Page 24 of Ghosted

I chose my words carefully, “We were in an accident after we went on a ghost tour on Halloween. Do you think that something followed us?”

“There is no doubt about that, but the energy is light and loving, not dark or angry. So, that in itself is good news. Now, you said that you wanted to scry for a few people. I will not ask questions, but there is a disclaimer I must make. If any harm comes to these people and I’m linked to you three, I will give the police information of what we did here today. I don’t have any reason to think you are going to harm anyone, just for legal reasons,” Jinx says as she walks to the back of the shop before stopping at the table and chairs. There is a map of the town already covering the tabletop.

“Covering your butt is a smart move,” Jayce comments, “but you are correct. We are just searching for people we can’t seem to find. Nothing more.”

“Then let’s get started,” Jinx states as she pulls out a purple crystal on a rope chain. “Who is the first person you’d like to locate?”

“Lucien Wolf,” his name rolls a little too easy off my tongue.

Jinx holds the crystal over the map and says his name over and over until the crystal starts to swing in a circle, until it stops on top of the burnt university.

“That’s an interesting place to be, is he the only one?”

“We have two more, Stella Walker next please.”

Jinx doesn’t reply, just chants Stella’s name just as she had Lucien’s. We all hold our breath as we eye the crystal moving, until it stops on the Grimstead Sanitorium.

“And the last name, Iris Quinn.”

This time the crystal doesn’t swing as long, it stops on top of where this shop is.

“So, is this Iris one that has passed?” Jinx asks.

The three of us nod in unison.

“Seems that she may be your guardian angel.”

Honestly, that wasn’t what I was expecting. Wolf? Sure. Stella? Maybe. Iris? I had figured she moved on, even after Jayce’s library encounter. She’d seemed hesitant and weak.

What’s keeping them all here?

“Okay, can I be blunt?” she asks. We all nod wearily, unsure where this is about to go.

“Of course,” I agree when she doesn’t go on but she doesn’t seem to hear, instead her eyes turn faraway as she freezes.

“Well, that answers what I was about to ask. It seems you’ve stirred up the dead, my friends,” she accuses lightly. There’s no malice there, just curiosity. “And old ones at that. I knew the name Wolf sounded familiar. Once I smelled the smoke and heard him talking I knew who he was.”

“It was accidental,” I admit. “We did the ghost tour and…”

“You look like his lost lover, the same lover who is guarding you,” she agrees. “I’d be looking into my family tree if I were you. But that aside. I feel there’s more you need from me than just some simple scrying.”

“We don’t think Iris is our only attachment,” I admit. The guys’ eyes widen at me but I ignore them for now. “The other night, smoke filled our apartment and we had to crawl out. It physically caused us pain like we were breathing real smoke.”

She frowns at the news. “That shouldn’t be possible for a haunting at all.”

“It happened,” Eli agrees. “When Jayce came back to the apartment he opened the door and bam, it was gone.”

“That’s why we’re looking into things, these ghosts are strong,” I tell her. We all freeze and wait. I just know this is the moment she throws us out and tells us we’re crazy.

“With it starting on Halloween, I’d normally guess that to be the source, but I think it is you that’s the source. Something is connecting you to these ghosts and they’re using you, Raven, as an energy source.”

That hurt. The thought of Lucien using me just to be strong was something I hadn’t considered and it felt like a punch to the gut. Hell, even Iris didn’t fit that bill.

But Stella might.

“I don’t think Lucien or Iris would do that,” I defend weakly. Jayce reaches out the moment he hears the slight waver in my tone. It’s silly to be this invested in ghosts I barely know, but somehow, they’ve gotten under my skin.

A blast of wind goes through the shop, the wind chimes all going off at once. Jinx laughs freely as she watches and nods.

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