Free A Touch of Mistletoe by Megan Derr, J.K. Pendragon, A.F. Henley, Talya Andor, E.E. Ottoman

let anyone down–including myself."
    His face all but shone with sincerity and in that moment Ash had to admit he'd been drawn in, just as Coach Andrew had said.
    "Plus, I really hate to lose." Yuki dissolved into another of his impish smiles. "And I love it. After the earthquake... I thought I'd have to stop skating. When I kept moving forward, I chose to because it's what I want most. Well, other than..." He bit his lip and glanced sidelong at Ash.
    Ash's breath caught as that look sparked along his skin, tension coiled tight enough between them it seemed about to snap.
    The shelf along the wall began to rock. The top shelf was lined with shrine charms and photos, and they all began to rattle. Yuki's eyes went wide and his hands visibly trembled. He gasped, and Ash shoved the small, rickety table aside, clearing space and reaching into his pocket.
    "Maya," Ash said sternly. The trinkets and picture frames trembled to a halt.
    "Ash, what—" Yuki began, cutting himself off when Ash held up a finger for silence.
    Ash swiftly unfolded the wards he'd been carrying in his pocket and laid them in a circle on the space between them. The paper ward directly in front of him was blank and he withdrew his ink pen, uncapping it and pulling out his phone to be sure he got the characters correct. He wrote the name "Takahashi Maya" on the blank ward, put his finger to the paper, and concentrated on the perfume smell, the discordant twang of energy zipping through the room, and spoke the words to seal the casting circle.
    Someone of no paranormal ability could speak the same words to no result. On Ash's tongue, however, they drew all of that energy into the circle the wards had formed.
    Yuki inhaled sharply as a petite figure coalesced in the middle of the room. Maya was short with shoulder-length, straight black hair and sad eyes, her brows pinched together in a worried frown. She wore a summer high school uniform; Ash recognized it enough to know he'd seen the uniform in his shop, but wasn't sure which school it belonged to.
    "Maya," Ash repeated.
    She gasped, twisting back and forth to look from Ash to Yuki. "Who are you? What am I doing here?"
    "Yukinoha shrine, do you know it?" Ash asked.
    "Why are you bothering me?" Maya demanded. "How did you get me here? I'll scream!"
    Ash sighed. Too often, spirits were disoriented, not remembering they had passed on. He looked beyond her to Yuki, whose terrified expression had shifted to fascination. Maya twisted around again and settled her attention on Yuki.
    "Hanabishi-senshuu? But how?" Maya clasped her hands together.
    "Maya-chan," Yuki said intently. "Were you at the Yukinoha shrine?" Ash whispered what's the last thing you remember and Yuki repeated the question louder.
    Maya frowned. "I was... yes, I was at the shrine. No, I was on my way home." Her hands flew up to her mouth. "There was a landslide!" The shelves in the room began to tremble again.
    "Don't think about that," Ash said quickly. He had more wards in his pocket, but it would be better if he didn't have to use them. For one, he didn't want to risk binding Maya to the apartment instead of setting her free. "You saw Yuki, didn't you? After that?"
    "We never met—" Yuki began, clamping his mouth shut when he caught Ash's warning look.
    "Yes... yes, I saw Hanabishi-senshuu." Maya adopted a dreamy tone. "It wasn't only seeing him. I saw him, and he felt the same way. I could feel it pulling me like a magnet."
    "Yuki." Ash spoke over Maya's head. "Whatever you were feeling that day, if you address that emotion with Maya, she may be able to move on. That feeling is what's unresolved for her."
    She had died quickly, with no warning—the emotion she'd been filled with that day would have stuck with her, whether it was grief for a death in the family, or anxiety for an upcoming test. Whatever feeling she was hung up on, it prevented her from moving to the next plane of existence.
    Yuki's expression turned troubled. "Maya-chan," he