by Jenica Saren
Mystery guy bolted upright in bed and I couldn't help but feel a little jostled. That was also new. His eyes opened and I took in the room around him as he looked a well. It was like watching a movie in the first person point of view, which were my favourite kinds of movies.
The room was modern and fresh looking with slate grey walls, white curtains with subtle chevron stripes, black furniture, a large gaming PC set up, and dark brown hardwood flooring. It definitely screamed bachelor pad, but it was also kind of neat and made me want to get rid of my very frilly, very girly arrangement back home. Not that I ever would, but it was a fun thought to entertain for maybe five minutes.
The guy groaned and the tone of his voice echoed around me, deep and rough, but not grating, more like a bass guitar. It was a pleasant sound to surround myself with. I watched as his eyes shut once more while he stretched away the lingering sleepiness in his muscles. I hated waking up, but I loved that feeling. Slowly, he opened his eyes once more and started to rise from the bed, groaning and grumbling something that I couldn't even understand, and I was closer to his voice than he was.
His bare feet padding across the floor brought me a weird sense of pleasure. That is, until I realised where he was going.
Oh goddess, no. I thought in horror.
Mystery guy opened a door and stepped into a surprisingly large bathroom. Now, I wasn't a prude by any means, but I never intentionally signed up to watch guys pee. Plus, there was the added fact that I was not raised around men in any form. It was the way the coven had always functioned and wasn't going to change just because I existed. And, in my current, formless state, I had no eyes to close.
By the time he emerged from the bathroom, I was scarred. Given a physical body or bodily form, I would have been rocking in the fetal position. Maybe it was one thing watching from a side angle, but watching from the guy's point of view? Did they really shake it like that?
Shuddering internally, I waited as he made his way from his bedroom and down a long hall. Maybe he would eat. Maybe he would eat a sandwich? I would have killed for a sandwich right then.
As he walked, I thought I heard the growing sound of other voices. With a place as nice as this one seemed, it was likely that he had either roommates or some sort of killer job. Hopefully not actually a killer, though, because I was sort of stuck in his head and didn't particularly want to witness him killing people. I'd never even sacrificed an animal since it wasn't part of the Syntyche coven's magick. Harm to none, yadda, yadda, yadda.
My mystery guy turned a corner at the end of the hallway and looked straight at a dining table that was mostly barren of food, much to my dismay. I missed eating. I missed it a lot. Mystery guy pulled out a chair and sat down, resting his elbows on the table like some kind of heathen. Gran would have smacked him silly for that.
Gran...
Thinking about her, about my mom, it all hurt so bad that I could feel it as much as I could still feel my lingering headache. It was a constant pain where my chest would be that intensified like a fire being splashed with gasoline. Instead of just wandering about, I really should have been focusing on finding them or finding out what happened to them. If they were on the other side of the veil...
I'd never even gotten the chance to tell them I didn't want to have kids from a magickal sperm bank. I'd have to try harder to find them once I was able to get out of this guy's brain.
Shaking my non-existent head, I returned my attention back to the guy. He was talking to the other voices I'd heard earlier, but I hadn't gotten to see their faces. If I was a less honourable freeloading ghost, I may have prompted him to turn and look at the others for my own sake. But I wasn't like that, so I just waited and kind of tuned out whatever they were saying as I watched mystery guy chow down on a few pieces of toast.
You know, I thought absently. That toast would be even better with meat, some cheese, some chipotle ranch...
While internally drooling over the idea of a sandwich, not even the real deal, I hadn't realised that I'd slipped up and forgotten to keep my thoughts from projecting. The guy I was in stood up suddenly and looked at the others.
"Anyone want a sandwich?" His deep, bass voice surrounded me and the word sandwich made it so many times sexier. But that wasn't what I was paying attention to anymore.
As he looked at the others, I got a proper eyeful of three incredibly gorgeous faces and would have swooned if ghosts could swoon. Holy shit.
