“About a month ago. Seth has proven quite valuable when it comes to research, and the boy knows how to do what I tell him without asking all kinds of questions. He knows I’ll explain everything at some point.”
“Cool.” One less thing for me to worry about. “Let’s get home so I can have a nap. What time should we be back here, Doc?”
“Say around seven? Seth will be here earlier to set up our own cameras. I want my feed separate from those other people.”
“The Scooby crew?” I snicker and ignore Mary’s ire.
Doc’s lips tilt ever so slightly. He’s trying not to hurt Mary’s feelings, but he and I both know those guys are so far from real ghost hunters, it’s not even funny.
“It’s a plan. Now, let’s get out of here.”
No one disagrees with that.
Chapter Eight
We drop Eric off at his dorm, and then Mary lets me out at ours. She is going to meet up with Wade to catch some dinner before the ghost hunt, so I told her to use my car. No point in her having to park mine then go find hers. She promised to pick me and Eric up by six so we could make it back out to the Duchaines’. Those poor people. They have no idea what is in their house.
I don’t either. I’m not quite sure what it is, except that it eats souls. Maybe Doc’s assistant will find something. I can only hope so. All the research I’ve done tells me the more you know about your target, the easier it will be to either get them to move on or to dispose of them for good.
“You sure you’ll be okay by yourself?” Mary pulls up to the front of our dorm, worried.
“I’m fine. I just need a power nap, and I’ll be good as new.”
“You’ll call if you get sick?”
“Sure will.” I open the car door and get out before she can worry herself into changing her mind about going to meet up with Wade. She deserves a little happiness.
Waving, I head up the stairs of the dorm’s front porch, hearing her pull away. I love my sister, but sometimes I need peace and quiet, especially when my head feels like it might implode.
I don’t notice him at first. It’s not until he stands up from one of the benches along the right side of the porch that I see him. He’s tall, well over six feet. Dark brown hair frames hazel eyes. He’s staring at me, his eyes curious.
“Hello,” he says. His voice is deeper than I’d expect from someone who looks to be in his early twenties.
“Hey. Do you need some help?” He keeps staring at me, and it’s making me nervous.
“Are you Emma Crane?”
All the warning bells and whistles start to go off. Who is he, and how does he know my name?
“Who are you?”
“I’m Aleric Nathaniel Buchard, your brother.”
I back away slowly, trying not to panic. Zeke and my grandparents had warned me about the Dubois family. They are way worse than the Cranes, and my grandfather worries they might try to kill me for my gifts.
“Don’t be afraid.” His hazel eyes, my eyes, beseech me to believe him.
“I’m not afraid,” I say. “I’m just giving myself room to move in case I need to defend myself.”
He grins, a dimple appearing in his cheek. “You’re feisty and quick on your feet.”
“How did you find out about me?”
“Our mother.”
Holy crap. She must have gone back to her parents after she fled the hospital. Of course she’d tell them about me.
I take two more steps backward. Georgina wants me dead.
“I swear I’m not here to hurt you.” He comes to stand at the end of the porch. “I just wanted to meet my sister.”
He doesn’t seem threatening, but I’ve learned the hard way that doesn’t mean jack.
“Will you come sit down for a few minutes so we can talk? We’ll stay right here in the open where everyone can see us.”
Instead of doing that, I pull out my phone and call Dan. He picks up on the third ring.
“You okay?”
“I’m not sure.”
“What’s wrong?”
“My brother just showed up at my dorm.”
He lets out a string of curses I’ve never heard him use. He hates swear words, but boy, is he using them now.
“I’m calling you back on FaceTime.” He hangs up, and within a few seconds, he’s back. His brown eyes are intense, full of worry and fire, but seeing him eases some of the panic rolling in my stomach. If something happens, at least Dan knows who to go after.
“Show me,” he says, and I turn the phone around so he can get a look at Aleric.
“Is this your boyfriend?” Aleric asks and comes down the steps.
“Yes,” Dan says, and I get a little thrill. Not sure if he’s saying that as a ploy to protect me or if he means it. Dan and I have been through a lot, but he vowed to give me time to figure out who I am without him before we talk about us.
“I would have thought you’d call your father.”
“Oh, I’ll call her dad even if she doesn’t.” Dan sounds cold, and it makes me shiver. Dan and that sword of his are downright lethal.
“This is Aleric Buchard.”
“It’s Nathaniel. I don’t think anyone but my father called me Aleric.”
“What do you want?” Dan goes right to the heart of the matter.
“Just to meet my sister.” Nathaniel frowns, clearly not expecting so much hostility. “That’s all.”
Three girls pass by us, openly staring. So not the best place to do this. “Come on, let’s go sit down.” I walk past Nathaniel up to the porch and take a seat at the first bench.
He follows and sits beside me, close enough so Dan is able to see us both in the camera’s field of vision. “I really mean no harm. My grandparents wanted me to wait until they could determine if you posed a threat to me or not.”
“Me, threaten you?” I give him my best what-the-heck look. “Georgina was going to sell my soul to buy her freedom from a debt owed to a Fallen Angel incurred by your family, and they think I’m a threat?”
