Kai tugged at the braids in her hair. She said, “Is that bad?”
Man, Kai was so much like me. Confronted with feedback that doesn’t sound super-positive and cheery, we always assume the worst.
Gabriella said, “Not entirely. Silver is rare and incredible for an aura. It means you’re gifted, intuitive, psychic. Pink also means that you’re psychic and a healer. Brown, however, implies that you’re confused or discouraged and black means something darker—maybe depression?”
Kai stared at Gabriella. She said, “Yeah. That’s pretty much me. I’m an empath and a healer—I know that for sure.” Kai looked over at me, as though looking for reassurance. Then she added, “I think maybe I have the potential to become a shaman and I think there’s some huge challenge I’ll need to face. I think I’m going to need to take down some horribly evil skinwalkers around here, or at least help with that. One of them killed my mother at my aunt’s funeral, and my aunt was murdered by a different one.”
Kai looked away from the laptop screen. She looked at the wall opposite the bed and blinked a whole bunch of times. Tears flowed down her cheeks and she started to sob. She said to Gabriella, “I’m sorry...”
Gabriella said, “Don’t be. It’s totally appropriate to feel tremendous pain when we lose someone we love, especially if they’re taken from us suddenly, even worse if there’s violence involved. And I know about skinwalkers and other evil shapeshifters. I’ve had to deal with them in the past. It is not a good thing.”
Kai wiped the tears from her face. Whipping her head around to focus her attention on Gabriella, she said, “You’re familiar with skinwalkers?”
Gabriella said, “Yes. They’re pure evil. There are good shapeshifters in the world, however. Things have a way of balancing out. It’s important to keep that in mind.”
Kai said, “Oh, I know. My mom and my aunt were both shapeshifters.”
Gabriella said, “They were? Well, how wonderful. Do you know if you’ve inherited any of that gift?”
Kai shook her head. “No, I haven’t. The whole time I was growing up, I wished I had. I tried to make it happen, but it never worked.”
Gabriella said, “You should visit me sometime. I could do a more thorough reading and see if you have a shapeshifter gene locked up somewhere in your DNA.”
Kai’s eyes lit up with wonder and hope.
Gabriella said, “Well, I should go study the forum posts and messages. Let me get back to you girls when I’m done.”
CHAPTER 16
We didn’t hear back from Gabriella until two weeks before Halloween. We had the Halloween decorations up and running on The Flying Saucer forum. We had held meetings at Felix’s and Luke’s houses and once at Lin’s to hammer out the details for our article on paranormal creatures. Kai came to every meeting, which gave me a deep-down sense of happiness. She felt more like a sister to me than just my best friend.
Lin’s house was crazy. With six kids in the family and friends allowed to come over, there was a lot of noise. The little kids were the worst at keeping quiet, no matter how many times Lin tried to shush them or their mom tried distracting them with toys. Especially since some of those toys were noisy. Oh my God, the toy piano and this toy you pushed with a stick that made beads pop up under a plastic dome. I totally could not think.
Lin suggested we work in her bedroom. That worked great for about half an hour; but she shared a room with one of her sisters, twelve-year-old Emily who decided she wanted to lie on her bed and listen to music. Finally, Lin paid her $3 to leave us alone and we managed to get some stuff done.
Two weeks before Halloween, on a Saturday night, Gabriella called with amazing news. She said that she totally agreed with my assessment of the clues on both forums. She said that her reading of the photos taken by Piper Carney also gave her the feeling that the man in the photos was connected somehow to both Italy and Romania.
And she told us something else, something that rocked my world and gave me hope. It did the same for Kai. Gabriella said she knew people in Romania who might be able to get Misty and anyone else being held captive in that country out of there. She said there was a clan of shapeshifters, mostly werewolves in their shifted form, who had helped her before. The werewolves could stand guard and take down the kidnappers if it came to that, while other members of their clan could shapeshift into smaller creatures like mice, sneak into wherever Misty was being held captive and free her.
That was amazing news.
Gabriella said she’d work on it and get back to us.
