“Who?”

Jordan met my gaze. She looked equal parts terrified and stunned. “Julie.”

A chill shot down my spine. “Julie?”

Her forehead screwed up into a frown. “I mean, I know she—she’s gone...but she’s here. And I—I had to get away.”

I’d been stunned into utter silence. This was why I couldn’t approach this house before. As a gray, my hunger had been triggered into overdrive.

Ghosts were disembodied souls. And this house was filled to overflowing with them.

I scanned the party. I couldn’t sense anything now, but Jordan could. She was the one with supernatural intuition.

What was wrong with this place? Why were so many ghosts here? Why was Julie still here?

There had to be a reason, and I had a strong feeling it was vitally important.

“Show me,” I said, clutching Jordan’s arm. “Show me on the Ouija board right now.”

Chapter 27

Jordan gaped at me. “Are you nuts? I’m not going back up there.”

If there were actual ghosts stuck in this house, there was a reason for it. And if they were disembodied souls, then they might be able to point me in the direction of the angel. They might even help me communicate with her so no one else had to get hurt. “I thought Julie was your friend.”

She grew even paler and her freckles stood out even more against her white skin and black Cleopatra wig. “The others weren’t taking it seriously. They think it’s just a big, stupid joke. But it—it scared me.”

“Of course it did.”

“I felt her, Samantha. I felt her...presence. And I felt others, too. What is this?” she asked, her shaky voice betraying her fear. “Why can I feel these things? Am I going crazy?”

I really hated to say this even though it was true. “Because you’re special.”

That earned me a glare that cut through her bleak expression. “Shut up.”

“I’m actually being totally serious right now.” I exchanged a glance with Bishop across the crowded room. I pulled Jordan with me back up the stairs. She didn’t resist this time. From higher up on the stairs, I spotted Kraven over by the stereo speakers. He was drinking something out of a red plastic cup and he looked morose. His gaze flicked to me and his brows shot up.

Yup, still alive, I thought. Shocker.

It had been his suggestion that Bishop put me out of my misery. Part of me hated that he’d done that, the other part knew he’d meant it to help end my suffering.

Even I’d begged for death at one point.

We found the room where three girls I recognized from school were gathered around a Ouija board. Then looked up at us. “Oh, you’re back,” a blonde said. “Good. It’s not working anymore without you.”

Jordan looked at me as if for guidance.

I tried to stay calm. “You need to ask Julie why she’s still here. Why all of them are.”

“Because they’re ghosts,” she replied. “Duh.”

“No. I mean, I don’t know much about this, but to me a ghost sticks around because it has unfinished business. If there are a bunch of them, all stuck in this house, there has to be a reason.” I’d dealt with angels and demons; I couldn’t let the thought of ghosts freak me out. Still, it was incredibly unnerving to think there might be spirits all around us, watching and waiting. But for what?

Jordan finally nodded and sat down and looked at the other girls. “Get out of here.”

“But it’s our board,” the blonde whined.

Jordan sent a razor-sharp glare toward her. “Now. I’m not asking again.”

She had a natural way about her that was incredibly intimidating. This time, I appreciated it. The girls fled the room, leaving us alone in the musty-smelling room. The sound of the blaring music downstairs made it difficult to concentrate, but when I closed the door it helped muffle it a little.

Jordan looked up at me from the floor as she settled in front of the Ouija board. “Just so you know, I’m doing this for Julie, not because you asked me to.”

I nodded. “Noted.”

She eyed me. “You seem different tonight than you were earlier.”

I sat down across from her and pressed my hands against the smooth wood floor. “I died a little while ago. Went to a dream dimension and had a bizarre chat with a homeless fallen angel.”

She stared at me. “You’re being serious right now, aren’t you?”

“I am.”

“Dead.”

“On arrival. But I’m back. And I’m not a gray anymore.”

There was more confusion, but then hope lit up her eyes. “Does that mean that Stephen can be cured, too?”

My throat tightened. “I don’t think so. It was something bizarre that only happened to me.”

The hope disappeared from her green eyes and they brimmed with tears. “So he’s not going to get better. Ever.”

I could empathize with what it was like to lose someone you loved—for them to slip out of your grasp no matter what you tried to do to save them. It hurt like hell, even if they weren’t literally dead.

“I’m sorry,” I said.

At that moment, I honestly meant it.

“I’m losing everybody.” She drew in a ragged breath. “But if I can help Julie...”

She placed her fingertips on the Ouija board pointer.

“Do you need me to do that, too?” I asked.