How to Kill a Ghost (15 page)

I waited, hoping, but still Ian did nothing. In the next instant Tevin found new strength and knocked his brother away. I braced for him to come after me, but Tevin pivoted on his heel and disappeared through a gaping hole in the wall. Ian’s growl and fist pound to the floor made me jump. He raked a hand through his hair, dusty from falling plaster. I knew in that moment he might never be able to kill his brother. He had done it the first time when he lost control because of being a newly turned vampire.

“You should have left with the others,” he said standing to his feet.

“I decided not to leave you.”

He eyed me, and I knew he understood what I was saying. “Come. We should check on your friends.”

I moved with him toward the door but then hung back. “Ian…”

He halted ahead of me but didn’t turn around. “My brother’s character was never strong when he was human. I believe the change drove him mad, and I suspect our maker kept Tevin by his side all these years because of it.”

I clenched my hands. I already knew Tevin was crazy. What worried me was Ian. “You can’t kill him, can you?”

He spun to face me, frowning. “I said I will take care of him, Liberty.”

“No, you won’t.”

His eyes flashed in anger.

I touched his shoulder. “I understand how your feel—”

“You do not understand.”

“I can
imagine
,” I insisted. “Ian, I know it must hurt you to have to fight him, and I’m not judging you. To face him after your history… He can’t stay in Summit’s Edge. He just can’t.”

“Do you think I do not know this?” Pain replaced anger in his gaze, and he turned away. In an instant, he disappeared from the doorway, moving with the speed of the vampire. I willed myself first to my home, found it empty, and then moved to Monica’s. Eventually, I located my friends in Isabelle’s living room with Isabelle holding a cup to Monica’s mouth and helping her to drink.

I remained invisible, but Isabelle knew of my presence. “This will help calm you down, Monica. Drink it all, sweetheart.”

I followed Isabelle into her kitchen after she encouraged Monica to lie down. “Thank you,” I whispered. “For taking care of her. I don’t think she wants to see my face right now.”

“She’s just in shock. She’ll come out of it. To learn we’re not alone in the world is a big deal. Everyone has heard of vampires, but you think it’s just a myth. To come face-to-face with the monsters they are, well, it’s not easy to take.”

I flinched at the reference and figured this might be how it would always be, but Isabelle sighed. She reached her hand out, and I solidified mine and squeezed it. We sat down at the kitchen table, both of us weary.

“I’m sorry, Libby. I almost want to say he’s not a monster. My opinion of vampires has been formed from all I’ve read, and it’s not fair. Ian was there for us more than once against his own kind—more so his own brother. It must be hard for him, and I can’t even begin to understand the struggle he’s going through.”

“Thank you so much.” I hugged her. “Truly, thanks. I don’t know if Monica will ever see it that way.”

“Maybe not, but she’s scared right now. Let’s just wait and see, okay?”

I nodded.

The new spell had failed because of Tevin’s interference. The last one hadn’t been completed because of him. I began to realize my problem wouldn’t be resolved until we got him out of the way, but I had no idea how if Ian couldn’t bring himself to kill Tevin. What could a ghost possibly do?

I stood outside Gatsky’s waiting for Monica. We hadn’t spoken since the incident at Nessa’s house with Tevin. Two days had passed, and while I should worry about Agnes, as long as I sensed my body near, I believed Isabelle and I could figure something out. I had wanted to give Monica some time after she’d drank the herbal concoction a few times that Isabelle had given to her to take home.

Looking up into the sky, I started to worry. The sun sat on the horizon, an orange ball disappearing too quickly. I didn’t like to be out at night, and neither did I want Monica out there. Soon the doors opened, and she appeared. She stopped on spotting me, and we kind of shuffled our feet like awkward school kids.

“I wanted to check on you and talk,” I said. “You’re leaving late.”

“One of the girls called in sick.”

She started strolling along the sidewalk, and I joined her since she hadn’t said get lost. “I’m sorry, Monica.”

