“You’re going to what?” I practically shouted. The library around me seemed to vanish—all I could see was Nakoma standing in front of me with an expression that suggested I was overreacting just a tad bit.
“It’s not unusual for ghosts possessing hunters to solve challenging cases like this,” Hearne said from beside me, but I barely registered his words.
“You’re going to take over my body,” I said, hoping I was misunderstanding.
“Temporarily, yes,” Nakoma said calmly. “There is no need to be troubled, for you will come to no harm. While alive, I was a first-class hunter.”
“But you still got killed, right?” I retorted. “Hence the ghost bit.” I had a feeling that if she had died of natural causes, she wouldn’t be around to haunt the place.
Nakoma stilled, her gaze boring into me with a deadly coldness. “That is none of your concern.”
“Now, now,” Hearne’s hand clamped down on my shoulder. His careless, almost cheerful mood made me bristle angrily. Dead vampires and ghosts and demons I could handle. But possession was more than pushing the envelope. It was easy for him to be happy, since I had no choice but to play along in his game, no matter how twisted it turned out to be.
“Allow me to introduce you to some of the Amethyst Team members,” he offered, changing the subject. I found myself steered away from Nakoma and towards the refreshments table. Well, at least I would be able to snag a bite to eat in this nightmare—
“Lynnette, this is Kamali Mubarak,” the president said, veering from the table at the last moment and instead going up to a tall man about my age and height, who was talking with a few other hunters. “Kamali, this is Lynnette.”
“Hey,” Kamali said, turning from the group and giving a friendly smile. “Nice to meet you.”
“Kamali’s family has been in the hunter business for generations,” Hearne explained. “His parents and grandparents were demon hunters in Egypt, but moved here after the wizarding wars got out of hand. He’s a first-class demon hunter and the captain of the Amethyst Team. And he’s worked with ghosts on several occasions before, so he’ll be able to help you and Nakoma if you have any questions.”
“Nice to meet you, too,” I told Kamali as pleasantly as I could without sounding insincere. He seemed agreeable enough, and I would have to make sure to stay on his good side since he was the leader of the team. I didn’t have any further opportunity to speak, however, because the next moment, Hearne began leading me towards a different group of people. Kamali just waved before turning back to rejoin his friends’ conversation.
The president introduced me to the seven other members of the Amethyst Team, each face and name blurring into a forgettable blur, and it was nearly six-thirty by the time I had met everyone. By now, my stomach was grumbling like an angry old woman, and I still hadn’t managed to snag any food from the refreshments table.
“Lynnette! Have you met everyone you’re going to be working with?” a cheerful voice asked, and I resisted a groan as I turned to face Kaden.
“Yeah,” I said.
“Cool! I can’t believe you’re working with Nakoma, too! I’ve heard she’s the greatest. She was a really skilled hunter when she was alive…” he suddenly glanced around. “Is she here now?”
“No,” I said tiredly. “I don’t know where she went. She hasn’t been here for a while.”
“She’s one of the oldest ghosts working with Triple H. She’s really powerful,” Kaden continued. “Hania’s also pretty old, but he hasn’t been around for a few months, so we think he went back to visit his burial ground for a while.”
A question formed on my lips, and after a brief hesitation I decided to voice it. “What happened to her?”
“What?”
My gaze skirted the room nervously, checking for any signs of the ghost, before I repeated my question. “Nakoma. What happened?”
“What do you mean?” Kaden looked confused.
“I mean how’d she get to be a ghost? And why hasn’t she, y’know…moved on?” I figured there had to be something seriously messed up for a person to stick around for so long.
Kaden shrugged like it was no big deal. “Usually that sort of stuff’s classified. The president probably knows, but that’s about it.”
“Oh,” I said, trying to hide my disappointment. It was apparent that I would be getting no answers on that matter anytime soon. Hearne hadn’t even told me what I’d be doing here, so the chances of getting answers about a touchy ghost’s past were slim to none. “Well, if you’ll excuse me, I need to use the restroom…”
I hurried away, thankful to finally have some time to myself. How much longer would I have to stay at this darned place? I looked sadly towards the food as I hurried from the library, too afraid to pick up a few refreshments lest I got stuck making small talk with more hunters. I just needed some time to myself, to convince myself to continue on with this insane job.
The bathroom was mercifully empty, and after splashing my face with water, I stared at my reflection in the mirror above the sink for a long time. Wide hazel eyes stared back, dulled with exhaustion.
“You have really no idea what you’ve gotten yourself into, do you?” I said aloud. The girl on the other side of the glass remained silent, the fatigue of the last few tumultuous weeks apparent in the dark circles under her eyes. She looked defeated.
No. I straightened my shoulders and pressed my lips into a firm line. As scared as I was, I would not allow myself to be overwhelmed by shady hunters and callous ghosts. Since childhood, I had always hated giving up easily, and I vowed that this time it would be no different. Certainly, the stakes were a bit higher than usual, as I would risk losing my family if I just quit now. But no matter how ridiculous and dangerous my situation became, I would have to go through with it. It was a miracle to begin with that I had found a way around ending up in eternal debt anyway. Hearne had offered me a loophole, and I would go for it, no matter the consequences.
You’re really lucky he offered you an alternative, Lynn, I told myself, trying to see the good in the situation. Yet, somehow, all I could think of was what kind of curse words I would like to yell in Gregory Hearne’s face. He knew how completely desperate I was—so much as to agree to work for him without even knowing about ghost rings and murdered vampires beforehand, and still not walk away even when I did find out. And he had used my desperation to his advantage without any reservations. I felt like a complete fool.
By the time I had mustered enough strength to go back out and face the hunters in the library once more, the gathering was almost over and people were starting to leave. Thankfully, Nakoma was still nowhere to be seen. After a quick goodbye to Hearne, Kaden, and Kamali, I hightailed it out of there, but I would be back again the following evening at seven, and then the real fun would begin.
~*~*~
A/N: Hi! A big thank you to everyone who has voted so far and to morgan_lavinia who gave me my first comment! :D You all make my day!
BINABASA MO ANG
Dance with Darkness - Ghost Dance
Fantasy“So, what are you doing this weekend?” Maggie asked me. “Oh, nothing much,” I replied. Just working as an indentured servant and hunting demons while possessed by a ghost. No big deal, right? Lynnette Cromwell gets thrown into the supernatural wor...
