Ghost of a Summoning

by J E McDonald

  The day Aubrey had seen the happy face show up on her mirror, in the room she shared with two other kids, she’d been so scared—until she realized the ghost had wanted to be friends.

  “He’s been keeping tabs on Shawn over the years,” Celeste kept explaining, “making sure he doesn’t find you, but Finn lost track of him a few years ago, and he’d hoped your brother dropped his obsession of finding you. But—” Celeste grimaced. “He’s found you. He knows where you live. He knows about your store. When you went to that house the other day, that was him. Finn says he’s pretty sure he would have killed you then if Roman hadn’t been there.” Celeste’s eyes widened. “And he’s the one who ran you off the road. Oh dear, that’s not good at all.” Her eyes bounced between all of them.

  For a moment, the sounds, the memories of the car spinning off the road, the squealing of tires and scratch of branches overpowered every other sound in the room, and Aubrey had the urge to cover her ears. Stella’s grip on her hand tightened, and a sensation of calm shimmered through her, settling her heart rate.

  Aubrey lifted her gaze to Roman. If possible, his stare had become even harder, his demeanor similar to when he’d been holding a knife in her store, prepared to kill someone. A shiver of unease raced through her body.

  “Finn’s sorry about your store,” Celeste said, recapturing her attention. “He wishes now he hadn’t done that. But you’re in danger and you weren’t listening and he got so angry he started breaking things. He’s been with you so long, to have your life threatened now is unacceptable to him. He’s been trying to protect you, to watch over you.” Celeste shifted forward. “And you’ve been doing a very good job, Finn. You’re very brave.”

  Finn had been protecting her. A twelve-year-old boy had taken it upon himself to keep a ten-year-old girl he didn’t even know safe. Against the odds, he’d found her and offered her friendship in the worst time of her life. Aubrey’s shoulders shook with the effort to keep all her emotions under wraps. She gave Stella’s fingers a squeeze. Not even having her friend on tap, a direct line of positivity, could keep her turbulent thoughts calm.

  Yes. Finn was very brave. And more of a friend than she’d ever known. He’d sacrificed his passing, the peace he’d deserved, to stick with her.

  “Is there anything else?” she asked, lifting her gaze to Celeste’s, her throat so tight it hurt to speak.

  Celeste nodded. “He wants you to know he promised himself he wasn’t going to leave until he knew you were safe. That’s why he stuck around for so long. He’s seen the way to go a few times, the passage to the other side, but he’s avoided it. He wants to make sure you’re protected first.” The woman’s head drew back at whatever Finn just told her. “He also says he doesn’t like Roman, but he’s sorry he tried to drop dog food on his head.” Celeste clucked her tongue. “That wasn’t nice, Finn.”

  Aubrey’s mind reeled as her heart rate calmed. Where did she go from here? Finn’s story brought so many things into the light but added a mountain of problems too. A brother who wanted her dead? She’d always wished for family but hadn’t ever imagined a homicidal sibling.

  “Thank you,” Aubrey said to Celeste. “For your time, and for listening to Finn’s story. I never knew.” In all the years she’d been with him, he’d never tried to tell her any of this.

  But when would have been a good time? When he’d first arrived, she’d been only ten and wouldn’t have understood. She had a hard time accepting it now. And he was a child himself, murdered no less. Her heart ached for him.

  Celeste nodded at her. “I would say it was my pleasure, but there was nothing pleasurable listening to what happened to him. It seems he has some unfinished business before he can rest.” She focused her gaze on the space behind the mug that had lost all of its steam. “I’m sorry Finn, I truly am, for everything you had to go through. What happened to you was very wrong.”

  “I want to help him,” Aubrey said quietly, then turned to Stella. “Maybe we can get Lucas to look into the case and open it up again? Bring him justice?”

  At the same time Stella nodded her agreement, Roman shot to his feet, set his full glass of lemonade on the coffee table, and left the house. The abruptness of it startled everyone. Aubrey had the urge to go after him, her feet twitching. The whole time Celeste had talked to Finn, he’d sat there, still and hard.

