Chapter 30

"Wait, demons can eat ghosts?" I wasn't sure that I could possibly be hearing Phillipa correctly.

"Yes, it's why Evangeline uses them! They were taking him back to the castle! He told me to tell you." Phillipa wrung her hands. "What are you going to do?"

I tapped the wand against my thigh, thinking.

Bramble winced as little sparks shot from the tip. "Please don't do that."

I pointed it at her instead. "Is this better?"

She paled. "You don't know what you're doing."

"You're right. I don't. But while I might not be a witch, I am capable of casting spells here and there. Gran made me learn too. Ingredients. Words. Intent." I stared hard at Bramble. I didn't know what to do with her. I couldn't be as cold as her and just kill her.

Crash was on his way.

My friends were coming.

Alan was in trouble, but Alan was already dead so…

"Phillipa, what happens if the creeper demons eat Alan? What happens to him?"

"His soul will be destroyed. There will be no chance for rebirth, no chance to go onto heaven."

"Gawd damn it," I muttered. I didn't want Alan to get hurt. Hell, I hadn't wanted him to die in the first place. (Well, maybe I'd dreamed about it here and there, but that's beside the point. It wasn't like I really wanted him dead.)

"Those demons can hurt you, Bree," Bramble said. "They aren't just dangerous to a ghost."

I snorted at her. "And you need me for the final duck up of the spell, am I right? You don't get to have that if I let a demon kill me ahead of time."

Time, time was one of the keys here.

The truth was, I could feel the time slipping by, not just for Alan, but for me too.

The other key was the ghost who haunted that castle. The one who knew more than anyone else about the spell.

I looked at Bramble. She was welcome in the castle. She was going to be the one to cast the spell for Evangeline.

The wand in my hand seemed to vibrate.

A howl echoed through the air. Bramble shot a look at me. "Remy is still hunting you. He will find you, Bree. It is only a matter of time."

I moved to the edge of the door so I could look out into the forest that had hidden me thus far.

On the far side of the river, three oversized wolves sniffed the ground, methodically working their way up and down the bank. All three were brilliantly white, as if they'd just been groomed and brushed out. Their fur was longer and silkier looking than that of any wolf I'd ever seen.

Their noses were jammed hard into the earth as they looked for me. Another deep howl came from the other side, and I stepped back and went to the window at the far end of the room.

Three more wolves scented around the edges of the river's split.

I was being surrounded.

How long before they figured out this place was hidden by magic? I could do something about it now or I could wait…and hope my friends made it here in time.

A breeze blew across my face, ruffling my hair as it whipped through the window and out the door. Straight toward the wolf who lifted its head.

It wrinkled its nostrils and licked its chops, its eyes settling on me. Crap on a cracker. I didn't dare move, for fear that the movement would be enough to allow it to see me. It let out a huff, tipped its head back and howled to the sky.

The sound hit my chest center mass, like a boom of thunder cracking through my bones.

"They know," Bramble said. "Bree, you have to free me! I can help you escape them!"

I ran to her side, grabbed at the sheet and tore two more strips from it. "No."

Winding one strip around her face, I gagged her while she glared at me. The other strip I wound around her wrists, making it harder—I hoped—to free herself. I had no doubt she would free herself eventually. Killing her just wasn't an option for me, even with the threat she posed.

"Phillipa. Is there anywhere else I can go on this island? Anywhere even remotely safe? I need to buy myself a little bit of time." I looked at the little girl, who was shaking, wrapping her arms around herself. "Phillipa?"

"The castle is the only place the wolves of the isle won't go. There is nowhere in the forest that you will be safe from them now that they have your scent."

I looked out the doorway. The wolves were gone, as if they'd never been. Sunlight still clung to the edges of the day. Crash had told me to wait for him, but I could no longer wait. Not with Remy's wolves knowing where I was.

I scrambled around the room, opening drawers and checking shelves until I found a piece of charcoal from the fire. It would have to be enough.

I scribbled across the floor. Not safe. Had to leave.

It was the best I could do.

"You can't outrun them on foot," Phillipa whispered to me, glancing at Bramble. "Maybe she could help you?"

"She wants to kill me, and I won't be on foot." I gave a low whistle as I started down the ladder to the base of the tree. "Skeletor? I need another ride, my friend."

Phillipa appeared at my side as my feet touched the mossy ground. "You're going to try and save Alan?"

"Well, it looks like I need to sneak back into the castle and hide there for the next few days," I muttered. "So yes, I'll save Alan."

