“Your maidens will stay next door,” the Animate explained as he stopped outside a room and opened the door. “This is the King’s bedroom.”
This was his room. It was lavish and spacious and so freaking cool! I did a little spin in the middle of the room, barely able to contain my excitement. This was everything I’d hoped it would be. I was deliriously happy as I put my dress down and wandered around his room. He wanted me here. He’d sent me an expensive gift. He was taking me out later. I sighed as the Animate closed the door on us.
Eight squealed. “Oh my God, that was so freaking cool!”
Five smiled at my over-excited BFF. “I had no idea you had a pre-existing relationship with the King of Scotland.”
“A girl’s got to have some secrets,” I said with a smile I couldn’t contain. “It’s a recent thing, but I’ve got a really good feeling about it.”
“So,” Eight said. “Can we go find Cal since we have a few hours?”
I smiled at her. “That’s exactly what I was thinking.”
She hugged me tightly. “I love you!”
Five folded her arms as we broke apart. “I have the address for his new owner.”
“Great,” I said. “Let’s go.”
Twenty-Six – Pete
Apparently, Mickey was more than fine. I should have known better than to walk into a hotel room he was staying in, but I didn’t and so I had another horrifying image that would need scrubbed from my brain. I groaned as I rushed back through the closed door. Angie didn’t follow. I could hear her appreciative remarks even from outside the room, and I wanted to strangle her.
“Get the hell out of there,” I yelled.
“A girl’s entitled to a little fun, you know,” she called back. She was smiling; I could hear it in her voice. “Man, these two really know how to go at it.”
“Aw, get to fuck, Angie!” I stormed off down the corridor, not wanting to hear another word. I’d just have to find Mickey again later when he was less busy. At least Piss-Face wasn’t still moping in a cell waiting to die. Though I could have done without actually seeing what he was up to instead.
Mickey wasn’t covered in the blue tint of death magic anymore, which I’d noticed instantly and was glad about. Closer study wasn’t something I was interested in while he was otherwise occupied. Angie could fill her boots; though, it got her out of my hair for now. I knew I could call on her when I needed her help. I could force her to tell me when it was safe to come back.
I teleported to the lobby and ran right into Kit, actually right through her, coming out of the ladies room and heading for the exit. I almost did a double take before I remembered what the Vampire had told me. This was no coincidence. She’d been to see Trish.
She stopped at the doors and moved off to the side, rooting around inside her handbag. The buzzing noise I could hear was coming from her phone, apparently. She sighed deeply as she looked at it.
“Hey, Kat,” she said, sounding less than enthused.
Kat. The name sounded familiar. I listened in, and it dawned on me where I knew it from. Kit had a sister.
“Hey, Kitty, listen I’m really sorry about the other night. The thing is, I kind of need your help again. I know I’m a horrible big sister, but I just have to…”
“Just tell me the truth, Kat,” Kit snapped. “I don’t believe you have a job, and I’m not coming over there until you tell me what’s really going on.”
The line was silent. I watched Kit’s expression as it became more pained. “You’re unbelievable.”
“Wait!” Apparently, Kat had a sixth sense for knowing when her sister was going to hang up on her. “There is something I need to tell you. I just… don’t make me do it over the phone, okay?”
Kit leaned back against the wall. “Yeah, okay. Whatever. What time did you need me there?”
“This is going to sound crazy, but around ten o’clock. If you come early, I’ll have time to explain everything, okay?”
Kit rolled her eyes. “Fine.”
“Thank you so, so much, Kit. You won’t regret it. I promise.”
Kit put her phone away and shook her head as she made for the exit. She was still wearing her protective charm necklace. I felt kind of weird about following her around, but I knew if she took that damned thing off she’d see me. I wanted to talk to her. So, I decided to follow her around like some kind of creepy undead stalker.
Twenty-Seven – Kit
I tried to straighten my head out as I made a frozen pizza for dinner. Mickey was fine, for now. His dumb-ass noble boyfriend was going to die to keep him safe, and the rest of us, if I believed that. Mickey was going to be a mess when he died. I’d be there to pick up the pieces, but honestly, there’s only so much one person can lose before they break beyond repair. This was going to be too much for him to handle, and I knew it. Bad enough that he’d been broken up with right before Pete died. This was a whole other kettle of blood-thirsty piranha.
