He stared into the empty space of the attic. This was the most ridiculous thing he’d ever—
“Does that mean you believe?”
He spun around.
A petite woman with fluffy lavender hair and a purple jumpsuit hovered a few feet behind him. He could see right through her. Like a freaking hologram.
She waved. “Hello there, stud muffin.”
He swallowed. This was so weird. “My name is Cole.”
“I know.” She batted her lashes. “You have Ulysses’ dark eyes. All you raven familiars do. Oh, I miss that man.” She put a hand over her heart. “Best lover I ever had.”
Cole tried not to grimace, but talking to a ghost—who was technically his great-aunt—about her sex life was…just weird and not something he’d ever thought he’d do. “So…Pandora told me to talk to you. About the whole familiar thing.”
“Ready to face facts, cookie?”
“Yes. Something like that. Can you help me?”
She levitated higher and stared down at him. “Sure. You are family after all. What do need help with?”
He thought for a moment. “Everything. What is a familiar capable of? Can I shift into that bird form anytime I want, or is that not something I can always control? How do I help Pandora with her magic? What happens when we’re bonded? What am I not asking that I should be? I really don’t have a clue about any of this.”
She squinted. “Didn’t your parents teach you anything?”
“No. They gave up being who they were in an effort to protect me. And my father doesn’t think I should get involved with Pandora so he’s not keen on giving me too much info right now.”
“I see.” She floated back and forth, like a person pacing. Then she stopped. “I can almost understand what your parents did. I never told a soul about Ulysses being my familiar. For a while, human familiars were practically hunted down.” She clucked her tongue. “Shame, really. They’re rare creatures, but they were never meant to be treated like a commodity.”
“So I heard. It’s why my parents did what they did. My mother had another witch try to hex her out of the picture to get access to my father.”
Gertrude shook her head. “Some witches don’t abide by the code of ethics. Makes us all look bad. Was she dealt with, this witch who went after your mother?”
“From what I understand the ACW took away her magic for five years.”
“Good. That’s what should have happened.” She smiled at him. “You like Pandora?”
“I do. Very much.”
“You do the horizontal mambo yet?”
“Maybe we could keep this on a more professional level?” Was there such a thing as a professional level when talking to a ghost?
She threw her head back and laughed. “I’ll take that as a no, then. You know that being intimate”—she made finger quotes—”is how you bond, if you’re going to.”
“Yes, I know. My father told me that much.” Gertrude wasn’t being much help. “Can you give me answers to any of these other questions or not?”
She waved at him. “Don’t get your knickers in a twist. I’ll help you. After all, I was bonded and married to a familiar longer than you’ve been alive.”
“Great. What do I need to know?”
“You should be able to shift when you want to, but based on your upbringing, it’s going to take some work for you to learn that skill. I’m guessing right now you only shift when you’re touching Pandora.”
“I probably would be, but she’s been using a spell to keep me from shifting.”
Gertrude frowned. “She needs to stop that. The more comfortable you get with the change, the easier it will be.”
“I’ll tell her. How do I practice it on my own?”
“Do you remember what it felt like the first time? Ulysses used to get visions and a sort of full-on sensory experience.”
Cole nodded, understanding completely. “Yes. That’s exactly what happens to me too. I’ve been having dreams like that since I was kid. But then I just thought they were dreams.”
“You need to focus on those experiences and re-create one on your own. Try a little meditation. That should help.”
“And when I do shift? What then?”
She raised her brows. “You’ve got to get comfortable in that skin too. Fly around. See what it’s like. Test your wings, as it were.”
“This is so surreal. I really hope I’m not about to wake up in a padded cell and realize I’ve actually lost my mind.”
“You haven’t. I can assure you.”
“So you say. Okay. What else? What about when and if Pandora and I bond? How does that change things?”
“Pandora will be able to see through your eyes when you’re in your raven form. You’ll also be able to communicate mentally. You’ll hear her in your head and vice versa. Sometimes the sensory communications go beyond that, but not always.”
That wasn’t weird at all. “Really?”
“Really. But you don’t need to worry about that now. What you need to do is practice shifting, then we can work on more when you’ve got that handled.”
That was probably a good idea. Small steps. “My daughter and Pandora are out at the coven meeting. I guess I’ll use the time alone to see if I can get the shifting part down.”