by E.J. Stevens
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 1st
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.
About the Author
E.J. Stevens writes poetry and young adult paranormal novels. E.J. is author of the haunting collection of dark poetry From the Shadows, the chilling collection of paranormal poetry Shadows of Myth and Legend, and the young adult paranormal Spirit Guide Series, including She Smells the Dead, Spirit Storm, and Legend of Witchtrot Road.
E.J. is a graduate of the University of Maine at Farmington with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and is an active member of the Paranormal Romance Guild. E.J. currently resides in
a magical forest on the coast of Maine where she finds daily inspiration for her writing. When E.J. isn't at her writing desk she can be found blogging at From the Shadows, a paranormal book blog, or hanging out on Goodreads and Twitter.
Visit E.J. at:
http://www.FromTheShadows.info
Learn more about the Spirit Guide Series at the official series website:
http://spiritguideseries.blogspot.com
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27