I don’t want to make the same mistake I did this morning, so I decide to include him in my plans.
“I’m going back tomorrow,” I say.
I’mnot ready to tell him about finding my sister just yet. Though I know it willprobably beheadlinenews eventually, given the size of the town.Rightnow,I want to keep this small treasure for myself.
But another idea comes to mind.
“Would you want to come with me?” I nervously fiddle with the hem of my flannel before adding, “Maybe you can show me around.”
Theodore’s eyes glaze over with indifference; the soft features of his smile are now gone. “I can’t. But thank you for the invitation.”
I’vestruck a nerve.Clearly,hehas no desire to go any farther than the woods. To be honest,I’msurprised to see him out of the house. From just the little interactionwe’vehad so far, Theodore has clung to the walls of his mansion like a vice, hardlyemergingfrom the shadows. Seeing him outside in the daylight has given me a fresh perspective. The dark circles under his eyes are prominent, along with thefrownlines around his mouth. Hedoesn’tlook much older than me, yet his body language and the extreme dip to his shoulders tells a different story. Something has burdened this man for a long time, so longhe’snearly beenburied by it.
Theodore takes apainfulbreath and closes his eyes. He must have seen the disappointment on my face.
“If you want,” he says, “you can go into town during the day. Talk to people, explore a little. Then, in the evenings, we can talk. Ask me whatever questions you have, andI’lltry my best to answer them.”
I smile with satisfactionat this compromise. “Sure. That sounds good.”
Without saying anything else, his body fades into wispy smoke as he moves through the closed front door. I only hesitate for a second before following him, but when Iemergeon the other side,he’salready gone.
Chapter Eighteen
KENNEDY
Iend up sleepingthroughthe rest of the day and into the night.When my conscious mind emerges back in Theodore’s bedroom, the sky outside my window is bright with twinkling stars.ThoughI’mnot sure of thehour, it feels late. A massive ice-blue moon hangs high above the house, casting purple shadows below, and I startle at hearing a chorus ofhowlsechoing through the forest.
Rushing to the window, I peerinto the forest. At first, everythingisquiet, but then Ihearthe unmistakable sound of paws bounding over the snow. Less than fifty yards away, about a dozen wolves race through the trees.They’reheaded north, away from the house, andI’mhit with thedesireto follow them.
Without thinking, I float through the window and race toward the sound of their thunderous steps. My ghostly heart thunders in my chest, andit’sthe most aliveI’vefelt in the past forty-eight hours. I try to keep my eyes on the russet-colored wolf whoseems to beleading the pack. A tan wolf hangs at the back of the group, making sure the othersdon’tfall behind. Together, weraceacross the forest, all the way to the edge of a lake Ididn’tknow was here.All of the wolves come to astop at the shoreline and dip their snouts into the water.They lap eagerly, causing water to spray out from under their noses. Ihearsplashing below me as I lower myself to the forest floor.
The tan wolf spots me first, but hedoesn’tstartle or act aggressively. It eyes me pointedly, taking in my spirit form, then lowers its head. It feels like the animal is giving me its blessing to be here, and with that my entire soul relaxes.
I feel ten times lighter as I watch the wolf roam from one end of the water’s edge to the other, keeping an eye on the rest of its pack. Somehow, the approval of this wolf hastranslatedto the others, because none of themacknowledgeme. They knowI’mhere, but theydon’tmind. Even the alpha, standing on a small outcropping of rock, only occasionallyglancesmy way. It makes me think that one of these paranormal shifters recognized me, meaning they were present at my seance. Ididn’tget a good look at everyone in the room after the witches summoned me, but one of the men must have been a werewolf.
After watching them peacefully for several minutes, I leave them be and head back to the house. On my way, however, I catch the sound of more footsteps. This time,they’rehuman.
DoubtingI’llbe lucky and run into Theodore again, I brace myself for a stranger to appear. Instead, I hear whisperedconversation. Wait…no. Just one voice, andthey’retalking to themselves.
“Volunteer to collect ingredients, Simone.You’llbe fine.It’stime you start showing initiative for the coven. Ugh, I hate this. Callie can bite me.”
Simone?
She’sthe witch who summoned me, and not the one with the snippy attitude.I liked her.
Idecideto show myself, and try my best not to scare her, but itdoesn’twork.
Shescreams. “Holyshitballs!” She clutches a leather crossbody to her chest. “Who are you? I have a knife!”
She’stelling the truth. Ihadn’tnoticed at first, but she is indeed brandishing a smallSwissarmy knife, a pair of tiny scissors sticking partly out of the contraption as well, as if shecouldn’tdecide which part of the weapon to brandish.
“It’s me, Kennedy,” I say calmly, “the ghost you summoned.”
Simone releases a massive sigh and drops her defensive stance to clutch her knees. She gasps between heavy breaths. “Oh,thankgod. I cannot with this creepy forest shit.I’mnever doing this again.”
“Doing what?” I ask, waiting for her to calm down. Iremainwhere I amand waituntil she starts breathing normallyagainbeforeIhoverslightly closer. “Why are you out here so late? What time is it, anyway?”
I catch the whites of her eyes as she rolls them in the shadows. “To answer your first question, I have no idea. Peer pressure isreal, becauseI would never have agreed to do this otherwise.And to answer your second, I thinkit’smidnight.”
