by Wendy Knight
He ran a trembling hand through his ghostly hair. "I couldn't get to you so I went and got Alec. He found my—my body— and called 911."
"He's stable, but in a coma." Alec spoke for the first time in several minutes. I glanced at him over my shoulder, but he still stared at the floor.
"Did you try going back in? If you touch your body, it should just absorb your soul."
"This is the most surreal conversation I've ever heard," Alec mumbled. "Like you're giving him computer advice, except for bodies."
This had to be hard on him, too. I'd assumed he'd be with his new girlfriend this weekend. Probably not the way he'd planned to spend his Monday morning.
And he was talking. I shook my head, trying to focus. "Yeah, I did. But nothing happened."
I looked to Elizabeth. She was a ghost. Maybe she had answers. She shook her head, as lost as I was. "Okay. I have to talk to Death. He'll know what's going on."
Alec and Bryson both choked. "Death?" Alec gasped.
"Yeah. He's my boss." I ran a hand through my tangled, wet hair and moved away from Bryson. "You both have to know—I didn't tell you because I was trying to keep you safe. If I'd told you what I was, it would have opened your—like your soul's eyes, and you would be able to see the demons and the ghosts."
"Would that be so bad?" Bryson asked, his voice shaking as much as the rest of him.
Alec stared at me, dark blue eyes so intense and confused that it sent chills up and down my spine. How on earth he could have this effect on me in such an awful situation was just ridiculous. It was taking everything I had not to bury my head against his chest and beg him to understand. But I couldn't. I couldn't survive this pain again. I couldn't survive him again. "What do you mean you were protecting us?"
"If you'd opened my soul eyes or whatever, I would have seen the monster before it got right on top of me and I could have run away." It was the angriest at me I'd ever seen Bryson. Usually, he let me get away with everything—all my whining, crying, pouting, snapping, exhaustion, insanity. It was new territory we were in, and I wasn't sure how to proceed.
"You can't run from them. And you saw it because you became a target. If I'd opened your eyes, they would have sent hunters after you. Like, immediately. Humans do not survive well when they can see."
"All this time?" Alec's voice was barely above a whisper as he met my eyes. I was shocked at the pain there. Bryson might be the one fighting for his life, but Alec was definitely the most hurt.
I left Bryson's side to kneel in front of Alec. He swallowed hard, his hands twitching where they rested on his knees. "Yes, Alec. All this time. I was protecting you. I—I couldn't put you in danger. Please, please don't be hurt. I loved you so much I would have done anything to keep you safe."
His pain-filled eyes widened and I realized what I'd said. But it wasn't exactly a surprise, was it? It was pretty obvious to everyone and their ghost how head over heels I was for him.
He cleared his throat. "But I can see them now."
I nodded. "Bryson opened your eyes when he came to you. Living in close proximity, in Bryson's home, it made it very easy. But now you're in a lot of danger, Alec. They'll hunt you, and you can't fight them."
"Will they come for me, too?" Bryson's eyes were big, dark pits of terror against his translucent white face. "What about Konstanz? We have to keep her safe."
I rose, away from Alec, away from his pain. My body protested. It wanted to be near him, despite everything. Despite every painful thing he'd done for the last two months.
"I'll talk to Death, but I can't until the moon rises. We'll have to wait until then. Bryson, Elizabeth can show you the ropes, if you'd like. She's been doing the ghost thing for quite a while." I offered my best encouraging smile.
"I'm not leaving you. You're the only one who can save me."
"Navi is the only one who can save any of us," Elizabeth said. "We don't have to be in her constant presence for her to do it."
"Please, Navi, don't make me go. I—I don't feel safe without you." I wanted to point out that just two minutes ago he'd been mad that I'd lied to him. But he was scared and confused. His mood swings were understandable.
"It's okay," I said when Elizabeth moved toward him. "It's fine. Of course you can stay with me. I just thought it might give you something to distract yourself. Why don't we go up to the hospital and see what's going on. Maybe I can figure something out from there."
Alec dug his keys out of his pocket. "I'm going home if you don't need me anymore."
