Page 74 of Ghostly Touches

“You’re good. It’s just very swollen,” he murmurs after inspecting the injury.

His hand moves from my head and falls to my shoulder before sliding down my back. The touch sends a shiver chasing after his hand. Hating it, I scoot away from him.

“Can Jonah stay here with me tonight?”

“Theodon plans to watch over you tonight—”

“What?” I turn to glare at Kwil. “Theodon is staying in here? No. Fuck him.”

“Theodon means well,” he murmurs. “He’s trying to prove himself to us, to the Brotherhood, and to our people. If we’re officially deemed Fallen, he will have failed, and his family name, already shrouded in disgrace, will be forever blighted. You don’t understand our world because the Fae have always kept to themselves, but our name, our honor, it's everything.”

I stare down into my lap. Honor? These Ghosts think they still have honor to cling to? While I may understand a little more about the drive behind Theodon’s persistence to keep moving, I’m not sure why I should care at this point. This whole ordeal has been hell. They can do whatever they want, just without me and Jonah.

My head bobs up and down. I’m not really sure what to do or say. There’s nothing that will change my mind about the present situation. Kwil stands and moves towards the door. He pauses when he gets there, his hand on the knob.

“Maybe over the next few days we can learn more about each other. We don’t have to be enemies, Willow. I don’t want that.”

With that, he leaves me alone in the motel room to contemplate my next move.

Chapter21

WILLOW

Alone at last.

Or I am for about a full minute before I’m greeted by a handful of spirits. It is as if they were waiting for a moment to speak to me in private. They plead for my help. For a while, listening to their stories helps distract me. When they’ve settled down and become less frantic, I send them over to the Realm of the Dead. My reaper friend is there, waiting for them. As usual, he waves.

Help me, I want to shout.Get me out of here!

Swallowing hard, I wave back before shutting the Veil.

Willow.

I blink. My eyelids suddenly feel heavier.

Willow.

A chill runs down my spine as I look around the room. I don’t answer the call. Ingrained in me since I was a little girl, I know the rules:neverspeak to a detached voice.

Spirits, they’ll come to you if they need to speak. Creatures from the Realm of the Dead, however, will ensnare you in a trap, and all they need to do it is your name and your reply. There are more than demons that linger in that realm that want over here. Unfortunately, most of those alive don’t know that, and a few unlucky ones get to meet their end in a grisly fashion. Swallowing hard, I stand. I swear I feel cold fingertips caress my arms and across my neck.

Willow.

This time when I blink and open my eyes, I find myself standing outside of my motel room. I gasp as I look around the nearly empty parking lot. One of the only two flood lamps attached to the building flickers.The long two-lane strip of road in front of the motel is wet, as if it was raining earlier. There’s no sign of the Ghosts, or of any life out here in the dark.

How the hell did I end up out here? I take a step back. My foot hits my door. Reaching my hand back, I feel for the door handle. Scanning the empty parking lot, I jiggle the handle hoping it will open. Of course, without a key, it won’t.

Willow…

I blink, and I find the foot that was braced against the door has now turned in the direction of the other rooms. When my name is called again, I feel like I’m falling into darkness. My throat closes as it grows so cold that I can’t feel my limbs.

“Willow!”

Suddenly, I can breathe again. I gasp for air as feeling comes rushing back into my arms and legs. As it does, I realize someone is holding me. No, someone’sshakingme. Flailing against the touch, I open my mouth to scream.

“Willow, it’s me! Come on, wake up!”

My eyes flutter open. Jonah’s warm brown eyes peer into mine as his brows pinch together. His grip on my arms is bruising as he continues to shake me. I stop fighting.

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