Chapter Five
"Was it you on my phone earlier?" Bella looked up from her plate, her eyes landing on the pale figure gliding across the kitchen floor.
Jane came to a stop and Bella turned to look at her. Something in her smile was apologetic about scaring Bella, but there was a tinge of malevolence within it as well. Jane loved that she was able to manipulate her phone—not an easy feat for spirits. They proved more difficult than lighting and appliances. It also meant Jane had been dead for a while.
Jane's manipulation explained a few things. "You're the reason we didn't have a signal to call for a help, but he was able to call his phone when we exchanged numbers."
The girl shrugged. "Once I figured out you were the one that others talk about, I knew you could help. I had to make sure Edward would recognize your number if you called."
That made sense; if someone called her from an unrecognizable number, she never answered, allowing it to go straight to voicemail instead. Edward probably did the same thing.
"What have you heard about me?" It didn't surprise her that, even after death, people still loved to gossip.
"Some avoid you at all costs, others seek you out," Jane replied, resuming her pace-like pattern of floating.
"The spirits that are unsure of what lies past the light or dark do fear me, while those who are ready, find me."
"You have a reputation, a badass one." Jane looked wistful, but suddenly, she was in Bella's face. The excitement and curiosity in her eyes brightened them considerably, but what Bella noticed the most was the difference in her face. The black spider web-like veins had receded, but not completely. "Can I see them?"
"See what?" Bella asked, slowly running her eyes over what she could see of Jane. Other than the tips of her fingers and face, nothing else had darkened. There was still hope in saving her soul.
"Come on," Jane whined, making the lights in the house flicker several times. "You know what I'm talking about. Is it true?"
Deciding it was best to indulge her than risking the lights of the home owners, she pulled up the sleeves of her shirt. Jane hovered and Bella couldn't help but shiver. Having her so close made her internal temperature plummet and her mind nearly seized due to the bombardment of new information.
"Back off, Jane," she hissed, straightening her shoulders. The girl appeared apologetic, doing what Bella asked, waiting. It took Bella a moment to gather herself, trying not to react to what she'd seen of Jane's memories in her mind moments before.
"Are you okay?"
Bella nodded and held out her wrists. They appeared normal; a few blue veins formed a lopsided 'y' and disappeared up her arm, only to reappear in the crook of her elbow.
"I don't see anything," Jane said, her lips thinning. Disappointment and anger put an edge on her voice, a black crack starting to form at the corner of her mouth.
Bella didn't allow her to stew, and replied, "Come a little closer."
The moment Jane complied, Bella's whole body charged with energy, as intricate marks glowed brilliant white on her skin. The markings started to circle each wrist, slowly moving until both ends met. For a few moments, they changed colors, from white to blue, and then to black.
"Whoa." Jane stepped away and watched as the markings started to diminish. "That's fucking crazy. What do they mean?"
Feeling self-conscious, Bella pulled down the sleeve to cover up the strange tattoos. "I don't know."
Something caught Jane's attention; though what, Bella wasn't sure. Jane slowly faded away. "I'll be back."
"No! Don't go back there, Jane!" Bella cried out, but it was too late. If Jane returned to wherever the bitch she spoke of was haunting her brother, it would only make things so much worse for her.
.
.
.
Over an hour had passed since Edward had last seen or heard from Jane. James and Shelley had returned from his house and told him she hadn't been there. Jane had a tendency to fuck with his shit if she was upset. She hadn't left any trace that she returned home.
Edward had little choice but to return to the Williams' house. He had a job to do and needed to get some answers from the spirit that was haunting Alec. His truck shuddered to a stop after he shut off the engine. He'd have to call his friend Jake to come over and replace the starter soon. It was giving him trouble and he couldn't afford his truck stranding him in the middle of nowhere.
He started toward the steps and saw that the house next door had almost every light on, which couldn't be right since Alec had said the neighbors were traveling. At the time, Edward thought it was a blessing in disguise, ridding a ghost from a home could be noisy.
"Maybe it's a security measure," he mused and ran up the stairs to the front door. Something made him still, his eyes on the car in the neighbor's driveway—a dark blue Audi. "No fucking way."
What were the chances that it was her staying there? He wanted to ask Shelley or James to check if it was Bella, but considering that she'd seen the others when they almost crashed earlier, he didn't want to scare her. A near-death experience could explain why she'd seen them, but she hadn't heard Jane. It didn't seem permanent.
"Jane is here," James said, disappearing through the front door. Shelley was quick to follow, leaving Edward to fumble with opening it. He ran toward the chaotic living room, forgetting one crucial thing in his haste to reach the others—the alarm.
In the living room, James and Shelley stood still, only half of their bodies visible, making them appear more like the ghosts he'd read about in books.
Jane sat on the elaborate mantel over the huge fireplace, her legs crossed at her ankles. Several of the items that had survived the rampage from Alec's late wife were on the floor, shattered. Her pale white skin was nothing new, but it caused the inky black cracks on it to contrast sharply. They seemed to start from her chest, spreading out like fingers along one side of her neck, over her jaw, and cheek.
"Jane," he whispered, noticing his breath billow out like smoke. The temperature had dropped considerably, and when Jane lifted her gaze to meet his, he forced himself not to react. One of her eyes was the usual shade of blue, but duller than ever. The other one concerned him more. The entire eye was black, not a spot of blue or white, and tiny spider web veins seemed to bleed out like tear tracks underneath it.
Whatever Jane remembered, it was clear it made her as big a threat as Alec's late wife.
