I bolted up in my bed heart racing. Gasping as my head throbbed. That fucking chill running down my neck. Fear tightened my chest as I snapped awake.

“Shit, fuck, shit, fuck,” I cursed, my eyes closed tight against the pain. “Claire that better be you,” I snarled out to the room.

“Yeah, sorry,” a girl's voice replied. “I felt you in trouble today.”

Claire must have backed up because the pain went down to manageable. I opened my eyes and turned on the lamp on my desk. I looked at my Aunt Claire from across the room. The 8-year-old was dressed in a pair of jeans with a hole in one knee, and a Care Bears t-shirt from the 80s. Her face was sweet with her dark red braids down to her shoulders. Her green eyes smiled at me. I put my feet on the floor and rubbed the sleep from my eyes.

“Yeah, I got jumped today.” My voice was still sleepy. “By a ghost that shouldn’t have had that much juice.”

I saw Claire’s “bad news face”, the one every 8-year-old has when they don’t want to tell you something. Her nose scrunched, her mouth twisted, and she squirmed.

“What?” I asked immediately.

Claire’s shoulders lifted as if she took a breath, even though she couldn’t.

“I was out of town looking for someone to help you. Someone gifted.” She shrugged and dug her shoe into the floor. “I taught you everything I could years ago, but it’s not enough.” Claire wasn’t too far away for me to feel her emotions. She felt so guilty for not being able to help more. I couldn’t have that.

“Claire, without you I would have died or gone insane by now,” I told her honestly. “You have saved my life, a lot.”

She looked up at me, her eyebrows raised, looking hopeful.

“Really?”

I snorted. “Really.” I got the smile I loved to see from her; it made her whole face shine.

“Well, I finally found one, someone who can help,” she announced.

Everything was silent. It didn’t quite compute in my head for a full minute.

“Seriously?”

She nodded, her braids bobbing.

“Who? Where?” I couldn’t even form a complete sentence.

“She has a shop in Bridgeport, it's a couple towns away, around the mountain.”

I got up, tore into my bag and pulled out a notebook and pen. Claire gave me the name of the shop and the address.

“She’s a witch, so she’s used to working with, well, the living. But she could hear me a bit,” she explained. “She might not be able to, you know, give you lessons like I did. But she’s a good place to start.”

I was so happy I could have kissed her, if she had a body and all.

“Claire, this is great news,” I said. “What was with the bad news face?”

Claire started playing with one of her braids. “The dead here are weird, angry, they’re not right,” she told me. I raised an eyebrow.

“There are always some angry ones,” I offered, though my stomach was knotting.

She shook her head; she looked scared.

“Not like this. Ghosts have more juice than they should. Like, even the newly dead. There's a whole lot of energy floating around, just waiting to be picked up.” She twirled her braid in her fingers. “The whole area is...wrong. It scares me.” Her eyes met mine. “The other dead here scare me; I don’t think I can be around them, not until it’s fixed.”

I nodded, suddenly very eager to get Claire out of town. How the hell was I going to fix this? Where the hell was I going to start? I couldn’t have Claire scared all the time.

“Okay, stay out of town. Keep your head down.”

Claire waved her hand dismissively.

“I’ll just go to the cemetery, the dead never go there,” she said. “And that way, if you need me, you can find me.”

It’s strange but true, the cemetery was always empty of the dead. When I had too many encounters with ghosts in the past, I would drive to a cemetery and sleep in the back of the blazer. There was still a sleeping bag and pillow in there.

“Sounds good to me.” I noticed the way she was edging towards the wall, a small smile on her face.

“Are you going to pop in on Rory?”

She smiled like the little kid she was. “Yeah, just want to mess with him a bit. I’m thinking the butter dish this time. I’ll see you later, stay safe.”

“You too.” I shut off the light and climbed back into bed. My head wouldn’t shut off. What the hell would give the dead that much juice? What can warp the dead? And why the hell was there energy just lying around to be picked up? And how the hell was I supposed to fix it?

I wasn’t going to sleep. I got up, turned on my laptop, and spent the next five hours trying to find some explanation as to why the dead would be acting so strange. I looked for every variation on the Sight, every religion I could, every culture I found. When my alarm went off, I still had nothing.

I took a quick shower and got dressed for the day. I dressed for my mood. My favorite old pair of boot-cut blue jeans. A loose black, v-neck, boyfriend shirt tucked into the front of my pants, and a green and gold plaid, long-sleeved shirt left unbuttoned. I pulled the front half of my hair back into a small clip to keep it off my face and said fuck the rest.

I heard Rory shouting downstairs about his losing his keys as I was putting on my belt. It made me smile. That was Claire's favorite trick, hiding his keys in weird places.

I made sure to pick up coffee on my way to school, four espresso shots this time. The barista had looked at me like I was nuts. I didn’t care; I needed caffeine. It was overcast today; big thick gray clouds hung low over the town. Please don’t rain on me again; in this shirt, it would be hard to hide it if I was cold. Some blue Honda parked in my spot so I had to park on a side street a block from the school. I didn’t really care; I had coffee.

I was drinking that coffee when I turned the corner into the hall and found Zeke and Asher waiting for me at my locker. Zeke in his usual black. Asher wore a button-down shirt again--but today it was open, showing a white t-shirt underneath--and his tan cargo pants and a blue hoodie. Overnight it had really started to sink in that they weren’t going anywhere. A small part of me thought they were nuts, the rest of me was just grateful.

