Lonely Graves Read online

  LONELYGRAVES

  ByAmandaA.Allen

  ForHeatherIves

  Imissyou,sister.ButIain’tcomingback,yo.

  CHAPTERONE

  MynameisRueHallow—theeldestoftheeldestoftheeldestoftheHallow

  line.WhichmeanthadamansiontomyselfnearthecollegeofSt.Angelus.And likeaschmo,I’dtoldmyoldcovenleaderthatamemberofthecovencouldstay with me. Sure, I loved my coven leader, Hazel, like family. And yes, she was helping me out by paying for lessons with a potions master for me. But, she hadn’t said she was sending Saffron Ives when Hazel had asked if I would let someonestay.ThethingaboutSaffronwas—shescaredthesocksoffofme.My mother,AutumnJones,wasessentiallyasuper-villain.She’swascoldasasnake and nasty, and she’d manipulated me and set me up hard my whole life. That said…MotherwalkedcarefullyaroundSaffron.

  So that meant I would need to run off my anxiety before we picked Saffron up.Herflightcameinat5:00a.m.Iwasrunningat3:00a.m.Thedrivewaslong andI’dneedtoshowerbeforewewent.Myaddictiontomyenergypotionwould leave me functioning butt wasn’t me I was worried about. It was those fools, FelixandChrysie.Theyhadn’tletmerunalone.Itturnedoutthatnearlybeing murdered a time or two while running late at night left those who cared about youatingeconcerned.

  I wasn’t quite sure what to do with that. I’d been running in the nighttime since I was ten. My sister had been an insomniac, and we had middle-of-the-night adventures. I wasn’t prepared to let those go even if Branka was on the othersideofthecountry.But,thiswasn’tthesameatall.

  Chrysiewasskippingcirclesaroundme.Literally.Thevampirismseemedto

  be settling into her in a way that left her less of a victim to gravity and her gracefulness would have made me feel like a lumbering giant if not for Felix gagging half a block back. I was trying to keep up the my pace up so I could havearunner’shigh,butitwashardtodowiththesoundofhimhurlingwhile Chrysiesnackedasshefreakingskipped.

  TheHallowFamilyCemeteryandthecypressgrovenearbycalledtome,butI wouldn’t be able to go there with these two. I sighed and stopped running to stretch.

  “Hecate’s fiery breasts, please say you’re done,” Felix said as he stumbled towardsus.

  I wasn’t even halfway done, but I knew I wouldn’t be getting any further runningin.

  “Pleasesayyou‘llfixthepoolinthehousenext?”Rueaskedaifthatwould keepherfromrunning.

  “ButareHecate’sboobsfiery?”Chrysieaskedmusingly.“She’sthegoddess

  ofwitchcraftnotthehearthorhell.”

  Felix wiped his mouth, missing something in his nasty goatee, but I focused onhisforeheadtomissit.

  “Felix,gods,youhavestuffinyourscragglybeardhair,”Chrysiesaidwithout waitingforananswertoherquestion.Thosetwowerebecomingmoreandmore like siblings. It was just a matter of time before one of them gave the other a wet-willie.

  “I’’mgoingtodie,”hesaidinreply.

  “Thenexttimethemonsterscomeafterus,you’lldiefirst,”Chrysietoldhim.

  “YoushouldprobablyputdowntheXboxcontrollereveryonceinawhile.”

  “Leavemealone,”hesaid,“I’mdying.Gods,Rue,youdothisforfun?”

  “Moreforsanity,”Isaididlyandbeganwalkingtowardsmyhouse,Martha.

  “IfIfixthepool,willyouswiminsteadofrunning?”

  “Probably,” I said, knowing the burn wouldn’t be the same. There was something soothing about the water. There was something enlivening about beingaloneinthedark,runninglikethewind,withmagicflowingacrossyour body and hovering at your fingertips. But at least they might think I’m swimmingifIweretodoitsometimes.

  And then I could run alone instead. If I were sneaky. I’m pretty good at sneaky,so…

  Chrysieinterruptedmythoughts,“So,tellusaboutSaffron.I’msooooexcited tomeetsomeonefromyourcoven.Isshereallygoodatmagiclikeyou?Areyou like this expert witch coven up there in the wilds of nowhere? You are. Aren’t you?Youare?”

  Herlilting,happyvoicemademyeyetwitchalittlebit.