  Her throat tightened, and she swallowed against it. “Thank you, Celeste, for everything.” Aubrey closed her eyes for a moment, trying to regain control her emotions. “I’m grateful beyond words. Would it be possible to come back some time and talk with you and him some more?” Now wasn’t the time for lengthy conversations about his favorite color and how he ended up in the foster care system, while her store was in shambles and she found out her brother was trying to kill her. “I’d like to talk to him again.”

  “Of course,” she said with a small smile. “How about you all stay for lunch? I can whip up some sandwiches.”

  “I’m not sure,” Aubrey said, letting go of Stella’s hand to stand. Her eyes followed where Roman had gone. “Just give me a moment.” With a last glance at Zack and Stella, she followed Roman outside.

  22

  Roman had never felt such profound relief in his life, and he couldn’t sit still any longer.

  The screen door banged closed behind him, and he jogged down the steps. Dogs bounded around him, eager to play, but he kept walking. The urge to take Zack’s car and drive all the way back to the estate sale to end the person who’d been stalking Aubrey since she was a kid had his hands shaking. That guy had put him on edge, and now he knew why. He’d been trying too hard. And the house he’d been at yesterday, the pictures of her on the dresser. It had to belonged to the same guy. His instincts told him Jonathan Livingston and Shawn were the same person. The way he’d looked at Aubrey—

  Roman clenched his fists, stopping the way his thoughts were headed. He couldn’t go now. He’d need to stop by his house and grab his gear.

  But it wasn’t only anger that had his fingers shaking. He hadn’t understood how Aubrey could be at the center of a prophecy predicting hell on Earth. Now he knew she wasn’t.

  She had a brother.

  Bracing his hands on his knees, he stopped in the middle of the yard. Dogs circled him like they weren’t sure if he was friend or foe. Roman let out a long breath and relished the sensation of freedom. He still had obligations to the Church, but they had nothing to do with Aubrey.

  There was more than one Orphan Karle.

  A small laugh escaped him. The weight that had smothered what remained of his soul left him in a puff of vapor. Aubrey was safe from him. Just an innocent bystander. It was her brother who was summoning and bargaining with dark forces.

  “Roman?”

  Aubrey’s voice made him straighten and spin around. He hadn’t even heard her come up behind him.

  “Why are you smiling?” she asked, taking a step back, her eyes wide. “How could you be happy about any of this?” Her words were tentative, scared.

  And the last thing he wanted to do was scare her. He sobered. “I’m sorry.” He was sorry for so much. That all of this was happening to her, about her ghost having such a tragic past, about Roman coming into her life and tainting the air she breathed with his presence.

  But he couldn’t deny the lightness in him as a result of Finn’s revelations, a lightness he’d never thought he could achieve. And it was all because of Aubrey. For some inexplicable reason, she’d wanted to spend time with him. She’d given him a chance in her shop. She’d invited him into her home and tried to build a bridge between him and her best friend. The warmth of those actions spread through his chest, a warmth he’d been denying himself since he’d met her.

  Without thinking, he walked toward her and took her face in his hands. Her eyes widened, but she didn’t back away.

  “I’m sorry,” he said again, then brushed his lips against hers.

  The bright of her soul exploded through his e
yes, and the sweet taste of her shimmered across his mouth. For a moment, she held herself stiff, and he waited for her to reject him, to push him away. Then her hands moved up to his elbows and held him in place as she kissed him back.

  This kiss was different than the one they’d shared at the side of the road. Then, he’d been holding himself back, allowing Aubrey to take what she needed. Now his control snapped, giving her a taste of who he was deep inside.

  Hungrily, he savored her flavor, strawberries and mint and Aubrey. He pulled her against him, and she groaned. If he could, he would melt right into her. His unadulterated hunger should have scared her, but she pulled him closer. While the kiss turned carnal, her hands skimmed under his jacket, past his holsters, her nails digging into his shoulder blades through his shirt. He twitched and groaned at the same time.

