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  Gone Ghost

  Xoe Meyers - Book Six

  Sara C. Roethle

  Copyright © 2016 by Sara C. Roethle

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Created with Vellum

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Note from the Author

  1

  I placed the final clean dish into the dryer rack, then looked down at the dirty, soapy water in the sink. While I was glad to be living with my mom again, I wasn't thrilled to be back doing chores . . . especially now that the dishwasher decided to break.

  I looked out my large kitchen window to the melting snow. The chilly Oregon winter had lasted long into spring, but it seemed it was finally letting up as sunlight danced across the ice in an almost dizzying display.

  I glanced at the clock on the kitchen wall. Almost 9 am. Abel and Devin would arrive soon with our new pack members. Over the past six weeks, the decision had been made that instead of uprooting our small pack to join with a larger one, several other wolves would uproot their lives to join us. We were starting out with just two, but more would eventually come as each new person settled in. I had grudgingly accepted that I would still have to remain Alpha of the pack, since Abel believed having a demon in charge made us less likely to be attacked.

  I wasn't sure I agreed with his logic. My presence hadn't stopped a group of rogue wolves from enlisting witches with the intent of wiping out my pack, less than two months before. I could finally admit that the witches had been mostly innocent, since they were only trying to stay alive, but their actions still led to my dad's death. Sure, my grandmother was really to blame, but she was dead. I needed someone of the living variety to be angry at, and the witches fit into that role nicely.

  Of course, I hadn't seen any of them since I'd set fire to my father's corpse and returned to the demon underworld. They were all on the run from a demon they had foolishly summoned. Said demon had some sort of vendetta against them, and had already killed the coven's head witch, as well as the daughter of two coven members. If I crossed paths with the demon, I might try to send the fiend back underground, but I wasn't about to go out of my way to do anything concerning the witches.

  I was pondering what type of demon the witches might be dealing with, when something hit the back of my head and kept pushing, shoving my face into the dishwater. The lukewarm water engulfed my entire head as the mini-wave created by my impact splashed down my chest. At first I was too surprised to act, but as whatever it was continued to hold me under, I began to thrash about, desperately seeking oxygen. Panicking, I braced my arms against the sink and kicked backward, but there was nothing there. I tried to use my sometimes supernatural strength to push myself away from the sink, yet whatever held me was incredibly strong and I didn't gain any ground.

  As I struggled for a better grip on the counter, my hand met the dish rack and sent it flying to the floor. The clattering of breaking dishes was a distant echo as the water sloshed around my ears. I felt my lungs giving out, and knew I was only seconds away from inhaling dishwater and drowning. My last thought was that I would be forever known as the girl who drowned in her kitchen sink, then the pressure on the back of my head disappeared.

  I reared back out of the water and collapsed to the slippery kitchen tile, sputtering for air as I searched for my attacker. There was no one there, but I could feel energy building in the room, like the feeling right before a storm broke. The kitchen lights began to flicker. At first it was just a few sporadic flashes, then the flickering grew more rapid until the bulbs simultaneously exploded with a starling pop. I ducked my head and covered my eyes in shock, then screamed as hands gripped me underneath my armpits and dragged me out of the kitchen.

  I struggled, and was just about to burn whoever had me, until the hands let go and I heard Jason's voice as he tried to calm me. I froze, then opened my eyes to look up at him through strands of my dishwater damp hair. He had let go of me to stand a few steps back, likely aware that he'd almost ended up a crispy vampire.

  “What happened?” he asked breathlessly as he wiped the water from his hands onto his jeans. His dark blue eyes held concern as he approached and crouched in front of me while I remained huddled on the floor. He took in my wet hair and shirt, then glanced back over his shoulder to the kitchen and the broken dishes all over the floor.

  “Something held me under,” I wheezed, wrapping my arms around my knees to hold them to my chest. My legs didn't seem to want to work well enough for me to stand.

  With a reassuring nod, Jason stood and left me to check the house for intruders. I watched his back, clad in a navy blue tee shirt, as he walked through the living room, then went upstairs. I would have helped him look, but I was still re-learning how to breathe.

  He returned a few moments later and crouched in front of me. “There's no one else here. Did you see who it was?”

  I shook my head. “They were gone as soon as they let me up, then all of the light bulbs exploded.”

  Jason offered me a hand and we both stood. Without the hand to support me I would have fallen. Sensing my predicament, he retained his hold on me while he looked back at the kitchen again, deep in thought.

  I wrung some of the water out of my hair with my free hand as I looked at him. “Not that I'm not grateful,” I began, “but what are you doing here? I mean, I haven't really seen you much since we . . . ”

  “Broke up,” he finished as he turned his gaze back to me.

  The words still stung to hear, even though it had been my choice . . . mostly.

  “Devin asked me to come,” he explained.

  “Why?” I pressed, beginning to feel more steady.

