Chapter 19 - Hollow

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Here is a picture of what I think Lance would look like ^^

Kai's POV

"Grrrrr." The low rumbling of my stomach causes me to stir from my slumber and I start to roll over on the soft bed so that I can cuddle with Raziel.

"Wait! No you'll-"

A startled scream escapes me as I fall flat on my back, my fall being cushioned by what feels like a fluffy rug. Trying to clear the fog from my sleepy brain and figure out what's going on, my eyes shoot open. "AAAAAAAAHHHH! WHO ARE YOU!" I yell at the ghastly boy leaning over me. I immediately sit up and my head passes right through his resulting in a biting cold sensation that makes my skin crawl.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" I shriek, scurrying to the other end of the room to get as far away from the boy as possible. Why did my head pass through his instead of colliding with it? My eyes widen in shock. "Ghost?" I murmur, pressing my back against the wall.

"Yes, I'm a ghost of sorts but I promise I'm friendly! My name is Lance," the boy says, sitting cross legged on the rug where he terrified me a few seconds ago.

Why is there a ghost here? Am I still at Zorander's? But most importantly, where's Raziel? "Raziel," I mumble, scanning the room in hopes of finding him.

"Declan is doing something stupid so I begged Raziel to help. He and Zorander went to find him. Raziel told me I should stay here with you. What's your name?" Lance the ghost replies.

I rub my eyes before looking at the ghost again. Hmm he's kind of cute. I giggle and shuffle a little closer to him, tilting my head curiously. Despite his olive skin and black long sleeved t-shirt, he appears almost transparent. He has a light grey, glowing outline around his body and he seems to hover slightly above the rug instead of actually touching it.

"I'm Kai," I reply with a smile. Is my life just filled with angels, demons and ghosts now? This is so exciting! I love the supernatural and now that I've overcome my initial apprehension I have so many questions!

"Why are you a ghost? Why can I see you? Does everyone become a ghost after they die? What cool ghost powers do you have?" My questions come out rushed and high pitched and I subconsciously move closer to Lance while I'm talking so that now I'm sitting directly in front of him.

Lance lets out a tiny giggle. "You get excited just like me! People always complain and tell me to slow down," Lance says with a pout.

"Me too!" I exclaim excitedly.

Lance giggles again. "I like you! I think we can be friends!" Lance all but shouts. "Only if you want though!" I giggle and nod excitedly and Lance smiles in return. "I can only appear to Declan and recently he has been ignoring my presence a lot," he adds after a moment. His smile fades and his face contorts in pain.

I reach out to touch his arm in an attempt to comfort him but shriek as my hand passes through him and an ice cold sensation spreads over my arm. He giggles before saying, "I think I have some questions to answer!"

I giggle again, nodding enthusiastically and rubbing my hand in an attempt to warm it before making myself comfortable on the couch. "Ok, I'm ready! Tell me everything!"

Lance giggles before gliding onto the couch next to me. "Ok! I'll start with why you can see me. Raziel gave you the ability to see the supernatural world before he left! Isn't that cool! Now you can see me and the auras of other supernatural creatures!"

"That's so cool! Are there more than just angels, demons and ghosts? Are all the auras different?" I inquire, trying to contain my excitement.

"Hollows also exist, they're ghosts that become trapped on earth and they have red auras. Demons have black auras, ghosts have grey auras and angels can have any colour except black, red and grey, although I think that most angels have white or gold auras," Lance explains.

As he is explaining, I am grinning from ear to ear. In a matter of days I met an angel, a demon and a ghost! "How do ghosts get trapped on earth? Do all ghosts turn into hollows?" I ask Lance, trying to focus on limiting my questions so that he is actually able to answer all of them.

Lance sighs and gives me a mournful smile. "When humans die we are sent to either heaven or hell. Those sent to heaven, who have unfinished business, get a third option which is that they can return to earth as a ghost where they have a year to tie up any loose ends.

"After their year is up they must return to heaven. However, if they forfeit that chance, they start turning into hollows, damned to forget who they once were, only remembering and reliving their worst memories. They become trapped on earth for hundreds of years, wandering and drifting unseen by anyone, before disappearing forever." Lance has a somber look on his face and tears are glistening in his eyes threatening to erupt like a dam about to burst.

I resist the urge to reach out and comfort him. "How long have you been a ghost?"

"Three weeks ago marked a year," Lance whispers as a lone tear rolls down his cheek; he furiously wipes it away before continuing. "I have three months until I fully become a hollow. Then my aura will change to red and I will start forgetting who I am. It's inevitable, the angels made sure I knew that before I made my decision to stay past my allotted year."

I can't help the sinking feeling in my heart as I listen to Lance. His grey eyes are filled with a sorrow that I've only seen once; on my father's face the day of my mother's funeral. Unfettered, silent tears are now streaming down his cheeks as he stares off into the distance and I can't help the stray tears that escape my orbs.

