Wraiths of Winter (The Haunting Ruby Series Book 3)

by Joy Elbel

  Okay, so I didn’t actually forget about Jackson—I was in some serious denial about the situation. There was something way more frightening about knowing that a living person was stalking me instead of just a ghost. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that I knew that Allison could only touch me while I was at the Bantam. Or maybe I’d finally just gone truly insane. Either way, being the target of a serial killer wasn’t the only thing I was in denial about.

  Sure, I was glad that Lucas was spending the night because I felt so much safer with him there. But if I said that my safety was the only reason for my happiness, it would be the biggest lie ever. I liked spending time with Lucas, I liked being close to him. I liked…him. Everything about him—from his cocky attitude down to his Converse All Stars. From the way he made me smile when I least expected it, to the way he reminded me of a much simpler time in my life. If I’d only known a few years ago that my life was going to get so much harder, I would have cherished the moments when things flowed so easily.

  Lucas kicked off his shoes and settled onto the bed with me. We sat there without speaking for a minute, the sound of our sodas fizzing in their cans the only audible noise in the room. I thought back to the day I met him and how furious I was when I found him in my bed. Things sure had changed in the last few months. I really changed in the last few months.

  Since awkward silence is, well, awkward, I struggled for something to say to him. I felt horrible sitting here in bed talking to Lucas while I knew that Zach was at home stressing over who I was with and what we might be doing. I didn’t want to talk about my relationship with Zach or my friendship with Lucas. My paranormal problems at the theater weren’t exactly something I felt like discussing either. Jackson might be planning to kidnap me The fact that tonight was

  something I still wanted to deny. That left…nothing to talk about but school. Before I had a chance to decide what to even do with an innocuous topic like that, Lucas went right for the jugular.

  “Let me see that,” he said, pointing to my left hand. More specifically, he was focusing on a particular finger on that hand—the one that still proudly displayed Zach’s promise ring.

  Subconsciously, I squirmed a little. I didn’t like talking to Lucas about Zach. There were details of our relationship that were simply none of his business. On the flip side, I also didn’t like talking to Zach about Lucas because it always seemed to cause tension between us. Suddenly, awkward silence didn’t seem so awkward anymore.

  I couldn’t let Lucas know that he made me nervous, though, so I nonchalantly said, “What, my ring? Is that what you want to see?”

  “No,” he replied sarcastically, “I’m interested in your manicure. Of course that’s what I’m talking about. I have yet to see you without it. Do you ever take it off?”

  “Never,” I replied without hesitation. “I distinctly remember telling you to never say never, Ru,” he replied matter-of-factly. “Zach gave it to you, didn’t he?”

  I squirmed inside again at his question. Zach gave me that ring the night we almost slept together. That wasn’t a topic I wanted to discuss with Lucas. Ever. But I knew that if I didn’t at least acknowledge the fact that Zach gave me that ring, he would jump to his own conclusions anyway. I needed to be honest—for once in my life.

  “Yes, it was a gift from Zach.” I paused before adding, “It’s a promise ring,”

  “A promise ring,” he repeated as he inspected it closely. “What exactly did he promise you?” Was he being serious? Did he really not know what a promise ring meant or did he just need to hear it from my lips? Did he want me to explain to him the level of commitment that I had to Zach? And if so, why?

  “You know what promise rings are for, Lucas. You’re from Pittsburgh not Zimbabwe—do I really have to spell it out for you?”

  Lucas grinned at my sarcasm and asked a different question. “Did you promise him that you would never take it off?”

  “Yes,” I replied quickly and attempted to change the topic of conversation to something less controversial and way less personal. “I came up with the perfect plan to sneak you out of here in the morning. Wanna hear it?”

  “Sure I do—in the morning. Right now, I want to know more about this promise ring. How long ago did Zach give it to you?”

  Why was Lucas so frustrating? Why did he insist on sniffing out every last detail about my ring? Again, I gave him a one word answer and continued on with the details of my plan.

