Ghost of a Chance Book 1 in Above the Grave Trilogy

by Kara Kirkendoll

  With that she ran out the door and slammed it behind her. Liza and Brendan heard her start up the Harley and peel out. Liza started after her but before she could get out of the door Brendan grabbed her arm.

  “Let her be. She has a lot of emotions to sort through and I don’t blame her for anything that she said. She will come back as she has nowhere else to turn and she knows that this is her home, not just her house.”

  Liza started to protest, “In the mean time,” Brendan said sternly making Liza shut her mouth, “you have some explaining to do. I wasn’t born yesterday, dear heart. You are hiding something else.”

  Liza cleared her throat then with a glare she shook Brendan’s hand off of her arm and walked toward the kitchen. “I brought something for Drew the last time a came over, it’s an Ouija board. I didn’t realize that you two had already gotten so closely acquainted, I thought that it may help bring you two together.”

  “A what?” Brendan asked.

  “Oh, I guess they didn’t come out until the late nineteenth century.” Liza said. “Um, well, I will show you.” She said as he followed her to the kitchen. She reached into the large brown paper bag and pulled out a box. She sat the box on the table and took the lid off.

  Brendan, standing over her shoulder, saw a board with letters, numbers, a yes and a no at the top of the board, and good bye at the bottom. Underneath the board she pulled out some sort of wooden contraption with legs and what looked like a glass window in the middle of it.

  “An Ouija board.” Liza said, pointing at the board. “You use it to speak to spirits. You ask them questions and they are supposed to answer them by spelling out words or by pointing to the yes or no.”

  “If ye want to know something all ye have to do is ask me.” Brendan said. “I’m right here.”

  “Yes, I realize that now. Maybe we can use it to speak to someone else, Lezetta perhaps or maybe even Mary Ann.”

  “Aye!” He said grabbing the board and shaking it.

  “Hold on there, Mr. Pirate!” Liza said, gently taking the board from his hands. “Let’s go sit it in the living room. I’m not sure how it is going to work with you already being a spirit and all.” She poked the flesh on his hand then with her finger. “Well, sort of. On the plus side, Drew must love you or you wouldn’t still be standing here.”

  Drew was heading down the driveway ready to get the hell out of dodge when she saw the candles burning in the cemetery. “What the hell?” She said to herself and slammed to a stop, fish tailing the bike and almost flipping over.

  She caught herself then stomped toward the cemetery. She wasn’t going to let some bitch that was buried six feet under scare her. This was her property and she could have them removed any time that she wanted. Well, maybe not legally though she didn’t imagine that the law came out here checking on old grave sites too often.

  “Is someone there?” Drew hollered into the gate. No answer. She was tired of that too. Damn spirits just seemed to pop up and talk or move things around whenever they felt like it. At their own damned convenience.

  “Ok, I’m coming in. I’m ready to talk. I know you can talk to me. Brendan talks to me all of thetime.” Just then she felt a cold breeze that sent chills up her spine.

  “Fine, we don’t have to talk about him. We can talk about whatever you want.” She walked towards Lezetta’s grave where the candles were burning. All of a sudden they blew out one by one leaving it very dark inside of the cemetery, leaving nothing but the moonlight shining on Brendan’s grave.

  “Great.” She said aloud. She stopped in front of his grave and ran her hand over his name and the dates. “If you are still in the house thenwho is in here?”

  Just then she felt another harsh cold breeze in her face. She felt someone strong and tall pick her up and throw her against the fence behind her. She screamed before she hit the fence. The spirit picked her up again and threw her into Brendan’s tomb. Just before she hit her head on the tombstone she heard a deep male laughter. If she would have had time, she was sure it would have given her goose bumps.

  Liza and Brendan had just sat down in front of the Ouija board when they heard a faint scream. “Drew!” Brendan said then ran out of the front door. Liza tried to follow after him but he disappeared right in front of her eyes.

  “Shit!” She said. She looked up at the stairs to see if he would emerge from the open door. She saw nothing at first. Then she saw a faint light. “Brendan?” She whispered.