“Hey,” I greeted them, yawning. I was trying to open my locker for the third time when Zeke stepped up behind me, reached around and grabbed the dial.

“What's the combo?” he barked at me, but I felt numb enough that I didn’t care. I gave it to him.

“Ally girl, didn’t you get any sleep last night?” Asher asked, coming over to lean against Isaac's locker. As Zeke was opening my locker, he stood close enough that I felt his body heat.

“Man, you’re like a furnace.” I don’t know why I said it, but since I did, I didn’t really care. Zeke finished opening my locker for me and moved to my left to lean against the locker next to mine. I felt both of them examining my face.

“About 3 hours, after-burn sleep doesn’t count as rest,” I answered Asher bluntly. Then I tried for cheerful. “No rest for the ones who see dead people.” Yeah, that fell flat.

I looked at my bag, the coffee in my hand, then at the books. Figuring out what I was going to do took longer than I liked to admit. I finally handed Asher my coffee and started loading my books into my bag. “I saw my Aunt Claire last night,” I told them, my voice matter-of-fact. “She said the dead in town aren’t right, something is wrong with them. Other ghosts are also getting extra juice that's just floating around out there to be picked up.”

I closed my locker. Then looked up at them, Asher looked surprised. Zeke’s brow had drawn down. Then I realized I hadn’t told them that Claire was a ghost. I waved my hand dismissively. “Oh yeah, Claire's a ghost, she’s been helping me since I was 8. She’s honestly the only reason I’m alive today. Don’t tell Rory.” I stopped talking and took a long drink of coffee. Zeke raised an eyebrow before looking at Asher.

“She sounds drunk,” Asher told Zeke. “You know, like her filter is shut off.”

Zeke smiled wickedly. “We can ask whatever we want,” he said.

They both looked very happy with the idea. I swallowed my drink and continued.

“Anyway, it scared Claire, so she’s going to hide out where there aren’t any other ghosts. Ya know, the cemetery.” I took another drink.

“There aren’t any ghosts at the cemetery?” Asher asked. “That's weird.”

“Why is that weird? You don’t see people in the cemetery so why would the dead want to be there?” I asked as if it were obvious.

I took another drink. I was halfway through my giant coffee. My brain was starting to wake up; I blinked and looked up at them. “Coffee is cure for no filter, so if you have questions ask them now,” I warned, my voice turning singsong. Yeah, I was extremely tired.

“What do you really think of my sister Jessica?” Asher asked his face excited. I blew a raspberry.

“Bully, bitch, and a drama queen. I would have told you that normally.” They both started laughing as I took a long drink of coffee. It was finally starting to kick in, though I still couldn’t really control my mouth.

“What’s your favorite kind of food?” Zeke asked grinning.

“Chinese.”

“What’s your favorite color?” Asher asked. I took another drink and gestured to my clothes.

“Take a guess.”

“What, green or black?” Zeke asked uncertainly.

“Both.” Finally, the coffee kicked in, and my brain woke up. It was like I was in a haze and now everything was sharp. All my gears were finally moving again. I blinked hard a couple times and looked up at the boys. “And you’re out of time.” The boys burst out laughing again.

“What did we miss?”

I turned to see Isaac and Ethan joining us. Ethan in all black again, with his silver hoops in his ear. Isaac wore a bright blue hoodie today, orange shirt, and dark blue jeans.

“Apparently when Lexie gets really, really tired her filter shuts off,” Asher announced, holding back another laugh.

“We’ve been asking her questions the last couple of minutes,” Zeke chimed in.

“Ooh! I want in on this!” Isaac got excited.

“Too late, my coffee kicked in.”

His smiled dropped.

“Oh, that’s not fair,” Isaac whined.

“Before I forget,” Asher tapped my shoulder. “I picked this up this morning.” He handed me a little brown bottle labeled rosemary oil.

“Asher, you are my hero for the day, and if it works, you’ll be for the week, maybe month, possibly year,” I told him happily as I opened the bottle. There was a plastic ball for rolling just like on a perfume bottle. I quickly rolled a bit on my wrists, on both sides of my neck. Then for an extra measure, I pulled out the neck of my shirt and rolled some between my breasts right over my heart. I knew I was kind of flashing the guys, but I was wearing a bra. I was covered.

While I was doing that, a guy was walking by watching me, slowing down the more he looked. “Keep walking,” I snapped at him as I pulled the bottle out and readjusted my shirt. The guys burst out laughing, and the guy hurried off.

“That... uh... was quite a sight there, Lexie,” Ethan said, smiling.

“That was a good view, but I think Zeke got a better one,” Isaac replied.

I stopped to think about that. Zeke was two heads taller than I was; I reached the middle of his chest. And he was standing right next to me, towering over me. Then again, Asher was a head and a half taller than I was.

“Yeah, a great view,” Zeke admitted.

I looked up at Asher, whose cheeks were slightly pink. Asher had a great view too. I sighed. I know I should be embarrassed; a normal girl would be blushing like hell right now. But I have nice breasts. Anyway, it was kind of nice to see that they remembered I was a girl every once in a while.

I clapped once.

“Okay, let’s stop talking about my breasts.”

“You guys were talking about her chest?” Miles asked, his face full of disbelief, as he walked up to fill in the circle.

“Not anymore,” Ethan answered.

I was looking closely at Miles. His hair didn’t look like it was combed; he had big bags under his eyes. He was also wearing a collared shirt, buttoned all the way up.

