by C. R. Jane
"I hope you find who you're looking for." I left it there, refusing to acknowledge the last part. I'd already learned the hard way that the only person I could truly rely on was myself. I stopped hugging myself and squared my posture like a puppet who'd been pulled up by her strings. If there was one thing I was getting good at, it was faking bravado.
God, but I had so much to process after he left. If ghosts were real, what else was?
The thought stopped me cold. My mind began to whirl and a flicker of hope ignited in my chest.
"Are there more of you out there?" I asked quickly before he vanished or simply walked through the wall on his way out. My heart squeezed impossibly tight in my chest and I bit my already injured tongue, using the pain to remind myself that this was a long shot. A very miniscule long shot.
"More… ghosts?" He quirked a brow.
"Yes. Are there more of you?" He took a second to examine my question.
"There are" He looked around as if just now noticing things I couldn't see. "There's an entire spiritual realm, but I don't see anyone else in the vicinity." His tone held a hint of hesitation, and I didn't know if it was because he was unsure of his new ghostly status or if he understood why I was asking and was worried about giving me an answer that may unwittingly fuel my hopefulness. Perhaps it was both.
Our gazes locked together for one long moment.
"I wish you wouldn't look like that." He sighed and ran a hand through his hair.
"Like?"
"Like I just gave you a puppy on Christmas morning. I can't promise the person you want to reconnect with is even still earth-side. Most people's spirits move on. I'm not sure why mine didn't. I don't know how it works, but I can tell you have your hopes up."
I squared my shoulders. "Don't worry about me. I'm getting good at taking care of myself. It's worth a shot, and if it doesn't pan out…" I let the statement hang, unsure how to finish it. If it didn't pan out, I'd be crushed all over again, but I'd survive because I'd lived through worse. He must have seen as much written on my face because he huffed but didn't argue further.
"Good luck," he said, taking a deep breath and disappearing through the door.
"You, too." I inhaled a shaky breath and let it out in one long gust. Other than the ongoing faint sound of crickets outside-which I found soothing-the apartment was once again silent.
I wasn't sure how to find-or even see, for that matter-a ghost, but if Luca was earth-side, it was my new mission to find him. I needed to go to the cemetery or the place where he'd died.
The long day and the grime of the diner finally caught up to me, and I reached around my back, contorting my body into odd shapes as I worked the zipper down. Stepping from my uniform, I left it in a pile on the floor and hurried to the open bathroom. I turned the water coming through the showerhead as hot as I could physically stand it and quickly washed the crazy day down the drain.
I barely recognized my life, but I knew that nothing would ever be the same again. I was living in an altered reality, and I had a feeling I'd need to get used to it if I was going to survive.
Chapter Four
Josiah
Leaving the beautiful girl behind was harder than I'd imagined for someone I'd just met, and I stayed outside for an exorbitant amount of time as I tried to pry myself away from her side. Stalking down the shoddy steps, I paced the length of the treeline next to the run down garage she lived above. Everything inside of me screamed to go check on Maxon, but the girl drew me in a way I couldn't explain and I felt compelled to stay as well. There was something about her, and I didn't even know her name.
I looked down at my hands once more, cursing internally at their deathly palor. When I'd taken my last breath, I'd never expected to return as a ghost. It wasn't as though I didn't know ghosts existed. Of course I did. I'd just never given much thought into actually becoming one. However, it was a blessing to be able to stay on the earthly plane, even if it was in this form. It meant I'd get to see my brother again, and that was worth everything. I was worried about Maxon, desperate to know that he'd gotten out of the fight unscathed. I tried to compromise with myself. I'd check on Max and then come right back.
Now then, I just needed to figure out how the hell to beam myself from one place to another. That was something ghosts could do, wasn't it? I focused on Maxon's face in my mind and willed myself to disappear and reappear wherever he was. Surely they didn't expect ghosts to do mundane things like take the bus. Where the hell was I, anyway?
There had to be some trick to getting this to work. "Alright, beam me up, Scotty." I rubbed my palms together. Waiting.
When that didn't work, I smirked and clicked my heels together. "There's no place like home." I waited again. Nothing. Growling my frustration, I dove my hands into my hair and resumed my pacing.
Before I could try anything else, dark movement caught my eye, and I narrowed my focus out into the distance, trying to see what had drawn me. The only illumination in the vicinity was the weak glimmer of a yellow light coming from somewhere on the other side of the building and the faint glow of the cloud obstructed moon.
The rustling of feathers and caw of a crow pulled my attention to a nearby tree where the beady eyed little creature landed. Shit. This wasn't a good sign. When the crow moved it's head in a way that alerted me to it's intelligence level, I swore out loud. If being a ghost had one advantage, it was that no one else seemed to be able to see me. The crow carried on as if I wasn't there, but I shot visual daggers at it before scanning the area for more incoming threats.
I didn't see anything, but that didn't mean that danger wasn't on the horizon. Whenever the crows appeared, the suits were usually close behind them, and I wasn't about to wait until they were upon us to make a move. The harbinger the crow represented settled over me like a physical weight, and somehow I knew he was here to watch her. I had to get her out. We needed to find somewhere safe.
