B00AO57VOY EBOK (21 page)

“Thanks for showing me where
it was,” I told him, smiling.  “I won’t forget this.”

I looked up from the gift he
had just given me to find him drifting toward the windows next to us.  He
stared out at the grounds bathed in sunlight and the few students who had been
brave enough to face the chilly temperatures to bask in it with a mixture of
longing and envy that nearly broke my heart.

“I died here, you know,” he
said, softly, taking me by surprise.  “It happened right over there.”   He
paused to point at a window high up in the abandoned east wing of the school. 
“We weren’t supposed to go in there, but me and a few of the guys decided we
would show off for some girls we liked.  Freddie thought couples hide and seek
would be a good way to get them alone.  Worked, too.”

He turned to grin at me, but
I could still see the sadness in his eyes. 

“Everything would have been
all right, but a bat flew out and Mary Beth got scared and ran,” he said,
continuing the story of his untimely demise.  “I was afraid she would hurt
herself so I ran after her. I tripped over a chair, a stupid
chair
.  I
landed on something sharp and the next thing I knew I was watching my own
memorial service.  That is
not
an experience I recommend, by the way.”

“I’m so sorry.”  My voice
came out sounding thick.  How had I never seen how much pain these poor souls
were in?  “How long have you been here?”

“Since seventy-two,” he
said, shrugging again.  “If they’d known the truth about my family, they
probably never would have let me in.  It surprises me how many witches are here
now.  Your friend over there, for instance.”  He nodded behind me at Blake, who
was still combing the shelves for research material.  Then his ghostly face
settled upon me again in a sort of creepy awe.  “But especially you, Ember.” 

“Especially...me?” I asked,
confused. 

He smiled and gave a sad
nod.  “You'll be the one to change things, Ember.  Forces behind the Veil have
been watching...and talking.”

I didn't like the sound of
that.  “What have they been saying?” 

He took a deep breath and,
for a second, I thought he would actually tell me.  Then he just winced and
shook his head.  “There are evil things happening in Moonlight,” he said
softly. 

Uh, no shit, Sherlock.  I
might be wrong, but I figured demons were as evil as it got.  But when I asked
him for details, he gave me a pained smile and turned back to the window, his
expression sadder than before.

“I can't tell you,” he
whispered.  “There are...things...that could destroy me if I even hinted at
it.  Being dead isn’t the worst thing that can happen, trust me.  There are
things
way
worse than death.” 

Well, that didn't sound
good.  I watched him in silence as he continued to stare out at the weak sunlit
afternoon. 

After what seemed like an
eternity, he spoke.  “Mary Beth never forgave herself,” he whispered
miserably.  “It’s been forty years and she still can’t let go.  She comes here
every year on the anniversary of my death and cries.  That’s the hardest part. 
Knowing she’s as trapped as I am is worse than being dead to begin with.  I
wish…”

“What?” I asked, really
wanting to know.  I had a feeling Mary Beth was this guy’s unfinished business,
and I wanted to help him.

“I wish I could tell her it
wasn’t her fault, that she doesn’t have to be sad anymore,” he finished, giving
me a pleading look.  “Would you tell her for me?  It doesn’t have to be a big
production.  Just tell her Charles said he loves her, he always did, and that
she doesn’t have to feel bad about what happened anymore because it wasn’t her
fault and I’m okay.”

I nodded, wishing I could
hug him to wipe away the sadness on his boyishly handsome face.  I so
desperately wanted to help him go on that I could hardly wait.

“When is the anniversary of
your death?” I asked, already plotting how to get Nathan to let me out of the
house long enough to keep my promise.

“November thirtieth,” he
said, grimacing when he saw the disappointed look on my face. 

Damn.  That was the night of
the ball.  I was going to be a bit busy…  No, I would find a way.  He sounded
even sadder when he spoke again, and I sucked in a sharp breath as his words
broke into my thoughts.

“I know that’s kind of a bad
night for you, but I promise to help you before I go if you do this for me.”

“You can help me?” I
whispered, not really daring to hope. 

“I think so,” he said,
nodding.  “I was born and raised a witch, so I know a lot about what you’re up
against. My mother was more researcher than witch.  According to her, knowledge
was
power.  She researched everything from herbs to angels.  She had
extensive notes on demons.  They’re stored in the attic of my old house.  My
stepfather still owns the old place, but he’s in a nursing home now and the
house is empty.  You’ll have to teleport in, though.  My mother charmed that
door three ways to hell and back.  I don’t think you could open it with a
wrecking ball. 

“If you agree to help me,
I’ll make sure you get my mother’s research material—which is a whole lot
better than anything you’re going to find here.  She collected reports of demon
possession from all over the world.  What do you say?  Do we have a deal?”

A lump formed in my throat
and all I could do was nod as grateful tears blurred my vision.  I smiled at
him and felt warm inside when he returned it, looking much happier than when he
first appeared.  After giving me the address of his old house, he turned and
started to drift away from me, reminding me of one other thing I needed from
him.

“Wait,” I said quickly when
his spirit started to flicker.  He came back into view, giving me a questioning
look.  “What do I do if Mary Beth thinks I’m lying?”

It had happened more than
once before.  One woman had actually called the cops after I gave her the
goodbye message from her husband.  I was fifteen at the time.  The cops had
taken me home and left me in the care of my mother.  She had sent me to my room
with the order not to say a word to my father—or anyone else, for that matter. 
It had made an impression on me, though.  After that, I always made the ghosts
tell me something only the person who was receiving the message would know to
prove I wasn’t lying or just being cruel.

“Tell me something I can
tell her to prove the message really came from you,” I told him when he looked
confused by my question.  “People kind of freak when they get a message from
the other side, you know?”