The guy furthest to the left was a slim build, and pretty damn tall. He had short cropped, dark brown hair that looked like it had streaks of ruby red running through it in the sunlight that filtered through the window behind him. His face was all sharp, angular lines and he sported the most incredibly beautiful blue eyes I'd seen on anyone in my life, much less a man. It made me a little self-conscious of my own teardrop blue eyes.
The guy in the middle was a little shorter than the first one and a much broader build, with jet black hair and green eyes that practically glowed in their luminescence. His skin was fair, but not pale, just enough to be a stark contrast to the darkness of his hair and boldness of his eyes. His face was softer, more rounded and... Oh, my goddess! Is that a dimple? I had to repeatedly remind myself that ghosts don't swoon.
The last guy, furthest to my right, had brown hair like the first, but it was lighter and more of a milk chocolate colour. Unlike a lot of brunettes I'd met, the brown of his hair didn't appear to be a solid, flat colour, instead, it was filled with all different brown shades that made it shine at all angles. His face was squared off and chiselled, reminding me of Superman's own face, his eyes a deep brown that somehow popped and didn't appear black at a distance. And boy, was he ripped.
While I tried not to project the way I was undoubtedly drooling, mouth or no mouth, all three guys gave me - my mystery guy - a sort of "what the fuck" look.
"Dude, we just ate. Make a sandwich if you want one," guy number two laughed. I liked him already, and not just because his voice was like a bog, warm blanket that I wanted to wrap myself in forever.
My guy shook his head. "Nah, I'm not that hungry," he grumbled, sounding slightly confused.
My bad, dude.
"Still nursing that killer hangover?" This time, it was guy number three that spoke, and his voice the strangest, most soothing sound I think I'd ever heard in my entire life. If I ever had another meltdown, I was going straight to guy number three.
Mystery guy closed his eyes and rubbed the bridge of his nose. Aww, poor guy. "I'm telling you, Zeph, I didn't even get one drink," Mystery Guy grumbled. "I'd just fucking got there and felt like I was gonna pass the hell out."
When his eyes opened again, he looked directly at guy number three - Zeph. "Have you been drinking enough water?" Zeph asked sarcastically. "You never drink nearly enough for your body mass, you know." Oh. So Mystery guy was a big guy? I was really wishing that he'd stopped to look in the mirror on his way out of the bathroom.
Trying to recall what I did see of my host, I thought back and tried to reimagine the situation, what his build had been like, at the very least. I was still coming up blank when he growled out what sounded like some not very nice words to his roommate.
"Don't mother me."
"You haven't seen mothering until I come after you with a belt," Zeph quipped. "Now, go clean your room, mister."
The other two snorted, making Mystery Guy's head snap to the side as he glared at them through narrowed eyes.
"Cool it, Jadwin," Guy Number One drawled lazily. Mentally, my eyes went wide, my jaw went slack, and my soul left me. His voice was like the smoothest cream or butter, or whatever else was amazing when smooth. It was like silk against my skin. "Get some coffee or something, we have to leave for work in ten."
Jadwin, my Mystery Guy, practically hissed at Guy Number One and I nearly died all over again with how much I was laughing. I felt it when Jadwin cracked a smile and I knew I'd accidentally projected again. Oops.
The others stared at him like
he was insane, which he totally wasn't since it was me that had lost my shit.
Today was going to be a really fucking long ass day.
After Breakfast, Pre-Massive-Shitstorm
Apparently, work for these guys consisted of a lot of back and forth bantering, chatting about annoying guy stuff, and walking around crowded city areas for extended periods of time. Through the eyes of Jadwin, the guy I was inhabiting at the moment, it was obvious that they were looking for something - or someone.
I could only hope that they weren't actually killers, but I was seriously starting to have my doubts.
For about four hours, they'd been walking across city blocks and avoiding talking about whatever they were searching for or doing, much to my chagrin. The temptation to take a little peek into my host's thoughts was insanely strong and I had to fight it off with every ounce of my incorporeal being. But seriously, couldn't at least one of them say something? It was driving me crazy.
