Tangled in Moonlight: Unshifted novel Chapter 484

Chapter 484: Ava: In Love With a Deception

"Why do you think we can’t kill her?"

Malloy gives me one hard, calculating look—then simply melts. Literally.

His spectral form liquefies right in front of me, spreading across the floor of Ivy’s cabin like spilled mercury, refusing to engage.

"Seriously?" I sigh, rubbing my forehead. Trying to talk to a crazy ghost is a terrible drain on my brain.

A face suddenly bubbles up from the center of the puddle, causing me to jerk back. Two hollow eyes blink at me from the rippling surface.

"Aren’t you afraid of me?" Malloy asks, genuine curiosity in his voice.

I shake my head. "No."

His shoulders rise from the puddle now, giving him a bizarre half-formed appearance. "Will you seek vengeance for me?"

"You literally just said it was impossible," I point out, sidestepping his question.

He sinks back into his puddle with a pout that would be comical if it wasn’t attached to a mad ghost. "Right. Right. Impossible. Sleep with madness."

"Is it possible for you to just... not be crazy?" The question comes out blunter than I intended, but dancing around the issue seems pointless. I need to take advantage of his lucidity, however long it lasts.

Malloy stares at me, his liquid face suddenly frozen. "Am I mad?"

No point sugar-coating it.

"Yes."

"Hmm."

He slides down until only half his face remains above the surface, watching me with an unreadable expression. Then suddenly—he springs up, reforming his entire body in one fluid motion. Before I can react, he’s crawling toward me on all fours, fingers splayed against the floor and his movements jerky and unnatural.

I flinch back. Selene lunges forward with a warning growl.

Malloy stops, a too-wide smile stretching across his face. "You want vengeance. I can taste it."

I clear my throat and straighten my back.

"I want to destroy it," I admit slowly. "It shouldn’t be in this world."

His giggle sends a chill racing down my spine. He extends one translucent hand toward me—filthy and ragged, the nails torn and caked with something dark. "Shake on it. Promise me vengeance."

"I’m not promising something I’m not certain I can deliver," I tell him, keeping my hands firmly in my lap.

His giggle fades away. He stares at me for an uncomfortably long time, his head tilting at a strange angle.

"What do you want?" he asks finally. "You want something from me, don’t you?"

A dead thing wants something from me, and I want something from it. Anyone with an ounce of common sense would walk away from this bargain. But my life surpassed common sense a long time ago.

"We need your heart."

As soon as the words leave my mouth, Grimoire’s book form vibrates with disapproval.

I’m not sure divulging our intentions to a vengeful spirit is the wisest course. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

I can’t blame him for his opinion, but there’s something inside of me insisting I’m making the right choice. Granted, we all know how terrible my decision-making can be, but...

I just know.

There’s something about it.

Malloy’s head tilts back and forth. "What’s this?"

"Your heart," I repeat calmly.

The ghost’s entire form shivers, rippling outward from his chest.

Selene hasn’t relaxed her defensive stance since Malloy started crawling toward me. I place a calming hand on her back, though I’m not entirely sure which of us needs the reassurance more.

I don’t trust this ghost, she mutters. If it harms you...

"Do you want to stay here, haunting our cafeteria and making everyone miserable?" I ask, keeping my voice even. "Because that seems like a pretty shitty afterlife."

Malloy tilts his head to the other side, so far it’s practically horizontal. His eyes bore into mine, unnervingly lucid despite the manic energy radiating from him.

"I can give it to you."

I blink, caught off guard by his easy acquiescence. "You... can?"

Can we trust him? Grimoire questions, but of course I don’t have the answer for his question. We’re all operating blind here. No one took courses in Ghosts 101.

"Did you know the real Ivy? Before the dream-eater took her place?"

Selene shifts beside me, her ears perked forward with interest. Ask him about his brother.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify