Gone Ghost Read online

  I pictured Sam in my mind's eye. First I saw his dark hair, similar to Chase's, but surrounding a slightly more rugged, wide face, then I moved down to his eerie whitish eyes. He was shorter than Chase, but most people were. I started to feel groggy, but not exhausted enough to pass out.

  The energy built until there was a loud pop. I opened my eyes in surprise to see Sam standing within the circle next to the mirror. What I could see of the mirror's surface swirled with gray mist that emanated slightly above the glass, like the mirror was casting its own reflection.

  Sam whipped around, looking confused. His eyes found me before they found his brother. He cringed. “You really went to the extent of hiring witches to kill me?”

  I sighed tiredly, because it hurt to have to say what I was going to say next. “I'm not going to kill you,” I grumbled.

  He looked around the room at those who now occupied the couch and love seat. “Then why did you bring so many werewolves? Nice to see you again, by the way,” he added. Since he was looking over my head I knew he was looking at Lucy, and she was probably blushing right back at him.

  I lifted my hand as far as the twine would allow and snapped my fingers to regain his attention. His gaze turned back to me as he waited for me to speak.

  “Don't you want to know why I'm not going to kill you?” I asked.

  He took a seat beside the mirror, lounging casually as much as the salt circle would allow. “Yes, do tell.”

  “I want you to help me get rid of my grandmother's ghost, and I want you to help me drag the demon she loosed back to the underground.”

  Sam's eyes widened in either fear or surprise, maybe both. “I am not going anywhere near your grandmother's ghost. Ghosts that can make portals are not good. She's been terrorizing the dreams of everyone who ever wronged her.”

  My arms erupted in goosebumps. Though I had been pretty sure all along that it was my grandmother's ghost messing with me, having a solid confirmation gave me the heebie jeebies.

  “We have a way of locating you now,” Chase said from behind Sam. “Being terrorized by a living demon who can make portals might be worse than being terrorized by a dead one.”

  Sam smiled bitterly. “Why brother, you're here. I thought I smelled a snake.”

  I snorted. “We all know who the metaphorical snake is in this situation.”

  Sam grinned. “Yes, but I don't have fangs.”

  “Bully for you,” I replied sarcastically. “Now back to my grandmother.”

  “The other demon is a more simple matter,” Sam replied. “I can send some of my spirits to snatch her up right now. Where do you want her?”

  I raised an eyebrow, surprised at how easy he made it sound. “Somewhere she can't escape?”

  Sam nodded, seemingly deep in thought, then his face split into a grin as he started laughing. “I really had you going there. I can't just snatch demons out of the human world. They have to go willingly.”

  My jaw dropped in surprise, then I glared at him. “Maybe I will just kill you.”

  He tsked at me, the laughter melting from his face as if it had never existed. “Now, now. Though I don't want to go up against even a dead Alexandria, if it will allow me to return to business as usual, then I believe we can work something out.”

  I really, really wanted to pummel him, and judging by Chase's expression, he wanted to pummel him even more, but we both resisted.

  “How?” I demanded.

  “I want your promise to leave me alone first,” he demanded right back.

  “Fine,” I replied, feeling like the answer betrayed something inside me.

  He grinned. “Shake on it?”

  “You can't,” Rose interrupted, “not with the circle intact.”

  Sam looked over his shoulder at Rose. “Why hello there,” he said, doing his best to be charming.

  Rose blushed and tried to reach up to push her red hair out of her face, but the forgotten twine stopped her

  “Don't look at her,” Cynthia snapped, drawing Sam's attention to her instead.

  “You could have chosen a nicer witch to work with,” Sam commented.

  I gritted my teeth, annoyed with the entire conversation. “You know if we let you out, and you have your ghosts carry you away, we'll just have to summon you again.”

  He smiled, looking harmless. Yeah right. “This deal is mutually beneficial, and if I have your word that you won't try to harm me, I have no reason to run.”

  “Xoe,” Cynthia cut in. “You promised we wouldn't let him out.”

