Whispers at Moonrise (15 page)

“Get used to what?” Kylie caught up with him, her attention more on the spirit who walked beside the vampire, staring at him with surprise.

“The ghosts,” Burnett blurted out as if the words cost him.

Kylie stopped and grabbed him by the elbow. “You can feel them?” she asked. Generally, only when a spirit was trapped in a small room could a non–ghost whisperer feel them.

“No,” he said.

Kylie stared at him.

“Fine. Maybe I feel them a little. It’s probably more about the look you and Holiday get in your eyes when they’re around,” he confessed. He looked around. “Is she gone?”

“How did you know she was a female?” Kylie asked, realizing the spirit was gone.

His jaw clenched. “I could smell her,” he said, as if it were some kind of a sin.

“You can? I didn’t think … I mean, I didn’t think vampires had ghost-whispering gifts.”

“I didn’t think so either.” And he didn’t sound happy about it. He shot off walking again, only faster—his pace reflective of his mood.

Kylie kept up, but barely. “Does Holiday know?”

“Know what?” He didn’t even look at Kylie.

“About you detecting ghosts? She was curious as to why you could go into the falls and—”

“No, she doesn’t know,” he said. “And don’t mention it. I’ll tell her later.” Worry tightened his jaw.

They walked in silence for a second. “I didn’t mean to cause trouble by going after Clara. I just reacted to my internal instinct.”

“Sometimes our internal instincts can be skewed,” he added.

She wondered if he was talking about his ability to smell and sense ghosts as well as her protective instincts. “I’ll try to do better next time.”

“Thank you,” he said, as if conceding to what she offered.

They continued forward. The wind stirred the trees.

“Can you tell me more?” he asked.

“About ghosts?”

“No. About the fog. I’d like to forget about the ghosts.”

Kylie remembered how she’d felt when she first learned she could detect the dead. She could relate to his feelings. Sometimes she’d still like to forget about her ability.

“Did you sense it was Mario?”

“No.” Kylie went over the details, careful not to leave anything out except the ending. No doubt he would question Clara later. But Kylie was almost certain Clara hadn’t seen anything that would give the secret away.

“It has to be Mario and his buddies again.” Burnett’s fist clenched as he walked.

Kylie hesitated to say anything, knowing if she slipped up and lied, he would know. But neither did she want Burnett to worry too much. “Remember I said it didn’t feel evil.”

“It has to be them.” He looked at her directly, a stern, fixed stare. “You do not go into the woods, with or without a shadow. You understand?”

She nodded. She understood, but she didn’t say she would comply.

“It has to be some witch or wizard behind this.” His brows pinched. “You don’t think that you accidentally caused the fog, do you?”

“No,” Kylie insisted.

“You sure? With the other incident—”

“It was different.” Her cheeks warmed, remembering the incident.

Their pace slowed. The trees and underbrush seemed to soak up the sound of their footsteps. Kylie’s mind returned to Clara, and from Clara, it moved to the girl’s brother.

“Can I ask you something?” Kylie asked.

“If I said no, would it stop you?”

“Probably not.” She debated on how to word her question.

“If it’s about anything concerning Holiday and me, I’ve been ordered to plead the fifth.”

She grinned. “Don’t worry, the inside-out shirt the other day pretty much told me what I wanted to know about you and her.”

The stern-looking vamp half smiled again. His smile faded. “It’s not about ghosts, either, is it?”

“No. It’s … When a Council calls someone in for a meeting, is it bad news?”

“You’re talking about Lucas?” he asked.

She nodded.

He moved a limb out of his way, holding it back so it wouldn’t hit Kylie. “It can be, but not always.”

“Do you know what it is they want with Lucas?” She pushed another limb away.

“No, I don’t.” His words rang completely honest.

“Are you concerned?” Kylie asked.

He hesitated. “Yes.”

“Why?”

“I respect Lucas’s need to become a part of the Council so he can help bridge the problems between the weres and the FRU, but I don’t want the Council to have too big of an influence over him.”

“You don’t trust Lucas?” Kylie asked.

“If I didn’t trust him, he wouldn’t be here. My problems stem from the fact that the were council and the FRU have issues. In general, the were community is less compliant to work within the FRU’s rules. It goes back to the pack mentality.”

“But couldn’t that be because the FRU considered werewolves lower-class citizens?”

