Page 33 of Ghostly Touches

At Willow’s shriek, I turn around to find a grotesque creature standing in the doorway. Its dragonfly wings buzz behind it, and its large bug eyes stare at the two of us. A deep roar bursts past my lips as a flare of protectiveness spreads through my chest. I leap towards the monster and slam into it, throwing it out and away from the house.

My teeth pierce through its tough skin, and I use my claws to shred the thing to pieces. As the body hits the ground, I can hear shrieks and snarls around me. When I look up, I’m surrounded by a bunch of these things. I bare my teeth and tense. I’ll get rid of the threat to my necromancer. Before I can launch myself at one of them, I hear Willow approaching my side.

“If these things try to destroy my house, I’m going to be pissed,” she says as she comes to a stop beside me.

My heart leaps in my throat. What is she doing? I roar, hoping she understands that means she needs torun. Instead, she shifts so that her feet are spread apart. As if her presence is the cue they’ve been waiting for, all the monsters converge on us. The horrible sounds they make get louder, as if they’re excited. My heart jumps up into my throat as I leap forward to protect her.

Willow throws up her hand and yells, “If you’re alive, then I can kill you. If you’re dead, then I can control you!”

With that, the creatures all freeze. I gape as I stare around us at the motionless monstrosities that surround us. Willow claps her hands once, and they all drop to the ground. It’s completely silent as I stare around us. Their bodies seem to deflate.

I step forward and kick the nearest one. Dead. Looking around, I realize with surprise and a little fear, that they’re all dead. But… how?

“I don’t think I was ready to use my power like that yet,” Willow says weakly next to me.

I turn to look at her. In this form, my vision is strange. Anything that is hot or cold, I can ‘see’ in my head. The different levels of hot and cold temperatures create an outline of an object. Staring at Willow now, I can only make out her shape but no details. She brings her hands up to the sides of her head as if in pain. Then she collapses to the ground.

But not before I catch sight of the change that ripples across her entire body. Gone is a human shape. In its place is… I blink, and Willow’s body looks the same as it has always been. My stomach drops as a moment of true fear creeps over me. Did I just see… No, no way. My strange eyesight must be playing tricks on me. Still, my heart races as I stare down at Willow.

“You can’t tell her secret to anyone,” Georgina says, appearing beside Willow and crouching down to check on her. She looks up at me and says, “You can’t tellanyone.”

I open my mouth to say something, but I realize, even if I could talk, what could I say? Clearly, Willow isn’t simply what she appears to be. If she wants to keep this from the world, who am I to say anything? The fear disappears as awe washes over me.

“Someone’s coming!” Georgina says, as she floats towards the bottom of the driveway.

The sound of a car door slamming in the distance knocks me out of my stupor. The Ghosts have arrived. Mentally swearing, I crouch down and pick up Willow.

“Go, go!” Georgina whispers urgently.

“You’re not going anywhere,” a cold voice says from behind me.

I tense as Viktor approaches from the side of the house. His sword is drawn and ready. Shit, they must have split up. The Ghost’s head tilts downwards to study Willow in my arms.

“What the hell… Where did these Mornstrikes come from?” Kwil asks in surprise as he steps around from the other side of the house, mirroring Viktor’s pose.

“Doesn’t matter now,” a third voice adds.

Theodon strolls up the driveway. His face is trained in my direction. I hiss and take a step back, pulling Willow closer to me.

“Give me the girl, Jonah, and come with us,” he orders firmly, coming to a halt just a few feet away.

Fuck you,I snap at him. Except, of course, it doesn’t come out like that. My teeth snap together loudly.

Viktor takes a few steps closer while my attention is elsewhere. I swing my tail in his direction, which causes him to leap back out of reach. Next, I turn and snap my teeth at Kwil, who’s trying to creep up from the other direction.

“You’ll hurt her,” Theodon says, trying to be the reasonable one. “Clearly, you’re a good man under all that…” His hand makes a sweeping gesture down my body. “You can trust us to watch over her. No harm will come to Willow while she’s in our care. And if you give her to us, and come along quietly, we’ll find someone who can help you with your curse.”

I don’t believe him.

“Get out of here,” Georgina yells at them as she points her umbrella at Theodon. “You left Willow here to deal with those horrid witches and look what happened! Leave Willow be.”

The spirit seems to be unaware that she's slowly fading out of sight. Is it because Willow’s unconscious?

“Your friend here has done something to us. We need to figure out what and reverse it. That’s all. She can come back as soon as this is over.” Theodon gives her a tight smile. The way his eyes roam over her body makes me think he’s assessing how big of a threat the spirit can pose to him should he decide to make a move.

“You can’t even take care of the man you already have as a prisoner! He says you haven’t been feeding him and you keep him tied up,” Georgina points out. “I won't let you do that to my friend.”

“I’ll admit, we haven’t been our best selves as of late, but we’ll be better.” Theodon nods before turning his attention to me. “You were right, Jonah. Anyone who touches that book is cursed. I think Willow is too. This—” he waves his hands at the bodies littering the ground. “—is probably part of her curse. They showed up the day after Willow touched the book here at her house. According to the Elders, Mornstrikes continuously attacked the Coven’s estate this past week while she was in their care. Now they’re here again when she returns to her house? It can’t be a coincidence. She needs to be with us where we can protect her and figure out how to break the curse.”

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