Gone Ghost

by Sara C. Roethle

  8

  Everyone caravaned back to my mom's house, including Devin, who was still waiting for his turn to talk to me. Jason had called him, uneasy about leaving Emma unguarded to take me to the hospital. Abel was watching her now, and it was Devin's job to get the scoop.

  We all gathered in the living room to discuss the event, when what I really wanted to do was sleep. Lucy and Allison had taken a post on either side of me when I'd first been allowed out of the hospital, and had stayed glued to me ever since. They rode with me in the back of my mom's jeep, and now they sat with me on the couch. If only their moral support could extend to handling the questioning that was about to begin, I'd be set.

  Four dining room chairs had been moved to provide additional seating. Max had snagged the love seat, leaving Chase, Jason, Devin, and my mom to sit in the less-comfortable dining room chairs. Of course, my mom had almost instantly vacated her chair in favor of making coffee and snacks. I couldn't blame her for being uncomfortable in a room with several werewolves, a vampire, and two demons. Few humans would be. Allison was a special case.

  “So tell me what happened with this demon girl,” Devin began, pausing to take a sip of his coffee. He looked a little more ragged than usual, with wrinkles in his suit and slight bags under his eyes.

  “Her name is Nix, and I just tried to talk to her,” I explained, “and even offered to take her back underground, but she has a serious vendetta against the witches, and I think against me.”

  “Why you?” Allison asked. “You were both screwed over by the witches and your grandmother. You'd think you'd be on the same side.”

  I shrugged. “My grandmother had the witches torture her, then I show up, looking just like Alexandria, trying to stop Nix from killing any more of the witches. Draw your own conclusions.”

  “Looking just like your grandmother?” Max asked as he lounged comfortably on the love seat. He was wearing the pajamas he'd worn to visit me in the hospital, plaid pants with a baggy blue tee shirt. That he'd already been wearing them when I was attacked, around 6 pm, said a lot about how much he cared for appearances. He was the exact opposite of Allison.

  I sighed, not really wanting to get into another explanation that had nothing to do with our current predicament. “Some of the more powerful demons don't age. My grandmother was centuries old, but only looked a few years older than me.”

  “Geesh,” Max replied, “just when I thought demons couldn't get any creepier. Does this mean you won't age either?”

  I rolled my eyes at him. “I'm tired so I'm going to overlook the creepy comment, but no, it doesn't mean I won't age. I'm half-human and will most likely live and die like the rest of you mortals.”

  “Except for Jason,” Max countered, not letting the subject drop.

  “Back to the matter at hand, please,” Devin interrupted in annoyance. “Do you think this girl will come after you?”

  I turned my attention back to Devin, grateful for the interruption. “I'm not sure. I don't think she was trying to kill me, else she would have stayed to finish the job. My guess is she was just trying to get away from me at the time. Of course, now that she knows my grandmother is dead, she might change her focus.”

  Devin answered with a curt nod. “Duly noted. Now I'll need the address of the witches who are tracking the demon girl.”

  I looked at him suspiciously. “Why do I get the feeling that I shouldn't honor that request?”

  Devin sighed just as my mom walked back into the room. “We're not going to kill them.”

  My mom let out a little eep of surprise. We all turned to look at her.

  “I'm just . . . going to go upstairs,” she said as she backed away. “Xoe can fill me in on everything later.”

  Everyone said goodnight and turned to get back to business, but I couldn't help watching her as she left. Things had finally gotten back to almost-normal between us, and now here we were discussing murder in her living room, right on the heels of putting her through a day at the hospital and police questioning. It didn't bode well for the future of our relationship.

  “Way to freak out my mom, Devin,” I chided as I turned back around.

  He smirked. “I was asking for the address so we could take them into custody. You're the one that made implications.”

  I leaned back and sunk into the couch to pout. Chase and Jason eyed me, both abnormally quiet. I shook my head and turned my gaze back to Devin. I could only deal with so much at once.

