CHAPTER FIFTEEN

I GET IN OVER MY HEAD

The following morning, I decided to check on Benny. He was sitting on the steps of the school reading a book when I spotted him. As more kids showed up, I could tell Benny was about to vanish.

I noticed Elise watching him. This surprised me because she seemed to actually notice Benny. She appeared to be considering the situation before someone kicked Benny's bag over, not even stopping to apologize.

Elise rushed to Benny's side. She quickly knelt down and helped him gather up his belongings. As their eyes met, she offered him a kind smile.

I was kind of surprised that Benny didn't vanish on the spot. I watched them curiously.

"Are you okay?" Elise asked gently.

"I... Um..." Benny mumbled.

"You're Benny, right?"

Benny's eyes widened in surprise. "You know my name?" He asked.

Elise laughed, but not like she was mocking him. Her laughter was kind and full of amusement and light. Benny smiled in response.

"You were in my history class last semester. I'm Elise. Elise Singh," she said.

"I know!" He said with a little too much enthusiasm. It was kind of adorable. He blushed and added, "I mean... I remember you, Elise. Thanks for helping me today."

"I firmly believe that people should help each other out whenever possible. A little kindness goes a long way."

"Walk her to class, Benny!" I shouted, as if that could make him hear me. I was so excited to see him engaging in a social interaction that I didn't want it to stop.

"We should get inside," Elise said. "Can I walk you to class?"

I laughed. "That works, too," I decided. "I'm all for feminism!"

Benny smiled brighter than I'd ever seen him smile before. He eagerly followed Elise into the school. I was about to follow them when something else caught my attention.

"Fancy seeing you here," Katrina said.

"Back off, Kat," a voice I hadn't expected to hear replied.

"Casey..." I whispered in surprise. I turned around and saw her familiar short red and black punk rock hair and the black eyeliner she used religiously to frame her eyes.

"You have a lot of nerve showing up here, Casey," Katrina informed her.

"What are you going to do?" Casey demanded. "Kill me like you killed Ava?"

I was a little bit stunned she'd stated that so bluntly. There were a ton of students standing mere feet away from earshot.

"We'll slaughter you and leave your corpse as an offering to our Lady," Katrina replied.

"I'm just here to get an education, Katrina," Casey said. "Don't make me hurt you."

"You can try, but I wouldn't advise it," Aimee said as she and Jaimee came into view.

"Yeah," Jaimee added. "Leave our kitty alone!" She paused as she noticed me. "Hi, Dead Girl!" She added cheerfully as she waved at me.

"Hi, Jaimee," I replied. I figured it was only polite.

Casey tensed. She looked right at me, and I knew she couldn't see me, but she seemed to sense me somehow.

"Ava?" She asked softly.

"Yup," I replied despite knowing she couldn't hear me. I stared at her, wondering why the hell she'd come back to school. Casey was the one who'd gotten away. She'd quit Tyler's circle and escaped with her life. Why would anyone who was that lucky return?

I was full of envy suddenly. If only I'd been as tough as Casey, or even as smart, I wouldn't have died. Maybe that's not true. Maybe I was meant to die the way I did. In that moment, however, I was too busy blaming myself for my death to consider that.

"Wait... She's here?" Katrina asked.

"She is," Aimee confirmed, glaring at me. "And Casey here is going to end up just like her if she doesn't come back to the inner circle."

"Casey! You're back, Dude! Rock on!" Someone said. I knew that voice. My suspicion as to who had interrupted the tense gathering was confirmed as Jason Langer came into view.

Jason was one of my friends, although we weren't overly close. The kid smoked weed like his life depended on it, but he was a genuinely nice guy, and he was pretty hilarious once he started rambling.

"Hey, Jase," Casey replied.

"I missed you, Dude! Where did you go? Did you hear...?" He hesitated, letting the question drift off.

"I know about Ava," she replied softly. "That's why I came back."

"It is?" I asked in surprise.

