AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I stopped dead in my tracks. Maddox yanked me, but only a little as he quickly realized that I was no longer moving. My attention remained on the form ahead.
It was the first ghost I’d seen since Perse this morning. Something about the spirit seemed wrong, though. It wasn’t quite as fully realized as Perse was. While I’d seen this happen to spirits, it was always when their emotions were at their highest.
I rocked back on my heels and wondered if I should approach the spirit at all. Maddox’s scent trail had led us right to the ghost. There had to be a connection there. If this was the spirit of someone who’d been murdered recently, it made sense that their emotions would be haywire.
While, logically, this all made sense, I wasn’t sure if I had what it took to help this ghost. The last time I’d dealt with an out-of-control spirit, I’d had to destroy them. I didn’t want that to happen again.
Maddox sat on his haunches and looked up at me patiently. He’d followed my gaze and could already tell that I saw something he didn’t. However, his patience didn’t last long. After several heartbeats, he nudged my leg with his head.
I glared down at him. Maddox didn’t care, though. He pushed me again. This time, I stumbled forward. He gave another push and another until I was nearly up to the ghost. Their presence rippled down my spine like a cold breeze.
Sucking in a deep breath, I straightened myself and took in the ghost ahead.
It was a woman, staring at the house in front of her. She was dressed in athletic leggings and a loose t-shirt. I could see the straps of a racerback sports bra peeking out from beneath the collar of her shirt.
As we approached, her head slowly twisted in our direction. A hot blue flare flickered in her eyes, making me rock back. Wariness slowed my step. This wasn’t going to end well. I could already tell. It wasn’t reassuring that my arcana had been acting odd earlier, either.
“I can see you,” I said softly. “I can help.”
The ghost paid me no mind, much to my surprise. Her eyes narrowed as she took in the wolf behind me. I knew that Maddox could be intimidating, but she was already dead. I didn’t understand why she was so bothered by his presence.
That was until her mouth split open into a heart-wrenching scream. The ghost lunged for Maddox. Instinctively, I yanked his leash to pull him back. The ghost had her hands out, her fingers curled into sharp claws that swiped through the empty air where Maddox had been.
He circled behind me before stepping between me and the ghost again. The way he looked around told me that he still couldn’t see the ghost trying to attack him.
“It’s okay! He can’t hurt you!” I spun to put Maddox behind me again.
The ghost wailed. I winced as pain split between my ears. My skull felt like an egg being cracked open. I could barely breathe through the pain of it. Somehow, I managed to lift my head. I didn’t draw on my arcana yet, though.
“You’re already dead. He can’t hurt you. You’re already dead.” My heart raced.
The woman wasn’t having it. People were starting to peel back their curtains. I could feel eyes on me. Hopefully, it looked like I was having a hard time keeping control of my giant dog. While that might look worrisome, it was better than seeing me talk to myself.
I had to deal with her quickly. The way she glared at Maddox made me think she might stalk us if we ran for it. She wasn’t going to give up on him.
“What happened to you?” I asked quietly. “Tell me so I can help.”
She slapped a hand over her heart. It was then that I realized there was a hole in her chest. It wasn’t torn open. There was no flesh to this form. Instead, there was a void where her heart should have been.
I cocked my head, taking in the odd sight. My own heart thumped wildly as if afraid something might come around and pluck it out of my own chest. I took a half step back from the ghost, which was a mistake.
Maddox moved around me and growled at the space where the ghost stood. The sound brought her attention back to him. Her mouth split open. She clawed at the sides of her face as she howled in pain.
I quickly reached to open a portal to the afterlife so I could direct her towards the light. If I was lucky, the light would help soothe her. It didn’t always work, but I was ready to try anything at this point. The woman was clearly in pain. All I wanted was to help ease it for her.
But when I lifted my hand and reached to peel back the veil separating this world from the underworld, I grasped nothing. Again, I reached. Again, nothing happened.
Instead of trying to force one open, I exhaled and believed the portal had been there this whole time. The gateways often felt like they’d always existed, we only had to perceive them. However, nothing happened.
I couldn’t open a portal.
The woman’s ghost flickered. She appeared in my face. The dark hollow voids of her eyes flickered and threatened to swallow me whole.
“Oh, hell no.” I spun and dragged Maddox away from her.
Maddox tried to dig in his heels, but I yanked on the leash one more time.
“Move your stubborn ass,” I said between clenched teeth.
