Chapter 12
Xander
(Present Day)
I COULDN’T LOOK AWAY FROM her. Not for a single second. It had been so fucking long, and given the last time I’d seen her, held her …
I closed my eyes against the memory and shook my head.
No. I wouldn’t dwell on that. She was here now.
She was with me. That was all that mattered.
I knew ending up back at the starting line with her was a possibility after reuniting.
But I didn’t mind. I’d take whatever crumbs this woman gave me, and I’d do it with a fucking smile and unwavering praise.
Perseus liked to call me a masochist, Dante called me moronic, Zagan called me a simp, and Coldin called me … Well, Coldin didn’t call me anything, being a man of few words and all. I didn’t mind how my friends viewed my situation. There was truth in each of their observations.
Kendyll was busy taking photos and videos of the hospital, which she did at every haunted location she went to.
A small smile remained fixed on my face as I watched her in her element.
She was skilled at finding anything that painted an eerie atmosphere, such as scratches within an old patient room that appeared to be claw marks of a person who desperately wanted out, a rust-colored stain on an exam table in a windowless room, or a long stretch of dark hallway with something all the way at the end that could’ve been a blanket draped over a tall object or something lurking within the darkness.
What was currently missing in her creepily aesthetic photos were actual ghosts.
“Still no spirits today,” I noted while looking around the children’s ward where Kendyll was currently taking photos.
She rested on her knees while peering into the viewfinder of her camera. She had it focused on the abandoned wheelchair and messy blanket we’d found on our first day here. After snapping her shot, she shook her head. “No. I haven’t seen or felt any, either.”
“Hmm.” I cupped my hands around my mouth and cooed loudly, “Come out, come out, wherever you are!”
She snorted and cocked a baffled brow. “You don’t actually think that will work, do you?”
I shrugged. “You never know. We are in the children’s ward. If they think we’re friendly and playing a game, they might appear.”
“Is that why you’ve been walking around looking human even though it’s just us here? Because you don’t want to scare them off?”
Grinning, I crouched next to her and looked over her shoulder at the photos while she reviewed them. “You’re the one who suggested back in the day that a demon like me could scare spirits off, remember? It’s true. Most people would be scared if they saw a demon.”
My eyes flicked from the camera to the side of her face, and a warm tightness gripped my chest. Unable to stop myself, I brushed the back of my fingers lightly over her cheek and into her hair. “You’re the exception.”
She stiffened and seemed to hold her breath. The tips of her ears turned pink. She pressed her lips firmly together and turned away from me.
I welcomed the way that tightness in my chest turned cold like biting frost. It was a reminder that this was real, that she was back in my life.
I didn’t care how long it took to get back to where we were before that horrible fucking day.
Before I did what I did. I didn’t care how long I had to lie to her, keeping my secret tucked away where she couldn’t glean any truth from it.
I’d wait and embrace any punch she threw at me in the meantime.
Even with my mind made up, I couldn’t help but wonder how it all went so wrong so fast. The last time we’d been together, we’d been perfect. Did she blame me for what happened at her brother’s wedding? Did she hate me for breaking another promise?
Because I certainly did.
I fucking hated myself for not being there. I’d gone through that day in my head countless times, wishing I’d done something differently.
If only I’d told her not to go.
If only I’d skipped the band’s gig and gone with her from the start.
If only if only if only if only …
I squeezed my eyes shut as my demonic form threatened to tear at my human guise.
Blowing out a breath, I quickly directed the conversation to safer waters. I pointed at her camera. “Since no ghosties want to come out, should I pose for some photos for you like old times?”
Her own expression evened out. She pursed her lips and pushed her glasses up her nose. “Do you not remember how Bethelma reacted to your presence the last time you acted up? I’m not sure a demonic haunting is the vibe she’s going for.”
Before I could respond, there came a shift in the air.
We both felt it, because at the same time, we turned to look at where the presence had appeared.
Crouched behind the wheelchair but peeking around it was the same ghost girl from yesterday.
She looked around six or seven years old, but just like the day before, I caught the unmistakable cloud of fear hovering around her.
“Hello there,” Kendyll greeted sweetly.
