Page 110 of Ghostly Touches

“Come and get us,” I tell them through clenched teeth and brace myself for trouble.

Chapter30

JONAH

Igot you Willow.

My heart is beating so fast that I’m afraid it might give out from exertion. I can’t believe it. Watching from the van, I thought Theo would get us out of there before anything could happen. Even when he pulled the dagger out of his boot, I was sure he would plunge it into Rowan’s chest instead of Willow’s. By attempting to kill Willow, he was willing for all of us to die. I didn’t see that in him, but what do I know of the guy?

I run, hard and fast, across the sprawling flat lands until we hit trees. There, I weave through them easily. Even with Willow’s weight in my arms, I run easily. A benefit of being a monster I suppose.

Do Theodon, Viktor, and Kwil have upsides to being monsters as well?

In my arms, Willow moans. She’s alive, but for how long? She needs help. There’s blood trailing behind us. I’m sure the Ghosts will follow it straight to us. Whether it’s the Ghosts I know or the new ones, I’m not sure, but it doesn’t matter. They’re both bad news. If I can get Willow help, at least she’ll be in the public eye, and then the Ghosts won’t be able to get their hands on her.

My throat works hard to swallow.

Why am I such a failure at everything? I couldn’t get my life straight before, no matter how hard I tried. I cursed myself and lost years of my life and for what? Money? Money that I would’ve pissed away in three months’ time if I had brought that damn book back? Now this. I promised to keep Willow safe, and I failed at this! Even with superhuman strength, tail, and claws I failed her. My large teeth clench together as I run. If I can just find someone to help us…

Then maybe I won’t be a complete failure.

I run for what feels like an eternity, although I’m sure it’s probably been only a half hour, before I find a small town. Crouching behind a building, out of sight of the evening crowd, I place Willow on the ground and finagle the collar around my neck. It takes me a minute with large claws, but finally I snap it on.

My transformation isn’t nearly as painful as it has been in the past. It seems each time I have to transition, it gets a bit easier. A small reprieve, I guess. When I’m back in my close-enough to human form, I hurry out onto the street. I don’t care that I’m bare ass naked. All I care about is getting Willow help.

The first place I see that can help us doesn’t look familiar to me. I don’t know what a Minute Clinic is, but it has the plus sign I recognize in the window, so I make my way across the street. Praying that this isn’t a human establishment, I kick the front door in.

“Help! Someone, please help us!”

The three nurses at the front desk all jump up and immediately come to my aid. Within seconds, a gurney is brought forward, and Willow’s rushed into the back. As she disappears, another nurse approaches me to hand me a hospital gown. I take it from her gratefully. She doesn’t say anything about my horns or tail. Judging by her nonchalance about my appearance, this is a non-human establishment. I’m sure they’ve seen weirder things.

Never having been in this position before, I don’t know how long I need to wait before I should start panicking. The clock ticks. An hour goes by. Back and forth I pace in the waiting room, hoping the necromancer is alright. My heart won’t stop racing as my eyes dart from the swinging doors they took her through to the front doors where the Ghosts could appear at any moment.

When the swinging doors open and a nurse heads straight for me, I meet her halfway, too anxious to wait any longer.

“Tell me, is she going to be okay?”

The nurse smiles. That’s a good sign, right?

“Yes, she’ll be fine. Nothing magical stitches can’t fix,” she assures me. “Would you like to see her now?”

“Can I?” I can hardly believe it.

The nurse nods and takes me to the back. I follow, nearly tripping over her to get to Willow. My heart doesn’t slow down until we round the corner, and the nurse pushes aside a curtain. There, sitting up in bed, is Willow. She looks up quickly, her brows pinching together with concern. When she realizes it’s me, the puckered skin smooths, and a tired smile stretches across her face.

“Jonah.”

“Oh, thank goodness.” I nearly throw myself at her as I wrap my arms around her shoulders. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m alright. A little sore,” she says, her smile fading.

“That’s to be expected,” the nurse says, coming to my side. “You did get stabbed. However, you can thank your lucky stars that your attacker seemed to strike one of the only places in your torso that would miss every vital organ.”

I scowl while Willow frowns.

“Really?” she asks. When the nurse nods, Willow’s frown deepens.

“I say rest for the next hour, and then you can be released from our care.” The nurse pats her hand before looking at me. “Make sure she takes it easy for the next few days.”

---