“That makes sense,” Emma said. “This place has good energy.”
“Must be from the coffee,” I said, grinning over my cup.
I texted Cal to let him know we’d be coming over to visit soon and Emma and I ate our breakfast in silence. Fortunately for me, I couldn’t hear the dead. If I closed my eyes and ignored the strange blend of smells I could almost pretend everything was normal.
Almost.
The ride to the cabin was anything but normal. I was already surrounded by shimmering apparitions, but as we drove through town more and more spirits came to stand by the road as we drove past. Of course I was the only one who could see them, thanks to my new amulet. The movement of the car, combined with the large number of glowing shapes, created a nausea inducing light show. By the time we reached the cabin I had my head between my knees and Emma was threatening me with certain death if I hurled in her newly detailed car.
“Seriously, Yuki, I just got this car back,” Emma said. “I’m all about recycling, but I do not want to see that veggie breakfast burrito again.”
“You’re not the only one,” I moaned.
I sat up straight and opened my eyes afraid of what I might see.
Please, please, please do not be built on an old burial ground.
I needed the cabin, our safe house, to be as spook free as possible. If it was full of Grays we were going to have to come up with an alternate plan, and quick. We only had a few hours until the veil fully thinned and many souls were already crossing over. I hadn’t encountered any resident ghosts here in the past, but Samhain left us playing with completely new rules.
Please don’t be filled with Grays.
I straightened in my seat and tried to swallow. The sensation was like parchment rubbing against desert sand. Unholstering my squirt gun, I squeezed the trigger and gulped a mouthful of plastic tasting water.
“Please tell me you didn’t just give yourself E. coli,” Emma said.
“What?” I asked. “I was thirsty.”
“It’s your funeral,” Emma said with a shrug.
Emma exited the car and I followed. I didn’t want to be left behind even for a second. I ran through the rain and into the cabin, hanging my dripping wet trench coat beside the door. When I turned around all eyes were on me.
Simon and Calvin, this close to the full moon, had extremely heightened senses and apparently they didn’t need to see my spirit posse to know I hadn’t entered the room alone. Cal had his head cocked oddly to the side and Simon was sniffing loudly, scenting the air. With their werewolf senses on overdrive I found myself wishing I had a breath mint. Surrounded by werewolves and spirits of the dead and I worry about dental hygiene. That couldn’t possibly be normal.
“Yuki’s fan club,” Emma said. She indicated the space behind us with her thumb. “They seem to be following her around.”
Rather than put them at ease, Emma’s comment seemed to make them even more alert.
“It’s okay,” I said. “The amulet seems to be protecting me so far. There are lots of smell impressions, but they’re manageable. No bad headaches and no weird sensations. So far they don’t seem able to manifest physically, at least not enough to touch me, but the amulet does have a strange side effect.”
“She can see the dead,” Emma said.
“Well, kind of,” I said. “There isn’t a lot of definition, but I see glowing shapes of gold and gray. The spirits that appear as shiny gold seem to be good or neutral, but there are some gray spirits out there that seem evil. I don’t know why or how I know, but my gut tells me they are something we should avoid. I think the Grays are the ones that used to come and harm people in the old stories.”
Those stories never ended well.
“I don’t like it,” Simon said. He was still on full alert.
“Maybe this is a good thing,” Cal said, moving to my side. “If Yuki can see these spirits, then we know what we’re up against.”
“You know, when this is all over, being able to see the occasional spirit that comes to you for help could be kind of awesome,” Emma said.
I knew she had been deep in thought over breakfast. Apparently she had been thinking further ahead than how to survive the night. Emma was always planning for the future. It was a skill I envied. Lately it was hard to see past the moment.
“It would be nice to always know where spirits are,” I said. “Being able to avoid the nasty ones and having a better idea of how to help the lost spirits find their way into the light. Yeah, that could be a very good thing.”
Unfortunately, Samhain was bringing more than just a few lost spirits.
A lot more.
Glowing shapes were steadily drifting into the room.
“Any ideas on how to keep these spirits away?” I asked. “I know they’re not actually doing any harm, yet, but it’s getting kind of crowded in here.”