“Miles, are you okay?” I asked, worrying more the longer I looked at him.

Miles' mouth made a tense line before answering.

“You guys know how hard I sleep, right?”

“Yeah, you work until you pass out,” Asher said.

“Well, I woke up last night to my room freezing cold, as in ‘ice actually forming on the windows cold’,” Miles said.

My heart dropped. I was afraid I knew where he was going with this.

He stepped in closer to us and lowered his voice. “Then something was choking me. Really choking me.” Miles undid the top two buttons of his shirt and moved it aside. Five bruised smudges in the shape of fingertips wrapped around his throat.

My stomach knotted as fear raced through me. That wasn’t possible; ghosts didn't leave their haunting grounds. They couldn’t jump from place to place. Claire was an exception because she was psychic when she was alive. But I doubt Bitch Ghost was. Seeing those smudges on Miles' neck terrified me, not for myself but for the guys. Deep inside, something ignited and began a slow burn.

“I was about to pass out,” he continued, “when it finally let go. And my room smelled like patchouli.”

I kept my face completely calm; there was no reason to freak the guys out.

I held out the bottle of oil.

“Let’s have everyone put this on,” I suggested; my voice light like it wasn’t a big deal. “And let’s have everyone sleepover at my house tonight. Just to be safe.” I was going to stick those guys in a salt circle so fast their heads were going to spin. Rory too, if I had to.

“You sure that’s a good idea?” Isaac asked, rolling the oil along his neck.

Yes! Can’t you see I’m freaking out here?

I nodded, keeping up my fake calm. “Yeah, I think all of us in the same house would be the best option.”

Asher handed me back the oil after everyone was done. I took it and tucked it into my pocket.

“Is Rory going to be cool with this?” Ethan asked.

No! He’s going to kill me, bring me back and kill me again. Having guys over was one thing, having them sleep over was entirely another.

“Oh yeah, I’ll explain what's happening. He’ll agree once he knows what’s going on.” I lied through my teeth. Hell, he might if he lets me explain anything at all before he strangles me.

The first bell rang. Quickly, I said, “Bring pillows, sleeping bags, jammies and clothes for tomorrow. Alright?” I waited until everyone agreed to spend the night at Rory’s house.

Everyone headed to class except Zeke and Miles who were both watching me with a strange look on their faces. I picked up my bag and walked around the corner. In the exact opposite direction of my class. I all but ran across campus. I had to find a way to protect the guys; I couldn’t let them get hurt because of me. How the fuck did she change locations? Fuck! She should have popped back to the campus yesterday, drained as a fucking dead battery. What the fuck is going on?! I don’t know what the fuck to do! This shouldn’t be happening! When I figure out how, I’m going to rip that ghost to shreds. By the time I reached the edge of campus, my chest was tight, and it was a little hard to breathe.

“Lexie!”

I looked over my shoulder to see Zeke striding towards me, his face was determined. I don’t remember my train of thought, but I knew that Zeke would stop me from leaving, and I had to go. We needed answers.

I turned away from him and ran across the street. Zeke’s boots sped up behind me. My heart slammed against my ribs as I jumped onto the curb in front of me and kept going. I spotted my Blazer at the end of the block and pumped my arms harder. I was halfway there before Zeke caught me. A thick arm snagged me around the waist. I was yanked off my feet, my butt slamming into his stomach, my back against his chest. I pushed my weight forward trying to make him drop me when his other arm wrapped around my chest. His arm between my breasts, his hand on my right shoulder pinning me back against his chest. I swung my legs around, cursing at him. It did nothing; he was as steady as a rock.

“Let me go!” I snarled through my teeth. I lifted my legs as high as I could and threw them out, trying to knock him off balance. He budged, barely.

“When you calm down,” he said calmly.

I didn’t want calm. I wasn’t calm so how could he be calm?! I yanked at his arm across my chest, using everything I had.

“I have to go!” I yelled, swinging my legs again, hoping to get one of his legs. He dodged and lifted me higher, taking my shorter legs out of range. My head tilted back, my face was looking up at the sky.

“You have to stop freaking out,” he growled against my neck.

“I will scream, Zeke, I swear to God!” I warned him, trying to slam my head against his, hoping to stun him.

He pressed his face against my neck dodging me.

“Go ahead. I think they’ll believe me over you right now, anyway.” His voice never lost that annoying calm.

“You have no idea what’s going on!” I shouted, hitting my fists against his hold.

“You’re freaking out. That’s what’s going on.”

“Of course, I’m freaking out! I don’t know what the fuck to do!” I yelled vehemently. I stopped fighting Zeke and covered my face with shaking hands. Out of breath, I rubbed my hands down my face then resting them against his arm across my chest.

“You have no idea how bad this is,” I told him, tears running down my face and past my earlobes. “Miles got hurt! That shouldn’t have happened. They aren't supposed to change locations like that.” I took a deep breath, trying to calm down; it was all I could do, being completely pinned against him. “Claire is scared of the other ghosts in town, something is fucking with them. There is energy flying everywhere.” I took another breath, my voice getting quieter. “I’m in over my head, and I’m taking you guys with me.”

That was it; I was out of fight. I hung limply in Zeke’s arms, my hands resting against his forearm.

“I’m guessing it's Miles getting hurt that’s bothering you the most?” Zeke asked.

