protection.
“I love how you think,” he said, dumping the box he was still carrying and lifting me into his arms. He pressed his mouth against mine. When his tongue delved into my mouth and I was about to suggest we pull his briefs off, a screeching sound erupted around us.
“What the hell?” Papan lowered me to the ground.
I spun around and found Penny standing at the foot of the stairs. She was brighter than yesterday and her feet were hovering several inches off the concrete. Her arms were rigid at her sides and hands balled into fists. Her mouth was open in an O. The alarming sound was coming from her—she was screaming like a banshee.
“Fox, get rid of her.”
“I can’t.”
“She’s a bloody ghost, sure you can.”
I approached her, cautiously. “What’s wrong?” The sound was grating on my nerves and made my eardrums feel like they were about to burst, but she had to be doing it for a reason. “Stop!”
The sound came to an abrupt halt, leaving us in total silence.
My ears were still buzzing. “Penny, what’s going on?”
“You know her?” Papan asked.
I nodded, taking a deep breath. In all the time I’d known Penny, I’d never seen her act like anything remotely ghostly. Sure, sometimes I’d make her go through walls just so I could get a good laugh, but the screeching was something new. “What happened?”
“This is a sacred place, Sierra,” she snapped.
My cheeks warmed. “I’m sorry, we were just fooling around.”
“I know what you were doing.” Her pretty face was set in a frown and she’d dimmed, but her stance remained rigid. “And this is not the place for it.”
I sighed. “Okay then, why don’t you tell me what this place is for?”
Penny looked away, her curly ponytail swaying behind her. “You already know what this room is for.”
“But why is it hidden?”
“Every Catcher kept their personal space private, and Pepita had more reason to.”
I took another step. “So she was still catching spooks after she got married?”
“It’s not my place to answer that question.”
“Then who can tell me, because Grandma has been lost for years. So I definitely can’t ask her about any of this.” Getting answers from Penny had never been a problem, so I was surprised we were going around in circles. Then again, I still didn’t know why she was trapped inside this room.
Penny’s eyes shimmered, but she didn’t reply.
“At least tell me why you’re here,” I said.
“I’m the guardian.”
“The guardian of Grandma’s secret?”
“I’m sorry. I can’t tell you. You need to find the answers.”
I nodded knowingly. “There are answers in her grimoire.”
“It’s not just her grimoire that holds the answers to your questions—this room has answers everywhere.”
“Who are you?” Papan asked.
For the first time, she turned her focus in his direction. “I’m Penny.”
“Penny’s a ghost,” I said, feeling like an idiot for not introducing them. “She was my childhood friend.”
She shook her head. “I’m not a ghost, I’m a deliberate imprint.”
A spiritual imprint was usually left behind by a dead person’s energy and replayed the sequence of their choices over and over again, but a deliberate imprint ? I had no idea what she meant.
“Sierra, where are you?”
My heart sank because Willow had the worst timing in the world. Actually, I couldn’t believe so many hours had passed since she’d left for school this morning.
Penny stepped back, blending into the darkness.
“Come on, Papan. I don’t want Willow to find us in this room.”
We raced up the stairs, back into my bedroom, and rushed to get dressed before my sister busted us half-naked.
Chapter Five
As soon as I spotted both Ebony and Oren standing beside Willow while the dog sniffed around the hallway, I couldn’t help but sigh. It looked like our quiet time together was over.
The only way to deal with this was humor. “Willow, you’ve really got to
“I love how you think,” he said, dumping the box he was still carrying and lifting me into his arms. He pressed his mouth against mine. When his tongue delved into my mouth and I was about to suggest we pull his briefs off, a screeching sound erupted around us.
“What the hell?” Papan lowered me to the ground.
I spun around and found Penny standing at the foot of the stairs. She was brighter than yesterday and her feet were hovering several inches off the concrete. Her arms were rigid at her sides and hands balled into fists. Her mouth was open in an O. The alarming sound was coming from her—she was screaming like a banshee.
“Fox, get rid of her.”
“I can’t.”
“She’s a bloody ghost, sure you can.”
I approached her, cautiously. “What’s wrong?” The sound was grating on my nerves and made my eardrums feel like they were about to burst, but she had to be doing it for a reason. “Stop!”
The sound came to an abrupt halt, leaving us in total silence.
My ears were still buzzing. “Penny, what’s going on?”
“You know her?” Papan asked.
I nodded, taking a deep breath. In all the time I’d known Penny, I’d never seen her act like anything remotely ghostly. Sure, sometimes I’d make her go through walls just so I could get a good laugh, but the screeching was something new. “What happened?”
“This is a sacred place, Sierra,” she snapped.
My cheeks warmed. “I’m sorry, we were just fooling around.”
“I know what you were doing.” Her pretty face was set in a frown and she’d dimmed, but her stance remained rigid. “And this is not the place for it.”
I sighed. “Okay then, why don’t you tell me what this place is for?”
Penny looked away, her curly ponytail swaying behind her. “You already know what this room is for.”
“But why is it hidden?”
“Every Catcher kept their personal space private, and Pepita had more reason to.”
I took another step. “So she was still catching spooks after she got married?”
“It’s not my place to answer that question.”
“Then who can tell me, because Grandma has been lost for years. So I definitely can’t ask her about any of this.” Getting answers from Penny had never been a problem, so I was surprised we were going around in circles. Then again, I still didn’t know why she was trapped inside this room.
Penny’s eyes shimmered, but she didn’t reply.
“At least tell me why you’re here,” I said.
“I’m the guardian.”
“The guardian of Grandma’s secret?”
“I’m sorry. I can’t tell you. You need to find the answers.”
I nodded knowingly. “There are answers in her grimoire.”
“It’s not just her grimoire that holds the answers to your questions—this room has answers everywhere.”
“Who are you?” Papan asked.
For the first time, she turned her focus in his direction. “I’m Penny.”
“Penny’s a ghost,” I said, feeling like an idiot for not introducing them. “She was my childhood friend.”
She shook her head. “I’m not a ghost, I’m a deliberate imprint.”
A spiritual imprint was usually left behind by a dead person’s energy and replayed the sequence of their choices over and over again, but a deliberate imprint ? I had no idea what she meant.
“Sierra, where are you?”
My heart sank because Willow had the worst timing in the world. Actually, I couldn’t believe so many hours had passed since she’d left for school this morning.
Penny stepped back, blending into the darkness.
“Come on, Papan. I don’t want Willow to find us in this room.”
We raced up the stairs, back into my bedroom, and rushed to get dressed before my sister busted us half-naked.
Chapter Five
As soon as I spotted both Ebony and Oren standing beside Willow while the dog sniffed around the hallway, I couldn’t help but sigh. It looked like our quiet time together was over.
The only way to deal with this was humor. “Willow, you’ve really got to
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