  “What do you mean, custody?”

  It was Devin's turn to roll his eyes. “The demon girl wants the witches, and maybe she wants you. We already have you, so if we obtain the witches, the girl will have to come to us.”

  “Nix has been biding her time for over a month,” I countered. “We might have to wait a while.”

  Devin cocked his head at me. “Okay, miss smarty-pants, what do you suggest?”

  I sat up straight, not wanting to launch into my plan from my lower vantage point. “The witches are going to help us summon Chase's brother, Sam,” I explained. “Sam can speak to the dead and has control over spirits, so he can help me with my little haunting problem.”

  “And what about the demon girl?” Devin pressed.

  I crossed my arms and prepared to divulge a part of my plan I'd yet to share with anyone. “Sam's spirits can carry demons between realms,” I explained, “and they can't get stabbed. Once the witches get a bead on her, we'll have Sam send his spirits to take her under. At that point, the demons can deal with her.”

  Devin crossed his arms, mirroring me. “And what makes you think that this Sam person will be so willing to help you?”

  I smiled bitterly and moved my eyes to Chase. “Because he owes me, and helping me is a lot better than the alternatives.” I didn't need to say out loud what those alternatives might be. The people in the room knew me well enough to catch on.

  Chase met my gaze and nodded, affirming that my plan was relatively solid.

  Devin clapped his hands together, suddenly pleased. “For once I don't have to do anything. I like it.”

  Jason cringed, which was the first sign that he was actually paying attention to the conversation. He looked at Chase. Chase, looking back, nodded.

  “Actually, I'm going to have to back out of the job with Emma,” Jason announced. “I'd like to see this thing with the witches through.”

  I looked back and forth between Jason and Chase, wondering what the nod was about, but my attention was soon drawn back to Devin as he sighed dramatically.

  He placed a hand over his eyes and shook his head. “My work is never done.”

  I snorted. “Sing it, soul sister.”

  He smiled at my joke and stood, then eyed everyone in the room in turn. “I'm going to head to my hotel for some rest. I imagine Xoe will be well taken care of in the interim?”

  “Sir, yes sir,” Allison and Max both said in unison. They turned and grinned at one another.

  Jason smirked and looked at me. “And they said we were bad with the mushiness,” he muttered.

  I smiled in reply and looked back to Max and Allison, who didn't seem to notice the exchange.

  Devin looked down at me. “A moment, if you would?”

  I nodded and tried to stand, but Lucy had to give me a boost off the couch so I wouldn't strain my abdomen stitches. You never realize how much you use certain muscles until you can't.

  I followed Devin outside onto the porch, then waited while he shut the door behind us. I groaned as he walked past me toward the driveway, expecting me to follow. A closed door wasn't enough when you wanted privacy from vampires and werewolves.

  The moon lit my way to Devin's car as he waited, holding the passenger side door open for me. Once I reached him, he had to hold onto my uninjured forearm as I tried to lower myself into the seat without bending my upper body. The movement still strained the stitches uncomfortably, but we managed. As soon as I was settled, he went around to the driver's side. The slamming of his door was
startling, leaving us in the car alone, where my supernatural friends were less likely to hear our conversation.

  “Why all the secrecy?” I huffed, annoyed to be in a freezing cold car instead of my warm, cozy home.

  “I want to discuss this situation with the cops,” he admitted as he gazed out into the darkness.

  I sighed. “They lied when they questioned me. Said I was a person of interest.”

  He turned and raised an eyebrow at me. “How do you know they were lying?”

  I snorted. “I'm not stupid. I've never even been questioned by the police. I wouldn't be a person of interest just for knowing Dan, and being in the same grade level as Claire.”

  Devin nodded. “They just see a girl with unusual wounds matching those found on multiple murder victims.”

  I frowned, not sure where our conversation was going. “So what's the problem then?”

