hear, but when I did, it was unmistakable. “Aurora,” a voice said. It was part whisper, part wail. The handle began to jiggle again.
I wasn’t going to sit there terrified. I was going to face whoever was out there. In one motion I leaped out of bed, bolted to the door, and flung it open.
And was standing face-to-face with… nothing.
There was no one there. There was no sign that anyone had been there. The wide, dark corridor was silent, still. Empty.
Completely empty.
But the handle on my door had moved, there had been whispering, I’d seen—
The spirits will have their revenge,
I heard the medium’s voice.
This was not spirits,
I told myself.
There are no ghosts.
My fingers trembled, and I could feel my heartbeat through my whole body. This had to be someone. I would find them. Probably this was some prank Bain and Bridgette were pulling. Maybe this was part of their plan, to scare me, drive me nuts, make me think—
What?
That didn’t matter, I wouldn’t let them.
Trailing my hand against the wood paneling, I began walking to the end of the corridor opposite the way I’d come up. I went slowly, the beam of the flashlight chiseling into the empty shadows. I paused after each step, listening, but the only sound I could hear was my breathing. Four steps in, a chill wrapped around me, as though I’d passed through a cooler patch of air, and I sniffed the faint smell of jasmine. I stepped forward, and the air was warm. I stepped back, and the chill settled around me. Embraced me.
Every ghost story I’d ever read came back to me, and my skin started to prickle. “Hello,” I whispered. “Is there anyone there?”
Nothing answered.
I knew, rationally, there couldn’t be anyone there. That this was just a place where the air pooled, an architectural peculiarity.
There are no ghosts
, a voice chanted in my head.
Alongside me, I heard a sound. It was distinct. The sound of footsteps shuffling.
There
must
be someone else there.
Only I was unmistakably alone.
I swung the flashlight around, sending the beam bouncing off the walls. The corridor was empty. But even as I stood there, watching, seeing there was no one, I heard the footsteps again, now slightly in front of me. And beneath them a low, irregular sound. At first I thought it was someone sobbing. But then I realized it was… giggling. A horrible, manic giggling.
The flashlight arced wildly in my trembling hands as I ran back through the cold place in the corridor, back to the open doorway of my room and slammed it shut.
My fingers stumbled over the lock, and it took me three tries to turn it. I stood there thinking,
The footsteps sounded like they were next to me. But the corridor was empty, so that is impossible.
Thinking it as though it were rational, as though I could somehow see tunnel-like through my fear. Thinking all that as I furiously rubbed my arms to make the goose bumps go away, as my teeth chattered so loudly I couldn’t hear my heartbeat.
There are no ghosts
, I repeated to myself again and again.
There are no ghosts.
My breathing was just starting to come back to normal when one of the shadows near the bookshelf peeled itself away from the others and, assuming a hazy shape, came looming toward me.
“Hello, Aurora,” it whispered, reaching for me.
CHAPTER 15
I n the split second before I screamed, the shadow resolved itself into a figure in black cashmere and laser whitened teeth. Bain.
“What were you doing out there?” he asked.
My terror evaporated, leaving behind a granular mixture of fury and relief. “What the hell were you thinking?” I whispered angrily, punching him in the bicep. “Was that some kind of joke?”
“
Ouch
,” He stood back, rubbing his arm. “Was what some kind of joke?”
He did a good job sounding innocent, but I wasn’t believing it. “Jiggling the door handle. Pretending to be a ghost. Why didn’t you just knock and say who you were?”
Even in the darkness I could see him
I wasn’t going to sit there terrified. I was going to face whoever was out there. In one motion I leaped out of bed, bolted to the door, and flung it open.
And was standing face-to-face with… nothing.
There was no one there. There was no sign that anyone had been there. The wide, dark corridor was silent, still. Empty.
Completely empty.
But the handle on my door had moved, there had been whispering, I’d seen—
The spirits will have their revenge,
I heard the medium’s voice.
This was not spirits,
I told myself.
There are no ghosts.
My fingers trembled, and I could feel my heartbeat through my whole body. This had to be someone. I would find them. Probably this was some prank Bain and Bridgette were pulling. Maybe this was part of their plan, to scare me, drive me nuts, make me think—
What?
That didn’t matter, I wouldn’t let them.
Trailing my hand against the wood paneling, I began walking to the end of the corridor opposite the way I’d come up. I went slowly, the beam of the flashlight chiseling into the empty shadows. I paused after each step, listening, but the only sound I could hear was my breathing. Four steps in, a chill wrapped around me, as though I’d passed through a cooler patch of air, and I sniffed the faint smell of jasmine. I stepped forward, and the air was warm. I stepped back, and the chill settled around me. Embraced me.
Every ghost story I’d ever read came back to me, and my skin started to prickle. “Hello,” I whispered. “Is there anyone there?”
Nothing answered.
I knew, rationally, there couldn’t be anyone there. That this was just a place where the air pooled, an architectural peculiarity.
There are no ghosts
, a voice chanted in my head.
Alongside me, I heard a sound. It was distinct. The sound of footsteps shuffling.
There
must
be someone else there.
Only I was unmistakably alone.
I swung the flashlight around, sending the beam bouncing off the walls. The corridor was empty. But even as I stood there, watching, seeing there was no one, I heard the footsteps again, now slightly in front of me. And beneath them a low, irregular sound. At first I thought it was someone sobbing. But then I realized it was… giggling. A horrible, manic giggling.
The flashlight arced wildly in my trembling hands as I ran back through the cold place in the corridor, back to the open doorway of my room and slammed it shut.
My fingers stumbled over the lock, and it took me three tries to turn it. I stood there thinking,
The footsteps sounded like they were next to me. But the corridor was empty, so that is impossible.
Thinking it as though it were rational, as though I could somehow see tunnel-like through my fear. Thinking all that as I furiously rubbed my arms to make the goose bumps go away, as my teeth chattered so loudly I couldn’t hear my heartbeat.
There are no ghosts
, I repeated to myself again and again.
There are no ghosts.
My breathing was just starting to come back to normal when one of the shadows near the bookshelf peeled itself away from the others and, assuming a hazy shape, came looming toward me.
“Hello, Aurora,” it whispered, reaching for me.
CHAPTER 15
I n the split second before I screamed, the shadow resolved itself into a figure in black cashmere and laser whitened teeth. Bain.
“What were you doing out there?” he asked.
My terror evaporated, leaving behind a granular mixture of fury and relief. “What the hell were you thinking?” I whispered angrily, punching him in the bicep. “Was that some kind of joke?”
“
Ouch
,” He stood back, rubbing his arm. “Was what some kind of joke?”
He did a good job sounding innocent, but I wasn’t believing it. “Jiggling the door handle. Pretending to be a ghost. Why didn’t you just knock and say who you were?”
Even in the darkness I could see him
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