  Saffron. She was indescribable. Terrifying. But maybe that was because I knew where she was from. Was it betraying her if I told them her past? Or betraying them if I didn’t? Gods, I wasn’t prepared for this sort of…morality.

  Themoralityoffriendship—itmightaswellbeunexploredwildernessforme.I didn’thaveaclue.

  “Ummm”Isaid,tryingtothinkfrantically.Iwantedtoaskmysister,Branka whatshethought.ButIhadtoanswernow.

  “She’shardtodescribe,”Ifinallysaid.“She’sverygoodatwitchcraft,but…

  not the same kind as me.” Dark magic. Scary stuff. Dead bunnies and kittens magic.

  FelixandChrysieglancedateachotherandthenFelixsaid,“Spillit,Rue.”

  Itookalongbreath,letitoutslowlyandsaid,“Saffronisadarkwitchwho cametoourcoventoturnitaround.She’s…”Terrifying.“Idon’tknowherwell.

  ButIknowthatmymotheriscarefularoundher.”

  “Yourmom?”Felixdemanded,rubbingwhatwasprobablyastitchinhisside.

  “Yourmom?”

  Inodded.He’dmether.Motherwascoldasasnakeandpowerfultoboot.

  Hewhistled.

  “Shecan’tbeallbad.YoutalkaboutHazelallthetime.Ifyourcovenleader truststhiswitch,shemustbeallright.”

  I wanted to agree. But I didn’t. I trusted Hazel, so letting Saffron into my housewassomethingIwoulddo.ButIwasverymuchforcingthetrustinthis situationratherthanhavingitcomenaturally.

  “What’s that?” Chrysie asked, looking past my shoulder. I turned to see a shapeinthetrees.Itwasdark,butwhatconcernedmewasthefeelingofutter coldnessthatwascomingovermybody.Iwantedtorun,run,runaway.

  “Wellshiz,”IsaidasFelixsaid,“Thisiswhyyoushouldn’trunalone.”

  “Shutup,”ItoldFelixandthendebatedrunning.

  Idon’tknowalotaboutghostsdespitebeingtheeldestHallowoftheHallow of the Hallow—aka a long line of stupid good necromancers. I hadn’t even knownIwasamemberofthefamilyatallwhentheyearstarted.Whatthisall added up to was I wasn’t quite sure you could outrun a ghost and if you couldn’t,Imightaswellstandandfight.

  I stepped closer, Felix cursed and followed. And Chrysie. Chrysie skipped alongside utterly unconcerned. Felix shot her a disgusted look, but she didn’t notice.Maybeitwasbecauseshe’dbeenaghost.Orjustthatshewasavampire.

  Evenbabyvampiresarereally,reallyhardtokill.Iguess.I’djuststartedreading abookaboutthem.Sofar,Chrysieseemedprettytypicalforababyone—e.g., always hungry, graceful, but not particularly strong or fast yet. She was faster thanme.Butnotlikeshapeshifterfast.Agedvampireswereasfastorfasterthan shapeshifters,iftheylivedthatlong.

  Butthatdidn’tmeanalotincomparisontoaghost.Andallmysenseswere screamingghostatme.Isteppedcloserandcloser.Itstayedashapelessdarkness in the dark. Gods. It was hard to push each step forward, but I did it without falteringinmypace.

  “Hello,”Isaid,mostlybecauseIdi
dn’tknowwhatelsetosay.

  Therewasaloweeriemoan.

  “Gods,”Felixsaidandthencursedagain.

  “Calmdown,Felix,”Chrysiesaidandrepeatedmygreeting,“Hello.”

  Her lilting, happy voice didn’t pull anything from the ghost either. We all

  lookedateachotherandthenbackattheghost.Ifitdidn’tsayanything,didwe callrealnecromancers?Orjustleave?Ididn’thaveaclue.

  “IguesswecouldcallMonica,”Felixsaid,referencinghisgirlfriend.

  “No,”ChrysieandIsaidinunison.

  “Didyouhaveabetteridea?”snappedFelix,kickingatarockonthesideof thepath.

  “No,”Chrysiesaid.“Wejustdon’tlikeyourgirlfriend.She’skindof…”

  “Nasty,”IsaidjustasChrysiesaid,“Mean.’

  “Likeaviper,”Isaid,lookingattheghostandnoticinghowitdidn’twaftor move. It was just a shadow in shadows, moaning in a way that made my hair standonend.

  “Orareallynastyspider,”Chrysieadded.

  “Or,”Istarted.

