by Amy Cross
***
“It's all I could scrape together,” I explain as I push the wad of banknotes into his hands. “I know it's not much, it's just a few hundred, but I'm only asking for an hour.”
“Listen, if it was up to me -”
“Just one hour!” I hiss. “Please, it's important. What harm can it do? No-one'll ever know.”
I wait, but he's staring down at the money. Bribing the guard feels so brutish and simple, but at the same time it seems as if it might be going to work.
“One hour maximum,” I add. “I'll be in and out before anyone can tell, and I swear I'll never tell anyone. Please, I'm begging you. I just have to go to the ruins. I have to see them for myself.”
***
As I drive along the road that leads toward the site itself, I glance in the mirror and see the guard closing the gate. He so nearly refused to take the money, but I guess he needs the extra cash. Plus, I figure I was quite convincing when I swore I'd be in and out quickly.
At least he didn't insist on taking a look inside the car.
***
“Not now!” I mutter, as my phone starts ringing yet again.
As I climb out of the car, I glance at the phone's screen and see that Evie's still trying to get hold of me. I hesitate for a moment, and then thankfully she gives up.
A moment later, a text message comes through:
Did you hear? Milly Lannister's body has been stolen from the campus.
“Yeah,” I say under my breath, as I slip the phone back into my pocket. “I know.”
I head around to the car's rear door, which I pull open before reaching in and grabbing the shovel. Then, very carefully, I start sliding Milly's body of the seat. She's draped in a white sheet, which at least covers her features, but I still have to be cautious in order to make sure that I don't damage her at all. I struggle a little as I make my way past the line of trees, and then I stop as I see the clearing ahead.
Lannister Hall.
Or, rather, the patch of land where Lannister Hall once stood.
I take a deep breath, and then I step forward into the moonlight. As I do so, I blink, and in an instant the ghost of Catherine Lannister appears ahead.
VIII
“I brought her back,” I say, stopping in the middle of the clearing. “I brought her to you.”
I wait, but Catherine Lannister says nothing. She's standing about twenty feet ahead of me, staring with a strangely impassive expression on her face.
Realizing that she seems to be waiting for something, I step forward and then I gently place Milly's body on the ground. I take a moment to make sure that she's properly covered by the sheet, and then I step around her and take hold of the shovel. I glance at Catherine and see that she still isn't moving, and then I drive the shovel's head into the ground and I start digging.
This is all I can think to do.
My arms start aching pretty quickly, but I force myself to keep going. I know that, whatever else happens, I have to make sure that Milly is buried deep. I can't risk having anyone find her body, and I can only hope that – once I'm done – I can somehow manage to hide the grave. I'm sure that the campus authorities and the police will realize that I'm the one who stole the body, but I'm willing to accept the consequences. All that matters right now is that I reunite Milly with her mother.
I dig as hard and as fast as I can, but after half an hour or so I've still only managed to get down about three feet. That won't be enough, so I take a moment to regather my thoughts and then I start again.
Suddenly I hear a voice whispering over my shoulder.
I spin around, but there's no sign of anyone. When I turn and look the other way, however, I realize that there's no sign of Catherine Lannister's ghost anywhere.
“I'm doing everything you wanted!” I yell. “I'll make sure that no-one ever separates you again!”
Finally I manage to make the grave deep enough. I toss the shovel aside and climb out, and then I carefully start maneuvering Milly down to the bottom. As I do so, however, I once again spot Catherine Lannister watching from nearby, and I realize that I have to show the utmost respect to the child's body. I twist around and climb down into the grave, and then I very carefully pull Milly into place and settle her down at the bottom.
The sheet falls away from her face and I see her dead, withered features.
“I'm so sorry,” I whisper, and I stare at her for a moment before realizing that I need to get this job done.
I clamber out of the grave and immediately start filling it back in. Glancing around, I can no longer see Catherine Lannister. My arms are burning with pain now, but somehow I manage to keep going until finally I manage to fill the grave completely. I try smoothing over the edges, hoping to hide the grave a little, but in the moonlight it's hard to tell whether I've been very successful. As I step back, however, I realize that I seem to have done a pretty good job.
I just hope that no-one ever finds Milly and moves her again.
“You took her from me,” a voice whispers suddenly, right behind me.
I freeze, not daring to turn and face Catherine Lannister's ghost. A kind of wild, primal fear fills my chest. I tell myself to stay calm and rational, but it's as if my body is filling with an unstoppable sense of panic.
“You stole her,” the voice continues.
“I brought her back,” I stammer, although I'm trembling so hard that I can barely get the words out.
“You took her away. This is her home.”
“And I brought her back here,” I reply. My teeth are chattering now. “She's yours again now.”
I wait, but she doesn't reply.
“I'm going to prove that it's all real,” I continue, keeping my back turned to Catherine's ghost. “I won't let the world cover this up. We have to face the fact that there really are ghosts. The truth is more important than any lie.”
I swallow hard.
A moment later, Catherine whispers something that I don't quite hear. And then, as I'm about to force myself to turn to her, I feel an icy hand touch the side of my neck.