I nodded, the back of my head rubbing against his shoulder, tears still falling as I looked up at the gray sky.

“It happened to him, it can happen to you and the others.” I took a shaking breath. “I can’t let that happen, not because of me.”

He was silent for a heartbeat.

“Baby, this isn’t your fault.” His voice was gentle. The scruff on his face rubbed on my neck as he spoke. “Miles didn’t get hurt because of you.”

I shook my head, he was wrong. Miles did get hurt, it’s all my fault.

“Yes, he did. If I wasn’t here, none of you would be in danger,” I said.

“Did you send the ghost over to Miles' house? Are you the one who amped up the power to the dead in town?” he asked me, his voice soft and full of understanding.

I sniffed and wiped my tears away from my face. “No.”

“Then you aren’t the one who caused it,” he pointed out logically. “Whatever this is, it was happening before you even got here.”

I was quiet for several minutes, going over what he said in my mind. Zeke stood like a rock, waiting patiently in the middle of the sidewalk. Was he right? I know I didn't cause the energy floating around. And I knew I didn't send Bitch Ghost over to Miles. And…. Claire did say the whole area is wrong, and I've only been here for a few days. I cursed. Zeke was right; I wasn’t the one who hurt Miles. I hadn’t started this. But I sure as hell was going to end it. I swallowed hard, took a big calming breath, and let it out. Then, as usual, I was a smart ass.

“Well, if you’re going to bring logic into it,” I said. I was starting to feel better than I had since getting jumped. I was going to find whoever hurt Miles and beat them into the bedrock. Magically speaking... maybe physically, you know, if it was possible.

Zeke smiled against my neck. He slowly lowered me to the ground, he removed the arm across my chest then let go of my waist. I turned around looking up at him. His face was soft, his eyes understanding as they met mine.

“How did you know I was leaving?” I asked.

Zeke’s mouth made that half grin. He reached out and started brushing my crazy hair away from my face.

“It’s what I would do,” he admitted. “If someone hurt someone I cared about, I’d make a plan, find who did it, and tear them apart.”. His eyes unfocused as he thought about it for a second. “Sometimes I skip the planning part.”

“I was thinking more about protecting you guys, finding answers,” I told him. “Then tearing Bitch Ghost apart.”

Zeke smiled down at me. He reached out and lifted my chin with a finger, his thumb on the middle of my chin grazing my bottom lip.

“There’s my girl.” he said quietly.

I raised an eyebrow at him as he dropped his hand. “What?”

“You’ve been looking entirely too scared since yesterday,” He said, his smirk back. “You’ve got that fire back in your eyes.” Stepping back, he rubbed his thumb against his jeans. “You look more like you again.”

It was strange; I felt more like me again. Was forgetting myself a side effect of getting jumped? I never really thought about it.

“How did you know I was freaking out?” I asked, picking my book bag up from where I dropped it.

“I didn’t, Miles did. He said you were way too calm and way too cheerful.” He picked up his bag from the sidewalk. “He knew I was going to follow to see if you actually went to class, and he warned me you might be having a freak-out. Well, he said panic attack.”

I snorted at him, shaking my head. Miles was way too observant.

His eyes met mine again. “Did you really think you could outrun me?”

I sighed but reluctantly admitted the truth “Wasn’t much thinking involved.”

He grunted before his face turned serious.

“I take it you have a plan?” he asked.

I nodded. “Claire gave me a lead on someone who might be able to help me. She runs a store over in Bridgeport.”

Zeke took a slow deep breath, running his hand through his hair for a couple seconds. Then he dropped his arm.

“Then let’s go,” he said.

Wait. What? He wanted to come? I didn’t want to bother any of them with this.

“You don’t need to come, it’s a store. I shouldn’t have a problem,” I said, trying to reassure him, but he ignored me.

He grabbed my hand and gave me a tug to get me moving towards the Blazer.

“You’re not going anywhere alone,” he ordered. “Until that ghost is dealt with, I want one of us with you as much as possible.”

He seemed to think on what he just said.

“Well, not in the bathroom,” he amended, “but someone is standing outside the door. Yeah, that’s happening.”

I laughed, hoping he was kidding; he gave my hand a squeeze as we walked to my truck.

Before leaving town, I stopped and picked up some money from Rory’s emergency jar. If this woman had anything to protect the guys, I was buying it. I’d make it up to Rory later.

Two towns over in the mountains turned out to be an hour and a half on curving roads. We talked about the music we each liked as we fought over the radio. I demanded that he listen to a few girly pop songs just to mess with him. He bitched and complained the whole time as if it was killing him.

It wasn’t until I had to pull over because I was laughing so hard that he realized I was messing with him.

“That’s cruel, Lexie, real cruel.” He sounded angry, but he was still grinning

I pulled back onto the two-lane road, unrepentant.

We talked about school, his work at the garage, and the guys. He was in the middle of telling me a story about Ethan and a blonde chick when we reached Bridgeport.

Bridgeport was bigger than Spring Mountain, about double the size. I handed Zeke the address, and he looked up the directions to the store. It wasn’t long before we parked in the gravel parking lot in front of a cute building that looked like a small cabin, complete with front porch. I got out and walked around the truck, my stomach in knots.

Zeke was a comforting presence next to me. Okay, yeah, I was glad he came along. I bit the corner of my lower lip before walking up the steps.

