Ethereal: Trials of the Damned (On Hold!)

Chapter Seven: Erratic Orientation

Eira awoke to glowering eyes staring her down.

Startled, she yelped in fear before scrambling to get off the bed. As expected, feeling threatened did nothing to help coordinate her balance. She tried to get away as quickly as she could but her feet got twisted in the cotton sheets, and she fell to the ground. The bed was nearly half her height, and the floor was levelled with unfinished wood. Needless to say, it hurt like a bitch.

She let out a groan, before she hastily untangled herself and stood on her feet, her defenses up. Her body was running on pure adrenaline, and she was prepared to take on whatever–to fight until the end.

Her newfound courage wavered the instant her gaze landed on Kai, who stood on the other side of the bed, glaring daggers in her direction. His hands were jammed into the pant pockets of his navy-blue suit. It took her a moment to confirm that she was actually awake, and this wasn't just another one of her nightmares.

"What the hell?!" Eira screamed once the shock faded. The terror bubbling within swiftly vanished and she matched his angry stare. "You freaking scared the life out of me!"

"Quit being dramatic," Kai snapped. "You're dead."

"And you're a creep!" she shot back.

"Where were you?" he seethed. His eyes turned into the narrow slits she'd grown accustomed to.

Eira tried to play dumb. "Clearly sleeping, you ass!"

"We do not have time for games." Kai's body was shaking, and his hands were balled up into fists. It looked like he was about to blow a fuse. "Where were you?"

She recalled Silas' words. When they'd returned to her room, he was quick to leave, but not before he repeated that she was to tell nobody about him. If she did, he wouldn't be able to see her again. She wanted to ask him why but something about the way he looked at her kept her from talking back. It was like his eyes were beseeching her to understand, to accept his words without questions.

And she did.

"I went out," she answered, keeping her tone even.

"Obviously," he hissed. "How did you get out?"

Eira sighed. "A wisp helped me out."

Kai opened his mouth and then shut it. She saw his knuckles turn white. "Are you stupid? Are you actually stupid?" He approached her and then stopped. Then he opened and closed his mouth again. "Do things I say not get through to you," he hit his temple with two fingers, "or do you choose to ignore them because you are too thick in the head to realize that I am trying to protect you?!"

"If you really cared you would tell me things," she fired back, "and answer my questions, and not just disappear whenever you feel like it!"

"You asked a ridiculous question," he countered.

"I asked you if there was a washroom!"

"You're dead!" he repeated. "Why would you need to use the washroom!?"

"I don't know the fucking rules of being a ghost!"

"A soul," he corrected. It looked like he was trying really hard to stay composed. "You are a soul!"

"What's the difference?!" Eira scoffed. "It's no less a haunting experience, what with you as my freaking Guide."

She didn't know what had come over her. A part of her knew better than to push Kai's buttons. Taunting him would get her nowhere. But the other part did not seem to care. How could he just waltz into the room and treat her like a chewed up piece of gum stuck under his shoe? If he could not act like a decent Guide, in what world did he have the right to ask her anything?