Panic, sharp and overwhelming, shot through me. "No!"
He froze at the door. Elizabeth appeared in front of him, blocking the way. He could have walked right through her, but he wouldn't. I'd seen the way he'd edged around her before. "You don't still need me here, Navi. You can take care of Bryson. I have stuff to do."
I left Bryson to go to Alec, starting to feel like a ping pong ball between them. "You can't go anywhere without me, Alec. If they attack—"
"I'll run." He shrugged. "Or I'll keep my gun loaded all the time. It's fine, Navi."
I closed my eyes, grasping his wrist in case he tried to escape while I prayed for strength.
"You don't understand. You can't fight the demons. Only Navi or those in her employ can." Elizabeth peered around him as I opened my eyes. "But the asuwangs cannot come out in the day. He should be safe until the moon rises."
"Yeah, but we had three get away from us last night. I only caught one. That means the other two have shifted to a human form and they'll come after him as soon as they catch his scent." I turned to Alec. "You have to stay with me."
He looked, if anything, more tortured. "I'd rather take my chances with them."
Wow. Was I really that awful? A part of me wanted to stomp my foot and pout and tell him to go, to lash out because he'd hurt me. But this was my job, my destiny. I protected people from the monsters. And Alec, more than anyone, I would not fail. "Alec." I forced myself to meet his gaze, no matter how beautiful it was, no matter how much it seared my soul. "Please?"
I could see the indecision warring across his face. "Navi, I'm like a foot taller than you and I outweigh you by a hundred pounds. I'll be fine."
"You can't kill them. Soul blades are the only thing that can kill them, and only an Agent and her army can wield them." If Elizabeth's face was any indication, she was completely annoyed at his argument.
It was part of the reason I adored her.
Alec's eyebrows raised—they didn't shoot up, like he was too exhausted to show adequate surprise. I moved in for the kill. "Please, Alec? Please stay with me." It was a risky little move, pulling that line. If he refused, it would cause me a lot of pain I wasn't sure I could handle. He had a girlfriend, he'd forgotten all about me, but hopefully that would bring back at least one good memory that would keep him here.
Where I could protect him and watch the pieces of my shattered heart slowly crumble away.
His face paled and he sucked in a breath, those gorgeous eyes searching my face for an answer I couldn't give him unless he asked. And then he nodded. "Okay. Fine, I'll stay. Thank you."
"We need a plan. Something proactive," Bryson mumbled and paced my small living room, walking right through the coffee table. "I'm dead. I don't know how to be dead."
"You aren't dead, Bryson. And we'll fix you." I tipped my head to the side, considering him. "Actually, of all of us, you're the safest. Death can't take you while you're in limbo, although your body could die if we don't take care of it." His mouth dropped open and I rushed to continue, my hand out and placating. "But we are! So it's okay. And the asuwangs won't hunt you like they will Alec. They'll only attack if you get in their way." I gave him my very brightest smile, which was difficult given the tenseness of the situation. "See? You're all set."
"Navi," he growled. Bryson rarely growled. In the two months that I had seen him every single day in every free moment Konstanz had, he'd only been angry once. It was when I'd missed Konstanz's birthday
party because of a war on the beach. They'd invited guys from his work that I might be interested in. In my defense, it was better that I hadn't gone because even now, all this time later, I had no desire to touch anyone or kiss anyone or be involved with anyone at all.
Except the guy with the dark blue eyes watching me with a quiet intensity that made my knees weak.
"Are you okay driving to the hospital?" I asked Alec because he stood there with his keys in his hand, looking like he couldn't decide whether to make a break for it or humor the little girl who couldn't possibly be tough enough to defend him. "I'll call my mom and see if she's ever encountered this before."
"Holy hell." Alec groaned, shaking his head. "Your mom. She's the same thing you are. There's no probation officer. That's why she couldn't ever talk about it."
