Chapter 1

It wasn't until the wraith came to claim him, shattering his arm, that my brother finally felt a shred of remorse. He knelt on the floor, weeping and begging for my forgiveness.

In my last life, in his desperate haste to share a night of passion with a younger student—a natural-born spiritual beacon—my brother, Hank, had taken the family’s Warding Amber.

When the vengeful spirits came for us, I called him for help.

My sister-in-law and my little niece were saved.

But his precious student, Monica, was consumed by the wraith and died.

Hank had calmly collected her hair tie, assuring me everything was fine.

Then, on the day my sister-in-law gave birth, he pushed me off a cliff.

“If you hadn’t called me back, Monica would still be alive! You owe me a life for a life!”

Now, my eyes snapped open again. The lights in the villa flickered and died, and the gurgling, sinister laughter of a wraith echoed through the halls.

1

A shadow flickered past the window, the frame groaning in protest.

I scrambled back to reality, dragging my sister-in-law, Sarah, and my niece, Lily, into the ancestral chapel.

“Anya, why are you shaking so badly? It’s the Festival of Ghosts. It’s normal for a few restless things to stir,” Sarah said, trying to soothe me.

“Yeah, Auntie,” Lily added, her small voice brave. “Besides, we have the Warding Amber. The spooky ghosts can’t get in.”

They exchanged a confused glance, completely unaware of the danger. They didn't know that my brother, Hank, had already stolen the Warding Amber to celebrate his student Monica’s birthday with her in some remote mountain cabin.

“Sarah, Hank took the Warding Amber,” I said, my voice trembling. “This house is just a house now. And to be more precise, it’s the most dangerous place on earth.”

For generations, the Ashworth clan had been cleansers of vengeful spirits. In the modern era, the number of wraiths we had subdued was countless, which meant we had made just as many enemies. Normally, on the Festival of Ghosts, when spiritual energy was at its most chaotic, the Warding Amber would keep any spirit from coming within a ten-mile radius.

But now, without its protection, our home was a beacon for every entity with a grudge.

And the most fatal part? I was born different. A mundane. I had no ability to cleanse spirits. I was just an ordinary person, now trapped with a pregnant woman and a small child. Our situation was dire.

With a grunt, I shoved tables and heavy chests against the door. I slapped a handful of protective sigils onto the door and windows, then dropped to my knees, bowing three times to the ancestral relics before arranging them in a circle of ten around us.

Sarah steadied herself against a table, her face a mask of shock. She couldn’t comprehend it. For the Ashworths, the arts of cleansing and protection were sacred. The idea that our most treasured artifact could simply be taken was unthinkable. Even more unbelievable was that Hank, the sole heir and a man known for his caution, could do something so reckless.

But seeing my desperate, almost blasphemous actions, she had no choice but to believe.

“Then call him! Call your brother and tell him to come back!”

The words had barely left her mouth when the single candle in the room was snuffed out, and a wave of spine-chilling laughter washed over us. Sarah slid to the floor, pulling Lily into a trembling hug, her face ghost-white.

But I didn't call my brother.

Living this again, I couldn't trust him to come for us. Last time, by the time he arrived, Sarah was already dead, Lily’s leg was broken, and my eyes had been gouged out.

Instead, I took the Moonstone Locket from my neck and pressed it into Sarah’s hand. I couldn't practice the family arts, so my father had the clan forge this locket to protect me. With it guarding Sarah and Lily, I felt a fraction of relief.

Sarah understood my intention and tried to refuse. As we struggled, the main door burst open with a deafening crash.

I threw myself in front of them, my eyes locked on the darkness ahead. The temperature in the room plummeted. I couldn't see anything, but my scalp prickled as if a thousand needles were suspended just above my head.

My little niece had been fumbling with her smartwatch this whole time, and she finally managed to get a call through to her father.

“Daddy, come back! There are wraiths in the house!”

Hank’s voice was sharp with annoyance. “Alright, Lily, that’s enough. Daddy’s busy. Can you be a good girl for me?”

Sarah’s voice broke. “Hank, she’s not kidding! There are wraiths here! If you don’t come back, your daughter and I are going to die!”

His voice turned to ice. “Sarah, how many times do I have to tell you to control your jealousy? I’m just celebrating Monica’s birthday, and you turn into a hysterical shrew. You disappoint me.”

“And don't give me that excuse about pregnancy making you possessive and paranoid. I don't want to hear it. Now, I'm going to enjoy Monica's birthday.”

“Oh, and tell Anya to stay out of our business. She’s just a daughter who will be married off one day. She doesn't want to end up like last time, does she?”

A chill colder than any wraith’s touch shot through me. He had been reborn, too.

If that was true, he knew exactly what was about to happen to us. Why was he still so cold, so dismissive?

Had he been reborn with a heart so black that he no longer cared if his own sister, his wife, or his child lived or died?

2

The wraiths began to tear the room apart, the sounds of crashing and splintering echoing around us. The spiritual energy was thick tonight, and my simple sigils were no match for their power. Thank God for the ancestral relics; their faint aura was keeping the spirits at bay, for now.

