Page 102 of The Secret Life of a Witch

He only laughs, his lips nearing mine as he dips his head. “No creature ever is.”

I lift my leg and kick him in the shin, but only end up hurting my foot. Then I scream until my lungs ache, tears pooling in my eyes.

“Gods, please come back to me,” I hear Hunter whisper.

“I’m so sorry,” I whisper back as the Grim Reaper opens his mouth and starts to devour my soul.

HUNTER

Peyton was right; the Ghost Breather is being uncooperative. I understand not always liking the powers you possess, but I’m getting pissed. The more time we waste trying to get her to come out and help us, the longer Evalee stays dead.

“Just walk in,” I tell Peyton as she raps her knuckles on the front door of the single-story house located in a sketchy neighborhood on the outskirts of Mystic Willow Bay.

“Give her a second, okay? She hates this ghost shit, and honestly, I don’t blame her.” She bangs on the door again.

The curtain covering the window at the side of the door moves back, and a shadow of a face peers out.

“Open up!” I shout, but the curtain only falls shut again.

Peyton waits another a minute before knocking on the door again. Like the other ten to twenty times she’s knocked, no one answers.

“How does she even know why we’re here?” I step back and look at all the windows. Not a single light is on, but every so often, a face briefly appears in a window.

“Um, hello, you’re carrying a dead body.” Peyton gives a pressing glance at Eva’s lifeless body. “Why else would we be here?”

I adjust Eva’s body in my arms, noting her body temperature is rapidly dropping. My stomach coils with knots as a fading sensation sweeps through me.

Something’s wrong.

“You should’ve left her body in the car,” she adds, staring down at Evalee.

I shake my head. “There’s no way in hell I’m going to leave her alone anywhere. Too many dead bodies in this town go missing.”

I hold Evalee closer to my chest. She looks even paler than when she first died. And her body is as chilly as an ice storm, while my body feels like a dissipating cloud.

Something is definitely not right.

“I think we need to hurry,” I say. “She’s getting really cold and pale.”

“She’s dead.” Peyton rolls her eyes. “That’s how she’s supposed to look.”

“I know, but … she’s getting colder and paler, and …” I rack my brain for the right words to explain how I feel. “I’m not sure why, or if I’m just being overly paranoid, but I swear I can feel her fading.”

“I’m trying my best, Hunter.” Peyton heaves an exhale then hammers her fist against the door again. “Come on, Rowan; open the damn door. It’s an emergency!”

As Peyton continues to bang on the door, Evalee’s body temperature plummets.

As panic sets in, I sink to the steps, settling her body in my lap. I sweep her hair back from her face. Her skin is as white as the clouds, her lips blood red, and that fading sensation I feel emitting off her is amplifying by the second.

What’s going on? How can I feel her fading?

Suddenly, it dawns on me. The fading feeling is from our shared magic. I can feel Evalee’s magic diminishing.

Does that mean her ghost is leaving?

No, I’m not going to fucking lose her.

“This is why I don’t deal with this shit anymore.”

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