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  “Good, we don’t need murderers on the streets,” Maria nodded.

  “It’s debatable if he was committing murder or simply his ‘civil duty’,” I scoffed. “Vampires are technically dead, so I’m still not sure where I stand on the murder opinion when they get killed.”

  “The world is still coming to terms with them. They’re lucky only werewolves and vampires have revealed themselves. Imagine the chaos if witches and other things came out,” Maria said.

  Other things. Of course, there were more supernatural beings than just werewolves, vampires, shifters and witches. But they were the most common of the races, strewn across continents in the thousands, even hundreds of thousands.

  Vampires had made an oath when coming out that they would not drink from live humans nor kill them, but those of us who had a more intimate knowledge of the darker world around us knew the truth.

  They did still feed, in private, on willing persons who enjoyed the thrill of being fed on.

  A fetish some would say, as vampires did release arousing endorphins into their victims to make them more willing to be fed on.

  I wouldn’t lie; the thought had crossed my mind when Alex and I had started seeing each other out of the office. But he’d been a gentleman, and never once even suggested feeding on me.

  The Supernatural Council did sometimes go above the law if they saw fit though, they’d put down their own kind if they felt they’d threaten the whole of their race, either by hunting openly or leaving a trail of bodies in their wake like a sick Hansel and Gretel homage. They also took care of humans who proved to be too much of a nuisance, such as the case of Heath Clave, who’d racked up a fair few vampire kills which had landed him in custody when he’d been caught staking a lone vampire woman in the mall.

  Alex had always said the day of revelation had made some vampires too complacent, as if they expected that they’d get equal rights. Some of them no longer looked over their shoulders as much, while others had increased their caution, such as Alex.

  No one knew he was an attorney only for supernatural beings, except for other supes.

  Supes. A generalized term that had been coined after the revelation.

  If anyone knew of Alex’s specific clientele, all sorts would hunt him down.

  “It’s still daytime, why is he even texting you?” Maria frowned. “I was under the impression they sleep during the day?”

  “They do, most of the time. I guess he can still get calls in his coffin,” I chuckled at the thought.

  They did need somewhere safe to sleep out the dangerous daylight hours.

  But despite what some people believed, they didn’t sleep like the dead, unable to be woken until sunset. They could wake at any time, but they had to remain tucked away unless they wanted to burn in the sun.

  “Well, I’m going to have to cut this short, I promised to see my mother this afternoon, but thanks for helping me today with the Jenkins, you still keen on joining in with Miss Randall on Monday next week?” Maria asked as she sat upright and set her now empty mug on the coffee table.

  “Sure, she’s wanting to talk to her grandma right?” I double-checked that I had it right.

  “Yeah.”

  “Sure, could be interesting. But I’m going to go do some shopping, I’m thinking I might pick-up a new dress and hit the bars tonight. It’s been a while since I’ve been laid,” I grinned.

  “Really, what happened to that tall, dark and handsome man a few weeks back?” Maria laughed.

  “Guess he’s not into dead chicks,” I waved her off as I stood.

  Since I could be solid when I wanted to be, I still enjoyed being intimate with men. Although I couldn’t really hope for a relationship.

  That was off the table.

  I was destined to be single for however longer I stayed like this.

  Forever, I guess.

  The thought scared me sometimes, but I tried not to think of it, of outliving Maria and watching the world constantly change.

  Alex had spoken to me about it, of not growing old as people he knew withered away and the world changed around him.

  “I thought you had work tonight though?” Maria frowned.

  “I did, but considering I helped Alex with his issue last night, I think I’ll take it off.”

  “Well, text me if you need to,” Maria said as she stroked Mr Fluffs.

  “Will do, see ya fluff-ball.”

  I chuckled as the little monster hissed at me as I headed for the door.

  Cats did not seem to like the dead at all.

  2

  I stood before the full-length mirror in my revealing open back red dress I’d found on the rack.

  It exposed my flawless, pale skin, dipping down between my breasts to leave little imagination to any man. The rounded sides of my C-cup breasts were visible to all, and the leg slit on the side showed off my long, slender legs.

  My blonde mid-length hair was done up in a bun, and my brown eyes were tinged with grey as I took in my reflection. An anomaly I’d gained after my ‘death’.

  The dress would capture the attention of any man, and I smirked at the thought of capturing whomever I wanted to take back to my bed.

  This was certainly a find in my opinion, although the hefty price tag proved it was made to please.

  Money was not an issue these days though, and I grinned as I turned and took in the dress from all angles.

  I was absolutely ravishing; there was no denying it.

  A touch of make-up, bright red lipstick, and I’d be the center of attention wherever I went.

  “Perfect,” I sighed as I took one last, lingering look in the mirror before sliding out of the dress to purchase it.

  I’d definitely get lucky tonight.

  I strode out of the mall with my prize find folded into a branded plastic bag, and I held my purse close as I made my way across the parking lot to my car.

  I slowed as a familiar sensation washed over me. The same one I got whenever I sat in with Maria and a spirit was summoned.

  I muttered under my breath, but curiosity won out and I scanned the parking lot to find what had set me off.

