My Demonic Ghost: Banished Spirits (14 page)

              My words barely had a chance to sink in before her reply, “Alright, fine, but only on one condition. I get to stay here and supervise you. If things get too dangerous, you’ll stop.”

“Yes, alright. That’s fine.”

She nodded before the swish of her body broke into ashes, promptly hiding herself in the shadows of the room behind her Host. Howl was next to go, vaporizing in dark mist before diving into Jake’s chest, his slouching body suddenly going rigid at Howl’s invasion, as he stood up and marched sternly out of the room.

Nails lingered for a few moments, letting her eyes study me. I felt the heat of them crawl along my face and shoulders, but she too disappeared and her young Host tiptoed out.

Chapter Fifteen:

Once they were gone, I ran to my room and threw on a jumper. The hallways echoed my racing footsteps; I went down the elevator and outside the building into the shade of the night. I went skimming across the streets but the roads were empty a good few miles on both sides, so I took a wild guess and turned left, down to where there were more shadows to hide in.

The alleyways were empty. I stood under a streetlamp looking down the belly of the lane. It was reaching about 5:20 in the morning, and all that I’d come across so far is a cluster of rubbish bins and a small group of people stumbling over themselves to get home. I called into the alley for Lock, finding myself knee deep in the darkness. The night air was eerie, slowing down to a whisper as the city crawlers started to file into bed. I called again, a little bit more urgent and louder this time. The bins rattled together as I leaned forward; scared, trembling, and cautious just as a quick blur brushed against my leg, meowing. I yelped and clutched my chest, quickly stepping out of the shadows, trying to shoo the chattering cat away. I swivelled back around, the fear bursting through my pores, just as a hand reached out, grabbing my retreating elbow tightly and turning my body back by force.

“Rachael?” Lock stepped out from the shadows, holding my elbow. He sounded annoyed and released my hand roughly, as if I had been caught trying to sneak out past my bedtime. I sighed with relief as all my fear dissolved into the air outside me.

“Oh, thank goodness! Where did you run off to?” I asked.

“Never mind that, what are you doing here?”

“Looking for you, of course.”

“I’m fine, I can look after myself!” he continued growling.

“You’re not a spirit anymore; you have to get this through your head. It’s not safe for you out here-”

“I told you I’m fine! I don’t need a babysitter; don’t tell me…are you agreeing with Betrayal now? I thought you were on my side.”

“It’s not like that. I am on your side, but I understand where she’s coming from, too. She cares about you a lot…”

“Liar…”

“I’m not lying.”

“Well I don’t care about her… I can’t stand people who can’t mind their own damn business. I hate people like that. I hate her. I hate her stupid Host. I hate Nails for agreeing with her. I-” he ranted.

“You don’t mean that Lock.” I tried to cut him off which only aggravated him even more; he turned his eyes to me, peeling his lips back.

With a low growl from the back of his throat, he snapped, “You’re no better than she is. I hate you too. Stop pretending and just get lost.”

As he barked those words, he immediately tried to swallow them back up. I, too, bit my tongue, completely speechless as my nerves trembled through me, running like wild fire before bombarding my heart, making it pump harder and slower.

Neither of us could say anything for a few seconds. I didn’t have anything to say to him and I didn’t want to hear anything, either; the truth being that I wanted nothing more than to turn on my heel and run away from him so I could sulk in peace.

“Rachael, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it.” He grabbed me roughly and held me still, almost knowing of my intentions to bolt. I strained against him, against the warmth of his hands as they held me tighter, begging me to stay and listen. I couldn’t look at him without feeling the heartache drum through my chest, hearing those words looping round and round through of my ears, ‘I hate you, ‘I hate you’…’I hate you’. The hands that held me began trembling. I could feel the sadness welling up inside me, building from the pit of my stomach and filling my lungs with moist air, leaving me feeling suffocated.