And then there was Kat. It hurt my brain just thinking about the mess she’d gotten herself into. One thing was for sure, she’d gotten pregnant on purpose. Why would she have a box full of tests if she hadn’t actually been trying to have another baby? The fact that she was being cagey about the guy she was seeing made it look so much shadier. I didn’t know what she thought she was doing, but if she tried to lie about it I knew I wouldn’t be able to stay calm. I just wanted her to for once be honest with me. As little as we had in common, we were still sisters. She wasn’t supposed to be all secretive and elusive with me. We were supposed to share the big stuff with each other.
I hadn’t even told her about what had happened with Nick. She should be the first person I ran to with those things. Not some guy I went to school with, some guy I hadn’t even realised was gay all along. My crush on Mickey seemed pretty pathetic now. I couldn’t think about it without grimacing. How could I have been such an idiot?
I poured a drink, debating tensely over Pepsi or wine and settling for Pepsi to avoid the chance of a drunken argument when I got over to Kat’s house later. Keeping a cool head was not going to be easy. I could feel myself getting wound up already. I dropped the bottle of juice, and it rolled across the floor.
“Shit,” I whispered, banging my knee off a chair as I moved to pick it up. I groaned, rubbed the sore spot and picked the bottle up. It promptly slipped from my fingers a second time. I leaned back down and took it in both hands, dumping it into the sink. There was no way I was risking opening the damn thing again. Clutzy and bruised was bad enough, I didn’t need to be sticky and wet on top of that.
My pizza seemed to be taking forever. I checked the oven, and it didn’t even look like it had started to cook. I hadn’t turned the dial to switch it on. I turned it and the light went on. How had I not noticed the light wasn’t on? I shook my head as I went to my bedroom.
William was asleep when I opened his drawer. I picked him out anyway and brought him into the kitchen with me. His cheerful voice always made me feel better. Dad had told him to look after me when he left the country with Mum. He’d made the little guy to keep me company. I smiled at him as I placed him on the table.
He awoke the moment his feet touched the wood. Stretching his wings out, he glanced around, blinking slowly. “Miss Chase. You’re not at work.”
“The bar’s closed for a few days.” I realised I hadn’t spoken to him about anything that had happened. He didn’t know what Pete had done for me. He didn’t know the guy was gone now.
“Oh?” He padded about the table, glancing around. “Master Pete! What happened to you?”
I put my glass down on the table and followed William’s gaze as he dashed to the end of the table. Chills went up my spine. My fingers touched the locket that was chained around my throat. It protected me against magic, but it also prevented me from seeing magic in all its forms.
“Oh dear,” William was saying, cocking his head.
I took the necklace off slowly, placing it on the table. Sure eno
ugh, Pete’s ghost was in my kitchen, all blue and glowy. I stared at him. If he was here there had to be a reason for it. Ghosts didn’t just hang around for nothing.
“Hey,” he said, smiling when he realised I could see him.
“Uh, hey,” I managed to say back.
“So… what’s happening?”
“Shouldn’t I be asking you that? Don’t take this the wrong way, but why are you still here?”
He shrugged. “I don’t exactly have anywhere else to be.”
“So, you’re not here to tell me anything?”
“I just wanted to make sure you were okay,” he said. “You know, because of the whole death magic thing. Mickey’s okay now. I think that necklace protected you, but I wanted to just check.”
My guts twisted. Here was a guy, one who had saved my life, no less, admitting that he’d had to make sure I was doing okay. He was dead, and he was worried about me? I wanted to cry just looking at him. I swallowed and tried not to think like that. It was already hard enough to admit he was gone.
“Well I’m fine, so…”
“You want me to leave?” He glanced down at William. “How ‘bout you, little guy? You think I should go?”
My little owl shook his head vehemently.
Pete glanced back at me, his smile wry. “I guess that means no.”
I sighed, glad he wasn’t going to leave, but confused over what he was doing in my flat in the first place. “So, you were just hanging around my flat?”
