I slumped down on the porch swing, leaning back and filling my lungs with air. The chill of the night cut through the confusion as I slowly tried to decompress. The scent of woodsmoke drifted past, hitting home that it was truly autumn.
Teran took my hand and stroked it. “I’m sorry about all of this. It’s not fair.”
“It may not be fair, but it’s happening.” I sat up, wiping my eyes. “I had such high hopes for the reno. The house looks so much more airy, and I really wanted to hold Thanksgiving this year and have a big solstice party and—” Tears flickered in my eyes. “Now…”
“Nonsense. You can still do that. We’ll take care of this issue and get the ghost squared away and you’ll be back in your newly revamped home in no time.” She took my hand and brought it to her lips. “January, you’re tired and you’ve been through a lot of frustration the past few weeks. Of course you’re feeling tired and overwhelmed. And frankly, you’re coping so much better than I would if I had found a dead body in my home.”
I dashed away the tears. “That’s also freaking me out. What the hell went down? Esmara told me not to jump to conclusions, but frankly speaking, I haven’t got any conclusions to jump to. I’m tapped out. I have no clue what’s going on, I have to go to work tomorrow, and—” I paused as Millie’s patrol car pulled into my driveway. She was followed by what had to be the ME’s vehicle. Taking a deep breath, I stood and dashed away the tears. “Do I look all right?”
“You look fantastic,” Teran said. “Come on, let’s go see if Millie can figure out what’s going on.”
A lot of shifters worked in law enforcement. I remembered from high school that Millie had been on the track and field team, that she could run, jump, and leap like some of the parkour experts, and that she had a sense of justice and fair play to her that I admired. She would never take a bribe, she would never throw a case—at least I didn’t think she would. Her nature was geared toward loyalty, especially since she was a German shepherd shifter.
Millie entered the room, her curly strawberry blond hair gathered back in a ponytail. Her eyes had a faint sheen of eyeshadow, and mascara, but otherwise, she was all natural. She looked up as I crossed Killian’s yard and joined her and the medical examiner.
“What on earth happened?” she asked.
“Renovations uncovered a door to a storage room I’d forgotten about. We found the key and opened the door and…well, better you see for yourself.” I led her and the ME inside.
Millie blinked. “New doorway and entrance. The living room looks really nice and now you have a dining room?”
I nodded. “Oh, the contractors did a great job. I can’t say anything bad about their work. But here…” I led her toward the library. “This door has been closed up for quite a while—I didn’t even remember the storage space until the workmen told me about finding the door. I have no idea how it slipped my mind, except for the fact that we never used the room. My parents always kept it locked.” I opened the door and stepped back. I had left the light on. To my surprise, both chests were tipped over, and bones and clothing were scattered across the floor, along with the tarp, which looked like it was in shreds.
“What the hell?” Millie cocked her head, trying to make sense of the sight.
“Apparently the ghost decided to have a temper tantrum.” I stood back for Millie and her team to enter. “The chests were upright and everything was packed when we found them. Teran and I sure didn’t do this.”
Millie gave me a quick nod. “Understood. Why don’t you let us do our work. I’ll talk to you in a little bit.”
Eager to get out of the room, I left them to it. As I returned to the living room where Killian and Teran were waiting, I yawned. It was eight-thirty and I was running on empty. Exhausted—both emotionally and physically—all I wanted to do was crawl into bed and crash.
“I dread going into work tomorrow. I’m so tired.”
“Why don’t you go over to my house and sleep. Teran and I can talk to Millie. It’s not like the skeleton was killed yesterday.” Killian pulled me into his arms, kissing me on the forehead. “Go, pet the cats, sleep. Everything will be all right.”
“You’re sure?” I felt like a rat for deserting them, but the proposition sounded so good I decided to take him up on it.
“I’m sure. Go on now. Get some sleep. You want me to bring you some clothes for tomorrow?” He brushed a stray hair back away from my face.
“Would you?”
“Of course. Teran can help me pack.”
Teran agreed. “Go on, sweetheart. I’ll talk to you tomorrow. I’ll lock up here.”
I turned to Killian. “Just don’t let her stay here alone. I have a feeling that whatever’s here could turn nasty without warning.”
“Go on, we’ll be all right,” he said. “I promise. If you want a nightshirt, I have some extra in my dresser. Give me another kiss.”
After kissing him again, I reluctantly—albeit gratefully—headed across the driveway for Killian’s house. I thought I’d wait up for him, but when I crawled in bed, Xi and Klaus pounced on me and, after a good petting session, I turned over and snuggled down under the quilt. Xi curled up on my pillow, while Klaus stretched out on the bottom of the bed. Try as I might, I couldn’t keep my eyes open and I quickly fell into a deep sleep.
The skeletons were coming closer, bandying knives that suddenly flew out of their hands. The knives wove their way through the air, coming at me as I stood in front of Xi and Klaus, trying to protect them. I held out my hands, searching for my magic, but I had forgotten everything and all I could do was plead with my attackers.
“Please stop—please leave us alone. I won’t tell anyone, please just leave—”
One of the knives cut me off short, sweeping in to slice my palms, and then I was bleeding and everywhere, I could hear laughter surrounding me. I started to cry, screaming for Xi and Klaus to run—to get out of there.
The knife that was attacking me suddenly darted up and over my hands, aiming for my heart. As it swooped down toward me, I screamed again and then…
“January, January? Wake up! Love, you’re having a nightmare.” Killian’s voice cut through the terror, steady as a rock.
I shot straight up, sobbing as I clutched the comforter to my chest. “Xi! Klaus! Where are you?” I glanced around the room, terrified. Before I could jump out of bed to go look for them, Xi pounced, landing in my lap, and Klaus raised a sleepy head from the bottom of the bed. “Oh thank gods, you’re safe.” I curled over, clutching Xi to my chest as I kissed her head. I had been so sure they were dead that I could barely think straight.
“Sweetheart, what happened?” Killian wrapped his arm around my shoulders, making soft shushing sounds as he pulled me to him. “Xi and Klaus are fine—they’re right here.”
My heart still pounding, I tried to ground myself in the reality of morning instead of the dark tides of my nightmares. As Killian gently stroked my hair, my pulse started to calm, and my breathing slowed. Xi patiently waited until I calmed down before struggling out of my arms and returning down the bed to curl up with Klaus.