Women Love Wraiths

Chapter 1

T hat asshole was going to pay. Eventually.

Fuming, I stomped across the parking lot of the tiny church toward the waist-high wrought iron gate of the cemetery. The tires of Jenna’s car screeched on the pavement as it turned onto the old country road. My blood boiled as the sound of the vehicle faded into the distance.

Why I had agreed to go with Jenna to the party was beyond me. I was twenty-eight for Christ’s sake, not twenty-one. I didn’t do shit like that anymore.

Jenna was way more outgoing than I was, but I couldn’t help the need to ensure her safety when she was going to drink heavily.

Something she didn’t do too often, but nevertheless when she did, she went hard.

Who was I kidding? That was exactly the reason I went, to keep her safe.

Leaving her protection to her douche canoe boyfriend, Alex, was out of the question.

He couldn’t keep himself out of trouble, let alone look after my best friend.

Per usual, he’d gotten on my nerves the entire night.

He’d bet I couldn’t last longer than an hour amongst the dead at midnight on the way home, and I laughed in his face.

When he put money on the table though, I’d said, fuck it, while Jenna drunkenly sang terrible pop songs from the passenger seat.

Any extra dollar I could manage was helpful, even if it was a stupid bet and I wanted to go to bed.

Being awake for twenty-four hours hadn’t been the plan, and Alex made it worse.

As soon as I stepped past the gate, it swung closed behind me—on its own.

A slight breeze lifted my hair from my shoulders and the anger dissipated despite my tiredness and annoyance.

What the asshole didn’t know was I loved graveyards.

He probably thought I would get scared and piss myself like the chicks he usually hung out with.

Quite the opposite, my pulse slowed and my breathing evened out as I weaved through the old headstones.

The chilly granite beneath my fingertips was rough, but comforting.

The only sounds were a distant hum of bugs and wind rustling through the trees.

The dead didn’t hurt people like the living did.

Nothing but peace inhabited the small clearing surrounded by the dark forest and for the first time that night, I could breathe.

Farther through the rows, the headstones became legible. The graves at the front were so old the weather had withered the carvings, but the deeper I went, the more I could read.

Anna Crenshaw, 1851-1907.

Robert Gordon, 1862-1929.

I read each name carefully and wondered about the lives the people underneath my feet had lived.

Anna was probably a wife who cared for her home and children in that period of time.

How many kids did she have? Robert probably worked in the sawmills since that was the only decent paying job in the town in the late eighteen hundreds. What led to his demise?

A raven cawed in the distance, the sound reverberating through my bones.

A short giggle escaped my lips and I clapped my hand over my mouth.

I wasn’t supposed to be here, but that made it all the more enticing.

It was after midnight at this point and if a cop drove by, they would likely think I was up to something.

The guilty pleasure settled in my chest and I smiled at the easy money I was making.

Deeper into the graveyard, the air turned a bit chillier—the late September breeze settling around my shoulders.

The back of the cemetery didn’t have as many stones and undisturbed grass sprawled under the nearly full moon.

I pulled my flannel tighter over my chest when a crack sounded beyond the clearing.

For the first time, my steps faltered as chills crept down my spine.

“Hello?” I called out into the night.

I slammed my palm to my forehead, and walked closer to the edge of the woods. If anyone was out there, I’d given away my presence like an idiot in a horror movie. Rolling my eyes, I stepped under the canopy of leaves, the light from the moon growing dimmer.

The woods were like stepping into a different world. Faint greens marring the forest floor gave life to the brown underbrush while jagged shafts of moonlight fractured the darkness. It was captivating yet haunting and I was right at home.

Nothing moved or caught my attention as I took in the perimeter of the area, but then again, it was dark and there were plenty of hiding spots for things that wanted to eat me.

My conscience kicked in, and despite the inviting atmosphere, I decided I should go back to the parking lot to wait on Jenna and dick face.

I wasn’t in the mood to risk a bite from a rabid animal or even worse, a bear or something that could easily overpower me.

Before the first step back toward the graveyard, the wind turned to icy phantom hands on my neck.

What the fuck?

I flinched, and my hand shot up to wipe away whatever had touched me.

There was nothing. My fingers wove through my chin-length brown hair, and I peered back to stare deep into the woods.

Cold air brushed me again, but the sensation wasn’t sinister.

