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

by Dana Michelle Burnett

  Chapter 19

  Time moved on and I was barely aware of it. I could see my life going on all around me, but I didn’t feel like a part of it.

  Christmas came and went with its twinkling lights. Dad and I stayed up late Christmas Eve watching the flames in the fireplace while we ate popcorn balls and listened to strange silence of the falling snow. I saw Billie and Ally a few times over the winter break and then it was back to school.

  I didn’t really pay attention to the rest of winter and before long spring made the earth green again. It seemed like all the flowers and trees were blooming and all I did was blink and it was graduation night.

  I stood with the other graduates in the cafeteria, all of us shouting and screaming with excitement. The teachers were trying to get us all in order and lined up.

  “Come on people!” Mrs. Temple complained and clapped her hands for our attention, “This is not that difficult.”

  Somehow she managed to form the line, pulling at this one and shoving the next. She walked down the line and straightened our caps and smoothed our robes, nodding to herself as the music started.

  I craned my neck toward Billie and Ally, smiling and waving just before we all marched single file into the gymnasium. They were both ridiculously animated in waving back and then we were all marching.

  Did it really happen as fast as it seemed? We all went in, took our seats, and then we were going toward the stage. It went by in a blur.

  I heard my name being called and I stepped forward. Principal McGuiness was handing me my diploma and shaking my trembling hand. It was a little pathetic to hear Dad’s solitary clapping when the other graduates had an entire cheering section, but even that didn’t dampen my spirits.

  “Congratulations, Ms. McAllister,” He said formally.

  “Thanks.”

  I expected something more. It was all over.

  There were cheers, applause, and a cloud of hats in the air. Everyone was hugging and crying. Families poured down from the bleachers, claiming their graduate.

  Ally danced up to me, all smiles and giggles. “Can you believe it’s really over?”

  “Not really.”

  Her mom was pulling at her arm. Ally nodded and backed away, still smiling. “Call me later and we’ll all get together and do something.”

  “Okay,” I called to her.

  A few seconds later I spotted Billie with her mother and grandparents. She smiled and waved, but seemed unable to get away. I motioned for her to call me later.

  Dad picked his way through the crowd and caught me up in a hug and swung me in a circle, “I’m so proud of you!”

  “Thanks,” I said, staggering and dizzy.

  “You okay?” Dad asked, reaching out to balance me.

  I smiled, “Sure. It’s just so crowded and hot.”

  “Maybe you should step outside,” Dad suggested. “I’ll go get the truck and you meet me out front, okay?”

  I nodded, fanning myself with my cap. I wove through the crowd, smiling and waving as people called out to me. It was a relief to walk out the exit and stand in the early evening.

  The sun had just set and the sky was just starting to turn purple. I took a deep breath and sighed, still smiling to myself. I unzipped my robe and held it open so that the late spring breeze could reach the thin summer dress I wore underneath.

  A few people were already leaving, their families pulling them away for traditional celebrations before they escaped for less formal escapades.

  “Congratulations,” A voice said behind me.

  I jumped and spun around. Jonah stood there smiling with his robe folded over his arm.

  “Thanks,” I said, blushing. It was still odd to have him speaking to me. Those first weeks after the storm were strained, now our conversations consisted of bland politeness.

  “Going home already?” He asked.

  “Yeah, my Dad went to go get the truck,” I said, not sure where to look. His eyes were too beautiful, his face to handsome, so I settled for staring at the polished toes of his shoes.

  “You’re lucky,” He said with a sigh. “My Mom is in there talking to a few of the ladies she graduated with and even though they run into each other all the time, I have a feeling I’ll be stuck here a while.”

  “I’m sorry,” I said and dared to glance up at his face. Why was this so difficult?

  “Nothing for you to be sorry about, I’m used to it,” he said with a polite smile.

  “Oh, well that makes it easier I guess.”

  “Have you decided on a college yet?” He asked.

  “Not yet.”

  “Are you thinking about going away for school or going to a college close to home?”

  “Close to home,” I replied, my heart aching at the idea of leaving the house where I could keep my memories close.

  Jonah cleared his throat and shoved his hands in his pockets, his robe wrinkled and forgotten in the bend of his arm. “So, what are your plans later?”

  “I’m not sure,” I said, looking down at my own feet. “I’m supposed to call Ally so that we can all get together and do something.”

  “Hopefully it won’t be anything up at the quarry.”

  I looked up then, I couldn’t help it. His eyes met mine before I looked away. I could still picture that night when he pulled me from the water and saved my life.

  “Yeah, I doubt she’d suggest that,” I said.

  He shifted back and forth on his feet, “I would hope not. I don’t know if I could do that again.”

  “So, what are you going to do?” I asked trying to change the subject.

  He took a step toward me, “I don’t know yet. I was hoping to run into you somehow, but you’re not giving me much to go on.”

  I looked up again, not sure if he was serious. He was smiling and seemed relaxed and sincere enough. I couldn’t help but to smile back.