  “Go. Please, go and save her.” He said faintly.

  Something was wrong, Liza thought. The curse wasn’t going the way that it was supposed to. She was just there to give them a little bit of a push. What happened? He went from being flesh and blood to a faint light and a very small echo of a voice. He should be walking her through the gardens by now. Why he was still stuck in that damned house was beyond her.

  She would have to deal with him later. First she had to find out what was happening to Drew. driveway trying to listen for another nothing. As she approached the cemetery she saw the candles burning. “Shit! Shit!” She said. There was something going on here and it couldn’t be good.

  She ran down the scream. She heard

  Liza entered the cemetery at the speed of a snail. She was familiar with witchcraft. It was in her blood. She was into the white witch craft though. She didn’t mess with the darkness and she could feel in her witchy bones when she saw Drew lying unconscious on top of Lezetta’s grave with candles lit around her that there was no kind of white magic going on here.

  “Drew?” She whispered when there was no one around it seemed. “Drew? What is going on?”

  Wh en Drew didn’t answer she looked around as far as she could see in the candle light. She sneaked in a little closer to Drew trying not to disturb whatever was going on there without being caught. She could hear whispers but she wasn’t sure where they were coming from.

  All of a sudden there was a loud boom and the ground shook beneath Liza’s feet. She tried to catch her balance but instead fell into Drew’s limp body. Liza caught a glimpse of the tombstone that lay at Drew’s head. For a brief moment it was cracked open. Then, right before her eyes she watched it slowly begin to close.

  She had seen enough. She shook Drew to try and wake her but there was no movement. “Damn it, Drew!” She yelled at her friend. “We have got to get the hell out of here.”

  Liza threw Drew’s arm over her shoulder and pulled her down off of the grave. Drew was by far stronger than Liza but luckily she seemed to be skinny as a damn rail these days. She dragged her across the cold cemetery floor and as she crossed through the iron gate she heard a woman scream and then laughter that chilled her to the bone. When she was on the other side of the fence she heard a young girl’s voice scream, “No!”

  “That place has serious issues.” Liza said breathlessly as she looked back at the cemetery that had grown dark. It seemed that the moonlight didn’t even want to be within it any more.

  She pulled Drew into the doorway as far as she could and with all of the breath that she could muster up she yelled, “A little help here!” and fell to the floor in front of her friend.

  She opened her eyes and then watched a very transparent Brendan carry Drew to her bedroom. He laid her on her bed and then knelt down beside her.

  “Good to see you coming back into yourself.” Liza said as she sat on the other side of Drew.

  “Is she alright?” Brendan asked. “I think so. She has a pretty good sized knot on her head but other than that she just needs to rest.” Liza said with an uneasy look as she held her hand on Drew’s head.

  “What is it?” Brendan asked.

  “I’m not sure. She is breathing ok. She doesn’t seem to be herself though.”

  “Do ye think?” Brendan asked sarcastically.

  Liza had to laugh. She was sure that if Brendan knew what he sounded like compared to the people today he would understand why what he had just said sounded so funny to her ears.


  “I’m sorry.” She said looking serious again. “I mean that everyone has ora around them. Drew’s is hard to tell because she changes color all of the time. She is a very moody person. Obviously, otherwise you two would be married and starting a family by now.” She tried to explain when Brendan cocked an eyebrow.

  “There is something else that I can’t really explain; it is just something that I have learned from healing. You know how everyone has their ownscent?” She asked him.

  “Aye, I suppose.” He replied.

  “Well, it’s sort of like that. There is still a hint of Drew’s scent, however there is something else there that wasn’t there before.”

  “You mean like this ring on her finger?” Brendan said as he lifted Drew’s hand and eyed the Claddagh ring that he had given to Lezzetta so many years before, seeing it on Drew’s delicate hand made his stomach turn.

  Brendan carefully put her hand back to her side then reached out and wiped the hair from Drew’s brow. He then kissed her lips gently. “She is the most beautiful creature I have ever seen. The first time that I saw her sleeping I thought that God had finally sent an Angel to save me.”

