“Got it,” he grumbles, and doesn’t ask anything else while we get the lawn mower out of the shed. It takes a little bit of work, but the thing starts. I go inside, gather up my notes, and take them onto the porch.
According to the article, Lynn and her boyfriend, Trevor, were hiking when she got too close to the edge of the falls, slipped, and fell to her death. Her boyfriend tried to grab her, but couldn’t get there in time. Her body was recovered several hours later and the cause of death was from blunt force trauma from the fall.
Vengeful spirits are usually the result of an unjust death. From someone murdered…not someone who slipped and fell while admiring a waterfall. Common sense didn’t prevail in her case, as with the many others who got too close to the edge and didn’t make it after the fall. But is that enough of a reason to slip through the rift and want to hurt people?
I trade my laptop for the notebook transcribing the grimoire. It’s in English, but the way some of the sentences are written and worded is still a little confusing. Not finding anything helpful, I close the book and move to the steps, leaning against one of the stone pillars next to me.
The cross hanging between my breasts feels cool again, reminding me that I have it on. I reach inside my tank top and pull it out, running my fingers over the sleek metal.
“I still don’t know what you wanted,” I whisper. “If you wanted to freak me out, you wasted a lot of energy. And if you wanted to give me a real warning, you were way too ambiguous.” I pull the chain over my head and rest the cross in my palm. Closing my eyes, I let the image of Jacques giving this necklace to Braeya play out before me.
“I think it was really shitty what you did to him,” I continue. “But…for some reason I get the feeling you actually cared in the end. It was just too late.” I open my eyes again and look up at the blue sky above me. “So if you really want to help them, if you really have a warning, you need to get me the message again. And be a little more clear this time.”
I close my fingers around the cross and wait. The rumble of the lawn mower engine gets louder and louder as Jared comes around the house. Nothing changes, nothing feels out of place or gets my attention. If Braeya was here before, she’s gone now.
* * *
“It doesn’t make sense,”Jacques agrees, pulling the concealment charm over his head. His wings disappear right away. I redid the charms before the guys woke up, worried the crystals were losing their magic and all four of my guys would sprout wings in the middle of dinner. I hold up a black T-shirt in one hand and a light blue one in the other. Jacques considers both and goes with the blue. It looks good on him, contrasting with his deep brown eyes.
“Right?” I set the other shirt down and turn to look in the mirror. “If her death was an accident, I get the whole crying part, but attacking people…there’s more to the story.”
Jacques pulls the shirt over his head. I watch him in the mirror as I run the brush through my hair, attempting to style it in a half-up, half-down type of look.
“What are you thinking?”
“She didn’t fall. She was pushed.”
“By the boyfriend?”
I pick up a hair clip and snap it in place. My hair does not look like the picture I pulled up on Pinterest. “Yeah,” I say, and try again. “He was the only witness. It wouldn’t take much to push someone over like that, especially if they were already close. Sometimes there are signs of a struggle if someone is pushed or thrown, but a simple shove wouldn’t leave any marks.”
“He could have baited her to the edge.”
“Exactly. And if he did, she’d obviously be pissed, and it makes more sense for her to attack men who were at the falls. Not total sense given they’re innocent and have nothing to do with her, but she’s a ghost after all.”
“I didn’t get it translated yet, but I did read more in your book.” Jacques stands behind me, hands settling on my hips. “The longer she is here, the more unpredictable she’ll get. Unpredictable…and violent.”
Setting the hair clip down after another failed attempt, I turn around in Jac’s arms. “What do I do? The cop in me wants to arrest the motherfucker if he really did kill Lynn. I’ll need to get proof and do it legally. And the witch in me…” I shake my head. “I need to stop the ghost before she hurts another innocent person.”
Jacques considers each option for a moment. “I don’t know much about the legal system, but it seems it can be a drawn-out process.”
“For some things, yes. Unless I can use witchcraft to get him to confess.”
Jac smiles. “Best of both worlds, I suppose. Though you are right. Stopping the ghost has to be your top priority. You don’t know if she was murdered for sure either.”
“Right. She might have really fallen and is just confused.”
Jac brushes my hair over my shoulder. “You look beautiful, Ace. I like your hair down.”
“Thanks.” I hook my arms around his shoulders. “And good, because it’s not wanting to cooperate today.”
He gives me a quick kiss and takes my hand. “No more talk about ghosts for the next two hours.”
“Deal.”
We head down the stairs where the rest of the guys are waiting. We’re going out to dinner tonight, and I was able to get us a reservation at a new place downtown. With a wine bar. I might be a little too excited about ordering a frozen rosé.
“It’s going to be a bit of a tight squeeze,” I warn the guys as Thomas, Gil, and Jacques climb into the back. “I need to teach you guys how to drive so I can be the one in the middle back there.”
