Dead Girl Dancing
Page 21
“But I didn’t improve Sharayah’s life.”
“The Nine Divine Rules clearly state that a Temp Lifer is to live their Host Soul’s life—not change it. You performed well. I’m very proud of you.”
“Proud?” I rubbed my head, wondering if maybe this was a dream after all and not an actual experience. I’d been so sure I’d messed up. How could Grammy think I’d done a good job?
“Amber, you should be proud of yourself, too,” she said as she opened her arms and pulled me against her warm, solid body. “You worked hard to follow the rules. Even though you bent them a little, it was all done for the right reasons.”
“But I tried so hard to get Sharayah to the singing competition and failed. Then I found out she didn’t want to be a star, she wants to work in a hospital and cure cancer. So I did absolutely nothing to make her dreams come true.”
“Sharayah has many talents and plenty of time to fulfill her own dreams. You gave her the rest she needed, so that now she has the strength to make the right choices. It’s her brother who has secret dreams of singing stardom.” Grammy touched my hair softly. “And that’s only one of many dreams you’ll share with him.”
There were subtle hints in her words that thrilled me. But asking about Eli’s future felt like cheating, given that I hoped to be part of it. So I asked if Sharayah was going to be okay.
“Better than okay.” Grammy led me over to the couch. We sat down and Cola curled up beside us. “She’s ready to tackle her life again now.”
“Will she remember everything that happened?”
“She’ll remember what’s important.”
“Does that include Gabe?”
“She knows he’s alive and that she shouldn’t feel guilty.” Grammy smiled at me. “You were wonderful, honey. Not many first-time Temp Lifers could handle a Dark Lifer.”
“But I was wrong about Warren.”
“You weren’t that wrong—he had come in contact with a Dark Lifer. And thanks to you, we gained more information about Gabriel Deverau. He’s the DD Team’s most wanted Dark Lifer. You were very brave to stand up to him.”
“I didn’t feel brave. I felt scared.” And strangely attracted, I thought guiltily.
“Don’t worry—he will be caught. So next time you go on a mission, you won’t have to worry about running into him.”
“Next time? Not me.” I shook my head adamantly. “I’m looking forward to finishing school, planning college and hanging out with my family and friends. Now that I sort of have a boyfriend, I may even go to prom. There are so many things I can’t wait to do. I’m glad you think I did a good job, but I need to live my own life now. Besides, having me hospitalized has been really hard on my family. No more comas or strangers sleeping in my body.”
“I understand,” she said, with a sigh that seemed to form in a cloudy puff and linger in the air for a moment before vanishing. “It’s just that I thought you’d want to help your friend.”
“What friend?” I asked cautiously.
“Alyce.”
“No way!” I felt my eyes would pop out, I was so shocked.
Then my grandmother began to explain that Alyce was in crisis mode and needed a time-out from life. Grammy wouldn’t reveal what the problem was due to confidentiality rules, but she hinted that it was traumatic and a Temp Lifer would be assigned right away.
“Too bad you’re not interested,” she said with a shrug. “I’ll find someone else to take the job.”
“But you can’t just put a stranger inside Alyce,” I argued. “She’s my best friend. I know her better than anyone.”
She arched a brow. “You already told me you weren’t interested, and I respect that. I wouldn’t expect you to leave your body again … although I could make this exchange without interfering with your life. No coma or hospital.”
“You could do that?”
“I can do many things,” she said mysteriously. “And when you returned to your body, your friendship with Alyce would be better, too.”
“Alyce will be okay?”
“With your help,” Grammy said.
“She’s my very best friend in the world. I’d do anything to help her.”
“Are you accepting this mission?”
“Can you promise me that my body won’t be stuck in a hospital again and that I won’t miss any more school?”
“It’s a promise. While you’re absent from your body, I’ll arrange a temporary occupant.”
“Occupant!” Horrified, I stared at her. “But I don’t want a Temp Lifer in my body! That’s just too creepy.”
“Not a Temp Lifer. It’ll be someone you can trust and who loves you more than is humanly possible.”
“Who?” I asked warily.
Grammy pointed to herself. “Me.”
I slipped from my cloudy conversation with Grammy into a calm, floating sensation so peaceful that all my fears faded away. Grammy said the change would be immediate, so I imagined my soul like a flame of energy, shooting from the other side down to the quiet street where Alyce and her mother lived in a brown, L-shaped corner house.
This switch wouldn’t be a shock like it was with Leah Montgomery, or confusing like it was with Sharayah. This time I knew exactly who I would be, and except for Alyce’s recent issues, we shared all our secrets. Sometimes I felt that we were so close we were like twins, although we looked completely different. I was freckled with curly brown hair, and Alyce had exotic long black hair and golden-brown skin. I knew all her favorite things, her school schedule, her teachers, her friends and enemies. Once I found out what her problem was, I’d solve it and our friendship would be better than ever. It would be strange to see myself with Grammy’s soul living my life, but cool, too.
Being Alyce for a few days would be the easiest Temp Lifer assignment ever.
So I sailed free and gave myself whole-heartedly into my mission.
I imagined her bedroom at the back of their house, where an oak tree brushed up against the window, creaking eerily in strong winds and offering climbing branches for when Alyce needed to sneak out at night, or for when I wanted to visit without her mother knowing. I could almost feel the force of movement as dreams and reality blended and I neared my destination.
Then everything slowed. I had a sense of weight, as if I were a heavy stone and falling, falling until a jolt rocked me and I felt substance again. There was a gradual awareness of arms, hands, legs and Alyce’s silky black hair. I was lying on my back on silky fabric with my arms pressed against my sides.
I willed my eyes open … then realized they were open. Only I was encased in total darkness.
I knew Alyce’s house almost as well as I knew my own, and realized with growing alarm that while I seemed to be in Alyce’s body, I was not in her bedroom. The air was stuffy, with an overwhelming fragrance of woodsy pines and flowers. Not the natural outdoors, either, but artificial, like the spray from an aerosol can.
And when I moved my borrowed arms and legs, I banged into a hard solid surface. Lifting my head, I bumped it against a low ceiling. No, not a ceiling, I realized, as I ran Alyce’s fingers over a smooth, rounded surface. I was trapped somewhere dark and confining.
As my eyes started to adjust, I noticed tiny pricks of light at the edges around me. A growing horror was building inside me and I shivered. The silky fabric, smooth wood sides and artificial floral smells all added up to a terrifying possibility.
I wasn’t in Alyce’s bedroom.
I was in her coffin.
About the Author
Linda Joy Singleton lives in northern California. She has two grown children and a wonderfully supportive husband who loves to travel with her in search of unusual stories.
She is the author of more than thirty books, including Dead Girl Walking (the first in the Dead Girl series), the Strange Encounters series, and The Seer series (all from Llewellyn/Flux). She is also the author of the Regeneration, My Sister the Ghost, and Cheer Squad series. Visit her online at www.
LindaJoySingleton.com.
Table of Contents
Cover
Dedication
Title_Page
Copyright
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Twelve
Thirteen
Fourteen
Fifteen
Sixteen
Seventeen
Eighteen
Nineteen
Twenty
Twenty-One
Twenty-Two
Twenty-Three
Twenty-Four
Twenty-Five
Twenty-Six
About_the_Author