Blackwood Farm - Anne Rice [169]
“ ‘Yes,’ I said, ‘explain to me how the nucleus of a ghost is formed, assuming there is one. And let Pierce have one of the virgins, I think that’s a fine idea.’
“ ‘Stirling says the nucleus is the soul, the soul that refused to move on when it was separated from its earthly body.’
“ ‘So the soul has matter to it!’
“ ‘Maybe more what we call electricity,’ she said, ‘or energy, at any rate. Let’s think of it that way, something infinitesimal that is organized energy. It’s all through our bodies when we’re alive, but it contracts to a nucleus when we die, and that nucleus should go into the Light, as we well know. And instead of going out of our stratosphere, as it should when it disconnects from the body, it stays behind, earthbound, and generates for itself a spirit body, a body of energy imprinted by the shape of its lost human body, and that’s how it acquires its characteristics as a ghost.’
“ ‘And you think that it can forget that it was ever human?’
“ ‘Oh, I think so definitely. There must be earthbound spirits which are a thousand years old. There’s no ticking clock for them. There’s no hunger. There’s no thirst. Without us to make them focus and tighten, they simply drift. I’m not even certain what they see or know when they drift, but then along comes a person who can respond to them, and they begin to evolve as a ghost for that person.’
“ ‘And you call yourself a witch because you can see these spirits?’
“ ‘Yes, and because I can talk to them, but I can’t just make them do what I want. I haven’t experimented with that power. That’s too dangerous a power. The whole subject is dangerous, Tarquin.’ She lowered her voice and she made a sly glance with her eyes at Goblin. ‘Goblin probably knows, don’t you, Goblin?’ she asked. ‘He probably knows all of this.’
“I looked back at Goblin. Goblin’s face was thoughtful. It had lost some of its meanness, and this relieved me somewhat.
“ ‘Mona, we have to be together, always,’ I said. ‘Who else will ever love me the way you can?’
“Goblin drew closer. I put my hand out to stop him.
“ ‘Be patient with me now, Goblin,’ I said. ‘It’s a different kind of love.’
“ ‘I’d never seek to take your place, Goblin,’ said Mona.
“ ‘But truly, Mona,’ I addressed her again. ‘Who else will ever love me the way you can?’
“ ‘What are you talking about?’ she said. ‘You’re tall and gorgeous and you have the most honest blue eyes I’ve ever seen. You know it’s really something when a man has both blue eyes and jet black hair, and that’s what you’ve got. You’re what girls call adorable.’
“Of course I loved hearing these compliments—I was very unsure of myself—but they only strengthened my hope that nothing could separate us.
“ ‘Marry me, Mona,’ I said. ‘I’m serious. You just have to.’
“ ‘I’m beginning to like the idea, but behave yourself,’ she answered. ‘Let’s go on about ghosts and spirits. You need to know things. We were talking about earthbound spirits, how they fail to go into the Light.’
“ ‘Are you sure of the Light yourself, Mona?’ I asked her.
“ ‘Well, you see, that’s the very problem,’ she answered. ‘When these people die they aren’t sure of it, and they may not recognize the Light for what it is. They may not trust it. They cling to the Earth; they cling to mortals whom they can still see and hear.’
“ ‘And so we have this theoretical spirit whose nucleus doesn’t go into the Light,’ I said, ‘this soul that drifts—.’
“ ‘Yes,’ she said, ‘and it can start a whole adventure for itself, especially if it finds a receptive person like you or me, somebody who can see it even when its organizing powers are still weak. Then of course we help it focus by noticing it and talking to it, and paying attention to it, and its organization becomes stronger and stronger.’
“ ‘But what about a spirit like Goblin? He’s not a ghost. He doesn’t know where he came from.’
“She shot me a meaningful glance that said: Be careful. ‘Goblin is pure spirit then,’ she replied, ‘but spirits are probably organized in exactly