It was almost as if the forest itself didn’t want me to leave.

Shaking my head, I turned back toward the clearing. I hadn’t taken a dozen steps before I tripped on an exposed root sending me face first into the leaves and dirt.

“Fucking goddamn it!” I yelled, not caring who heard.

Debris covered my hands, and I cursed as I pushed up onto my knees. Leave it to me to be uncoordinated when it actually mattered , I thought as I brushed myself off.

Movement in my periphery stopped me dead. I slowly lifted my gaze, and a dark outline of a hooded man stood between me and the graveyard beyond the edge of the forest. It had to be a man from his build and demeanor.

My breaths came fast as I scrambled to my feet and faced him, the hair on the back of my neck standing straight up. His posture was rigid and defensive, and I realized this person wasn’t out on a midnight stroll. A stone settled in the pit of my stomach as I struggled to find words.

“Um, hi. I—I’m just out exploring. Do you own this property? I’m sorry for trespassing if so,” I explained, trying to diffuse the situation.

He didn’t move, just kept staring at me.

“Sorry, again. I’ll leave.”

I stepped to the side to go around him, but he mirrored my movement.

Fuck.

Electricity jolted through my body, sending my heart galloping in my chest as my fight response kicked in. I wasn’t the type of girl who ever ran away—I always stood my ground, but that didn’t stop the knife of fear from stabbing in my chest.

Jenna, please hurry.

“Can you please step aside? I apologized for being on your property and now I’m leaving.” I crossed my arms, but he still didn’t move.

A sneer curled my lips as I moved to go around him again, this time not stopping when he moved with me. When I was beside him, his hand shot out and grabbed my arm.

“Fucking let me go, asshole,” I said as I wrenched my arm from his grip. “I didn’t disturb anything so let me leave. This is church property anyway. People are allowed to be here.”

His hood turned to look at me before he finally spoke, his voice gravelly and bone chilling. “It’s not often I come across a woman in the woods. Does anyone know you’re out here, lady?”

“That’s none of your goddamn business,” I spat as he turned to face me fully and stepped even closer.

“I like the looks of you. I think I might like to have some fun before I get rid of you. You can’t run your mouth if you’re dead.”

Alarm bells blared in my head and I bolted toward the cemetery, running as fast as I could.

Before I got out of the woods, I was yanked backward by my hair.

I hit the ground hard and then he was on me, his heavy build pinning me in a pile of leaves.

Twisting my body any way I could manage to get myself free, the man gripped me harder while he fought to secure my wrists.

I got a few good kicks in before he managed to restrain my legs with his knee.

Wrists held against my chest with a large hand, he brought his other up and his fist collided with my head. Blood pounded in my ears and I pleaded with everything in my body that Jenna and Alex would come back quickly.

My vision blurred and shadows danced at the edges of my mind as I fought to keep consciousness.

The man reached down to his boot and a flash of moonlight glinted off metal when something screeched in the distance.

He looked up and when the shriek came again, closer this time, he finally hurried off me.

The piercing sound reverberated against the trees and the attacker brandished his knife at the darkness, forgetting all about my writhing form at his feet.

“What the fuck is that? Who are you?”

The man’s yells cleared the fog from my mind as I came back to myself.

I rushed to my knees and looked deeper into the woods.

A cloaked figure came into view from the shadows, floating over the ground toward us.

There were no feet touching the leaves, its tattered robe-like shroud fluttering as it drew closer.

Screams tried to claw from my throat, but none broke free.

I scrambled backward while the hooded man yelled at it to stop behind me.

When it reached me, it simply floated over my body and came to a stop in front of the assailant.

I turned, still on the ground in the dirt, not believing my eyes.

The man slashed his knife in the air in front of him, unsuccessful in hitting his target.

“You’ll not take her,” a raspy voice hissed. Malice dripped from the words, yet the voice was enticing. It was throaty and terrifying, but it was beautiful. “It’s not her time. But it is yours.”

The man stared dumbfounded at the figure, his hood no longer concealing his face. I didn’t recognize him, but it didn’t matter. In moments, I watched his limbs go stiff as he fell to the ground twitching as the life left his body.

Fear I was next punched me in the gut as the figure turned slowly. Spots dotted the scene and as the darkness enveloped me, I swore I heard, she’s mine.