by Sarah Dalton
“Good, because I don’t know how I feel about you either.”
The silence that follows is somehow lighter now that’s been said.
“After the upbringing I had, I’m not sure how relationships are going to work for me,” he says. He’s not smiling, but he’s not frowning either, but his eyebrows are bunched together in seriousness. “Let’s not worry about what might be between us. Let’s just be there for each other, okay? You need someone right now and I want to be the person you need. But that doesn’t mean anything has to happen.”
“Okay.”
“I’m going to take you home now,” he says. “Your parents are worrying about you.” He takes his phone out of his pocket. “I need to call Willa first. I sort of left abruptly and left her at home with Lacey.”
I put my head in my hands. “God, Willa. I’ve not helped her and she’s had those ghosts to deal with.”
“Lacey is strong enough to fight off any ghosts,” he says. He tentatively places a hand on my shoulder and rubs it back and forth. It feels good. Better than it should.
There’s so much going on in my mind that I don’t know where to start. How am I going to explain sleepwalking down the road in my vest and shorts to Mum and Dad? It could have been worse, I went to bed naked a few nights ago. I shudder at the thought. Then there’s Willa and the ghosts that have been hurting her. I need to deal with that. Then there’s him in my dreams. I’ve woken up and realised the truth, now. He’s been killing these girls. But to create what? An army? He makes the girls attack Willa. But why?
Jack is frowning when he hangs up the phone. “Willa sounded weird.”
“Is she okay?”
“Yeah, she just seemed like she wanted to tell me something, but then changed her mind at the last minute.”
“Do you want to go and get her?” I ask.
He shakes his head. “No, you’re freezing and we’re not far from your home. I’ll take you back and call Willa from there.”
*
When Jack lifts me from the car so I don’t have to walk on the pebbles at Ravenswood, I loop my arm around his neck and stare deep into his eyes. He carries me to the door with our eye contact unbroken. When he places me down, I’m freezing cold, lacking his warmth.
The door opens and Mum wraps her arms tightly around me. I glance up at Jack, a little embarrassed. I’m surprised to see that he’s smiling at us, and the rare sight of him smiling makes me break into a grin, too. I forget that he lost his family. He lost everyone apart from Willa. I’m so lucky to have what I have.
We walk into the warmth where I find Emmaline in the kitchen with a mug of tea. She mutters something in French before pulling me into a tight embrace.
“What is the matter with you, child,” she scolds. “Where have you been?”
“Where’s Dad?” I ask.
“He’s at that reunion with his University friends,” Mum says.
I nod. With everything going on I’d completely forgotten. “That’s probably a good thing. Maybe we shouldn’t tell him about this.”
Mum passes me a cup of tea and my dressing gown and slippers. “I agree. But you’re going to tell us everything. Right now.”
“Um, maybe I should go,” Jack says.
Mum spins around towards him, as though suddenly remembering he was there. She crosses the room and takes hold of his hand. “Thank you so much for bringing her back to us.”
Jack, completely taken aback, just nods. His mouth opens and shuts as though he’s about to say something, but then he stops and looks at me instead. There’s an awkward moment as the two older women share their own look. Then Jack clears his throat and says, “That’s okay. I’d better get back to Willa so I can let her know Mary’s all right.”
“Jack,” I blurt out as he’s about to leave. The trouble is, I haven’t thought about what I’m about to say. What can I say? Tonight he showed me the ultimate kindness. How do I repay that? “Drive safe.”
As he’s leaving the room I lower my face into my hands. Drive safe? What kind of idiot thing is that to say? Why does being around Jack turn me into such an ineloquent twat?
“Mary.” Mum pulls me back into the room. “You need to tell us exactly what happened.”
I grip hold of my mug, my fingers tightening until my knuckles are white. This is going to be a long night. I take a deep breath, and then I tell them everything.