  ButFelixsnappedatme,“Igetit.”

  Chrysieignoredhimandstoodthere,bouncingonhertoes,“It’sjustwedon’t likeher.Like,atall.”

  “Ithinkweshouldfocusontheghost,”Felixsaid,“AndworryaboutMonica later.”

  “Maybe if you just did the gross stuff with her at her place,” Chrysie said,

  “Andnever,everbroughtherover.”

  “Ortalkedabouther,”Iaddedhelpfully.

  “Then it wouldn’t be so bad,” Chrysie said, finishing with, “Like she didn’t evenexist.”

  “Perfect,”Isaid.

  Felix’slookwasnastyandmean,asifhewerechannelinghisevilgirlfriend and we probably deserved it. But, the last time Monica came over she told Chrysie she was a blight on humanity and should be staked. That was when I stoppedplayingnice.IwassurprisedChrysiehadjoinedme,shesaid,“It’sfor hisowngood.We’rehelpinghim.”

  Iwalkedaroundtheghost,butitdidn’tshift.“Thisisweird.”

  “Butbacktothesubjectathand,”Chrysiealmostsang,“Monicaisevil.You candobetter.Youneedtodobetter.”

  “Shutit,Chrys!Whatisweird?”

  “OtherthanyoubeingtoogoodforMonica?Itjustmoans.Andthendoesn’t

  move.RememberwhenLisadied?Shecouldmoveandstuff.Thisdoesn’tseem

  right.”

  “Whatdoyournecromancyclassesteach?”

  “Theusesofbasicspellingredientsandruneswe’renotallowedtouse.”

  “Liketheoneyoudidn’tusewhenHabithadied?”

  Igrinnedevillyandnodded.Iwasn’tobeyingarbitrarywitchcraftruleswhen ghostswereformingandhatedme.Sofarthisschoolyear,I’dbeenattackedby a person possessed of a legion of ghosts who’d murdered generations of my family and then by the assistant to the Hallow Family Council. A little suggestion for you: if the Hallow Family Council decides something, be very, veryconcernedaboutthatdecision.

  Idroppedtomyknees,pulledoutmyhomemade,bespelledchalkanddrewa

  pentacle putting on the five points runes for clarity and protection. I motioned my arguing friends inside and then used regular magic to snap the protections into place. Witches use the magic of life and death. The energies running throughtheworldthatareotherwiseuntapped.Darkwitchesfocusonthedeath magic.Regularwitchesusethelivingmagic.Necromancersaccessthepowerof theotherside,theether.

  AstheeldestoftheeldestoftheeldestoftheHallow,Iwasinthepositionto call a talisman of the thinning to me if I used the ether inside of the thinning.

  Since that talisman was rather like the sword in the stone—in that it gave its holder a position of power—I very much desired NOT to call the talisman.

  You’d think I’d want power. I do. But I wanted the kind of power earned with learningandability.Ididnotwanttheunpaid,unrewardingjobofpolicingthe thinning of the underworld. I didn’t want to hunt up shady necromancers. I didn’twanttosendevilghoststotheotherside.Iwantedtolearntofly.

  Hence, no ether for this necromancer. Especially given the death rate of the

  “keepers”ofthethinning.No,thankyou.Iintendedtobrewdangerouspotions andconsiderlearningtotalktocats.

  ThenIlookedattheworldwiththroughthemagicclarityruneI’ddrawnon theground.ItouchedChrysieandFelix,sotheycouldseewhatIwasseeing.

  Felix’scursewasstarkagainstthesoundofChrysie’sgasp.Iwasspeechless.

  The spirit in front of me looked as if it had it’s brightness peeled away. It was anchoredsomehowinthespot.Withtheruneworkingwithmyabilities,Icould understandthemoan.

  Itwasn’ttryingtoterrifyisusatall—itwasonelongpleaforhelp.

  “Heeeeelllllllpppppp.Hhhhhhheeeeeellllllppppp.”Andwiththatclarityrune,I couldseesomethingelse.Onesingleblood-redtearrollingdownthefaceofthe ghost.

  CHAPTERTWO

  “Godsandmonsters,”Ibreathed.

  “WereallyshouldcallMonica,”Felixsaid.

  “No,”ChrysieandIsaidtogether.

  “OrFinn,”hesuggested.