  Never in his life had he wanted someone more. He needed to absorb some of her goodness into himself, to clean his soul. Even without the prophecy hanging over him, he still didn’t deserve to be in her presence, but at least his duties wouldn’t endanger her or keep them apart.

  When he broke the kiss, he pressed his forehead to hers and let out shuddering breath.

  Her touch created shivers down his body as she stroked his spine, her hands settling on his lower back. “Not that I’m complaining,” she said, her voice hoarse, “but what was that for?”

  “Purely selfish,” he said. He’d needed to touch her without the weight of the prophecy bearing down on him.

  “You should be selfish more often,” she whispered.

  No. He shouldn’t. But with Aubrey, it was getting harder not to be. She made him want to take something for himself for a change. Every choice he’d made in his life was either done because of duty or avoiding it. His feelings for Aubrey were about neither of those things.

  Now wasn’t the time to explore that fact. “I won’t let him hurt you,” he promised, committing to protect her with everything he had in him. Keeping her safe was his top priority, only shadowed slightly by stopping the prophecy. But now it looked like he could kill two birds with one stone.

  It wasn’t until he stepped back that he realized they had an audience. Both Zack and Stella stood on the front porch. Zack’s bland expression was only ruined by the slight lift of surprise in his eyebrows. Stella on the other hand…

  The witch appeared to be frozen. He might have expected anger or worry in her expression because of what had happened yesterday, but he saw neither of those things. Her lips were parted, eyes wide with an expression of wonder and something else he couldn’t name.

  Taking Aubrey’s hand, he led her toward the house. She gripped his fingers tight, and he relished how good that felt. The sensation tempted him to take his glove off and have her skin against his. The thought made uncertainty spread through him. He couldn’t remember a time when he’d ever held someone’s hand that way.

  He kept her close as he stopped at the bottom of the stairs and spoke to Zack. “I’m going to need to head back to town to get some stuff done.” Stuff being him hunting down a sociopathic stalker, but he didn’t say it aloud.

  A certain understanding filled Zack’s eyes. He nodded before turning to his mom behind him. “We’ll do sandwiches another time.” Leaning forward, he kissed her on her cheek. “Thanks for seeing us.”

  “Of course. I always like to help.”

  Stella and Zack came down the steps, Stella’s gaze flicking to his and Aubrey’s joined hands, then to his eyes. She kept her features serene, but there was some warning there, a concern.

  “Why don’t you stay a while?” Celeste’s voice made them all hesitate at the front of the car.

  For a second, Roman thought she was talking to Aubrey, then he realized she was talking to the empty space beside Aubrey.

  “It’s hard to not been seen or heard for so long,” Celeste went on. “Why don’t you stay with us and tell us about your adventures? I can make soup.” After a moment, she lifted her gaze to the rest of them. “He doesn’t want to leave Aubrey alone.”

  Aubrey’s hand flew to her chest, fingers pressing against the space between her breasts.

  “She won’t be,” Roman asserted, tightening his grip on her hand.

  After a moment, Celeste smiled and stepped away from the front door, her eyes following the path of a ghost unseen. “Lovely. Stay as long as you like.” With a last glance at their group, she shut the screen door, her melodic voice making conversation inside.

  Aubrey let out a huff of breath, and he gave her hand another squeeze as he led her back to the car. He didn’t say it aloud, but after what happened at the store, he thought some distance from her ghost would be good for her. Whether she wanted to acknowledge it or not.

  Opening the back door, Aubrey scrambled all the way through, giving him space to join her. Over the roof of the car, Stella met his eyes, then opened the front passenger door without saying anything. She’d already known he wouldn’t want to sit in the front this time around.

  With everyone in the car, Zack headed to the highway. Stella took her phone out not long after, calling Lucas to fill him on what Aubrey’s ghost had told them. Aubrey held herself tense throughout the summary, her face turned to the window. When Stella wrapped up the call, she still didn’t move.