Taking a shaky breath, I called Mark, the captain of the Silverwood Bureau of Paranormal Containment—and my fiancé.

“Mark, you have to get your team to my house, now! We’re surrounded by wraiths!”

“Hah,” he scoffed. “You’ll really say anything to get your brother to come home, won’t you, Anya?”

“You know it’s the Festival of Ghosts. The BPC is swamped with supernatural incidents, and you pull this stunt? Are the lives of everyone else in Silverwood meaningless to you?”

His sarcastic tone stunned me. I tried to explain, but he hung up.

I called back again and again. Finally, after what felt like the tenth try, he picked up, his voice dripping with irritation.

“Your brother already called me. He said you and Sarah would pull something like this, claiming there were wraiths in the house just because you’re jealous he’s with Monica.”

My voice cracked with desperation. “Mark, don’t listen to him! It’s a real wraith! It’s the one you and Hank wounded last month at the university campus!”

He didn’t believe me. “Do you take me for a fool? The Ashworth Warding Amber has never left your family home for generations. Your brother would have to be insane to take it!”

In a fit of desperation, I told him to check the BPC’s Divining Compass—it would show if the Warding Amber was still within the city limits.

He just grew more impatient. “Anya, is there no end to your games? Does manipulating people like this give you some sick thrill?”

Tears streamed down my face. “Please, I’m begging you. Sarah is pregnant, and Lily is only four. This is real!”

My frantic pleas were met with cold silence. I heard him kick something over on his end. “Anya, if you’re going to be this manipulative, then maybe we should just call off this wedding.”

His words were a hammer blow to my heart. Mark and I had been engaged since we were children. We grew up together, and I had loved him deeply. But ever since Monica appeared, both he and Hank had changed. Hank was barely ever home, and when he was, he’d compare Sarah to Monica, sparking endless fights. Mark, too, started seeing Monica as special and me as flawed, even trying to break our engagement several times.

Those two men had done so many stupid things for her. The Ashworths have a code: unless a spirit is truly evil, we let it be. But because a wraith had so much as glanced at Monica, Hank and Mark led a BPC team to the university and tried to eradicate every spirit in the area. They shattered the spiritual balance there, turning neutral spirits into vengeful ones. That’s why they were here now, seeking revenge.

The thought of what happened last time made me shudder. I couldn't let it happen again.

“Mark,” I said, my voice a desperate whisper, “I agree. We can call off the wedding. Just send a team here now. I’ll stay out of your life forever. I won’t ever bother you again.”

There was a long pause. He knew how much I loved him. He’d seen the notebooks filled with doodles of my name next to his. He knew I would never give up on him. For me to say this… it must have given him pause.

I heard a voice in the background. “Captain, maybe you should check it out? Miss Ashworth wouldn’t joke about something like this.”

“Besides,” another voice added, “it’s been a quiet festival this year. The guys can handle things here. You should go.”

Mark sighed heavily. He was hesitating. I seized the chance, quickly recording a video of the chaotic room—of a terrified, pregnant Sarah shielding a trembling Lily—and sent it to him. The sight of them must have pricked his conscience.

“Fine,” he said. “I’ll bring a team.”

“But this had better be real. If it’s not, you and your sister-in-law will pay the price.”

A flicker of hope ignited in the darkness of my heart. But just then, a notification sound came from his end. He had received a message. He played it, and Hank’s voice filled the silence.

“Anya called you, didn't she? I knew it. They were just on the phone with me, fake crying, even had Lily in on the act, saying they’d be killed by wraiths if I didn’t come home.”

“Heh. Women. All they do is sit around all day, contributing nothing, and then they start all this drama. I didn’t fall for it, and you’re the Captain of the BPC. Don't let them play you for a fool.”

My brother’s words were a knife in my heart. For another woman, he would abandon the sister he had sworn to protect, the wife he had vowed to love for eternity. And he knew. He was reborn, too. He knew what was coming.

Mark ended the voice message. His own voice was a low, menacing snarl. “From now on, no one at the BPC is to take a call from Anya Ashworth. No one is to be dispatched to that address.”

“Heh. Anya, right now, I’d actually like to see you and your sister-in-law torn apart by a wraith.”

As if his words were a command, the moment he hung up, the spiritual pressure in the room intensified. The crystal chandelier overhead groaned, then plummeted towards us.

I lunged, shielding Sarah and Lily with my own body. Shards of glass rained down, piercing my back and staining my white dress with blossoms of red.

3

Cold sweat beaded on my forehead from the pain, but I forced myself up to check on Sarah and Lily. They were just shaken. I let out a breath of relief. We were all hurt by Hank’s words, but the immediate danger forced us to rally. Sarah wiped her tears, and together, we stood back-to-back, holding hands, our eyes scanning the darkness.

The protective circle I had made was amateurish at best. By now, its power was fading, and more wraiths were crowding in. The sheer weight of their presence made it hard to breathe.