  I gave Cynthia what I hoped was a reassuring smile. “He won't hurt anyone, and I can't take care of your demon problem until I take care of mine.”

  Cynthia glanced at Sam, then looked back to me, still worried. “You'll still get rid of her, even though your original plan won't work?”

  “If you can locate her, I'll take care of it,” I promised, though I didn't enjoy the thought of seeing Nix again while I still had stitches from our previous encounter.

  “And you'll keep your werewolf friends from harming Rose?” she added.

  I raised my eyebrows in surprise. “Why would they hurt Rose?”

  Cynthia glanced up at Devin, the only one of the wolves who'd stayed standing. “There have been threats.”

  I looked at Devin too. He shrugged, which meant yes, he had threatened her, and no, he wasn't sorry.

  I turned back to Cynthia. “I wouldn't have let them hurt you regardless.”

  She let out a sigh of relief, then reached her hand toward the salt circle. “We have to break the circle before we cut the twine, else he'll just get sent back.”

  Not waiting for a reply, she swiped her hand across the salt. I felt no magical shift, but Sam was able to step out of the salt circle and over the twine that bound mine and Cynthia's wrists. He casually went to sit on the couch, forcing his way between Lucy and Emma.

  While I glared at Sam, Devin approached with the scissors to cut us free. I held out my arm for him, but my attention was drawn back to the mirror still on the floor before he could make the first snip.

  It began to shake all on its own, like something out of a horror movie, rattling its frame against the wood floor. We watched in awe as it began to emanate a green light.

  “Cut the twine!” I shouted, able to take a guess at what would come next.

  Devin rushed toward us and cut the twine between Rose and Chase, but the mirror continued to shake.

  “That should have ended it,” Cynthia gasped.

  Devin freed both my hands. I stood and walked toward the mirror. “Everyone get out of here,” I demanded.

  Chase approached the mirror from the other side. The light was growing, and started to ooze out of the mirror like smoke.

  “Break it!” Cynthia shouted.

  Chase lifted his foot, ready to stomp his shoe down on the surface, but I stopped him with a raised hand. “Look,” I instructed.

  As we watched, the green was slowly shoved aside by gray, like a weak storm converging with a stronger one. The gray gave one final shove, then was gone, leaving the mirror's surface clear and still.

  I looked over my shoulder at Sam, who still lounged on the couch. “Any idea what just happened?”

  “Why Xoe,” he began like I was being silly, “you didn't really think your father's death would stop him from watching over you, did you?”

  The news hit me like a ton of bricks. I wavered slightly on my feet. Chase moved to steady me as everything clicked in to place. The sink incident, with me suddenly being let free, then all of the light bulbs exploding, the gray smoke pushing aside my grandmother's incorporeal form in the dreamworld, and now with the mirror. It had been my dad, saving me every time.

  I looked up into Chase's dark gray eyes as he came to all of the same realizations. “He saved us,” he whispered.

  I nodded with tears in my eyes. “I know.”

  12

  While half the people in the room didn't know what was going on, the othe
r half remained in sympathetic silence. Eventually I took a shaky breath and pulled away from Chase.

  “I'm not going to let my dad spend his whole afterlife chasing my grandmother,” I announced. “We are taking that witch out today.” Realizing there were two actual witches in the room, I added, “No offense meant on the witch comment.”

  “Your grandmother is the reason Rose and I are in this mess to begin with,” Cynthia stated, though she seemed hesitant. “If there's any way I can help you get rid of her, I will.”

  “Well then I hope you're okay with visiting the dreamworld,” Sam interrupted as he tried to put an arm around Lucy.

  She growled at him. The arm, knowing what was good for it, retreated.

  I leaned near Emma to retrieve my now cold cup of coffee while keeping my eyes on Sam. “What do you mean?”