He thought about that for a
second and then his lips turned up in the sweetest smile.  For that one second,
he looked positively angelic.  I didn’t know how I was going to swing it, but I
was going to make sure his time haunting the hallowed halls of OA came to an
end. 

“Tell her the kiss she gave
me that night, just before the bat scared her, was the sweetest I ever had.  I
still smell her perfume on my skin.  She smelled like roses.  She never told
anyone about that.  There are only two people who know about it, me and her. 
She’ll know you’re telling the truth.”

I watched him disappear,
thinking that was the sweetest—and probably the saddest—thing I’d ever heard. 
As soon as he was gone, I shook myself and went in search of Blake to tell him
about the research material I had just bargained for.  He listened to me in
silence, his arms crossed over his chest and one eyebrow arched, until I was
done.

“Okay, let me get this
straight,” he said, tilting his head and narrowing his eyes at me.  “You just
made a deal with a dead guy for research material he may or may not have in
exchange for you delivering a message that you may or may not be alive to
deliver.  Is that about it?”

“Yeah,” I told him,
shrugging.  “So, let’s get out of here and go get the stuff.”

“Did it ever occur to you
that this might be
a
trap
?” Blake asked, rolling his eyes toward
the ceiling like he was praying for patience.  “Em, demons can see the dead,
too.  For all we know, Bastian’s got his own deal going with Casper.”

“Then we’ll all go,” I told
him with another shrug as I turned around to go get my backpack and purse.

I heard Blake’s exaggerated
sigh behind me and had to bite my lip so I wouldn’t laugh.  I could practically
hear him thinking about what a pain in the ass I was.  But I was the pain in
the ass that had just bargained for the best material we were likely to find on
demons, so I was entitled to a little indulgence on his part.

“Fine, Em,” he said,
catching up with me.  “Give me the address and Tyler and I will go see if this
stuff is there.”

“But,
I
want to go,”
I told him, frowning up at him. 

“And people in hell want ice
water,” he said, grinning when I glared up at him.  “Besides, you have other
plans.”

“I do?” I asked, arching an
eyebrow at him.

“Yep,” he said, grabbing his
stuff and winking.  “Now get your stuff, we’re already late.” 

I spent the entire ride home
thinking about Charles and his Mary Beth.  What if we couldn’t stop the demon
and my premonition became a reality?  There were so many things I hadn’t done,
so many things I had never said to the people I loved.  I started compiling a
mental list, starting with Kim. 

The perfect opportunity
landed in my lap when we pulled into the driveway to find Kim sitting on my doorstep
with a long white garment bag across her knees.  I stared at it, feeling the
blood drain from my face.  I knew what was in that bag without even seeing it.

The dress I was going to die
in.

“Took you long enough,” she
said, grinning, when I hopped out of Blake’s truck and started toward her,
“I’ve been sitting here for over an hour.  Didn’t you get my text?”

“Nope, reception in the
library sucks,” I shrugged, forcing myself to sound as normal as possible.  I
plastered a smile on my face and nodded toward the garment bag in her lap. 
“What’s in the bag?”

“Phase one of operation
‘Save Ember’s Love Life’,” she said with a wink.  “Now, are you going to make
me sit out here all day or are we going in?”

“Is that it?”  Blake asked,
joining us on the steps.

“Yep,” Kim chirped happily
as I unlocked the door and led the way into the house.  “Wait until you see
it.  It turned out
amazing
.  Did you do what I asked you to do?”

“Yes, sweetheart,” he
sighed, smiling down at her indulgently before stealing a quick kiss.  “I’d say
you have about ten minutes.  I hate to miss the big reveal, but I’ve got to go
pick up Tyler and run an errand.  Take pictures of his face for me, would you?”

I opened my mouth to ask him
who he wanted pictures of, but Kim grabbed my hand and towed me down the hall
to the bedroom.  Closing the door, she threw the bag on the bed and unzipped it
with a flourish.   

If I had still held out any
hope the nightmare had only been my overactive imagination at work, it died
right there.  I had been wrong about the color, it was more ivory than white,
but it was definitely the same dress.  It had a pleated sweetheart bust line
that made me really nervous considering the size of my chest and an almost
pornographic slit that would end just short of the top of my thigh.  The
crystal band that ran just under the bust line of the gown and the sequined
straps sparkled in the muted glow of the lamps.  Seeing my stunned look, Kim
turned the dress around and I saw that it was totally backless.

“I designed it just for you,
but Mom made it for me since her sewing machine hates me on a level that’s a
little creepy considering it’s a
machine
,” Kim said, looking really
happy.  When I just kept staring, though, her smile started to slip and I
thought I saw a shadow of hurt in her eyes.  “What’s wrong?  Don’t you like
it?”

“Of course I do, it’s
beautiful.  I was just stunned, that’s all,” I told her with a strained laugh. 
“I do have a question, though.  Where’s the rest of it?”

She scowled at me and I
laughed again, glad to hear it sounded a little more normal than the first one
had.  It was a real testament to my acting abilities that she didn’t seem to
notice how shaken I really was by the gown.  As beautiful as it was—and it
really
was
beautiful—all I could see when I looked at it was Bastian
standing over Nathan, sword held high.

“Just try it on,” Kim said,
rolling her eyes.  “You’re going to be stunning in this.  Nate won’t know what
hit him.”

Feeling martyred, I took the
gown from her and walked into the master bath.  I shed my clothes and slid the
dress on, feeling like I was zipping up my own body bag as I jerked the short
zipper up.  I didn’t even glance in the mirror, afraid if I saw myself in the
dress I wouldn’t be able to pretend anymore.  Wanting nothing more than to be
out of the thing—it was literally making my skin crawl—I arranged my hair to
cover my mark and jerked the door open.  I was careful to hold the skirt up so
that I wouldn’t trip over it.