"It sucks, Dude. Ava was awesome. I really miss her," Jason said. He looked sadder than I'd ever seen him, which surprised me. "Anyway, we should get to class or whatever." He offered her his free arm, holding his skateboard with the other one.

Casey took his arm and allowed him to walk her into the school. Katrina frowned. "Tyler's going to be mad she came back here," she said.

"Don't worry," Aimee replied. "We'll put her down."

"Over my dead body!" I shouted. Then, I sighed. "Okay, maybe that was a poor choice of words," I admitted. "The point is, you're not hurting Casey. I won't let you."

"You can't stop us," Aimee replied.

"Try me," I said firmly.

"You can't fight us all, Ava," Aimee informed me. An army of demonic minions suddenly appeared. I knew that's what they were because despite their mostly human bodies and faces, their eyes glowed red and they had talons for hands. They began to surround me.

"Say hi to our friends, Dead Girl!" Jaimee said with a giggle.

"You know, I do have a name, Jaimee," I replied. "I think we know each other well enough now for you to call me Ava."

The minions attacked before Jaimee could reply. I screamed as they slashed at me with their talons. I had no idea how to escape or even how to fight back.

I'm about to die, I realized. Again.

I had no idea what happened when a ghost died, but I had no desire to find out. I did everything I could think of to try to fight back. I kicked the demons. I punched them. I even tried using whatever telekinetic power being dead had given me, but that only slowed them down.

Just as I was certain this was the end of the story, a sword slashed through the air. It connected with a demon. I watched in shock as the demon started bleeding and someone proceeded to drink its blood. I realized she had long, curly black hair and blue skin. She also had too many arms, but considering those arms were wielding weapons to protect me, I decided not to question that.

She continued drinking the blood of the demons, growing a little more manic with each death. She was laughing and apparently having a great time as I freaked out and tried not to get caught in the crossfire.

Aimee and Jaimee looked terrified. They ran, dragging Katrina with them, but the minions remained. Maybe they were too stupid to realize this woman was destroying them and drinking their blood like the thirstiest vampire I'd ever seen, or maybe they were simply unable to defy their orders, but things weren't looking good for them.

I jumped as a man appeared out of nowhere and knelt beside me. "It's alright, Ava," he said soothingly. "You're safe now." He placed his hands on my back and forehead. He also had extra arms and blue skin.

I felt myself starting to grow stronger. The injuries I'd sustained began to heal. He smiled at me kindly before saying, "Give me a moment, dear."

I watched as he approached the vampire lady. She was still attacking the demons, but they were already dead. She danced in their blood, bathing in it and laughing manically.

The man did the last thing I expected then; he flung himself onto the ground. As she moved forward, she stepped on him. Only then did she stop laughing.

She took a deep breath, stuck out her tongue, and bowed her head.

"Welcome back, my love," the man said, still smiling.

"Apologies, my husband," she replied as she offered him her hand and helped him back to his feet. "I got a bit too intoxicated."

"You get drunk on demon blood?" I asked before I could stop myself.

"I feast on the blood of demons," she explained. "It increases my power, but I sometimes lose control of my senses. Are you alright, Ava?"

"How do you know my name?" I asked nervously.

"You are very special, Ava Meyers," she replied. "I pay attention to girls like you."

"Who are you?"

"I am Kali, and this is my consort, Shiva," she explained.

"Kali and Shiva... You're Hindu deities," I said. "I should have realized that, with the extra arms and all. Thanks for saving me."

"It was our pleasure," Shiva replied.

"Thanks for the drinks," Kali added with a smirk.

"How did you know I was in trouble?" I asked.

"I dispatched them," a new voice said. I turned around and spotted the girl I'd been looking at when I first met Bob. Her brown skin was as smooth as I remembered. Her grey eyes seemed to smile at me. She had pulled her long black braids into a single hair tie at the back of her head. I was once again startled by how beautiful she was.

"You..." I mumbled.

She smiled at me and I melted. "Hello, Ava. I'm Dominique. It's nice to properly meet you," she said.

