As the dirt road away from the village widened and moved farther into the woods between them and Boone, Kaz shifted from walking with his arm around Ellie's waist and instead moved to hold her hand. She still wasn't entirely happy about that development, but at least she could walk a little more freely now.

"Are we far enough away that you can let go of my hand?" Ellie asked approximately half a mile away from the village.

"I'd say so, at this point. I'm more concerned about your reaction to Ben than my explanation to Alice, though." Kaz dropped his hold with a sigh and Ellie immediately put distance between them.

"So what?"

"Seems like something I need to know if I'm going to help you solve this case," he said, his tone surprisingly gentle. "How did you know him? Be honest."

Ellie went silent. She kept walking down the road, boots squelching in the mud. The early morning bird calls echoed through the woods around them, and the sound of the wind seemed as loud as thunder.

She didn't want to talk about it. She'd talked about it enough that everyone thought she was crazy. Even Granny thought she was a little crazy, somewhere deep down, but... Kaz was right. If he was going to help her, he probably did need to know at least the bare bones of the story.

Ellie took a deep breath and steeled herself, rehearsing her words in a way that put them outside herself, outside her body, off into a place where it didn't hurt to say them.

"He was my fiancé," she finally whispered. "He was... so good. So genuinely, truly good."

She kept walking mechanically, the words coming from a place that was somehow her and not her all at once, a place just distant enough numb things.

"He always treated me well when we met in town. He never judged anyone based on their ancestry. His whole family runs a farm not too far away, and they're down to earth kinda people. Ben was the best of 'em all, though. He had a big heart."

Keep walking, she thought. Just keep walking. Ellie wasn't really sure where she went when she talked about Ben. It wasn't somewhere good, but it wasn't somewhere as bad as it could be, either.

"The morning of our wedding, he never showed up. At first I thought it was a fluke, maybe he just got caught in the rain and the mud and was running late, but then hours went by and the Sheriff found a body in the woods."

"Ellie," Kaz said.

One step after another. She could do this. It wouldn't take long to get through it.

"I guess I just—"

"Ellie, stop."

Kaz put a hand on her shoulder, literally stopping her in her tracks. She turned around to look at him, snapping back into her body from that vague somewhere else that kept the pain out.

"You don't have to relive that experience so I can understand," Kaz said firmly, grasping her hand. "Stay in the here and now. I don't need every detail if it hurts you."

Ellie frowned, narrowing her eyes at him. "Has anyone ever told you that you're kinda weird?"

"Is that... What does that mean?"

"It's a good thing," she mumbled, shaking herself. Ellie took a long, deep breath of cool mountain air before she continued. "Now, want to explain why tellin' people we're 'together' is a good cover and not a red flag to the whole world?"

"Admittedly, I said what I said in the moment because I wanted to explain two people in a house with one bed," Kaz said with a sigh, "but knowing that you live in a community of people who want Others in their midst not only legitimizes my presence, it makes them less likely to question me."

"Okay, I follow that," she said, nodding slowly.

"In town, I would think it would be less likely we'd draw attention related to Ben's case if you're clearly involved with someone else."

"Or they'll burn me at the stake," she deadpanned.

"I will not let that happen to you," Kaz snapped, his tone icy. "Not on my watch. I've heard enough about the shit that happened here a couple centuries ago. There's no need to repeat it."

"If you're thinkin' Salem, the one down the mountain ain't that one," Ellie said, smiling despite herself. "That's up in Massachusetts. I feel very supported by the big, strong demon, though, so thanks."

"I... there's another one?" He blinked. Clearly he'd meant "here" as in "this world," not thinking that Ellie knew the exact location.

"Yeah. Moravian town, old place. No public executions, though." She paused. "... 'Least none that I know of."

"Noted," Kaz said, nodding as if he wasn't quite sure how to respond to that.

"You've... seen your share of shit, too, huh?" Ellie said slowly, looking over at him.

"I understand what it means to want to protect your own," he confirmed. "As far as I'm concerned, that includes you for the duration of this bargain."

Yeah, he was a weirdo alright. Ellie cast a sidelong glance at him as they walked, a few strands of his white hair that weren't tucked into the wool hat blowing in the breeze. He didn't push her to talk, and she appreciated that.

"I'm sorry," Ellie murmured.

"Mm?"

"I'm not gonna tell ya I trust you. That's not what I'm saying... but I'm sorry I assumed the worst of you from the start."

Kaz seemed to think on this for a long moment.

"I accept that as a peace offering."

Ellie let out a deep breath that she didn't know she was holding. It was odd to her that she felt so... friendly towards someone she'd expected to hire to help her, but Kaz was... nice. Against her expectations, he was sensitive and a decent person, and he had treated her better in the last twelve hours than most of Boone had treated her in the last year. She thought that deserved some credit.

"Why did you really say yes?" Ellie asked suddenly. "When I called. Why did you say yes?"

"I thought it might make me feel alive again to do something like this."

"Take a bargain? Thought you did that all the time."

"Not like this," he insisted.

