Grave Possession (Wraith 3) (32 page)

“I’m glad we’re all okay,” I said, giving her a hug.

“I hear Jeannie has been giving you quite the history lesson on our little group.”

“Finally,” Connor said. He was more annoyed than I had been about her omissions. “Some of that information could have been helpful before all this hit the fan.”

I placed my hand on his arm to settle him. This wasn’t the time to argue about this. Again. I switched the subject. “Is Darius here?”

“He just got here.” She scanned the room. “Oh, sitting on the couch.”

I pushed through the guests – members really. This was the monthly meeting and now that we were on the same page, we had business to take care of. First, I needed to see Darius, who’d brought his own guest. We’d all spent the last several weeks healing. Ava from her physical wounds. Mine were emotional. Darius had to work through the pain of losing a child, the truth about his sister and regaining the mother he thought he’d never see again.

I stopped in front of the couch and fought back a wave of emotion. I wiped back a tear and said, “Ms. Frances.”

“Jane, girl, I was wondering when you’d get here since we didn’t have a chance to talk at the service.” She eyed me from head to toe before settling under my chin. I fingered the necklace. “I see it kept you safe.”

“You knew I’d need it? Why didn’t you tell me?” Seriously, no one tells me anything.

“If I could stop something I would, but it doesn’t work like that. I just fill a need when I see it. You needed that necklace.” She smiled in the direction of her son and patted his knee. Darius beamed. At least one good thing came out of the last couple of months.

“Can everyone take a seat or look up here?” Nina called, tapping her large silver ring against her wine glass to get everyone’s attention. Connor waved me over and I moved to stand with him and Ava against the wall.

“Thank you,” Nina said. “For everything.” The room nodded politely. “No really, for everything. Savannah almost lost its balance last month but, together, we kicked ass and set things straight.”

This elicited a more lively reaction, the
wolfman whistled loudly. Oh God, he scared me. Even more now that I knew he was a police detective. And that woman Lenaan, whothat we met at Nina’s, worked in the coroner’s office. The room was dotted with important officials. I now realized how well-connected the group was, and that they’d figured out more than one way to handle the consequences of our individual gifts.

“I know all of this is overwhelming for Jane and Connor. Jeannie made every effort to protect them from the intensity of this world. Our plan had been to invite them to join once they graduated. We never anticipated a threat of this magnitude.” Nina looked at me. “We also never anticipated a medium with Jane’s abilities.”

Everyone turned to face me and I smiled weakly. Connor, aware of my terror, gripped my hand in support. I held on for dear life. “We’ve known for some time that Jane is Shadow Bound, but what we learned is that her power goes far beyond what has been written in books and studied by groups in the past. She’s truly remarkable.”

The entire room looked in my direction.

“That’s not… no…” I stammered, completely overwhelmed.

“Just say thank you,” Connor said, close to my ear.

“Thank you. But what does it mean?” I asked, imploring Nina and everyone else in the group. “Where do we go from here?”

“We’re here to maintain the balance of both worlds. Natural and supernatural. The first step
is that we’d like you both to join our group.”

“Ask if you have to drink blood,” Ava whispered.

Connor and I ignored her.

“We’re in,” he said. He looked at me. “Right?”

I searched the room for my aunt and then Mrs. Frances. Both smiled at me with full confidence. They knew what was good for me before I did. I could say the same for Connor and Ava, who both waited patiently for me to make a decision.

I inhaled, trying to settle the mixture of nerves and excitement. I’d come a long way since the days of hiding in my room with only a ghost for a friend. Now I had a room full of support. I had family and friends. Connor’s hand tightened in mine, prompting me to spit it out.

“We’re in.”

Angel Lawson lives with her family in Atlanta and has a lifelong obsession with creating fiction from reality, either with paint or words. On a typical day you can find her writing, reading, plotting her escape from the zombie apocalypse and trying to get the glitter out from under her nails.

She is the author of five books, including the Wraith Series, Serial Summer, FanGirl, and Vigilant. She is the co-author of the New Adult Paranormal book, Odin's Murder with Kira Gold. She has one other New Adult title, No Regrets, under the pen name Lila Atkinson.

You can find her books and other information at
www.angellawson.com