Laure Donavan 2 - Ghouls Night Out (2 page)

“
Are you sure it’s safe?”
Callahan placed his hand on my arm.

After what he’d gone through, I
couldn’t blame him for feeling uneasy with the supernatural.
Callahan had just escaped a horrible magic spell cast upon him by a
not-so-nice witch, Brianna Garret. Some might go as far as to call
her a bitch. But you didn’t hear me that from me. She wanted him in
the worst way—along with setting her sights on every other man in
town. She had stopped at nothing to get him, but with a little help
from my dead friends, and the local coven, I had saved him from the
horrible fate of a life with Brianna.

And it would have been dreadful
—listening to her whine about every minuscule detail of life. I
guess you could say he owed me, not that I thought he did, though.
Maybe that’s why he felt obligated to tag along on this crazy
adventure. The ghosts hanging around all the time thing was
sometimes annoying, but other times it worked out kind of nice—like
when they helped me rescue Callahan.

All eyes were on me. The only noise
was the heavy breathing from Callahan, and Mark’s pacing. If
spirits were in the place, they were hiding, perhaps waiting for
the perfect time to jump out.

“
Larue, I really don’t
think you should do something like this by yourself. At least let
me walk around with you.” Callahan frowned.

Callahan trailing me into the unknown
spirit world was the last thing I needed. He was the one I was
trying to avoid.

“
That’s very sweet of you.
I know you want to help, but I need to do this alone.” I placed my
hand on his strong arm and squeezed.

Wowza, did that feel good.

Callahan narrowed his eyebrows and ran
his hand through his thick black hair. He let out a deep breath,
but his face remained tense.

“
Trust me. I’ve been doing
this for quite some time now. I can handle myself just
fine.”

“
I don’t like this,
something doesn’t feel right,” Seth said from over my
shoulder.

The air in the room had changed. It
was as if we stood in the middle of emotional molasses; trying to
breathe that thick mess was impossible. Something would happen
soon. The warning inched down my spine. No matter what happened, I
wanted to shield Callahan from the evil spirits. Don’t get me
wrong, Callahan was a big strapping man and looked as if he could
handle his own, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous for
him.

“
I’ll be fine,” I reassured
Callahan…and Seth, too, only Callahan didn’t know.

He regarded me through his long-lashed
blue eyes, but didn’t utter another protest. I turned and walked
toward the hallway. Before stepping into the dimly lit area, I
peered down the length of the space. Off to the right a doorway led
into the kitchen, then the small dining room and farther down I
assumed were the bedrooms.

I’d check the bedrooms first. In my
experience, the most activity took place in the bedrooms. Emotions
could be heavy in the boudoir, so it didn’t surprise me when energy
became trapped there. I started down the hall, then paused to
listen. Footsteps echoed off the walls, but the sound didn’t come
from the guys in the living room. No, the footfalls sounded as if
they’d come from the bedroom directly in front of me. I inched down
the rest of the way with my back pressed against the wall. When I
reached the door, I paused. A presence emanated from over my
shoulder.

I turned around to find Seth behind
me. He stepped to my side, then stopped. His shoulder brushed mine;
the cold misty sensation sent chills down my arm. I looked at him,
but didn’t speak. He remained quiet, too. It wasn’t as if I could
tell my date’s grandfather to get lost. Talk about rude.

I pulled my digital recorder from my
pocket, turned it on, then put it back in my pocket, just in case
the ghosts were shy. They could talk to the recorder instead of me.
Ghosts said the darnest things sometimes. I reached for the
doorknob, then twisted.

Pushing the door open, I poked my head
in. My hand flew to my mouth, stifling my gasp. If Callahan heard
me, he’d have run to find me. Bringing him on this investigation
was a better plan in theory…in reality, I wasn’t sure it was
working out so well.

A spirit stood in the middle of the
room, as plain as any human, with more curves than an hourglass
collection— an ample bosom and shapely hips.

Mae West. Yes, that Mae West. I’d
recognize her anywhere.

