Chapter Six


Bella wrestled with the idea of chasing after Jane. She wasn't the type to go looking for trouble, since it inevitably found her. Fighting the growing hate and anger inside a spirit wasn't easy, but she'd faced such odds before, and won. The last ghost on the brink of becoming something other was far worse than Jane was so far, and she managed to help save his soul.

She debated for a couple of seconds, then secured the alarm and ran out the front door. Her extra sense, along with the others, converged to help her follow the trail Jane left behind. It was similar to an aura that some people claimed to see. Every spirit had an essence of sorts, each one unique and served as a spiritual thumbprint for Bella to follow. Some could hide if they'd been dead for a long time, but in some cases, anger and hate made abilities manifest faster.

"Jane, where are you?" Bella asked in a whisper when she lost the trail at the end of the driveway. She cursed and allowed her gift to take over, opening her mind further to the other side. Unfortunately, it also painted a big fucking bullseye on her back. Anything like Jane, or worse, would know she was close. For some, it was too close. They could lash out at her, fearing that she was there to send them away.

A flicker of lights caught Bella's attention and she whirled around to find the source. It seemed to come from the neighboring house. It belonged to the Williams, a couple she had watched their house for the previous year. Alec and Tanya were a lovely couple, she'd even taught yoga at the gym Tanya frequented. The presence she felt while housesitting hadn't given any indication of malice, though never showed his or her face.

All the lighting on the bottom floor seemed to be on, growing brighter, but then quickly dimming, only to start all over again. Something had changed. She cursed herself for not following up with Alec and Tanya, but at the time, she was dealing with a serial killer, who wasn't taking a premature death well.

She made her way up the driveway at a slow pace, not wanting to surprise whatever was in there. Spirits, good or bad, hated surprises, and vengeful ones loathed her.

As she passed the familiar truck parked under the large covered patio, alarms went up in her head. What were the chances that the man she met with similar abilities would be next door from where she was staying? Forces of some kind seemed determined to bring them together. The questions of who, what, and why, were what concerned her the most. It would have to wait until she dealt with Jane and the spirit attached to Alec.

Bella followed Jane's trail to the front door and a look around indicated another two spirits had followed her. Were they the same ones she'd seen with Edward? There was only way to find out. An obnoxious alarm startled her, causing her heart to pound in her chest.

She ran inside the house, finding the door unlocked. "Damn it, Edward," she hissed. "The last thing we need is the police here." She paused at the security panel near the front entrance and put in the code Tanya had given her eleven months earlier. It still worked. Edward watched her with wide, confused eyes, as she made her way to the phone in the foyer, and answered it the second it started to ring.

"Yeah, sorry, this is Bella Swan and I'm housesitting for the Williams again," she answered the rep for the security company. Holding up her hand, she silently asked Edward to wait, as he seemed about to demand answers from her. With a glance behind him, she could see he was alone, at least in the normal sense. Paranormally speaking, two spirits floated nearby, the same ones she'd seen in his truck. They didn't look as shocked as Edward seemed to be. "Sure, it's badger pass," she answered one of the security questions and continued with the other two. She held her hand over the mouthpiece of the cordless phone and asked Edward, "Are Tanya and Alec available by their cell phones?"

He only nodded in response, folding his arms over his chest and staring her down. She turned away to finish the call with the security company, mentally preparing herself for questions.

"Mind telling me what the fuck is going on?" Straight to the point—she liked that.

Wednesdays were supposed to be hump days, but no, she was in the middle of a house filled with confused and pissed off spirits. There was also no forgetting the hot, angry, and confused man.

She turned, waving with her fingers at the trio, and said, "Hi, Edward, James and Shelley. I didn't think we'd see each other so soon." She watched as Edward's mouth fell open. Most reacted the same way to her, though they were usually dead.

Edward's thoughts were racing and it made him sick to his stomach at the thought that Bella could see ghosts. He wouldn't want that for his worst enemy. Some people were relatively perceptive of the supernatural, while others flat out felt or saw nothing. Earlier, he was sure Bella had gotten a glimpse of his dead companions, but only during that brief moment that she almost could've died. Near death experiences had that effect on some people.

