The Price of a Gift (The Price of Secrets Series) (20 page)

"Thank you Mom! You're the best. I'm
gonna call her right now!"

Jaycee and I ended up talking on the phone for two hours. She didn't mind at all that it was
gonna be on Halloween. Just as long as she was getting presents and sharing a spotlight, she was happy. I wrote down all of our plans. From what color scheme we wanted, to lighting, to music. We even planned out the invitations. I don't think I have ever been so excited for a birthday party in my life. Not even the time my parents hired someone to dress up as my favorite purple dinosaur character when I was four.

Planning a birthday party was helping me keep my mind off of Phoebe. It was even getting easier and easier not seeing her at our lunch table. That scares me. I refuse to let her just slip out of my life or Jaycee's. And it was driving poor Kayla crazy. She was not only trying to balance her time between
Phebs and us but also with Jacob. She looked as if she could break under the pressure at any moment. I couldn't dwell on that today, because today Daniel and Jaycee are going to fill me in on Daniel's theory. We are staying after school for the home football game. Mike, Jacob and the guys are playing. So I really want to cheer them on. But I'm more anxious to hear what Daniel has to say. It felt like an eternity had passed before the last bell rang. After a quick change in the locker room, we made our way to the concession stand. We had signed up to help grill hamburgers and hotdogs before the game started. Well, Jaycee and I volunteered. Daniel watched the guys warm up. Since he doesn't eat beef or pork I can't blame him for not wanting to help cook it.

When we were finally relieved of our duties we set off to find Daniel.
Which wasn't a difficult task. He was the gorgeous one leaning on the fence. At this point the stadium was starting to fill up. We soon realized that we wouldn't have any privacy in the bleachers to talk. So we decided to sit in the grass up on the hill. We would have a great view of the game and have distance from the crowd at the same time. We got settled just in time for the kick off. Jaycee sat on my left side and Daniel on my right.

"Ok, tell me what you were researching." I couldn't believe how nervous I was.

Daniel, looking very serious, turned to face me. "I asked Jaycee to be here because I feel that you're right Hannah. I don't think spirits like going around you when Jaycee is near." I looked over at Jaycee.

She shrugged her shoulders. "I guess my bitchiness even crosses over to the spirit plain."

"So," Daniel continued, "I think we are safe talking about it together. But Hannah you are going to have to put up a blocker to all spirits, even Samantha, for now. They can't know what you're thinking. You can call on Samantha if you want but you can't tell her anything until we have everything in place. Can you do that?"

I closed my eyes and took several deep breaths.
In through the nose and out the mouth. All the while I'm visualizing a shield going up around my mind and body, bouncing anything off that tries to get in. It has taken me a long time to learn how to keep this shield up without constant focus on it. Now, as long as I meditate on it before I fall asleep each night, I can leave it up for as long as needed. The only downside to this is fatigue and headaches. The longer I keep it up, the more energy it drains from me each day. This is why I don't just leave it up all the time. I feel my internal shield lock into place, letting me know it's complete. "It's done, but how long do I have to do this?"

Daniel seemed uneasy. "I'm not sure.
A few weeks, maybe a little longer, why?"

That's not what I wanted to hear at all. "I can't keep it up that long without it draining me physically and mentally."

Daniel's whole body tensed. "Then I can't tell you. I won't put you in any type of pain. This conversation is over. I'm sorry Hannah."

He started to stand but Jaycee put her hands up. "Wait a minute Chief. Don't get your undies in a wad. I got this." She waited until he sat back down again before she continued. "Hannah, we know her last name, and we know when she died. It's the why and how we haven't found out yet. You need to encourage Samantha to try harder to give you more information. That's all you can know without having to shield up."

They know her last name. Joy overwhelmed me. Tears streamed down my cheeks but I didn't care.

You would have thought I grew a second head by the fear in Daniel's eyes. "What's the matter? Are you ok?"