Wind chimes were tinkling in the small breeze as I opened the half glass door with an “open” sign hanging from it. I stepped in and looked around. Shelves were everywhere, packed full of all sorts of things; crystals, small statues, books, you name it, and it was here. The store felt cramped simply by all the shelves. Lavender tickled my nose as I walked to the counter, behind the counter was even more shelves, but these were stuffed with jars of all sizes. And they reached the ceiling.

I was looking at a ladder that hooked to a rail in front of the shelves when someone stepped out from behind a cloth curtain in the back of the shop. She was stunning, skin the color of mocha. Clear and flawless. I instantly wanted to ask what skin care products she used and go buy them for myself. I pushed that thought away and focused. She had high cheekbones, a small chin, and big silvery eyes. Her hair hung to her shoulders, a mass of brown, spiral curls. She was wearing a loose purple sweater and white skirt. Her eyes ran over me, accessing. I got the distinct impression she was seeing more than just the surface. She started to frown then quickly covered it with a welcoming smile.

“Welcome to Serenity. Is there anything I can help you with?” She stepped forward, her hands clasped in front of her. I felt Zeke step closer behind me, his presence, well, reassuring.

“Claire sent me.” I said.

Her smile disappeared; her eyes ran over me again. When she met my eyes her eyebrows drew down, her mouth pursed.

“You’re in trouble, girl,” she announced, her voice matter-of-fact. “You’re about running on empty, and that is not a good place to be.”

She gestured for us to follow before turning around and heading back through the curtain. “Come on, we can talk back here.”

I followed her behind the curtain; she led us down a short hallway into a small kitchen in the back.

She gestured toward the two-seater table. “Have a seat.”

I looked at Zeke as he settled himself, leaning against the right wall a couple feet from the table. I sat down in the chair closest to him and watched the woman put a teakettle on the stove. When she turned back, she was frowning again as she joined me at the table.

“You must be Alexis.” She gave me a small smile. “I’m Serena. I know a little of what I could get from Claire.” Her eyes narrowed on my face. “Now, you tell me; what have you been dealing with?”

That was all it took. Once I started talking, I couldn’t seem to stop. I told her everything, from my first ghost at five, to Claire protecting me all the way up to this morning. It took a while.

During that time, the tea kettle whistled. She poured three mugs of tea, handed two to us, and sat down with hers, all the while still listening intently.

By the end, my voice was rough; I sipped my now cold tea and waited.

She looked at me, her face full of sympathy.

“Alexis, from what you’re telling me…you don’t have the Sight,” she said.

My world stopped, my heart gave a hard thump. This had come out of nowhere; out of any scenario I could imagine, this one never came to mind. She didn’t believe me; I had to make her believe me. She was the only lead I had.

“I see the dead,” I stated clearly, my mind racing.

She waved her hand as she finished sipping her tea.

“Oh, I don’t doubt that at all.” She put her cup down. Her eyes met mine assessing me. “The dead find you, yes?”

I nodded.

“They can try to possess you, hurt you and you can push them back. Like you did at school that first day, right?” she asked.

I nodded again, having no clue where she was going with this.

Her face was soft as she continued. “Those with the Sight are only witnesses. They are Seers, they see what is really there. You see everything and interact with the dead.”

For some reason, her words filled me with dread. Interacting with the dead didn’t seem good, or healthy, or anywhere close to normal. I focused on what she was saying.

“You’re a Necromancer, Alexis.”

My mind went blank, I had no clue what the hell that was.

“A what now?”

Her face was patient as she explained. “A Necromancer, you can control the dead.” She picked up her tea and brought it to her mouth. “And a natural talent, too. That is incredibly rare.” She said before taking a sip.

I was already shaking my head.

“I can’t control any of it. They control my life, if I sleep, if I can even function…” I trailed off not knowing what else to say.

Her silver eyes were full of understanding as she put down her mug.

“That’s because you are still growing into your abilities,” she told me gently. “This gift you have hasn’t even finished growing to its full potential.”

“You mean it’s going to get worse?” I asked, not wanting to believe it.

Serena shook her head gently.

“Not worse, just more. You’ll see more, new and different things.”

Her eyes ran over me again.

“It’ll scare the heck out of you whenever you see something new.” She smiled gently. “When that happens, you need to figure out what you saw. The more you see, the more you learn, the more you’ll be able to protect yourself.” Her mouth pressed into a tight line. “And for that, you’ll need control.”

Her eyes shifted to Zeke. "Your friends had the right idea; finding charms, herbs, stones, even incantations that will keep the dead away are exactly what you need right now.” She shook her head. “You have very thin natural barriers as it is and they are completely down, your resources are non-existent. You’re one soul away from death right now.”

The leather of Zeke’s motorcycle jacket creak as he shifted. I latched onto what she had said.

“I read about barriers, but I don’t think I really understand it,” I admitted.

She smiled at me. She seemed happy to get a question out of me.

“Have you noticed that sometimes, you can be around one kind of spirit longer than a different kind? That the more dead you see, the faster they affect you?”

“Yeah,” I said slowly. I had actually noticed that over the years. When it got too much, I’d go sleep at a cemetery.

“That’s your natural barrier wearing down.” She swallowed and tried to explain. “It’s like a sea wall. The energy of the spirits are the waves, wearing down your barriers. And the older the spirit, or the angrier, the harder the waves hit the wall, tearing it down faster.”

“So, the more juice they have, the faster they’ll tear through her barriers?” Zeke asked, speaking up for the first time.

Serena nodded before turning back to me.