“No, I’m sorry.” She faced me. “I had no idea what you were keeping from me, and for real, now I wish I still didn’t know. That man—that
thing
—I had nightmares about him. I’m scared any second he’ll come after me. Learning about Isabelle wasn’t a big deal. So she can do spells. Cool. But I don’t want to know vampires exist.” She peered up and down the street and then we hurried to her car. “I don’t feel safe, Libby.”

“Oh, Monica.” I hugged her. “This is my fault. I wish I could take away your fears.”

“This isn’t your fault.” Her expression turned cold. “It’s
theirs
. Those things.”

My heart sank. “Monica—”

“I don’t want you to see him anymore, Libby. Promise me.”

I gasped. “Monica, what are you saying? You’ve met Ian.”

She grabbed my hands and squeezed. “Promise me. I don’t care what he’s done for us. It doesn’t matter. I don’t want him to come around me anymore, or you!”

I let my gaze drift away from her. Something stirred in the air. Darkness. I shivered and searched our surroundings. I felt her jostle my hands to catch my attention, but I squinted into the shadows. I hoped it was my imagination that I saw the shape of a man out there. I doubted it was Tevin. He wouldn’t hesitate to show himself, knowing how scared Monica was.

“Libby!”

I turned to her. “You know I’m not exactly human myself, right?”

“You’re different, and all we need to do to make you normal again is get Agnes out of your body.”

“You make it sound simple.” I shuffled her into her car and glanced around before phasing into the passenger seat.

“It can be.”

I scarcely heard her as the pull wrapped around my torso and compelled me to get out of the car. I stared straight ahead through the windshield. The shadowy person had drawn closer, yet, I saw him no clearer than when he seemed to stand among the trees. I twisted toward the car door, and then a shrill ring pierced the air. The spell dissolved, and I was free.

“Hello?” Monica said, answering her cell phone. She mouthed
Mason
to me, and I stiffened. Why would he be calling at this time?

I started to lean in closer to listen and then remembered the effect I had on electronics. Monica took the phone from her ear and pressed the button to put the call on speaker. Mason’s tight, angry voice came over the line. “We’re on our way back to Summit’s Edge because I want Jake to see Libby is not a ghost! Libby and I will have a chat about why my son is acting this way.”

“No!”

I shouted without thinking. All I could think was how much safer Jake was outside of our little town, and I couldn’t have Mason bring him back, putting my precious baby in danger. I had a tough time protecting Monica as it was.

Monica’s phone crackled and snapped. I jerked away, peering at it and biting a nail. I willed it to be fine and waited on pins and needles as Monica called into it. “Hello? Hello, Mason, can you hear me?”

Nothing.

“Oh, no,” I moaned. “I got too upset.”

Monica thrust her door open. “Come on. We’re going back into Gatsky’s to use their phone.”

We burst through the restaurant’s doors in a mad rush. Monica’s supervisor opened her mouth to say something, but we barreled past, headed toward the back. When Monica reached the landline, she snatched the phone up and froze with her finger poised over the numbers. “Dang it. I can’t remember his number. Do you know it?”

I wracked my head. The more I feared I had never learned Mason’s number, the less I could recall even a single digit. Monica recited various combinations, none of which sounded familiar.

“That’s wrong too,” she grumbled after the fifth try.

“What about 980-230…” I suggested various combinations, and at last we got it right. Monica and I both screeched in frustration when Mason’s voicemail came on.

“Hey, Mason, I dropped my phone and broke it, but I’ll get it fixed in the morning. Meanwhile, please don’t come to Summit’s Edge, okay? I’ll explain later. Please, please, don’t come!”

We left the restaurant and headed home. I left Monica at her house and blinked into mine. Time passed slowly. I tried to drift, but my mind refused to let go of its fixation on where Mason and Jake were right at that moment. I couldn’t will myself into their presence. When I used the ability, the location had to be a specific place, one that I could visualize after having been there.

I drifted from room to room in my house, hating the quiet, fearing at any second the darkness would come for me as it had seemed to earlier. My doorbell rang after a couple of excruciating hours, and I opened the door to find Monica standing there.

I frowned at her. “Why didn’t you use your key?”

She peered past me. “I didn’t know if you were alone.”

