Chapter 16
M y pulse thundered in my veins as my mouth pulled into a grin.
The night was quiet, only the sound of the crickets meeting my ears.
The moon was a perfect crescent and the vibes were immaculate for Halloween.
Rae was already waiting for me as I sat my stuff down on a rock at our usual spot.
Usually, she made me wait for her to arrive.
I twirled in a circle a few feet in front of her, my skirt swishing around my thighs. “Do you like my costume?”
She smirked. “You know, it baffles me that humans dress in silly costumes and as the very things that scare them on Halloween.” Her features grew mischievous, but then her eyes turned hungry. “In this case though, I’m grateful. You’re fucking hot. Whatever you are.”
“Oh come on! I’m a sexy bat! How are the wings and ears not a giveaway?” I scoffed, crossing my arms over my low-cut top.
Rae waved her hand in the air dismissing me. “Bat, dark angel, bird. You could be any of those things.” She dropped her voice to a whisper. “All I care about though are those legs in those spider web things.”
“Like fishnets, do we?” I giggled as I stepped to her and she nodded. “Miss me?” I asked as I tugged the hood from her head. Her hair swirled in the wind as I reached for her face and pulled her in for a long kiss.
She grasped the back of my neck and left me needing more when she pulled away. “Of course, I did. I always do. How’s work?”
“It’s much better. Ruby is back full time now so I’ll be going back to normal without so many extra shifts. Which means I can hang out more.” I plopped down on the stone beside my bag. The last few weeks had been hell, but I was relieved things had settled down.
“About that, I’ve been thinking. You know I love it out here, but I can see you in other places, right? Like when you came to my room a few times in the beginning?” I chewed my nail, hoping she would be agreeable to the idea. We were going to have to come up with a different arrangement.
She watched my nervous tick and her face looked as though she wanted to snatch my hand from my mouth. “While I much prefer being outside, I can make an exception on occasion.”
I smiled. “Well, it is getting colder. Before we blink it’ll be so cold I can’t be outside for long. Let alone naked with your head between my legs.” I smirked.
After floating over to me, she curled her body around mine, pressing her chest to my back. Her arms were cold like usual, and I relaxed at her touch.
“You’re so hot I don’t know how you’re ever cold,” she said.
“That’s twice you’ve said I’m hot tonight, and I just got here,” I teased before explaining. “It’s rare because I’m naturally warm, but I’m human though. When it’s below freezing out I’ll have to be inside.”
“For you, I’ll do whatever I have to.”
Her arms grasped me tighter and I brought my hands up to rest on them.
“Speaking of having to do things, aren’t you busier on Halloween? People get into more mischief so are there more deaths?” I sighed as her fingers found their way underneath my shirt.
“No more than usual. Regardless, when I’m with you, I ignore the tug of a summoning. Let them die without seeing me.”
“You can do that?” I asked, turning my head slightly to press my cheek to hers as her chin rested on my shoulder. “How does that work anyway?”
She hesitated almost as though she didn’t want to tell me more but finally blew out a breath.
“Fuck it, you know so much already why not tell you the intimate details.” She laughed.
“When people die within a certain distance from me, there’s a tug I feel.
It’s different for every person. I know everything about them through the pull. ”
“So you feel them often?”
“Sometimes more than others, but when I decide to disregard them, they aren’t really there until I decide to feel again.”
“You can turn it off and on like a light switch?” I asked, fascinated by all of it.
She nodded. “Sort of. Anyway, even when I’m listening, I don’t go to every pull.
It depends on the person. Sometimes I’ll go see someone off who has a peaceful death.
Mainly because I’m bored, but it’s almost as though I’m giving them a final farewell.
For others, it’s different. If someone terrible is dying I’ll terrorize them a bit as payback for the awful shit they did in their lives. ”
Mouth agape, I turned to face her. “So you do haunt people, but only assholes. That’s actually brilliant.” I paused. “And it makes me love you even more.”
I slapped my hand to my mouth after realizing what I said and stared at Rae.
A sick feeling sank in my gut. I didn’t use that word lightly.
My mother told me she loved me all the time when I was a child, but how can you love someone and treat them terribly?
As I got older I vowed I wouldn’t throw it around to just anyone.
In the last few years, the only person I’d said it to was Jenna.
But Rae just smiled and kissed my cheek. “My evil plan to make you love me is complete then.”
I shoved her arm and she laughed.
“I love you too, little flame. Whatever love can be for something like me, anyway. I knew from the moment I felt your pull you were going to be mine. Just like I said that first night. That’s why I wasn’t about to let you die at the hands of that swine.”
My heart squeezed and I grabbed her face, pulling her in for a deep kiss.
“I’m glad you didn’t ignore my pull,” I breathed against her lips.
When we finally broke our mouths apart, she pulled the jacket off my arms and slid her cold hands under my shirt. “You’re extremely hard to ignore, love.”
Jolting awake, I sat up and looked around. I was still in the forest and my back was killing me from laying against the rock. It was still dark and Rae was nowhere to be found.
What time was it?
My watch brightened, showing it was still the middle of the night and realized I’d only been out for a few hours.
Rae and I had spent hours talking after we made love under the spooky sky.
It had been ethereal—whispered ‘I love yous’ and no sense of urgency.
It was different than the other times. Still the same intense pleasure, but this time I felt as though I’d finally found where I was supposed to be.
Always the loner, I never expected to settle down with someone.
My past was full of failed relationships mostly because I liked my solo time.
The need to be with someone constantly wasn’t there and even now I didn’t feel that urge.
Sure, I wanted to spend time with Rae and had spent the majority of my free time in the woods with her as of late, but I still did my art along with all my other obligations.
My thoughts drifted to Jenna. The time I spent in someone’s company had shifted from her to Rae. Guilt settled in my stomach like a stone and I needed to patch things up with her. I promised myself I’d start dividing my time. Jenna was important to me, but so was Rae.
As I was gathering my things to leave, a scream sliced through the air like a knife, piercing my chest. The sound reverberated through the trees as I jumped to my feet.
“Rae?”
Instead of fear, annoyance flooded my body. Where the hell was she? After turning a full circle, I searched for anything amiss and listened for more sounds that would tell me what the hell was going on.
Just as I slung my bag over my shoulder another scream filled my ears, and it sounded just like my best friend.