was seeing spirits and that Halloween would be a vulnerable day for me.’ She stopped and rubbed the fingers of both her hands over her temples. ‘I can’t believe I’m saying this aloud; it sounds ridiculous.’
Nick should his head. ‘No, I believe you.’
‘You do?’ She gave him her eyes and seemed about to smile, but then looked away again.
‘Yeah. I have something to tell you that you might not believe. And I think I know where you’re going with this … My mum appeared to you on Halloween, didn’t she?’
Juliet sighed, relaxed her posture. ‘There’s more to it than that. She asked me to find you. She told me your name and where you work. She told me her name, Samantha Crystan, and said that you must go to Grendel Manor, that you need to know the truth ...’ She frowned hopefully as if the mention of Grendel Manor would mean something to Nick.
‘Know the truth? She must mean about how she died?’
‘I assume so. She tried to say more, but disappeared before she could finish. She said she couldn’t stay for long and started to say you have to take something with you. She said, Tell him to go to Grendel Manor and that he must take his … but then she vanished.’
‘I don’t know what she could have meant by that,’ Nick replied honestly.
He had a sip of orange juice and would usually have savoured the freshness of it, but with all these revelations the acidic taste made his nervous stomach churn.
‘What do you have to tell me?’ asked Juliet.
‘The reason I believe everything you’ve said is that something strange happened to me too. A few days before the car almost hit you, I had a vision of it actually hitting you and throwing you over the edge. I saw you die. At the time, I thought it was just a weird daydream. Then on that Friday morning, I saw things that matched my daydream and I knew that I had to act fast to save you. That’s how I got to you in time: because I’d seen the future.’ Tension flew off of his shoulders; such relief to finally share his secret.
‘So … Tamara was right. It was my fate to die.’
‘I don’t know, but I wasn’t going to let you die like that,’ he said, and did he imagine it or did she blush? He’d thought she was gorgeous when he’d first seen her, but now he really saw just how beautiful she was.
‘This can’t all be coincidence can it?’ she asked.
‘I don’t think so.’
‘So what are we going to do about it?’
‘We?’ His pitch rose.
‘Yes, we , if you’re going to Grendel Manor, then I’m coming with you.’
Chapter 8
Juliet thought about Nick on her bus journey home. His hazel brown-green eyes had soothed her the few times she dared look at them, but she also thought he seemed younger and less mature than her.
They’d agreed that on Monday he would pick her up from Chanton as it was closer to Grendel Manor than Amiton was. She hadn’t given him her address but instead chose a location they could meet at, and exchanged phone numbers before leaving The Crow.
It felt as though the bus journey took eons. She was on edge again. At The Crow, even as she talked with Nicolas, there was a woman sat a few tables away, staring.
Juliet knew it was a spirit, and knew who it was: the unfortunate woman that had mysteriously fallen and died out the front of Creaky Crystals. Juliet had read the lady’s name in the light of the shop windows. Rowena Helen Howard.
The spirit had fixed her eyes on Juliet for the first minute or so of the conversation with Nick, then vanished into thin air. Having had more exposure to it by now, Juliet handled the occurrence much better than she did the previous week of phenomena.
After Samantha Crystan had appeared on Halloween, Juliet had expected no more spirits, but there was another one only a couple of days later. In fact, she’d begun to realise walking around Chanton, that some of the usual by-passers were actually ghosts. They could have gone unnoticed to her, but she’d learned
Nick should his head. ‘No, I believe you.’
‘You do?’ She gave him her eyes and seemed about to smile, but then looked away again.
‘Yeah. I have something to tell you that you might not believe. And I think I know where you’re going with this … My mum appeared to you on Halloween, didn’t she?’
Juliet sighed, relaxed her posture. ‘There’s more to it than that. She asked me to find you. She told me your name and where you work. She told me her name, Samantha Crystan, and said that you must go to Grendel Manor, that you need to know the truth ...’ She frowned hopefully as if the mention of Grendel Manor would mean something to Nick.
‘Know the truth? She must mean about how she died?’
‘I assume so. She tried to say more, but disappeared before she could finish. She said she couldn’t stay for long and started to say you have to take something with you. She said, Tell him to go to Grendel Manor and that he must take his … but then she vanished.’
‘I don’t know what she could have meant by that,’ Nick replied honestly.
He had a sip of orange juice and would usually have savoured the freshness of it, but with all these revelations the acidic taste made his nervous stomach churn.
‘What do you have to tell me?’ asked Juliet.
‘The reason I believe everything you’ve said is that something strange happened to me too. A few days before the car almost hit you, I had a vision of it actually hitting you and throwing you over the edge. I saw you die. At the time, I thought it was just a weird daydream. Then on that Friday morning, I saw things that matched my daydream and I knew that I had to act fast to save you. That’s how I got to you in time: because I’d seen the future.’ Tension flew off of his shoulders; such relief to finally share his secret.
‘So … Tamara was right. It was my fate to die.’
‘I don’t know, but I wasn’t going to let you die like that,’ he said, and did he imagine it or did she blush? He’d thought she was gorgeous when he’d first seen her, but now he really saw just how beautiful she was.
‘This can’t all be coincidence can it?’ she asked.
‘I don’t think so.’
‘So what are we going to do about it?’
‘We?’ His pitch rose.
‘Yes, we , if you’re going to Grendel Manor, then I’m coming with you.’
Chapter 8
Juliet thought about Nick on her bus journey home. His hazel brown-green eyes had soothed her the few times she dared look at them, but she also thought he seemed younger and less mature than her.
They’d agreed that on Monday he would pick her up from Chanton as it was closer to Grendel Manor than Amiton was. She hadn’t given him her address but instead chose a location they could meet at, and exchanged phone numbers before leaving The Crow.
It felt as though the bus journey took eons. She was on edge again. At The Crow, even as she talked with Nicolas, there was a woman sat a few tables away, staring.
Juliet knew it was a spirit, and knew who it was: the unfortunate woman that had mysteriously fallen and died out the front of Creaky Crystals. Juliet had read the lady’s name in the light of the shop windows. Rowena Helen Howard.
The spirit had fixed her eyes on Juliet for the first minute or so of the conversation with Nick, then vanished into thin air. Having had more exposure to it by now, Juliet handled the occurrence much better than she did the previous week of phenomena.
After Samantha Crystan had appeared on Halloween, Juliet had expected no more spirits, but there was another one only a couple of days later. In fact, she’d begun to realise walking around Chanton, that some of the usual by-passers were actually ghosts. They could have gone unnoticed to her, but she’d learned
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