Chapter 19 – Celaeno
CELAENO
Aghost stands just feet away after popping out in front of me. Her expression is thunderous.
This spirit is angry and dangerous. Everything around her tiny living room floats, waiting to attack.
“What’s wrong?” Grey whispers. “What is this?”
“The ghost…” I manage to say, my voice trembling.
“Ghost? All I see is a bunch of floating crap,” Grey mutters, but his words are tense.
"Can you really not see her?" I ask.
My eyes meet hers. She’s pale with golden hair that floats around her face.
A glowing white light circles her. She’s beautiful and young, which makes her death even more tragic.
And if her spirit is angry, she didn’t die in a peaceful way.
The clash of beauty and danger that happens with ghosts always rips my heart out.
Every spirit deserves a peaceful afterlife.
Even if she wasn’t affecting my birds, I wouldn’t abandon her now.
“We’re here to help,” I tell her.
Indecision flickers in her eyes. Oh, Candy, who hurt you?
“We know something happened, and we know your spirit isn’t at rest. Show me why. Once I know, you can pass on.” My teeth grit together. “And the person who did this can pay.”
All of the floating objects in the room drop in an instant, and she turns, disappearing through the wall.
I race back to the front door and go around to where she faded. She’s in the woods in the backyard, waiting expectantly for us.
A shiver moves down my spine. The woods here are old with red, gold, and orange leaves that have just begun to fall. Beneath the trees, the shadows are deep. I can’t tell if it’s my instincts, my fears, or my sense of magic, but something tells me that it’s not safe there.
“Is this a joke?” Grey growls angrily into my ear, startling me.
I stiffen, but don’t take my eyes off the woman. “No, Candy’s ghost was in the house. And she’s definitely the reason for whatever’s happening in this town.”
“I don’t see anything,” Journey says.
“Me neither.” Ender steps forward, squinting at the woods.
“Just… trust me,” I tell them.
The ghost turns and disappears into the shadows. My muscles tense. If we’re not fast, we’ll lose her!
Hurrying after the ghost, I fully expect one of the gargoyles to stop me, to argue that I’m lying. From Grey’s response to my story about my friend, I realized something that turned my stomach. No matter how I justify my actions, these three will never see me as anything but a monster.
Which means, once this issue is solved, they’re going to kill me.
They’re gargoyles, and killing my kind is what they do. It doesn't matter that I feel attracted to them, or that there’s something that intrigues me about them. I can enjoy them for now, as long as I never forget that the second this job is done, I need to get as far from them as I possibly can.
Maybe I’m a fool, but I think I might be able to have my cake and eat it too.
There’s just one more problem with my plan.
I tug at the cold metal at my throat, but it doesn't budge. I have to find an excuse to get them to remove my collar. That will be tricky, but I'll never escape if I can't shift.
I’ll figure something out…
We continue through the woods. Just up ahead, the ghost of the woman is a pale light the shape of a person. She stays as far from us as possible, just close enough that I can see her in the shadows between trees.
When she suddenly disappears, I pick up my pace and start racing. Her anger is building and building. I can feel it all around me like a storm.
Exploding out of a tangle of branches, I start tumbling, falling, with nothing but air beneath me.
I scream and try to shift as I go over the edge of a cliff, but the collar keeps me in my human form.
There’s a lake, ringed by sharp rocks that come closer with each passing second.
I struggle in midair, trying to save myself, but gravity pulls me to my doom.
And then, just before impact, something grabs my ankle and I freeze, dangling inches from the sharp rocks. Breathing hard, I look up. Journey’s holding my ankle, his expression terrified.
He lowers us to a strip of sand away from the rocks and pulls me into his lap.
For a long time he just holds me, stroking my hair. My head rests on his chest, and the pounding of his heart matches my own.
“Don’t ever do something like that again,” he growls at last.
I look up at him, and his deep blue eyes hold a wealth of emotion that makes me feel things I shouldn’t.
“I was just following the—“
He silences me with a kiss.
For one second I’m too shocked to react, and then I moan and wrap my arms around his neck, pulling him closer.
His lips are warm and demanding, pressing harder against mine, coaxing my lips to part.
Once I obey, his tongue dives inside, claiming my mouth as his own.
My tongue tangles with his, and I swear I’m melting in his arms. It feels so damn good to be kissed like this.
I don’t think anyone has ever kissed me like they need to in my life.
“Journey!”
His mouth yanks away from mine.
