Lilly lay in bed after a long, sleepless night, unable to shake the feeling that something important about Silas's past remained hidden. The articles, the vision, the Grey family — it all hinted at something bigger than just a simple death in the past. Even though she tried to focus on her schoolwork the next day, her mind kept drifting back to the cemetery, to Silas Mercer's grave. She knew she had to return.
Later that evening, after finishing her classes and submitting a half-hearted essay, Lilly felt the familiar pull toward West Wood Cemetery. She wasn't sure exactly what she was searching for — answers, maybe, or another conversation with Silas. Either way, she needed to confront him again. He had been so cryptic during their last meeting, and now, with more pieces of the puzzle coming together, she was determined to get some real answers.
The walk to the cemetery was quiet, the streets nearly deserted as the last light of day faded behind the buildings. The cold autumn air bit at her face, but Lilly hardly noticed. Her mind was racing, and her heart beat faster with every step. There was a tension in the air, an urgency she couldn't quite place.
When she arrived at the tall, wrought-iron gates of West Wood Cemetery, they loomed before her like dark, forbidding portals to another world. The mist clung low to the ground, winding around the gravestones like a ghostly embrace. The moon was hidden behind thick clouds, casting an eerie, muted glow over the graveyard.
Lilly hesitated at the gate, her hand hovering above it. She wasn't afraid — she had never been afraid of the dead — but tonight was different. The air felt heavier, more oppressive.
I have to do this, she told herself, pushing the gate open with a creak. The sound echoed through the empty cemetery, but no one else was there to hear it.
The path before her twisted through the gravestones, leading her deeper into the heart of the cemetery. The light from her flashlight flickered over the names of the dead, some of the stones so old and weathered that the inscriptions were nearly worn away. The stillness was unsettling as if the cemetery itself was holding its breath, waiting for something to happen.
As she approached Silas's grave, her pulse quickened. She wasn't sure if he would appear on his own or if she needed to call him, but one thing was certain — she had questions, and she wasn't leaving without answers.
When she reached the familiar spot, Lilly stopped, shining her flashlight over the headstone where she had first encountered Silas. For a moment, there was nothing — just the quiet hum of the wind through the trees and the distant rustling of leaves. Then, slowly and almost imperceptibly, the air around her seemed to shift. The temperature dropped a few degrees, and Lilly felt that familiar tingle at the back of her neck.
"You came back."
The voice was low and smooth — the same voice she had heard before. She turned to see Silas standing just a few feet away, casually leaning against a nearby gravestone with his arms crossed. He looked the same — dark hair, old-fashioned clothes, an air of calm confidence that didn't quite align with the fact that he was, well, dead.
Lilly crossed her arms, fixing him with a steady gaze. "You didn't exactly leave me with much choice, did you?"
Silas smiled, the same teasing glint in his eyes. "You're curious. I could see that the moment we met."
"Yeah, well, you didn't exactly make it easy to forget about you," Lilly shot back. "You warned me about this place, about things being more dangerous than they seem. Then I had a vision of you — of your past, of people who wanted you dead. And you expect me to walk away from that?"
Silas's expression shifted slightly, his smile fading as he straightened up. "A vision?" he repeated, his voice quieter now, more serious. "What exactly did you see?"
Lilly paused, the memory of the vision fresh in her mind. "I saw you," she said slowly. "You were in a room with a woman. She warned you about something, about the people you were involved with. And then later, you were outside, in a clearing, arguing with a group of men. They threatened you."
Silas's eyes darkened as she spoke, his expression becoming more guarded. "And what do you think that means?"
"I don't know what happened," Lilly said, stepping closer. "That's why I'm here. I want the truth. Who were those people? What kind of deal did you make? And why are you still here?"
Silas didn't answer immediately. He studied her for a long moment, his gaze intense as if he were deciding how much to tell her. The playful, teasing demeanor he had shown before was gone, replaced by something colder and more serious.
"Those men," he said finally, his voice low, "were part of something bigger than you realize. Bigger than I realized at the time."
Lilly narrowed her eyes. "What does that mean?"
Silas sighed, running a hand through his dark hair. "I made a mistake," he admitted. "I got involved with the wrong people, and I paid the price. But it wasn't just about money or power. There were... other forces at play."
Lilly frowned, trying to piece together what he was saying. "Other forces? Like what?"
Silas hesitated again, as if unsure how much to reveal. "Let's just say that the Greys weren't the only ones with a stake in what happened. There were darker forces at work — things most people would never understand."
A chill ran down Lilly's spine. She had suspected that there was more to Silas's death than just a business deal gone wrong, but hearing him confirm it made the danger feel more real, more immediate.
"So what does that mean for you?" Lilly asked quietly. "Why are you still here? What's keeping you tied to this place?"
Silas's gaze flickered toward the gravestone beside him, his expression unreadable. "Unfinished business," he said softly. "I can't move on until certain things are set right. And those things are tied to this cemetery and the people who were involved in my death."
Lilly's heart sank. She had known deep down that this was more than just a haunting. Silas was caught up in something much bigger than either of them, something that had been festering for over a century.
"Why me?" Lilly asked after a moment. "Why did you come to me?"
Silas met her gaze, his eyes filled with a mix of sadness and something deeper. "Because you can see me," he said simply. "And because you're not like the others. You have a connection to this place, whether you realize it or not."
Lilly's pulse quickened. "What kind of connection?"
Silas didn't answer directly. Instead, he stepped a little closer, his gaze intense. "You've been seeing the dead for a long time, haven't you?" he asked softly. "Since you were a child."
Lilly nodded, feeling a lump in her throat. "Yeah."
"And you've always felt like there was more to it," Silas continued. "Like you were meant to do something, to understand something."
Lilly swallowed hard, her heart pounding in her chest. "I never told anyone about that," she whispered.
"You didn't have to," Silas said softly. "The dead know. We've always known."
Lilly felt a shiver run down her spine. She had lived with this strange ability for years, this connection to the spirit world, but she had never really understood it. Now, standing before Silas, she realized that there was so much more to her gift than she had ever imagined.
"So what happens now?" Lilly asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
Silas's expression softened, but there was still a weight behind his words. "Now," he said, "you have a choice. You can walk away from this and pretend it never happened. Or you can help me finish what I started."
Lilly stared at him, her mind racing. Walking away had never been an option, not after everything she had seen. But helping Silas meant diving into a world of danger, of secrets buried for over a century.
"I'll help you," Lilly said finally, her voice steady. "But I need the truth. All of it."
Silas nodded, his expression serious. "You'll get the truth," he promised. "But be careful, Lilly. Once you start down this path, there's no turning back."