Phillipa gasped. "How are you going to do all of that?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. Will you do me a favor?"

She blinked up at me. "What could I possibly do? I'm just a ghost."

"Tell my friends where I went, Eric can see ghosts, and sometimes Crash can too. Tell them about the wolves. And tell them Bramble is working with Evangeline. Please."

Phillipa nodded. "I can do that. And you'll try and save Evangeline for me?"

Yeah, I'd forgotten about that little detail. "I will do my best, Phillipa. That's all I can offer."

Her smile lit up her face, making her glow. "Then it's a deal."

Skeletor pulled himself up out of the ground, hoof by hoof, shaking off the excess dirt, then bowing so I could grab hold of his mane and pull myself onto his back. "Good boy. We need to go for a run. You up for it?"

He blew a heavy snort. I turned him toward the water rather than the castle. I had to make Remy believe I'd taken my chances in the waves. I had to make him believe I was no longer on the island.

I bumped Skeletor's sides with my heels and he leapt forward, crossing the creek in a single jump. I clutched at him, not really any better of a rider than I had been when I'd first climbed on his back so many months before. But what I had now was a belief in this horse that had become a savior to me more than once.

"I'm glad you're with me," I whispered into his mane. He huffed and tipped his head sideways, giving me a look that made me wonder how much he understood.

I was not alone. Not even now.

We galloped through the trees, weaving our way around the base of them, leaping over downed logs and thick brush. It didn't take us long to reach the edge of the island.

For the moment, the waves were not pounding up against the shoreline.

I wasn't a strong swimmer. I mean, I could swim, but I wasn't capable of more than a strong doggy paddle. "Can you take me in? So I leave as little scent behind as possible," I said.

Skeletor bobbed his head and trotted into the surf, his hooves sinking into the sand and leaving solid tracks behind. That would have to be enough.

Over the waves, an echoing howl rose above the treetops and made its way to us.

"Swim me out, Skeletor. As far as you can."

The horse didn't hesitate. Of course, he was already dead, so he didn't have much to worry about in that sense. I on the other hand, could very much drown.

The water reached my feet and I had to bite down on the yelp that rose up through my body.

"It's like jumping into the gawd damn arctic ocean!" I all but hissed as all the air seemed to escape my body. Inch by inch, the water rose until I was up to my neck. Clinging to Skeletor, I turned him up the coastline, back toward the castle.

My plan was pretty simple. Leave as few tracks and as little scent as possible. Lead Remy to the ocean. Hide in the water so he couldn't find me or my scent. Swim up to the base of the castle. Sneak past the demons. Hide in the castle while I learned everything I could from Vesuvius. Break back out of the castle.

All before Crash and the others got here.

No problem, no problem at all.

Only there was one small problem.

I hadn't really considered just how cold the water would be. Or the fact that my body was rapidly going numb even though it had only been a few minutes, my fingers and toes aching with the cold.

"To the castle," I think is what I said to Skeletor. Only it came out ‘Tofacast,' so I really hoped he understood. Because it was taking all I had to hang on, my fingers spasming on Skeletor's mane.

I tried counting to pass the time. I got to about six hundred, realized that was ten minutes and looked up to see that the castle wasn't much closer. In fact…

"Skeletor!" I yelped his name as he surged through the waves. Fighting to stay upright. Fighting against the tide that was pulling us out and away from where I wanted to go.

He blew a short, hard blast of air, shook his head, and his body began to dissolve under me. Gawd in heaven, this was really not going as I'd planned.

I kicked my feet, trying to take some of my weight off him, and the minute my legs left his sides, he completely slid away from me. Leaving me floating out in the middle of the water, miles from shore, in water cold enough to make me forget my name.

In my stupor I figured that at least the spell couldn't be used. I'd be dead and that would be that.

Go me.

A wave splashed over my head, shoving me under the surface. Stealing my thoughts.

I fought back up and gasped, taking in a good breath of air and more than a little salt water. Coughing, I struggled and heaved to stay above water. But each wave just seemed to take me farther away from shore. Each wave wanted to push me below the surface.

Bursting up from yet another murder attempt by the ocean, I sucked in a lungful of air.

Wished that I hadn't sent Feish away. Wished that I had been able to wait for Crash and my friends. For my family.

Wished that so many things were different.

"Seriously?" I yelled to the sky, pretty sure no one would hear me out here. Never mind that Remy might. "How about a damn break?"

Of course, that was when something wrapped itself around my legs and yanked me at high speed down under the water.