I couldn't help but laugh at his reaction. "I'm better than ok. I can't thank you two enough. You gave Samantha her last name. We're almost ready to help her move on. She's gonna get to be reunited with her family. She is going to be so happy!"

Jaycee pulled my hair.
"Soon Han. It will be soon."

Daniel reached for my hand and I anticipated the jolt of energy. I wasn't disappointed when his skin made contact with mine. "Don't scare me like that. I'm still new at this whole living impaired stuff. I'm sorry I freaked it's just that, well, you mean something to me."

"Yeah, yeah, you two can be mushy later. Look! My hot, sexy boyfriend is on the field." And yet again, my moment was ruined. This time by Jaycee.

I spotted Mike just in time to see him running this way toward the end zone. The ball was in the air and at first it looked like it was heading straight for Mike. But the closer it got I could see that it was going to end up too far away from him, and I didn't think there was any way that Mike was going to get to it in time. Jaycee was on her feet rooting him on. Daniel and I joined her. All of a sudden the ball makes a hard right turn and landed perfectly in Mike's arms. I could tell he was even surprised because I saw a brief pause before he crossed the line into the end zone making the touch down. Had I not been watching from the hill behind the field goal, I would have never seen it. I looked over to Jaycee then to Daniel. They didn't seem to notice the ball's sudden change in direction at all. Maybe my eyes were just playing tricks on me. I let it go and joined in on the screaming and cheering.

"Is that a tight end or what." Jaycee made squeezing gestures with her hands.

"I don't think that's where the name comes from." I giggled.

"I'm gonna go get a drink. Do you want anything?" Daniel asked the both of us.

Jaycee held up her drink she already had. "No, we're good thanks." I told him. Then I enjoyed the view of watching him walk away.

"Did you see how he flipped out and got all protective? I'm gonna have to tell him that you're much tougher than you look. He does have a nice ass though." Jaycee said while following my gaze.

"Hey, eyes off." I laughed. "And yes I picked up on that. Thanks for noticing that I can take care of myself, but it's
kinda nice having him want to protect me. Jaycee," I laid my head on her shoulder, "you just don't know how grateful I am that you guys found out her last name. She's our age. She could be one of us. Look at all she missed out on."

She laid her head on top of mine. "I think that's why God gave you this gift. It's not just because
it runs in your family. It's because he knows what a big sweet heart you have. And if you tell anyone that I can be sappy I will deny it, then hunt you down.” I'm sure we looked like two crazy people sitting up here laughing until our sides hurt.

Mom had supper waiting on me in the microwave when I got home but I wasn't hungry, so I wrapped it up and put it in the fridge. What I needed was to talk to my Dad. Finding him wasn't difficult. This time of night he is always in the study. Standing at the doorway, I watched him. He had his back to me, sitting in his favorite worn out leather chair. This time he wasn't doing paperwork, he was reading a book. When we moved in Dad had wall to wall built in bookshelves installed and his vast collection has already filled most of it.
Books ranging from Charles Dickens and Edgar Allen Poe to Anne Rice. A love of books was another gift my father passed down to me. He knows that I am standing here, he is just waiting on me to interrupt. He can feel my presence just as much as I can feel his. It gave me a chance, though, to figure out what I was wanting to say and how to say it.

"Dad," I walked into the room, "you got a minute?"

He laid his book down on the small end table beside his chair. "For my Hannah Banana, always. What's on your mind kid?"

I sat on the edge of his desk to face him and told him everything from what happened with Phoebe all the way up until tonight. "I wanted to do this all by myself to prove that I was learning to be a mature adult. But after finding out what Daniel and Jaycee came up with, I realized that I can't do this alone."

"Knowing when to ask for help before you get in over your head shows that you are on the right track to being that mature adult. Look at me, I'm almost forty and I feel helpless and useless to you when it comes to this. I have no clue how to begin to help you. It's hard to step back and let you do this without me. It scares me to death, but I know that I can't be by your side forever fighting your battles. So I have to let you go at it alone. If not, you would never be prepared for when you're out on your own. There's no handbook for this kind of thing. That was the main reason for the diary. Not just to help you cope, but so you could pass it on to your children. Maybe it will help them with whatever gift they are blessed with. Hannah, just tell me what you need from me and I will try my best to make it so."

