‘What exactly do you think you’re doing?’
Glancing down, Siara’s striking green eyes stare daggers at my very being.
‘Oh. You’re awake.’
Siara squirms, flailing her arms and legs until I let go. I do and she lands with a thud on the ground. Groaning, she gets to her feet. ‘Ow, that hurt,’ she says, brushing the dirt off Charlotte’s dress in a refreshingly brutish way. ‘God, what am I wearing?’ She frowns. ‘Oh, it’s happened again, hasn’t it?’ Her eyes widen with clarity before clasping my coat frantically. ‘Will – it’s her. I-it’s Charlotte, she’s–’
‘Yes, I know. It’s been taken care of. We removed her soul from your body.’
‘Oh.’ She huffs, letting go of me awkwardly and clearing her throat. ‘Good. Then, uh, where were you taking me just now? Not to another cliffside manor, I hope.’
That’s funny, but I don’t react. I walk to the portal, Siara at my heels. ‘Not quite.’
‘And no other crazy ghost lovers I should know about?’
I glance back, catching her eye. ‘That you should know about? No, not at all.’ My disguised smirk breaks free. Siara rolls her eyes but says nothing. I clarify, ‘No, it’s just the one, unfortunately.’
After a few more moments of silence, she laughs quietly, and I can’t help but embrace the sound.
25
‘That wench, she hates me. I can tell,’ Charlotte spits, pacing about the lounge of the newly relocated cabin. It sits deeper in the forest now, tucked away with an enchanted barrier created by the Goddess herself. Charlotte’s honey curls are tucked up and slicked back into a neat updo, while her long neck seems to accentuate the tightly clenched jaw she has been sporting the last few days.
‘She hates everyone. Don’t take it personally.’ I move the knight cautiously across the chess board. Xander’s eyes light up slightly and I know I’ve already lost. No surprise really. He always wins, it just varies on how long it takes him to get there. I don’t think I try anymore. Really, I just play to humour him.
Charlotte huffs, crossing her long thin arms in an outward display of impatience. ‘You don’t seem very sympathetic. Did you see what she did to me? You have no idea what it’s like for me.’
‘Which part? To be dead? Or to deal with Heret-Kau?’ I say, coldly. I’m thankful for the years of practised nonchalance that allow me to maintain my temper.
Charlotte pretends not to hear me. ‘I hate it here. It’s cold and miserable. When can I go back?’
‘You can’t go back. You don’t have a physical body. That’s why you’re here. You’re a spirit now – if you go back, it wouldn’t be good for anyone, especially you. There’s beings – assurances – so that when humans die, their spirit can’t linger in the mortal world. You know this already. Heret-Kau was clear.’
Xander moves his pawn into position, placing it particularly heavily on the board. Hmm, she must be getting on his nerves as well.
Charlotte pouts haughtily, looking away. ‘And whose fault is that?’ she whines. ‘This isn’t how it was supposed to be.’ A prickly feeling rises in me as I try to move my king away from check. Charlotte has turned to face us now, her hands on the hips of her white laced dress. Even when she’s mad, she’s still poised, proper and lady-like. ‘If you had just let me stay in that girl, she would be gone and we would still be living in the human world, where it’s warm and comfortable. If you hadn’t betray–’
An object flies across the room, passing through Charlotte’s translucent head. It hits the wall behind her with a strong thud, falling to the floor. A chess piece. My king, to be more precise. I look back to the demon child, his eyes flashing a violent red. So many tantrums from him lately.
‘Her name is Siara, and you nearly killed her,’ he snarls, banging his small fists on the chessboard. ‘And thanks to you, she has to stay in that stupid house without me. You stupid woman, you ruined everything!’
Charlotte glares at me expectantly, over to Xander, and then back to me. Clearly there is an assumption that I should scold or reprimand him but that’s not the type of relationship we have. Xander waits, clearly understanding the situation but curious to see what I will do. As long as he doesn’t do anything that affects me, I couldn’t care less what he does. Plus. It’s not like he can actually hurt her. My response of ignoring them both irritates Charlotte further and amuses Xander.
‘Thank you so much for your support,’ she remarks, sarcastically. Her tone encourages the edges of my mouth to twitch upwards. For a moment there, she almost sounded like someone else. I’ve never known Charlotte to be sarcastic – a trait learned from her previous host, perhaps. Her face darkens at my response. Any lightness of the situation is sucked out from the air. She turns to face the boy who is still smirking triumphantly. A deep bitterness bubbles to Charlotte’s surface.
‘How disgusting that you still play the innocent child,’ she says, her voice low and bitter. ‘Especially after all that you have done.’ The room becomes especially silent. Xander’s smirk is gone, replaced by a stern gaze. ‘You think I don’t know? I know William better than anyone,’ she continues, my heart sinks. ‘All those human girls–’
‘Charlotte,’ I warn, maintaining my focus on the game in front of me.
She turns away. ‘No, it’s not right. Why should you take the fall for the things he’s done?’
The chair screeches as I stand from my seat. ‘We’re done talking about this.’ Xander remains silent, any trace of arrogance wiped from his face.
Charlotte grits her teeth before making her way to the door, silent footsteps striding through the room. She makes sure to give a bitter sneer back at the boy. ‘Would she still be your friend if she knew?’ she murmurs under her breath. The tension disperses when she is finally out of sight. I turn to check on Xander. He lets out a deep breath.
‘It was a good throw,’ he says. Xander catches my gaze and smirks. ‘Did you see it? It went straight through her head.’
‘I did. I’m guessing you won considering that was my king you threw across the room.’
Xander shrugs, picking the dark chess piece up off the floor. He stares at it absently for a few moments before returning it back to the board. ‘Who knows. I don’t really pay attention anymore. I just assume I win.’ His smile fades, clearly preoccupied by whatever thoughts and feelings Charlotte’s words have brought up.
Silently, I release my own breath, my hand briefly finding its way to my temples. Being with these two is nothing short of exhausting. ‘I’m going out.’ Best to give Xander some space to sort himself out and I don’t particularly feel like continuing this conversation with Charlotte. I move through the lounge into the hallway and almost make it out the door.
‘Are you going for a walk?’ Charlotte asks, walking down the stairs quickly before I have a chance to leave the cottage.
‘Something like that.’
‘I’ll come with you then.’
‘Charlotte, that may be hard–’
Her lips purse, an uncomfortable expression lingering on her face. ‘You’re going to the human realm,’ she says, her words sharp. It wasn’t a question. Charlotte reaches out to take my hand but it passes effortlessly through. She winces, closing her fist. ‘Why?’
‘I won’t be long,’ I murmur, walking past her.
With the small clack of the door, stress seems to dissipate. Every step feels a little freer than the last. I relish the ability to be alone. Something that was commonplace for me not all that long ago. Even with the addition of Xander, I could still leave him in the safety of the barrier and disappear for weeks, months, even years at a time with very little complaint. After all, it didn’t really matter. Time had meant nothing. Now though, something’s different.
By the time I reach the townhouse’s porch steps, the sun has begun its slow descent over the distant mountains. Siara lounges on the couch, a pen in her mouth, holding a crossword book above her face. I stand in silence for a few moments before she notices I’m there.
