The Ghost of Ben Hargrove (7 page)

Authors: Heather Brewer

BOOK: The Ghost of Ben Hargrove

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Our eyes met, and this time, for a too-brief moment, something definitely passed between us. I wasn't sure what it was, just that it
was
.

After our gaze broke, Cara went back to the cards. “So, in your past you have the Death card. I know it seems freaky, but that's actually a good position for that card. It means you've gone through a wrenching change that involved loss and a helpless inability to do anything about it. Probably your move to Spencer, or maybe your mom staying behind.”

“Does it mention which box my alarm clock is in? Because I've been looking for it.” I had to joke, because the whole thing with my mom and the move was just a bit too fresh for me to face.

“Come on, be serious.” She shoved me playfully before tapping the card in the center. As she moved, I was reminded of her fingers scratching her thigh and had to bite the inside of my cheek just so I could focus on the task at hand. “In your present, you have the Devil.”

I resisted the urge to ask her how much she knew about goat sacrifices.

“It's basically your wake-up call. You're hooked into something and may not even realize it. It could be the mindset of being a victim, or something like that. Your thought processes and actions are currently holding you back. The Devil card here says that a terrible connection in your life right now is chaining you down from being who you truly are.”

Who I truly am. Not a gamer. Not a book nerd. Not a history geek. Did this mean the devil was going to help me find out who I was? Looking at the cards and their weird cartoonish drawings, I doubted it.

“What's that? People are .Â .Â .” I pointed to the last card. It featured a building on fire. People were diving from the windows in a mad panic, screaming on their way down. Was that my future? I looked at Cara, hoping she'd shrug it off and tell me it was nothing. After all, she'd just said that things aren't always as they seem. “They don't look happy.”

Neither did Cara. She bit her bottom lip and worry creased her forehead. “This card is the Tower. The Tower card represents sudden change. To be honest, it's not the best card in the world to have in the future position. Having it here means that the decimation of some structure in your world will take place. It's also a pretty immediate thing. Whatever destruction is headed your way is headed your way now. Not in a year or two.”

I stared at the card a moment longer before sighing. “Thanks. That's just great. I feel better about my life already.”

“No problem.” She ran her fingers lightly over the cards, keeping her eyes off me the entire time. I wondered why, but didn't want to ask. Mostly because she just might answer me.

Suddenly, someone behind me spoke. His voice was practically dripping with sarcasm. “Tell me that the Lovers didn't come up.”

The look on Cara's face went from concerned to surprised to annoyed in about two heartbeats. She waved a hand at whoever was standing behind me and said, “Stephen, this is my twin brother, Devon.”

As I turned to look at Cara's twin, I said a simple “Hey.”

But the word fell flat. My heart beat solidly inside my chest. Because the boy I was looking at was the guy who'd been staring at my house less than an hour before.

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About the Author

Photo by Paul Brewer

HEATHER BREWER
grew up on a diet of
The Twilight Zone
and Stephen King. She is the author of the Chronicles of Vladimir Tod series, which has sold more than 1.5 million copies around the world, as well as the Slayer Chronicles and the Legacy of Tril. Heather doesn't believe in happy endings .Â .Â . unless they involve blood. She lives in Missouri with her husband and two children. You can visit Heather online at www.heatherbrewer.com.

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Copyright

THE GHOST OF BEN HARGROVE
. Copyright Â© 2014 by Heather Brewer. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

EPub Edition Â© August 2014 ISBN 9780062321268

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

FIRST EDITION

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