Chapter Nineteen
MARY
I was afraid to go to sleep after I told them. But I was so tired that I needed to. I even left the light on. But my sleep was dreamless. I woke the next day with a cup of tea on my bedside table and a note telling me not to go to school. Mum has already phoned in to say I’m sick. I suppose I am, in a weird way.
Now I’m on my way to Emmaline’s. She called the house this morning, telling me that I should have another cleanse to help me. We both know that I’m going to have to defeat this ghost on my own, but that doesn’t mean she can’t help strengthen me. If there’s one thing I need right now, it’s strength.
The wind brings the trees alive, and I’m reminded again of how I’m never alone. There’s always something lurking out there. Is he waiting for me? What about Katie and the other girls who committed suicide? Where are they? The thought makes me shiver. I concentrate on the golden colours of late October. Soon it’ll be Halloween. I wonder how many ghosts will haunt me that night.
Murphy comes galloping out of the kitchen door and almost knocks me onto the bed of fallen leaves beneath my feet. I laugh and scratch his ears as the old dog nuzzles me with his wet nose and leaps up to my waist.
“Good morning.” Emmaline stands in her kitchen doorway with her arms folded across her chest. Her feet are planted shoulder width apart. I know just by looking at her that she’s ready for a fight. “Have you eaten?”
“No,” I reply.
“Good. Come in.” She waves me into her house and points at the plate of food.
My stomach growls. I hadn’t felt like breakfast this morning, but now that I see the bacon, eggs, and sausage, I know I need to tuck in.
“What are you waiting for?” she asks. “Eat up.”
She doesn’t have to tell me twice. With everything that’s been going on, I’ve lost weight and skipped way too many meals. I never used to be like that. I’ve always been pretty sensible when it comes to food. Emmaline joins me, while Murphy sits by my chair and gives me puppy-dog eyes.
“Don’t you feed him anything,” Emmaline warns. “He’s on a diet.”
But I sneak him a mushroom when Emmaline isn’t looking.
“Why did you want me to come here today?” I ask.
“Two reasons,” she says. “One is to discuss these dreams you’ve been having. The other is to cleanse you again—”
“But you got hurt last time,” I say.
She waggles her knife at me. “It was nothing. You need me if you’re going to stop this ghost. He’s weakened you, and he’s killed others. This is a spirit able to use charisma to get his own way. If you’re cleansed of his influence, the next time you encounter him, you’ll find it easier to resist him.”
“Does that mean I have to fight him in my dreams?” I ask.
She shakes her head. “That I’m not sure about. I think you might need to at least rebuff him in your dreams. You need to weaken him and then force him to reveal himself outside your dreams. Then it’s time to use the Athamé.”
I nod. That makes sense. “What will the cleansing do?”
“It will help to remove any trace of him on your being so far. It’s not a lot, but it’s all I can do to help. I don’t possess the skills you do. Once you’ve been through the dream and weakened him, you need to force him to appear to you.”
“How do I do that?”
“Pull his spirit into your plane using the Athamé. Trust in its power. You can do it.”
I have managed to make spirits reveal themselves to me before. I called upon Judith and she came to me.
; Suddenly, the last mouthful of food doesn’t look as appetising. I push my plate away. Emmaline narrows her eyes.
“You must stay strong, Mary. This spirit has taken too much of you already.”
There was one thing that I left out when I spoke to Mum and Emmaline last night. That was my hallucinations. I didn’t want them to know how weak I was. I couldn’t bear them knowing. Now part of me regrets not telling them. At least then Emmaline would know not to trust in me to get rid of this ghost. She’d know how weak I really am.
Emmaline clears the plates away and puts some water in a bowl for Murphy. Then she gathers the paraphernalia for the cleansing.
“I’ve never heard of a ghost haunting dreams before,” she says. “It really is a unique talent. Whoever it is must be strong.”
“How is it possible?” I ask.
She shrugs. “How is it possible for our spirits to live on? Do you believe in a soul?”
“I believe in something. I’m not sure if it’s a soul or leftover energy.”