  A small girl, around ten years old was watching me from the edge of the parking lot.

  She stood within the shade of the tree line behind her, and her greying eyes bore into me as she played with the hem of her dirty blue dress.

  I hesitated, wishing I could continue on my way, but knowing I was the only one who could comfort this girl. Sitting in with summoned spirits was one thing, but coming across one just out and about? That was rare, I’d only had it happen once since my turning, and I’d headed the other way, not ready to deal with such a thing.

  Something I regretted, and I wasn’t going to have that happen again.

  I continued the last few cars to my silver Volvo sedan and unlocked it, tossing my purchase onto the passenger seat and then locking the car.

  I turned back and pursed my lips as the girl continued to stare at me with confusion and fascination.

  I strode over to her, the fear and unease evident in her eyes as I drew near.

  “What’s your name?” I asked as I knelt down before her. She didn’t seem dangerous or red eyed like the ones Maria said were older spirits. Maybe she was new.

  Her bare toes wiggled in the grass, covered in grime and dirt like her dress.

  “You can see me?” she frowned; the soft creases in her forehead making her look older than she was.

  “Yes, I can see you,” I sighed. I hated this. I hated the confused and lost look, not understanding why she was dead.

  I could only imagine what had happened to her. But I had to help her understand.

  “I’m Millie. I think he killed me,” she pouted as she stared down at her dirty feet while she fumbled with her dress.

  “It’s nice to meet you Millie. I’m Ivy. And I’m so sorry,” I murmured, my mind whirring at her words. He? Who would have hurt such a sweet young girl?

  “I’
m dead, aren’t I?” she breathed as she caught my eyes. They were a dull green flecked with the same grey as mine.

  “Yes sweetie, I’m sorry,” I managed to say as my chest tightened. I may be dead as well, but I still experienced emotional onslaughts.

  “What happened?” I asked as I reached out and rested a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

  She jumped at the touch, as if shocked at the sensation of actual contact.

  It was true being a real spirit meant you couldn’t touch anything, but I wasn’t a full spirit. At least, that’s what I thought; I didn’t really know what I was.

  She smiled as she relaxed, as if comforted by the first real touch since her death. Her brown hair was dirty and disheveled, with a bird’s nest evident in the back.

  “A man came into my home. He…” Millie paused as she frowned, as if struggling to remember. “Um, he… he hurt my parents,” her lower lip trembled as her face turned to one of terror as she relived the moments in her mind.

  “He bit their necks, there was so much blood. Mom told me to run, but I couldn’t get away from him,” Millie sniffled as her eyes watered.

  “Oh sweetie,” I clenched my jaw as I pulled the small, frail girl into my arms.

  I couldn’t imagine her fear and pain. It was obvious a vampire attacked her family.

  “He took me to the woods,” Millie cried as she wrapped her tiny arms around me, and I held her tight despite how her body flickered translucent.

  “Stay with me Millie. It’s going to be okay,” I said as I pulled back to give her a reassuring smile. I’d seen ghosts do that when Maria broke the summoning circle.

  “I remember seeing all my family, my grandma and cousins, they were crying as they poured dust into the ocean. I don’t know why I was there or why I saw it, but they couldn’t hear me, it was like they couldn’t see me,” Millie sobbed and I wiped the tears from her cheeks as I tried to murmur soft words of reassurance.

  This little girl was so hurt and broken, lost and in despair as she tried to understand.

  Maria would know what to do if she was here.

  She’d said that to be laid to rest they had to have a ritual performed over their bodies before being destroyed, cremated or the like.

  But it sounded like Millie had already been cremated.

  “Why… why aren’t I with my…my mom and dad? If he killed them… shouldn’t I be with them?” Millie frowned as she drew in short, sharp breaths between her sobs.

  “Did he take anything from you Millie?” I asked as I stroked her hair soothingly.

  People walked through the parking lot, but I made sure I wasn’t visible to their eyes.

  “Um… some of my hair,” Millie sniffled as she remembered.

  Sickness washed over me as the realization hit me.

  He’d taken a trophy of his kill. I’d watched enough crime shows to know that some killers took trophies. Be it teeth, nails, fingers or something else. Hair was a common one too.

  And if he did that, then it wasn’t an ‘accidental’ killing.

  “What’s your last name Millie?” I cleared my throat, pushing down my anger and distress for the poor girl.

  “Cowan, Millie Cowan,” Millie said as she rubbed her eyes.

  “Millie, I’m going to find who did this to you, okay?” I said as I held her shoulders firm.

  The thought of this girl wandering around, stuck in this world, unseen and unheard. I couldn’t let that happen.

  Maria. I needed her help.

  “Can you come with me?” I asked. I wasn’t sure if she was held to a certain place or not. Maria had said spirits were bound to places or things, and they couldn’t leave there.

  “I don’t think so, my mom used to bring me here all the time, we’d play in the park there,” Millie pointed to the small playground near the mall. “Whenever I try to go home or leave, I appear back here,” Millie gave me a confused look.

  “It’s okay sweetie, I’m just going to call my friend, okay? I’ll be right back,” I assured her.