“You have to take care of yourself to keep your barriers strong, especially you, Lexie. That means getting at least 8 hours of sleep, eating right, exercising.” Her voice grew stern. “These are not options for you; you have to do this if you want to survive.”

If she was trying to scare me, she’d be happy to know she did. My gut was knotted and my heart racing.

Her hand reached out and took mine. “But none of this explains why you’re in constant pain right now. Show me your back,” she ordered softly. It was very clear to me that I wasn’t going to get a choice in this.

I sighed and took off my jacket, then my plaid. Serena got up and walked around the table to stand directly behind me. I pulled up the back of my shirt, fighting off memories.

“Did you do this to her?” Serena hissed.

“Fuck no!” Zeke snapped.

“It was my mother,” I shot back to her over my shoulder; I didn’t like her accusing Zeke.

I turned my gaze back to the table. I felt small, smooth fingertips on my back and instantly knew it was Serena.

“This might also explain why you’re having so much trouble.” Serena walked around the table and sat back in her chair. I let my shirt fall back down. “Repressed emotions will tear you apart just as easily as a spirit will.”

“I haven’t exactly had time to process anything.” I couldn’t keep the sarcasm from my voice. I changed the subject before she could push further. “How can a ghost leave their haunting grounds?”

Serena blinked at me. “They don’t.”

“This one did,” I said. I explained about Miles and the choking.

Serena’s brow furrowed. “If she had enough energy, she could hitchhike.” She looked back at me. “Attach herself to someone and ride along with them. If she had a whole lot more, she could direct a person towards where she wanted…then walk up to the door?” She shrugged at me looking uncertain.

“This ghost had more juice than she should have,” I told her. “And from what Claire told me, she wasn’t the only one in town. She also said there is a lot of energy floating around, waiting to be picked up.”

Serena tilted her head back her features blank while I continued my questions.

“What does that mean? Is something happening? Does it happen sometimes then settles down?” I asked.

Serena’s lips pursed. “It means someone is messing with things that should be left alone. They are messing with the natural order on some level,” she told me, her eyes on the table. “Someone is behind it, and you’ll need to find out whom.” She sighed, her hands smoothing the tablecloth. “I’m sorry Alexis; the dead really aren’t my field. I specialize with the living.”

She licked her lips before meeting my eyes again. “This is your field, so it’s your responsibility to fix it. You need to find a way to take control of your gifts, and I don’t know how to help you.” Her eyes narrowed at me as if something had just occurred to her. “But I might be able to point you in the right direction.”

I nodded; I’ll take anything I could get.

“What about my friends?” I asked. “Is there anything that can protect them from the dead right now?” I couldn’t help the small bit of anxiety in my voice.

“That I can help you with,” she said, her eyes full of sympathy.

Over the next hour, we collected stones, charms, jewelry, herbal oils, and even a couple of books from around the shop. An herbal ointment for my bruises, a salt scrub that would remove any hitchhiking ghosts, and the instructions on how to make it all myself.

Serena told me not to get close to a ghost for at least three days to give my mind some rest, six for complete recovery. Zeke enthusiastically agreed.

Serena refused to charge me for everything. When I objected, she waved her hand at me.

“Oh honey, most of my business is done online. I mostly deal in special herbs, soaps, candles. I don’t even really need this inventory anymore.”

I had to fight the urge to hug her. It was so much stuff that Zeke had to make two trips to the truck. We were standing on the front porch saying goodbye as Zeke was taking out the last box when Serena pointed at Zeke.

“That boy has been through hell,” Serena whispered.

I looked over at Zeke putting the box in the back of the truck.

“How do you know?” I asked.

Serena smiled sadly. “His aura, it’s scarred.” She squinted at him. “But healed, mostly.” She turned to me. “It’s one of my gifts. I can see to the heart of the person through their aura.”

I raised an eyebrow. “What does that mean?”

“He’s built a wall around himself so thick it’s hard for anything to get through.” She was looking at Zeke again as he pulled his cell phone out and answered. “It looks like he’s almost closed himself off. But there is still a crack he’s left open.” She made a humph noise. “If anyone gets in and hurts him, it’ll be devastating.” She looked at me. “Keep an eye on him.” She ran her gaze over me her eyes unfocused. “You’ll have that scarring too if you don’t deal with your emotions about your mother. Or the other thing.” Serena's eyes focused again.

I blinked at her. Then I realized what she was talking about. My shoulders tensed.

“That was a year ago, I’ve dealt with it,” I told her, not understanding where she was going with it. I’m over it; I’ve moved on, why was she bringing this up now?

“You think you have, but now you’re quicker to respond with anger. With violence.”

I bit the inside of my lip. She was right, but I really didn’t want to admit it.

“You’ve been closing yourself off over the last year, Lexie, trying not to feel.” She leaned in and made eye contact with me again. “Deal with it. Or scar.”

My lungs felt stiff as I nodded. Mental note: Deal with your shit.

Zeke walked to the base of the stairs and stopped still talking on the phone.

“I can’t tell you how grateful I am for all this, you have no idea,” I said to her, changing the subject.

Serena smiled sweetly.

“Oh yes, I do. I was once where you are.” Her eyes ran over me as she smiled. “Well, not exactly. But everyone starts somewhere.” She held out a slip of paper, it was an address.

