Page 35 of Haunting the Hunter

The lights flicker then vanish, darkness filling the space.

I gasp, eyes straining against the void. The candles snuff out in unison, and the air is heavy, silent. My heart pounds, and I swallow hard.

“Show yourself.” I say again, my voice steadier than I feel. The presence presses in—everywhere and nowhere, all at once. Silence stretches tight across the room.

Then, a deep velvet laugh wrapped in sin curls around me like smoke and I freeze, my breath catching.

“You called, pretty girl?”

CHAPTER 14

ALABASTER

The sound of my name on her lips? Like a fucking summoning. I force the lights to die, and the room goes still. My body solidifies as she holds her breath.

Smoke spills across the floor. I watch her eyes track the movement she can’t quite see. Her breath catches when she sees me, lips parting like she’s about to speak, instead—

A high-pitched scream. I flinch, covering my ears, convinced she’s going to make my eardrums bleed.

“Would you please stop that?”

“You’re real!” she yells into the air, bracing herself for only Gods know what.

“I thought I made that obvious.”

She cowers, backing away until she meets the bookshelf and begins tossing books at me one by one. They pass straight through me and into the wall behind.

I hear Jack’s footsteps running down the hall. He throws open the door, looking wide-eyed at Callisto.

She jerks her head toward him, then back to me.

“What the fuck is going on in here?” he says, breathing heavily.

“You can’t…? Umm,” she says in a panicked voice, meeting my eyes.

“He can’t see me, sweetheart,” I say calmly.

She exhales quickly, running her fingers quickly through her dark locks, before taking a deep breath, clearly trying to calm herself.

“Callisto. What’s wrong?” Jack says in a stern, manly voice.Please.

She looks over at him, stuttering as she attempts to come up with what will most likely be a bullshit excuse.

“I s-s-saw a spider?”

“Is that a question?” he says, confused. “All of that over a spider. Seriously?”

“It was a…” She looks at the ground and then slowly up to my face. “A reallybigspider.”

I cross my arms and bite my lower lip.

“Okay,” he says, his face red from the night’s spirits and sleep in his eyes. “You good now? Is it gone?” he asks dismissively.

What a dick. I’d investigate, or help her clean up this mess, comfort her. Something! And how the hell is he buying the spider excuse?

“Uh… yeah. Yeah, all good. Sorry. Have a good night,” she says. She’s shaking, but he doesn’t seem to notice.

See, she doesn’t need someone who can’t even recognize when she’s clearly scared. Oblivious dumbass.