Spiritus, a Paranormal Romance (Spiritus Series, Book #1)

by Dana Michelle Burnett

  At last, just as it was getting dark, Ally grew bored of terrifying me with her antics and agreed to go back up to the fires. Billie was right, the fires were the only light around by then, and they were too far away to do much good as we stumbled through the tall grass.

  I tripped and stumbled, smacked at bugs, and all the while kept thinking to myself that this is what qualifies for a good time around here. What was wrong with this picture?

  More people were surrounding the fires by the times we made it to the top of the hill. I took a seat near our cooler and dug through the melting ice for a soda, trying to search the larger crowd for one face in particular at the same time. In the dim, flickering light, and with everyone moving from group to group, it was difficult to tell who was who.

  He told me to come. He said he would be here. So, where was he?

  Billie and Ally soon joined the mix, leaving me alone on the log with no one to speak to. I couldn’t blame them. One of the boys from my English class, I forgot his name, had Billie pulled aside and was whispering something in her ear that made her giggle. Ally was following her newest crush, a boy I had only seen a few times in the hall, from group to group.

  I was only alone a few minutes before a boy sat down on the log next to me. It took a few seconds for my eyes to adjust to the darkness to see Jonah’s handsome face beside me.

  “So, you made it after all.” He said with one of his brilliant smiles.

  “Yes, I did.” I said while twisting my still damp hair. Could I look anymore awful?

  If he realized how uncomfortable I was, he was ignoring it. “Having fun?”

  I guess so.” I mumbled, wondering if the zit that was just starting to show that morning was glowing bright red.

  Jonah frowned, “You don’t like it here, do you?”

  “It’s my first time at a rock quarry, that’s for sure.”

  “That’s not was I was talking about,” he said with a smirk. “I was talking about Corydon.”

  I was trying to craft the perfect response when Billie and the boy from my English class came up to get a soda. She eyed Jonah sitting next to me and smiled widely.

  “How are you doing there, Becca?” She asked with a wide smile.

  I was absolutely mortified. The only thing that I could be grateful for was the darkness so that Jonah couldn’t see me blush.

  “I’m fine, Billie.” I replied through clenched teeth, wishing her and that boy would just go away.

  The boy seemed amused by our exchange, clearing his throat deliberately. “So Becca, Billie was telling me you just moved into one of those old houses on Capitol Avenue. Which one?”

  “You know the giant white one with the really big columns?”

  “Oh wow.” The boy said raising his eyebrows. “So, have you seen any ghosts yet?”

  I was too shocked to answer. I cut my eyes to Billie, sure she gave away my secret, but she was staring open mouthed at the boy too.

  Before I could figure out how to answer him, Billie pulled him back to the furthest reaches of the fire. I could hear her talking about the beautiful night, obviously trying to change the subject. She glanced back one last time at me, giving me a wink.

  At that moment I was so grateful to her and Ally. I barely knew the two of them and here they were protecting my dark secrets. I never had friends like that before.

  Jonah interrupted my thoughts, “So, you didn’t answer me. You don’t like Corydon, do you?”

  “I don’t think I’ll ever get used to it.” I scowled, not caring what it made me look like. He smiled and nodded sympathetically.

  Why was he being so nice to me? He couldn’t really care what I thought about Corydon.

  I wanted to concentrate on Jonah, regardless of why he was paying me so much attention, but I couldn’t get the boy’s question out of my head. It kept bouncing around, blocking out anything Jonah might be saying.

  “Who is that guy that Billie is with?” I finally just asked him straight out.

  Jonah glanced over at the pair in the shadows. “Oh, that’s Chris Powers. He’s a pretty good guy.”

  While it was good to hear the guy wasn’t a jerk, that wasn’t really my point.

  “Why did he ask me if I’d seen any ghosts yet?” I asked as casually as possible.

  I had to focus all of my attention on my words and the sound of my own voice, trying not to think too much about the handsome boy next to me or the being in my room. If I did, I would lose my train of thought.

  Jonah looked away and shrugged, “I don’t know why he asked that.”

  “Yes, you do.” I scolded.

  It was a little annoying that other people seemed to know something about my house that I didn’t. What if this thing that no one would take about would tell me something about the things I kept seeing?

  “You asked me that same question the other day.” I reminded him. “I want to know what it’s all about.”

  He took a deep breath, turned back to me, and winked.

  “Do you like a good ghost story?” He asked ominously.

  “Doesn’t everybody?” I asked, trying not to sound too anxious.

  “Alright,” he said with one of his dazzling smiles. “But keep in mind these are just old stories that get passed around.”

  “Fine.” I agreed. I was willing to say anything to keep him talking.

