Chapter 4: Louis

Whimpers, sobs, terrible sounds, whispers and on and on. A cacophony of deafening noises overwhelmed her as soon as she landed in the stranger's arms. Her hands wrapped tightly around the ghost's neck, squeezing as if her life depended on it.

She made the mistake of meeting the thing in the eye. It swarmed around the stranger, blinding her sight. For her, the ghost was trying to get to her. For him, she was trying to kill him.

"Easy there, sweetheart," a smooth, chilling voice cut through the noise. "Is this how you thank your savior?"

It took a minute before her mind wrapped around the situation and the realization sank in. The ghosts were everywhere, yet very much alive. She wasn't dead. She was still sane and cradled in someone's arms.

Her eyes locked onto a pair of strikingly calm, crimson eyes that glinted with joy. This man was smiling at her, as if her panic was the most entertaining thing he'd seen all day.

"You can let go now," he added with a wink.

Her hands slowly untangled before she jumped down, muttering an 'apology'.

Her cheeks burned with embarrassment but she forced herself to straighten and meet his gaze. Her heart pounded as she assessed him. Everything about him felt wrong. From his overly casual demeanor to the unsettling way his shadows moved, as if they were alive.

Louis noticed her gaze lingering on his shadows. For normal people, they were normal shadows. There was no way someone could see that. However, her terrified gaze suggested otherwise.

He leaned in slightly and whispered: "What do you see, sweetheart?"

The dangerous combination of his voice and curious stare sent chills down her spine. She flinched but quickly swallowed her fear. She wasn't a weak woman to let some stranger get on her nerves.

"I'm sorry. I thought you were trying to kidnap me. Clearly, I'm mistaken."

Heart hammering, she stepped back, putting some distance between them. Losing more control over her life was bad. She couldn't afford to lose more. She needed to be in control.

After a quick peak at the mansion, she returned her focus on the man, doing her best to not let the ghosts realize she saw them.

 "Kidnap you? Hmmm… Now, that's an idea," she rubbed his jaw, seriously thinking. "Heavens rained us chicks. You're my chick apparently and Darius' chick was smitten to naught."

This was the signal that made Leah look at the heaving body of Dina. It was twisted all around, blood oozing from every torn flesh. This wasn't the first time she saw corpses so it didn't affect her much. However, the ghost coming out of the body was a complete different story.

She smiled.

She was thinking hard if the servant deserved death or not. It seemed that fate took care of making the choice for her.

Her chest rose and fell as her heart battled to remember its original rhythm. It was hilarious and suspicious how she survived and her maid didn't. The man's reply was also funny.

It made her burst into laughter.

It was fine to be crazy for once. It was a miracle she didn't turn insane.

Darius was just watching with a sigh. His master has found a new toy. He pitied the girl. Her fate was already a handful. She didn't need another monster on her back.

"Master, we're wasting valuable time."

"Patience, Darius. Can't you see I'm entertaining my sweetheart?"

Leah's eyes flicked to the second man, Darius, who stood a few steps behind Louis. Unlike Louis, Darius wore a grim expression, his posture rigid and his tone clipped. Whatever these men were up to, Leah was certain she wanted no part of it. But for now, she needed to play along.

This isn't the first time I've met death, she thought. I'll do what I always do, meet it the face and don't hesitate.

"Entertaining?" she echoed, raising an eyebrow. "I don't find this very amusing."

Louis' smile turned sharper, his eyes gleaming with something predatory.

"Oh, don't you, sweetheart? The fun is just getting started. Let's begin with…" he stepped closer, forcing her to tilt her head up to maintain eye contact. "Which heaven did you fall from?"

Leah bristled at the question. She wasn't an angel. More of a bad girl.

And more importantly, her neck started to hurt. He was taller than he should have been.

"I don't enjoy these silences you're throwing around. I'll really kidnap you, sweetheart. I'll drag you down to hell, away from that promised heaven. You won't turn into a full angel and you won't get to have your happy life."

"I can't believe you believe in such things. Who lied to you when you were young?" she let her head drop and massaged her nape.

Turned out, the pet was an oddity trapped in a hot body.

"Don't you believe in all that angel bullshit?"

"What angel bullshit?" she repeated.

"That once you die, you turn into silver-winged turds… I mean angels and fly your way up to heavens."

Louis bit his lower lip to suppress a laugh. She cringed. What did they tell her to keep her in place?

"Alright! Next step, more fun. I could use your help. I'm looking for a small boy. About five years old. Care to lend a hand?"

"What's the catch?" she asked, crossing her arms.

"If you don't, I will change my mind about that whole 'not kidnapping you' thing."

She nodded.

"Great! Let's start," Louis looked around, amused. "Since you live here, where do you think we should start?"

"I'd like to know first how the child ended up in this garden."

Despite her cold shoulder, she hated it when children had to suffer from adult's choices. Children were innocent and if she could, she would give them happy endings. Not like her life.

"Fair. He wanted to see his sister. Because he was a small thing, he could sneak inside. The garden fascinated him and he ended up lost."

"If so then…"

He could die…

Her breath hitched. The place was crawling with ghosts. Their twisted forms terrified her. It was something out of her control. Since she got this body, everything swirled out of her hand.

Leah liked being in control.

Not far from her, she noticed a place where ghosts didn't linger. Her instincts told her to run far away and never go back. But this was a child's fate. Her legs wobbled under the weight of her decision.

She started running around, in different directions, doing her best to ignore the ghosts on the way. She only paused when she reached a place with no ghosts hovering around. It was in the middle of the garden maze.

There, in a bed of roses, she spotted something different; a small, childlike ghost hugged a beast.

She couldn't guess what it was.

"Ammm… As I thought, the child is cursed," Louis said, cutting her strings of thoughts. "We gotta start working now. Let's find a way to break the curse."

Her eyes widened.

The beast was covered in fur, almost like a werewolf but the head wasn't shaped as a wolf. It didn't resemble anything she had seen before. Not a single animal. And the small ghost. Leah made another mistake. Her second for the day. She locked eyes with it. The ghost child smiled.

As Louis and Darius moved towards the ghostly figure, Leah took a step back, her mind racing. She couldn't shake the feeling that she made a deal with the devil. She had no idea what that man's intentions were. But one thing was certain; she needed to stay on her toes.

"Don't go wandering off, sweetheart," Louis called over his shoulder, his tone light but laced with warnings. "We're not done with you yet."