  Gravel crunched under the car’s tires as Zack turned onto the highway and accelerated. Everyone remained quiet, but it didn’t have the same kind of strange tension it had on the trip out.

  After a few minutes, Stella asked Zack about Bree’s job, and they chitchatted about it under the roar of the engine.

  Roman studied Aubrey. She kept her arms wrapped around herself, gaze fastened on the passing landscape. The crops in the area were ready for harvest, a few combines in the fields dotting the horizon every so often.

  He didn’t want to disrupt her thoughts, but hated seeing her curled into herself this way. Not that he could blame her for retreating. The news Finn had given her was a lot. She was strong to keep it together.

  At last she glanced at him, and he took the moment to extend his hand to her. This time he took his off glove and set his hand palm up on the seat between him. Without hesitating, Aubrey wound her fingers through his.

  He breathed in deep, letting the state of her soul settle inside him. He wanted nothing more than to have her tucked under his arm where he could give her the comfort she deserved, but the seatbelts prevented it. Having her store destroyed, then finding out her brother was after her was a lot to take in a day. And she hadn’t allowed it to pull her into a full-blown panic attack. Her fingers flexed against his, creating shivers in his palm. Closing her eyes, she leaned her head back on the seat.

  Amid their conversation in the front seat, Stella glanced at them a couple times before refocusing on Zack. The light rumble of their discussion made him close his eyes too, his mind going over everything Finn had told them.

  If her brother had been harming animals at a young age, it meant he would have escalated well past that as an adult. He could be a serial killer for all Roman knew. There might be a record of his criminal activity. Law enforcement might be after him. For the first time, the thought of Agent Martinez on his tail was positive. If the FBI agent wanted a worthy target to torment, then Roman could point him in the right direction.

  The return trip seemed faster than the drive out, and before long, Zack pulled up behind Stella’s red Miata in front of the antique store.

  With a fortifying breath, Aubrey let go of his hand and climbed out of the car. When he came around to her, she wore a determined expression on her face. “I guess it’s time to get cleaning.”

  “I’ll help,” Stella said, an equally determined expression on her face.

  “Me too,” Zack said with a nod.

  “Thanks guys,” she said, then swallowed. “We’ll need to go in the back because, you know, the door is blocked.” She waved a vague hand at the entrance, then headed to the alley beside the next store.

  Before she could take
two steps, he took her hand to stop her. “I’ll be back,” he said, looking into her coffee-colored eyes and willing her not to ask too many questions.

  She opened her mouth, then closed it again with a nod, her eyes filled with concern. Without saying anything, she let go of his hand and continued to the alley. He didn’t know what she thought he was about to do, but he wouldn’t assuage her fears. The truth was probably worse than what she could imagine.

  When Stella and Zack would have followed her, he stopped them with his voice. “I don’t think I need to tell either of you she shouldn’t be alone, not with this brother of hers out there somewhere.” Maybe even close. He could be watching the store right now. But Roman didn’t have that niggling at the base of his neck telling him he was being observed.

  With a nod, Zack disappeared around the corner after Aubrey, but Stella hung back. The look on her face told him she had something to say. But she didn’t speak right away, didn’t whisper one of her spells. He’d gotten used to her doing that whenever he was near. And surprisingly, she didn’t have the same guarded look in her eyes she usually did when around him.

  “After yesterday,” he finally said, breaking their silence, “I would think you’d want to be around me less, not more.”

  Stella shrugged, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear and not meeting his eyes directly. The murmur of downtown traffic rumbled behind him.

  “I don’t blame you for being wary of me,” he said when she still didn’t say anything. He wouldn’t blame anyone for not wanting to be around him.

  Meeting his gaze square on, she shook her head. “It’s the other way around. You should be more wary of me now.”

  The statement caught him off guard. “Why?” What had changed to alleviate her rational concerns about him? His tattered soul still felt the same.

  “When you touched my hand, it surprised me, and I took a lot of energy from you. It’s not something I do lightly. I’m sorry.” Her throat bobbed up and down in a swallow. “And I realized I’d misjudged you.”