across from Colin’s glass and steel desk. “I’ll call you as soon as I have Ms. Barrett on board.” “Take these,” Colin said, handing over a manila folder. “Contracts.” There probably wasn’t any point in saying that Colin was getting ahead of himself, so Michael took the folder without comment, lifted his free hand in a brief gesture of farewell, then left the office. As he waited for the elevator to take him down to the building’s parking garage, he tried to reassure himself that everything would be fine. After all, he’d been hiding the truth about himself for more than ten years now. He’d just have to keep doing it for a little while longer.