“That has changed,” he said. “But I’m sure that plays a big part in their behavior, and I can assure you that the FRU treats all were situations with that in mind. However, prejudices stem from both sides. One of the reasons they were viewed as outcast was because they viewed others as the same.”

“So it’s a ‘which came first, the chicken or the egg’ kind of thing,” Kylie said.

“I guess it doesn’t matter,” he said.

When they arrived at the clearing, Burnett looked at her. “I’ll walk you back to your cabin. If Della or Miranda isn’t there, I’ll get someone else to shadow you for the time being. Holiday and I will be there shortly to go to the falls. But until I investigate this whole fog thing, you’re not to leave that cabin without me knowing where you are and who you are with.”

She flinched slightly at his tone and new demands. Surely he was exaggerating. “Do you mind if I go back to the office with you?” Kylie asked. “I’d sort of like to check on Clara.”

He hesitated, but nodded, and they started down the path to the office. Kylie gave the woods one last glance and felt nothing. Had they already left?

Her gut instinct said they had. Question was, would they come back? And if so, could she find a way to go to them?

*   *   *

Before Kylie stepped up on the porch, she heard Lucas talking. “You can’t keep doing this!” His voice carried.

Kylie wasn’t sure if it was her sensitive hearing or if he was talking that loudly. Considering how private werewolves were, she suspected the former.

“What did I do?” Clara asked. “I told them I was coming here and I did.”

“Where else did you go? Did you go see Jacob?” Lucas’s tone came out tight.

“Of all people, I would assume you could understand my need to see who I wanted to see.”

“As strange as it is, I think Dad’s right about him.”

“Really, are you going to let him choose your lifemate? Wasn’t that what you two were arguing about when you were back there? Your affection for Kylie?”

Kylie’s breath caught. Lucas had argued with his dad about her?

“We’re talking about you,” Lucas snapped.

“I’m here, isn’t that what matters?” Clara asked. “Isn’t that what you want?”

“What I want is for you to quit playing games, Clara. I’m trying to help you.”

“Games? Please, you are the biggest game player of them all. You play games with the Council, with Dad, with your mom, and with Grandma. You even play them with Fredericka. I’ll bet you’re even playing games with that witch of yours.”

“I’m not playing games, and I don’t have a witch.”

Kylie hesitated as they moved closer to the cabin’s steps, and from the look Burnett sent her, she supposed that he, too, was hearing the conversation.

“I could still walk you to the cabin,” Burnett offered, and from his tone, Kylie sensed he understood how this might be hard for her. His concern should’ve been touching; instead she didn’t like knowing everyone knew her business. She preferred her private life to stay private.

“I’ll have to face him sooner or later,” Kylie said, glancing away.

But even Kylie had to admit, later sounded really tempting. Yet she squared her shoulders and continued walking, her gut tight at the thought of Lucas’s response to her being a witch.

Chapter Fourteen

As Kylie and Burnett took the steps up to the office, Kylie suddenly wished she hadn’t come.

Behind the door, Clara continued arguing with her brother. “I think she might have been the one who sent the fog after me. She pretended like she rescued me, but maybe the witch was just—”

“You think who sent the fog after you?” Lucas demanded.

“Kylie!” Clara fumed.

Kylie’s breath hitched.

“Kylie isn’t a witch,” Lucas said.

Burnett pushed open the office door; Clara and Lucas, positioned in the entryway, turned around. Kylie prepared herself for his reaction.

“I am for the time being.” Kylie decided to expose her cards and worry how the game would be played later.

“You’re what for the time being?” Lucas asked, unaware that Kylie had been privy to their conversation.

“A witch,” she said.

Lucas stared at her forehead. Shock, confusion, and disappointment flickered in his eyes. “What … Witches don’t have speed. They can’t run … like you run.”

“Confused the hell out of me, too,” Clara said. “That’s when I realized she probably cast a spell, and if she cast that spell, maybe she did it all.”

“I didn’t create the fog,” Kylie said. Was Clara really already turning on her?

“So how did you know where to find me? And don’t lie again and say you heard me. I wasn’t close enough for you to hear my screams.”

The accusation stung, but Kylie tried not to take it to heart. Clara had reasons for being suspicious. Witches weren’t supposed to be able to run like lightning or have super hearing. Which validated Kylie’s belief that she wasn’t a witch.

