Veiled Spirits

“After you collapsed, he carried you to his office. Levi then conjured something that looked like a gateway to hell and dragged you through it. I followed and we landed here. He tucked you into bed and then left the room. I’ve been drifting between here and school, waiting for you to wake up.” Aggie is breathless by the time she finishes filling me in.

“A gateway to hell? You mean, a portal?” I question. Maybe Levi just has red magic that makes it look like flames. Usually, Aggie’s pretty good about recalling things, but she might be confused this time.

“No, I don’t mean a portal! It was pitch black and ringed with flames! The other side was just a black abyss, not the normal view of where you’re going with portals.” Aggie gestures wildly as she talks, clearly unnerved by the whole experience.

“Huh.”

“Come on! We need to go before he gets back,” Aggie prods me. She tries to push me toward the door to leave. It doesn’t work since she’s a ghost, obviously. Aggie huffs in frustration, and I can’t help the giggle that comes out at her antics.

At Aggie’s glare, I raise my hands in surrender. I try to placate her. “Let me just find my shoes. Then I’ll portal us out of here.”

“They’re right here,” a deep voice informs me from the doorway. I cringe, realizing my window for leaving has closed. Turning from Aggie, I face Levi, who’s leaning against the doorframe, watching us. My white Converse dangle from his fingers. That explains why I couldn’t find them.

With a sigh, I tell him, “Look, if you’re planning to murder me, can you just not? I have a ton of shit to do, and I really don’t have time to get killed. I’ll pencil you in a few days after never happening, and we can circle back around then to this whole killing me thing.”

Levi’s eyes dance with amusement when I finish. “Good thing I’m not here to kill you. Your survival skills need work, little raven. That speech wouldn’t convince anyone to spare you.”

Aggie snorts next to me. “You think that’s bad? You should see what she does in the forest every night. It’s only by some miracle she isn’t dead yet.”

“What is it she does in the forest, spirit?” Levi asks as he switches his gaze to Aggie.

“She heals gh–” Aggie starts to reply before turning wide eyes on me. My lips part in shock at Levi addressing her. There’s no way he can see her. I’m the only mage with that ability we know of. Aggie whispers, like it will stop Levi from hearing her, “Can he see me?”

“No,” I reply, at least sixty-two percent positive of my answer.

“Yes,” Levi confirms at the same time.

Aggie and I look at each other in utter disbelief before we both turn to Levi with wide eyes. “That’s not possible. I’d know if another mage could also see her,” I protest. There’s no way there’s been someone like me under my nose for almost a year without me noticing it. I’d like to think I’m not that oblivious.

“You’re correct. There isn’t another mage in Hawthorne Grove who can see ghosts,” Levi informs me, before continuing. “I am not a mage, little raven.”

CHAPTER 12

IZZY

After Levi drops that bomb, the lights in the room begin to flicker. A black mist seeps out around him before it crawls across the floor toward us. Levi’s eyes glow red and a skeletal face appears over his face, making his features hazy. Electricity whips in the air around him, and the hair on my arms stands straight up.

“Holy hell,” I whisper, wondering what on earth is going on. Maybe Aggie wasn’t too far off with Levi opening a gateway to hell. He sure looks like a Grim Reaper right now. All he’s missing are a scythe and black robes.

As quickly as the creepy effects start, they end. With a bright flare of light, Levi returns to normal. It’s like the mist and skeletal features never existed. But I know what I saw.

“What are you?” I breathe, less confident I can get Aggie and me out of this situation unscathed than I was before. If it comes down to pure power, I’m not sure who would win. Normally, I’m confident I’m the one with the most magic. Not this time.

Although Levi is definitely scary when he lets his power out, I don’t feel like he’ll really hurt me. For some reason, I’ve always felt safe around him. Hopefully, I won’t need to find out if I can beat him in a fight.

“I’ll tell you when you tell me what you do in the forest,” Levi bargains with me. I press my lips into a thin line and look away. I’d rather not tell anyone what I can do. “That’s what I thought. Come get your shoes, little raven. We need to get you back to school.”

I hesitantly approach Levi. When nothing happens as I draw near to him, I get braver. I close the last few steps between us quickly. My hand darts out to grab my shoes from his outstretched hand. As I close my fingers around the shoes, my hand brushes his. Familiar tingles race giddily up my arm.

No. Not again.

I snap my gaze up to his. “You’re my mate?” I croak.

“I am,” he confirms, his black eyes bouncing between mine.

Releasing the shoes, I let them drop to the floor with a bang. I rub my hands over my face and tunnel my hands into my hair. Spinning away from him, I look at the ceiling and mutter, “Why does this keep happening to me? What the fuck did I do to you, universe?”

Honestly, I’d like to know. The universe seems to love fucking me over. In a past life, was I a dictator who ate babies for breakfast? Or someone who put toilet paper under instead of over? I must have done something awful to deserve all the shit the universe piles on me.