Page 44 of A Game Cursed and Deadly

And Teizel’s entire body goes rigid.

chapter 21

ghost in the library

teizel

“There’s a ghost in your library.”

Sure enough, Mei stands in front of the open French doors. As if I didn’t exist, her eyes are glued on Esmeralda, just like Esme’s are on Mei. I forgot to lock up my friendly neighborhood ghost. Which wouldn’t have been a capital sin, if only my little prey didn’t have the Sight.

Not much of a prey, after all.

Esme and Mei size each other up like two feral cats after the same carcass. Esme curls into the chair, bringing her knees to her chest. Her hand absent-mindedly rubs circles on her upper arm. Her eyes move from Mei to the hallway behind her back to Mei, as if she’s debating between fight or flight, and her scent brines, tinging with the familiar salty notes of fear. It’s a ridiculous reaction — whatever ghostly powers Mei may have, they’re nothing against the magic of a witch.

Then the thought strikes me. Esme doesn’t know. And I have to play this very carefully, if I want to keep it that way. “I can see that. I’m surprised you can, though.”

That gets Esme’s attention. “I may not have been forthcoming about myself.”

I mumble my assent, letting her volunteer the information, lest I reveal something about her own nature she’s not privy to.

“I… I’ve been able to see ghosts since I was a little kid. My mom could, too. She was supposed to teach me how to handle this, uhm, skill, but she passed away when I was young.”

“Did your grandmother teach you?”

“Àvia couldn’t see them. It was a mommy-and-me thing. She helped me hide it, but she couldn’t teach me to understand it. Honestly, I think the whole ordeal scared her shitless.”

This explains so many things. The way Esme forces herself to look small, to fly under the radar, despite how brightly she could shine. The way she keeps her anger simmering beneath the surface, careful not to let it boil over. It’s a survival mechanism, the only one her human grandmother was able to teach her.

I got myself involved with a witch — again. Only this one doesn’t know the kind of power brewing in her soul, and she’s my best bet at rectifying the harm her kind has bestowed onto me. In a twisted way, it’s fitting a witch would have to undo another witch’s curse, or die trying.

“Is this why you want your mother back? So she can teach you the things you didn’t get to learn about?”

“You make it sound so selfish.”

I shrug. “I don’t subscribe to the idea that our motivations have to serve anyone but ourselves, little one. Heroes are boring and predictable. We’re all just doing what we must to survive.”

Even if that means breaking my promise to her. Because that fire inside her, the one I can’t get away from? It’s magic. And if I do what I told her, stroke it higher and dance in its flames, it will burn me to ashes. I’ve been there before, and I can’t let it happen again, even if it means smothering the most beautiful flame I’ve ever witnessed.

Esmeralda returns her gaze to Mei. “Do you know who she is? The ghost?”

I raise an eyebrow. “You don’t want to ask her yourself?”

She turns to me with eyes wide. “Ghosts don’t speak. Right? They can’t speak. I’ve never been able to hear them.”

Not speaking and not hearing are two very different things, though I don’t say this to her. Humans can’t hear ghosts; witches, however, have no problem communicating with them, but Esmeralda seems utterly clueless about her own powers.

I could teach her. I could show her what true power feels like. Instead, I say, “her name is Meilin. She used to be you… some time ago.”

Mei, who’d been frozen staring at Esme, snaps her attention to me. “What are you…”

“Do all your challengers turn into ghosts?” Esme pales at her own words, salt peppering her sweet scent.

“Mei is the only one. Usually, I grant my challengers safe passage into the Beyond.”

Esme looks down at the floor. “As if that’s any better. You send them out into a den of monsters. Who knows what kind of things happen to souls in your world.”

Her idea of the Beyond is grossly misguided, but I don’t bother correcting her. Every morsel of information feels increasingly powerful now that I know her true nature. “Regardless, Meilin is the only ghost following me.”