The Ghost Files Volume 4 Part 2

Chapter One

** This is a rough draft and has not been edited!! **

I can't get that dream out of my head. Tara. The woman who cursed all the males in Eli's family with those aqua eyes of his. Maybe it's a coincidence I dreamed of her, my own imagination conjuring up a story after what Eli's mom told us.

I want to believe it's all stress induced paranoia, but I know better. There's a reason I'm dreaming about Tara, but I'm so busy stressing, I can't see it. After Silas's last visit, all I can think about are all the secrets he let me in on, secrets I have to come to terms with. Secrets I have to share.

But today, I can't focus on anything but one simple fact.

Today is Meg's funeral.

I slip into my black flats and adjust the simple black dress I'm wearing. The severe bun I've put my dark hair up in is one Meg taught me. My breath catches as a new wave of grief smashes into me. I still can't believe she's gone. There are no tears, only a staggering pain in my heart. I hated her the tiniest bit because she lied to me, but I loved her. She was my best friend and now she's dead.

Because of me.

Mattie Louise Hathaway. The harbinger of bad luck. That's me in a nutshell.

My foster sister, Mary Cross, knocks on the door and breezes in. Her long blonde hair is pulled back, making her look 1even paler against the black dress she keeps tugging at. She hates the thing because it's itchy, but she said it was the only suitable dress she had for a funeral. Mary didn't really know Meg, but she knows me and Dan so she's going to support us. It's what sisters do, she said. I'm grateful every day for her. Blood sisters we may not be, but she is my sister in every way that counts. We chose each other and that bond can sometimes be stronger than even blood.

"Dan's on his." She sits down in my desk chair, her eyes zeroing in on me. "You ready for this?"

Is anyone ever ready to say goodbye to someone they love? "Not really, but we'll get through it."

Mary fusses with her hair while I make a point of staring down my shoes. We're both somber today. I've never been to a funeral, not even my mom's. She'd been buried while I was still in the hospital recovering from her attack on me. I'm not sure what to expect, other than what I've seen on TV. Those are always somber affairs. So I guess, we're at least in the right frame of mind.

I haven't talked to Mary about her run in with Deleriel yet. I didn't get back here until late last night because I've been visiting with the grandparents the last few days. I need to speak to her soon, though. We need to get out in front of this before Deleriel decides to make a move. He's a fallen angel who eats the souls of little children and he's got his heart set on taking Mary back to hell with him. So not gonna happen.

I'm still vexed she didn't tell me about it. I had to hear about it from Silas, a demon who claims to be my great something or other grandfather. He also scares the bejesus out of me.

We hear a horn outside that startles us both. Dan's here. I get up and follow Mary out of the house. We both pause on the porch and look at the empty yard beside of ours. The Burnette house stands next to us like a giant black shadow, ready to exhale it's sorrow any moment.

Mr. Burnette's seven-year-old granddaughter, Kayla went missing a few days ago. She's another in a long line of children that went missing in the Charlotte area. Those kids turned up dead a week after they went missing. We suspect they are victims of Deleriel. If he has Kayla, God only knows the horrors that poor little girl is going through.