Page 32 of Ghosted

Lucien and I look at each other and nod, a silent agreement. We both turn swiftly to hide; unfortunately, the only place is under his desk. Being the gentleman he is, Lucien lets me slide in first. I’m hyper aware of our proximity as he squeezes in after me, but we do everything we can to keep quiet. One wrong move or sound and it could be over for me.

The door creaks open with an ominous groan of wood, smoke billowing in. Her footsteps echo in the silence and I put a hand gently over my mouth to keep the smoke out and the screams inside.

Lucien and I try so hard to be quiet, but the smoke is already starting to filter into my lungs, the urge to cough impossible to ignore. I try to keep it at bay but eventually, one escapes. Thankfully, it’s the same point that she slams into the desk, her fists hitting it like a child having a tantrum.

“Do you really think you can hide from me?” Her voice is no longer calm, but hysterical.

I cough again as she comes into view, auburn hair cascading around her as she crouches down. I’ve never witnessed such a startling smile. Despite Lucien putting himself even further in front of me I start to shake at the glint of her knife. Apparently, she’s moved past fires and is going straight for stabbing this time.

Jayce and Eli’s voices filter through the chaos, quiet at first and eventually shouting over Stella’s hysterical rantings. The office dissolves as they finally cut through the dream and I’m back in my room. I’m still shaking, but it’s because Jayce’s hand is on my shoulder, moving me, trying to get me to wake. Once he realizes that my eyes are open, he ceases and pulls me into his arms.

“Oh God, Raven. You were scaring us. You were coughing and screaming. Eli and I did our best to wake you if shaking didn’t work next was water. I’d throw you in the damn shower if I had to!”

“It was Stella, she was trying to kill Lucien and I,” I tell them as the tears stream down my face. “I was so scared. It wasn’t just a dream. Lucien and I held a conversation and it was all so real. She’s getting stronger somehow.”

“We’ve now reached the point that she has to be put to rest. This can’t continue,” Eli says, shooting Jayce a panicked look they try and fail to hide from me.

“Lucien and I said the same thing,” I admit. “I’ve only seen shows that have handled it, we can’t exactly go dig up bones at a cemetery and salt them ‘Sam and Dean’ style.”

“Why not?” Eli and I blink up at Jayce who is completely serious. “If that’s how we end this, then we risk it. I’ll research where she’s buried and check into their security. We can go pay our ‘respects’ during the day to plot it out.”

“Shouldn’t we make sure that salting bones is even an option?” Eli points out and I nod my head in agreement.

“I already did.” Jayce’s words leave us staring in silence again but he’s saved by a knock on the door. “That’s our food.” When he walks away Eli turns to me, dumbfounded.

“Is he serious?”

“He’s Jayce. He’s always serious,” I say with a shake of my head. It takes everything in me to leave the comfort of the warm bed but I force myself to get up and join Jayce.

“What else did you research?” Eli asks as casually as he can manage. I grab us a few sodas from the fridge but my attention is on my nerdy boyfriend who, apparently, has been busy.

“Mainly how to banish a poltergeist,” he admits around a bite of his burger. When he swallows he continues. “This isn’t a regular ghost. She’s proven that tonight. But I’ve been worried from the moment we realized she was in the picture. She tried to kill you more than just now. Ever since the shower curtain incident… I’ve been trying to do anything I can to keep you safe.”

“Why didn’t you tell us?” Eli accuses. There’s frustration in his tone, but also hurt.

Jayce seems to realize it, his face crumpling. “I’ve done it again, haven’t I?”

“Gone straight to problem-solving mode and ignored everyone else in the process, not realizing the damage it can cause?” I ask pointedly. He nods miserably and I give him a soft smile. “We know your heart is in the right place. You just have to work on keeping us in the loop, okay?”

“Alright,” he sighs. “I’m sorry, for what that’s worth.” He stands abruptly and walks away, coming back a few minutes later with a whole stack of papers in his hands. His handwriting is impossible to read, so we are forced to wait while he sorts through it.

“Clue us in?” Eli finally says when Jayce doesn’t offer anything up for several minutes.

“So, there’s some notes here on holy water, but there’s some back and forth on whether it’s truly effective. There’s a few other options from different cultures, but we don’t have access to everything without spending a fortune, and again, I can’t decipher half of those languages without more study. So all roads essentially point back to salting and burning the bones. I even have salt and an empty gas can in my trunk.”

“Damn,” Eli whistles as he sits back. “So, why haven’t we dug her up?”

“Because it’s a crime,” he admits. And things got quiet for a bit. “ Honestly? I’ve been hoping that we’d find something else that would be easier. Less dismal.”

“What is it?” I ask, realizing he’s holding something back. He lets out a dark laugh.

“You know me too well,” he says. “There’s another thing holding me back. It’s that one of the pieces I found on it says that it can curse the soul to Hell.”

“Where she belongs,” I counter with a raised eyebrow.

“But who are we to decide that?” His voice is quiet and I can tell from the creased frown that this has been an internal debate for a bit.

“The ones trying to protect ourselves,” Eli admits. “She won’t stop. There’s nothing else we can do to end this. For good. She made her choices, so if she ends up in Hell? Well, we aren’t in charge of that.”

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