There has to be a better way.
Kaz steps forward. “You know why we won’t do that Landon. The best thing we can do is lay low, help every student find their bodies, and pass on peacefully.”
“Why can’t one of us just appear to them?” I ask. “Show them there’s no reason to X us in the first place?”
Landon rolls his eyes so hard I’m sure he can see the back of the room. “You think we haven’t tried that before? Every time a ghost tries to reveal themselves to an Xer, they attack with fire and iron. There’s also the fun little fact that if they have the right training, they can use their spells to attach us to an object and X us that way. They don’t listen because they don’t want to listen, and they never will. People like that can’t change.”
My skin tingles with terror. Well that just made things way scarier.
“We’re not killing them,” Kaz says. “Besides, the more of us that are seen by Xers, the easier it is for them to find our bodies in the first place. There’s a reason we’ve never gone public to the supe world. It’s too dangerous.”
Landon sneers at the Ghost Guide. “I can’t believe you’re still on their side, even after you realized they were wrong.”
My chest tightens as Kaz’s eyes drop to the ground for a moment, then jump back up to Landon. “I’m not on their side, but I don’t think the solution is to do to them what they’re doing to us.”
“So, you want us to hide here instead,” Landon says. “Just waiting to get twisted. Great plan chief. You used to be one of them, how do we know you’re not still working with them? Got turned into a ghost to try and hunt the rest of us down and serve us up to the rest of your Xer buddies?”
Hands clenched, Kaz takes a step forward.
“That’s enough.” Mr. Qureshi’s voice booms with a supernatural power that vibrates the floor. “The last thing we need to be doing is turning on each other. We are all emotional from what we just witnessed. For now, we stick to the original plan. When tempers have cooled and we’ve all gotten rest, we can discuss a new strategy. But for now, this conversation is over.”
With a snarl, Landon stomps out of the rec center and into the snow outside. I get why he’s angry, but Kaz is right, we can’t just go around killing a bunch of people. Murder sprees don’t tend to end well for anybody, and they definitely don’t convince people you’re harmless. Then again, we’ve got to do something other than hang around here, hoping to get everything done before our bodies are desecrated.
I rub my temples as all this new information pounds against them. Xers can attach ghosts to objects with spells. They can attack with special weapons meant to hurt us. Awesome. Landon wants to lead some kind of ghost rebellion. Sounds like a super plan.
And Kaz used to be an Xer. Yikes.
Can we trust him? Is Landon right? I shake my head hard, hating the suspicion now curling in my gut. Kaz was the first ghost I’d met in the afterlife. So far he’s been a little dodgy, but mainly helpful. Then again, wouldn’t a good spy do the exact same thing? Exhausted by all the possibilities, I lean back into Rafe’s chest, and pull Haya closer.
Rafe squeezes my shoulders and gives me a sad kind of grin. No matter what, I know for sure I can trust him, no matter what guilt he’s carrying around.
Chapter Fourteen
Locklear is quiet over the next few days. Fear presses against its spelled walls, causing students to jump at the slightest sound. Though Landon still sits with us at meals, he’s even more grumbly than usual, snapping at any attempts at conversation — even from Haya, the only person he typically puts up with. Rafe, however, is back to smiling and I can feel his intense desire to make things easier on everyone else.
Definitely an enneagram two, a personality type always ready to serve the people around him.
I snort at this thought as I slide into my seat across from him Wednesday morning, Yasmin on my other side. Quinn’s already halfway done with his food. Dark circles line his eyes. Of course, the poor dude had to see something absolutely traumatizing at his first party. Chances are it’ll be a while before we can convince him to let loose again.
Rafe’s dimples greet me, coaxing out my own smile easily. That boy is a helper if I ever pegged one, and I could definitely get used to having him around. A selfish thought considering how dangerous it is for all of us to stay on this side of things. After seeing those two students get Twisted, passing on fast should be at the forefront of my brain.
“Any word from your medium man?” Rafe asks, digging into his bacon.
“Not yet. I plan to harass Mr. Qureshi about it today though. Watching someone burst into flame quite literally lights a fire under your butt.”
Rafe laughs a little, though it’s a bit pinched. “Still having nightmares about that.” He shivers.
“Same. And poor Haya...she’s hiding it pretty well, but she’s a mess. Can’t even imagine what it’s like to see three of your fellow students go out like that.” I trace the mouth of my coffee cup with a finger. “I wish there was something we could do. Even though he’s kind of a jerk, Landon’s not wrong about sitting around here waiting to get Twisted.”
“Finding our bodies seems to be the best