In my free time, I planned my costume. Leotard Girl seemed too young for me this year. I felt like mentally and emotionally I’d aged a thousand years. So, I don’t know, I just started thinking about what felt more like me. I finally decided on a faerie costume. I gave it a great deal of thought. Now that I knew a whole lot of mythical creatures were real, I kind of wanted to dress like one. I thought about dressing like a shapeshifter—maybe wearing an animal costume that opened in the front to show me wearing normal human clothes underneath—but I didn’t want to upset Kai by reminding her of her shapeshifter mom and aunt. I remembered the Lady with the Butterfly Cloak on which thousands of wings appeared to flutter every time she moved. I also remembered the tiny twinkling angels whose wings appeared to flap on Gabriella’s front door last Christmas. I thought maybe I could create my own cloak with butterflies or faeries and pretend it was a faerie cloak; but then again, Kai probably didn’t want to be reminded of anything worn at the funeral.
I decided I’d wear the traditional faerie costume: some kind of outfit involving tights and massive gauzy-glittery wings.
Kai and I went shopping for costumes together. We went to a shop in town rather than one inside Roswell, as most of the selection there would undoubtedly be aliens from outer space ... sold and purchased by people wearing tinfoil hats.
The place was a megastore: huge and totally ready for Halloween. Spiderwebs and ghosts covered the front windows. When we opened the door, rather than chimes announcing us, there was an evil cackle from a witch. I thought about Mrs. Morgan. She was part blood witch, but she was actually very nice. Her other part, hedge witch, was hardly scary at all. It allowed her to grow plants. Although she found that the secret ingredient of blood made them grow better. It suddenly dawned on me: how much blood was involved and other than pricking her finger on rose thorns, where exactly did it come from?
A salesclerk approached us almost immediately. Dressed in the traditional witch costume—black pointy hat, black dress, striped tights, black shoes—she smiled and asked if she could help us. I wanted to ask what kind of witch she was. Slipping any blood into your spells lately to make people shell out their hard-earned cash for cheesy polyester spiderwebs and pointed witch hats? I bit my tongue. Kai said, “No, thanks. We just want to look around.”
The salesclerk said, “We’re having a special on witches’ hats right now.” She touched the brim of her hat and kind of curtseyed. “I got mine.”
Seriously, you’re not appearing before the Queen. You’re just selling Halloween paraphernalia. I was not a gracious customer. I just said, “Nice. Thanks.”
She looked disappointed by my lack of enthusiasm.
Something had happened to me. I used to love Halloween. Going to Haunted Houses on Halloween—with Annie and before that, with Mary Jane in my previous town—used to be one of my favorite things to do. Now that I’d entered the realm of Halloween fakery, I realized how much it paled in comparison to the real paranormal world.
Kai still seemed to enjoy the theatrics of it. She tried on masks, pushed buttons to hear the scary sounds, sifted through bins of spiders and snakes and greasy bugs and held up costumes in serious consideration. Finally, she settled on a Sally costume from The Nightmare Before Christmas.
I asked, “Why that one, Kai? That seems like such a random choice.”
She said, “No, not really. I feel like her lately: a ragdoll with all the life knocked out of me. And, right n
ow, at the beginning of three months of holidays, it really does feel like the nightmare before Christmas. I’m going to miss my mom and aunt so much.”
I thought maybe she was going to cry, but she looked too tired or too drained or something to work up the energy. I gave her a hug and said, “I’m so sorry, Kai. Well, you’ll look good as Sally. Her patchwork dress is cool.”
I started looking through costumes. Maybe I didn’t want to do paranormal after all. Maybe that would remind Kai of her family and make her sad. I decided to go with a Pink Ranger costume from Power Rangers Mystic Force, one of my favorite TV shows growing up. A little bit of nostalgia never hurt anyone. Magical sword! Mystic Force! Hee-Yahh!
Kai approved. It actually made her laugh. She said, “Oh my God, I seriously loved that show! I totally wanted to be the Pink Ranger when I grew up.”
I looked at the price tag. I said, “Well, for only $45.45, you can still make that dream come true!”
Kai laughed. “Well, if I can have her Mystic Lion Staff to cast a Whirlwind spell, it’s a deal.”