  “Ghosts can only exist in this world partially,” he explained. “More powerful ghosts can pull little tricks here or in the underground, but that's about it. When someone like me comes along to control a group of them, more meaningful tasks can be accomplished. Yet, the ghosts still aren't fully here, because pieces of them are in the dream realm. It's why people most often see strange things when they're near sleep or upon waking. They're closer to the dreamworld where those things reside.”

  “So if we chased my grandmother away from here,” I began, putting together what he was saying, “she wouldn't be harmed and could just come back, if only in part. If we hurt her in the dreamworld, she will actually be hurt.”

  “Bingo,” Sam answered with a crooked smile. “Fortunately, we have someone who can make us a portal there. I've always wanted to see what the dreamworld was like.”

  I raised an eyebrow. “You mean your ghosts can't take you?”

  Sam shook his head. “Not to an entirely different world, and I have no talent for dreaming.”

  I actually had a talent for dreaming in addition to my ability to make portals, though I saw no reason to give Sam any more information on me than he needed. It usually happened without my control regardless, and came in the form of sudden premonitions. It was my dad who'd explained to me that my premonitions were linked to the dream realm.

  “It's not really a fun place to be,” Chase added coolly. He was acting a lot more hostile toward his brother than I was, but I couldn't really blame him for not wanting to play nice.

  Sam sighed dramatically. “Not only do you get to hang out with scary fire demons, they take you to other realms. No fair.”

  Instead of replying, Chase just glared at his brother. I couldn't help smiling a bit at the scary fire demon comment. It was a lot better than some of the other things I'd been called.

  I was beginning to feel really tired, both from the small amount of sleep I'd had and from the energy it took to summon Sam, so I sat down near the salt circle. “I've only managed to take two people through a portal at once. I'm not sure if I can take more than that.”

  “So take two, come back, and grab two more,” Sam suggested.

  “That would be fine, except-” I paused, not knowing how to put into words that if we needed to leave suddenly, I'd only be able to save two people.

  “We had to leave in a hurry last time,” Jason explained for me. “If there had been more than two of us, someone would have ended up crushed by a boulder or annihilated by a ball of pure energy.”

  Sam wrinkled his nose. “That sounds . . . unpleasant, but I don't think we need to worry too much. Though my ghosts can't transport people between realms, they could help us escape to another area of the dreamworld.”

  I almost laughed as I realized my near fatal mistake. I could have popped us to a different area of the dreamworld too, instead of avoiding boulders and making a wall of fire that completely drained me of energy. I was still used to not having a quick, easy way out of situations. Old habits die hard.

  Chase smiled wryly at me, obviously coming to the same conclusion. I held up my finger in a shushing gesture as I fought the blush growing on my face.

  Sam shook his head. “I'm not even going to ask what that's about. When shall we leave?”

  “Now,” I said, at the same time Chase said, “Tonight.”

  I gave him a look of betrayal.

  “We all need to rest, Xoe,” he argued with the look.

  I crossed my arms. “So my grandmother can attack again while we're unconscious?”

  He mirrored my movements. “So we can face her while we're weakened with slower reflexes because we didn't get any sleep?”

  I rolled my eyes at him.

  “Don't the rest of us get an opinion on this?” Lucy interrupted.

  I gave her an angry look, though my anger wasn't directed at her. “Only those of us going to the dream realm get an opinion, and the one making the portal retains veto power.”

  Lucy's eyes widened. “Who says I'm not coming!”

  Before I could answer, Chase looked down at Lucy. “You can't come. If something happens to Xoe, you'll end up trapped in the dreamworld forever.”

  I gasped and turned my attention back to Chase. I hadn't considered that extremely important detail. “Well then you can't come either!”

  “You can't go alone,” Jason interrupted, drawing my attention over to him.

  “Maybe not,” I replied, “but I'm not risking you, Lucy, or Chase.” I glared at each person as I said their names, emphasizing my point. “Can you imagine being stuck in that world?” I turned back to Jason, “especially as an immortal?”

  “I don't see anyone worrying about my safety,” Sam mumbled to himself.

  I snorted at his sarcasm. “You said you wanted to go.”