  Devin frowned too. “You're surrounded by a lot of violence, Xoe. The police may start investigating you, looking for something to link you to Claire and Sasha, and maybe even Dan.”

  “But I'm not doing anything illegal-” I began, but he cut me off with a raised hand.

  “Not right now, but sometimes you do. If this demon girl attacks you again in public and you kill her, it will be hard to plead self-defense since her weapons are incorporeal. Harder still to explain how you lit her clothes on fire without a lighter or any form of accelerant.”

  I tried to shift into a more comfortable position, but ended up tugging on my stitches hard enough that it felt like they might tear. Perhaps the doctors were right about me staying in bed. Stitches were a real pain.

  “So what do you want me to do?” I forced through gritted teeth, slowly shifting back to my original, hunched position.

  Devin shook his head. “I don't know. This is why demons, even ones with a good portion of human blood, don't normally live in this world.”

  “So you're saying I shouldn't live here?” I asked, hating the shakiness of my voice.

  Devin sighed and patted my shoulder. “No, in fact, you should spend as much time here as possible as long as the police are interested in you. Disappearing for long periods of time to the demon world will likely increase their curiosity.”

  Devin seemed deep in thought, thoughts he still wasn't telling me. There was more to his worry than the cops. I could sense it.

  I waited for him to meet my eyes. “What is this about, really?”

  He quirked the corner of his mouth. “Nothing gets by you,” he replied tiredly.

  I crossed my arms lightly so I wouldn't aggravate wounds. “I'm waiting.”

  He bit his lip, then turned to fully face me. “Abel would kill me for saying it, but I don't think you should remain in the position of pack leader. It's not good for you, or any of us.”

  My jaw dropped in surprise. “You guys have been pretty gung ho about me sticking with the job. Why the change of heart?”

  Devin shook his head. “Things are not good for the wolves. The western packs are divided from the eastern, and beyond that, the East is divided between North and South. Conflicts between factions are increasing. The northeastern packs have taken to working with witches to give them an edge. They were the ones who inspired Abel to involve himself with demons. Demon trumps witch most every time.”

  I narrowed my eyes at him as the gears began to turn in my head. “I knew the reason Abel wanted me as a pack leader was to add the threat of demons. Why do I get the feeling you're trying to tell me something more?”

  Devin's face shut down. “I believe Abel intends to acquire more demons. His plan so far has worked. The other packs are afraid, but I don't think it will have the results he intends. When you back a wolf into a corner, it doesn't cower. It attacks.”

  “Like the pack that threatened the local witches,” I observed.

  Devin nodded. “They weren't rogues. They came here from Connecticut to knock Abel down a few pegs. No one wants to see more demons brought into the mix.”

  “Gee thanks,” I muttered.

  Devin shook his head at my dejected expression. “I'm not saying this to hurt you, Xoe, and I'm not lumping you in with the stigma surrounding demons. I'm saying that this is all making you a walking target. You need to stay here for now, but when things have settled down a bit, I think you should step down and move underground. Permanently.”

  I was too tired to be angry. Instead I gave him my best apathetic expression. “I'm a target down there too, don't you get it? I'm the only living demon who can make portals. Now that my dad is dead, there's nothing to keep other demons from trying to use me. The invading wolves were only a secondary danger in the plan that my grandmother, a demon, orchestrated.”

  Devin placed his hands on the steering wheel, flexing his fingers in frustration. “So what will you do?” he asked finally.

  I laughed bitterly. “I'll try to stay alive. Beyond that, I can't make any plans. My life is dictated by whatever the next emergency is. All I can tell you, is that I'm a lot more frightened of demons than I am of werewolves.”

  Devin stared through the windshield at the moon. “I suppose that's wise.”

  We sat in silence for several minutes.

  Eventually I put my hand on the door handle to leave, but before I did, I turned back to Devin. “You know, you're a lot more serious when you're not around everyone else.”