“I didn’t use to, but I do now. He forced his soul into your mind,” she says.
The words make me feel violated, like I did when the spirit possessed me at the séance. I shiver.
“Sit over here on this chair. We know he’s a strong one, so I need you to concentrate.”
“I have the Athamé.” I gesture to my bag.
“Good,” she says. “I’ll keep that with me just in case.”
I remove the Athamé and hand it to her. Emmaline needs to be able to protect herself if we’re going to get through this. My heart is pattering like the wings of a hummingbird as I sit down. The worst thing about all this is how excited I am at the prospect of seeing him again. I take a deep breath as Emmaline places the lace veil over my head and starts to light the candles. The living room door slams, and we begin.
*
LACEY
I had to stay with Willa for a while after what she told me. I had to. After Jack called to say Mary was safe, we walked back to the Maynard’s home and got a bollocking from Jack about leaving the house when we were supposed to stay. He kept looking at Willa and then narrowing his eyes. He knew that something had happened.
It wasn’t long after that I left, telling Willa that she needed to talk to Jack. I went straight to Ravenswood and watched Mary sleep for a while.
To be haunted in your dreams. I shake my head. I can’t imagine how intrusive that is. At least now I’m a ghost I can’t be haunted. I can’t even sleep.
As the sun began to rise, I decided to leave and walk around, soaking in the magic of early morning. If Mary was being haunted, she didn’t look it. She hadn’t moved for hours. She was still, and peaceful.
How did it come to this? My two best friends—two people who can see ghosts, I might add—are both being stalked and hunted by a ghost who can enter dreams. I didn’t get chance to speak to Willa about what she told me last night, about who the ghost is, but if she’s right, it makes sense. The problem is… it means they’re both in danger.
I walk back to the Maynard’s and slip into Willa’s room. She’s sat at her desk, staring out of the window, so I clear my throat. She starts, almost dropping her pen, but when she sees that it’s me, she smiles. The warmth of her smile doesn’t reach her eyes, which is rare for Willa. There are tear stains down her cheeks.
“Are you all right?” I ask.
“Not really. Is Mary up yet?”
“How did you know?”
She laughs. “Because I know you.”
“No, she’s not up yet. But she looked like she was safe and sound so I thought I’d check up on you,” I reply.
“You’re a good friend, Lacey,” she says.
The word is like a punch to the gut. “I’m a dead friend.”
“Don’t say that.” She places her pen on the desk and sighs. “I couldn’t sleep. I couldn’t stop thinking about last night. I haven’t thanked you yet, for saving my life. How many times is that, now? Three? Four times? I can’t believe it.”
“It’s going to be okay, you know. Mary will be fine and she’ll sort all of this out. That’s what she does. Now we know what we’re dealing with, and we know what’s been going on with Mary. We’ll go to Ravenswood with Jack and figure everything out.”
Willa smiles. “I hope you’re right.” She pauses. “You know, there’s something I haven’t told you yet. It’s about that night when I was hanging off the edge of the balcony.”
My chest aches at the thought of it. “What about it?” I dread asking because I dread any more bad news.
“When I was hanging over the edge of that balcony a lot of thoughts went through my mind. My life flashed by: growing up with Jack, meeting the Maynards. But there was one face in all of those thoughts that kept me fighting, that made me want to live.”
“Some ex-girlfriend?” I offer.
“No,” she says. “You. I was thinking of you. And, I know that’s crazy because you’re a ghost, but all I could keep thinking about was you.”
“That is crazy,” I say, but the electricity inside me is sparking like mad. My mouth is dry and my hands are clammy. My dead heart is bigger than ever.
“Then I guess I’m insane, but I like you Lacey Holloway, deadness and all. I really like you.”
When I hear those words it’s like I’m born again. The hollowness of my death is filled by her. I cross the room in two strides and wrap my arms around her, pressing my lips against hers. There’s an explosion of electricity between us, but what completely and utterly blows my mind is that I feel her flesh. I taste her lips. Me. A ghost. I’m living. I’m actually living.
