Part 3
Victoria found Heather in the smoking room, but he wasn't alone. No matter, this couldn't wait. She went right up to him and began shaking him, yelling.
"The prisoner! She's trying to hang herself! She doesn't know we aren't going to kill her! You have to save her!" Victoria shouted. "Please!"
Victoria pulled Heather right out of his seat, to the shock of those around him.
"Alright I got it!" He replied, running for the basement, leaving the others extremely confused as to what just happened.
Rebecca and Sergei were surprised to see Heather racing for the dungeon door, he wasn't even supposed to know what's going on yet.
"Get that door open! Now!" Heather shouted.
"Heather? What's going on?" Rebecca asked, confused.
"I'll explain later! Sergei!"
Sergei nodded and opened the door. "Shit!"
Diana had just finished pushing the chair away when Heather intervened, catching her.
"Not today." Heather said, straining to support her weight. He was soon joined by Sergei, while Rebecca cut the rope.
"Sergei, we will discuss you leaving rope of all things inside the interrogation room later." Rebecca said icily. "However, it seems our suicidal spy is still alive, but only just. Heather, how did you know?"
"It's been nearly 6 years, so I suppose I should tell you." Heather said, seeing Victoria come flying through the door, visibly relieved that Diana was okay. "It was Victoria. Her ghost has been in the manor since the day she died."
"Oh Heather thank you!" Victoria wailed, hugging him and kissing him. "Anton and Marie need her!"
From Rebecca and Sergei's perspective, Heather appeared to be getting squeezed by an unseen force, and very confusingly, they saw Heather hug nobody.
"How is it that you're able to see her?" Rebecca inquired, while motioning for Diana to be taken upstairs.
"I'm a spirit, Rebecca. The rus aren't native to Karand, our home is the sunken depths in the place between the planes. As a consequence of that, we can see all ghosts." Heather answered as Sergei picked up Diana and placed her on his back with the assistance of Rebecca. "As I'm sure you noticed, we can touch ghosts as well."
"Can Victoria hear us?" Rebecca asked, as they walked up the steps.
"Yes."
"Victoria, you were a good friend. You were not a bad person, just a damaged person. You overheard us talking about Anton and Marie, didn't you?"
"She says yes." Heather said, after seeing Victoria nod.
"It seems Diana has quite the guardian angel then." Sergei said with a chuckle.
"Heather, I have a question." Rebecca began, as they neared the top of the staircase. "Since you're a spirit, is it possible for there to be a rus vampire?"
"I'm quite happy to say the divine disease does not work on the rusalki." Heather said with a hearty laugh. "Besides, rus blood is poisonous to the extent that vampires instinctively do not feed on us. Victoria please stop hanging on to me."
Victoria was still hugging Heather and thanking him over and over, her usual unhappy wails replaced by tears of joy.
"Oh? Is she pleased by this?" Rebecca asked.
"I haven't seen her this genuinely happy in..." Heather began, but stopped. "No, never. I've never seen her this happy."