"Now wait." I grabbed my jacket and my purse, sliding my feet into shoes. In all the times I'd hoped to run into Alec, I'd always looked really good, so he'd see me and think about how stupid he was for letting me go, and I would, of course, be prettier than his new girlfriend. It was disappointing that he saw me now, wet and tangled and battered and bruised in Bryson's sweat shirt and yoga pants. But it was a little late and not really appropriate to yell, "Wait! I need to put makeup on!"
So instead I followed him outside. "We are probation officers. Just… probation officers for lost souls. We give them a chance at redemption if they fight alongside us." I paused in the doorway, looking for Elizabeth. Ghost Bryson stayed so close I could feel the coldness emanating from him. He loomed nervously, watching every movement like an overly observant hawk. I didn't blame him, though.
I, also, watched every movement like an overly observant hawk. It was my job, but I'm ashamed to say that I was only watching Alec's movements. I was hyper aware of everything he did, and my heart felt like it was trying to leap through my chest to him.
But I had one secret weapon. Pain. I hurt so much and I'd cried so much that going anywhere near Alec was too painful to even consider. It was like chocolate. If you ate so much that it made you sick every time you had a bite, you eventually stayed away from it—no matter how much you loved it.
"Where is your army?" Alec asked, inching out the door, looking around warily. "And their weapons?"
"They're only released from their cells when the moon rises. My powers and my soul blades also appear when the moon rises."
"Then how do you fight demons during the day?"
I snuck glances at him through my eyelashes while he wasn't looking, so desperate to memorize every detail before he was gone again that I'd resorted to ninja-like tactics. I was pathetic.
And he was so beautiful.
His black t-shirt hugged his biceps and his chest. He had a hat on, pulled low over his eyes like it could protect him, but it didn't. I could still see that being with me hurt him as much as it hurt me.
"Navi?" he asked, and I realized belatedly that he had asked me a question.
"Oh. Yeah, demons can't come out during the day, either. The sea witch can, but only if she's taken enough souls to make a shell for herself. And her doorway only opens by moonlight."
"Sea witch?" Alec sounded slightly strangled.
I nodded gravely as he opened the door to his truck for me and I tried not to remember the last time he'd opened the door to his truck for me. "She's bad. She killed my grandmother."
"I have so many questions," he murmured as he slammed the door and went to his side. Bryson appeared, mostly sitting on top of me, but I couldn't feel anything but cold.
"If the ghosts go away during the day, how is Bryson here? Or the one inside?"
"Bryson is in limbo. He doesn't belong to Death, so he can come and go as he pleases, except that he's tied to a certain area. That's why places are haunted, you know? Like cemeteries or homes or hotels."
"Well he showed up at his home. So…"
"Oh." Bryson looked up as I frowned. "We thought you were out of town this weekend." I hurried to change the subject because thinking of Alec with his new girlfriend sent shards of pain through my stomach. "Elizabeth was a lost soul. She fought with me and earned her freedom, but she chose to stay instead of moving on. So she can come and go as she pleases like Bryson can, but she isn't tied to anywhere."
Alec shook his head, but I didn't miss the glare he threw at Bryson. And I wasn't exactly in a position to ask about it. What fun.
But of everything, Bryson's lies were the least of my worries. I rolled down the window as Alec backed out of the parking stall. "Elizabeth. Be wary. We have twelve hours before the sun goes down. If the asuwangs show up… we'll just have to be ready to run.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Alec
I wanted to know where they thought I went every weekend. The look they'd shared… surprised, maybe hopeful, on Navi's part. Or I could be reading in the hopeful thing. I don't know, and it wasn't something I could ask about now. We were sort of in a crisis, and besides that, she was on the phone. So I glared at Bryson until he looked away, and then I focused on the road.
"Hey mama. I need your help."
Navi's voice slid over my senses, soothing and tearing all at once. I was still in love with her. All this time, all the work, all the alcohol, all my mama's cooking—everything I'd done to get over her. And I was still in love with her.
There was hope, though. She wasn't with Bryson like I'd assumed.
Wow, Konstanz and Bryson. Crazy.
Oh, and back at her apartment, I'd seen the look on her face when she'd realized I was in trouble. She might not want to, but she still cared. And she was stuck with me for who knew how long. Maybe she would forgive me.