  “No,”Isaidalmostgrowling.Gods,IhatedFinn.Ididn’tcareifheranateam ofnecromancerstryingtofilltheroleofkeeper.Hewasamanhandlingjerkwho hadshakenmetoomanytimes.ThenexttimeIsawhim,Iwasgoingtopunch himinthemanparts.Again.Forgoodmeasure.

  FelixandChrysiestartedarguingagain,butmygazewascaughtbyaslightly lessdullstrandofgray.AsItriedtofollowit,Isawhowitwoundaroundand aroundandaroundtheghost.Ishivered.Howdidyouchainaghostdown?Like thatapparently.

  “Doyouseethat?”Iasked.

  Theothertwofellsilentandthenfollowedmymagicalprompting.

  “No,”Felixsaid,butChrysiesawit.

  “Isthat,like,arope?”SheshiveredandIfollowedsuit.

  “Ithink…”

  “I don’t see it,” Felix said. He squatted down next to me where I knelt and triedtoseeitagain.Heshookhisheadandthensaid,“Wecan’tleavehimlike this.”

  “Right,” I replied, and took his hand, making him tuck close to me. He still smelledalittlebitlikevomit,butIdidn’tmindsomuch.Notinthefaceofthis madness.

  “See,”Isaidinproto-Romanian.

  “Oh,”hebreathedintomyear,andIshiveredagain.

  “Felix,”Istartedandthenturnedtomeethiseyes.Ihadn’tnoticedtheywere likeacat’seyesbefore.Alittlegold,alittleyellow,alittlebrown,allwrapped upinalovelyalmondpackage.

  “Rue, we can’t leave him like this,” Felix said and I adored him a bit for saying it. Of course we couldn’t. Of course. But Finn and Monica, they’d just shove this ghost through the thinning, brush off their hands, and mock us for being unable to do it. That didn’t feel right. Nothing about this felt right. The longerIwasthere,themoreIwassuresomethingdifferentwasgoingon.

  “I…”Istarted.Ididn’twanttobetheselfishcowthatIwaswhenIsaidthis,

  butIcouldn’thelpit.Notevennow.“NotFinn.NotMonica.”

  “Dr.Hallow?”Hesuggested,acceptingmyboundaries.

  “I…doyouseethat?”Iaskedagainandwhisperedintohisear,“See.”

  Hefrownedandhisgazefocusedontheghost.Ifollowedit,andfrownedasI saw the little tiny runes in the spell. They were there in a darker shade. They should have been invisible. They would have been withou
t the rune, the pentagram,andtheorderinproto-Romanian.

  “Thatdoesn’tlooklike…”Hestarted.

  I finished, “I don’t know a lot about necromancy, but it looks like normal runestome.”

  “Yeah,” he said. Despite not being a necromancer. Felix was a very good witch. His abilities tended towards mechanical-type things. He could make a metaldragonandthenspellittofly.Hismagicwasbeautiful.Butallmagicwas, inmyopinion.Except,perhaps,fornecromancy.

  The ghost moaned again and the sound of it made me want to cry. I didn’t want to run anymore. I wanted to—slaughter—whoever had done this to this ghost. This was the essence of a person. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. “Hecate, goddessofwitchcraft,Morpheus,godofdreams,Hestia,goddessofhome,bless thisspell.”

  “Rue,whatareyoudoing?”Felixasked.Chrysiejusttookmyhandandgave

  mehersupportforshehadnopowertospare.

  I took a deep breath and reached out a magic finger, wrapping it around the spelledsegmentofwhateverthatdarkershadeofdarknesswaswrappedaround theghostandthenIorderedwithwill,intent,andpower,“End.”

  The ghost screamed. Felix, Chrysie, and I did too. The sound dug into my brain.Icurledontomykneesandthepainwrackedoverandinme.Iscreamed until I couldn’t hear anything and then I cried, waiting for the pain to end. It seemedtolastforever,butfinallycametoanend.

  I cracked my eyes open, and found that Felix had wrapped his arms around me.IneededtocheckonChrysie.Icouldn’thearher.IwasafraidifImoved,it would keep hurting. I stared at Felix who had tried to protect me. I slowly reached my tongue out to lick my lips. When it didn’t hurt, I dared to shift slightly.Felix’seyessnappedopen.HestaredatmeandIbackathim.

  I had been ineffably stupid. I had put us all at risk. I didn’t know how to apologize.

  “Areyouok?”heasked.

  Inoddedandaleftovertearslippeddownmycheek.

  “Areyousure?”heasked,wipingthetearaway.