  He smiled softly. “I've lived in a world where I've needed to hide my emotions for a very long time. Humor and sarcasm are great deflectors.”

  I smiled back. “Well, thanks for caring, at least.”

  He nodded. “You're a good person, in bad circumstances. You don't deserve to be forced into all of this.”

  I nodded, unsure of how to reply, then struggled out of the car and shut the door. I took a few steps back as Devin started the car, reversed it, then drove away.

  You're a good person, he'd said. Sometimes, I begged to differ.

  9

  I walked back into the house to escape the cold. The painkillers they'd given me in the hospital were quickly wearing off, and my wounds, though partially healed, were beginning to ache even without movement.

  Everyone was waiting for me, eating the snacks my mom had laid out. With Lucy's help, I returned to my place on the couch, feeling almost too exhausted to keep my eyes open. I glanced at the snacks, knowing I should eat, but not wanting to lean forward enough to fix myself a plate.

  Sensing my discomfort, Lucy scooted to the edge of her seat and piled a paper plate with cheese, crackers, veggies, and ranch dip, then handed it to me. I took it gratefully and began munching away, waiting for someone to break the silence. Though I was exhausted, I would have really liked to get either Chase or Jason alone to ask about their seeming secret conspiracy regarding me. Maybe I was just being paranoid, but I sensed something amiss.

  “I can't believe they tortured her,” Lucy blurted out, breaking the morose silence. “What would they have had to gain?”

  “Information,” I answered, knowing she was referring to Nix.

  I gave Chase a side-long glance. I hadn't discussed the folder of information that he'd found on my dad's doorstep with anyone else. My dad had been researching something long before he knew his life was in danger, and I had a feeling that Nix knew a little something about that.

  Chase raised an eyebrow at me. “You have no intention of letting Nix go free in the underground, do you?”

  Lucy looked back and forth between the two of us. “What information?”

  I bit my lip, having an unexplainable instinct to conceal that news. “Nix knows something that my grandmother wanted to know, and my dad was looking for information before he died. That's reason enough for me to want to find out what's inside of Nix's head.”

  Allison raised an eyebrow and looked down at my bandaged arm. “Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm guessing she isn't exactly the chatty type.”

  I put a piece of cheese on a cracker and bit down, deep in thought as I chewed. �
��She actually said quite a bit,” I said finally, then frowned, “before she tried to slice me open. She might sing a different tune once we get her back underground.”

  “Are you sure this thing with Sam is going to work?” Lucy pressed. “It seems like you're putting an awful lot of faith in him.”

  “That's even if we can summon him to begin with,” Chase added.

  “I thought you were on my side,” I pouted, turning my gaze back to him.

  Chase sighed. “I am. I just don't like the idea of the witches drawing from you to do it. For all we know, Cynthia blames you for everything that happened and is plotting some horrible revenge.”

  “That wouldn't help her with Nix,” I argued. “She needs me.”

  “That's not to say that the spell won't have some adverse effect later on. She only needs you until you get rid of her demon problem,” he countered.

  Jason's expression was pensive as he said, “There has to be another way. I don't think the witches should draw from you either.”

  I narrowed my eyes at him, then turned to Chase. “I'm guessing you filled him in on a few things?”

  “Did you not want me to know?” Jason asked before Chase could answer.

  “I think that's our cue to leave,” Max announced as he stood.

  Lucy and Allison stood as well. Traitors.

  “Call and let us know what the plan is,” Lucy paused, then added, “ . . . once you figure everything out.”

  I nodded, then turned back to Chase and Jason, ready to get to the bottom of their new-found alliance. They both stared back at me innocently.

  As soon as I heard the door shut behind those who'd departed, I pursed my lips. “Care to tell me the plan you two have formulated?”

  Chase cringed, but Jason remained straight-faced.

  “We want the witches to draw from Chase,” Jason explained. “They're afraid of you, so we need you at full power, should anything go awry.”