Chapter Three

This was their demon? The spirit
responsible for terrorizing so many innocent victims? She stood by
the bed with her gaze focused on me. The hem of her red and black
dress lay in a pool where it met the floor—tight at the waist, the
top was a corset. How women had worn those getups, I had no idea. I
would have suffered irreversible organ damage if I’d had to wear
one. The spirit’s huge, shiny blonde curls were piled high on top
of her head. Bright crimson red lip-color covered her
lips.

“
How ya doin’, sweetheart?”
she asked.

The scary ghost everyone had run from
was making small talk with me. How crazy was that? Why shouldn’t I
be surprised?

I swallowed hard, then said, “Hello.
Um, you’re Mae West,” I stuttered.

“
Last time I checked, yes.
You’ve got yourself a young one.” She directed her statement to
Seth with a tilt of her head, then chuckled.

Seth stood beside me, his eyes were
wide and mouth open.

He blinked, then grabbed his hat,
pulled it off and bowed. “How do you do?” he asked with a bashful
grin.

“
I do,” she
said.

It looked as if someone fancied Ms.
West. If he’d been able, he’d have drooled.

I looked at Seth and said, “Easy
there, stud. We’re not here for romance.”

He gave another shy smile and tipped
his hat back onto his head.

Directing my attention back to the
celebrity ghost, I said, “Excuse me, Ms. West? I must say it’s an
honor to meet you. I can’t believe you’re Mae West.” I probably had
a goofy grin on my face.

“
The one and only.” She
primped her hair with one hand, while placing her other hand on her
hip.

“
Right. Of course you know
you’re Mae West.” I glanced around to make sure we were alone.
“Okay, I have to ask. Why are you hanging around a complete
stranger’s bedroom? You have to admit that is a tad bit
odd.”

She let out a hearty laugh, glided
over to the large ottoman in the corner, and slid down. I stepped
back, just in case she wasn’t who she appeared to be. Demons could
take on a disguise. They were sneaky like that sometimes. Better
safe than sorry.

“
Darlin’, I certainly
didn’t ask to be here. Don’t you think I’d pick someplace fancier
than this? I’m stuck here. Those teenagers playing around with that
Ouija board called to me and I made the mistake of answering. Once
I got here, I couldn’t leave.” She adjusted her cleavage within the
tight restraints of the corset. By the smiled plastered on Seth’s
face, he was enjoying the show.

“
What do you mean you
couldn’t leave?” I asked.

“
I’m stuck. I don’t know
why. Anyway, it’s not been all bad. Once you see him, you’ll know
what I mean.” Her lips curled up at the sides, revealing a huge
smile.

“
Him? Exactly whom are you
talking about?” This was getting weirder by the minute.

Seth sat on the edge of the bed. He
placed his hat beside him, then crossed his legs. He seemed
thoroughly interested. A cold air descended on the room. My breath
whipped from my mouth, dancing in front of me. From the left corner
of the room, beside the closet, a whirling mist appeared. Right
before my eyes, it took shape. A human form. As if watching a
teleportation device, a spirit manifested from the thin veil of the
Other World.

His features developed. Slowly, the
eyes appeared, then the strong cheekbones, and the full lips. Wow—a
gorgeous ghost. His chiseled cheekbones flowed right down to
perfectly sculpted lips and his big brown eyes shone behind thick
eyelashes. His black locks were cut in a short style and his
muscular frame bulged beneath his jeans and tight-fitting T-shirt.
He looked as if he’d stepped out of a time machine from the 1950s.
Kind of like a dark-haired version of James Dean. Very Rebel
Without a Cause.

“
I’d like you to meet the
former owner of this house,” Mae announced. “Isn’t he a
doll?”

“
How ya doing, baby?” He
leaned against the wall, as casual as if he were still among the
living.

So this was the reason Mae refused to
leave. She had herself a young one, too.

“
I’m just great. Just
peachy,” I said.

