Sisters of Salt and Iron

by Kady Cross

  He was right. But I hadn’t exactly been there for my sister over the past few days.

  Still....a little needle of uncertainty dug at my mind. How much gushing about Ben had I sat through? I mention Noah, and Lark tells me to be careful. She didn’t want to hear about what I’ve done, or how happy I’ve been. It’s all about Emily and Alys, and the approach of Halloween.

  “Lark’s always been very protective of me,” I informed him, truthfully.

  Now he looked at me. “Wren, dearest, she treats you like a child. I mean neither of you disrespect, but if you want to be treated as your sister’s equal, you need to start demanding her respect. You don’t doubt her abilities as she doubts yours.”

  That was true, as well. “She worries that I’ll be taken advantage of by other ghosts.”

  Noah made a scoffing noise. “And some breather could take advantage of her, yet you do not seek to monitor her every movement. I’m sorry, but I believe the reason she didn’t ask you about Robert was so she could just show up here and see for herself what you’d gotten yourself up to.”

  I had wondered the same thing myself at the time—but only for a moment. “My sister hasn’t had many good experiences with ghosts.”

  “Knowing what it’s like to be thought mad, I can tell you that she hasn’t had many good experiences with the living either, but she’s not out there setting fire to the ones who are mean to her.”

  I laughed at the very idea. Although, there would be some satisfaction in setting fire to that policeman Olgilvie. He wasn’t a nice man.

  Noah smiled. “I love the way you laugh.” He squeezed my hand as I glanced away, shy for some reason. “I don’t mean to disparage your sister, I’m merely frustrated that a creature such as you has been basically kept in a box for her entire existence. You are a being of pure energy. You shine like a beacon in the dark, and yet you have been relegated to Lark’s shadow. I think perhaps Lark’s fear makes her keep a tight rein on you.”

  I couldn’t argue with that. Part of me wanted to defend Lark and make him understand her, but...truthfully, he seemed to understand her very well already.

  “I don’t want you to dislike my sister.”

  Noah stopped walking and turned to face me. “Dislike her? No, sweet girl. I could never dislike someone who loves you so much. I might dislike some of her actions, but never her.”

  I smiled. “That makes me very happy.”

  He moved closer, lips curving in that way that made me feel both anxious and delighted. “Do I make you happy?”

  I laughed. “I think you know the answer to that already.”

  “I want to hear you say it.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Yes, you make me happy. There. Are you happy now?”

  His lips brushed mine. “I’ve never been as happy—living or dead—as I’ve been in the days since meeting you.”

  “Oh. How do you always know exactly the right thing to say?”

  “I only speak how I feel.” His gaze seemed to take in every aspect of my face. “My mother used to say that the truth was always the correct thing to say. That was before my father told her about his mistress.”

  I winced. “That must have been awkward.”

  He shrugged, and we began walking again. “It was a different time back then. Women were told to ignore their husbands’ shortcomings.”

  “Did your mother ignore your father’s?”

  “For the most part. I think outliving him and inheriting his money gave her some satisfaction in the end. Oh, look. Here is where Miss April is buried.”

  I glanced down at the tiny little headstone. It was like the others with the numbers, but someone had set a little stone heart into the ground.

  “There was a heart with her original grave,” Noah explained. “Her fiancé had it placed there. I believe it was destroyed when they moved the graves. Then, one day, a descendant of Miss April’s fellow was conducting research into the family. When the girl found our friend’s grave and realized the heart was gone, she bought a new one. I’ve always thought that was a lovely gesture.”

  If I could cry I would have had tears trickling down my cheeks. As it was, I felt a burning sensation in my eyes. “That was very sweet of her.” Sometimes the living amazed me.

  “Yes, it was.”

  I looked about the stone garden. “Where are you buried?”

  “Why?” he asked, his expression darkening. “So you can tell your sister, so she might salt and burn my bones?”

  I drew back. “Of course not! How can you ask me that? And you call my sister distrusting.”

  His features softened. “You’re right. Please, forgive me. I had no right to snap at you. It’s just that I remember what she did to Josiah Bent.”

  “Lark might have salted and burned his bones, but I was the one who had to fight Bent to keep him from killing two teenagers. He would have killed them and several others. I ripped him to shreds.” Partially, anyway. “Are you so distrustful of me?”

  Regret shone in his eyes. “I trust you, but I’m afraid I’m not so trusting of Lark.”

  I couldn’t blame him. She wouldn’t trust him either. “Come with me,” I said, taking his hand.

  I took us to the town graveyard—just popped from one to the other. Unlike the one at Haven Crest, the town graveyard was on consecrated ground and considered a sanctuary by ghosts. No violence allowed.

  Noah glanced around us. “Why are we here?”

  I pointed at the ground in front of us and watched as he read, as realization dawned.

  “It’s your grave,” he whispered.

  “Yes.”

  He frowned. “Who left the flowers? Your mother?”

  “No.”

  “Your sister?”

  “No.” I should just make something up.

  “Who?”

  “Kevin.”

  “The McCrae boy?”

  I nodded. “He and Lark are the only ones who ever come here regularly.”