  “Well, this town dates back to the late seventeen hundreds. Anytime a place has that much history, there’s going to be some stories.” He began, dropping his voice and leaning a little closer. Under other circumstances it would have been thrilling, as it was; I just wanted him to say more.

  “A Civil War battle was fought here and some people swear that the ghosts of the soldiers still fight whenever there’s a full moon.”

  I could see him smirking in the firelight; obviously he didn’t believe the stories.

  “And then there are the stories about Capitol Avenue.” He said with a sigh.

  “There are ghost stories about my street?” I asked. I was trying to sound only the expected level of curious.

  “Yeah,” he said rolling his eyes. “There’s a ghost that haunts one of the houses.”

  “Which one?” I encouraged.

  “It depends on who you talk to.” He said with an amused smile. “But the story is always the same.”

  “And what’s the story?” I prodded.

  Jonah leaned even closer; I could smell the earthy scent of the water on him and feel his steamy breath on my cheek. “Do you really want to know? What if it gives you nightmares?”

  “It won’t.” I assured him the best I could. How could his little ghost story give me nightmares? The nightmare was already showing itself.

  “Okay, but I warned you.” He said with a playful smile. “Supposedly, the ghost is a dead civil war soldier.”

  “If he was a soldier, why isn’t he haunting the battlefield?” I asked.

  “Because he wasn’t killed in battle, he was driven mad by the horrors of war.” Jonah opened his eyes wide and crazy-like. He dropped his voice, sounding like an old-time radio villain. “He lost his last grip on his sanity one night and attacked his beautiful and loving wife.”

  “Did he kill her?” I whispered.

  Jonah shook his head, “Nope. She killed him. Shot him with his own gun. His ghost has roamed Capitol Avenue ever since.”

  “What happened to the wife?” I asked, worried that another ghost would be appearing in the very near future.

  He seemed pleased with the effect his story was having on me. “Nobody knows for sure what happened to the wife. A few days later she was found dead near Indian Creek. Some say she committed suicide, others say the soldier’s ghost killed her by scaring her to death.”

  I couldn’t say anything at first. I could only stare into the fire and wonder if this Capitol Avenue ghost was my ghost.

  “Crazy story, isn’t it?” Jonah said with a laugh.

  “I’ve never heard anything like it.” I said wh
ile watching the flames.

  Jonah shrugged, “I think every kid in Corydon hears about twelve versions of that story by the time they reach elementary school.”

  “What story are you talking about?” Ashley Richardson asked as she stepped into the light of the fire. She looked beautiful, richly tanned and her hair had that perfectly mussed look that cover models worked hours for.

  I couldn’t help but notice that Jonah shifted away from me a little as he answered her.

  “I was telling her about the old Capitol Avenue soldier,” he said with a smirk.

  “Is that why she looks so scared?” Ashley asked with a laugh. “How pathetic.”

  I told myself not to cry, but I could feel the hot tears burning somewhere behind my eyes. It was just too much, Ashley hating me for no reason, ghosts haunting the house, what was next?

  Who was I kidding? Guys as perfect as Jonah belonged with a girl just as equally perfect. Someone like Ashley.

  I let out a huff and stood up as Ashley sat down on the other side of Jonah. I couldn’t sit there with them. I was the unwanted third wheel.

  Just stepping away from them didn’t help. I could still hear Ashley flirting shamelessly with Jonah.

  “Your hair has gotten so light,’ she said. “And you know I just have a thing for blond guys.”

  As ridiculous as her statement was, I wished I had said something like that to him. Instead, I was collecting silly ghost stories. How could I be so stupid?

  I didn’t wait around to witness what would happen next between them. Even someone as out of touch as me could see the obvious outcome. I stormed away from the fire and out into the darkness.

  I walked until the grass disappeared and the bare dirt fanned out in wide patches, ending at the edge overlooking the water. I stopped, afraid to look down, and wondered what exactly it was I thought I was doing.

  Afraid. That was my problem. I was always afraid. If I wasn’t always so scared and unsure, it would be me talking to Jonah right now. Ashley was right. I was pathetic.

  I forced myself to open my eyes and look down. I knew the water was down there, but I couldn’t see it. The darkness rose up to my feet, looking thick enough to walk across.

  The wind whipped around me, carrying the faint scents of late summer like drying leaves and dying grass.

  I stepped closer to the edge, hearing small pebbles fall, but keeping my eyes forward. I took a deep breath and tried to feel the air pushing around me.

  I was tired of being afraid.

  Taking another deep breath, I shifted my weight up to my toes. I told myself it was just like a diving board at a pool and there was nothing to be afraid of.

  It’s just like a pool…It’s just like a pool….

  I hesitated a moment more, feeling the edge of the rock with my toes, then I closed my eyes…

  And jumped into the darkness.

