"Chris and Will," he answered.
Since the intruder hadn't been found last night, and they hadn't gotten another security alarm saying anyone had left, the entire camp was on Red Alert. For now she didn't just have one shadow, she had three.
Lovely.
Just lovely.
As she watched Lucas pull out the swords, a breath of cold moved across the back of her neck. Make that four shadows.
He's such a pansy. Tell him not to the tape the blades. You need to learn to fight for real! Time is running out.
Looking over her shoulder, Kylie saw the spirit had donned her blood-soaked gown again.
What happened to you? Who killed you? Kylie asked.
The spirit looked down at her gown and frowned. I'm not important. You are.
Suddenly feeling desperate for answers, Kylie continued, How do you know me? How are we connected? I need answers.
You need to learn to fight. Or you will be as dead as I am.
The warning sent dread stabbing at Kylie's heart. She watched Lucas crouch down and start to wrap the end of the blades. "Do we really need the tape?"
He looked up, surprise in his eyes. "Are you serious?"
She nodded. "You need to teach me how to fight for real."
He stood up, concern in his face. "Why? What is it that you know?"
"Just a feeling," she lied.
"I don't like that feeling," he said.
"Join the crowd." She blinked. "Just teach me to fight, Lucas."
Appearing resigned, he picked up the two swords. Her weapon started glowing the instant she wrapped her hand around it. Perhaps it was her imagination, but it seemed to be glowing brighter. What did that mean? Did the sword, like the ghost, know the time for battle drew near?
Lucas stood beside her and commenced doing warm-up stances. She immediately followed suit.Kylie's phone, tucked in her pocket, beeped with an incoming text. She waited for the next break before she pulled it out. It was from Derek.
Call me.
Was he back to trying to convince her to rekindle their relationship? She recalled seeing him frown last night when Lucas had insisted on staying at the cabin to protect her.
"Who is it?" Lucas asked.
She hesitated, then just spit it out. "Derek."
He frowned but remained silent. They went back to the basic form exercises.
"When are we going to spar?" she asked as she copied his moves.
"When are you going to tell that fairy that it's really over between you two?"
"I already did," she answered before she realized the wisdom against it.
He stopped moving. His sword, pointing upward, came down in a whoosh. He faced her. "You did?"
It was too late to take it back. "Yes."
He smiled. "Thank you."
She frowned. "I didn't do it for you. I did it for him."
His smile remained strong and one eyebrow arched up. "But I'm the reason you did it."
It wasn't a question, but she could deny it. Then too much time had passed for her to do it. It would've sounded false. It would've been false.
An even bigger smile appeared in his eyes. A smile of confidence. Of hope.
"I love you," he said, his voice almost musical with happiness.
She shot him a scowl. "Isn't saying that a bit dangerous considering these aren't wooden swords and the ends aren't even taped?"
He laughed. A real laugh, and the sound of it washed over her like a soft summer rain on an extra-hot day. Then flashing in her mind was the look on his face when the weres had left him alone on parents' day. Then she recalled that Will and Chris were out there, probably listening to every word they said.
Will was supposed to be a friend, but would he, too, turn his back on Lucas?
She cut her eyes to the woods and whispered, "We're not alone, remember?"
"I don't care who hears it. I love you!" His voice rose louder this time.
She frowned. "Nothing's changed."
"Everything has changed," he said.
No it hadn't. He might think he could walk away from everything that had mattered to him, but she wasn't about to let him do that. She loved him too much.
"Are we going to practice? If not, I'm leaving."
"Then let's practice," he said.
They continued with the exercises for another ten minutes. Finally, he faced her. "We'll start, but remember, this isn't wood. We start slow."
He wasn't joking about slow. They moved at a snail's pace and continued for the next fifteen minutes.
"Who were you fighting with last night?" His question broke the long tense silence as they finally started picking up speed.
"The ghost."
"Is she good?" he asked.The fact that he asked about a ghost surprised her.
"She claims she's better than you."
"I knew I didn't like her," he said, and half smiled. After a pause, he asked, "Who is this ghost?" His gaze stayed on the swords.
"I don't know," she answered truthfully. And just like that, Kylie sensed it was imperative that she find out.
* * *
Kylie didn't remember to call Derek. She and Lucas had a good practice. They didn't really let loose and spar like they would have with wooden swords, but almost.
When she checked her phone at almost midnight that night and found another text from Derek, she felt guilty. Call me now!
She'd seen him at dinner-that had been after his text-and he hadn't said anything. He hadn't even sat with her; instead he'd grabbed his dinner and left.
Still a bit worried, but not knowing if he'd still be awake, she texted him back. What's up?
She waited up for a good forty-five minutes to see if he would text her back. Nothing.
Frustrated, she flopped back on her pillow. The ghostly chill waved through the room for about the third time since she'd come to bed, but the spirit didn't stay.
Kylie's conversation with Holiday this afternoon added merit to her feelings. If she could just figure out the spirit's identity, it might help to answer a lot of questions.
While the spirit hadn't confirmed it, Kylie was almost certain the ghost was connected to Mario.
"Who are you?" Kylie asked the wisp of cold moving like a quick shadow in the room. "Tell me. Or at least show me something."
No answer came. Accepting that no spirit spoke before they were ready, Kylie rolled over and tried to sleep. Tried to think about something other than the ghost.
Anything other than killing someone.
Anything other than dying.
Anything other than Lucas and the hope she'd seen in his eyes.
Sleep had just about lured her in when she heard a slight noise. Footsteps on the wood floor. She opened her eyes and reached under her pillow for the sword.