  “Halloween. This house was part of the Underground Railroad back in the 1800’s—it’s full of old tunnels and secret passageways. One of them—“

  Lucas interrupted me mid-sentence. “Will surely allow me to sneak out unnoticed, I’m sure. So what you’re telling me is that this ring hasn’t left your finger in almost four months? Not even long enough for you to wash your hands?”

  I simply couldn’t take it anymore. “No!” The word blasted out Pausing for of my mouth forcefully and way too loudly. a moment to make certain that my outburst

  wasn’t noticed by either of my parents, I continued on in much softer tones. “No, it hasn’t. When I promised to never take it off of my finger, I meant it. I’ve never broken a promise and I never will. Especially not one I made to Zach.”

  Okay, so that was a lie. I broke a huge promise to Zach over the summer before he knew about the haunting at Rosewood. It caused us both an unnecessary amount of pain and I learned my lesson. If he wanted me to wear that ring 24/7, that’s exactly what I was going to do.

  “Whoa, Ru! You don’t have to get so defensive about it! All I meant was that Zach probably expected you to at least take it off when it made sense to—like when you’re taking a shower or making meatloaf or something. I think you took his words too literally.”

  “Oh,” I muttered, suddenly seeing the point he was trying to make. I guess it did make sense. Sometimes when I washed my hair, a strand or two would get wrapped around it and yanked out inadvertently. And while the mere thought of me making meatloaf was insane, there were definitely times when I had my hands in messy things that should never touch a ring that special. I did take Zach too literally, didn’t I?

  Lucas sat silently beside me as I pondered my own stupidity for a few more moments. He must have realized how stupid I felt because he mercifully changed the subject.

  “You were right, Ru. I really should know tonight what I’m going to have to do to sneak out of here in the morning. Why don’t you tell me your plan now. Or better yet, why don’t you show me?"

  My plan involved the dark passageways that led from the attic to the network of tunnels in the basement. I hadn’t been down there since the night Scarlet tried to kill me. Once that horrible incident was over, I swore to myself that I would never venture down into that claustrophobic maze again for as long as I lived. There were so many corridors that even Louis and Clark would have had a hard time finding their way back out of there. Maybe Lucas was right—if there was any hope of him successfully navigating that labyrinth in the morning, he would need to have some idea of where he was going ahead of time. Plus, it would give us something to talk about besides my relationship with Zach. Lucas always told me I should never say never—at least this time, he was right.

  “Good idea, Lucas. We have a lot of time to kill tonight anyway plus I highly doubt Jackson would look for me in that dank cellar. Put your shoes on while I grab a flashlight.” I jumped up out of bed before he could even respond and reached into my nightstand. Once I realized that paranormal experiences were going to be a huge part of my life, I started placing flashlights strategically around the attic. As I pulled it out of my drawer, I made a mental note to put one in my purse as well. Once I was outfitted with a pair of boots that could stomp out even the biggest and hairiest of spiders, Lucas and I slipped through the opening in my closet and into the hidden portion of the attic.

  It looked exactly the same as the last time I was in there. Boxes upon boxes of dusty and long forgotten items, thick strands of cobwebs
stretching from the ceiling to the floor. Even the dressmaker’s dummy stood right where Rachel and I first found it. I distinctly remembered making the decision to throw that creepy old thing out if I ever made it out of that house alive. In the midst of everything else that was going on, I simply forgot. I wasn’t going to make the same mistake twice. Before venturing beyond the hidden door leading to the staircase to the cellar, I picked up the filthy thing and placed it just inside the entrance to my closet. Tomorrow night was garbage night and I didn’t want to forget to make good on my promise to myself again.

  Lucas held the flashlight for me as I searched the wall for the hidden latch that would allow us access to the stairway. As the door creaked open and I stared down the steps, more and more details of that horrible night flooded over me. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all.

  “Lucas, I don’t think we should go down there. I don’t want to go down there. I’ll think of a different way to get you out of here in the morning. This was a really stupid plan.” I tried to stay calm and not show my fear but I was on the verge of a full blown anxiety attack.

