Page 9 of Ghostly Touches

“Alright, you guys, my guests have arrived.” I leap to my feet and hurry to the window. Three cars have pulled up behind mine, and I see a handful of people marching up the driveway.

“Shit, we’re not going to get out of here without being seen,” Theo hisses to Kwil.

“Someone carry Viktor and this thing—” I wave my hand at the unconscious monster. “—upstairs. You guys can spend the night while you figure this out. Pick a room up there and keep quiet.”

“Thank you, Willow,” Theodon grunts as he grabs the Shadebroode under the arm and drags it from the room.

Kwil grabs Viktor like the man weighs nothing and throws him over his shoulder before walking out of the room. I don’t have enough time to wonder how they know which way to go. A moment later there is an angry knocking on the front door.

Chapter4

KWIL

“You disobeyed orders.”

Although Theodon doesn’t raise his voice, a shiver of trepidation creeps over me. He doesn’t have to raise his voice to let us know when he’s displeased.

“I thought my presence was needed more so inside than out.”

That’s a lie. If I had been outside, I would have been able to alert everyone that others were coming, which would have given us more time to escape rather than stay in this house another moment.

Theodon doesn’t spare me a glance or call out my blatant lie. Instead, he strips Viktor’s body down until the warrior is nude and then steps back, holding Viktor’s clothes in one hand. Shouting from downstairs causes us both to turn our heads. It’s been going on for about a half hour now. It’s not Willow raising her voice. It’s whoever has decided to show up at this unusual hour to rake her across the coals for some transgression.

Whenever their voices reach us, it causes my skin to aggressively vibrate in short pulses. Not a good sign. This type of pulsating means my anger is rising. I try not to think about why. It certainly can’t be because the delicious looking necromancer is in trouble. No. Certainly not. What’s happening downstairs is none of our business.

So why am I so keen on listening in?

“You’re a danger to this world, Kwil. Youmustobey my commands, or someone will get hurt.”

Theodon’s voice pulls my attention back into this room.

“I understand.” And I do. Really, I do. Look at me. I can hardly control myself from stomping out of the bedroom, down the long hallway, and down the stairs to put myself between Willow and her guests. And even before their arrival, I couldn’t for the life of me, put space between us as she assessed Viktor’s situation. This sudden singular focus won’t bode well for anyone.

“When these people are gone, go and stay outside. Patrol the area as if we were at our post.” Theodon turns and looks around the room. “If you can hear us, Viktor, I hope this will suffice.”

I look down at our brother, eerily still and hardly breathing. “Figure this out fast, brother.”

From downstairs comes a scream.

Both Theodon and I whirl towards the bedroom door. My feet begin to move in that direction as a wordless exclamation of anger floats through my consciousness. My vibrations grow exponentially as I bare my teeth. Theodon puts himself between me and the door. He glares.

“Don’t get involved, Kwil. It’s none of our concern.”

My concern, the two words float across my consciousness.

“Our job is to protect the living,” I point out.

“From monsters in the Third Realm, not from other living beings,” Theodon counters swiftly. “This is Willow’s problem, not ours. Stand down.”

A sound from the other side of the bed pulls both of our attention towards it. The Shadebroode is waking up. If it starts thrashing around again, it’s going to draw attention to us. I move swiftly around the room and slam my fist into its face. It goes still.

We can hear the opening and closing of the front door downstairs. Everything is silent. Theodon and I look at one another as we wait for the sign that it’s alright to come out. The soft footsteps coming up the stairs would be hardly noticeable if it weren’t for the creaking and groaning of each board Willow’s feet touches. She walks towards the room we’ve occupied and knocks.

Theodon opens the door and steps back to let her in. Rather than join us, Willow remains out in the hallway. My eyes drop to her wrists, which she is rubbing uncomfortably.

“I have a feeling your friend is naked now, and I don’t think he’d appreciate me ogling his fine ass when I can’t do anything to help him at the moment.”

She chuckles, but clearly, she’s tired because it trails off into a sigh as she lets go of her wrist and lifts her arms to show us. There are thick red burn marks around each one.

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