I was feeling short of breath and although I knew the cause was psychological it didn’t ease the tightness in my chest. I rubbed the amulet between my fingers, reassuring myself that it was still there, and moved closer to Cal.
“We have just the thing,” Emma said. She pulled out a huge bag and started putting supplies on the kitchen table. “I did some more research and some of these things are bound to help.”
“Table salt?” Simon asked. “And is that chalk?”
“We’ll sprinkle a line of salt around the room, especially near doors and windows, and the chalk is for marking the walls,” Emma said.
“What are we putting on the walls?” Cal asked.
“Warding symbols,” Emma said. She held up a book of geometric symbols, some recognizable others bizarre.
“Well, what are we waiting for, love?” Simon said. “Let’s get to work.”
*****
After hours of warding the cabin, there was nothing left for us to do except sit back and wait. Emma and Simon were amusing themselves with Halloween games while Cal and I cuddled on the couch. I watched as Emma filled a huge wash tub with water and apples. Simon dangled a blindfold in front of her teasingly.
“Are you guys seriously going to bob for apples?” I asked.
“A chance to get the ice queen into a blindfold?” Simon asked. “I wouldn’t miss this for the world.”
Emma rolled her eyes. “Do you always have to be such a pig?” she asked.
Emma was smiling though, and I was glad they had found a way to busy themselves and have fun at the same time. Waiting patiently was not either of their strong suits.
The next hour was spent laughing at Emma and Simon trying to dunk for apples and managing to get water all over the cabin. Simon managed to get two at once and Emma squealed as he chased her around the room with his gross achievement.
Finally though, the room became too crowded for laughter. The smells were getting stronger and the air shimmered with spirits of the dead. I burrowed closer to Cal who stroked my hair and murmured, over and over, that everything would be alright. I closed my eyes and tried to block out the raging storm.
One time, when Cal shifted to pull a blanket over me, I made the mistake of opening my eyes. A spirit was only inches away from my face. I bit the inside of my mouth, trying not to scream. The room was filling with spirits, the Grays coming in larger numbers than before, and some were hanging halfway through the ceiling as though peeking in from the roof. Though I could not see their eyes I still felt them looking at me. Cal tightened his arm around me, feeling my unease, and I let him pull me closer. Closing my eyes, I focused on the beating of Cal’s heart and the warmth of his chest. All that was left now was to wait here in Cal’s arms and hope to survive to face the dawn.
Chapter 27
November 1
st
Today was the annual Day of the Dead. It sounded ominous and I, admittedly, had been harboring a suspicion that today could be just as difficult as last night.
Samhain.
I awoke to a cabin empty of spirits, filled only with the love and support of my friends. I had made it through Samhain without a scratch and with my sanity intact. It was a good day, even if there was the potential for facing down another horde of angry spirits. Nothing was going to shatter my moment of happiness.
Hear that Grays? Bring it.
“Hey, sleepyhead,” Cal whispered.
“Hey,” I said.
Cal had stayed with me all night, holding me close and making me feel safe. I appreciated that more than he could ever know.
“The creature stirs,” Simon quipped. The long night hadn’t bothered him a bit. I wondered if he and Emma had played games all night while I slept.
“Leave her alone,” Emma said. “How are you feeling?” She was looking at me intently, doing a full medical analysis I suppose.
“Still sane,” I said, grinning. “Well, as sane as I ever am.”
Emma reached over and we bumped knuckles. “Good, because we need to stop by your house,” she said. She obviously saw my reluctance to go anywhere. “If we don’t, your parents will freak.”
“She’s right,” Cal said. “You need to go home and make an appearance, but we’ll be right there with you. Simon and I can stay in the car.”
“Plus, today’s Sunday so your folks won’t mind if we steal you away again after your shower,” Emma said. “Just make an appearance and then tell them you need to help us clean up the haunted house.”
“Ah, that’s a good one,” Simon said.
“So they’ll think I’m helping out cleaning up the haunted house at school, but I’ll actually be scrubbing chalk wards off the walls of the cabin?” I asked. They all nodded. “Sounds like a plan to me.”
I was glad I didn’t have to spend the day alone. I still didn’t know what to expect. Nothing in my wildest dreams prepared me for what I saw as we drove through town.
“Stop the car,” I said.
