Ghost (The Halloween Boys #1) (58)

Ezmerelda met my gaze and grinned, wiping red liquid from her chin. It was then I noticed the captain’s neck . . . and the torn and bloody fabric on his chest.

“You’re bleeding,” I said in alarm, “Are you okay? I have a first aid kit in my car—”

Captain Vex burst out laughing while Ezmerelda bit back her giggle. Raven looked at me, and though I couldn’t see his expression under his mask, I knew he was exasperated.

Ezmerelda licked the captain’s swollen neck and he groaned. “No bandages needed. I got it. Have a nice night, Little Fox. See you tomorrow.” With a playful look over her shoulder, the red-headed vampiress tugged the pirate’s arm, pulling him past us toward the other side of the forest. What lay that way, I had no idea. But the sight of blood was disturbing.

“That was real blood,” I whispered to Raven, in case they were still nearby. “That wasn’t pretend. I saw his swollen neck. Did she really bite him?”

My friend squawked with amusement. “Looks like that’s the least of what she did to him. Vex Beard has been pining for The Red Vampiress for ages. I guess he’s finally making some headway. Though, you never know with the vampires. They’re amorous, to say the least. Fun to spy on though. The things they talk about would astound you.”

Unease tensed my muscles as we continued along the winding path. I rubbed my neck in solidarity with the pirate captain. It looked painful. “Don’t you think that’s taking the fantasy too far? That looked like it hurt.”

Raven hummed what sounded like a tune that was vaguely familiar. “I’m deciding something about you right now,” he said between hums. “I’m deciding if it’s in your best interest to know more or not.”

“I can handle it. I’m not a child. If they’re doing drugs or if Ezmerelda and Vex have a blood kink or something, that’s fine as long as it’s consensual, I guess. But you can tell me. It won’t scare me.”

Raven hummed some more and I realized the song. “That’s the least of what would scare you, Blythe. Oh, and thanks for the peanuts.”

“‘Gold Dust Woman’ by Fleetwood Mac. I was just listening to that in my car earlier.”

And then my feet hit gravel and the realization hit with the crunch. “Wait, how did you know my name and—”

But a large man standing by my car snagged my attention. He howled at the moon like an animal and leaned against my car with a big grin on his face. “Not safe to be out in these woods alone,” Wolfgang said as I approached.

“I’m not alone. Raven walked me.”

“Is that your imaginary friend?”

When I looked around me, my bird friend was gone. “I guess he’s not one for goodbyes, but he was right here.”

I swallowed. Because as much as I wanted to deny it, it was as if he’d evaporated . . . or taken flight. No, both of those were ludicrous. Ezmerelda licking crimson from the corner of her lips flashed in my mind. Blood. “Gold Dust Woman” and peanuts . . .

“You look like you just saw a ghost,” Wolfgang crooned, angling his head. “You alright, champ?”

Swallowing my rising panic, I rubbed under my itchy mask. “It’s been a long day. Why are you here again?”

“Well,” he said, smiling that dazzling smile. “I was going to make something up about leaving something of mine in your car, but really . . . I was in the area and thought I’d see you home. Might as well, right? Also, I don’t have a ride, so it’s a win, win.”

“You didn’t drive here? First Ames the other night and now you?” Suspicious.

“Nope, I was dropped off.”

I clicked my tongue. “So you do party at Hallows. Where’s your costume?”

Wolfgang bopped my nose with his thumb. “Wouldn’t you like to know. You’re cold, let’s get in. I can drive if you’re tired.”

The feminist in me wanted to keep control by driving my own car, but even she was over it, and Wolfgang was basically a giant teddy bear. I handed my keys over and we got in.

“Am I taking you . . . back to Ames’s place?” he asked carefully, though I wasn’t entirely sure why he’d assume that.

“Absolutely not,” I huffed, crossing my arms against the cold car. Wolf turned up the heat and chuckled.

“I heard you two got into a tiff. Don’t worry, we all get pissed at him regularly. For a therapist, he says some dumb shit sometimes. But he’s an alright guy.”

I rolled my eyes. “Oh, yeah? Are you a part of his villains of Hell’s Gate club?”

Wolfgang’s smile dropped, and he looked straight ahead. “What did he tell you?”

The seriousness in his tone took me off guard. “He said he was the villain. Is he right?” I asked pointedly.

“What do you think?”

I sighed, annoyed and wanting to get out of my pointlessly sexy outfit. “I think half the town treats him, and you and Onyx, like gods. But then there are some people who warn me that you’re all bad news. I’m not sure how both of those stories can coexist.”

“Maybe we’re both. Gods and monsters.”

I grinned, looking over at Wolf’s thick frame, but he wasn’t smiling. His usual lightheartedness had faded into something else, something stern and pensive. We rode in silence after I asked him to drop me at Magia Eclectics.