"Just hearing that helps. But I do have something I was wondering if you could help me with. Is there
any way you could find out if there is like an amulet or something to help keep the shadow demon away or at least to keep it away from my thoughts?"

He thought about it for a moment. "I’m not sure. But I do know a few people that I can ask and will do my best to find out."

I hugged him and kissed his cheek. "Thanks Dad."

"Hannah, promise me that you will let me know if you feel like you are in danger."

"I promise."

After doing my homework and getting ready for bed, I tried to clear my mind. I wanted to talk to Samantha. I pictured her face, her blue eyes and her golden blonde hair. Once I had her in my mind, I called out to her. "Samantha, if you can hear me, I really need to talk to you." I sat there waiting for fifteen minutes before giving up. I stood, pulled my covers back and bent over to turn my lamp light off. It was time to call it a day.

Hearing my name made me stiffel a yelp. Samantha was standing at the foot of my bed. Why does she do that? I should know by now that she sneaks up on me.

"Samantha, I didn't think you heard me. I’m so happy to see you, but unfortunately, you can't stay here long. You were right, that shadow demon is after you. It has been hanging around here waiting for you and for any information I might have on you. So we have to hurry before it decides shows up."

"Did you find out what happened to me?" She asked, full of hope.

"Almost.
Samantha I have friends helping me, and they have found out some things about you. But they can't tell me yet because we can't let the shadow demon find out. I just wanted you to know we are very close and I think if you could give me just a little bit more information, we will be able to help you pass over."

"Thank you Hannah, but I must go now. It's looking for
me, I can feel it getting close. I will try my best to give you what you asked." And then she was gone.

Chapter 15

"We are going to line up and walk out to the bus parking lot. Then we will wait until the other sophomore classes join us before loading the bus. Whichever bus you choose to ride will be the same bus you will ride on the way back. Mrs. Hoyle will be taking each student's name who loads bus A. Mrs. Reed will take those loading bus B. And I will be doing the same for bus C. We will check your name off as you load back onto the buses. This is so we can do a head count before leaving Grandfather Mountain. Are there any questions?" Mrs. Bumgarner stood in front of the class and asked.

I have so been looking forward to today. I've had my outfit planned out for a week now; a white t-shirt, jeans, a brown jacket, in case it gets chilly up there, tied around my waist and a pair of cute brown hiking boots. I felt very outdoorsy. I got in line behind Jaycee. I knew who was behind me from the energy I felt
tingling my back. It was Daniel. I looked over my shoulder at him but he was turned talking to Luke.

"Chief needs a haircut." Jaycee observed.

"He does not. I like it kinda long." Oops, I think Chief, I mean Daniel, heard me because he lifted his hand up to smooth down his hair in the back.

"Oh hey, my mom printed off the party invitations. We can pass them out soon."

"Yay! I can't wait." I just hope Daniel shows up to this party.

We chose bus C and picked the seats in the back. I had text Kayla to let her know which bus we were on. I thought it might be a good sign when I saw
Phebs get on behind her. My hopes were short lived when I saw her sit in the middle with Brittany. She is so strong headed. It's ironic that the one thing I admired most about her is what's keeping her away from us. Mike and Jaycee sat in the very last seat and I sat down in the one in front of them. I tried to act all casual when Daniel sat with me but inside I was doing cart wheels. Kayla and Jacob sat across from us and Chase and Nick sat behind them. It took forever for the buses to start moving, but we passed the time by taking pictures of each other with our phones. Once we were on the road everyone seemed to calm down. Some talked while others listened to music with their earphones. Some just slept the entire way up the mountain. Our core group, minus Phebs, talked.