I look up at him. His eyes are darkened with desire, and his gaze runs slowly across my face.
“Journey,” Grey repeats, his tone a threat.
At last, the gargoyle who holds me so tightly looks away, breaking the spell. “She was nearly hurt.”
My kind wouldn’t die from a fall like this, but it’d take weeks just to be able to walk without a limp. And the pain would be… mind-numbing.
“We’re not here to kiss monsters,” Grey says, aggression in his voice.
For one second, I think Journey will disagree, but then his grip loosens around me. I feel strangely disappointed.
“It looks like that ghost was trying to get you killed.” Ender picks up a rock and tosses it into the lake. “I’m not sure we can trust it.”
I open my mouth and freeze.
Climbing from Journey’s lap, I see the ghost again. She’s halfway between the bottom of the cliff and the top, near the rock wall, on a little overhang near the mouth of a small cave.
“I don’t think she was trying to hurt me. I think she wants to show me something.”
“What?” Grey sounds irritated. “If she died here, we’d see her body, right?”
“I’m not sure she died from falling.” I start walking, climbing up the rocks. It’s going to be tough to reach the cave without getting hurt. I just wish I had my wings.
“Where are you going?” Journey asks, and I sense him behind me.
I point. “She’s standing near the cave.”
Suddenly, someone sweeps me into their arms. I turn, and I’m staring into Ender’s face.
Something inside of me twists, and I hate that every nerve in my body feels alive and aware of every inch of him.
He cradles me gently without moving for one long minute, his gaze running over my face, and then lifts me into the air.
“Are you sure we can trust her?” he asks softly, as if he doesn’t want the others to hear.
I almost smile at the concern in his voice. “Ghosts aren’t usually cruel. They just want someone to end their suffering. To help them get justice… and peace.”
We reach the tiny landing outside the cave, and the ghost disappears into the dark hole.
“Have you spent a lot of time with ghosts?” Ender asks, not yet putting me down.
I shrug. “When you’ve lived as long as I have, you’re bound to run into them.
And when I do, I help however I can. No one should be trapped in their suffering like that.
This time though, I’m surprised by the power of her spirit.
Something isn’t adding up. She should be able to torture the person who hurt her… but not an entire town.”
He holds me for a minute longer, studying me. “I wouldn’t have thought one of your kind would get involved with ghosts and human problems.”
I feel a rush of anger. “Because my kind are so awful, huh? Put me down!”
He hesitates.
“Now!”
He does, and the other gargoyles squeeze in next to him on the landing.
I feel the weight of their stares. Do they still not believe me?
I don’t want to look at any of them. I’m angry, at myself more than them.
I know what they are. I know why they’re here.
I shouldn’t feel confused just because I’m lonely.
I should expect them to treat me like their monstrous prisoner… and nothing more.
“Listen, Celaeno—“
I cut Ender off. “She went down here. I’m guessing that’s where her body is.”
I start forward, but Grey catches my arm. “We can’t fit down there.”
Looking back at the hole, I realize it’ll be a tight fit for me too. “That’s okay. You guys stay here, I’ll go.”
His grip on my arm tightens. “Not a chance. That ghost already tried to kill you once. We’ll figure out another way inside.”
I turn and look at him. His dark eyes are angry. His square jaw clenched.
“Don’t worry, gargoyle. I’m a monster. I’m expendable, right? Worse case, she cuts off my head and saves you the trouble.” I yank my arm from his grip and enjoy the look of surprise on his face before I duck and step into the cave.
Immediately, he hauls me back. “We’ll find another way inside,” Grey says. “Even if she doesn’t have something bad planned for you, that space is too small. You’ll get stuck.”
“Then take off my collar. It’d be easy for my raven to get inside.”
He hesitates.
I let my gaze slide over each of them, and that fire inside of me builds. “Fuck all of you, pretending you give a crap about me. Admit it. You don’t like my kind, and you don’t trust me. You three just stay out here and be assholes together. I’m going to help this woman find peace.”
Spinning, I start for the cave again.
I’m yanked back against a hard body for a second time.
Glaring, my gaze meets Grey’s.
He leans down so our lips are inches from each other. “You really think you can get in and out safely?”
I nod, hating that I’m transfixed by him.
His hands reach up and wrap softly around my throat. My heart races, and I lick my lips. There’s something so damn possessive about the way he looks at me, the way he touches me.
It’s no wonder I’m so freaking confused.