“Well…” He grinned. “Would that be more or less creepy than if I had followed you around for a bit?”
“I don’t know if creepy is the right word for this at all,” I told him, trying not to be reeled in by that killer smile. He had that cheeky kind of charm that would have made for a completely infuriating boyfriend. I wondered if I’d feel anything if I tried to touch him. I groaned inwardly. I could not seriously be thinking about dating a ghost.
“So, you’re fine with me being here then.”
“Only if you don’t mind watching me eat,” I told him, realising the smoky smell was coming from the oven. My pizza was burnt around the edges when I got to it.
“Mmm, burnt pizza,” Pete said, making me roll my eyes.
“I need to ask you something,” I said, feeling my chest tighten as anger burned through me.
“Sounds ominous,” he said, folding his arms.
Did I really need to know? “Why did you just let yourself die?”
He blinked. “What?”
“You found Cal’s contract and destroyed it before you…” I couldn’t even say it. It would make it too real. I swallowed as I moved to the oven and turned it off. “Why didn’t you…”
“Why didn’t I find my own?” He sounded resigned, sighing deeply. “I was already dead. What does it matter?”
It hurt to hear it. Being an Animate couldn’t have been fun, but was it really that bad? I guessed I wouldn’t know for sure unless it ever happened to me. I opened the oven, not sure what else to say. My anger had dissolved pretty quickly. I realised it didn’t matter as soon as he’d answered my half-finished question. What was done was done. He’d made the decision; it hadn’t been thoughtless, and he’d chosen not to keep existing as a dead guy walking. The silence was getting awkward, but I had no response for him. It was all so damned complicated. I focused on salvaging my dinner.
He was still there when I turned and put the pizza on the table. It was a sorry looking excuse for a meal, but I couldn’t be bothered to make something else. I’d just leave the edges, there was nothing else for it. “So, you feel like following me to my sister’s house tonight?”
He raised his eyebrows as I sat down. He reached for the chair in front of him and his hand passed right through it. Sighing, he ran a hand through his hair. “I get to meet your sister? Things are moving kind of fast, don’t you think?”
I laughed before I could stop myself. “It wasn’t a proposal.”
He snorted. “Are we babysitting? ’Cause I heard you have a nephew.”
“Eh, yeah. Don’t worry he’ll be in bed.”
“Oh, good. We can fool around on the couch then.” His tone was teasing, and he looked awfully pleased with himself.
“You know, there is one way we could do that,” I said, wondering why I’d even said it the second it spilled from my mouth. There was virtually no evidence that what I was thinking of actually worked. It was one of those things I’d heard about in high school when a weird artsy girl wrote about the magic for English class. I’d checked into it after that, but still, it was dubious. I bit at my lip when my gaze drifted back up to him.
He was staring at me intently. He blinked slowly when I met his eyes. “Eh, what was that?”
I shrugged, wishing I hadn’t brought it up. “Might work, might not. Anyway, who says I have to tell you? It’s not like we’re at the making out on a couch stage in our ‘relationship’.”
“I don’t know about that,” he said, teasing again. “Are you serious?”
“Maybe you should just follow me and find out.”
William fluttered into the air and started to sing softly. Pete’s startled look made me laugh. Clearly my A.I. owl liked the idea of Pete as a boyfriend for me, even if he was in the less-than-solid dead guy category now. It was hopeless. I had to be crazy.
Still, I was kind of curious as to whether a ghost could actually enter the dream of a living person.
“I’ll follow you for as long as you’ll let me.”
Twenty-Eight – Mickey
The tequila bottle flew across the room and into my outstretched hand. I grinned at the pinkish tint to my hands. Magic was awesome. Being able to use it was an incredible feeling, second to none… Well, almost. There was that other thing, the thing I’d just finished doing.
Tim was smiling at me, but it was one of those subdued expressions he used to mask the fact that his mind was elsewhere. I knew where it was right now because I knew his plan was still to go back to the castle and allow the King to murder him. He was afraid of what that asshole would do if he didn’t go back. He didn’t care if he had to die to protect everyone else.
