I shut the door behind us. “Hey, girl. Can we talk?”
Amethyst’s eyebrows furrowed together, but she shut her book. “Sure. What’s on your mind?”
“First, I want to know . . . are there any ghosts around right now?”
Amethyst’s gaze darted around the air for a few moments before she shook her head. “Nope. Just us.”
“Good, because it’s about that day in Tarot and Divination,” I said, and the poor girl’s eyes practically bugged out of her head as they shot from Eva to me and back again. “I know I’m not supposed to tell anyone what happened,” I added quickly so Amethyst wouldn’t keel over. “And I haven’t, but Eva guessed that something was up.”
Sort of—with some help.
“When,” Amethyst demanded, her jaw set in a hard line.
“Earlier this week.” Eva kept her tone measured and her face neutral as she sat across from Amethyst. I followed her lead, hoping that if we stayed calm, Amethyst would too. “And you’re still here. Probably because Odie and I were careful not to mention any names or specifics.”
Amethyst shook her head and stood, her shoulders trembled with anger. “I can’t believe you put my life on the line. Itrustedyou—”
“We might have a way to get you out of this,” I interrupted before she could work herself into a furious frenzy.
Her eyes narrowed. “What do you mean a way out? How canweoutsmart a royal of Hell?”
I arched an eyebrow, somewhat offended. “You act as ifIhaven’t already done that. Don’t you remember who I fought during the Beltane Trial?”
Amethyst colored slightly. “I—that’s not what I meant. This is different.”
“She knows,” Eva said. “And this is not the time to get all butt-hurt, Odie. Let’s stay on track and see if what we came up with could even work.”
My cheeks heated. Eva was right. I’d just grown so used to having to defend myself against haters that sometimes a little attitude slipped out.
“Go ahead, then,” I said. “It was your idea.”
Eva turned her attention to Amethyst. “Have you considered asking other ghosts about the possession?”
Amethyst’s spine straightened. “What do you mean?”
“I assume that there are lots of other ghosts here.” Eva gestured around. “A school like this is a perfect place for them.”
Amethyst nodded. “Spellcasters has about fifty in residence. Some pop in and out. I’d say half of those live here full-time.”
Holy crap, fifty ghosts were floating around me all the time? I shivered, suddenly glad that I didn’t seem gifted in spirit walking and taking.
“Do you talk to them often?” Eva pressed.
“Two or three like to chat, but most I can’t reach yet. I’m not a fully trained spirit-talker, and I haven’t even started spirit walking yet . . . except for that time in Divination.”
“Which doesn’t count, because you weren’t in control,” Eva said as if she knew everything on the subject.
“No . . .” Amethyst lowered herself into her chair and placed her hands flat on the table as if they would help ground her to one spot.
“Well, since you can access a couple of ghosts,” Eva’s voice dropped, and I inched toward her as if I didn’t know what was coming. “Do you think they could tell you something about the ghost that inhabited you?” She reached across the table to lay a hand on Amethyst’s. “Are you willing to ask around and get the information? If you do and want to share it with us, maybe we can help you banish the ghost or something.”
“You may have noticed Eva and I are pretty good at evading powerful beings,” I added, hoping to ease the lingering tension in Amethyst’s shoulders.
It worked, and her lips twisted up in a small smile.
“I would have to be blind not to see that.” She sucked in a huge breath and released it slowly, clearly processing the idea. “I’ll admit, it’s a decent plan. I’ll start asking around tonight, and hope someone has an answer.” Amethyst’s eyes turned on me. “Thanks for looking out for me and trying to prevent another possession. Sorry I lashed out.”
“No worries, girl. We’ll do everything we can to help,” I said, hopeful that together, we could find a solution that wouldn’t put her life in danger.
