I Am an Invisible Stalker (Guardians #2)

Chapter 8

Eliza's POV

Just a little more.

With a hopeful smile, I watch as Basile's ghost rushes down the stairs and across the foyer. Before he can cross half the distance toward the Princess, however, Tim steps into his path. And because Guardians are the only creatures that ghosts can't pass through, Basile is forced to a sudden stop.

"Not so fast." Tim stretches his arms wide apart. "As your living family's Guardians, we can't let you hurt any of them."

"This is my house!" the ghost booms. "No one is going to tell me what I ought to do inside my own house."

"This used to be your house," Tim calmly continues, unbothered by the ghost's loud voice. "Now that you are dead it belongs to your son."

Basile opens his mouth, but before he can say anything Denise steps forward. She is still eyeing the foyer with an upturned nose. Because she is closing in on the spot at the edge of the plush rug where I'm standing, I take several steps back.

"Don't be ridiculous. We're not going to burn the house." Julie, who is also still present inside the foyer, shakes her head. She strolls around the room, closing in on the hallway where Grégory and the housekeeper disappeared to. "But we'll definitely need to make several changes. The first thing to go will be the curtains. We need more light in here."

"How dare you!" Basile's ghost tightens his hands into fists.

The already negative aura building around him turns another notch darker. It sends an alarm off inside my head, but opposite to the way Tim's entire body stiffens, my lips stretch into an anticipating smile. Just a little more.

"Are you and Dad serious about moving?" Denise stops in the middle of the rug and turns to the glass chandelier hanging above her.

"Of course. The house may look ugly now, but I'll make sure to turn it into the most beautiful house in this neighborhood. That is, right after we throw out half the stuff in here."

"Never!" Basile booms.

The thunder of his voice is loud enough to cause the chandelier's glass crystals to clink against one another. This causes a layer of dust to scatter toward the expensive rug; right onto Denise. The Princess erupts in a string of loud sneezes, and she continues to sneeze and cough until she finally moves a step back.

"You two aren't worthy to stand inside my house," Basile hisses.

The negative energy radiating off him makes it feel like the temperature inside the room dropped for at least a whole degree. However, more than the dark aura and the persistent clinker of the glass, I'm focused on the invisible pressure building on top of my chest. It presses my ribs further and further down, enabling my lungs to expand. But instead of feeling suffocated, I feel empowered. Like a stream of new energy is filling my every cell.

Despite this being only my second time to experience the sensation, I already know what it is. It's my body telling me that the end of my punishment is near.

My guess from the first time I've felt this way proves to be right. Both instances have two things in common—Denise and a ghost about to put her in danger. Those two together are the key to the end of my punishment.

"The chandelier is definitely the first thing we're throwing out." Julie waves her hand in front of her face to shoo the building dust from the still shaking chandelier. "What a tacky—"

"Be quiet!" Basile erupts.

His shout unleashes another wave of dark energy; this time even more powerful than before. Its force snaps the cord that had been keeping the chandelier pressed to the ceiling. Hundreds of small glass diamonds plunge toward the rug underneath. The same rug where Denise is still standing.