“You’re wrong, Lock. I’m not the one who’s pretending. Whether you like it or not, I’m not going to leave you alone…”

My eyes blinked heavily, the tears threatening to glide free down my cheeks. My voice tightened as if there was a rope tied around my neck. Lock nibbled nervously on his lower lip, his eyes burning into my face. His hands started twitching as if anticipating his next move, calculating and doubting, thinking over and over again. Suddenly he lunged forward onto the tips of his toes with his neck craning as far as he could reach. The next thing I felt was the soft tingle of his mouth, closing in on the corner of my lips, missing his target in eagerness. The thrill of the touch caught me off guard; the gentle lingering caress of his breath exhaling as he moved, the bristles of his hair tickling along my forehead before he jumped away and let his shivering hands unhook from around my arms. The warm streak of wetness he left on my cheek was turning my entire mouth numb and I stood there, foolishly still and unable to respond for the spilt second that it happened. 

He kept his head down in embarrassment. I felt as though nobody else mattered in this moment; not Miira’s punishment, not the Spirit World with the sins, not the Staff’s whereabouts, not the smell of the trash beside us or the cold touches of the air crawling through my clothes; not even the soft glimmer of sunlight peering through the gaps in the buildings.

“The sun… It’s morning already?” Lock inhaled within an urgent gasp, falling back against the wall as the rays ran faster and faster into the mouth of the alley. There was no way I could run away from the world; I understood this clearly as the sun heated my face, lighting up the walls around me, when all I wanted to be left in darkness, in the shadows with him. Lock had nothing to cover his exposed skin, his plain shirt not big enough to stretch over his head and cover his torso. He squirmed uncomfortably at the increasing speed of the light, stumbling back as if it were lava collecting at his feet. Quickly, I pulled off my jumper and threw it over his head before running back to the apartment with him.

The door swung open with a heavy bang as I grabbed the open curtains, pulling them shut and cutting off all light within the room.

“You okay?” I asked him. Lock answered with a quick, ‘yeah, thanks’ before creaking around in the shadows. My eyes were stinging with the heavy weight of sleep. I turned at the same time as a dark figure stepped forward from the corner of the room, knocking his knees on the corner of the table with a loud thump.

“Ouch!” He winced as I shrieked, completely forgetting that I had left Betrayal and her Host in the apartment when I’d run off to fetch Lock.

The dark figure quickly hushed me, “It’s okay, it’s okay. It’s only me.”

“Oh, you scared me.” I mumbled, “This is a bit embarrassing but I don’t even know your name.” He paused for a long time, surprised by my question as if the realisation had just hit him also.

“Uh… yeah it’s Eric. And you’re Rachael right? Thanks for letting me stay here. We didn’t have anywhere else to go, but tomorrow night I’ll get myself a hotel room. I promise…” He had a rough and croaky voice, just like a chain smoker.

“If you would like, you could take my room and I’ll sleep in my mother’s bedroom tonight,” I offered but he held a hand up, which I could faintly see the outline of, and shook his head.

“Nah, it’s alright. I’ll just take the couch.”

After I got come spare blankets and pillows, I bid Eric good night before going to bed. I crawled underneath the first layer of the sheets and before I realised it, my head had rolled to its side in a deep sleep.

I had no dreams that night. My eyes slowly peeled open as I stretched, my back muscles tight and my neck throbbing in pain. I rolled over, checking behind the curtain. The sun was out and the day was in full swing; I got dressed and showered.

“Sorry that I slept so long.” I entered the kitchen with my hair set loose on my shoulders, still dripping wet, the ends leaving damp circular patches on my shirt.  Eric was sitting comfortably on the chair with a bowl of cereal out in front of him. He glanced up and smiled.

“Hey, good morning.” I took a seat on the bench next to Eric’s chair, noticing as his hands went up, brushing through his short brown hair. He was a good looking boy and I was surprised at myself for not noticing it earlier.

“I hope you don’t mind me helping myself…” He motioned towards the fridge and I shook my head. I glanced across the room in search for Lock, a little part of me panicking. It was nerves that shook me, the flush already hitting my face as I replayed our last moment together in the alley way; his clumsy footing, the warmth that numbed me, and his hands shaking as they held me.

When I spotted him, he was far from being pleasant. A scowl sat on his lips and his eyes were dark under his hood. He had his cheek pressed up against the window.

“He looks grumpy. What’s wrong with Lock?” I questioned softly, but when Lock’s snarl deepened, I figured he could hear me just fine. Eric glanced over and murmured under his breath, nodding slowly as if understanding on a personal level why Lock was so upset.