I smiled. “There might be an extra charge for that.”
Kai laughed again. It turned out our shopping trip was good for her.
In a festive mood, we bought a bunch of gummy worms and chocolate skull candies at the register. I shoved a skull in my mouth on our way out of the store. It reminded me of another reason why I loved Halloween. Candy!
CHAPTER 17
On Halloween night, Kai and I got all dressed up in our outfits: Nightmare Before Christmas Sally and the Mystic Force Pink Ranger. We were quite a pair.
I slipped the amulet under my bright pink top. I pretty much wore that everywhere now. Magical amulet! Ghostly force! Hee-Yahh!
This Halloween started out so much better than last year’s. Instead of fighting with me to stay home and give out candy, my mom offered to give out the candy and make dinner. It was awesome!
I knew this was the last year I could ever go trick-or-treating. Next year, I’d be a high school graduate, probably in college. I wanted to make the most of Halloween and totally enjoy myself.
Kai and I sat down to dinner. My mom had made meatloaf, mashed potatoes and gravy and green beans on the side. It was delicious. She took an interest in the outfits we planned to wear. She commented this would be a great night to watch The Nightmare Before Christmas while she gave out candy.
When I had broken the damn in my mashed potatoes and let the gravy out—sometimes I think a part of me will be a little kid forever, never growing up—I heard crying.
I asked Kai and my mom, “Do you hear crying?”
They both said no.
Kai looked at me for a few seconds, as though trying to figure out what I was experiencing, how concerned she should be.
I got up and checked outside. Nothing. There were some kids playing, running around and shrieking. I chalked it up to that.
As Kai and I were getting into our costumes, I heard the crying again. It had ramped up into a kind of wailing.
I asked Kai if she heard the crying this time. She said, “No. But I feel something. I think we’re going to have to go rescue a ghost tonight. It feels that way. I don’t have enough intuition yet about where we’ll actually need to go.”
I put on my white pants and pink top, fastened my gold belt and pink cape and pulled on my shiny pink boots. The sound of crying returned, but intermittently. Sometimes it was wailing, sometimes just soft and barely audible, and at times it was completely gone, everything quiet.
Once again, Kai said she only had a vague sense of foreboding. She suggested we start trick-or-treating and see what happens.
As we stepped outside, a bunch of boys dressed up in Ninja, Superman, Link and Pokémon costumes practically knocked us over running up to the front door. Pokémon was a Pikachu with a lightning-bolt tail. The little boy kept yelling, “Peeka! Peeeka! Peeeeka!” Ninja told him to shut up or he was taking him home. Moving his shield to the other hand in order to ring the doorbell, Link said, “I don’t know why your mom made us bring him, anyway.” Pikachu commented by saying, “Peeeeka!”
My mom came to the door really friendly. She said how great they all looked. She let the youngest pick his own candy out of the metal bowl she’d filled with Snickers, Gummy Worms, Hershey bars and all kinds of Reese’s chocolates. According to a sudden burst of outrage from Superman, Pikachu picked out four pieces, whereas the older boys got only one. Way to go, Pikachu! The older boys were mean.
Kai and I waved goodbye to my mom, then headed out into the magical night in search of candy. The moon was dark, invisible. The side that reflected sunlight had turned away from Earth. Faces of jack-o’-lanterns flickered eerily on front steps throughout the darkened trailer park. As the wind picked up, tumbleweeds and trash went skittering across the street in front of us, whispering stories we couldn’t understand.
The trailer that earlier had had a flag in its front yard with the announcement Happy Fall! and pictures of brightly colored leaves and pumpkins now looked appropriately grim. Silky spiderwebs so large the spider would have to be the size of a dog had been draped over trees and cacti. A new flag had the picture of a witch with warts on her nose and the words: Trespassers, Beware! All kinds of spooky pictures hung in the windows. Orange and purple lights were strung like Christmas strands across the front of the house.
Kai said, “Oh, wow, let’s go there! I bet they have good candy!”
I heartily agreed. I felt like a little kid as we ran across the front yard to beat out a group of kids two houses down.