"You can see them?" he inquired, feeling stupid that he'd asked the obvious. To be fair, in the five years since he'd started seeing ghosts, he had never met anyone with even close to the same level of perception he had. "Earlier, you couldn't hear Jane." He shook his head, confused. "You did hear Jane."

She pursed her lips and seemed indecisive for several seconds. "I've been like this for as long as I can remember, and I've learned to not react to their voices."

"You can tell the difference between their voices and humans?"

She nodded. "I've learned to tell the difference, yes." Her gaze fell to the floor, her hands clenching into fists at her sides. "Back off!" She swirled around, her long hair moving around her, wild and untamed. He hadn't noticed earlier that the tips were in various colors, ranging from purple to pink.

I'm noticing her hair when she can clearly see ghosts. I need to get a grip on my priorities.

Edward held up his hands in defense. "Whoa, lady, you just came running in here. You back off."

Bella sent him a glare that had him taking a step back. There was a whole lot of "don't fuck with me" in her eyes. "I'm not talking to you."

From where Edward stood, he could see something walk around her. It was indistinct, translucent, but every time it shifted, the edges of it would distort the background. It was taller than Bella, a bit wider, too.

"Fuck," Bella whispered, closing her eyes and swaying. "Stop, Irina!" Veins started to pop out in her forehead and neck, her arms seemed pinned to her sides. Her gaze snapped to meet his again. "Get Jane out of here!"

"I'm not going anywhere as long as that bitch is here." The voice came from behind him, and it made the hair on his arms and the back of his neck stand on end. A chill crawled up his spine like icy fingers, gripping his heart.

Jane had disappeared when the alarm rang earlier, and Edward turned in time to see her walk through the large leather ottoman in the living room. Nothing was left of her once blue eyes. The black he'd seen in one before had completely taken over the other. As she passed him, she looked like a broken doll made of china, white skin with dark cracks marring her previously beautiful features.

"James, Shelley, get her out!" Bella screamed again, her head tilted up to the ceiling. Her hair flew around as if caught in some wind tunnel.

Still confused by what was happening, Edward watched as James and Shelley grabbed a kicking and screaming Jane by the arms. They disappeared through the front door without another word or a glance back at the living.

Bella suddenly screamed so loud that Edward knew her throat would be raw for hours. He walked toward her, but for every step he took, she screamed louder.

"Bella!" Edward realized the closer he got to her, the tighter whatever had a hold of her would grip her. He was clueless as to what to do. He should've made a call to Jasper the second he knew the case would be difficult. A mistake he'd never forgive himself for after this. "Tell me what to do."

Bella's eyes met his, but they were black. Not like Jane's, but close.

"Irina, let her go! You got what you wanted. They're going to sell the house." An unearthly cry seemed to bounce and rattle around the room.

Bella stumbled around when it seemed to release her, but caught herself, standing up fully once again. She looked at him as she pulled up her sleeves. "Stand back." Glowing letters circled her wrists, slowly moving up her arms "Come here, you bitch!" Her hand shot out to the right, becoming as transparent as James and Shelley. She had a hold of something, the translucent thing he'd seen before started to become more visible. The ghost he'd seen sneer at Tanya and Alec—Irina—stood on the tips of her toes, grasping at the hand around her neck. Her distorted features made his stomach churn. Hollow sockets instead of eyes, and her once red painted lips now were thin and grey, and nothing more than a slash under her thin nose.

Bella could touch and hurt her. Something he didn't think was possible.

"What the fuck?"

His words were the distraction Irina needed to free herself from Bella's grip, sending her sprawling toward the adjacent wall. The thud reverberated in the foyer, making his blood run cold.

It was the sound of bones breaking.

The ghost flew toward him, screamed in his face—more ghoul than spirit. It had greyish skin and had the kind of scream that rattled teeth and made most run. Edward instinctively stepped back as the figure dissipated into a black mass of shadow, and shot up through the ceiling. His chest hurt like a bitch, but he scrambled toward Bella, kneeling beside her. Pale and limp, he lifted her hand in his and realized she wasn't breathing.