Pups Save Ghost Novels & Stories

“He’ll be somewhere in the middle of the Gobi desert. You guys can use your scythes to fly, right?” “Cathy.” Griff gave me a nudge. “Let’s go.” After saying goodbye to the old woman’s relatives, we walked out into the hallway and into the ward’s waiting room. Glinda and her eldest son sat side by side, the fur of both Hellhounds curling into white smoke. The puppy I’d saved from the brink of death had grown even larger than she had been during our first trip to Hell, and she traveled faster than even a vampire. Each of her offspring were either white or pale gray, and she always made sure to give special attention to her runts.

Parker murmured, taking his sister’s hands, “We have to get outta here.” Before they could take a step, something large and furry burst out of the darkness and darted past them, making all four pups yelp in surprise. It was only a raccoon, a huge raccoon made fat by feasting nightly in restaurant dumpsters, but a raccoon nonetheless. The pups sighed with relief, huffing a few relieved laughs as they turned back towards the street.

It was a gift she'd inherited from her father, one that made her perfect for this mission. Silvain had moved to a group of orphaned pups now, the ones whose parents had fallen to the plague. There were five of them, huddled together for warmth despite the summer heat. The smallest, a tiny grey female who could not have been more than two months old, let out a pitiful whine. Silvain lowered himself to the ground, making his massive frame less intimidating, and the pups swarmed him immediately. They climbed over his back, tugged at his ears, and the little grey one curled up between his front paws. Marina's breath caught.

I had no choice, so I dug through every gift Zoe had ever given me, but I found nothing. Just when I was about to give up, I shook a pillow, and a tiny paper figure floated out. Its face was drawn to resemble Lucas, and his birth details were written on the back! The fortune teller exclaimed, “That’s it! The lock and the paper figure work together, and since you've touched the lock, the effect on you is stronger. Luckily, you found it early.” I broke out in a cold sweat. That same day, I slipped the paper figure under Miles’ pillow and instructed my parents to watch him while he slept.

And hug my puppy . After what felt like an eternity of questions and statements, we were finally cleared to leave. Marcus insisted we get new bags for the clothes we'd bought, since ours had been abandoned in the chaos. Ghost, who had been surprisingly quiet through the whole ordeal, was now looking up at me, his eyes full of what looked like admiration. "Don't tell anyone," I whispered to him, scratching him behind the ears. "Our secret." He licked my hand, as if agreeing. The drive back to the mansion was quieter. Marcus kept glancing at me, a speculative look in his eyes. He didn't ask more questions about my fighting skills, which I was grateful for. He probably knew I wouldn't answer an

"ETHAN." "Fine." Ethan pushes his glasses up. "Newton. Because I like the name. That's my reason." "See? That wasn't so hard." Ethan's second choice takes longer. He studies each remaining puppy with the intensity he usually reserves for particularly challenging math problems. His lips move slightly—counting something, calculating something, processing in the way only Ethan processes. "This one," he says finally. The pale cream-colored puppy. "This one is Ghost." "Ghost?" I say.

Subtle, but I notice everything. Klaus de Luca. He didn’t see me as he entered a room alone. I didn’t hesitate. Silently, smoothly, I followed. The door was just starting to close when— CRASH! A vase flew at my head. I ducked instinctively, the ceramic shattering against the wall behind me. I straightened slowly, blade already drawn. Then I heard his voice. Low. Calculated. “So... you’re the Ghost Knife. The woman with no past. No future. Who sent you ? .”

Before I could move, before I could stop them, Kaye stumbled as they pulled, her candle falling to the ground and extinguishing itself in the dirt. The transformed wolves watched in perfect silence. Lucas’s smile widened. And the night held its breath.

Marcus, the quiet guy from accounting leaned against the door, arms crossed, with a bitter smirk twisting his lips. “McAllen,” he said. “You’ve been looking real happy lately. I see you enjoy your late night with the boss.” My stomach dropped. “What the hell are you talking about?” He stepped closer, I could see the jealousy in his eyes. “ I saw you leaving the private elevator. Looking like a man whose ass has taken some cock. You’re not the first, you know. The Ghost destroys anyone who tries to get close. You’re just the latest toy.” “The Ghost?” I laughed it off, but my voice sounded shaky even to me. “Sounds like some movie legend bullshit.”