  “I also want a back up plan,” he replied, mimicking my tone.

  I lost a little bit of my steam at that. “And do you have one you'd like to share with us, perhaps?”

  Sam leaned back and put his arm around Lucy again, looking smug. Lucy glared at him and scooted forward so his arm would fall back to the couch cushion.

  Unfazed, Sam looked up to me. “Your pet witches pulled me out of the underground. Maybe they could pull us out of the dreamworld. If only demons go, we can all be rescued. Have your werewolf friends keep an eye on them to make sure they follow through.”

  He was talking about Rose and Cynthia like they weren't there, which was unfortunately very demon of him. Most demons spent the majority, if not all of their time in the underground, and they could be fairly elitist, viewing races with relatively short lifespans as beneath them. Yet, it was funny that Sam would act that way. He and his brother's bloodline was so muddled that they might only live a human lifespan themselves.

  “We barely managed to pull him from the underground,” Cynthia said, looking at me and ignoring Sam. “Without you and Chase to draw from, there's no way we could pull you from what you claim is an entirely different plane of existence.”

  “Humans are more connected to the dreamworld than they are to the underground,” Sam explained, finally acknowledging Cynthia. “Even with the added barriers, the actual task should require about the same amount of energy.”

  I shook my head. “She already told you she needed extra demon energy to make the summoning work. Who is she supposed to draw on if we're not here?”

  “Werewolves have innate magic,” Sam replied casually. “Have them draw from half of the wolves, while the other half . . . guard them.”

  “I'm not sure our type of magic is what Cynthia and Rose will need,” Devin chimed in, finally joining the conversation.

  Sam scoffed at him. “You have enough magic to provide supernatural strength, speed, and hearing, and you shapeshift. Do you have any idea how magically taxing shapeshifting can be for demons or witches? When it comes right down to it, you have far more energy than the rest of us. It's just more innately part of you, as opposed to something you willingly wield.”

  I looked to Cynthia for confirmation and she shrugged. “It's plausible.”

  Before I could say anything else, Sam cleared his throat t
o regain my attention. Once I met his eerily pale eyes, he began anew, “I'll stay here while the wolves and witches play nice to figure out what they can and cannot do, and you and my brother can go snuggle up somewhere to get some shuteye.”

  I'm pretty sure I had never blushed more than I blushed in that moment. “What makes you think that we'd go snuggle up?” I asked hotly.

  Sam rolled his eyes. “Please, I know my brother. He wants to snuggle up with you. I'm just trying to help him out.”

  I could feel everyone's eyes on me, including Jason's.

  “This is why I never want to ask for your help,” Chase sighed.

  Sam turned his attention to Chase. “You're asking for it now, little brother. You don't get to pick and choose what form it comes in.”

  I really didn't want to take the time to rest, but I wanted even less to remain in my living room with all of the tension now in the air. “I'm going to bed, alone,” I announced. I turned to Cynthia. “Figure out if what Sam suggested will actually work, then get some sleep yourself?”

  Cynthia nodded. I looked at Devin, who nodded without me having to say anything. He would hold down the fort. Abel would keep my mom safe. Everything would be fine. Now all that was left was for me to ride my unicorn up to my magical cloud bed, in a world where things actually worked out how they were supposed to.

  I left everyone to plan, and went up to my room, cursing Sam under my breath. The situation was awkward enough without his comments, and I just knew now that he was aware he'd struck a nerve, he'd continue doing it.

  I shut and locked the door behind me, then thought better of locking it. If my grandmother attacked me again, a locked door wouldn't keep her out, and would only serve to delay anyone who came to the rescue. If anyone came. It really was stupid of me to go to sleep by myself.

  I unlocked the door and cracked it a bit, then flopped down on my bed. Hopefully someone would at least hear me scream. It would have to do.

  I had only been lying on my bed for a few minutes when someone knocked on the door frame. Not waiting for a reply, Chase stepped into view as he pushed the door the rest of the way open.