  “Okay,” Millie said quietly, watching after me with a lost look as I hurried back to my car where I’d left my phone.

  I jumped into the driver’s seat and dialed Maria, drumming my fingers on the steering wheel as it rang.

  “Hello?” Maria answered after the fourth ring.

  “Hey, it’s me. I know you’re visiting your mom, but I need your help,” I sighed.

  “What’s up?” Maria was quick to ask, never one to push away those in need.

  “I found a little girl. Well, a ghost girl.”

  “Oh,” the phone went quiet for a moment. “Is she upset?”

  “Yes. A vampire murdered her family. From what she’s said, she was cremated I believe. I asked her if he took anything from her, and he took a lock of her hair.”

  “What a sick fuck,” Maria spat. I heard her quickly apologize as she covered the receiver.

  I could just imagine her mother, Monica, scolding her for using explicit language.

  “Look, we’ll need to find the vampire that did this and burn her hair to undo her binding,” Maria said quietly.

  “Okay, how?” I frowned. There were hundreds of vampires here in Portland.

  “Where are you?”

  “The mall. She’s bound here I think. To the park,” I glanced out the window, smiling reassuringly at Millie who watched me carefully from the edge of the parking lot.

  “It’s probably a place that made her happy. That can happen, places they find comfort in, or they get strung along with whatever is keeping them here. I’m glad it’s not that, I can only imagine…” Maria sighed.

  I could imagine it too. The poor girl being constantly dragged along with the vampire who killed her, watching as he killed others and did God knows what.

  I was glad she’d been bound to the park instead.

  “I’m about twenty minutes from you if I leave now, see if you can get a description of the vampire from her. And ring Alex,” Maria said.

  “Why?” I grumbled at the thought of calling my own killer. I may still work for him, but our relationship was not exactly close anymore. We still conversed, but the tension between us was evident. We’d both tried to distant ourselves.

  “Because, he’s a vampire and he might know who killed her. He’s worked with God knows how many vamps and I’m sure he knows many more,” Maria let out an exasperated sigh.

  She was right. Having a vampire’s help on this would be a plus. But I still wasn’t overly excited to ask him for help.

  “Fine,” I scowled.

  “I’ll head to you soon, call Alex and get him to come at nightfall.”

  “Okay,” I sighed and hung up the phone.

  I looked out the window at the tiny girl standing in the shade, her sweet face lined with confusion and worry.

  I had to help her. I was probably the only one capable of helping her.

  I pursed my lips as I scrolled through my contacts and found Alex.

  He did owe me anyway.

  Maria sat with me as she fussed over Millie. I held her hand, sharing my visibility with her so Maria could see her.

  Maria was humming as she brushed the girl’s hair and told her of her work and the people she’d helped.

  Millie was cautious with Maria at first, but once I’d established she only wanted to help, she’d accepted her affection and relaxed.

  “So you help people like me join my family?” Millie asked as Maria carefully worked out the bird’s nest that had built up in her hair.

  “Yes sweetie, that’s my job. To help people like you, and to help those still alive communicate with their loved ones,” Maria murmured sweetly, the light from the overhead streetlight dousing them both in an eerie glow. Night had fallen not too long ago, and now we sat in the cool night air together while we waited.

  “Can you talk to my parents for me?” Millie’s eyes lit up at the prospect.

  “I don’t have anything they owned, so I can’t summon them
here,” Maria sighed, frowning as Millie’s face dropped. “I’m sorry Millie, if I could, I would.”

  I pursed my lips as I squeezed Millie’s hand comfortingly.

  “I miss them, I just want to be with them,” Millie said quietly.

  “I know,” I said as stroked her now smooth hair. Maria had done a wonderful job tidying up her dark locks.

  “So, you said this man that’s coming, he can help us?” Millie turned to me, her green eyes curious.

  “Yes, he should be able to help us,” I looked at Maria carefully. We hadn’t told her what Alex was yet. We were afraid she’d disappear on us.

  “So this man, you said he was African American, anything else you can think of?” Maria asked.

  “Um…” Millie bit her lip as she thought hard. “He had a funny voice. And no hair at all.”

  “What do you mean funny?” I prodded as she frowned while she tried to think of a way to explain it.

  “Like…um…the Harry Potter people?” Millie looked between us in hopes that’d we’d understand the reference.

  “Harry Potter?” Maria chewed her lip.

  “You mean he had a British accent?” I said.

  “Um, I think so,” Millie looked at her hands.

  “Did he sound like this? Like he enjoyed an evening tea and scones?” Maria put on her best British accent which made us both smile at her.

  “Yeah!” Millie bounced in her seat on the parking lot wall. We’d walked over to the waist height, stone wall around the edge of the parking lot to wait for Alex.

  “So he was a black British man then, not African American,” Maria nodded.

  “Is that helpful?” Millie asked.

  “Yes, it’s very helpful, I doubt there are many people out there like him,” Maria nodded.

  I stared up at the night sky; it wouldn’t be long before Alex would join us.

  “Millie, the man that’s coming to help us, he’s not like us okay? You might be scared of him, but he will help us,” I said, watching as Millie’s face turned to one of shock and confusion.