Haunted by the Immortals

Chapter 28

Nat

My stomach churned as I heard her name. Grace. Everything spun around me in a blur. The Carlyles running round me in continuous circles, making my head spin. Oakley braced me in a hug, whilst I felt River pushing me forward. Towards the room. I dug my shoes into the floor, breaking my body, stopping River from taking me there. Trace was there at Dawn's side, giving me worried glances, but I couldn't be bothered to stop him from looking through my brain and sensing how I felt and why and how. I was tired; I just wanted to lie down. Bonnie was punching in the code again to open the door and it swung open.

My eyes followed hers. Wide and dark, it was hard to see her entire face. I felt my legs walk towards her, my hand tightening Dawn's with each step I took. I couldn't tear my gaze away. I hadn't felt this was for such a long time; I had forgotten I still could. As I took my last step from the outside and into the room, I fought out the words, "Oh my Gosh."

She smiled at me, those clear blue eyes staring back at me, reflecting my face in them. She reached out for my hand and I took it. Immediately I shut my eyes, remembering this moment I last shared with her. Her skin was just how I imagined it: still soft and warm. I looked down at her face. Her hair had grown a little longer, but still the same shade and her height had definitely increased – she was almost as tall as me. My fingers caressed her thumb and my other hand slowly reached her cheek, a shot of electricity shooting through me from the connection.

My heart was beating fast, and I was scared that even my power wouldn't be able to help me in this case to calm it down. My hand suddenly felt heavy on her cheek, but I managed to keep it up with all my strength. She touched her fingers against mine. "Grace. It's you," I whispered to her.

She smiled sadly. "Yes." Her voice was raspy, and just as I remembered it being. So innocent. "It's me, Nat." Her smile faded. "And I have who you want so badly."

I took a step forward, making her wince. "Who is it? Is it your brother? Zed," I asked.

She cocked her head to one side. "What happened to my brother?"

I swallowed hard, bracing myself for the words, "N – Nothing."

She raised her head up, inspecting me. But before she or I could speak, River put a hand on his sister's shoulder. "I know, Sis. He – our little Zed was killed a little while ago, today. By your ex-boyfriend's girl, C–"

I wasn't going to let him say her name. Not in front of Grace. She stared at me blankly and I felt my heart melt. "What do you mean, River?"

"I mean, your naïve Nat over here hasn't been a good boy lately. He's been cheating. Going for the dangerous girl. And the one who killed our Zed."

I glared at River and he took a step back, raising his hands up in surrender. "Shut the hell up, Lake."

Something flared in his eyes once my insulting nickname flew out my mouth. "You can go jump off a cliff. I'm the only one to know about Zed in the entire family, excluding Grace, and I can easily blurt it out."

Grace reached for her brother's hand, squeezing it. "This boy has helped me so much in this year. And for that, I really love you, River."

He grinned. "I love you, too, Sis. Can I go call the rest in?"

She looked over my shoulder, towards the blackness. "Yes. I think that'll be good. I need to see my brothers and sisters again."

Once he was gone and it was only the two of us in the room, I stared back at her, evil-eyed. "How the hell are you here?"