"Hi," I replied. Yep, that's me, people! I'm the smoothest talker in the game! I excel at flirting Ugh. If I could have hidden my head in a brown paper bag at that moment, I would have.

Dominique continued to smile at me warmly. "Let's get you somewhere to finish regenerating your energy," she said. She offered me her hand, which I accepted, and we suddenly found ourselves in a beautiful meadow. Shiva and Kali appeared behind us. Both seemed unsurprised by the change of scenery.

"That was the first demonic swarm in centuries," Dominique said with a frown as she checked something on her clipboard. "Desmoda's getting stronger."

"Is there a way for me to fight them?" I asked.

"You'll need to learn to focus your energy," she replied.

"My A.D.D.G.D. makes that difficult." I paused. "Attention Deficit Dead Girl Disorder," I clarified.

To my surprise, Dominique laughed. Her eyes lit up with amusement, making her look even more beautiful than she already was.

"You're funny, Ava," she said. "I like you."

I'm deeply in crush with you, I thought, but thankfully, I managed not to admit that aloud. "Thanks," I said. "Humor helps me cope with all of this. Bob doesn't seem to appreciate it, though."

"Bob isn't so bad," Dominique told me. "He's just a bit..."

"Annoying? Stoic? Boring?" I suggested helpfully.

"By the book," she replied with a laugh.

"So, all of the above."

She smiled at me. "He'll grow on you, I promise."

"Like a flesh eating bacteria?"

She shook her head as she smiled. "You certainly keep things interesting for him."

"So, Bob's my case worker," I said. "What's your job?"

"Technically, I'm just an assistant," she explained. "I've only been with the Department of Unfinished Business for six months, so I still need to work my way up in the ranks. They tend to also let me work in dispatching because I have a direct link to the Powers That Be."

"Which ones?"

"All of them. I'm a demigoddess."

"Who are your parents?"

"My father is a doctor from Pennsylvania. My mother is Durga, the Hindu Goddess of War."

"So Kali and Shiva here are basically your aunt and uncle?"

"Yes. That's why they were the easiest ones for me to dispatch."

"Well, thanks for the help. I was pretty screwed."

"Thank Bob. He gave the order to send help."

"I guess that was nice of him."

"Your energy is back where it should be now," Shiva said. "You can go back to your charges if you're ready."

"Let's give Ava the morning off," Dominique said. "I can help her learn the ropes a bit."

"Really?" I asked in excitement. "I thought I had to figure all of this out on my own!"

"It'll be our little secret," Dominique replied with a glint of mischief in her eyes.

Kali smiled at us in apparent amusement. "Go on, Domi," she said. "This girl needs a little guidance. Until we meet again, Ava." She took Shiva and left.

"So, how does this work?" I asked. "Do we train here, or what?"

"We can start here," Dominique replied. "What have you figured out how to do so far?"

"I can throw telekinetic temper tantrums."

"That's a good start. You'll need to learn to focus so you can control that power and use it wisely. How are things going with your charges?"

"Well, Sophia and I are getting along pretty well, and I think Logan and I have reached an understanding."

"What about Benny and Julia?"

"They're great, but they can't see or hear me, so it's a little hard to communicate with them."

"You need to properly connect to them. Once you do, even Benny and Julia will be able to see you."

"How do I do that?"

She paused thoughtfully. "I can teach you a lot of things, Ava, but only you can figure out how to connect to your charges. Trust your instincts. They'll tell you what to do."

"I'm afraid they haven't been so great so far."

"Give yourself some time. It's not easy learning how to be a ghost."

I hesitated before asking, "Are you a ghost, or can you just see me because you're a demigoddess?"

"I'm a spirit, too," she replied.

It was hard to imagine that someone who was so full of life could be dead. "What happened to you?" I asked cautiously, not sure if it was rude or considered socially taboo for the dead to talk about that but too curious to stop myself.

"That's a story for another day, Ava," she replied with a sad smile. "Come on. We've got work to do!"