I stepped back to let her in and realized she must have noticed I never promised to stop seeing Ian. We were like awkward strangers, and I didn’t like it one bit. She stepped into the kitchen and pulled out snack items she had purchased to leave at my house. “I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep, so I thought I would keep you company.”

I shrugged. “I can’t drift.”

She blinked at me, but I was too weary to explain. We moved to the living room to watch mindless TV. Monica munched chips, dipped in salsa. I missed the taste of them.

“I called him a few times at my house,” she said, indicating she hadn’t been focused on the TV at all. “He still didn’t answer. I think I filled his voicemail box.”

I paced. “Maybe I should go looking for them.”

“Look where, Libby?”

“I could try willing myself to his house.”

“Then what? Prove you really are a ghost?”

I hadn’t thought of that.

“Liberty.”

I froze, and Monica looked at me. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” I lied. “Just worried.” I faded from her view.
“Don’t come, Ian.”

He remained silent in my head. I moved to the hall, knowing Monica would assume I was still with her. When I faced my front door, I could almost feel Ian on the other side.

“Ian?”

“I have cleared my name.”

“How? You didn’t glamour the police, did you? Remember, everyone in town knows.”

“I have handled it, Liberty.”
He seemed to hesitate.
“The police will know my brother is guilty.”

Half Ian’s problem was solved. Now the police would be looking for Tevin, and my guess was they would never find him—not without humans losing their lives. Ian had wanted to let me know his status, and I didn’t doubt he knew the situation was far from resolved.

Monica and I entered the only cell phone store in Summit’s Edge and approached the counter. “I need a new phone,” she said. “This one, um, is broken.”

The clerk, a man named Chet, who I had met previously, smiled. “I can help you with that.” He glanced past her to me, and his smile broadened. “Hello, again.”

I nodded and turned away, distracted. All I wanted was this madness to be over and my Jake in my arms. I ignored the endless chatter from Chet as he helped Monica, explaining various features on a newer phone.

“Just the same one, please,” she grumbled. “We’re kind of in a hurry.”

“Sure, no problem. Wow, this is totally dead. What did you do to it?”

Monica glared at him, and he ducked his head. She paced and tapped the counter. “I couldn’t remember someone’s phone number when I broke the phone. You’d think I’d know it by now, but well, I guess nobody memorizes numbers anymore. We all rely on our contact lists.”

Chet wrinkled his brow and stared at me again. I started to tell him I wasn’t dating right now when he said something odd that stopped both Monica and I cold. “I just told you how to get the numbers.”

Monica leaned across the counter and pointed a finger at him. “Look, check the attitude, pal. I’ve had a lot of bad stuff happen to me lately, and we still don’t know where our baby is. So if you’re having trouble distinguishing between your customers, get a grip! This town is not that big.”

Chet eyed Monica as if he thought she might attack, and I pulled her back toward me. “Stop, Monica. He’s only trying to help.”

She folded her arms over her chest. “You know I’m not in the mood, Libby.”

“I know.”

The clerk, no longer in immediate danger of Monica clocking him, spoke up. “Ma’am, you can sign in to your account online and see all your contact numbers.”

“You’re kidding. I never knew that.” Monica shook her head. “I mail my payments in.”

Chet gaped at her. He demonstrated for us how to access the numbers and finished transferring Monica’s number to her new phone. We headed to the door after an eternity in the store, and I came to myself at last.

“Why did you say you already told me how to find the numbers,” I asked the clerk.

He blew out an impatient sigh. I supposed his customer service skills had fizzled after dealing with us. “Because you asked me about it last night when you came in.”

“When. I. Came. In?” Halting words were all I could manage.

“Before closing?” he said as if to jog my memory. “You reactivated your contract, which wasn’t a problem since it hadn’t been that long. But I think someone might need to get their head checked out.”

Monica dragged me from the store and got her phone out of my reach before I had a meltdown. I winked out, not caring who saw me. Agnes had been in the cell phone store pretending to be me. She’d obtained my information, including my contact list. In Summit’s Edge, I could imagine Chet assuming this stranger was me and maybe being convinced to bypass the verbal code I had used to secure my account. I had to assume Agnes found out about Mason, and therefore deduced he had Jake.