“If there's anything else you want me to do,” I gasp, “you only have to tell me. I'll do anything.”
“You should not have come here.”
“I know, but I've tried to make it all right. And I'll make it right going forward, too. I'll make sure that people understand. I'll stop people interfering. I'll make sure they respect you.” I take a deep breath. There are tears in my eyes, and I can still feel that ice cold hand on my neck. “I won't let the world hide anymore,” I continue. “We have to face the truth. We have to accept that ghosts are real. We have to deal with this. Don't we?”
I wait.
“Don't we?” I add.
I hesitate, and then slowly I turn to face her. Gasping, I see her dead eyes staring back at me, and I'm completely speechless. With her hand still resting on my neck, the ghost of Catherine Lannister looks into my soul and I feel as if I'm completely insignificant. And then, just as I'm about to tell her again that I'll keep everyone away from this place from now on, Catherine's face twists into an angry sneer.
“Wait,” I stammer, “I -”
Before I can finish, she screams and lunges at me. Everything goes black, and the last thing I hear is a sudden crunch as my neck snaps.
BOOKS BY AMY CROSS
1. Dark Season: The Complete First Series (2011)
2. Werewolves of Soho (Lupine Howl book 1) (2012)
3. Werewolves of the Other London (Lupine Howl book 2) (2012)
4. Ghosts: The Complete Series (2012)
5. Dark Season: The Complete Second Series (2012)
6. The Children of Black Annis (Lupine Howl book 3) (2012)
7. Destiny of the Last Wolf (Lupine Howl book 4) (2012)
8. Asylum (The Asylum Trilogy book 1) (2012)
9. Dark Season: The Complete Third Series (2013)
10. Devil's Briar (2013)
11. Broken Blue (The Broken Trilogy book 1) (
2013)
12. The Night Girl (2013)
13. Days 1 to 4 (Mass Extinction Event book 1) (2013)
14. Days 5 to 8 (Mass Extinction Event book 2) (2013)
15. The Library (The Library Chronicles book 1) (2013)
16. American Coven (2013)
17. Werewolves of Sangreth (Lupine Howl book 5) (2013)
18. Broken White (The Broken Trilogy book 2) (2013)
19. Grave Girl (Grave Girl book 1) (2013)
20. Other People's Bodies (2013)
21. The Shades (2013)
22. The Vampire's Grave and Other Stories (2013)
23. Darper Danver: The Complete First Series (2013)
24. The Hollow Church (2013)
25. The Dead and the Dying (2013)
26. Days 9 to 16 (Mass Extinction Event book 3) (2013)
27. The Girl Who Never Came Back (2013)
28. Ward Z (The Ward Z Series book 1) (2013)
29. Journey to the Library (The Library Chronicles book 2) (2014)
30. The Vampires of Tor Cliff Asylum (2014)
31. The Family Man (2014)
32. The Devil's Blade (2014)
33. The Immortal Wolf (Lupine Howl book 6) (2014)
34. The Dying Streets (Detective Laura Foster book 1) (2014)
35. The Stars My Home (2014)
36. The Ghost in the Rain and Other Stories (2014)
37. Ghosts of the River Thames (The Robinson Chronicles book 1) (2014)
38. The Wolves of Cur'eath (2014)
39. Days 46 to 53 (Mass Extinction Event book 4) (2014)
40. The Man Who Saw the Face of the World (2014)
41. The Art of Dying (Detective Laura Foster book 2) (2014)
42. Raven Revivals (Grave Girl book 2) (2014)
43. Arrival on Thaxos (Dead Souls book 1) (2014)
44. Birthright (Dead Souls book 2) (2014)
45. A Man of Ghosts (Dead Souls book 3) (2014)
46. The Haunting of Hardstone Jail (2014)
47. A Very Respectable Woman (2015)
48. Better the Devil (2015)
49. The Haunting of Marshall Heights (2015)
50. Terror at Camp Everbee (The Ward Z Series book 2) (2015)
51. Guided by Evil (Dead Souls book 4) (2015)
52. Child of a Bloodied Hand (Dead Souls book 5) (2015)
53. Promises of the Dead (Dead Souls book 6) (2015)
54. Days 54 to 61 (Mass Extinction Event book 5) (2015)
55. Angels in the Machine (The Robinson Chronicles book 2) (2015)
56. The Curse of Ah-Qal's Tomb (2015)
57. Broken Red (The Broken Trilogy book 3) (2015)
58. The Farm (2015)
59. Fallen Heroes (Detective Laura Foster book 3) (2015)
60. The Haunting of Emily Stone (2015)
61. Cursed Across Time (Dead Souls book 7) (2015)
62. Destiny of the Dead (Dead Souls book 8) (2015)
63. The Death of Jennifer Kazakos (Dead Souls book 9) (2015)
64. Alice Isn't Well (Death Herself book 1) (2015)
65. Annie's Room (2015)