“This is in case you need more help than I have given you. It’s in case of an emergency. It’s a Catholic church in Boulder, Colorado. Ask for Father Francis; tell him you see the dead. You’ll have to prove it, which isn’t hard; there’s a spirit always hanging around him. He might be able to give you a little more oomph against the dead and worse things.”

“Thank you so much,” I thanked her again; I couldn’t seem to stop. For the first time in my life, I had hope that I might be able to control this. I just needed the right information.

“Do your research; find a way to control this. No spirits for 6 days,” she told me seriously, then smiled. “And come back if you need any advice.”

I agreed that I would and walked to Zeke on the stairs; he was still on the phone. He turned and headed toward the truck still talking.

“No, Isaac, we’re not going after the Bitch Ghost. Lexie had a lead, and we followed it. We’ll be back soon.” His gaze went to me. “And pick up Lexie’s homework from her teachers, mine too.” Zeke was quiet; I could hear Isaac bitching from here. “Do it.” He hung up and tucked his phone away. “The guys just realized we were missing.”

I winced. After yesterday, they must be pissed.

We climbed into the truck and buckled up.

“They thought we were going after Bitch Ghost, and they wanted a piece of the action,” he said.

I burst out laughing. I couldn’t really blame them; someone hurt Miles, and they wanted to return the favor.

I pulled out of the parking lot and headed toward the highway. It wasn’t long before Zeke pointed out the window.

“Let’s get some food.”

I looked over, it was a sandwich shop, and we’d have to get out.

“Let’s just hit a drive through,” I offered. I wanted to get back to the others as fast as possible.

Zeke’s jaw clenched.

“Drive thru is crap, she said you needed to eat healthy, right?” He pointed toward the sandwich shop. “So, we’re eating healthy. Pull over.” His tone was clear; he meant business.

A little twisted part of me wanted to keep driving just to see what he would do, but I kept a lid on it and pulled into the parking lot of the shop. We were waiting in line, deciding what to order when I got another wicked idea. I looked up at Zeke and smiled sweetly.

“You know, if I’m stuck eating a salad, you’re not going to be eating a foot-long sub in front of me, right?”

His eyebrows almost disappeared into his hairline. He gestured at himself, his face almost desperate.

“But... man... hungry... need lots of fuel,” he stuttered, looking horrified.

I changed tactics.

“Are you really going to make me watch you eat a huge sandwich full of meat and cheese, while I’m stuck with a salad?” I asked. I made my eyes big, and my bottom lip began to pout. I hadn’t even started with the lip trembling yet when his eyes narrowed at me, and he cursed.

“You cheat, Lexie,” he growled.

I smiled happily to myself. If I had to suffer, it wasn’t going to be alone.

I ended up with a tuna salad, Zeke a 6-inch turkey sandwich and a garden salad. He grumbled the whole time. It was so worth pulling the pout. While we ate, I told him about the priest that she wanted me to see if I couldn’t manage on my own.

We were on our way back out to the Blazer when Zeke took my arm and pulled me to the passenger side door. He opened the door and held out his hand.

“Give me the keys and get in.” His tone told me not to argue.

I did anyway. “I can drive.”

“You were almost falling asleep over lunch, you’re not driving,” he said, flicking his fingers towards his palm. “Keys.”

I shook my head. This was fun.

His eyes narrowed on me. “Give me the keys or I’ll grill you about your back.”

Suddenly it was less fun. I pressed my lips together hard and handed the keys over.

“You cheat, Zeke,” I grumbled.

Zeke had a satisfied smirk on his face. “You started it. Now get your exhausted little ass in the truck.”

I ended up falling asleep on the way back to Spring Mountain. I don’t even remember leaving Bridgeport. I didn’t wake up until a hand was shaking my shoulder.

“Lexie, come on, we’ve got shit to do.” Zeke’s voice wasn’t gentle, but it wasn’t too harsh either.

I groaned and opened my eyes. I was instantly confused. I remembered Bridgeport, lunch; I remembered talking to Zeke about going to my house. Why the hell were we sitting in a cemetery?

Zeke had parked the Blazer facing the front of a red truck. Two cars were parked behind it, one of them familiar.

“What are we doing here?” I asked him, sounding grumpy.

Zeke took the keys out of the ignition and put them in his pocket.

“Time for a meeting,” he explained, like that would make sense to me.

Before I could ask, he was out of the truck, the door closing behind him. Confused, I opened the door and slid out to the gravel.

All cemeteries looked alike to me. Lots of green grass, some trees, and lots of headstones. That’s about it.

I walked around the front of the Blazer and followed him. When we passed the cab of the red truck, I saw the other guys. Asher and Isaac were sitting on the tailgate, their backs to us. Miles and Ethan stood across from them, leaning on the hood of a green sedan. They all turned as we walked up to join them.

“Zeke, what are we doing here?” Asher asked. “We were all supposed to meet at Ally’s.”

“Yeah, what’s going on?” Ethan asked, his dark eyes bouncing between Zeke and me.

I pointed to Zeke; I wasn’t taking the blame for this.

“Where were you guys today?” Miles asked, his fingers dancing on his thigh.

“Lexie,” Zeke gave me that stern stare. “Tell them what we found out.”

“Fine, but why do we have to do this here?” I asked, a little frustrated.

“We’ll get to that,” he assured me.

I sighed, then turned to the guys and explained some of what we learned. I started with why I left school today, that a ghost leaving their haunting grounds shouldn’t be able to happen. How the ghost could hitchhike onto someone and leave their haunts if they had enough energy. And we knew Bitch Ghost had more juice than she should. I told them about Serena and about the books, stones, and charms that she gave me to help us. I stopped before I got to the more personal stuff.