I could barely wait for Emma to bring the car to a stop before I jumped out onto the sidewalk. Simon, Emma, and Cal followed me looking worried.
“Yuki, what is it?” Cal asked. He reached for my hand and squeezed. “What do you see?”
What I saw was amazing. I remembered reading about the Day of the Dead and how many people celebrate the day by honoring those they had lost. Flowers are left on graves and an extra place setting was often set at the table for the person in their lives who was no longer there.
As I stood on the sidewalk, I could see a glowing golden shape sit down at the table, at the place left for him or her, with its loving family. Tears started streaming down my face as I saw family after family surrounded by the golden shapes of those they had lost.
“The spirits are with their families,” I said. “It’s beautiful.” There were no Grays anywhere to be seen. “I think today is for the good spirits. The Grays had their night of mischief and now the others are having a chance to say goodbye.”
As I watched, the golden shapes shimmered and drifted out onto the streets. Somehow I knew that they were getting ready to depart, leaving their loved ones for another year. Then, all as one, they lifted into the air.
My heart swelled in my chest as I looked on in wonder. Standing here, watching the aurora borealis of spirits shimmering on the horizon, I was happy to be surrounded by my friends and by Cal’s arms. I knew that today couldn’t last. Tomorrow Cal would have to leave for Wolf Camp with his parents and Simon, where they would spend the days around the full moon in seclusion, but he would come back to me. He would always come back to me. This I knew with all my heart. We were more than soul mates. Cal and I were best friends and we had already stood together against murderers and hungry spirits. Our love would last forever, no matter what would come to stand in our way.
Turning back to smile at my friends, Simon flashed me a roguish grin and a wink and Emma gave me a thumbs up. No matter how bad things may get, or what the universe chose to throw at me in the future, I couldn’t be in better company.
###
Read on for an exciting excerpt from the next
Spirit Guide Series novel,
Legend of Witchtrot Road
By E.J. Stevens
I heard the harsh, grinding creak of a ship’s hull straining against stormy seas just as I felt the vertiginous tilt and roll of the waves beneath me. I considered letting the motion lull me back to sleep, but one thought kept creeping in to ruin my slumber.
I wasn’t on a boat.
With a jolt I tried to leap upright, but up was down and down was up, causing a searing pain to shoot through my shoulder as I dangled from the car safety belt. I needed to get a look around, but turning my head didn’t seem like an easy option. My neck was stiff, like the time I fell asleep with wet hair, and my head was pounding a rhythm that matched the vampire bats gnawing in my stomach.
Come on Yuki, you can do this.
Reaching up to grab the safety belt, I steadied myself and drew in a deep shuddering breath. It did nothing to calm my racing heartbeat, but the pain in my head momentarily lessened. Forcing my eyes to stay open, I turned them to my right and flinched. A ghostly pale face stared back at me and it took a moment for my sluggish brain to realize that the spectral form was only my reflection. I examined the sickly face suspended in the darkness and knew one thing for sure. I looked like hell.
For a moment I closed my eyes and gathered another steadying breath, remembering to breathe in the way I’d been taught during the numerous yoga classes that Cal had dragged me to over the years. Determined to get to the bottom of the mystery of why I was hanging upside down from a car safety belt, I pulled my eyes to the left. A golden amorphous shape hung glowing beside me and I nearly jumped when it moaned.
“Emma?” I asked. My voice was dry and raspy and started a series of painful coughs that nearly made me pass out again.
Emma didn’t answer me, but with a rush of memory I knew that it was my friend beside me. Emma’s blond hair cascaded past her face to dangle above the glowing instrument panel. Pale skin, golden hair, and white blouse sleeve were marred only by a dark stream that trickled from her scalp along her arm to drip slowly,
tap tap tap
, off her fingers onto the windshield.
How did this happen? It had to be the curse. I clenched my fist in frustration as my eyes filled with tears. We had known better. Emma with her research and me with my psychic gift to sense the dead; we knew the risks of messing with the curse, but that hadn’t stopped us. Our curiosity had won out over common sense and now we were paying the price.
Son of a dung beetle.
I just hoped we survived long enough to benefit from the lesson learned. Never mess with a curse and never, ever travel on Witchtrot Road after dark.