  Liza saw that Brendan was coming back. She could almost see him completely again. “You two really are meant to be together, aren’t you?” She said.

  “I hope so.” He said letting a tear run down his face.

  “I think it is time that we tap into the other side, Brendan.” Liza said softly. “There is a lot going on out in that cemetery that I think we may need to know about.”

  They left Drew to rest in the bedroom and came back out into the living room to sit in front of the Ouija board again. “Would you like another glass of wine?” Liza asked grabbing the bottle that they had sat next to the couch.

  “No, I don’t believe that my body is up to the simple pleasures again just yet. I seem to have lost some of the sensations that I had from before. I couldn’t feel Drew’s soft lips.” She saw that his eyes were beginning to tear up but he wouldn’t let them fall.

  “Ok, let’s just get started. Put your hand on the pointer.” Liza said as she did the same. “Now, in order for this to work properly you have to barely touch it. Don’t try to move it yourself, just let the spirits guide.”

  Liza realized that what she was saying was ridiculous considering there was already a spirit on the board.

  “I’m not exactly sure how to get this going.” She said as she closed her eyes. “Is anyone there?” They waited but the pointer didn’t move. “Maybe we should call for your sister?” Liza asked.

  “Aye, I would like to speak with her. She tried to contact me once before.”

  “She did?” Liza asked wide eyed. “What did she say? If she contacted you before then this should be easy.” Liza said then they both looked down quickly as the whole board shook furiously.

  “Hello?” Liza asked. “Mary Ann? Are you here with us?” She looked at Brendan then with an assuring but nervous smile.

  “Mary Ann? We need your help honey. I think Drew is with you. I think that Drew has joined you in death.”

  Chapter 8 Judgment

  Drew had found herself in complete darkness. She felt all around her but could find no way out. It was cold where she was. She couldn’t breathe and luckily she realized very quickly that she couldn’t smell either. When she tried pushing she realized that her hands kept going through whatever it was that was holding her in. She pushed up with the rest of her body and found herself sitting in Lezetta LeBlanc’s tomb. She grabbed something underneath her and pulled up. It was a rotted hand. She screamed and that was when she heard him laugh.

  “Who’s there?” Drew asked shakily. That was when she saw him.

  “Brendan? Oh, thank God it’s you!” She saw him sitting on top of his own tomb and ran to him. His hair was tied back only it was hanging crazily from the sides. He wore a dark purple suit with a lace collar and black tie. She went to embrace him and stopped. His eyes told her that it wasn’t Brendan. His eyes were the craziest eyes she had ever seen.

  “Aye, my darlin’?” He laughed again. “Doan ye be afraid o’ me! Ye just come on o’er and give ye o’daddy some lovin’ now!” His Irish was much more dominant than Brendan’s had been. In fact she kept waiting for him to say arrr like a pirate would. She didn’t know how but she knew that she had to find a way to get away from him. He could have been the devil himself for all that she knew.

  She slowly started to back away when someone grabbed her arm. “They be callin’ fer me now. You go in my place and I will stay with him.” A young beautiful girl said pointing at a light next to her. She recognized the girl from her painting. Mary Ann.

  “Go now, and be quick about it!” She pushed Drew into the light then. She barely heard the two of them; it was like a whisper now. “Danny! What in Haiti’s have ye gone and done now?” She barely heard the hair rising growl that must have come from the man who posed as Brendan. Ah, yes, Danny, the twin. She remembered Brendan telling her about him before.

  That was when she saw Liza and Brendan, the real Brendan. Her heart warmed when she saw his eyes. They were always so serious, she smiled. She realized then what they were doing, they were summoning Mary Ann with an Ouija board, and she was answering their call. Dear God! She was a spirit!

  Drew reached down and tried to grab the pointer. Of course her hand went right through it. She knew there was a way but how? She suddenly remembered the movie “Ghost” and how Patrick Swayze had to put everything that he had into what he was moving. She would try it. She closed her eyes and pushed as hard as she could with her mind and her soul. Nothing still.