  Jason shook his head as a knock sounded at the door. He looked me up and down. “I'll answer it if you want to get . . . cleaned up.”

  I nodded appreciatively, knowing that I likely had bits of food in my hair from the not very clean dishwater. I let go of his hand, then turned to head toward the stairs. I reached them and ascended quickly, chased off by the sound of Jason opening the front door. I hurried through my bedroom to the the adjoining bathroom, stripping off my damp shirt as I went.

  As I stopped to stand in front of the mirror, I observed that I did in fact have food in my hair. I took a shaky breath, feeling almost fearful to turn on the faucet to wash it out.

  I looked around the room cautiously, then turned the water on only enough to let out a gentle trickle. With one more glance behind me, I flipped my hair over my head and draped it all into the sink. Once again silently chastising myself for not getting a haircut, I began washing sections of my white-blonde, shoulder blade length hair in the lukewarm water. The process was painfully slow, but I was still too shaken to run the water full-blast.

  That done, I did my best at washing my arms, face, and chest in the sink, then grabbed a fluffy purple towel from the rack. I patted my skin dry, then wrapped my hair in the towel as I left the bathroom. Not wanting to waste any more time, I went through my closet, quickly donned a black, long-sleeve tee over my mostly dry jeans, then combed my fingers through my still wet hair. I grabbed the towel where I'
d dropped it on the floor and tossed it onto my bed as I left the room, knowing the longer I took, the longer Abel's lecture would be for keeping him waiting.

  I left my room and hurried downstairs, actually looking forward to a meeting I had been dreading, solely because after the kitchen experience, I really didn't want to be alone in the house.

  I entered the living room to find Jason, Devin, and Abel, seated with two people I didn't know. The first new person was a girl who looked about my age, with dark skin and extremely curly, near-black hair. She looked frail, but in a healthy way, and I could tell that she was probably no more than 5'3”, as her feet barely reached the ground from her perch on my cushy love seat. The other person was older, probably around fifty, and had dusky red hair framing her lightly lined face. She dressed like my mom, kind of conservative hippy, and her serene smile and kind green eyes made me like her instantly.

  Abel and Devin both rose from where they sat beside the older woman on the couch to acknowledge me. I didn't see Jason, but I could smell coffee brewing and knew he must be in the kitchen. Better him than me. I wasn't planning on going back into the kitchen ever again, and it wasn't just to avoid doing the dishes.

  Abel and Devin both wore suits. Devin looked comfortable, but Abel awkwardly straightened out his slacks as he approached. He was probably wishing he was in his normal attire, a vest with no shirt, or a tight tee shirt. His long, dark hair hanging loose around his striking features was the only hint of casual in his appearance.

  “I trust you had a good reason for keeping us waiting?” he questioned as he took in my wet hair with his perceptive, hawk-like eyes.

  I smiled sweetly. “You very well know that there's always a good reason for everything I do.”

  Jason entered the room and came to stand beside me with a tray supporting several mugs of coffee. “Someone tried to drown her in the kitchen sink,” he explained, looking at Abel.

  I gave Jason a sharp look.

  “There really isn't a moment's rest with this one,” Devin lamented as he ran his fingers through his pale blond hair, mussing its meticulously styled appearance. He winked one of his sky blue eyes at me as I glared at him.

  I turned my attention back to Abel. Giving in to the fact that he would want more information, I held up my hands to stop him from speaking. “I didn't see who it was, and the light bulbs mysteriously exploded afterward. That's all I know.”

  Abel inhaled, then let out a long breath. He gestured back to the two women, who were staring at us like we'd all grown second heads. “Allow me to introduce Emma and Siobhan. I sincerely hope that I haven't brought them into a . . . situation.”

  He'd gestured to the younger girl as Emma, and the older woman as Siobhan. Both of them looked worried, though Emma much more so than Siobhan. Just judging by appearance, Siobhan didn't strike me as a woman that would get overly worked up by much.

  “I'm sure it will be fine,” I said patiently as Jason began handing out mugs of coffee. Everyone took one, except for Abel.

  Once the coffee was doled out, I helped Jason move two extra chairs from the dining room to the living room so we would all have a place to sit. I ended up in one of the chairs, with Abel in the other, leaving Jason to sit with Devin and Siobhan on the couch. The hierarchy of the seating arrangement was obvious with Abel and I sitting taller than everyone else.

  Abel glanced back and forth between my two new pack members. “Do either of you have any questions for Xoe?”

  Emma raised her hand sheepishly. After Abel nodded for her to speak, she cleared her throat. “Do you go to high school? I'm supposed to start my senior year in the fall, and I'd really like to graduate.”

  I cringed. I'd come to terms with remaining a drop-out, even though I was living back in the human world. For me, there was just no going back.

  “I don't,” I replied, not bothering to explain my situation, “but Lucy does. She's another member of the pack, and I'm sure she'd be more than happy to get you settled in.”