  His fingers squeezed mine. “Thank you for showing me this.”

  “It felt like the right thing to do,” I replied.

  When he kissed me, standing on my grave, I felt a surge of energy course through me. I didn’t know what it was or what it meant. I couldn’t even tell if it was good or bad—it was just incredibly intense. It was like how I imagined being struck by lightning would feel.

  It disappeared as quickly as it had come, and I chalked it up to a combination of our energies, mixed with the power of being so close to my mortal remains. It didn’t matter. Noah was the only thing I cared about at the moment.

  And I didn’t even care that even though he knew where my grave was, he hadn’t told me the location of his.

  LARK

  After kickboxing class, I went back to Ben’s house. It was just the two of us, since his mom had taken his sister to dance class, his grandmother was at one of her social groups and his dad was still at work. His mother had left money for him to get food, so we ordered takeout from the local Thai place and ate in front of the television. His grandmother had left a bowl of peaches for us for dessert, and I’d learned something new about Korean culture—that peaches were thought to have supernatural powers, such as warding off ghosts.

  I didn’t want to think about how many peaches I’d have to eat to keep ghosts away. Still, I liked peaches, and I appreciated the gesture. She’d also left red bean cake for us—which was also supposed to ward off evil spirits.

  “I think ghosts should be fought with food more often,” Ben remarked.

  “I can’t believe all the ghost shows,” I remarked as he scrolled through the menu. “I know it’s Halloween week, but just how many reality shows about ghost hunters who never seem to find anything can TV support?”

  “Seem? I always fi
gured the ghosts didn’t show up just to make them look stupid.”

  I nodded. “Some, but most times the crew just don’t see them. They have all their gadgets and gizmos, and they can’t even see a ghost that’s jumping up and down in front of them.”

  Ben gestured at the TV with his fork. “So, you can see ghosts when they’re on TV?”

  “Well, yeah.” I’d never told anyone else that little talent. I’d always just assumed it went without saying. “They’re just like real people to me.”

  He smiled slowly. “Cool. Apparently these guys have been trying to get into Haven Crest, but the town won’t give them a permit.” He glanced at me. “Do you think the ghosts there would put on a show for them?”

  “I have no idea.” And then, “Hey, isn’t that Gretchen Jones?”

  “It is.” He turned up the volume so we could hear better.

  Gretchen Jones was the lead singer of Dead Babies. Gretchen was also six foot four, had spiky purple hair and cited Alice Cooper as his biggest musical influence. He was hot, but completely nuts. Still, the band was awesome.

  On-screen, one of the members of the Supernatural Encounters team looked earnestly at Gretchen and asked, “So, at your concert in New Devon Halloween night you intend to raise the spirit of Joe Hard.”

  Ben and I shared a glance. We knew the concert was in Joe’s honor, and I’d assumed they’d make a spectacle out of it, but actually raise Joe? That was powerful and dangerous stuff. It wasn’t the same as a summoning. A summoning called forth the lingering spirit. Raising someone meant you not only summoned them, but then you forced them to take some sort of form—usually a full-blown manifestation.

  “Yeah,” Gretchen rasped. He had a voice that sounded like sandpaper on stone. “Joe Hard was a major influence on my music. I can’t think of any better way to honor his memory than to call him forth for one last encore, y’know?”

  “Can he actually do that?” Ben asked.

  “I have no freaking idea,” I replied. “Maybe? It wouldn’t surprise me. Shit.”

  “You think that’s the ‘big thing’ that’s supposed to happen at Haven Crest?”

  “No. Joe’s not evil.” Of course I’d told him all about my conversation with Emily, and he was the only one I had any intention of telling, unless it was necessary. “But if the band tries to raise him, that’s going to feed even more energy into the place.”

  Ben looked at the TV. “Shit.”

  I set my plate on the coffee table, half listening to Gretchen and the interviewer as I ran a list of possible scenarios in my head.

  He cleared his throat. “I don’t want you to go to Haven Crest. I don’t want any of us anywhere near it.” He didn’t sound afraid, but he would have been stupid not to be, and my guy wasn’t stupid.

  “I don’t want me to go either, but I’ve been thinking about that. The simple solution to all of this is to dust Noah now and ruin any plans he has.”

  Ben didn’t blink. “Okay, but what are you going to tell Wren? She’s not likely to forgive you for torching her boyfriend.”

  “I can live with that if he’s as bad as Emily says.”

  “If Emily told Wren I was evil and Wren killed me without talking to you first, would you ever forgive her?”

  “No.” I didn’t even need to think about it. God, I hated it when he used logic on me. “Fine, I’ll talk to her.”

  “What about Joe Hard? Did he mention any of this when you talked to him?”

  I shook my head. “I don’t think he knows. I probably should tell him. I have to go to the concert. I promised Joe I’d make sure Olgilvie got caught.” He was the only one I’d shared that information with, as well. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust my friends—I did. But knowing that a local cop was a murderer was dangerous, and being my friend was already dangerous enough.

  Ben gathered me up with his arm around my shoulder. “We’ll figure it out.”