"Why did you stay?" My voice is barely audible but I know that Lance heard because a slow, sad, smile spreads across his face.

"Declan," he murmurs and he turns to face me, his grey eyes pleading with me as he utters his next words. "I'm so sorry about what happened on Friday! I tried to talk him out of it! He realized as soon as they jumped you that it was a mistake. He never intended for it to go that far and he tried to stop Brandon and Kyle but he couldn't. He's really sorry! I know this doesn't excuse his behaviour and I shouldn't even be advocating for him but please try to keep an open mind." Lance's melancholy voice is rushed and panicked; his hands hang in mid air mirroring the lost look on his face.

"I'll keep an open mind, I already told Raziel that l'll talk to him," I reply and Lance's face immediately lights up.

"Did Declan ask you to stay behind?" I ask. If the twinkle in Lance's eyes is anything to go by then Lance is completely in love with him.

Lance immediately shakes his head, his eyes darting back to mine. "Of course not! It was my choice. I had to stay behind; he was making some questionable friends and I needed to at least try to be his voice of reason, even if he only listens to me sometimes. His life was falling apart, still is and I couldn't leave him to deal with it all on his own, so I stayed."

I stare at him curiously willing him to go on but he just shakes his head, giving me a sad smile. I let out a soft sigh. Why won't anyone tell me why Declan is such a dick!

I sigh again and decide to steer the conversation towards his obvious affection for my bully. "You're obviously in love with Declan, so does he feel the same way?"

"That obvious, huh?" Lance says with a smile. "Declan and I were best friends when I was still alive. We've known each other since we were both ten, our mothers were friends and all of us were very close. When my dad left my mom, sister and I, Declan and his mother were our anchors. I've been in love with him since I was fourteen."

Lance's eyes gleam with admiration as he talks about Declan and I can't help but wonder how it is that this was the same Declan who made my life a living hell.

"About a year ago, my sister once and for all ended it with her on and off again boyfriend and he was so pissed that he decided if he couldn't have her, no one else could. That night, while we were sleeping, he set our house on fire killing all three of us." I can't help but stare in horror at what Lance is saying.

"I died without telling Declan that I loved him and I regret it. I am certain that he doesn't feel the same way as I do about him but I couldn't leave without telling him how I felt or how much he means to me." I nod, indicating that I understand while I wait for him to continue.

"When I returned to earth, a few days later, Declan was bleeding and beating my sister's ex-boyfriend to a pulp. That's how he got that small scar under his right eye." Lance's jaw clenches and his aura pulses red for a split second before he grimaces. "It was awful. I had to possess him to get him to stop. After all this time, I still haven't built up the courage to tell him how I feel," Lance finishes sheepishly, sneaking a glance at me.

Despite the awful story he just dropped on me, the only thing I blurt out is, "You can possess people?" I want to clunk myself over the head. Seriously! That's what I went with! No comment on how agonizing his love for Declan is, not how horrible it is was for him and his family, not how awful it must be to watch someone you love throwing away their life when yours was stolen from you so early, but this dumb question!

"Lance I'm sorry! That was insensi-"

I stop when I hear Lance giggling and the sorrowful look that he wore throughout his entire story is replaced by a radiant smile. "It's okay! That was a lot to throw at you when all you wanted was some fun facts about ghosts! I've made my peace with my death and I've given up hope on ever telling Declan, there's too much on his plate and I don't want to make it worse.

"And to answer your question, yes ghosts can possess people. They can also touch physical objects, appear to other people at will and teleport. Hollows on the other hand, can't do any of that. They can only teleport and appear to the person with whom they have unfinished business or any being that can see the supernatural world." Lance gushes with a wide grin.

I let out a tiny giggle. Wow! Is that how fast I talk?

My smile quickly fades. "But still, I'm sorry! I can't even begin to imagine what you are going through." I grin mischievously at Lance. "I'll make you a deal."

Lance nods hesitantly, giving me a curious look and I continue, "I'll help Declan if you promise to tell him how you feel before your three months are up."

I have to help Declan for Lance. He gave up his afterlife for Declan and I know that Lance will be happy if he can see Declan get his life back on track before he becomes a hollow. That will be my parting gift to him.

Hmm, I wonder if Raziel can stop him from turning into a hollow!

"Deal!" Lance yells, a giant smile, which showcases his dimples, graces his face and I smile in return.

What did you think of the chapter? What did you think about Lance and Kai's interactions? Do you think that Raziel will be able to help Lance not turn into a hollow?

Also, this book hit 1K reads! Thank you so so much to everyone who has read, voted and/ or commented! I really appreciate it and it truly means a lot! 🤗❤❤

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