After their four hour stint of endless walking, they all mutually agreed to stop for food at a sub shop, which would have had my mouth watering if I'd had one to water. Subs were my favourite kind of sandwich, with the French bread and all that room to stack things... While I wasn't complaining, I needed to calm the hell down before my first orgasm came from only the thought of a sandwich.
Fuck, I was lonely.
The guys stepped into line and started discussing what they were going to get, all while dissing each other's options. Men.
Meanwhile, in an effort to drown them out and feel less like I wanted to combust, I started internally humming. It wasn't an actual song, that I knew of, just random notes strung together like elevator music. Do do, dee, doo do dee, dee do doo, doooooooooo.
My focus on my song wavered as all three of the others turned to face Jadwin with the strangest looks of curiosity and confusion. Oops. I'd forgotten to not project again, hadn't I?
"What is with you today, man?" Guy Number One asked with a look something akin to disgust plastered over his beautiful facial features.
Jadwin shook his head like he was trying to toss me right out. "I don't fucking know," he snapped. "My head still hasn't stopped fucking pounding and I feel weird."
My heart pittered and pattered a little bit. On TV and in person, I loved it when guys admitted something was wrong. It was like a breath of fresh air in light of all the toxic masculinity that was spreading like a plague. However, it seemed that his compatriots didn't share my sentiment, appearing frustrated and concerned at the same time.
Guy Number Two stepped up to Jadwin and examined him for a moment, his eyes narrowing slightly as he seemed to stare right at me. "Did you get hit on the last job?" Guy Number Two asked, eyes narrowed into near slits now and scrutinising every detail of Jadwin's face.
Jadwin gave him a light shove and pushed him back a bit. "You know I didn't," he snapped. "I've never been hit."
"First time for everything," Zeph interjected, drawing Jadwin's focus.
Goddess, I could look at him all day.
My guy grumbled something about Zeph fucking himself. I was slowly coming to realise that I seemed to have picked the grouchiest, most surly member of the group and cursed the stars that he'd gotten in my way that night. Frustrating was the simplest of words to describe the situation, including my inability to get the hell out of him. Trust me, watching guys pee wasn't something that had ever been on my list of things to try when I'd finally gotten into bed with a guy.
The guys all ordered their food and I couldn't help but notice the way Jadwin towered over almost everyone. Wow. And I'd thought Guy Number One was pretty damn tall. It made me curious how the two of them ever found clothes that fit. It was a woman's curse, true, but these guys were giving female problems a run for their money.
Once everyone had finished eating, we all stepped back out into the crowded pathways of the downtown shopping centre.
"I think we need to go more rural today, especially after yesterday's fiasco," Guy Number Two said thoughtfully. I liked him a lot. He seemed very detail oriented which, as an aspiring artist, spoke to me in its own right.
Everyone nodded, Jadwin's own movements making me feel a little dizzy. "You're right, Gavyn, as usual," Jadwin muttered. Finally! A name! Three down, one to go.
With that, they all took off to goddess knows where, with me reluctantly in tow.
When they'd said more rural, I'd been thinking more suburbs than creepy forest, but I was obviously below the bar on this team.
"Don't split up," Guy Number One chided. "These woods aren't exactly friendly, if you remember."
"Or a little too friendly," Zeph muttered, rubbing his backside as he walked in front of Jadwin and I. Was it okay to include myself? Oh well, no one had to know. "My ass still stings from the last time."
Gavyn chuckled. "We expressly said to avoid the whipping vines, not go barrelling straight into them head first."
I couldn't see the look that Zeph shot him in response, but I could imagine it and had to resist the urge to snicker.
