Page 83 of Chasing Your Ghost

Riley wasn’t so sure that it was based on the tightness in Ella’s shoulders, but she decided to let it go. “So, I have a question about your dreamwalking,” she said, hoping to distract Ella from all things Noah. “If it’s your spirit leaving your body and traveling wherever your subconscious leads you, why haven’t I seen you around?”

Ella turned her head sharply to look at her. “What do you mean?”

“Well, I’m assuming you’ve followed Asher to the pool house in the last week or two,” Riley explained. “Unless I was sleeping while you were there, why did Asher and I never see you?”

Ella looked up at the sky, pressing her lips together in thought. “I was there twice and you were awake both times, but you wouldn’t have been able to see me.” She lowered her chin and looked back at Riley. “When I dreamwalk, even I can’t see my own body. I don’t think my whole spirit leaves my body when I sleep, just a small and invisible part of it.”

Riley narrowed her eyes, her mind replaying how Ella had put emphasis on that one particular word. “That makes sense,” she replied. “But why did you say it like that? When you dreamwalk, you can’t see your body.”

Ella’s eyes widened, and she gulped. “I don’t know what you mean,” she said, so flustered that she stuttered over the last word.

It was so incredibly obvious that she was hiding something that Riley wondered how she’d lied about her gift for all these years without her family and friends getting suspicious. She would make a terrible actress.

Though, to give the girl credit, she’d kept her crush on Noah a secret for years.

“Ella,” Riley said, grabbing the other girl’s arm and pulling her to a stop. “Is there something else I should know?”

She averted her gaze, refusing to meet Riley’s slitted eyes. The guilty tell was enough to make Riley’s blood simmer.

“If whatever you’re hiding could help find Asher, you need to tell me,” she said, unable to keep her frustration out of her voice. “Right now,” she added in a growl when Ella remained tight-lipped.

Ella’s lower lip trembled, and when she met Riley’s gaze, her eyes were shiny with new tears. “You have to promise me you won’t tell anyone,” she pleaded.

“Fine,” Riley agreed quickly, only feeling a twinge of guilt at her lie—if Ella’s secret could help Asher, she wasn’t sure she could keep it to herself.

Asher’s life, if there was even one left to save, was more important than keeping promises.

Ella licked her lips nervously, her gaze lowering to her feet before reluctantly lifting again after she’d taken a deep breath in. “There’s a way for me to leave my body while I’m awake. It’s like dreamwalking, only I can control it better, and whereas things are a bit blurry in my dreams, everything is a lot more clear.”

“Why the hell didn’t you say so?” Riley asked with a smile, the excitement of what this could mean for finding Asher overtaking her fury that Ella had hidden this from them.

“Because I haven’t done it in three years, and I’m never going to do it again.”

Riley’s smile instantly dropped. “Why not?”

“It’s a long story, but all you need to know is that it’s dangerous.”

“Dangerous in what way?” Riley pressed, but Ella turned and began walking away with Archie. “Ella! Dangerous in what way?”

She spun around, her eyes burning with anger. “Dangerous in that other people like me can see me and touch me,” she hissed. “Dangerous in that I can’t get back to my body if someone has a hold on me.”

Riley stared at the young woman, her mouth going dry at the implications of what she was saying. “Did someone hurt you?” she finally managed to ask. “Is that why you stopped doing it?”

Ella wiped at her damp cheeks with the back of her hand. “Someone tried to.” She drew in a stuttered breath. “And I know that given the chance, he’ll try again, so I’m sorry, but I can’t do it. If I go back to that plane, he’ll find me, and this time he won’t let me get away.”

“I could stay with you,” Riley argued. “I can make sure nobody hurts you.”

“And how are you going to travel with me to wherever Asher pulls me?” Ella asked, her voice shrill. “You can’t protect me, Riley. Nobody can.”

She wanted to argue, but she knew that Ella had a point. Being a medium would possibly allow her to see Ella’s spirit, but she wouldn’t be able to teleport or get drawn elsewhere like Ella could. “Who is he?” she asked instead, feeling sick just thinking about what he’d done to make Ella too scared to use that aspect of her abilities ever again.

She jerked her head from side to side, her face looking seconds away from crumpling. “I’ll see you back at the house, okay?”

And just like that, Riley had been dismissed. She wanted to go after Ella—to comfort her or to demand that she at least try, she wasn’t sure which one—but she knew that the woman needed space.

So, she watched Ella walk away, Archie trotting along in front of her, and when Ella had safely crossed the road, she turned around and made her way back to the house where Noah and Chris were waiting.

Her coffee was tepid by the time she’d gotten back, but she didn’t much care as she guzzled it down. She hadn’t said a word after walking in the front door, and Noah and Chris’s curious stares pressed against her skin as she put her mug down and collapsed onto the couch.

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