"I suppose demons aren't asked to help with cold cases a lot," Ellie said with a shrug.

"It's more likely that we're the ones asked to do the killing," he said, nose wrinkling in distaste. "It's not... pleasant."

"Why do you do it?" Ellie asked, brow furrowed. "If you don't like it, why do you take bargains? The book said you had a choice about responding to me, and you could'a said no when I asked."

"I did have a choice." He sighed, stuffing his hands in the pockets of his worn leather jacket. "I suppose the easy answer is that everyone has to make a living somehow."

"What's the hard answer?"

Silence.

"Okay, okay," Ellie said, holding her hands up in surrender. "I won't push."

"Thanks."

"Wait, stop here," Ellie said suddenly, holding out a hand.

"What's this?" It looked to him like a small clearing on the side of the dirt road, particularly muddy and soggy with rain and rotting leaves. The road curved a little, but otherwise there wasn't much to distinguish this place from any other place they might pass on the way to town.

"This is... this is where he died."

Fuck.

Kaz fought not to curse out loud. No wonder she was feeling shaky— she had to walk past the spot where her fiancé died every time she left her home. There was only one road out, as far as he'd seen, and this was it. Ellie looked off into the distance, squinting into the trees, and then she stepped off the path.

"I need to check something," she mumbled, carefully picking her way through the leaves. A few steps off the road, she turned back to Kaz.

"I couldn't find squat when I checked, but I think the rain had washed away most everything by the time I made it up here. Can you...?" She trailed off, and something about the hopeful tone in her voice made his chest ache.

"My methods are limited. I can't look into the past or read minds, but I can detect leftover energy signatures..." he mumbled, eyes scanning the clearing. He followed in her footsteps, losing track of where she was walking as he closed his eyes, trying to focus on his sixth sense, on the sensation of the energetic imprint of the place.

As he was afraid of, there wasn't much. Outdoors and a long-abandoned crime scene, he wasn't expecting to find any traces, but he did pick up the slightest pinprick.

In the distance, Kaz could feel more than see the softest imprint of leftover red. Not blood, no. He wasn't sensitive to blood or biology, but as an incubus he could sense emotional imprints very easily. If it was a two-year-old imprint, it had to be strong to leave even a little trace behind. Very, very strong.

He followed the trail, feeling that pinprick get hotter and louder as he drew closer, until finally he could feel it under his feet, buried in the roots of a large tree.

Careful to disturb the plant as little as possible, Kaz picked his way through the mud and the leaves, fingers gently prizing the roots apart as he dug out the object calling to him from under the tree. He wasn't sure what he was expecting to find, but when his fingers finally touched something that wasn't dirt or a tree root, he wasn't quite sure what he'd found.

"Odd," he murmured, dragging the small, squashed object up from the roots. After brushing the dirt off, he could tell it was a smashed bundle of thin wire.

"Does that mean anything to you?" he called, holding it up. Ellie scrambled over towards him, plucking the wire from his fingers.

"There's fabric in this..." she muttered, squinting at the wire as she took it from him. "Not a lot, but... looks like burlap, maybe? Hard to tell under the dirt, and it's half decayed from being buried."

"It has... something on it," Kaz said helplessly. "Part of it is the woods. It's been here long enough that a lot of the energy that once was on it has been returned to the earth. There's something that's clinging to it, though."

"Any idea what it could be? Looks like some baling wire to me."

"Rage," Kaz said quietly. "That's all I can get from it, and it's faint, but to cling on after two years..."

"It had to be strong," she said, nodding as she tucked the wire in her pocket. "Thanks. That's more than I was able to dig up out here."

"Still not much..." he muttered, scanning the clearing once more.

That wire was the only energy signature calling out to him in the entire clearing. It was almost unusually clean... but it had been two years, and the earth had a way of taking back and cleansing energy all on its own. It was nice, in a way, and it kept the balance. Kept energy moving constantly.

"Was there blood when he died?" Kaz asked.

Ellie paled in a way that almost made him regret asking, but it was one of the few options they had left.

"Yes. A lot," she said, voice shaking slightly.

"In that case, I might have a contact who can help," Kaz said carefully, looking off into the middle distance. "She doesn't often stay in one place for long, but if I can get a hold of her, it might be helpful in more ways than one."

"What do you need to contact her?"

"Some paper, a white candle, a wax seal, and a few basic spell ingredients. Usually, I'd need something that belongs to her, too, but I can work around that."

"You can do it without a tag lock?" Ellie asked, impressed.

"Only if I know the person well. It takes extra energy and there is technically a low chance it won't be delivered correctly, but it's a useful back door to know in a pinch."

"Let me know if you need anything specific from town. We can send the message when we—"

Ellie suddenly went stock still, staring off into the distance. At first, Kaz didn't see anything at all. However, if he squinted, it was possible to make out a figure that seemed to be made of mist.

It was human-shaped, maybe a little under six feet tall if he had to guess, but he couldn't see specifics. It was like staring at a cloud of fog for him, but he imagined that Ellie's Sight showed her every single detail of the spirit in front of them.