But if her grandfather and aunt could turn themselves into fog, did that mean they belonged to the Wiccan species? She didn’t think shape-shifters could change into fog, could they? Doubt pulled at her mind.

“Kylie isn’t your normal witch.” Burnett came to her defense.

Lucas glanced at Clara, to Burnett, then back at Kylie. An apology replaced the stunned disbelief in his eyes.

He continued to gaze at her, but spoke to his half sister. “If Kylie says she didn’t do it, she didn’t do it.”

“You take her word over mine? Now I see our father’s concern.” Clara’s tone rang heavy with accusation. “How can you call yourself a leader of our people when you stand up for a witch over your own kind, own blood?”

Lucas’s jaw tightened. “My belief does not come from her words. I know the facts. Kylie has sensitive hearing. She could hear your screams from miles away.”

“Witches don’t have—”

“As Burnett pointed out, I’m not a normal witch.” Kylie gazed at Lucas. Why couldn’t he have simply declared he believed her? Was a were’s loyalty to his pack so restrictive that his faith in her held no credibility?

Feeling Clara’s stare, Kylie continued. “Apparently, my brain has a bad habit of showing different patterns.”

“Then there’s something seriously wrong with your brain.” Clara’s tone made her words even more of an insult.

Kylie waited for Lucas to correct Clara. When his gaze found hers, she could swear she saw an apology flash in his eyes, but he remained silent.

And just like that, she knew why. Because to do so would be putting her before Clara. Because Kylie wasn’t a werewolf, she wasn’t supposed to matter to Lucas. Or at least not matter as much as one of his own. The realization brought with it a wave of pain that caused her chest to clutch. She told herself she didn’t need him to defend her, that she knew he cared, so what did it matter that he remained silent?

“My mind is fine.” Kylie met Clara’s eyes and then briefly glanced at Lucas. Yup. Kylie’s mind would be okay; it was her heart she worried about right now. Because while it shouldn’t have mattered, it did.

A lot.

“Why weren’t you scared of what you saw?” Clara asked.

Unsure what Clara meant, Kylie paused. Had the girl seen more than Kylie knew? “Who says I wasn’t scared?”

“Kylie’s a protector,” Burnett intervened.

Clara’s eyes widened. “No shit?”

Uncomfortable at the girl’s stare, Kylie suddenly wanted to escape. “I should go.” She turned to leave.

Burnett gently caught her by the arm and, as crazy as it seemed, she felt empathy in his cold touch. He leaned in and whispered, “Not until you have a shadow.”

“I’m here.” Holiday stepped through the door. “I took a short walk to give Lucas and his sister a few minutes to talk.” Her green eyes went to Kylie as if she sensed the emotional storm brewing inside her. Holiday motioned for Kylie to follow her out.

Burnett looked at Holiday. “Stay close. There could still be danger around.”

“Exactly what happened?” Worry filled Holiday’s green eyes.

“We’ll talk later,” he said. “I need to chat with Clara while everything is fresh in her mind.”

Kylie walked out, her heart breaking at Lucas’s behavior and her gut worrying about what Clara remembered. Yet one glance at Holiday and Kylie remembered her vision and Holiday’s possible demise. Heck, maybe Clara was right. Maybe something was wrong with her mind. Perhaps the stress of everything had finally driven her loony.

Was becoming a witch the first sign of insanity? Or was it just part of being a chameleon?

*   *   *

Kylie followed Holiday to the dining hall to grab a sandwich. Lunch had come and gone and so they had the place to themselves. They barely talked and the awkwardness didn’t feel right. When they walked out of the dining hall, Kylie’s gaze went to the woods to see if the feeling had left, or if she sensed her grandfather and great-aunt calling her. But she felt nothing.

Holiday reached over and touched Kylie’s shoulders. “Talk to me.”

Kylie absorbed the calm that Holiday offered and faced her. “I hate prejudices,” Kylie said, knowing that only one of the problems at hand, Lucas, could be discussed with the camp leader. If she told Holiday who was in the woods earlier, she’d tell Burnett. And both of them would refuse to let Kylie go to them if they returned. But she had to, didn’t she?

“I hate them, too,” Holiday said, as if she knew exactly what prejudices Kylie referred to. “If there was one thing I could change in the world, that would be it.”