Grave Possession (Wraith 3) (19 page)

Tom placed his charcoal on the table and really looked at me for the first time since I came in the room. “Kelsey wasn’t the easiest girl to know. I wasn’t entirely surprised she left like that. She’s a tad fickle. Moving from one guy to the next – one minute wanting art school, the next something entirely different. I figured she’d gone backpacking across Europe or out west. I guess that spontaneity made her more vulnerable.”

I sensed hurt in his voice, a hint of bitterness beneath the sadness. “Well, if you ever think anything, let me know, okay?”

“You got it,” he said, pushing a couple buttons on his computer and filling the room with edgy music. Connor seemed as perplexed as I did and, when he took my hand in his, I followed him out the door.

*

“Find out anything?” Ava asked when I got back to the room. I kicked my shoes off and they hit the wall with a thud.

“Not much. Either Tom didn’t do it or he’s a really good liar. I don’t think he knows anything, though.”

She sighed and said, “Oh, well, at least you tried. We can still talk to Lila, I guess.” Ava grabbed a small, square envelope off her desk. “Before I forget, Tony dropped this off for you.”

“Did he say what it is?”

“Nope. Just asked me to give it to you.”

I tore the edge and found an invitation inside. “It’s from Madam Rosemarie,” I said, holding the card up. “It’s to some party she’s having tonight.”

“The psychic? Since when do you guys hang?”

“I don’t know. Connor and I went over after my freak out in the bathroom with Kelsey. I panicked.”

“When is it?”

“Tonight at six. It’s addressed to me and Connor.”

“Ah, a date.”

“Shut up.” I frowned. “I wonder why she invited me. Or how she found me?”

“Seems like Tony knows her. He’s from Savannah, right? Oh my God, it’s probably some kind of supernatural party. Only psychics and ghost whisperers allowed. I’m jealous.”

“Maybe.” I got up and started digging in my closet. “What do you wear to a party held at a psychic’s house?”

“What would Jeannie wear?” Ava said. “WWJW?”

I rolled my eyes at the lame joke, but she was right. Channeling Jeannie never hurt.

I filled Connor in on Tony as we walked to Madam Rosemarie’s. I figured I should come clean since he was the one to deliver the invitation.

“You know Tony, right? Lives in your dorm? He was at the Christmas party?”

He nodded and held the door open to the shop. “We’ve met.”

Candles flickered throughout the shop. Thick pillars on the counters and small tea lights in glass votives. A huge chandelier I hadn’t noticed before hung from the ceiling, filled with lit, green candles.

“Sorry I didn’t tell you earlier about his talent.”

“I understand. Not your secret to tell.”

Connor’s good looks were even more extreme in the shadowy light. We’d agreed on semi-nice clothing and I wore a causal dress, long enough to graze the top of my feet, while Connor had on a button-down and jeans. For once he hadn’t worn a hat and it was weird to see his hair. Not that anything about this wasn’t weird. We were out of our depth socially. Especially for two former social misfits.

“Good, you got my invite. I know it was last minute.” Nina said. She leaned over and kissed Connor on the cheek. “Glad to see you both looking less freaked out than the last time you were here.”

“Thanks for inviting us,” I said. “The shop looks great.”

“Thanks, it works well as a meeting place.”

“Is that what this is? A meeting?”

“I prefer to call it a gathering of like-minded people. Which is still basically a meeting, so yeah.”

Connor looked around the dimly lit room. “Can they see ghosts, too?”

Nina smiled. “That’s not for me to share, but yes, everyone here has a special talent. I thought you may feel less alone if you had the opportunity to meet some people with common interests.”

“Wow,” I said, studying the room a little more closely. Connor and I were by far the youngest, but there were 10 or 15 men and women of various ages scattered throughout the room. I spotted Tony leaning against a chair speaking with a couple of people. “They all look so normal.”

Nina laughed. “They do, don’t they? So do you!”

“True.”

“Well, go around. Meet some people. There are drinks on the counter and a bit of food if you’d like.”

She left us to fend for ourselves. “Here, let me have your coat,” Connor said, helping me ease my arms out of the sleeves.

“Thanks.”

He tossed our coats on a pile near the door. “Well, this is interesting.”

“Definitely.”

We walked over to the counter and grabbed two glasses of water. I wanted a clear head for whatever was happening tonight.

“Want to make some guesses on who does what?”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Like that lady.” He gestured to a woman wearing a heavy, rainbow colored shawl. “Obviously, she fights demons.”

“Obviously. Her sandals gave that away. Total kick-ass footwear.” I nodded at a guy in a leather vest. He had an awesome, scraggly beard and a stud earring glinted against his pale ear. “What about him?”

“Werewolf hunter.”

“Okay,” I laughed. “What about those women?”

He made a big show of studying two women in their 30s. Both stunning with long, straight hair, one blonde, one brunette. The blonde had plump lips and wide, blue eyes. The other had smaller features. “That’s easy. The brunette is a fairy.”

“And the other?”

He gave me a wolfish grin. “A succubus.”

“You wish.”

He placed a hand on my lower back and leaned close. “I don’t. I can barely handle the one woman in my life.”

Heat flowed from his touch, spreading warmth across my skin. The energy from the other night flickered beneath the surface. In fact, the whole room felt warm and close. The scent of incense wafted through the air and it tasted sweet on my tongue. I shook my head to clear the haze, but I couldn’t pull away from the fog. Connor looked down and opened his mouth to say something. I just wanted to kiss him.

“We haven’t met, I’m Lena.” My attention snapped from Connor to the woman in front of me. The demon hunter in her rainbow shawl.

