Page 57 of Left Hand of the Divine
She had a point. “But why me? Do I have a sign on my forehead or a big neon sign behind me that says ‘pick this idiot’?”
“No, babe,” she sniggered.
I plonked my head down on the table and sighed. Life was a lot, and the temptation to run away was real.
Lila wrapped her fingers around my hand, and a little jolt of electricity zapped my skin. Ghosts naturally had their own energy source, and whenever they touched you, there was always a staticshock. “I know it’s tough, and I’m not going to say I understand what you’re going through, but you’ve got a lot of good people around you. Lean on them, and they’ll help you through.”
She was right. I knew she was right, but it didn’t take away the fact that it was me that had the face of a God or that it was my fault that the twins and I had to take part in the fucking Games. A tear threatened to fall, and nope. I was not going to cry.
My shoulders shuddered with the effort of holding the tears back.
I sat back up and sniffed. “I’ve been through worse, right?”
A look of pity crossed Lila’s face, and I winced. I definitely hadn’t been through anything worse, but, dammit, she was right. Me and the guys could face anything together. I slammed my fist on the table and shook off the misery. “I can do this.Wecan do this.”
“That’s the spirit,” Lila cheered and downed her cocktail. “Now, where are we going to go next to track down these ghosts?”
I narrowed my eyes at her. “I know what you’re doing, missy.”
She just smiled sweetly at me and batted her eyelashes like Marilyn Fucking Monroe. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
I snorted, but I appreciated the distraction. “Sure, you don’t. Where else have people disappeared from? Or is there anyone else we could talk to?”
Ghosts were a bit like the mafia. Once you were in, you didn’t talk to anyone but your own. It was making these disappearances really difficult to investigate.
Lila pursed her lips. “Not sure. I have tried talking to a few different people, but there wasn’t anyone really willing to talk to me.”
That wasn’t a good sign. If the ghosts wouldn’t even speak to one of their own, what hope did I have? How was I supposed to help them if they wouldn’t speak to me?
“Excuse me.”
I jumped at the timid voice and looked towards the end of the table. A young woman stood there, her pale skin almost translucent. She was fading. That only happened when the ghost had decided to move on and no longer needed an energy source, or if something had infected their energy source.
“Hi,” I said, casting her a wary glance. “Can I help?”
She looked over her shoulder and scanned over the room. What was she looking for? The room was just full of ghosts who looked like this was their regular haunt. Ha! Regular haunt… sometimes I cracked myself up.
She twisted her fingers together. “I think I can help you, but not here.”
I turned to Lila and raised a questioning brow. She shrugged, and her white-blonde curls bounced around her face. I rolled my eyes at her because that just wasn’t helpful.
“Fine,” I said as I turned back to the unknown ghost. “But you better not be leading me into a trap. I’m really not in the mood for that shit.”
This ghost was probably leading us into a trap. We hadn’t seen another creature for a good few minutes, and the alleyway we were walking down was getting narrower and narrower.
“We’re going to die, aren’t we?” Lila whispered in my ear.
I threw her a flat look. “Girl, we’re already dead.”
“Pfft, that’s just mean. But seriously, where the hell are we going?”
I knew we were somewhere in the Cemetery District, but it was a labyrinth down here. I was just glad Lila would be able to dissipate if we got into trouble. I should have asked the twins to join me, but they’d just mated with Magnus. I wasn’t about to ask them to leave him behind to help me talk to some ghosts.
A pang of jealousy and hopelessness flitted through me as I thought of them. I’d caught them sneaking back into the house after their trip into the woods. They hadn’t seen me, and I had deliberately stayed hidden, not wanting to intrude in their moment, but as soon as I saw them, I knew. They’d mated and claimed each other, and my heart yearned for that. Forthem.I was also so happy for them. That they’d overcome their issues and found a connection so deep that it would outlast even time itself. It was truly beautiful, and it was worth celebrating. I’d focus on that and not on my selfish pining.
“Here,” the ghost whispered before she walked through a door.
A door that looked like it was clinging onto its hinges like a life raft.
