Pierce shushed her quietly, or tried to, while he remained sitting on the edge of the couch. He held her arms, just in case she got the crazy idea that she was going to run out of the room or chase that fleeting spirit. Trying to explain this would be difficult, but he would try. He owed her that much, at least.
"I talk to ghosts," he began, looking at her seriously as if they were just discussing the weather. "I see them everywhere, all the time, just as they look when they died. Most are not at peace because a lot of ghosts have so much unfinished business on Earth. A ghost is sort of stuck. A spirit, however, has already passed on to the next realm. That's the difference."
He glanced in the direction of the shadowy figure, the way it had gone. "And a demon is just...more mythological. It was never human. As for why it's happening, I don't know. It wanted to get your attention somehow. Do you still hear the prayers to the lord of death?"