Luckily, the bird seemed unaware of my presence as he surveyed the outside of the rundown property.
Good.
I turned and pushed myself back through the wooden panel of the door only to find myself greeted with the most beautiful, curvaceous ass I'd ever seen in my life. The girl was stark naked with her back turned to me as she toweled off her long, ash brown hair. For one moment, my brain fled-forgetting the danger-as I took in every last inch of her. Until my ogling landed on the flawless braid shaped tattoo decorating her lower back. My heart stopped.
"Where did you get that?" Startling her for the second time that evening, I watched avidly as she jumped with a squeak, whipping around. A sky blue towel quickly wound itself around her body.
"You're back!" Her excitement quickly faded back to ire. "You can't just pop in on people!" she reprimanded. " And what are you talking about?"
"The tattoo." I motioned with a hand toward her body, but she simply regarded me with a confused expression.
"I don't have a tattoo."
All my attention narrowed down to the curved markings along her lower back. If they were legitimate…
My mind spun. A woman hadn't been marked in a thousand years. This would change everything, and it would confirm why she seemed to be in the crosshairs.
She was a sitting duck in here. We needed to leave. Now. Before the suits showed up.
"Except you do, and I don't have time to explain." Her face went white, all traces of her sun-kissed appearance fading as she appraised me with scared, wide eyes.
"Does it look anything like this?" Racing to her mattress-it could hardly be called a bed-she procured a thin manila file folder. Flipping it open, she hurried back to my side and shoved an image at me. There was no mistaking that the
photo was taken by forensics. My entire world stopped. The black ink marring the man's chest was a direct likeness to the mark I also wore-mine on my shoulder.
"Where did you get this?" My voice was strangled as I realized it was the fallen member of my team. The one I'd never met.
"That's my brother." The feminine voice washed over me and I closed my eyes, trying to process the cruel twist of fate that had taken place over the last few hours.
"Does mine look like this?" Her face was pinched with questions, and I knew she wouldn't rest until I answered her.
"It's similar, yes." The truth was, her tattoo was that of a seven-ringed knot, while mine had been simpler at five. Each loop of the knot represented a teammate. I'd never seen one made of seven before. Then again, women were never-and I mean never-fated to teams. The curse had been very clear.
She raced over to the designated bathroom area and positioned herself in front of a mirror that hung over the pedestal sink. When she adjusted the towel correctly, she allowed it to open at the back, flashing her beautiful curves once more. I groaned at the same time she gasped. She twisted and turned to get a better view of the detailed ropes that made up the marking.
"This doesn't make sense!" She stared at the curving black lines of ink and shook her head emphatically. "None of this makes sense."
I had no explanation. After all, nothing about the last few hours of my life-and subsequent afterlife-had been normal. I didn't understand the deeper workings going on, but I did know someone who could help sort it all out. But first, we needed to make it out of here alive-or at least one of us did. If the suits showed up before we got out, our odds would drastically decrease.
"I promise you that I can explain, but right now, we don't have time." My speech was interrupted by the blasted crow calling just outside, a stark reminder of each passing minute.
I had no idea about the woman's combat skills, but taking in all five-foot four inches of her, I doubted her ability to take on a suit and live to tell the tale.
Chilled goosebumps broke out over her arms and she grumbled at the crow. "Not him again." She hurried over to the bed and started wiggling into a pair of black boyshorts, slipping them on under the cover of the towel. I could almost envision what they'd look like on her, but I buried the distraction to reminisce over another time. Besides-if she truly was on a team of seven, she didn't belong to me. I sobered.
"I hate to scare you for a second time tonight, but you really need to hurry. We have to move."
"What's happening?" She looked around as she fastened the button on a pair of skinny jeans she'd shimmied over her full hips, before deftly slipping into a bra next, keeping her luscious skin covered in the process. The dresser she walked towards was broken and tilting precariously forward. She pulled a red shirt out from one of the drawers, and I immediately shook my head.
"No. Something dark. We're about to have company." Her eyes grew wide, but she listened to my advice. The fact that she didn't question me, but instead followed direction, made me feel as though she trusted me, and I wouldn't take that lightly. She was my responsibility until I could deliver her to her proper team.
"Who's coming?" She dropped her volume to a whisper, and I immediately regretted the words I said next.
"The same people who killed your brother. Who killed me."
The calm that came over her was surprising. I'd expected a freak-out of epic proportions, but I was realizing that this girl wasn't at all what I'd anticipated. Her blue eyes became no more than slits, and she marched over to her mattress, retrieving the knife she'd had earlier.
"Whoa there, Laura Croft." I held my hands up, trying to stay her. "What do you think you're doing?"
"Fighting back. Taking them down." Steely resolve. She didn't look like a girl who was about to change her mind, but I knew if she tried to take them on, death would come in a matter of seconds. It was obvious that she wasn't trained, and if they could take down a warlock, what chance did this short, gorgeous girl have? None, unless she could kill them with sex appeal because she had that in spades.