“Sarah, I’m going to make a run for it and lead them away,” I whispered. “You take Lily and get out. Go to the BPC—no, go find Uncle Simon!”

My father was recovering from an illness overseas. Hank had abandoned us, and with Mark in charge, the BPC wouldn't help. Only Uncle Simon, who had trained with my father, would be able to handle these spirits.

Sarah shook her head, tears streaming down her face. “No, Anya, I’m not leaving you! You should be the one to go! I’m pregnant, Lily is small—we’ll only slow you down!”

I pulled her into a hug, patting her trembling back. “Sarah, listen to me. The baby you’re carrying is the first Ashworth heir in generations, and Lily is only three…”

“Wraiths are drawn to human life force. In a minute, I’m going to—”

A sharp, grating voice cut me off. “Run? How naive. We came here tonight for a party, and we intend to enjoy it. Hank Ashworth hurt my brethren for a woman, so I’m going to have some fun with his women!”

“A pregnant one… a virgin… and a child. Hahaha, this is going to be so much fun!”

I felt their vile gazes crawling over our skin. I clutched the last of my sigils, my mind racing to map out a path. But before I could move, an invisible force shattered the ancestral relics, and we were thrown against the wall like dolls.

The Moonstone Locket protected Sarah, and the spirits couldn’t touch her directly. But Lily was pinned high in the air, her limbs stretched out. I was forced into a humiliating, arched position against the wall, a chunk of my hair torn out, scalp and all.

I’d already died once. This time, I would not let them die in front of me.

“You’re all a bunch of cowards!” I spat, my teeth chattering. “Too afraid to face Hank, so you attack women and children! You were cowards in life, and you’re cowards in death!”

It worked. Enraged, the lead wraith slammed me to the ground. I didn’t dare take a breath, scrambling to my feet and making a break for the door.

But in that instant, Sarah shoved Lily into my arms and pressed the Moonstone Locket into my hand.

“Anya, take Lily and go!”

Her face was a mask of grim determination, her eyes filled with a mother’s heartbreaking love. I knew instantly what she was about to do. Sarah was from a line of shamanesses. She was going to perform the Bloodfire Ritual.

She snatched a shard of glass and slashed her wrist. As her blood sprayed, the wraith gnawing at her recoiled. But one woman couldn't hold back a tide. A black wave of spirits swarmed over her.

She was thrown through the window, but with her last breath, she screamed, “Anya, run! Find Uncle Simon!”

My breath caught in my throat, but the desperate need to survive jolted my heart back to life. This was the chance Sarah had bought for us with her own life. I didn't hesitate. Clutching Lily, I ran.

I didn't stop, didn't look back. I just ran. I put the locket around Lily’s neck. The wraiths behind me tore at my hair, pelted my back with stones. I fell, I got up, I kept running. I could hear the flesh on my back tearing, smell the thick scent of my own blood, but I ignored it all and just kept going towards Uncle Simon’s house.

Finally, I reached his gate, hammering on the door, ringing the bell frantically.

“Uncle Simon, help us! Please, save my sister-in-law!”

Uncle Simon appeared at the door, leisurely swirling a glass of red wine. He saw my battered state and frowned slightly, but there was no urgency in his eyes. Instead, he just looked disappointed.

“Anya, for you and Sarah to go to such lengths just to make Hank come home… you’ve really outdone yourselves.”

“But why did you have to drag poor Lily into it? Making her suffer for your jealousy.” He took a slow sip of his wine.

I collapsed. “Uncle Simon, how can you think we’re lying? Can’t you see our injuries?!”

He gave me a cursory glance, his expression hardening. “Hank already informed me. He said you two would even hurt yourselves to create the illusion of an attack.”

“Mark called to warn me as well. It’s all just a jealous game. And to think you’d try to trick an old man like me. Child, you bring shame to the Ashworth name!” With that, he smashed his wine glass on the ground, his eyes blazing with anger.

I grabbed his leg, trying desperately to explain. “Uncle Simon, it’s not like that! The wraiths… they were right behind us!” But I had forgotten. His house was protected by its own wards. The wraiths wouldn’t dare come close.

This only fueled his fury. He kicked me away. “Anya, I know my old friend adores you, but you are a woman. You will never inherit the Ashworth legacy! Your only value is to marry and have children! If you continue to harbor these ambitions and try to compete with Hank, I will be forced to… clean house… on your father’s behalf!”

The kick was powerful. I tumbled several feet, and the impact, combined with my other injuries, made me cough up blood. But the physical pain was nothing compared to the agony in my heart.

So that was it. Hank was convinced I was trying to steal his inheritance. That’s why, even reborn, even knowing the truth, he had been so heartless. He had systematically cut off every possible avenue of escape for us.

My brother. My fiancé. My uncle. What a trio.

I wiped the blood from my lips and staggered to my feet, picking up the unconscious Lily. If this was how it was going to be, then why was I still begging?

The Ashworths and the BPC weren't the only ones who could deal with spirits. Hank, Mark, and Uncle Simon weren't the only powers in this world.

There was one being that all wraiths bowed to, one that could command them all.