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"What?" I thought I was going with you to talk," Eli asked as he turned onto the long driveway.
"You were, but you need to stick with your pillow. You never know when you'll go into a memory. Honestly, we shouldn’t have let you drive this close to a ghost-infused destination," I admitted with a wince.
"If you start to feel wonky, stop the car, please," Jayce said. His nerves colored the words and now we were all watching Eli who pretended not to notice.
The drive changed from pavement to gravel as the old, abandoned orphanage came into full view.
"I think I can see Kassie from here. Stop at that tree. That will have coverage for Jayce to take care of his business,” I tell Eli.
"Um, Raven, I don't see anyone out front," Eli said cautiously, his eyes scanning the front of the big building.
My heart started pumping faster as we neared the Reed: Home for Girls, and I know that I've already seen my first spirit here.
"Well, she’s at least smiling. That's a good sign, right?" I questioned, not talking my eyes off her.
"We’re about to find out," Lucien muttered quietly, as if he was afraid she’d overhear him.
Eli pulled up to the tree and we all carefully exited the car and stretched. The ride had been a long one but we did make it before the sun sank down at the very least.
"Come on, Eli. I gotta go, now," Jayce says, grabbing his hand and pulling him out of sight.
Lucien moved toward me and held out a hand, "Are you ready?"
"As I'll ever be," I said, placing my palm in his.
"Is your new friend still there?" he asked as we headed to the front of the home.
"She is," I said quietly. She hadn’t moved yet but her smile brightened now that she knew I could see her.
Most of the spirits I've seen haven't kept their shape this long, it had the hair on the back of my neck rising. She must either be strong, or this house had some insane energy to feed off of. Neither one of those options settled my nerves.
"Hello, I'm Raven and this is Lucien," I said in a light tone. Somehow, my voice didn't waver.
"Welcome to Reed's Home for Girls. Are you here for a tour of our facility?" the spirit asked.
"Yes, we sure are. Are you my guide?" I asked.
"I am. My name is Charlie," she said, holding out a hand toward me.
My heart pounded in my chest as uncertainty filled me. I didn't shake hers right away. How was she going to act when my hand went right through her?
When the smile on her face faded into a frown I raised mine and made contact.
Shit, she must be powerful. Maybe it was a mistake coming here… her hand felt like ice but was as solid as mine.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Charlie," I said as I shook her hand.
"Does your friend here not talk? What about those other two that came with you? Where have they run off to?" Charlie questioned as she peered around us at the treeline.
Before I could answer, there was a honk of a horn behind us. Lucien and I both turned to see a silver SUV gliding up the drive toward us.
When I turned back to Charlie, she was no longer there.
"Did you just shake the hand of a ghost?" Lucien asked as we turned to face the vehicle.
"I did. We’re going to have to be on top of our game here. She’s one of the strongest spirits I’ve ever met. I'm going to ask our host about Charlie. We need to know what we’re really dealing with," I tell him.
"Let's plaster a fake smile on that pretty face of yours. We don't want Kassie to worry about us already," Lucien hissed.
