“Hell yeah,” she says with a grin. “What’s the worst that could happen? Whoever’s in there is already dead!”
“That’s the spirit!” Zeke says, putting his hands on my shoulders from behind. “This story isn’t a happy one. Apparently it’s a teenage girl who’s death got ruled a murder. Abusive step dad. Her mother moved away, too grief stricken to stick around and the guy did go to prison. Though it was so long ago that he’s long dead now.”
“Well fuck,” Page breathes out, tying her hair into a braid before tossing it over her shoulder and out of the way. “You think she’ll go easy on us?”
“Nope,” Zeke tells us right away. “I can feel how uneasy this place is. She’s pissed.”
“Oh goodie,” Page says, clapping her hands excitedly. “The last time we had a ghost that was pissed I got to watch it throw random shit at you. I hope Ray gets to see that for her first haunt!”
“Why do I have to be the target? You’re the one with vampire healing!”
“I’m too pretty for them to ever target me.”
Zeke puffs out his bottom lip. I wrap my arm around his waist, squeezing him tight. “It’s okay, Zeke, I think you’re pretty.”
Ray makes a gagging noise and I flip her off, my stomach warming at the ease with which we’ve started teasing each other. I’ve come to know teasing as a sort of love language between myself and my cousins and it makes me happy that Ray seems to feel the same way.
“Let’s head inside and set everything up,” Zeke says before pressing a kiss to my temple. I pick up my bag, following behind.
The moment we set through the back door, the air around us is noticeably chiller. I blow out a breath, watching it puff with mist. Fuck. Okay. If I didn’t already know this place was haunted, our foggy breaths would be an obvious tell.
Page is in the lead, taking us through the house until we find an open space in what I assume used to be a dining room. There’s a set of stairs that leads up to the second floor in the corner and two doorways, one leading to the kitchen and the other leading to what used to be a sitting room in the front of the house, or maybe a living room.
Page carefully lays a blanket onto the floor for Ray and I. “You two sit here and try to work out your magic. Zeke and I are gonna set up the cameras and stuff.”
Ray and I make ourselves comfortable on the floor. Before I can even begin to pull things from my bag, Ray startles, going completely stiff beside me.
“What?”
“She’s here,” Ray breathes out, her eyes widening. She reaches over, grabbing my hand and I can suddenly see her as well, Ray using her magic to bridge the gap between me and this ghost. Holy shit. She’s doing it! Ray is using her magic, using me as her conduit. I’m so fucking proud of her, the emotions welling up inside of me so overwhelming I’m worried I might actually burst into tears.
I don’t even have time to congratulate my spark on using her magic without even having to think about it because the ghost is getting angry with our presence.
“How dare you come here!”
The ghost is tall and lanky, a teenager who hasn’t been able to properly grow into her limbs yet. Her hair is long and blond, flowing around her head. She screams and I can hear Zeke grunt in the kitchen.
“Oh fuck! It’s fine! Everything’s fine,” Page calls to us, her voice borderline hysterical.
I look over, watching as Zeke literally flies across the doorway. It’s almost comical if it wasn't my mate being tossed to and from like a ragdoll!
“Hi,” Ray says softly, sitting up a little straighter. “I’m not here to hurt you, I promise.”
The ghost huffs in annoyance. “Right. That’s what they all say. In the end, everyone hurts me.”
“I won’t. I pinky promise.”
The ghost tilts her head slightly and it’s an unnerving sight, going just a little further than should be possible. Finally she nods, swooping down from her place in the air to sit on the blanket across from us. I hear Zeke hit another wall with a thud.
“He’s fine! I’m blocking his impacts. Keep focused, you two!”
I turn back to Ray and the ghost, doing my best to stay focused on the task at hand. Now that the ghost is this close, goosebumps raise across my body. Not only is the air so cold that it burns my skin, but there’s an ache about it, like my heart is literally breaking just for being in her presence.
“What’s your name?”
“Lou.”
“Can you talk to me about what happened?”
Lou’s form flickers, her body twitching in agitation. That might not be the best question to ask an angry teenager but fuck it, we’re getting to the bottom of this one way or another.
“He hurt me.”
“Who did?”
“My stepfather,” she growls out, things flying across the room and slamming into the wall. Glass shatters around us but now that I’m staring at this girl, I don’t feel fear. I understand her rage, it’s deserved. “He never laid a hand on me, but was always hitting my mother. He was awful. I tried to stop him and he pushed me down the stairs to get me out of the way.”
Ray hums in understanding. “I’m sorry that happened to you.”
The twitching stops and Lou’s form becomes solid once more. She stares at Ray for a long time. “Really?”
“Yeah. That must have been really hard, Lou. I’m so sorry.”
“Oh,” Lou breathes out, suddenly looking completely and utterly lost. “I’ve been so angry for so long. I’m not sure I can be anything else.”
Her words are soft, barely audible. In the background, I hear Zeke hit another wall, still flying across the kitchen with Page using her vampire super speed to cushion him over and over.
“That’s okay,” Ray says softly. “But you have to try.” Lou looks like she’s about to argue but Ray keeps going, cutting her off. “That man is dead, Lou. He got what he deserved. He went to prison and now he’s gone. Now it’s time that you get what you deserve because he isn’t worth another second of your time.”
