Chapter Two
Toby stood still in the middle of the room for a long time after Tristan left. Cold crept into my body, leaving me shaking but unwilling to move the few feet it would take to put myself under the covers. Tristan was unlike any of the other ghosts that came to me. For one, most of them never talked to Toby. No matter how much he screamed at them, they paid him little attention. And no one ever left him shaken up. If Toby was afraid of Tristan…what did that mean?
“Go to sleep now, Ren,” he half whispered.
I didn’t want to listen to him , but as it often happened; my body responded anyways. Crawling obediently under the covers, I let my head fall against the stiff pillow. I didn’t expect sleep to come as easily as it did.
I opened my eyes slowly, already knowing before the light even touched my pupils that I wasn’t in room 36 anymore. A woman crouched low so her pale green eyes were level with my face, which was resting on hard concrete. Her lips were pressed into a hard line, which didn’t change even when she realized I was awake.
“You’re a hard girl to find, Rennota Collins,” she declared in a surprisingly soft voice.
I struggled to sit up straight, not wanting to get any closer to the beautiful woman, but she didn’t seem in any hurry to put distance between us. Her short black curls danced wildly in the nonexistent wind, further spiking my heartbeat. Where were we? How did I get out of Nine Crosses? I tried to look past the woman; only a long deserted highway stretched behind her though. At least, as far as I could tell.
“The brothers were trying to keep you hidden,” she finally smiled at their apparent failure. Whoever the brothers were.
I scooted backwards a few inches.
“I know you have this strict ‘no talking’ thing,” she rolled her eyes, “but that only counts in real life, right?”
I swallowed past the fear in my throat.
“Nope,” she half way grinned, “this isn’t real life. This is a dream,” she waved her hand all around in front of her face. “You are still asleep in your comfy bed at that crazy house.” Her body relaxed further until she was sitting on the ground in front of me. “I’m sure you have a bunch of questions?” she raised one eyebrow in a clear challenge.
“Do you know Toby?” It shocked me that my long neglected voice still came out clear and recognizable. I had expected it to be more raspy and deep. Maybe it was just the dream land playing with my mind.
Her eyebrow jumped back down to furrow low on her forehead. “Guess you’re used to crazy, huh?” she pursed her lips thoughtfully. “Who are you or what are we doing here would have been my first guesses.” She shrugged. “Oh well, can’t be right every time.”
“I don’t…”
“I’m Nona,” she waved away my stammering.
“Nona?” My head jerked back slightly. Tristan had said she was here. Was she looking for me?
“I see you have heard of me. Has Tristan already been to see you?” Her lips tightened momentarily but then smoothed back out. “It’s true, I have been looking for you. I thought it was time you and I had a chat.”
“About what?”
“Your fate, Ren.” Her smile grew until it took up most of her small face.
“M…my what?”
“Do you think just anyone gets to see the Cursed?” she asked as if I knew what that meant.
“I…I don’t know.”
“Toby,” she snarled.
“He’s a …Cursed? Is that why I can see him?”
“You can see all the Cursed.”
“You mean the ghosts?” My voice dropped low at the taboo mention.
“Yes, I mean the ghosts. Toby should have told you about them by now. How old are you?”
“I’m not sure.” I answered truthfully. It wasn’t like we had big celebrations at Nine Crosses. My father hated being reminded that I was even still alive. Every day just became a blur after a while.
Nona rolled her eyes again. “You must be close to eighteen, maybe nineteen.”
“Probably close to eighteen,” I nodded.
“You should already know,” she snapped at last.
“I’ve always known about the ghosts though.”
She bit her lip, regarding me with that half glare that I couldn’t decide if she was angry or just irritated. “So it’s true, you’ve always seen them?”
I nodded.
“None of the others had the sight until they were well into their teens. What makes you special?”
A memory flew back at me, knocking the wind from my lungs. A lunch hall three years ago. Brenda Hall. “What makes you special? Freak!”
I shook my head quickly. “I’m not special,” I answered Nona. “Not at all.”
“My sister, who almost always speaks in riddles, said there would come along a woman who could destroy Tristan.” Nona raised her chin into the breeze that had suddenly started up. “She would be special, a warrior.”
“I don’t know anyone like that,” I shook my head. Did she think my ghost people could destroy someone like Tristan? “My ghost people don’t really hurt people. I don’t think they can”
“Not the Cursed.” Her lip curled up in disgust. “I mean you.”
Her words created a physical ache in my stomach, a panic that wanted to claw upwards. “Me? I can’t…do anything. I’m not a warrior.” I was supposed to be the crazy one here. Seeing people that weren’t there and having conversations with a strange woman on a road that led to no where. Why was she saying things like that then?
“We’re all warriors when we have no other choice.” She kept her voice even, but the vein throbbed in her temple, giving away the intensity boiling inside her.
“No,” I scrambled to my knees. “You’ll have to find someone else. I can’t do it. I don’t even know what you want me to do.”
“Destroy Tristan.” She said the words as if it were no big deal. Killing a ghost that scared Toby; no biggie.
“I want to go back to my room now.” I could feel the tension along my neck and down to my shoulders. My breath came out in short sounds, but luckily not raspy. Maybe she wouldn’t be able to see how much her words shook me up. “I just want to go back to my own room,” I half whimpered.
Nona sighed heavily through her nose, kicking up the wind again. I shifted nervously but nothing stronger than a light breeze hit me. “Tristan has already made contact with you,” she explained impatiently - as if I should already know what that meant. “You can’t just hide anymore.”
I wanted to be angry with Nona; to tell her that I wasn’t hiding. I had been stashed away so my father didn’t have to tell anyone that he had a crazy daughter. But it wasn’t hiding. I couldn’t hide from the ghosts; they found me where ever I went. I didn’t say any of that though. Instead, I asked a really stupid question. “Will he kill me?”
“He’s certainly going to try,” she replied without hesitation.
Behind Nona, on the empty road, the shadow of a woman appeared. Nona’s eyes flitted closed but she didn’t turn around. “Our time is running short,” she warned without opening her eyes.
“You mean…he’s going to kill me soon?” I couldn’t seem to make myself afraid enough of that.
“I mean,” her eyes popped back open, “you’re waking up.”
“Oh.” I didn’t feel any different though.
“I know you don’t feel like a warrior right now, Ren,” she said hurriedly.
“I’m not a warrior.” There weren’t many clear things in my life, but that was definitely one of them. I was no warrior; I couldn’t be what Nona wanted me to be.
“It’s already been spoken.” Her forehead smoothed out. “When you wake up, you need to talk to Toby.”
“Toby hates me.” The words spilled out before I could think about them. It was true though.
“Tell him you’ve seen me,” she plowed ahead as if I hadn’t said anything. “Tell him Tristan will be coming soon. He needs to take you to a safe place until I come
again. It’s important that Tristan doesn’t get to you before it’s time.”
I nodded mutely. Tristan had said I wasn’t ready yet. Did he know I was meant to destroy him? The woman behind Nona shifted into focus. There was a small gasp and then Nona was gone before I knew what had happened.
I was left alone with the woman on the road. Her face was familiar to me. She came to me often; just to watch. Like now, she didn’t say anything. Her sad eyes searched my face for something. I sat back until I was resting on my feet and stared back at the woman. Nona was gone but her words still echoed inside my head. Destroy Tristan? Even if I could - which I couldn’t - why would I want to? He seemed nice.