“Tell them all of it, Lexie,” Zeke ordered me when I hesitated.

I met his eyes and tried to tell him “no” without a word. I didn’t want to scare the guys, or worse, give them something else to worry about. I just wanted to get those charms on them, put them in a circle and keep them out of it from now on.

“We don’t lie to each other Lexie,” Zeke said coldly, “we don’t even have secrets from each other. They need to know what’s going on.”

When I still hesitated, his eyes narrowed.

“You tell them or I will,” he said

Completely irritated with Zeke, I turned back to the guys and told them what Zeke wanted. Everything. How I didn’t have the Sight, I was a Necromancer. I explained what that meant. I explained what barriers were, and that mine were down now. That I wasn’t supposed to interact with the dead for three to six days to let my mind heal. How since my natural barriers were so thin I had no choice but to take care of myself to keep my barriers up. How Serena said that someone was messing with something they shouldn’t; they were messing with the dead here. This was giving the ghosts in the area extra juice. That it was my responsibility since it’s my area of talent.

I was telling them everything, showing everything. I was vulnerable again, and I didn’t like it. My temper was getting the better of me. So when I finished, I glared at Zeke. “Is there anything else, or should I tell them my bra size too?”

I noticed Ethan’s eyebrows go up out of the corner of my eye. The corner of Zeke's mouth dropped a bit. His eyes slightly narrowed at me.

“If what you’re saying is true, “Miles spoke up, “then we can’t go to Lexie’s,”

“That’s what I was thinking.” Zeke agreed.

“What? Why?” I asked, surprised. “If we explain to Rory what’s going on, he’ll be okay with you guys staying over. A salt circle, and everyone is safe for the night.”

“But will Rory and Tara be willing to sleep in this salt circle too?” Miles asked, his brow drawn together.

I stopped to think about it. Shit. I wanted to argue, but he had a point. I doubt I could get Rory to sleep on the floor in a salt circle. Let alone explain it to Tara.

“Tara doesn’t know,” I admitted to them.

One of Miles' eyebrows arched.

“But it runs in your family through the women, right?” Miles asked slowly, as if making sure he wasn’t going to insult me.

“Yep.”

“But Tara doesn’t have it?” he asked again.

“Nope.” I met his eyes, trying to let him know my suspicions without telling him.

“So, Tara isn’t-” Asher began.

“Rory and I have a 'don’t ask, don’t tell' policy about Tara’s lack of abilities,” I explained. “He wants to keep her in the dark.” I looked back to Miles. “So, no, Tara wouldn’t be sleeping in the circle.” My head was starting to hurt, not from a ghost just from everything going on.

“If Bitch Ghost is after us specifically, then we can’t bring that to Rory and your cousin,” Asher said, bringing us back on topic.

“Why the hell didn’t I think of that?” I cursed in a whisper at myself, my eyes closed.

“You haven’t been sleeping, Red. Your brain’s not at hundred percent right now.” Isaac hopped off the tailgate and wrapped his arm around me. His body warmth felt really good right now, comforting. I sighed and let myself lean against him a little, breathing in his lime smell. I think I was starting to understand why the twins were so affectionate. Touching and being touched by someone who cared felt pretty good.

“We need to go somewhere with enough room for a circle and no other people,” Isaac announced. He looked to Zeke. “What about your house?”

Zeke shook his head.

“Not enough room, unless you want to be in a tent.” Zeke said.

“You all know you’re coming to my house,” Miles announced, his voice chiding them.

Everyone looked at him.

He sighed wearily. “Mom left for a spa in the Hamptons or Fiji, somewhere, and won’t be back for a week at least. We can sleep in the living room. It’s big enough.” Miles' voice was stern. His body tense. He didn’t seem very happy about it.

Isaac leaned across the circle and staged whispered. “Can we make smores in the fireplace again?”

“Yes, we can make smores,” Miles' said, his voice sounding resigned.

Isaac let go of me and did a dance. Miles gave him a half smile, his body relaxing a little.

Why didn’t Miles want anyone over?

“All right, let’s get our stuff and meet at Miles' house for the night,” Zeke announced to everyone and then pointed to Asher. “Can you give me a lift back to my bike?”

“No problem,” Asher said.

Zeke took my keys out of his pocket and handed them over.

“Let’s all try to get there before dark,” Zeke suggested.

I snorted and shot him a look. “Yeah, easy for you to say. You’re not the one who has to go back to an armed, overprotective uncle and ask to stay overnight, without a parent, with a group of boys that I met last week.”

Asher’s eyebrows were in his hair, his mouth open as if to say something. Ethan’s face was twisted in a grimace as he scratched his neck, Isaac was making an ouch face, Zeke cringed. And Miles simply looked concerned.

“Yeah, that’s a tough one, Red,” Isaac admitted.

“That’s going to be a long conversation,” Asher added.

“I’m sure he’ll understand,” Miles said calmly.

“That conversation is going to suck,” Ethan added honestly.

“You’ll make it before dark, when you're 18... maybe,” Zeke predicted.

I looked at them all and had an idea.

“You guys could come help me explain?” I offered in my sweet voice. They scattered. Isaac went so far as to dive through a window to get into their car.

“Ugh, I hate you guys!” I shouted.

They were laughing as they started driving off.