"He's here," she whispered, placing a hand on Kaz's arm.

"Is that..." he breathed, eyes widening slightly.

"Hey, Benny," she said softly, walking towards the hazy mist in the vague shape of a man. Kaz didn't know what she was seeing, if it was more detailed than the ghostly whisp he could make out, but she didn't seem afraid of it. "How ya feeling, sweetie?"

"I— I don't know. I can't... it's like I can't think. Why am I out here?"

Hearing a spirit of the dead speak was something Kaz always found a little uncomfortable. It wasn't quite like hearing something in your ears. It felt more like cold fingers caressing your mind every time they spoke, like hearing a voice that wasn't meant to be heard any more.

It didn't seem to bother Ellie, though. Her eyes shone with tears, but she continued to carefully move towards the spirit, putting on an encouraging smile. She was trying to be careful with him. That much was obvious, but Kaz wasn't quite sure why she wanted to be careful.

"It's okay, hon. I'm right here, so you know you're fine with me. The woods are my place, remember?" She spoke slowly, carefully, every word carefully calculated.

"Yeah. Yeah, that makes sense." Something about the tone softened, relaxed.

"Why don't you come back to the road with me, huh? You can go back home." Ellie was calm in a way that made it clear she was not calm at all, her tone too even, her voice too soft, her words too practiced.

"I should help with supper. It's gettin' late," he said softly, the hazy mist moving closer.

"Yeah. Come on, I'll get you back on the road, baby," Ellie said softly. She didn't reach out to touch the mist, but she did check to make sure he was following as she walked back towards the main road. The shape followed along slowly. Kaz couldn't see if the spirit took any kind of discernible steps, but it did follow towards the road. It didn't pay any attention to Kaz whatsoever, single-mindedly moving towards Ellie like she was the only thing he could see.

Ellie stepped onto the muddy track, watching as it followed her, but the second that the foggy shadow of Ben's spirit floated over the main road, it vanished.

Ellie's shoulders slumped and she let out a breath, shaking her head. "Let's go," she whispered, beckoning him on.

She started walking without another word, and Kaz had to scramble to catch up. She was moving fast now, and he didn't blame her. That seemed like something anyone would want to run from, and he credited her for holding it together as much as she was.

"He doesn't know he's...?" Kaz asked gently.

"No, he doesn't seem to," Ellie said with a huff, biting her lip.

"Why?" Kaz asked, looking at the space where Ben's spirit had once been.

"People who go suddenly don't always have the most peaceful passing. It does something to their mind, to their memories. Going unprepared like that does something to them. Sticks them... somewhere," she said, shaking her head quickly.

"So you come out here to... soothe him?"

"When I see him pop up, yeah. It's about all I can do for him. I give him some peace when I see him, but I'm not entirely sure what would happen to his mind if he... if he knows," she said pointedly. "I don't want to have to exorcise him, and I've seen ghosts turn unpredictable and violent when they're in that state."

"Is there anyone else with the Sight you could ask about this?" Kaz mused, scratching his jaw absently.

"Just Granny," Ellie said sadly, "and hers comes and goes. Some days it's good, others she can't see anything at all."

"How rare is it?"

"Rare," Ellie deadpanned. "Rare enough that I don't know anyone else in the state with the Sight. I'd have to write the Council and ask for records access to locate someone."

"I'm sorry," Kaz said slowly. Ellie just blinked at him owlishly.

"For... what?"

"I imagine it's lonely."

"It... kinda is," she admitted.

"Do you know any psychopomps?" Kaz asked, scratching his jaw. "I wonder if they might be able to help him reach a stable state or guide him where he's meant to go, even if they're stuck on this plane."

Ellie hummed in the back of her throat, tilting her head from one side to the other. "It's not a bad thought. Miriam knows a Dullahan who does rounds up in Virginia and pops by sometimes, but I don't know how well she knows him."

"Psychopomps do seem to keep to themselves," Kaz muttered. "Let me think on it a while, see what I can do."

"Thanks," Ellie said. "I know we have a blood bargain an' all, but I'm... glad I'm not doin' all this alone."

It occurred to him, in that moment, that he wouldn't want her doing this alone. It had been less than a day and he was already attached, it seemed. Ellie was different than the kind of people he was used to, and it caught him off guard.

He knew there were good humans. There were good demons, so the least he could do was give humans some credit and assume not all of them were terrible. He rarely answered calls for good humans, though.

He wasn't used to someone who would think of his comfort enough to give him a pain remedy for his neck. He wasn't used to someone who would ask opinions on groceries or care if he had the right shoes for the weather. Ellie was a natural nurturer, and he was afraid that he could get used to that a little too quickly.

It made him want to... return the favor. To give back.

It made him want to trust her, even though he knew that was a mistake. Bargains and trust did not mix. Bargains and emotions did not mix, he reminded himself, his fingertips moving to trace the scarring around his neck. He'd already learned that the hard way too many times, and he wasn't about to make the same mistake again.