"I don't think so." I met her gaze with a steel of my own. "They have weapons, and not the kind you can fight with a knife. One shot. One nick. That's all it takes." She must have seen the truth on my face, because she deflated. "If we can get out before they arrive, we'll have a chance. They know where you live. It's not safe here any longer." I paused and took a gander at her measly belongings. "You should probably pack a bag."
Her entire demeanor changed, and she regarded the room forlornly, her gaze settling on a stack of boxes lining the wall between the end of her mattress and the start of the kitchen.
"I can't leave Luca's things." I had a deep understanding of her predicament. If I was in her shoes, I wouldn't have wanted to leave behind all I had left of Maxon. The boxes provided an obstacle I hadn't been prepared for, but if I could reach the guys, I knew I could send them back for the girl's belongings.
"Take what's most important. I promise you, I'll send someone back to recover the rest, but none of this will matter if you end up dead."
With resolute urgency, she snatched up a medium sized black suitcase and grabbed clothing from the dilapidated dresser, and then gathered the essentials from the bathroom followed by the most important belongings from the boxes. A sweatshirt, some clothing, old journals, photographs, and a few other various items were stored into the valise. Scooping up the file folder, she dropped it on top and zipped the bag. I'd never seen a woman pack so quickly, but I was immensely grateful that this one didn't seem to be high maintenance.
Slipping into her shoes, she then threaded a belt through the loops on her jeans, adding a knife holster before sliding her weapon home. Palming her keys, the girl gave the apartment a once over, appearing satisfied for now.
"Ready?" I queried.
An audible exhale later, and her gaze slipped to mine. "As I'll ever be." I could almost feel the nervous tension vibrating throughout the room, but I didn't comment on it. For someone who had obviously grown up human, she was taking everything remarkably in stride.
Ever the gentleman, I reached for the suitcase, but my fingers sailed right through the handle and came out on the other side. I gritted my teeth, squeezed my eyes shut, and swallowed. The incorporealness of my form was hard to get used to, and I latched on to a mantra to help me cope until I could do some more soul searching-pun not intended. Better than nothing, I repeated mentally. The slight buzz of the girl's touch lit along my upper arm, startling me as much as it calmed me, helping relax the tense muscles in my jaw. I soaked up the shadow of physical contact, delighting in the fact that I could still feel something… anything… even if it was just a whisper.
"It's alright. I'm perfectly capable. I hauled all this in here by myself, anyway." I opened my eyes, shaking my head at the capable female.
Hoisting the bag, she made her way outside, lilting strongly to one side as she hauled the suitcase down the rickety steps.
"I can't say I'm going to miss this place, but I don't exactly have anywhere else to go." Her soft whisper was tinged with exertion, and I balled my fists, frustrated at my uselessness.
"I've got a plan." We crossed to her car, the crow hopping from branch to branch, each relocation bringing it closer to us. I kept it in my peripheral as she popped the trunk and bodily lifted the suitcase into the vehicle. The swift, robotic way the crow moved set me on edge, but it was blessedly silent-for better or worse.
The interior of the car was fancier than I'd expected. Black leather, ventilated seats sat in the front while a similarly clad bench seat lined the back of the car. The dash held all the newest technology, and I whistled, eliciting a smirk.
"Men and their cars. Luca had the same reaction." She smiled-a truly dazzling, genuine smile that knocked me off my feet. "So, do you care to share?"
It took me longer than I cared to admit to catch on to what she was asking about, fully preoccupied with staring like an idiot. "The plan?" I asked. "No." She arched an eyebrow as she set the car into motion and left the property. "Let's just focus on the 'living' part of 'living arrangements' first, then we can talk about accommodations." Truthfully, it would be a hard sell to get Falcon to understand I wasn't as dead as they probably thought I was, but I had a plan for that as well. Once he knew that, he'd take this girl in. Hell, once he understood what this girl meant to our cause, he'd want to take her in. One thing at a time, however.
I checked the rear view and side view mirrors to make sure we weren't being followed. So far, we seemed to be in the clear, but even I could see the crow following us from a safe distance. I needed to get my bearings so that I could give her directions.
Passing an open, country field, I knew we were nowhere close to Raven River. "Where do you live exactly?"
"Well, I did live in Preston Valley. Now I'm a nomad." She said the word like it was somehow freeing. I didn't blame her, given her dump of an apartment. "Maybe a gypsy. That sounds cooler, doesn't it?" She scrunched up her nose in an adorable way as she thought it through. "Sexier."
I coughed. She in no way needed to be sexier. I pinched the bridge of my nose, mentally calculating how long the drive would take us. Preston Valley was on the other side of the state from Raven River, and I figured it would take us about five hours to make the trip, plus stops for the girl.
"We need to take the one-oh-five," I directed, planning to hop on the highway and jet toward my team. Fuck, but it would be good to see them all again. I knew I could probably figure out that whole teleportation thing as a ghost, but I wouldn't leave the 'gypsy's' side.