The ghost girl’s grip around the edge of the wheelchair tightened. Thanks to my Mischief demonic ability to sense terror and related emotions, I felt her apprehension spike. She was about to disappear again.
Kendyll must’ve realized it, too, because she quickly continued, “You don’t have to be scared. I’m not here to hurt you. My name’s Kendyll, and I’m new here. I was hoping we could be friends.”
The little girl stuck her messy head out a little more to get a better look at Kendyll. Kendyll took that as a good sign and pointed toward the common room down the hallway. “I saw a bunch of fun toys back there. Do you want to go play together?”
The little girl glanced at me and nearly shrank back again.
I plastered on my own smile and waved while making sure my human guise was firmly in place. “I’m Xander. I’m her friend.”
The child looked back at Kendyll, who brightened and extended her hand.
She made no other move to stand or rush toward the ghost, most likely afraid of scaring her off.
The little phantom resembled a skittish rabbit that who ready to flee at any slight shift from us.
We seemed to be at a stalemate where Kendyll and I didn’t want to move but she was too nervous to come closer, either.
Catsper suddenly appeared between Kendyll and me, and he began to purr softly.
The ghost girl’s attention zeroed in on the ghost cat, and a bright twinkle filled her eyes.
The black cat rubbed his head and back along Kendyll’s legs before sauntering over to me to do the same.
His one milky green eye looked on at the ghost child, who stared at him with barely restrained excitement.
“Do you like cats?” Kendyll hedged as Catsper returned to her for her to run the tips of her fingers along his spine. “This is Catsper. He’s my good kitty. Aren’t you, Catsper?”
The feline meowed in response.
The ghost girl inched a single shuffle closer on the ground.
“You can pet him if you want,” Kendyll offered.
The cat acted as a bridge of trust between the child spirit and us.
The dark-headed girl reached out to lightly tap Catsper’s phantom head, and he, in turn, rubbed against her palm.
She giggled gleefully, and it was like all of her defenses were fully blown through.
When Kendyll next extended her hand, the little girl took it with hardly any hesitation.
Kendyll and the ghost girl walked down the hallway hand in hand while Catsper padded across the open air around them.
I followed at a distance, not wanting to add any unnecessary unease on the timid spirit, but more than that, I just couldn’t help but take in this view and the warmth Kendyll exuded from her smile to her soft movements as she handled the little girl.
The sight made me think about our plans to create the first human-demon child, which had always been more of a joke than anything serious.
But seeing Kendyll now, thinking about the daughter of our imagination who looked like Kendyll, envisioning the three of us and our ghost cat …
I couldn’t breathe past how much I longed for that impossible future.
Instead of joining Kendyll and the child by the stuffed animal cubby, I leaned against the dusty nurses’ station to watch the two pull different animals off the shelves.
Catsper swatted at a stuffed orange cat that had seen better days, though his paw went right through the toy.
The plushie was losing a leg and had a few spots stained with some sort of substance.
Kendyll chatted softly to the tiny human, but the ghost didn’t respond.
She simply stared at Kendyll or watched Catsper.
The spirit glanced at a stuffed animal Kendyll held out for her and hesitantly reached for it, perhaps uncertain that she’d have enough power to interact with the toy.
I focused on the two and let the energy I’d been stockpiling extend outward for the play date.
The phantom happily played with a stuffed bear while Kendyll slithered a snake plushie along the floor.
Unbothered by the child’s silence, Kendyll carefully prodded for the girl’s name. When she still received no answer, she began guessing silly names like Cupcake or Princess Puffles to get small giggles out of the phantom. I couldn’t help but smile.
It wasn’t long after Kendyll started listing off names that a heavy, dark ripple of silence echoed through the building. I sucked in a sharp breath, all smiles gone, and pushed away from the nurses’ station while ordering Kendyll, “Wait here.”
Before she could respond, I merged with shadows and moved toward that new strong presence that had appeared.
Following the trail of energy, it brought me to the first floor of the building, specifically to the hallway with the doctor’s and director’s offices.
The demon I’d sensed arriving wasn’t here, and that dark trace of their presence was already dwindling.