“It’s because we’re here,” he said while turning back to his cereal and taking another scoop.

“What do you mean?” I didn’t think Lock was being serious when he told me he hated Betrayal, but maybe I was a mistake to have taken his tantrums so lightly.

“He found out that Betrayal and I will be babysitting you guys.”

“Oh…” I glanced over to him once more. He was looking at me now, all insecurities gone from his stern face, as if last night had never happened and I had dreamed the entire thing.
Maybe I did dream it…
I was saddened by that thought and couldn’t bite back the frown. He beckoned me towards him with a curl of his finger and I obeyed, Eric tossing me a quick sympathy smile before returning to his meal. I slipped off the seat and headed over to Lock.

The phone rang so I redirected my steps, dancing over to answer it. I turned so my back was towards the door, hiding my face from the furious eyes heating up the back of my head. I knew he was going to blame me for Betrayal’s interference, and even though it was my fault, I didn’t want to take responsibility for it.

“Hello? Rach?” I recognised the light laughter instantly; it was my high school friend Danielle.

“Oh, hey Dee.”

“I wanted to know if you wanted to join us for a movie?”

“Oh, um, sure what time?”

“We’ll meet in an hour alright? And decide what we’ll see when we get there? I gotta run and catch my bus, but I’ll see ya at the cinemas. Bye.”

The dial tone beeped softly in my ear before I placed the phone back into the cradle, facing Lock again. He was delicate underneath the hard armour he’d built around himself; I knew this because I had seen the panic in his eyes last night. When he didn’t have control of things, when he seriously thought I was going to run; he dropped the shield and clung to me with the shaky hands of a child. He is the sweet, beautiful boy that I had first thought he was, lost in the pools of his green eyes; that twist of toasted brown hair brushing forwards and curving into his face like brittle wings.

But what I can’t figure out are his intentions. Was that kiss a sign of love or his way of telling me that he needed me; maybe as protection or maybe because the chains around us made him feel that way? How do I know that it wasn’t just the instinct of the spirit, that he is even able to feel emotions such as love? He could’ve done it without realising the symbolism of his actions and for me to have a misunderstanding was going to make everything awkward.

“Hey, I’ve got to go out for a while. Eric, please help yourself to any food…”

Eric checked his watch, “I actually better get going, too. Thanks anyway. I’ll be back later on tonight.”

I smiled before turning to Lock. He was looking away again. His eyebrows were crinkled in his sulking. “You better stay in here; it’ll be safer for you.”

The door clicked close behind me and I felt a heavy weight straddle my chest, guilt perhaps, and it made it difficult to inhale a full breath. Two steps down the hallway I was stopped by a cluster of ashes, Betrayal this time, forming from the dust and holding her thin, slender arm out to me.

“Before you go, I need to ask something of you. Next time you’re in the Sin world, I need you to do something for me. Lock can’t transform into spirit form on his own, he needs your help and when speaking to Howl, he told me Lock had managed to break through back in the graveyard. I think this may have been because you were under threat, that you subconsciously unleashed Lock to save yourself.” She ran her fingers across her mouth, like she could taste something bitter and couldn’t bear to swallow it. “I guess what I’m trying to say is that I need you to become more… active within the Sin world. Don’t throw yourself into anything really dangerous, but be a part of it… because then you will be able to give Lock back his powers. And he would be able to defend himself, able to protect you both. Even though I, too, will be there, but I can’t always…” She drummed her fingers across her lips worriedly.

I need to be in danger so I would instinctively try to use Lock to protect myself…
That’s what Betrayal was requesting from me, that I help save Lock by allowing him a chance, a moment where he can protect us both. It would’ve been selfish of me not to have agreed, and even if it does mean he would absorb my soul a lot faster, at least I would be helping for once.

I nodded quickly and Betrayal sighed with noticeable relief, “Thank you.”

I meet up with Danielle and some of the others with 5 minutes to spare before the movie. I spoke plainly of my time at Whitehaven, leaving out a lot of the details; no mention of Lock, no mention of the Goons or the Banished spirits. I even held off telling them about my dad, not wanting to bring the mood down.