Page 49 of Origins
I was going to tell Julian that this was ridiculous. I could get dressed on my own—I only needed to go back to my room to get my clothes.
Which meant, of course, that I’d be alone. And right now, the very thought terrified me.
I was so pathetic.
Julian took my silence as acceptance—because it really was. Thankfully though, they got no strip show. Titus maneuvered me around as if I weighed nothing, and Julian switched out the blankets and grabbed the wet items. I remained decent the entire time—which was a relief.
After the three of us settled, Miles finally looked up. He had been resting his head in his hands, and had been unmoved in his chair the whole time. However, the expression on his face was dangerous. I wondered what he had been thinking about.
“I’m going tokillhim,” he snarled—eyes following Damen’s pacing form. “That thing was too powerful. No normal spirit would have affected the water. It had to behim. He’s stupid, reckless, and childish. And I’m going to put an end to it.”
Chapter Sixteen
Presence
I stared at Miles, not having expected this kind of reaction.
“It’s not like you to jump to conclusions.” Damen stopped pacing and sighed wearily, “or get angry. Besides, we don’t know whatitwas—even though I do agree it was not something we’d typically come across in a haunting. Butnormalor not, it originated from this house. It couldn’t have been him—although it would be easier for us to assume so. We can’t do that just because it’s convenient.”
“But look at what he did earlier.” Julian gestured in my direction. “I told you that he isn’t going to give up.”
Oh. Realization slammed into me—they could only be talking about one person.
“It wasn’t Finn,” I forced the words out—hating saying his name. I was scared of him now, something I never imagined was possible. I felt terribly confused—lost. But that fear was a fact I couldn’t deny.
Damen’s focus shot to me, calculating. And the heavy weight of three sets of disbelieving eyes staring in my direction— it was obvious whattheybelieved.
“I’m not saying that to defend him,” I said softly, looking down at my feet on the floor. I needed them to understand. This had nothing to do with loyalty—or residual feelings that I might still have toward my childhood friend. “I’m angry too,” I explained. “But I’ve felt one of these spirits before. This is the third time. But it’s never felt this intense.”
“You’ve felt it before?” Damen asked curiously, “and there was more than one?” He frowned, glancing toward Miles. “What about you?”
Miles paused contemplatively before he sighed and ran a tired hand down his face. “I don’t know.” He sounded resigned. “This isn’t my expertise. I did feel something of a demonic nature, but you would be more aware of that than I. If there was something else, then we missed it.”
That didn’t seem to please Damen at all. Titus and Julian were listening, but not contributing to the conversation. The scattered pieces of information were beginning to fit together.
“Wait,” I interrupted.
At my utterance, everyone’s attention drew towards me. I felt uncomfortable under the scrutiny, but continued nonetheless. “You’re talking about more than ghosts, aren’t you? Are you guys involved somehow? You’ve said you understand—are you the same as me? Is that how you all know each other?”
I glanced at Julian, who was looking at me with wariness. “Can you all see spirits?” I pressed.
Miles’ shoulders slumped and Damen sighed as he sat in another armchair. Meanwhile, Titus and Julian seemed troubled by my question. The atmosphere in the room went from furious to resigned assent in a matter of seconds.
I felt guilty about asking—but wasn’t sharing this sort of thing normal amongst friends? I had, at least, told them some of my secrets. I understood about the fear of rejection—about not wanting to open yourself up to that kind of scrutiny. But whatever they had to say couldn’t be any stranger than my background.
Then again, we had only just met. Maybe they were apprehensive about me, too?
“Sorry,” I bit my lip, looking away. I was ashamed that I had even asked. “It’s not important.”
“No.” Damen pinched the bridge of his nose. “This is new territory for us, to be honest. You can ask usanythingyou’d like. But I cannot promise to answer everything—at least right now.”
“Oh,” I glanced up, “so how do you know each other? You all seem really close, but very different.”
“We’ve known each other forever, and are a close-knit group,” Damen replied in that same tone of voice. “Not a lot of people make it into our circle. Not that we don’t have other associations, of course. But when it comes down to it, we are all that we have. We don’t even date—we can’t. My family, as you know, is not normal. We all share similarities in that regard. That, and our roles within our families, keep us bonded together. We’ve never even felt the need to draw anyone else in…”
Even though this didn’t make any sense to me, I could scarcely breathe. I was being trusted with the private history of another person—I’d never been so honored before in my life.
“… but there’s something about you,” Damen continued, his voice low as our eyes locked. “It’s almost as if you aresupposedto be with us. This feels right—and that doesn’t happen. Not with us. That goes against our very nature. But we want to be your friends, and we want you near us. But I cannot tell youeverythingabout what we do—not yet. That day will come as we explore this bond going forward. Is that acceptable; or does this make you want to run away?”