“H… hi,” I stammered. “I’m Jane. This is Connor. Nice to meet you.”

“Is this your first time at one of our gatherings?”

“Yes,” Connor said. “Nina invited us.”

“How did you meet her?” The woman fished. I crossed psychic and mind reader off the list.

“We came in to get a reading,” I said in case she had some ability to read lies. Good grief, it was exhausting managing a room full of talented people. “How long have you all been getting together like this?

“There have always been meetings with small groups of similar people. We’re not the first members. Savannah’s an old city with many historic groups. We’re one of them. It’s good to know your community and we like to support one another.”

“That sound nice,” I said. Connor’s hand hadn’t left my back and I leaned into him. “Do you meet often?”

“At least once a month. Maybe more if there’s an emergency.”

Lena was older than my mother, but not much. Maybe in her 50s. She had an air of confidence about her that was slightly intimidating. She wanted me to ask some unspoken question. Who? How? What? But I could tell that was against the rules. Instead I played her game, vague and not to the point. “Which is this? An emergency or your regular meeting?”

“A little of both,” she said. Tony finally made his way over and kissed Lena on the cheek. “Sweetheart, do you know Connor and Jane?”

“Sure do.” He smiled at me and offered his hand to Connor. “I’m so glad you’re here. I’m tired of being the youngest one.”

I wanted to ask more about the meeting, but Lena walked off and Nina called for our
attention. We turned and saw her standing on a small stool near the jewelry case. She asked us to find a seat and Connor and I shared a small armchair. The same one Nina sat in while reading my palm.

“Thanks for coming out tonight on such short notice. I know we skipped out last meet-up due to the holidays, but I wanted to gather everyone because there’s been some developments that I thought the group should be aware of.”

All eyes went from the front of the room to directly to me and Connor. His hand tightened against my back. “We have two new guests tonight. I’d like you all to welcome Connor and Jane.”

Everyone in the room offered a generic hello or wave. The blonde made eyes at Connor. Maybe she
was
a succubus. “Hi,” Connor said, and I gave a tight smile.

“We’re here as a group that has ties to the supernatural world. Everyone here has some sort of talent or gift. Mine, as you know, is the ability to read auras and palms. Others may have the gift of sight or the elements. Now that you’ve been introduced, I’m sure everyone will share their traits with you.”

Oh. great. Way to be outed, Nina. Thanks.

I whispered into Connor’s ear, “Do you think this is a cult?”

“I have no idea what’s going on.”

Whatever the emergency was, Nina never said. Several people came up and introduced themselves, offering brief descriptions of their gifts. Lena, it turned out, read runes. The hairy guy in the vest? Some sort of dream decipherer. That one intrigued me for sure, but I kept my mouth shut. I had no idea who these people were or if it was okay to trust them. I’d made that mistake before.

“Nina and the others like to keep track of all the gifted people in the community. You two sent off a lot of flares,” Tony said. He must have sensed my confusion.

“Does the group expect something from us?” Connor asked.

“No. I think they just like everyone to be on the same page. I’ve always come here, since my dad has his own abilities, but became more of a ‘member’ when my own manifested. It’s a good place to have support. People here know a lot.”

I looked around the room. “Is your dad here?”

“Not tonight. He’s at work.”

“So, you’re the reason we’ve had a disturbance in the area lately,” the succubus said. She offered me her hand, but kept her eyes on Connor. His reaction was enough to get me to pinch him discretely on the back of the arm. “I’m
Misha.”

“What do you mean?” Connor asked.

“I read dark energies. Only dark energies.” Her eyes shifted to me. “You’re covered in them.”

“Tell me something I don’t know,” I quipped.

“Well, they’re parasitic and feeding off you. Have you had any side effects?”

“I don’t know.” I tried not to scratch my skin. Parasites? There was nothing positive about that word. “What would they be?”

“A variety of things. Euphoria, sleepiness or, possibly, memory loss.”

Um. All of the above?

Connor spoke when I couldn’t. “These dark energies, do you know what they are? What kind of nutrient are they getting from Jane?”

“They’re spirits, obviously. You see ghosts, right?”

“How did you know?”

She shook her head. “These dark energies are latched to your psychic self. They aren’t whole ghosts that you can talk to, but just the festering darkness trying to get through from the other side. For some reason, they’re able to attach to Jane.”

“I’m Shadow Bound,” I told her, glancing at Tony. I hadn’t shared that or what it meant to him.

Her eyes lit up. “Ah, that explains it. The bigger question is where they’re coming from? How are they getting through? These are not the confused ghosts that stick around trying to avenge their pasts. They are something else entirely.”

“What are they?” Connor asked.

“Evil. And they won’t stop until they get what they want.”

Connor and I walked the cobblestone streets back to my dorm. My hands were safely tucked into my pockets because I didn’t know where else to put them. Connor kept his down by his sides. I was probably making this more complicated than it needed to be.

“Are you okay?” he asked as we neared the building.

“I guess, as much as I can be after finding out creepy, evil ghost things are sucking away at me.”

“If it makes you feel better, I’m not sure they’re trying to kill you, at least not right away.”

“What gives you that idea?”

“Because you’re acting as their host. You get them from one spot to the next – from that world to this. They need you alive.”

“Yeah, I’m not sure that makes me feel better.” We arrived at my dorm and I saw my darkened dorm window, two stories up. Ava must be out. I wasn’t ready to be alone. Not after all that. And to be honest? I wasn’t ready for Connor to go. “Want to come up and watch a movie or something?”

He narrowed his eyes. “Does this movie involve Zac
Efron or Robert Pattinson? If so, I’m not sure.”