Chapter 10:
Spencer's POV
The silence in the wake of our deal was thick and heavy, charged with a new, unspoken tension. We were partners now, bound by blood, vengeance, and a bizarre fondness built on ice cream and near-death experiences.
I looked over at Wednesday, who was casually examining the threads on my expensive sofa. "So, if I may ask," I started, breaking the silence. "What is your killers' location right now?"
She didn't even look up. "I don't know."
A smirk tugged at my lips. "So how on Earth do you expect me to find them?" The whole thing felt utterly ridiculous.
"The same way you expect me to find yours," she retorted, finally meeting my gaze. Her stormy eyes were sharp. "If I could do it all alone, I wouldn't have met you at the Halloween party." She paused, a faint, knowing smile gracing her pale lips. "I probably wouldn't have allowed you to kiss me."
My jaw went slack. The air rushed from my lungs as if I'd been punched. "So you did that intentionally?" The revelation sent my mind reeling. The catalyst of my entire haunted life... was a calculated move?
She shrugged, the gesture both infuriating and captivating. "Don't be so surprised. It should have been any other person, but I chose you." Her intense gaze locked with mine, and for a fleeting moment, the chilling aura around her seemed to soften. "Maybe because you had enough money to buy me all the ice creams I could ever dream of."
Her expression grew uncharacteristically thoughtful. "To be honest, these past few days I spent with you... I enjoyed it. Every bit." A faint smile appeared. "Although you are annoying, and frustrating, and stupid... I enjoyed my stay with you."
Her words, a strange cocktail of insult and affection, struck a deep chord within me. That same confusing, tingling feeling I'd felt when I sent her away flooded back, warming my chest. An awkward, heavy silence fell between us, so full of unspoken things it was almost a physical presence.
Driven by an impulse I didn't understand, I felt my body lean toward her. My mind was a chaotic mess, but my heart had one clear, reckless goal: to feel the frost of her lips one more time. My eyes drifted closed, waiting for that familiar, chilling touch.
Instead, I felt the gentle, icy pressure of a single finger on my lips.
My eyes snapped open. She was staring at me, her expression unreadable, her finger still resting there.
"What are you trying to do?" she whispered, her voice a soft echo in the quiet room.
I jerked back as if electrocuted, clearing my throat, heat flooding my cheeks. "Geez, Wednesday, don't spoil the fun."
"Wait a second," she said, a slow, teasing smile spreading across her face. Her eyes twinkled with mischief. "Are you trying to kiss me?"
The spell was thoroughly broken. "Hell no, I wasn't trying to kiss you!" I protested, a little too quickly. "I'm already regretting the first kiss, so why would I want to kiss a ghost a second time?"
"I thought so," she said, but her widening smile betrayed her. "No, you were definitely trying to kiss me again."
The embarrassment was a hot wave. I had to change the subject, fast. "So, how does this whole underworld stuff work, anyway?" I asked, my voice an octave too high.
She let me squirm for a moment before answering. "In the underworld, time is different. Slower. That's why it took me 17 years to return, while I only spent 17 hours over there. Not even up to a day."
I was genuinely captivated. "Why did you come during the Halloween night?"
"October 31st is not just a day. It's a specific one," she explained, leaning back. "Every Halloween, the veil between the living and the dead grows thinner. We have access to roam the earth for that day, making it 80% sure you can encounter the dead." She gave me a pointed look. "You encountered me."
A new question formed. "Why didn't you go find your killer the year after you died? Why wait 17 years?"
"The underworld is basically based on rules and regulations and consequences," she said, her tone turning grave. "I had to wait 17 hours before I gained access back to Earth to find justice. If I hadn't and just wanted to run into things, I would have lost access forever for violating the rules. Going back soon would be based on revenge, which is totally unacceptable for a ghost. The other option was getting reborn, which was totally not an option."
"Why did you say so?"
"Because if you want to get reborn, you have to wait for like 50 hours or so. By the time you get reborn and start growing up, the people you want to revenge on might be dead and gone. And there's also a 50% chance you may be completely unaware you are on a mission. You'll be like a new person, totally. Your old memories will be wiped out."
The complexity of it was staggering. A whole celestial bureaucracy I'd never imagined. "So," I said, steering us back to the mission. "How do we start looking for them? Your killers?"
She grinned, the vengeful soldier back in full force. "Well, first, let's find the bastard that wants you executed."
I cracked my knuckles, a target already in mind. "I might just know where he is right now.".....
To be continued...