Darkness Hunts by Keri Arthur, now you can read online.
Chapter 1
"I need to speak to a ghost."
Adeline Greenfield paused in the middle of pouring tea into her expensive china cups and looked at me.
"I was under the impression you already could." Her voice, like her appearance, was unremarkable. With her short gray hair, lined face, and generous curves, she reminded me of the grandmotherly types often seen on TV sitcoms. It was only her blue eyes—or rather, only the power that glowed within them—that gave the game away. Adeline Greenfield was a witch, a very powerful and successful one.
"No. I mean, I can hear them, and sometimes I can see them, but they don't seem to hear or acknowledge me." I grimaced. "I thought if I was on the same plane as they are—if I astral-traveled to them—it might help."
"Possibly." She set the teapot down and frowned. "But didn't you help relocate a ghost that was causing all sorts of mischief at the Brindle?"
The Brindle was the witch depository located here in Melbourne, and it held within its walls centuries of knowledge, spells, and other witch-related paraphernalia. "Yes, but it wasn't really a ghost. It was actually a mischievous soul who was undecided about moving on."
"Souls are usually incapable of interaction with this world."
"Yes, but the Brindle is a place of power, and that gave her the ability."
She nodded sagely. "It is still odd that you cannot speak to them the same way as your mother, because I'm sure she said you had the skill."
I raised my eyebrows. "You knew Mom?"
She smiled. "Those of us truly capable of hearing the dead are few and far between, so yes, I knew her. We had lunch occasionally."
That was something I hadn't known. But then, there was probably a whole lot of stuff I'd never known about my mother—and never would, given she'd been murdered. Grief swirled, briefly touching my voice as I said, "Well, no matter what she may have believed, the dead won't speak to me."
"Ghosts can be vexing creatures," she agreed. "And they often have no desire to acknowledge their death."
"So how is ignoring me helping them disregard the fact that they're dead?"