Chapter 9 Gia #2
A flare of indignation scorched through Gia. “No, I’m not. I’m…” She didn’t know what the word for not-a-witch was, but she knew who she was. And she wasn’t a witch.
“Human?” Aurora suggested.
“Yes. Exactly.” Gia was human. Of-fucking-course she was.
Aurora seemed to come to some conclusion and smiled, the gesture maddeningly placating. See, definitely not checking her out. Aurora probably thought Gia was clueless.
“I hear you,” Aurora said soothingly, like Gia was five. “You aren’t part of the Lockwood Coven—or any coven—which makes sense if you’re human, but you can still help me. I need to see if I can get out of this building.”
“Why do you need my help for that?”
Aurora’s voice tightened. “Because I can’t open doors or move physical objects.”
Was that really all Aurora needed? Someone to open the door? Gia squashed a swell of disappointment. “If I open the door for you, will you tell me what the deal is with your coven before you go?”
A shadow passed over Aurora’s translucent face, making her hard to see for a split second.
“My coven? Oh. You mean the Lockwoods? Sure. Open the window for me, and I promise I’ll tell you, but I need to know if I’m trapped first. I’m on a bit of a time crunch, so I might need to answer your questions later. ”
Gia wanted an explanation now, but it was wrong to keep Aurora trapped. Gia knew that more than most.
She stood and went to the window. Where could a ghost possibly be hurrying off to? The afterlife? The thought sent a stab of remorse through Gia. It would have been nice to be friends with Aurora if she were alive.
An image of a fiery pit popped into Gia’s mind. Nope. She did not want to think about the potential realities of Hell right now.
She glanced down at the street, her hand on the window latch, and hesitated at the sight of a man standing in front of the theater, frowning at her building. Gia’s heart skipped.
After a closer look, she was sure she’d never seen the guy before. Her father wouldn’t send anyone but his most trusted men after her. Besides, he didn’t know where she was. She was being paranoid. People glared at buildings all the time. Maybe he thought it was ugly.
Gia unlatched the window, and Aurora appeared at her elbow. The ghost gasped, and ice enveloped Gia’s wrist.
She pulled her hand away from the latch and whirled around, but no one was there. The room was completely empty. “H-hello?”
“I’m here,” hissed Aurora’s disembodied voice. “Don’t open the window. I know that guy.”
He was still lingering across the street, and Gia swore he was looking right at her window.
She quickly stepped out of sight.
“Fuck.” Aurora reappeared on the other side of the room, her form flickering in and out of focus as she glided back and forth, one hand tangled in her hair. “How did they know I was here? They can’t track me. All my blood is in my body!”
Gia grimaced. “Blood?”
Aurora froze and gave Gia a look, like she’d forgotten she was there.
Gia pretended that didn’t sting.
“Never mind my blood. He’s from my coven. Not the Lockwoods, the coven I’m trying to escape. Fuck!”
Gia crossed the room, the urge to comfort Aurora nearly overwhelming. Aurora was trying to escape, too? Of all the things to have in common with a ghost. “What do you mean escape? Aren’t you, um, dead?”
Aurora shook her head like Gia was spouting nonsense. “I’m not dead.”
But she was a ghost. She couldn’t be alive. Was it rude to argue? Gia wasn’t about to tell someone else who they were, but come on.
“If I were dead, I wouldn’t be here on Earth,” Aurora continued, calm as can be, like she was explaining something utterly mundane.
“Earth is for the living. Dead witches go to the Realm of the Damned, which wasn’t my aim.
I’ve vacated my body temporarily, and I need to retrieve it. But if Trey is here—”
“Sorry. Realm of the Damned?”
Aurora ignored the question. “You’ll have to help me open the crypt. My coven won’t have left me in the woods, and they’ve obviously found me. I mean, it’s been days. Weeks? Damnation. What if they’ve realized I’m not dead? If they’re looking for me, who knows where they’ve stashed my body.”
This was taking a turn for the horrific. Gia shouldn’t have been so quick to assume helping Aurora wouldn’t be some macabre quest because she wasn’t gruesome or overtly murderous.
A lightheadedness threatened Gia’s consciousness, and she gripped the couch for support. “I never agreed to open a crypt for you. A door. A window. Sure. But I’m not defiling a grave site. I don’t even know what the fuck you’re talking about! What do you mean Realm of the Damned?”
Gia could not handle finding out Hell was real. She’d explode with rage at the sheer injustice.
Aurora went completely still, finally picking up on Gia’s frayed nerves. “You’re right. Sorry. It would be far easier if you knew…anything, but lack of knowledge isn’t your fault.”
“Hey. I know things.” Gia knew a hell of a lot more than the average person, thank you very much. Laundering money? Check. Disposing of a body? Check. What illegal substance provided the best profit margins? Check.
She hadn’t been directly involved in her father’s empire, but she’d been paying attention, and Marc wasn’t as good at keeping things from her as he thought.
“I’m sure you do,” Aurora said in that placating tone. “But you don’t know about magic, which is what we’re dealing with.”
Gia’s indignation fizzled out. “Yeah, well, magic wasn’t supposed to be real; otherwise, I would have studied up.”
Aurora’s face flickered, her lips twitching in a gorgeous smile. “Why don’t I fill you in?”