  There was no time to scream. I was falling toward the smooth surface of the water so quickly there was no time to think. I was staring at my own reflection getting bigger and bigger, closer and closer.

  I didn’t have time to think about how to land. All of a sudden I was colliding with the water and going deeper and deeper. I knew that I should be swimming to the surface, but my body was still stinging from the impact and wouldn’t cooperate.

  My chest ached, bursting with my held breath. My shoulder hit the rocky bottom first with such force there was no time to keep my head from hitting the hard surface also.

  The world was made up of blackness, the dark night above, the inky water trapping me, and the darkness behind my eyes that was trying to claim me.

  He came to me then. Through all of the darkness I saw him, the ghost from my bedroom, hanging in space next to me. In that moment I knew him. I knew his handsome face and dazzling eyes. It was exactly the face that I wanted to see as I prepared for death.

  Was that it? Was I really dying?

  I looked to this spirit beside me, searching his perfect face for the answer. Was I dying? Is that why he looked so sad?

  His hand was pale, almost silvery, as it reached toward me. He took my hand in his and suddenly he was above me, pulling me toward him.

  I was in his arms then and I wasn’t thinking about dying anymore because he was lifting me toward the surface. I didn’t have to do anything; I just had to trust him.

  The rocky cliff came into focus above the surface. I was almost there, just a little further and I’d be able to breathe again. My lungs ached with the memory of air, suddenly craving it again.

  A splash beside me rocked my body and the spirit was gone. I was sinking down again, the last of my air escaping in shinning bubbles. I watched helpless as the image of the spirit swirled and dissolved like ink in the water. I didn’t want him to go, but my mouth was full of water and I couldn’t speak.

  The intruder grabbed me, wrapping his arms around my waist, and pulled me to the surface. I felt the darkness behind my eyes was pulling me back, refusing to let me go.

  I let this person lift me, and then I was spinning away. The next thing I remembered was the coarse, needle-like grass poking into my back. I tried to open my eyes, but the lids were heavy like concrete.

  There was buzzing everywhere, like an electrical charge or a hive of bees. As I lay there, trying to remember how to breathe, words broke through the buzzing, but then faded before I could make out what was said.

  One voice rose above the den, close and hot in my face.

  “Becca?” Jonah asked. “Can you hear me?”

  I struggled and lifted the heavy veil of my eyelids to see him leaning over me, his wet hair dripping water down onto my face.

  “Jonah?” I chocked out through the rawness of my throat. It felt and sounded as though I was speaking through gravel.

  He ordered me not to move, but even without turning my head I knew that a crowd had gathered and everyone was staring at me. That’s what the buzzing was, all of them talking about how stupid I was. I closed my eyes and wished I could just disappear.

  “Stay with me.” Jonah pleaded as if he thought I was slipping back into unconsciousness. “The ambulance is on the way.”

  Oh God.

  Sure enough, the high pitched wail of a siren was getting closer and closer. I would never be able to face anyone again. How could I have been so stupid?

  I didn’t hear Jonah leave my side; he was close and silent until the paramedics ordered him to move. Only then could I open my eyes and answer their questions.

  “What happened?” One asked as he shone a light in my eyes.

  “I jumped in and hit my head.”

  To add insult to injury, they strapped a hard plastic neck brace around me and placed me on a hard wooden board. I was mortified. I was relieved when I was lifted onto a stretched and then placed in the ambulance where no one could see me.

  I was whisked away to an emergency room somewhere. It could have been in Corydon, the next city, or the next state. How different can hospitals look when strapped to a stretcher and your only view is the ceiling as you’re wheeled down the hall?

  Once in the emergency room, I was placed in a forgotten corner room. A nurse checked on me a few times, but other than that I was left alone to wonder what all had happened.

  Did that spirit really come to me as I was dying?

  It took hours for the doctors to run all of their tests and scans. At last I was released with a diagnosis of only a concussion to my very nervous father.

  “Oh thank God!” He said, pulling me to him as soon as I walked out into the waiting room.

  “I’m fine.” I assured him, wanting him to stop looking so worried. “Let’s just go home.”

  He nodded and walked me toward the door. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jonah sitting on the far side of the waiting room; he stood when I looked his way.

  Oh God! I couldn’t face him. I gave him an embarrassed wave and followed Dad out the automatic glass doors.

  “You don’t know how scared I was.�
� Dad said as we got into his Suburban.

  “I’m okay, really, it’s just a bump on the head.”

  “When I got the call to come to the hospital, my first thought—“

  “I know.” I interrupted, definitely not in the mood to talk about my mother. “But I’m fine.”

  He anxiously watched my every move when we got home, making me feel so guilty. When I couldn’t take it anymore, I gave up and went to bed. I loved the peace and quiet as I slipped under the covers.