  Far off I could hear Dad honking the truck horn. I could just make out the beam of his headlights in front of the building. I turned back to Jonah, still unsure. I didn’t really know what to say.

  “I have to go,” I said, wishing Dad had better timing.

  “I understand,” he said and took another step forward. “I just wanted to say congratulations.”

  “Thanks again,” I said and took a few steps away and then turned back to him. “I hope I do see you around later. We can all get together and celebrate it being over.”

  Before I knew what was happening, he placed my arms around his neck and embraced me. It was just a hug, but there was something intimate about it or maybe it was just wishful thinking on my part.

  I spotted it then, just over Jonah’s shoulder, a pair of luminous blue eyes staring out at me from the shadows. I saw those eyes and I knew it was all far from over.

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  About the Author

  Dana Michelle Burnett spent most of her life writing short stories and sharing them with family and friends. Over the years, her work was published in numerous commercial and literary magazines including Just Labs, Mindprints: A Literary Journal, Foliate Oak, and many more. Her short story John Lennon and the Chicken Holocaust was include in The Best of Foliate Oak 2006.

  Dana Michelle's Spiritus Series introduced the idea of a ghostly romance and became a Kindle bestselling series. She's an avid reader of anything dark and rom
antic. Dana Michelle lives in Southern Indiana with her dancing diva daughter and an assortment of pets.

  https://DanaMichelleBurnett.com

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  Haunted (Spiritus Series Book Two)

  Alastor came at me then, forcing me back against the wall. He was so solid that I could feel his weight against me. I could feel his frozen breath on my face....He ran his hand up my arm, over my shoulder, and rested at the base of my throat. His blue eyes glittered dangerously.

  Becca has accepted the horrors of her past life, and emerged with her ghostly love Alastor at her side. But her happiness is short lived when she realizes that balancing her past and present won't be easy...

  Becca has already decided that it's Alastor that she loves, but now, as their uncommon relationship limits Becca's future, Alastor must decide if he's willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for Becca's happiness....And will Becca's sanity survive?

  Available Now at All Major E-book Retailers

 

  Sneak Peek at Haunted (Spiritus Series Book Two)

  It was late afternoon when Jonah and I took a cab further inland to Pitot House. In the early evening light, the old colonial house cast long shadows over the tourists and locals passing on their way toward the bayou.

  “This is amazing!” Jonah exclaimed as soon as he got out of the taxi. He took my hand and pulled me along, following the crowd, “Can you believe this?”

  I clutched his hand as we moved along toward Magnolia Bridge. Still yards away, I could hear the drums as well as feel them vibrating somewhere deep inside the middle of my body. As the bridge came into view, the beat of the drums took over the air and shook the ground beneath my feet.

  The crowd kept moving closer and closer to the old wood and metal bridge. As I stepped up on the first creaking wooden plank, I saw eerie drawings of symbols and words in glowing white chalk scratched on its surface.

  The air was thick with humidity and noise, too loud to even breathe. It all began to spin, the drums, the wooden planks covered in glowing drawings, and the sickening sweet smell of so many bodies pushed together.

  I felt myself staggering, everything going hazy and then coming back to quickly, like a record played at the wrong speed. Before I could recover, I was spinning and the drums became loud booms that shook the ground and far off there was a baby crying.

  It wasn’t safe here. I had to get away. I was overcome with the idea that there were people coming to hurt me. They were going to find me. They were going to get me. We needed to hide…We needed to get away.

  “Jonah,” I pleaded, “I’ve got to get out of here.”

  He didn’t hear me. I was clutching at his arm, but he was lost in the sea of bodies. At last, I clasped his hand and jerked him around to face me.

  “Now!” I demanded. “I want to go now!”

  Jonah was reluctant to leave, but the expression on my face must’ve convinced him because he guided me through the crowd without complaint.

  As we stepped off the bridge, a beautiful woman with deep olive skin moved into our path. She seemed to glow in her long white dress and white head wrap. There was something pulsating on her shoulders. It took a moment for my eyes to focus enough to see that it was a large snake that slithered about her neck.

  “I see that which you want most,” she declared, pulling the snake’s head up to hers so that it's forked tongue could flicker across her lips.

  I stepped around her, cringing away from the serpent.

  The woman laughed, showing a wide mouth of bright white teeth, “He can come back, you know.”

  The air left my lungs and I stopped short. I couldn't have heard her right. I dropped Jonah's hand and turned around slowly.

  “What did you say?” I asked.

  She stepped over to me, swaying her hips so that her dress swung like a bell.

  “I can bring him back,” She whispered as she came within inches of my face. “I know that is the thing that you want most.”

  There was a surge of air swirling around me and over my head. The woman’s eyes focused on it with a knowing smile.

  “He will be angry,” She said and took a card out of the waistband of her dress. “Come and see me when you can.”

  I clutched the card in my hand as Jonah led me away. I looked back and watched the woman disappear in the darkening crowd.