  I leaned against him. It wasn’t the danger that had me worried. Ghosts were scary, but there were things that scared me more than the dead. “Emily told me not to trust my sister.”

  He kissed my forehead. “I know. Have you noticed any personality changes in her?”

  “Sure. It’s Halloween, so there have been some changes. More than I remember her having before. It’s not all the time, but sometimes I’ve caught her looking at me like she wants to gouge my eyes out.”

  “And you freaked out on her, too.”

  “At home, yeah. It was like I was the ghost. Freaky. I just want this all to be over. I’m scared. I don’t know what’s going on. I can’t depend on Wren. I’m worried I’m going to get one of my friends hurt. People might die, and I don’t know how to stop it.” I was going to cry. I couldn’t let that happen. If I started I wouldn’t stop.

  Ben took my plate from the coffee table and handed it to me. “Eat. And then go home. Find Wren and talk to her. Tell her what Emily said.”

  I wrapped noodles around my fork. “She’s not going to like it. She probably won’t believe me.”

  “But you will have told her. She’ll find out about him eventually. If you’ve warned her, it won’t be a total shock when he turns on her.”

  God. That made me want to puke. I ate anyway. “Emily said not to trust her. What if I tell her and she runs back and tells him?”

  “Who do you trust more, Emily or Wren?”

  I didn’t need to answer that. I finished my food and then went home—after kissing Ben and promising to let him know how my conversation with Wren went. When I got home, I grabbed a quick shower and started in on my homework. I had just finished a history reading when I heard the text notification on my phone. I looked at the screen—there was no return number or name, but I didn’t need one.

  Staying with Noah. There’s nothing wrong at Haven Crest. See you tomorrow.

  I stared at it. I couldn’t even text back to ask her to come home. I damn sure wasn’t about to go to Haven Crest to get her. She’d never acted like this before, and I didn’t know what to do about it. She deserved happiness, but didn’t Noah raise any alarms for her? Didn’t she suspect that he wasn’t what he seemed?

  Of course not. She thought he was everything she ever wanted—a reasonable replacement for the living boy she couldn’t have. That might be harsh of me to think, but he and Kevin were blood relatives.

  What was I supposed to do? Ask Dead Babies not to perform? That wasn’t going to happen. Vandalism to sabotage the event would be tricky and wasn’t worth juvenile jail time. The town wasn’t going to shut it down—they had made a lot of money off this event, and were going to earn even more once the town filled up with concertgoers and Dead Babies fans. Who would listen to me? I was just some girl who’d spent time in a mental asylum.

  God, if I caused trouble about the concert with the town, Nan would be the one who suffered for it. They’d all run bitching to her about me. I loved my grandmother—enough that I’d rather die than cause her any pain.

  There wasn’t enough salt or iron to protect everyone who would be at Haven Crest Halloween night, and using the stuff would prevent any help other ghosts wanted to give us. I couldn’t count on Wren, who was either lying to me about Haven Crest or clueless about Noah’s plans.

  Maybe Emily was wrong. Maybe Noah wasn’t evil. Maybe the concert would be just a concert and nothing bad would happen.

  Yeah. Right.

  I swiped my thumb across the screen and brought up my contacts list. I selected Kevin and lifted the phone to my ear. It rang a couple of times.

  “Lark?”

  “Hey, Kevin. Can I ask you a question?”

  There was a second of hesitation. “Does it have anything to do with Mace or Sarah?”

  “Not a bit.”

  “Then go ahead.”

  “Do you know if Noa
h McCrae is buried in your family crypt?”

  More silence. “Wow. I didn’t see that one coming. Um, I don’t know.”

  I guess I ought to have expected that. I mean, did I think he’d have a list or a chart lying around? “Well, do you know how old the earlier graves are?”

  “There are a couple dating back to the 1700s. It’s a big crypt. Not all the family is buried there. Most of the newer graves are outside, surrounding the building.”

  “Can you just walk in, or is it locked?”

  “Seriously? Would you leave a crypt unlocked in this town?”

  He had a point. Teenagers were pigs and horny enough to do the nasty on top of a centuries-old coffin with dusty bones rattling beneath them.

  “Can you get a key?”

  “Yes. What’s this about, Lark?”

  I sighed. I might as well tell him. Really, there was no good reason to keep it from him. He deserved to know just in case Noah had plans for him, too. “You know that guy Wren brought to the party?”

  “Mr. Darcy? Yeah, I remember him.” No, he didn’t sound jealous at all.

  “His name is Noah McCrae. He’s your ancestor.”

  “Fuck off.”

  I laughed. How could I not? Kevin rarely swore.

  “I’m not joking. I wish I was. Look, Kev, I’ve got reason to believe he’s involved in something really bad. Worse than Josiah Bent bad, but the details are sketchy. Wren is in danger, and I need to get to Noah’s grave.”

  A second ticked by. Was he even there? Had the call dropped? “You’re going to smoke your sister’s potentially evil boyfriend?”

  “Yes.”

  “I’m in.” Oh, thank God. “When?”

  I checked the time. It wasn’t even eight o’clock, and I had my homework done. Nan would be okay with me going out. “Now?”

  “I’ll be right there.”

  “Thanks.”