We rang the doorbell. The woman who came to the door was in costume, wearing the traditional witch’s black dress with a pointed black hat. She had gone to the trouble of painting her face green and wearing spider earrings. That much motivation boded well for the type of candy she’d be giving out.
Sure enough, she gave each of us a full-sized Hershey bar. On Halloween night, that’s like finding someone giving out bars of gold. Most people give out itty-bitty candy bars that come 30 or more to a bag and cost a fraction of the price. My mom was being really generous this year and, still, she pointed out to me that she couldn’t afford to hand out full-sized bars.
As we were walking away, Kai pointed out that Halloween night had started off on an awfully good note.
At the house next door, more pinwheels had been added to their collection—orange ones and black ones, flimsier and temporary. Lining the path to the front door were orange bags holding flickering candles and decorated with black silhouettes. The gnomes hiding behind trees and cactus plants took on a menacing look. Kai and I giggled with glee as we rang the doorbell. To our wonderful surprise, another woman dressed in costume—this time, white rags wrapped around her mummy-style—answered the door. Although she wasn’t giving out full-size candy bars, she threw a bunch of the smaller ones in our bags. That was just as good, especially since I noticed a Resse’s peanut butter cup sailing into Kai’s bag.
Most of the other houses had minimal decorations, a lone carved pumpkin or that and some cardboard cutouts.
As we wandered through our neighborhood, knocking on doors and stopping to chat with kids we knew, I kept hearing the sound of crying. It was distant and somewhat muted, but it was definitely there. I hoped to God it would stay that way, that I could just enjoy all the fake ghosts and cardboard witches before having to go in search of a real ghost.
As we stood in front of a house with nothing but dirt in its yard—and I mean nothing: no grass, no stones, no cacti, no decorations, nothing at all—debating about whether or not we should bother knocking, Kai grabbed my arm. She said, “Have you been hearing crying all night, Shade?”
Reluctantly, I nodded my head yes.
Kai said, “I’ve been sensing a spirit in trouble. That feeling suddenly got much more intense.”
I hadn’t wanted to say anything to her in case it stopped, but the crying had become way louder right before we reached the house of dirt.
I asked, “
Do you have any idea where it’s coming from?”
Kai said, “Yeah. Out at Bottomless Lakes Park...” I couldn’t see her face clearly in the dark moonless night, but her shoulders had clearly slumped.
I said, “Oh, wow, Kai, are you ready to go out there?”
Kai said, “I’m going to have to face all of this sooner or later. My mom and aunt died horrible deaths, but I can’t stop helping others because I’m terrified of visiting the places where they were murdered.”
I knew the feeling. It took me way too long to reach out to Annie because of how upset and guilty I’d felt over her kidnapping.
I put my arm around Kai. “We’ll get through this together.” I smiled at her. “Let’s go drop our candy off at my house.”
Once again, I felt too old for my biological age, as we trudged through the crowd of laughing kids with nothing more on their minds than how to get the most out of Halloween night. For Kai and me, Halloween night had been infiltrated by real ghosts and monsters, rather than the fun cardboard and plastic kinds. The flickering jack-o’-lantern faces didn’t even seem eerie anymore.
When we reached my house, my mom was still handing out candy. A group of teenagers were goofing around with each other while they waited for the younger kids in front of them to finish up. I always hated those types. They hadn’t put any effort at all into Halloween. They just wanted the candy. One girl’s only attempt at a costume was a black sweatshirt with an orange pumpkin on the front. One of the guys had on a T-shirt for World of Warcraft. Seriously? You couldn’t even make a costume? Just a T-shirt? Another girl had just stuck a headband with orange pumpkins bopping around on metal springs on top of her head.
Kai and I went around them to get inside.
We decided to take a short break. Sitting down at the kitchen table, we ripped open a few of our favorite chocolate candies and downed them with glasses of milk.
When my mom came back inside, I told her we were going out for a little while. I told another of my white lies and said we’d been invited over to a friend’s. I couldn’t fathom how I’d ever tell her the truth about me being a ghost whisperer.
Shade and the Skinwalkers Page 22