Chapter Twenty
MARY
When the door slams, I know we’re not alone. He’s here, and he’s angry with me. His presence swirls around my mind, blocking out Emmaline’s voice with his own.
Why have you betrayed me? He flashes pictures of the woods in my mind. But this time the trees are rotting. The bark is peeling from them and the leaves drip with blood. I shake my head, trying to force the images from my mind.
“Be strong, girl,” Emmaline says. I see her lump moving through the lace. I keep my eyes open to stop the images of the dark forest coming back.
Why the forest? What is it about that place?
“You’re the one who has been tricking me,” I say. “You made me believe all these lies. You made me think that you’d created this world for me but all the time it was for yourself.”
“Good,” Emmaline says. “Keep focussing on what he’s taken from you.” She mumbles along in Latin as He attempts to cloud my judgement with his words.
You are still my favourite. You’re special. Strong. Your powers are formidable. Together we would rule the world. Together we’d be more powerful than anyone. You are my bride, Mary Hades. You are the person I will spend eternity with. I will take you away from ghosts—
—“No!”—
—I will take you away from death—
—“Lies!”—
—and you will finally be happy in the world I have created for you.
Emmaline’s voice rises, blocking out the sound of his words. The doors and windows rattle. Murphy shrinks behind the sofa. Emmaline’s body begins to jerk as my arms are pinned to my side. I see his eyes burning bright into mine. He tears the veil away.
Stop this, Mary. Come back to me.
“No!”
He turns and I see his arm slam into Emmaline’s chest. She goes flying across the room, knocking over a lamp. I’m on my feet screaming her name, but he pins me back onto the chair.
You’re mine.
I spit in his face. “I don’t even know your name. You’re nothing.”
He laughs. You say that now, but in your dreams I am everything, and I know that it’s true from the way you’re trembling under my touch. You can’t resist me. I will see you again, Mary. I’ll be waiting in your dreams for you. Give it up. His breath is sweet against my cheek. You will feel so much better for it. Give it u
p and belong to me as you know you belong.
In a sigh, he’s gone. I slide off the side of the chair as though my body is made of jelly. The room is quiet except for the sound of Murphy’s whining from the back of the sofa. I crawl along the carpet and check on Emmaline. She sits up and places a hand over her heart.
“I’m all right,” she says. “I’m all right. I’m just getting too old for all of this.”
I haul myself to my feet and let Emmaline pull herself up using my arm as a crutch. She lets out a long breath and closes her eyes as though trying to calm her heart.
“I’m sorry, Emmaline. He pinned me to the chair.”
“No,” she says. “You were brave. I heard you resisting his charms. What did he use to try to get you to follow him?”
“He tried to frighten me. Then he tried to tempt me with promises of power, and promises to keep me away from ghosts and death. In my dreams he made me this garden.” Thinking of it still makes me smile. “It’s beautiful—always sunny—and there’s something about it that makes me feel safe.”
“Is it the absence of ghosts that makes you feel safe?” she asks.
“Maybe... I... don’t know. He said that I won’t be able to resist him when he comes to me in my dreams. Is that true?”
Emmaline shakes her head. “You made a good start today but the last of this rests only on you. That’s something you’re going to have to figure out on your own. But you can do it.”
I could be reading into too much, but I swear I see a twitch in Emmaline’s cheek muscle. Does she really believe I can do this? More to the point—do I?
*
When I get home, I make two phone calls. The first is to my mum, and it’s not a phone call I ever thought I’d have to make.
“Mary, everything okay?”
“I’m fine,” I say. I knew she’d jump to the worst possible conclusion about me calling her at work. “Listen, I need to stay at Willa and Jack’s tonight. I know you’d rather I didn’t, but there’s some... business I need to sort out and I can’t be at home. Can you square it with Dad?"
