Whispers at Moonrise (Shadow Falls #4)(37)

"Let's just say, I wouldn't want to be her right now," Perry answered.

"And your wolf ass is the reason she's in trouble," Della smarted back.

"I didn't ask her to help me," Clara countered.

Kylie waited before she spoke to Burnett. "I shouldn't be reprimanded for doing what I was supposed to do."

"You could have been killed. It could have been a trick to lure you away from Shadow Falls."

"It wasn't. Clara thought she was in danger. I felt her fear and reacted."

"She thought she was in danger?" he asked, picking up on Kylie's slip of the tongue. "Are you saying she wasn't?"

When Kylie paused, Burnett continued. "Exactly what was it you two were running from?"

A need to tell the truth filled her chest, but another need-the need for answers-kept her quiet. "Like I said before. It was fog," Kylie answered, confident that her response wouldn't read as a lie. Her words were true.

Just not the whole truth.

"Did you sense it was evil?"

"I was scared," she admitted again. A shiver rushed down her spine. Not from fear, but from the cold that came when the dead neared. She glanced around, trying not to let on that they had company. The ghost, Holiday's look-alike, peered at them from behind a tree.

"But...?" Burnett asked, sensing she wasn't finished.

"But I didn't sense it was evil." A whisper of guilt came, but if she told Burnett her grandfather and aunt had attempted to see her without permission, what would Burnett say?

"I'm trying to protect you. I can't do that if you don't follow my rules."

"I don't normally break your rules." The cold grew colder and she cut her eyes to where the ghost had been. She'd disappeared. In a flash, the Holiday look-alike stood beside Burnett, looking at him as if she recognized him. The thought sent a tremor of fear through Kylie's heart.

"It could only take one broken rule and it would be too late."

Kylie bit down on her lips, fighting the cold. "I'm sorry." For upsetting you, not for going. "I heard the scream and I felt called to help."

"Next time, before answering that call, get me."

"I'll try." She shivered in spite of her attempt not to.

"I think you could do better than try," he countered, then he looked up as if questioning some higher power. "Explain to me why I wanted to be a part of Shadow Falls."

"I can answer that," Kylie said, feeling bad for making him angry. "Because beneath that crusty exterior of yours, you care about us. And you love the other person who runs this place." Kylie glanced at the ghost, wondering if she would react to the words.

The spirit's gaze widened. "Do you mean...?"

Burnett frowned, but he didn't try to deny it.

Kylie would've been happy that he'd come to terms with his feelings for Holiday if she didn't have the ghost staring as if ... as if the confession of love had affected her.

The spirit looked at Kylie. "He's in love with the camp leader?" Panic laced her tone. Did the spirit now know she was Holiday?

What's your name? Kylie asked in her head.

"I told you," the ghost answered.

"I'll never get used to this." Burnett started walking.

"Get used to what?" Kylie caught up with him, her attention more on the spirit who walked beside the vampire, staring at him with surprise.

"The ghosts," Burnett blurted out as if the words cost him.

Kylie stopped and grabbed him by the elbow. "You can feel them?" she asked. Generally, only when a spirit was trapped in a small room could a non-ghost whisperer feel them.

"No," he said.

Kylie stared at him.

"Fine. Maybe I feel them a little. It's probably more about the look you and Holiday get in your eyes when they're around," he confessed. He looked around. "Is she gone?"

"How did you know she was a female?" Kylie asked, realizing the spirit was gone.

His jaw clenched. "I could smell her," he said, as if it were some kind of a sin.

"You can? I didn't think ... I mean, I didn't think vampires had ghost-whispering gifts."

"I didn't think so either." And he didn't sound happy about it. He shot off walking again, only faster-his pace reflective of his mood.

Kylie kept up, but barely. "Does Holiday know?"

"Know what?" He didn't even look at Kylie.

"About you detecting ghosts? She was curious as to why you could go into the falls and-"

"No, she doesn't know," he said. "And don't mention it. I'll tell her later." Worry tightened his jaw.

They walked in silence for a second. "I didn't mean to cause trouble by going after Clara. I just reacted to my internal instinct."

"Sometimes our internal instincts can be skewed," he added.

She wondered if he was talking about his ability to smell and sense ghosts as well as her protective instincts. "I'll try to do better next time."

"Thank you," he said, as if conceding to what she offered.

They continued forward. The wind stirred the trees.

"Can you tell me more?" he asked.