  Emma nodded to herself as Siobhan focused her gaze on me enough to make me uncomfortable. Intelligence radiated from her eyes as she sized me up, then raised her hand to speak.

  “What do you expect from your pack members?” she asked before Abel could call on her. I was startled by her southern accent, especially with her Irish name.

  I narrowed my eyes at her in confusion. “I'm not quite sure what you mean.”

  “Well, I've never had a demon Alpha before,” she explained. “Do the rest of the pack members still shift together? What are we supposed to do for you?”

  I was still confused by her line of questioning. What were they supposed to do for me?

  “Um,” I began, wracking my mind for something to say, “I know Lucy and Max sometimes shift together, so you could probably join them if you want to. Lela tends to keep to herself, and we all try to respect that.”

  Her eye twitched at the latter part of my explanation, though whether it was the mention of Lela, or that she liked to keep to herself, I wasn't sure.

  “And what about my other question?” she replied without missing a beat.

  I felt myself blush and I wasn't sure why. Part of me wanted to order her to lay daily offerings at my feet and dance naked in the moonlight, but something told me that Siobhan was not a woman that appreciated being messed with.

  “Protect each other?” I said like it was a question.

  Siobhan narrowed her eyes, trying to discern whether or not I was being genuine. “You're not like any Alpha I've ever known,” she said finally.

  I shrugged, not knowing what else to say. The silence began to draw out as we all stared at each other.

  “Well,” Devin said with a sudden clap of his hands. “I think it's time to get Siobhan and Emma settled into their new home. You can work out your pack . . . dynamics later. The leaders need to have a meeting.”

  I looked a question at Devin, unaware of any “meeting” besides the awkward one we'd just had. I stood and shook both of the women's hands as they rose, then Devin ushered them out the front door. All three of them left mostly empty mugs of coffee behind. I looked down at my own mug of coffee still clutched in my left hand, then set it down on the coffee table with the others. Coffee and nervous stomach knots simply don't go together.

  Abel and Jason had stood with the rest of us, and now returned to their seats. I took one glance at the empty chair beside Abel, then took the empty love seat instead.

  “First thing's first,” Abel said as he turned to look at Jason. “I have a job for you.”

  It wasn't the first thing I'd expected to hear, or the middle, or the last, for that matter. Logically, I knew that Abel had hired Jason's services before. Heck, it was how I'd met Jason in the first place, but it seemed like Abel liked having Jason around my little pack. One more scary monster to ward off the bad guys. Would he really choose to send him away now?

  My anxious string of thoughts was interrupted as Jason gestured for Abel to continue.

  “I was hoping to hire you to watch over Emma,” he explained. “She has an abusive father, and I'm worried that he might come looking for her.”

  “Is her father a werewolf?” Jason asked.

  Abel shook his head. “Human, but dangerous.”

  The thought of Emma with an abusive father gave me chills, and I was suddenly very glad that she had been chosen as one of my new pack members. She seemed so small and helpless. I would just pass off the gratitude that I felt upon learning that Jason wouldn't be chasing some rogue wolf somewhere far away as gratitude that we would get the chance to keep Emma safe. I was grateful for both, but the Jason side of things made me feel weak and pathetic. He wasn't mine to keep around.

  “Sounds simple enough,” Jason replied after a moment of thought.

  Abel nodded and handed a piece of paper to Jason. “This is the address of where Emma will be living. I know you'd rather not harm a human, so if he shows up, have Xoe do it.”

  “Hey!” I exclaimed,
taking instant offense at what he'd said. “I'd rather not harm a human either.”

  Abel grinned at me, and I realized too late that he was pulling my leg. Before I could say something scathing, he asked, “What do you think of your new pack members?”

  I shrugged. “They're not what I expected, but they seem nice.”

  Abel raised a dark brow at me. “What do you mean, not what you expected?”

  I shrugged again. “Well the whole idea is to make the pack larger and therefore more intimidating. I just assumed that the new wolves themselves would be large and intimidating.”

  Abel nodded. “I had considered that, but at the end of the day, Emma and Siobhan are more likely to accept a teenage girl as their leader than some of our more formidable wolves.”

  “Because they're women?” I prompted.

  Abel had the grace to look slightly embarrassed. “That, and neither of them are terribly dominant, though Siobhan may pretend to be. It will make for an easy transition, hopefully free of power struggles. There may be men among the next group of new pack members. The only qualification is that they must be less dominant than you.”

  Jason snorted. “I don't imagine you'll have much trouble finding plenty of wolves that fit that particular bill.”

  I turned toward Jason and scowled. “Just what is that supposed to mean?”

  He gave me a good-natured smile. “Don't be modest, Xoe. I've never seen you back down to anyone.”

  He'd meant the words in a joking way, but I could sense some bitterness behind them. We had, after all, broken up because of that very personality trait.

  I took a deep breath and let the line of questioning go. “So where will they live? Is Emma even old enough to be on her own?”