“What?” Nathaniel asks, the confusion plain as day all over his face.
“They didn’t tell you that, did they?” I let out a harsh laugh. “Go ask them about their dealings with Deleriel, especially Georgina.”
“I don’t really know Georgina, outside of the fact she’s my mother. She showed up out of the blue at my grandparents’ house while I was away at school. I only met her over the summer, and even then, I think we only talked about ten minutes during that whole time. The only thing of interest she told me was that I had a sister.”
“Your family…”
“Is no worse than yours,” Nathaniel finishes for me. “Both our families deal in dark magic. I was raised in both white and black magic and use both as I need them. It’s who I am, and I won’t apologize for it. Doesn’t mean I’ll ever use it against you, though.”
I want to believe him, but my past has taught me not to trust easily. Family or not, he has to earn the right for me to trust him.
“Where’s your sister?” Dan asks, breaking my line of thought.
“She went over to Wade’s.”
“Sister?” Nathaniel frowns. “I didn’t know your father had another child.”
“He doesn’t.” I tilt the phone so I can see Dan a little better. “Mary and her family took me in and gave me a home. She and I went through some stuff. You don’t go through what we did without coming out the other side of it as family. She may not have my blood in her veins, but she’s my sister in every other sense of the word.”
“Mary.” Her name rolls off his tongue in his thick Georgia accent. It’s quite charming. I make a note to myself to keep Mary away from him. Not that she’d fall for his southern accent, but still. I’d rather not take that chance. I’d hate to have to hurt my own flesh and blood if he did something to her.
“So, I have two sisters now,” Nathaniel muses. “More to worry about.”
I frown, and he laughs.
“
If she is your sister, then she’s mine too. The Buchards take care of their own.”
“Are you sure that’s all you want?” Dan asks, bringing our attention back to him. “Her own father contemplated sacrificing her to gain her gifts.”
“But he didn’t because she’s his flesh and blood.” Nathaniel’s eyes harden. “I may not have known about my sister very long, but I was raised that family is the most precious thing in the world. We’re all we have in this life, and we’d kill to protect each other. She is safe with me.”
“But is she safe with your grandparents?” Dan counters, and it makes Nathaniel pause. Something shifts in his eyes.
“Would your grandparents be willing to sacrifice me for my gifts?” I pull out The Voice, the one that lets no one lie to me.
“Yes.” Nathaniel slaps a hand over his mouth. “I mean…”
“Would you hurt me to take my gifts?” I push harder.
“No, you’re my sister. I won’t hurt you.”
“Even if it means you can gain the gifts of both a demon and a god?”
“What?” he whispers, his face paling.
“Would you murder me to gain those gifts?” I put all the power I can drum up in the question, forcing an answer out of him.
“No.”
Dan lets out a breath, and I relax. For now, Nathaniel is convinced he won’t hurt me. Down the road, that might change. Heck, it might change later today once he thinks about it, but in this moment, I can relax.
“I don’t understand…” He shakes his head as if to clear it. “What did you do?”
“It’s one of my gifts,” I say and smile for the first time since I met him. “No one can lie to me. Not even my father.”
“That’s…useful.” He looks dazed, and I can’t blame him. Not being able to lie to someone is usually a choice, but in our line of family friends, it is useful.
“Squirt, I have to go. We’re at a crime scene. If I don’t get a text from you every ten minutes, I’m calling Zeke.”
“I’m good, Officer Dan. Go play detective.”
“Every ten minutes.” He gives me that patented Officer Dan cop look I can’t mimic no matter how hard I try.
“Promise.”
“Love you, Squirt.”
“Love you too.” I disconnect the call and smile.
“Squirt?” Nathaniel asks.
“It’s a nickname he gave me when I first met him two years ago.” I scoot away from Nathaniel slightly, but he notices.
“I really won’t hurt you.”
“I know.” I nod. “At least you won’t right now. You may change your mind later.”
Nathaniel frowns. “Why would I change my mind? You’re my family.”
“I just…” I stop, not sure what to tell him.
“Just what?”
“How much do you know about me?” I finally ask him.
“Only what Georgina told us. She said you were Ezekiel Crane’s daughter, and she’d left both of you when you were a baby.”
“That’s one way of putting it.” The shortest version of the truth if there ever was one.
“Why don’t you tell me what she didn’t?”
“I have a better idea.” This is not a conversation I want to have on the front steps of my dorm where anyone can eavesdrop. “Why don’t you meet me at my father’s house, and we’ll all sit down and talk tomorrow? I have something I have to do tonight, or I’d take you straight over there now.”
“I was hoping you’d let me buy you dinner, and we could talk.”
Not sure I want to go anywhere alone with him even though I know he’s not lying about wanting to hurt me, but one thing I’ve learned is people who are supposed to love and protect me don’t always do that. Hazard of growing up in the foster care system.
“I promised I’d go help with a ghost hunt.”
“Ghost hunt?” He cocks his head like I do when I’m turning something over in my mind. “You inherited your father’s reaping ability?”
“You know about that?”
He smiles. “Yeah, both families know all about each other. It pays to know the strengths and weaknesses of those who can hurt you.”