  “Nonsense, Ru. This plan is ingenious—practically foolproof. You need to face your fears. Scarlet is gone, right? You said that she and Levi are at peace now. If there were any other ghosts in this house, you would know it by now. And besides, I’m with you—I won’t let anything hurt you.” He held out his hand for me to hold. “Trust me.”

  And I did trust him. He was right. There wasn’t anything or anyone down in those tunnels now. Those things that were worthy of my fear had been gone for months. Even Levi’s remains were no longer there. He and Scarlet were both resting peacefully in the mausoleum. My encounter with Garnet didn’t make me afraid to go to school. There was simply no good reason for me to fear my own house anymore—not even the creepiest parts of it. I could do this. I needed to do this. My unresolved issues from Lee’s death weren’t the only things from my past that I needed to face head on.

  I took a deep breath and reached for his hand. “You’re right. Let’s do this. I don’t really want to, but I should probably take the lead since you don’t have a single clue of where you’re going.” Cautiously, I placed my foot on the second step and started to have second thoughts about my attempt at bravery.

  Lucas squeezed my hand for reassurance. “No,” he replied, “I think we should go together—side by side.” It was an uncomfortably tight squeeze as we synchronized our steps and made our way to the bottom but I sure as hell didn’t mind. Anything was better than facing my fears alone. I made Lucas take the flashlight so that I could use my right hand to steady myself against the wall. After what felt like hours, we were both standing at the bottom and facing a myriad of tunnels to pick from. I was running for my life the last time I was in this basement. I had no idea which path led back toward the trap door leading into the garage. Once again, I realized how poorly thought out this plan really was.

  “I don’t know which tunnel we should take, Lucas. This really was a stupid idea. Let’s just turn around now before we get lost.” I happily set my foot back up onto the step but he didn’t follow suit.

  “Well, okay. If you really had your heart set on sleeping with me, I suppose I shouldn’t argue,” he said without even a trace of humor in his voice or on his face. “Let’s go back to bed then.”

  He was being serious—or was he? Was he just trying to get me to face my fears or did he wholeheartedly believe what he was saying? I simply couldn’t tell. Why was he so hard for me to read? Nearly every one of Zach’s words felt sincere to me—why couldn’t Lucas be the same way? He was like a cryptic fortune cookie—one where you couldn’t figure out if it was predicting good luck or something more ominous. Like that damn fortune I got at Chow Ming the day Lucas walked into my life. Okay, maybe walked wasn’t quite the right word for it—steamrolled seemed like a much more appropriate description for how we met.

  “Fine,” I conceded, “but if we get lost down here, I will have an anxiety attack of epic proportions. Consider this fair warning. Which path do you want to try first?”

  “So you’re more afraid of what would happen if we went back upstairs, then? Good to know. Don’t worry though—I won’t get you lost down here. I promise. All we have to do is pick out some sort of landmarks as we go. Or if all else fails, we make some of our own. Follow me.”

  Against my better judgment, I decided to trust him and we set off to find our way through the underground maze. Every path looked the same to me but as we walked he pointed out ways to remember which direction would lead us back the way we came. They were small things I never would have noticed like an oddly shaped root jutting through the dirt wall or a stone lying in the middle of the path. When all else failed, he would carve the letter “L” into the tunnel wall. He was good at navigating but one thing didn’t make any sense to me.

  “You’re marking the right side of the wall—shouldn’t you be using the letter “R” instead? He placed the beam of the flashlight directly on my face as he said, “The letter “L” doesn’t stand for left—it stands for Lucas. You carved your initial into my heart but you won’t let me do the same thing for you. The very least I can do is carve mine into these walls.”

  Less than an hour ago he was hinting that he wanted to commit sinful acts with me upstairs yet now he was being Mr. Romance. Why did he have to be so confusing, so contradictory in his words? My face was getting hot and I didn’t want him to see that I was blushing. Quickly, I batted at his arm to get out of the spotlight he’d put on me. In my haste to once again have my emotions safely hidden in the darkness, I swatted with too much force and sent the flashlight flying down the path in front of us.

