Chapter 18
Chapter Eighteen
KENNEDY
Iend up sleeping through the 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.
Though I’m not sure of the hour, it feels late.
A massive ice-blue moon hangs high above the house, casting purple shadows below, and I startle at hearing a chorus of howls echoing through the forest.
Rushing to the window, I peer into the forest. At first, everything is quiet, but then I hear the unmistakable sound of paws bounding over the snow.
Less than fifty yards away, about a dozen wolves race through the trees.
They’re headed north, away from the house, and I’m hit with the desire to 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, and it’s the most alive I’ve felt in the past forty-eight hours.
I try to keep my eyes on the russet-colored wolf who seems to be leading the pack.
A tan wolf hangs at the back of the group, making sure the others don’t fall behind.
Together, we race across the forest, all the way to the edge of a lake I didn’t know was here.
All of the wolves come to a stop at the shoreline and dip their snouts into the water.
They lap eagerly, causing water to spray out from under their noses.
I hear splashing below me as I lower myself to the forest floor.
The tan wolf spots me first, but he doesn’t startle 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 has translated to the others, because none of them acknowledge me.
They know I’m here, but they don’t mind.
Even the alpha, standing on a small outcropping of rock, only occasionally glances my way.
It makes me think that one of these paranormal shifters recognized me, meaning they were present at my seance.
I didn’t get 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’re human.
Doubting I’ll be lucky and run into Theodore again, I brace myself for a stranger to appear. Instead, I hear whispered conversation. Wait…no. Just one voice, and they’re talking to themselves.
“Volunteer to collect ingredients, Simone. You’ll be fine. It’s time you start showing initiative for the coven. Ugh, I hate this. Callie can bite me.”
Simone?
She’s the witch who summoned me, and not the one with the snippy attitude. I liked her.
I decide to show myself, and try my best not to scare her, but it doesn’t work.
She screams. “Holy shitballs!” She clutches a leather crossbody to her chest. “Who are you? I have a knife!”
She’s telling the truth. I hadn’t noticed at first, but she is indeed brandishing a small Swiss army knife, a pair of tiny scissors sticking partly out of the contraption as well, as if she couldn’t decide 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, thank god. I cannot with this creepy forest shit. I’m never doing this again.”
“Doing what?” I ask, waiting for her to calm down. I remain where I am and wait until she starts breathing normally again before I hover slightly 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 is real, because I would never have agreed to do this otherwise. And to answer your second, I think it’s midnight.”
“Calliope sent you out here?”
Simone finally straightens and appears slightly less distressed.
“It’s a witch thing. We need ingredients for certain spells, and some of them can only be collected under a full moon.
” She heaves another sigh, this one with a hint of annoyance.
“Being the newest member of the coven, I volunteered. To show I’m doing my part, or whatever. ”
“Sounds like a sorority,” I confess.
“You wouldn't be wrong,” Simone tosses back. “I just wanted to learn how to use my magic, but Calliope has made things…difficult.”
I grimace awkwardly, unsure how to express my sympathy. “I’m sorry.”
She frowns and rushes closer. “No, I’m sorry.
I shouldn’t be dropping all of that on you.
” She reaches for my shoulder, but her hand passes through me.
“Oop, my bad.” A small chuckle bubbles out of her then she sobers.
“How are you doing? I stopped by last night to check on you, but Theo said you were sleeping?”
Theo. The name rolls around in my mind as I savor the sound of it. It must be his nickname, one his friends use. My stomach sinks. He didn’t introduce himself to me with that name. But why would he? I’m a stranger after all.
I shake my head and focus back on Simone. “You came to see me?”
“Oh course,” she says earnestly. “I was worried you might have a hard time adjusting. You’re the first spirit I’ve ever summoned, and I felt bad just leaving you to fend for yourself like that. I feel like I should be in this with you.”
Her concern is sweet, endearing really, because I know her fellow coven member didn’t think twice about tossing me into the ghostly swimming pool without floaties.
“I’m fine,” I tell her, a large smile plastered on my face.
“Great actually.” To my own ears, it sounds like a lie, but she won’t know the difference.
Afterall, my own existential dread isn’t her fault.
She did exactly what I asked her to do, and now it’s up to me to figure out what to do with the rest of my afterlife.
Her face lights up, relief turning her frown into a grateful grin. “Oh good! I’m really glad to hear that.”
“In fact, I went into town yesterday, and I think I’m going back again tomorrow. Or, well…today, I guess.”
“Oh, that’s great! Casey and I would be happy to show you around whenever you want.” Her long eyelashes flutter bashfully. “That’s my boyfriend. He’s a werewolf, but he’s really into ghosts. Poltergeist is his favorite movie.”
This makes me giggle. There’s certainly no harm in playing into the stereotypes. If I don’t focus too hard on the whole being dead thing, I could really have some fun with it. But I’m more of a Casper: The Friendly Ghost type of gal.
“That sounds nice,” I tell her. “I might take you up on that”
Heat radiates through my chest, and the smile growing on my face burns my cheeks. I’m excited for this. I may have just made a friend.
Simone takes a short breath and pauses, her eyes softening. “Hey,” she adds with a serious tone, “I know this is probably a lot for you to deal with, being a ghost and all, but I’m happy you’re here.”
She waves goodbye and treks back through the forest. I watch her pluck a cluster of green leaves from the bottom of a tree trunk, her expression showing she almost forgot about her purpose for being out here, then she disappears behind a wall of foliage.