I’d gotten inside his head while we were having fun, and I knew exactly what he was thinking. He was letting himself have one last night with me and then he was going back. I wasn’t about to let that happen.
“You’re just as important as the rest of us,” I told him, taking a swig of the tequila. It burned all the way down. My stomach gurgled, reminding me it was otherwise empty.
He turned; his expression sharpening. He wasn’t far away anymore. I’d pulled him back with my reminder. “I have to die, Mickey. That’s all there is to it.”
“I don’t remember you ever being so defeatist,” I told him. “This isn’t you, Tim. You were always a fighter. That shouldn’t change when the person you have to fight for is yourself.”
Tim sighed. He snapped his fingers and made two cigarettes appear alongside a lighter.
“You don’t understand,” he said as he passed me one of the smokes. “He won’t let me live. I belong to him. He’s done with me. I don’t get to walk away.”
“If you belong to anyone, it’s me,” I tried, wishing something would knock some kind of sense into him. “And I’m not letting you go.”
“We don’t get a choice in this,” he said, lighting his cigarette and passing me the lighter. I watched him smoke, sighing deeply on his first exhale. My nightmare image of him on a bed burning to death came back to me as I looked at the lighter in my hand.
“Everyone makes choices,” I told him. “Every day. No-one ever chooses to die.”
Tim lay back, closing his eyes. The conversation was over as far as he was concerned.
“It’s your fault Pete is dead,” I said, tossing the lighter and cigarette to the floor. “And you’re going to have to make it up to me. You can’t do that if you’re dead.”
He opened his eyes, sitting up and discarding his half-smoked cigarette o
n the nightstand. “Mickey, I didn’t kill Pete, you know that.”
“I also know you glamoured yourself to look like Angie to go and cast a spell in Pete’s flat the day before he died.” I’d seen a lot when I’d gotten access to his thoughts. The grey area he operated in, day after day, was darker than I’d assumed. “Want to try explaining that one to me?”
“It was a direct order,” he said. “I wish I could tell you more, honestly. I don’t know why he had me do that.”
“But you knew it would cause Angie to kill herself once she offed Pete.”
His pale blue eyes bulged. I didn’t need him to answer the question, but it kind of sucked that he was still trying to conceal the details from me. “I… it was a direct order.”
“But you knew.”
“I knew,” he breathed, cursing under his breath. “It didn’t make her kill him though, I swear it. She was fated to do that. There’s no changing fate.”
“I know,” I said. “I know she couldn’t have been stopped. But I also know my cousin is dead and you knew it was going to happen. You knew who was going to kill him.”
“I couldn’t have stopped her. No-one could. I wish things could have been different…”
“They can,” I told him. “We’re going to kill the King. You don’t get to die. That’s not what you’re fated for.”
“He has an army,” he argued.
“So, we’ll get one of those too,” I said, thinking about all the things I’d seen in his head. “Are his new recruiters in place yet?”
He shook his head. “I doubt it. They weren’t ready.”
“Okay then. Here’s the plan…”
Twenty-Nine – Nine/Britt
We glamoured up to go out and track down Eight’s boyfriend. The night was breezy and thunderclaps sounded overhead. Three plain-Jane girl-next-door types went unnoticed in the bustling streets. I smiled at Eight and she smiled back inside her thick-lipped brunette guise. Five had insisted on disguising herself as the girl Britt had attempted to kill over the whole mess with Pete. Considering she lived here, I wasn’t convinced it was a wise move, but Five had insisted, telling me that it might be a good idea to make sneaking in to Pete’s apartment block easier. Eight had been all for it. Anything to find her one true love. I really had my fingers crossed that he deserved her. I mean, he seemed like a nice enough guy, but on the other hand he was also a dead guy. That was kind of creepy, and it was totally not my thing, I mean, when Britt wasn’t telling me it had to be. I shivered. I’d never need to ‘entertain’ another Animate again. I used to just tell myself sex was sex, but sex with a dead guy was always gross. I could only do it if I glamoured them to look alive. I shrugged those memories off. They didn’t fit anymore. They were just another reason to be thankful that Britt had passed on.
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