  “Geez Ru, what was that for? Stay here while I go get it.” With the flashlight out of arm’s reach, the tunnel quickly grew darker and creepier. As I heard Lucas’s footsteps shuffling forward to retrieve it, I began to notice an eerily similar sound making its way through the passageway to my right. An echo? Maybe, but why didn’t I notice it earlier? I pulled my phone out of my pocket, hit the flashlight app, and pointed it in the direction the sound seemed to be coming from.

  I immediately caught a hint of movement at the far end of the tunnel, screamed, and dropped my phone into the dirt at my feet. “Lucas, I need you now!” I shouted as I fumbled to grab my phone. When my badly trembling hands finally got a firm grip on it, the light revealed that my suspicions were correct—Lucas and I were not alone. All I could see was a pair of dusty work boots standing less than a foot in front of me where there was nothing only a moment before. I was too afraid to see what they were attached to. This time I shrieked at the top of my lungs, “LUCAS!”

  I could hear the sound of what I hoped were Lucas’s footsteps growing louder behind me. Then strange noises began to emanate from whoever was in the tunnel with me.

  “OOOOO, OOOOO! CLANK, CLANK, CLANK!” boomed a male voice loudly and forcefully. It was quickly followed by…giggling?

  Suddenly furious with whoever thought scaring me half to death was even the slightest bit funny, I followed the light from my phone upward until I could see his face. Instant shock.

  “Clay? What are you doing down here?” Caught in a fit of laughter, he struggled to catch his breath long enough to answer me. Weird. Why did he even need to catch his breath—ghosts don’t breathe! Do they? He seemed more and more alive to me every time I saw him. After the scare he just gave me, I wished he was alive—so I could kill him.

  “Ru!” Lucas said as he came up behind me. “What’s wrong?” “Nothing now. I saw someone in the tunnel and panicked until I realized it was just shitass here doing the worst Ebenezer Scrooge impression ever.” My comment sent a nearly composed Clay into yet another fit of laughter.

  “What shitass, Ru? I don’t see anybody,” Lucas replied as he scanned the hallway for signs of our new companion. “Sorry, I keep forgetting he’s dead and that you can’t see him. We are now in the company of Clay Roseman. He’s a pesky little ghost who
can’t seem to leave me alone lately. And just why is that Clay? Seeing you at Silver Lake, the cemetery, and the funeral home all make sense to me—but Rosewood? When were you ever here?”

  “Rosewood? That big ass mansion by the lake? Never. What are you doing here?” he asked curiously. “Me? I live here. I’m supposed to be here. You’re supposed to be off wandering your usual spots not nearly giving me a heart attack in my own house.”

  “You live here? That figures! First, Rachel Mason wanted to touch me and now a hot rich girl is attracted to me—why do I have better luck dead than I did when I was alive?”

  Just as I was about to let him know in no uncertain terms that I most definitely wasn’t attracted to him, Lucas interrupted.

  “Ru, are you seriously talking to a ghost? Why didn’t you warn me that it was down here?” Lucas asked angrily.

  “Hey, who are you calling it?” Clay argued defensively. “He can’t hear you Clay! And I don’t think he intended to offend you. He’s fairly new to this whole ghost business I have going on. His name’s Lucas—he’s my friend.”

  When they both started speaking to me at the same time, I didn’t even try to listen to what either of them was saying. I simply yelled, “Both of you need to shut up for a minute! Give me a chance to explain, will you!”

  Like obedient puppies, the chatter stopped instantly and they each mumbled an apology. First, I briefly gave Lucas the details on Clay and assured him that he was of no danger to either of us. Of course that wasn’t completely true. If he continued to pop up unexpectedly in my life, Clay posed a serious threat to my sanity—which gave rise to my next topic of conversation.

  “For real, Clay, why are you here? And don’t go telling me that you think I summoned you again because I didn’t.” I folded my arms across my chest and waited for his reply.

  Nothing. He said nothing. Still the obedient puppy, he just stood there looking at me like I’d yelled at him for accidentally peeing on the carpeting. “Well?” I prodded.