Page 25 of Ghostly Touches

The fact that both were on her property while fighting off what she called ‘Slivers’ was alarming. In all my years, I’ve never seen a demon. Where did the demons come from? And why were Mornstrikes, creatures from the Third Realm that haven’t been seen in decades, creeping around here?

AGhostmust put the safety of our world above their own lives.

I grimace. In our haste to not be seen, did we leave the world teaming with monsters?

Kwil swears and kicks a side table. The force sends the table flying. It hits the wall and breaks apart.

“Don’t destroy her property.” Theodon’s sharp command causes Kwil to freeze.

“We left her without searching the property for more Mornstrike and demons. If she’s hurt, or dead, it’s because we didn’t do our job as Ghosts! We shouldn’t have left,” he snarls.

“Control yourself, Kwil,” Theodon warns softly as Kwil’s body shakes hard.

At Theodon’s command, Kwil reins in his emotions and goes still.

“We couldn’t risk being seen by more people, and with Jonah with us, I had to make a hard call.” Theodon’s words don’t appease Kwil.

Although he doesn’t say anything or move, after eighty years I know the man well enough to know what the lack of response means. He definitely disagrees with that call.

I don’t disagree with Kwil’s assessment. We should have made sure that the threat toour world had been taken care of. But sticking around would also have been a bad idea. There would have been too many questions we wouldn’t be able to answer. Also, I was ready to get as far away from Willow as possible. The woman doesn’t understand boundaries. Shesponge bathedme for heaven sakes. Then the necromancer took her time washing, re-braiding, and brushing my hair. And when she was done, she fed me before taking my clothes and washing them.

I hated it then, and thinking about it now, I still hate it. Boundaries. There need to beboundaries.

Rubbing my chest in an attempt to ease the discomfort that’s lingered there for a week now, I walk away from the others towards the kitchen. Maybe there is something in here. As I move through the hallway, the tight space throws off my depth perception. The hallway tilts. I throw out my hands to brace myself using the walls. Closing my eyes, I gather up a deep breath and then let it out.

Shit. Shit. Shit. This is happening more and more. My heart slams in my chest as I try not to panic.

When I open my eyes, everything is blurry. It’s not ideal, but at least the hallway has righted itself. Blinking away the fuzziness in my vision, I make it down the corridor. My vision clears again by the time I get to the end of it.

When I walk through the threshold of the room, the temperature drops. My breath becomes visible, and the chairs around the small kitchen table begin to tremble. My hand drops to the handle of my sword as the window above the sink begins to freeze over and the kitchen light flickers on and off on its own.

“Theodon!”

I pull my sword from its sheath as Theodon and Kwil appear behind me.

“Look.” Theodon points to the window.

I follow his finger and tense. Slowly, a word emerges through the frost. Each letter appears with the squeaky squeal of something rubbing up against the glass. When the squeaking stops, two words are left behind: TAKEN. ELDERS.

It appears Willow’s spirit friend has decided to linger around the house in Willow’s absence.

“Fuck,” Kwil hisses. “We have to go get her. Do you think they’ve had her this whole time?”

Theodon hesitates. “We can’t just walk up to the coven doors, Kwil.”

“Yes, I can, and I will.”

The fervor behind Kwil’s words surprises me. What surprises me even more is when he turns and takes off back down the hall.

“Kwil!” Theodon shouts as the two of us turn and hurry after him.

Kwil doesn’t stop. He rushes past Jonah and out the front door where he unexpectedly puts on a burst of speed. Trying to outrun, or catch up to, a Tangleling is futile. Even a half one like Kwil. I skid to a stop and watch him disappear down the street.

What the hell is going on here? Kwilneverbreaks protocol.

Before I can turn and ask Theodon what just happened, a roar bellows through the night. I turn towards the noise but am hit hard by a large body and taken to the ground. The heavy weight that presses on my chest disappears as the Shadebroode leaps off me and chases after Kwil. Climbing to my feet, I watch in horror as two monsters disappear down the street. If they are seen, we’re dead men.

I take a step to head after them, but Theodon says, “Come on, I grabbed the keys to Willow’s little yellow bus.”

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