Whatever it was that these guys were up to, I was at least glad that their banter was keeping me entertained. Even if they couldn't hear me if I replied, even if I was sort of stuck inside their friend's head, it was still nice to be witness to it and feel like I was included. Goddess, I was the definition of lame. If these guys ever found out about me, which was unlikely, I'd assume it would be treated similarly to a girl peeping in the boy's locker room.
Actually, this was probably far worse.
As the guys quieted, I sort of just tagged along silently. While their conversations were sometimes amusing, something in the air gave the impression that everyone - even my invisible self - should remain silent. The place itself was eerie on its own, but there was also some sort of charge in the air. It wasn't quite the feeling when lightning was about to strike, but I was also bodyless now, so maybe I felt those things differently.
Up to this point, I'd never been inhabiting somebody when they died, so I was really hoping that it wasn't lightning or anything, because that would suck big ones. If I could bail, maybe I'd feel a little differently, but being stuck changed things a bit. I had no idea what would happen with me inside.
Turning my focus back to the live show playing out before me, I was just in time to catch Guy Number One - who was still yet to be named - come to a sudden halt, nearly causing his friends to run into his tall, slender back. Absently, I considered what his back muscles might have looked like under that olive green shirt he was sporting.
"What's going on?" Gavyn asked on a whisper.
"Three ahead, ten o'clock," Guy Number One whispered back. "Go long west. Jadwin, circle north. Zeph, stray east and wait for my signal."
The guys all nodded their agreements and started off in the directions that Guys Number One had indicated.
"Hansen," Jadwin muttered, turning around to face Guy Number One, who was already crouching low in the bushes. The final name. Fucking hell, took them long enough.
Hansen nodded at Jadwin to continue.
"We move fast. If any escape this time, the body count is on our hands." The tone of his voice held a strong note of a warning, but also sounded like a reminder. The words, however, are what held my attention.
If any escape? What the fuck had I just gotten myself into?
By the time we reached our place at the northernmost point, I'd already gone over at least a dozen equally terrifying scenarios. One of which was that they were hunting dangerous wild animals, but that had quickly been tossed out by the lack of guns. Another was circling back to the idea that they were killers of some sort, maybe bounty hunters. Neither sounded appealing from my voyeuristic position.
It felt as though we'd been waiting for an eternity for Hansen's signal when a strange bird called out from somewhere in the distance. Upon hearing the sound, Jadwin quickly emerged from his coverage under the massive amount of underbrush and foliage, charging forward like a possessed wildebeest in a stampede.
/> Seconds later, the two of us burst into a clearing at the same time as the other three, and if I could have frozen in place, I would have. As it was, a chill ran through my essence, paralysing me.
In the centre of the clearing were three witches.
I knew they were witches from the ceremonial pentagram that was drawn into the soft soil and filled with salt. They also weren't wanna be witches, because you could practically see the magick rolling off of them in physical waves, like they were surrounded by their own oceans of power. The worst part, though? They were harmless.
And these guys were witch hunters. That much was clear.
In the world of magicks and covens, there were many different kinds of witches, some were kinder and more malevolent than others, but there were, of course, the odd few groups who practised unspeakable magic, such as true necromancers. Servants of the Titans were another pretty nasty breed of witches, choosing to follow the Titans of Greek lore and worship them, their only desire to help them rise to their previous might. Just the thought of them made me want to shiver.
These witches, however, were nothing more than forest witches, no more harmful than your average kitchen witch or clairvoyant. The ritual they were performing looked to be something like an offering to some nature-based god or goddess. Harmless. Not defenceless, but harmless.
That last point was proved especially true when a particularly young witch, maybe no more than fourteen years old, whirled on Jadwin, terror in her deep brown eyes. In a panic, she flung a small, but powerful ball of lightning at him, which he dodged just in time. I was finding it hard to pick a side.
On one hand, these witches were my people. I may have been lazy, but it was almost impossible to sit by and watch while they got hurt - or worse. On the other hand, I was inside one of these guys and couldn't let him get hurt either, because I wasn't particularly prepared to see what his death would offer my already estranged soul.