How bizarre was this situation? And
I’d been in some pretty strange predicaments as of late, but this
had top honors in the weird department. How many ghosts were in
this house, anyway? I needed to remain professional. Well, as
professional as one could be while talking to
apparitions.

“
I guess you guys may be
wondering how I can see you,” I said.

“
Who’s the old man?” James
Dean look-alike nodded toward Seth.

“
He’s not an old man. His
name is Mr. Seth Weiss, and he’s a friend of mine.” I stood my
ground. I wouldn’t let him bully Callahan’s grandfather.

Fifties guy crossed his arms in front
of his chest. “Look, Seth, I don’t think we really have room for
any more people around here. Mae takes up too much room as it
is.”

Mae let out a huff.

Anthony glanced over at Mae and back
to me. “You have to watch what you say around this one.” He pointed
at Mae. “Everything she says can be taken about four different
ways.”

I stifled a giggle, then regained my
composure. “Listen, y’all.” I clapped my hands and spoke,
interrupting the brewing conflict. “So anyway, I’ve been called in
to help you guys move on. You know, to heaven.” I gestured toward
the ceiling.

“
Are you here with the rest
of that bunch of crazy cats?” Fifties guy asked.

“
Um, yes, I’m with them,
but they’re not crazy.”

“
They act crazy. How come
you can see us and they can’t?” he asked.

“
I don’t really have an
answer for that, it’s just a gift I have, I guess.” I
shrugged.

“
She’s a witch, darlin’.”
Mae smiled, then winked at Seth.

I frowned. “No, I’m not a witch, I’m a
medium.”

They looked at me, as if pondering the
word.

“
Well, I own this house and
I’m happy hanging around. I’m even happier now that you’re here.”
He wiggled his eyebrows.

Heat rose to my cheeks. Without
thinking, I giggled. What was the matter with me? He was an
argumentative apparition, for heaven’s sake. I straightened,
regaining my composure. “What’s your name, can you tell me that
much?”

“
Anthony Harris. You are
beautiful, you know?”

He was flirting with me. As sure as I
stood in the bedroom of a stranger’s house, he was flirting. “Thank
you,” I said matter-of-factly.

I needed to get rid of him, pronto.
Not to mention, stop encouraging his flirtatious behavior. Plus, I
had to get to the task at hand, the reason I was there to begin
with—moving these two into the light.

“
I’m not sure if y’all know
this, but…how do I say this…you’re dead.”

Might as well just blurt it out,
right? I never knew how to phrase that little statement, how to
make it not sound so abrupt. They cast a glance at each other and
then burst into laughter as if I was the main stand up act at a
comedy club.

“
Yeah, we’ve figured that
much out, sweetheart.” Anthony smiled.

Thank goodness. That was the hardest
part. At least they already knew, although they made me feel a
little stupid for asking. “Well, you can’t blame a girl for asking,
can you? You’d be surprised at how many ghosts, er, people just
don’t get it. You understand you need to move on and let the living
enjoy this home in peace.” I held my breath waiting for an answer,
but they remained tight-lipped. I continued, “You can’t harass the
current homeowners, and frankly, Ms. West, I’m shocked that you
would do such a thing.”

Guilt sometimes worked. I’d try any
tactic at this point.

“
Well, I’m glad you’re
being frank, darlin’. I was only having a little fun. Do you have
any idea how boring it is to be dead?” She adjusted her
cleavage.

“
I can imagine it’s not
exactly a party.”

The former homeowner said, “You got
that right. I can tell you right now…I’m not going anywhere. I own
this home and I don’t see any reason to leave. Unless of course,
it’s to be near you.” He grinned.

Ugh. Again with the
flirting.

“
Look, you said yourself
it’s boring.” I crossed my arms in front of my chest. I wouldn’t
give up easily.

“
No, she said that.” He
pointed to Mae. “I’m fine. She came in and stirred up trouble. The
strangers with all the funny gadgets wouldn’t be here if not for
her. Although, now that you’re here, I’m grateful. Did anyone ever
tell you that you have the most engaging eyes? The most gorgeous
long black hair?” he asked.