66. The House on Everley Street (Death Herself book 2) (2015)
67. Meds (The Asylum Trilogy book 2) (2015)
68. Take Me to Church (2015)
69. Ascension (Demon's Grail book 1) (2015)
70. The Priest Hole (Nykolas Freeman book 1) (2015)
71. Eli's Town (2015)
72. The Horror of Raven's Briar Orphanage (Dead Souls book 10) (2015)
73. The Witch of Thaxos (Dead Souls book 11) (2015)
74. The Rise of Ashalla (Dead Souls book 12) (2015)
75. Evolution (Demon's Grail book 2) (2015)
76. The Island (The Island book 1) (2015)
77. The Lighthouse (2015)
78. The Cabin (The Cabin Trilogy book 1) (2015)
79. At the Edge of the Forest (2015)
80. The Devil's Hand (2015)
81. The 13th Demon (Demon's Grail book 3) (2016)
82. After the Cabin (The Cabin Trilogy book 2) (2016)
83. The Border: The Complete Series (2016)
84. The Dead Ones (Death Herself book 3) (2016)
85. A House in London (2016)
86. Persona (The Island book 2) (2016)
87. Battlefield (Nykolas Freeman book 2) (2016)
88. Perfect Little Monsters and Other Stories (2016)
89. The Ghost of Shapley Hall (2016)
90. The Blood House (2016)
91. The Death of Addie Gray (2016)
92. The Girl With Crooked Fangs (2016)
93. Last Wrong Turn (2016)
94. The Body at Auercliff (2016)
95. The Printer From Hell (2016)
96. The Dog (2016)
97. The Nurse (2016)
98. The Haunting of Blackwych Grange (2016)
99. Twisted Little Things and Other Stories (2016)
100. The Horror of Devil's Root Lake (2016)
101. The Disappearance of Katie Wren (2016)
102. B&B (2016)
103. The Bride of Ashbyrn House (2016)
104. The Devil, the Witch and the Whore (The Deal Trilogy book 1) (2016)
105. The Ghosts of Lakeforth Hotel (2016)
106. The Ghost of Longthorn Manor and Other Stories (2016)
107. Laura (2017)
108. The Murder at Skellin Cottage (Jo Mason book 1) (2017)
109. The Curse of Wetherley House (2017)
110. The Ghosts of Hexley Airport (2017)
111. The Return of Rachel Stone (Jo Mason book 2) (2017)
112. Haunted (2017)
113. The Vampire of Downing Street and Other Stories (2017)
114. The Ash House (2017)
115. The Ghost of Molly Holt (2017)
116. The Camera Man (2017)
117. The Soul Auction (2017)
118. The Abyss (The Island book 3) (2017)
119. Broken Window (The House of Jack the Ripper book 1) (2017)
120. In Darkness Dwell (The House of Jack the Ripper book 2) (2017)
121. Cradle to Grave (The House of Jack the Ripper book 3) (2017)
122. The Lady Screams (The House of Jack the Ripper book 4) (2017)
123. A Beast Well Tamed (The House of Jack the Ripper book 5) (2017)
124. Doctor Charles Grazier (The House of Jack the Ripper book 6) (2017)
125. The Raven Watcher (The House of Jack the Ripper book 7) (2017)
126. The Final Act (The House of Jack the Ripper book 8) (2017)
127. Stephen (2017)
128. The Spider (2017)
129. The Mermaid's Revenge (2017)
130. The Girl Who Threw Rocks at the Devil (2018)
131. Friend From the Internet (2018)
132. Beautiful Familiar (2018)
133. One Night at a Soul Auction (2018)
134. 16 Frames of the Devil's Face (2018)
135. The Haunting of Caldgrave House (2018)
136. Like Stones on a Crow's Back (The Deal Trilogy book 2) (2018)
137. Room 9 and Other Stories (2018)
138. The Gravest Girl of All (Grave Girl book 3) (2018)
139. Return to Thaxos (Dead Souls book 13) (2018)
140. The Madness of Annie Radford (The Asylum Trilogy book 3) (2018)
141. The Haunting of Briarwych Church (Briarwych book 1) (2018)
142. I Just Want You To Be Happy (2018)
143. Day 100 (Mass Extinction Event book 6) (2018)
144. The Horror of Briarwych Church (Briarwych book 2) (2018)
145. The Ghost of Briarwych Church (Briarwych book 3) (2018)
146. Lights Out (2019)
147. Apocalypse (The Ward Z Series book 3) (2019)
148. Days 101 to 108 (Mass Extinction Event book 7) (2019)
149. The Haunting of Daniel Bayliss (2019)
150. The Purchase (2019)
151. Harper's Hotel Ghost Girl (Death Herself book 4) (2019)
152. The Haunting of
Aldburn House (2019)
153. Days 109 to 116 (Mass Extinction Event book 8) (2019)
154. Bad News (2019)
155. The Wedding of Rachel Blaine (2019)
156. Dark Little Wonders and Other Stories (2019)
157. The Music Man (2019)
158. The Vampire Falls (Three Nights of the Vampire book 1) (2019)
159. The Other Ann (2019)
160. The Butcher's Husband and Other Stories (2019)