  “Move damn it!” She yelled as she tried to grab the pointer again. This time it moved in a circle.

  “Yes!” she cried and the pointer went to yes.

  “Oh, oops!” She said calming herself down.

  She reached down again and this time she was able to take control of the pointer with her hand. “Ok, Drew” she said to herself, “this is serious.”

  They watched as the pointer circled the board and then stopped on the H. It circled the board again…E…L…P…M…E.

  “Mary Ann!” Brendan yelled.

  “Keep your hands on the pointer, Brendan. We have to concentrate.” She said quietly and calmly. “Mary Ann? What is wrong, honey? Why do you need help?”

  The pointer circled around and around then touching the letters one by one. Liza had started writing with one hand as she kept the other hand on the pointer. N…O…T…M…A…R…Y…A…N…N…H…E…L…P…M …E. The spirit spelled out.

  “If you aren’t Mary Ann, then who are you, dear one?” Liza asked trying to be as polite as possible.

  The pointer circled again…D…R… just then the “physical” Drew grabbed up the Ouija board out from under their hands and threw it against the wall.

  “Drew?” Brendan stood up and grabbed her shoulders. “You should be lying down. How are you feeling, love?”

  Liza didn’t like the look on Drew’s face one bit. Her eyes were lit as if she could rip Liza’s eyes out in a heartbeat.

  “Drew, Sweetheart?” Liza said, something was seriously wrong with her friend. “Why don’t you sit down and let me get you a glass of wine.” Liza smiled at her then trying to calm her down.

  “What are you two doing playing with that silly thing?” She said trying to calm herself. The girl that spoke to her was obviously her friend, physically anyway. “Have you no idea what trouble you can get yourselves into? Do you not know what kind of spirits you could awaken?”

  “Well, Honey,” Liza said calmly taking Drew’s hand and leading her to the couch, “that was the point.”

  Drew looked up at Brendan then and as if she hadn’t seen him for years smiled and felt tears well up in her eyes. “My darling!” She said. “How I have missed you!” She flung herself into his arms then and kissed him madly.

  Brendan pushed her away from him leaving her with a look of fake hurt on her face. “What is wrong, m
y love? Don’t you still love me?”

  Liza was just standing there with her mouth dropped to the floor. She knew then that Brendan felt that something was wrong as well. She finally came to her senses and gently touched Drew’s arm. “Drew, you have had a crazy night. Why don’t you sit down? Of course Brendan still loves you, honey!” She gave Brendan a look that said “Shut the hell up” then guided Drew to the couch. “You just sit right here while Brendan and I fix you up something to eat. Okay?”

  “Mmm. Food does sound delightful, and I am a bit fatigued. Yes, that will be alright I suppose.”

  They walked towards the kitchen then. Liza smiling a fake smile and Brendan looking like someone had knocked the wind out of him. They passed through the dining room and as soon as the swinging door of the kitchen was closed he grabbed Liza’s arm.

  “What the hell is going on? That is not my Drew! That woman makes me want to wretch.”

  “I believe, Sir, that that woman would be Miss Lezetta LeBlanc posing as your Drew. Drew was trying to reach us through the Ouija board just before your doting ex threw it against the wall.”

  “For once since she has come back to this house I have feeling and it is the weakness in my knees. I need to sit down.” He said shakily. “If that is Lezetta then where is Drew?”

  “I don’t know. Somewhere she shouldn’t be I am afraid. We need to get back to the Ouija board. We left it open. There is no telling what spirits may try coming through.” Liza said trying to think.

  “Lezetta came through that thing?” Brendan asked eyes wide now.

  “No, I’m afraid Lezetta came in through the front door in Drew’s body. I found her lying on top of her tomb with candles burning around her. The ground shook and the stone cracked open. Lezetta’s spirit must have traded places with Drew’s.”

  Brendan jumped up then. “Are you saying that Drew is out there all alone in the cemetery?”

  “No, I didn’t say that she was alone.” Liza said walking towards the refrigerator to get Drew/Lezetta something to eat.