Page 67 of The Cursed Fae

He rolled his eyes. “I haven't been dead that long. I had a phone. It didn't look like that, though.” He nodded toward my hand. “So why are you looking for Ray?”

“I want to ask him a few questions. Do you know him?”

The guy shrugged his shoulders. “Not sure yet.”

“Which means you do. I need to ask him about something. Could you, um, fetch him?” I asked.

The spirit crossed his arms over his bare chest and scowled at me. “Is that a dig?”

“What? No, I'm just new to this and unsure of the correct terminology. If you could get him, I would be very grateful. Even though you can't feel anything, it's freezing out here, and I am hoping to keep all my appendages.” The last part was a little mean, but my fingers and toes were numb inside my mittens and boots

He chuckled. “Easy, girl. I thought you were referring to my shifter status. My classmates used to call me dog-boy.”

I blinked. “You're not a fae?”

“Hell no,” he corrected. “A wolf.”

“Did you go to Arcane University?” I took a better look at his clothes. They could've been from this summer or ten summers ago. His confusion over smartphones made me think it was the latter.

“Yep. Died in my senior year, right around this time. If you can believe it, it used to be warm enough to swim out here in September.” His jaw tightened. “Good thing I can't feel anything anymore.”

“I'm sorry. That was rude. Like I said, ghost whispering is new to me. You're only the second spirit I've met.”

He laughed. “I doubt that. Your last name is Sable, right? You've probably been seeing ghosts your whole life.”

“I think I would know,” I replied defensively.

He cocked an eyebrow. “Oh really? If I wasn't standing here half naked, would you have known I was a spirit? You weren't aware I was a wolf either.”

“Yeah, but…” I trailed off, unsure how to finish my sentence. Was he right? Was it possible I'd had entire conversations with random people, thinking everyone could hear and see us both? If this were a normal September, seeing a guy in a bathing suit on the beach wouldn't have been weird. It was only the snow and plummeting temperatures that tipped me off. Along with the fact I was there looking for a dead person.

I shook my head to clear it. “It doesn't matter. Do you know Ray or not? Please, I really need to ask him a question. Then I can be on my way and leave you to whatever it is you do.”

“Okay, okay. I've seen him, though I guarantee he won't chat with you.”

“Why?” I wrapped my arms around myself.

The guy shrugged. “He doesn't speak to anyone. It's not uncommon for traumatized newbies like him. They don't want to cross over completely and won't let go. So they straddle both worlds without being able to function in either of them.”

“Traumatized because he was so young?” I took a step closer. “Or because of the way he died?”

“No clue. The dude doesn't talk.”

Great. So this trip had been for nothing. “You have seen him here, at the cove, though? Maybe you could tell Ray I need to see him?” I asked hopefully.

The guy smiled. “What do I get?”

“What do you want?” I shifted from one foot to the other.

“Not much. Just for you to come back and visit. Catch me up on the outside world and school scandals. That sort of thing.”

“You don't know anyone at the college anymore. The gossip won't be that interesting to you,” I pointed out.

“Humor me.” He started walking backward toward the bluffs. “Besides, there are a lot of old families in this town. Like yours, Winter Sable. Your mom must be Colleen, right? Her sister died before having kids.”

He'd mentioned just the thing to ensure I would return. We both knew it.

“Fine. I'll come back when I can. But you have to find Ray for me. It's important,” I shouted after him.

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