But I remembered what Konstanz said. We were too intense. I caused her too much pain, even when I was trying to love her. And I didn't want to hurt her anymore. Stay away from her, Alec.
"No, he's not dead but his soul—" she paused, listening. Bryson leaned closer, his head almost against hers, and she twisted toward him, just a bit, so he could hear better. And it killed me.
"No, I haven't ever seen something like this." She sat quietly. I could hear her mom's voice, this woman who I thought was a tiny probation officer her entire life and she was really a demon hunter who recruited ghosts to help her. But I couldn't make out any words.
"I killed it. But two got away." She bit her lip, drawing my eyes to that mouth I'd been dreaming about every waking moment for two months, "No, or it would have freed him." She nodded. "Is that possible?"
She tipped the phone away from her ear. "Did they take any part of your soul?"
Bryson's eyes widened in horror. "I don't know. How do I tell?"
"Because you feel like part of you is missing. Like—like when you lose someone you love."
And her eyes landed on me.
She flushed and looked away. "It feels like that."
"Oh." Bryson examined his arms and chest. "I don't see anything missing. I don't—I don't think I feel anything wrong. Besides the fact that I'm, ya know, a freaking ghost."
Navi's eyes that had the power to scald my very blood with just one glance my way, now went up and down Bryson's body, taking in every inch. And I had the sudden, overwhelming desire to shove him out of my truck. If I could figure out how. Was it even possible to shove a ghost?
All in all, I think I was taking the sudden knowledge that not only do ghosts exist, but also that my roommate was one, rather well.
She went back to her phone. "I don't think I see anything missing but it's hard to see… Okay. I just thought I'd check with you. Umm, no. Alec? He's here right now. Yeah, Bryson opened his eyes." She glanced at me again, worry creasing her forehead. "Yeah, I'll protect him."
Awesome. She was half my size and pretending she hated me—and she was supposed to protect me from demonic hunters.
I'd feel better if she didn't look so resigned about the whole thing.
Bryson's body looked exactly the same as it did when I left a lifetime ago. Still alive. Still unconscious. Konstanz sat by
his bed, holding his hand and barely glanced at us when we came in. She looked worried sick.
"Oh, hello again," Jasmyn the nurse said as she breezed out just as we came in. "We haven't had a change in condition, but we're bringing in a specialist in the morning." She looked at Navi, standing close behind me. "Are you his sister?"
I wasn't sure which "his" she was referring to, but I spoke before she could. "This is his girlfriend's roommate." The words felt like heaven leaping from my lips.
"Ask her why I can't wake up," Bryson said, hovering over his body like any stereotypical ghost might do.
"She won't know," Navi hissed under her breath.
Jasmyn gave her an odd look before patting her cheek. "Don't worry, hon. I'm sure he'll be fine. We've got some of the greatest minds in the world collaborating on this."
Navi turned wide eyes on me, as if playing along hadn't even occurred to her. I came to the rescue, because I'm cool like that. "I'm sure you do. We appreciate it."
"You are such a sweet friends to be here for him right now." Jasmyn motioned between Navi and I with that same sympathetic sparkle in her eye. Turning to Konstanz, she said, "And what a supportive little girlfriend. This must be so hard on you."
I shrugged, because I wouldn't be here at all if it wasn't for Navi. "He's my roommate."
The nurse smiled. "Of course." And then she was gone, bustling out, shoving notes in her pocket.
"While you're here I'm gonna run grab a drink. I'll be right back." Konstanz edged past us, her eyes red-rimmed.
"Bryson," Navi moved closer to his body, away from me like I didn't have ten thousand questions suddenly berating my brain. "Put your hand here. See if the strength of your heart will pull you in." She leaned low over him, so close I could imagine the heat of her body against his. This, this being with her constantly while she was with him, it hurt. A lot.
Bryson's hand past through her shoulder to his heart, and I held my breath. But nothing happened. Bryson didn't get sucked back in or whatever I'd been expecting. His ghost face fell in defeat. "I really thought you'd be able to save me," he said quietly.
