Ghosts know me. And I don’t just mean that I talk to a lot of ghosts. While that is certainly true, I’m talking about something deeper here.

Ghosts know me. They know I can help them, even if they can’t tell how they know.

I’m like a beacon to them, and they tend to drift in my direction subconsciously.

Sometimes, that led murderers with a bloody axe to my doorstep, but far more often, I found ghosts that were lost, scared, and looking for help. Or just curious.

In today’s case, I stepped out of the bathroom, my hair still dripping and wet plastic covering my bandages, to find a furious ghost waiting for me.

She was around 5’6”, with chubby cheeks, short brown hair, and a very muscled build.

Her white dress was stained with dirt and worse, and as I watched, her throat opened like a gaping maw only to close a second later.

The air filled with the scent of rot, lilac, and bleach.

I vaguely recognized her, which made the bottom fall out of my stomach.

“THEY KILLED ME!” She screamed, her dark eyes alight with fury. “THEY KILLED ME FOR PRACTICE!”

“Who did, how long ago, and where?” This woman had recently died, I was sure. She was familiar, and her wounds weren’t stable. Her mind still hadn’t decided how her ghostly body should look.

On top of that, I could get a general feel for a ghost's strength and age.

She was new.

And when dealing with a grieving, furious person still coming to terms with their death, giving them something to focus on was very helpful.

The woman took a deep breath and forced herself to stop screaming.

But while her voice didn’t hurt my ears anymore, her words still dripped with barely contained rage.

“Necromancers! I don’t know their names, but I can point them out to you in a crowd. They killed me…what day is it?”

“Monday the fifth.”

“Then they…they killed me yesterday. In Bramble Myre.”

As she said that, her face finally clicked. She was in Cagel’s Pack, and her name was Lilly.

My gut clenched. We hadn’t had more than a handful of conversations, but I had seen her last year! She’d had a life-had been alive. And someone had taken that from her for practice.

My heart tried to break for her and freeze over simultaneously.

I didn’t let any of it show on my face, keeping my tone calm but friendly. She didn’t look like she needed condolences right now. She needed someone to take action.

“Does Cagel know?”

Lilly’s face crumpled. “She does, but I can’t talk to her! Every time I try, nothing happens! Anything I try to do just gets nothing or maybe a shiver!” Her voice started to rise into a scream again, and I stepped forward and grabbed her shoulders.

Her skin was cool beneath my fingers but solid.

“Lilly, I will help you catch them and talk to Cagel and anyone else you want to. If you’re up for learning, I or some friends can even teach you how to make yourself visible.”

She stared at my hands, her eyes wide. “You can touch me!”

“Yes. You knew I could do ghost stuff. That’s why you came to me, right?“

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She nodded, staring at my hands as I pulled back.

“You helped us when Cagel…you helped us, and I- I could just tell as soon as I was…aware.”

I nodded.“ That’s normal. I am… loud, spiritually speaking. Look, give me five minutes to get dressed and grab a few things, and we’ll go to Cagel.“

Lilly took another deep breath and then nodded.

I considered calling some ghostly backup to keep her company, but I didn’t want to use any of my shroud right now. With the way things were going, my life would get more hectic, not less.

I would need every scrap of magic I could get my hands on.

So, I resorted to the good old fashion method.

I cupped my hands over my mouth and shouted for all I was worth. “Ben! Rodgers! And anybody else who feels like tagging along, I need you!“

Less than five seconds later, my door practically flew off its hinges as Blair sprinted into the room, eyes red and a growl already bubbling in her throat.

She stopped, seeing no apparent danger, and looked me over. I blushed, in a manly way, of course, and quickly threw on a shirt.

Werewolves might not care about being seen buck naked, but I did, dammit.

I didn’t care an awful lot, but still.

“Sorry, sorry, should’ve expected that. Not used to being around anyone but the ghosts. No immediate danger.“

Blair relaxed slightly, but her eyes still scanned the room. “You were talking to a ghost then?“

My expression darkened. “Yeah. There’s necromancers a town over.”

Blair immediately went back into high alert.

She started shouting orders into the empty air and then whipped her phone out and speed-dialed a number. Werewolves rushed by the open door, carrying weapons or supplies, and a moment later, Blair‘s mother sounded over the phone.

“How reliable is the information?“ Blair asked.

“Very. Lilly is one of Cagel’s Pack. She died yesterday.“ I turned to Lilly, and my voice softened. “How many necromancers, if you can recall?“

Surprisingly, she seemed much more relaxed than she had a moment before. It seemed seeing the rapid response from the Northwoods had cheered her up. Well, maybe that wasn’t so surprising. Seeing other werewolves taking this seriously was probably a comfort.

“Two necromancers that I saw. A younger and an elder. The younger was a late teen girl, probably 19, maybe 20. Cute features, button nose, and light gray eyes. She was cackling like a psychotic bitch, but –“ Lilly took a deep breath and lowered her voice. “But she probably looks normal when she isn’t trying to kill you. I didn’t get a look at the elder. But he smelled male and was tall. They both bleached their clothes and wore heavy perfume to mask their scents.”

I relayed the information back to Blair and her mother.

Adela said she would get the information to Cagel and then hung up.

As far as I knew, the woman had been constantly on the move the last week, attacking compounds owned by the Barrow King or defending key locations.

A werewolf of her age and strength was such a valuable asset that she could be sent alone to secure areas, freeing up dozens of other spooks to tackle other tasks and regroup.

I turned to Blair. “I need to go talk to Cagel.”

About a dozen emotions rolled over Blair‘s face before her expression firmed into a grim mask. “Fine. But my whole Pack is coming with you.“

I held up my hands in mock surrender. “Hey, no complaints here. I don’t want to try and fight a necromancer by my lonesome.“

A moment later, Ben and Rogers flew in from the roof, startling Lilly and Blair.

I brought them up to speed, and they quickly took Lilly aside and started giving her a gentle rundown on the needs to know of being a ghost.

Blair trailed me as we walked toward the front door.

“How often does this happen?”

“Huh?”

“You just found out there’s been a murder by having someone ambush you outside your shower, and you haven’t even paused.”

I considered her words for a beat. My focus drifted to the nature paintings lining the dark walls.

Master Bram loved his art.

“I don’t know? Ghosts have always come to me. It’s just how things are.”

Blair frowned. “And you’re okay with that?”

I met her eyes. “Yes.”

She stared for a few seconds before slowly nodding. “Let’s go then.”

I chuckled. A waster of words Blair wasn’t.

Bobby fell into step beside us, and Laurel and Simon quickly followed. “I’ll admit,” Bobby said with a pensive cast to his voice. “Going to a murder scene with the victim is kinda throwing me for a loop.”

I shrugged. “It’s pretty normal. Ghosts want justice.”

Laurel choked. “I don’t think you can comment on normal, Alder.”

“Bah.”