Truer words have never been spoken.
“The Dubois and Crane families are two of the most dangerous in the supernatural world, Emma. We need to know how to defend ourselves, should one turn against the other.”
“And if they do, then what?” I ask. “Would you come after me or my father?”
He purses his lips. “I won’t hurt you.”
“But my father? My grandparents?”
“I don’t know what to say. If they came after me, I’d be forced to defend myself.”
“But if your grandparents ordered you to go after them first?”
“It’s a moot point. There’s been peace in our families for more than fifty years.”
He skirts around the question, but really, what did I expect? It’s a hard question.
“Tell me about your ghost hunt.” He twists so he’s facing me again. I decide to let him change the subject. He and I need to get to know one another before we start with the difficult stuff.
“It’s a house that’s occupied by a soul eater.”
He winces. “That’s rough. Those things are a beast to put down.”
“You know how to put them down?” He might be of some use after all.
“Not directly, only stories I’ve heard.” His hazel eyes twinkle at seeing my excitement.
Dang it. Here I thought we’d be able to make the house safe for the baby without all the effort of trying different things.
“And it requires the use of dark magic.”
And there go the rest of my hopes. I will not use dark magic. The demon half of me snarls at my refusal, but I won’t feed the darkness that lives in me. It’s too dangerous.
“We’ll find another way.” I sigh. I should know better than to assume anything in my life will ever be easy.
“I’m sure you will.” He leans his shoulder against the bench. “I’m only here for the weekend. I have classes I need to get back to, but I wanted to meet you. I was hoping we could spend some time together, get to know each other, but I understand your hesitation. If you showed up at my dorm unannounced, I’d be wary of your intentions too.”
“I’m not really good with the whole family thing,” I tell him. “I’m just getting used to having one.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s a long story, but I grew up in foster care. I just met the Cranes last year.”
He frowns, his hazel eyes troubled. “I don’t understand. Georgina said…”
“She lied.” I roll my head, trying to relieve the ache settling in my neck. My head is pounding, and I need to find some Motrin. “I’ve had a rough day, Nathaniel, and it’s going to be an even rougher night. I need some sleep before I go back into that house. I know you’re not here for long, but if I don’t get some Motrin and my bed soon, I will not be responsible for what occurs. I do want to talk to you. I have since Silas told me about you, but I need a clear head to do that. Can we talk tomorrow at Zeke’s? Please.”
“Why don’t I come with you on your ghost hunt instead?”
Uh…hard to keep him away from Mary if he goes with me, and then there’s Doc. He gets hives thinking about my dad. What would he do if I showed up with a member of the second most dangerous family in the south?
“Ummm…”
“I just want a chance to get to know you, Emma. I’m pretty good with the supernatural. You never know, I might be able to help.”
I shouldn’t…
I know I shouldn’t, but…
“Okay. Be here by six. Mary’s gonna pick me and Eric up. You can hang out in the van with me. Doc wants to see what he can see on the cameras and get more information before we come up with a plan to oust the little bugger.”
“Doc?”
“Dr. Lawrence Olivet.”
“The Spook Doctor.” Nathaniel nods. “I�
�ve heard of him.”
“Everybody’s heard of him.” I stand and hope it’s a not so subtle hint to get him moving.
“Six o’clock?” He stands and shuffles from foot to foot.
“Yup.”
“Can I hug you, or is that too weird?” He’s looking everywhere but at me, and it gives me a second’s hesitation. Why is he so nervous? Is he planning on trying to pluck a strand of hair? Having that could give him a lot of power…
Stop it, I tell myself. Not everyone is looking to hurt you. He came here of his own free will, against his grandparents’ wishes.
Are you sure?
I want to strangle that little voice in the back of my mind, the one left over from my foster care days that won’t let me trust in people.
I choose to ignore it. I’m going to believe he came here to meet me with no intentions of hurting me. I might be wrong, but I hope not.
“Sure, you can hug me.”
He finally looks at me, and I see my own uncertainty reflected in his eyes. He’s just nervous because, well, we’ve never met, and it is awkward.
I’m the one who hugs him first, and he lets out a sigh when his arms go around me. It’s weird, not like when I hugged Zeke for the first time. That felt easy and like I’d finally come home. This feels…not bad, but not like home either. There is a strange connection, like we recognize each other as being from the same flesh and blood, but it isn’t an instant bond. Maybe it will come with time; maybe I am holding back because I don’t trust him.
The truth will out itself in the end.
But for now, I’m going to attempt to get to know him and be wary at the same time. It’s the best I can do.
We say our goodbyes, and I go to my room in search of Motrin and my bed.
Chapter Nine
Fire.
Flames consume every surface. It licks at the wall, pulls air from oxygen-starved lungs. The heat is intense as I try to find my way through the darkened house. I can hear the cries coming from the nursery, but the faster I try to run, the more the pain assaults me.
Looking down, I can only stare in horror as the flames crawl along my legs, latch onto my flesh, and blacken the skin until it resembles ash. My baby screams, and I ignore the pain, trying desperately to reach him before the flames can take him from me
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