Read Online Audrey Claire - Libby Grace 01 - How to be a Ghost by Audrey Claire - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Audrey Claire
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of being banished, and it was my turn to shiver.
* * * *
Having no physical body to worry about had its advantages. For one, I didn’t need sleep. I could stay in Jake’s room all night and watch over him. I found I didn’t have a challenge with impatience because it seemed to be connected with time. I had the feeling time did not affect me, or rather I was not necessarily limited by it. One hour felt the same as ten. The drawback was if I let my mind wander, I lost track of time, and I didn’t want to do that. I wanted to watch Jake sleep and listen to his gentle breaths as his chest rose and fell. However, two hours into this enjoyment, I realized I might be sucking energy from Jake.
I considered going to my room where Monica slept, thinking my best course was to fill up so I could be ready to materialize for Jake, but feeding off my best friend also didn’t appeal. Ian hadn’t told me whether taking their energy would hurt them in any way, and I wasn’t taking a chance. I would clarify the effects the next time I saw him.
Standing in the hallway outside both bedrooms, I considered what I should do and where I could go at that time of night. Then I discovered a new aspect of being a ghost—loneliness.
I left my house and turned toward Ian’s. He should be up during the night, but halfway across my lawn I stopped. I had no idea if he had reinstated the barrier, and if he had, well, I guess I didn’t want to know. Not right now. I had had my fill of pain for the evening, and while I didn’t care about Ian that way, he was the strongest link to regaining my life, so I wasn’t ready to face it if he had changed his mind. For now, I needed to seek out energy from someone I didn’t mind syphoning.
Summit’s Edge was a ghost town. No bar inside the town’s limits. If you wanted to sit around with pals drinking, you would need to drive ten miles to the next town over. Oh, you could buy alcohol at the local ABC Spirits store, but you had to enjoy it at home alone or with friends. Mayor Olivia Walsh ensured it stayed that way in Summit’s Edge. In fact, had she been the one someone knocked off, no one would have been surprised. Then again, maybe the attack on George had been to get to her, and something had gone wrong. Could someone have blackmailed her and she wouldn’t give in, so that’s why they killed George? I couldn’t rule out the possibility, but then why did the townspeople keep reelecting the woman?
Summit’s Edge didn’t have a superstore. Nor did we have a mall. The nearest Walmart was miles away, and unless I could drive a car or could somehow zap myself there, I was out of luck. Not to mention it being the middle of the night. I considered heading toward the park but imagined Ian feeding and gagged.
I wound up at the police station, and at first, I started to walk on by, feeling a sense of dread like I would be arrested on sight. Then I remembered I didn’t have to show myself at all. Drifting in through the door, I found a young man at the front desk, nodding off while trying to hold a book open. I didn’t recognize him and figured he was someone’s grandson down for summer break and needed to make some extra cash working the graveyard shift as a dispatcher. Nothing ever happened in the middle of the night—or almost nothing, not withstanding George’s murder—but Olivia insisted on staff being available at all times.
The police station wasn’t very big, more like a square building with a front desk, a couple of deputy desks on the side, an office for the chief, and another for booking, equipment, and evidence lockers. Beyond the front area was a bathroom and a closet, and farther still, cells. Two cells were all Summit’s Edge could provide, or ever needed.
I drifted through the wooden swinging gate into the dispatcher and deputy area on back toward the chief’s office. As I neared, I noticed a light beneath the door. Either the chief had left it on, or he pulled some late
* * * *
Having no physical body to worry about had its advantages. For one, I didn’t need sleep. I could stay in Jake’s room all night and watch over him. I found I didn’t have a challenge with impatience because it seemed to be connected with time. I had the feeling time did not affect me, or rather I was not necessarily limited by it. One hour felt the same as ten. The drawback was if I let my mind wander, I lost track of time, and I didn’t want to do that. I wanted to watch Jake sleep and listen to his gentle breaths as his chest rose and fell. However, two hours into this enjoyment, I realized I might be sucking energy from Jake.
I considered going to my room where Monica slept, thinking my best course was to fill up so I could be ready to materialize for Jake, but feeding off my best friend also didn’t appeal. Ian hadn’t told me whether taking their energy would hurt them in any way, and I wasn’t taking a chance. I would clarify the effects the next time I saw him.
Standing in the hallway outside both bedrooms, I considered what I should do and where I could go at that time of night. Then I discovered a new aspect of being a ghost—loneliness.
I left my house and turned toward Ian’s. He should be up during the night, but halfway across my lawn I stopped. I had no idea if he had reinstated the barrier, and if he had, well, I guess I didn’t want to know. Not right now. I had had my fill of pain for the evening, and while I didn’t care about Ian that way, he was the strongest link to regaining my life, so I wasn’t ready to face it if he had changed his mind. For now, I needed to seek out energy from someone I didn’t mind syphoning.
Summit’s Edge was a ghost town. No bar inside the town’s limits. If you wanted to sit around with pals drinking, you would need to drive ten miles to the next town over. Oh, you could buy alcohol at the local ABC Spirits store, but you had to enjoy it at home alone or with friends. Mayor Olivia Walsh ensured it stayed that way in Summit’s Edge. In fact, had she been the one someone knocked off, no one would have been surprised. Then again, maybe the attack on George had been to get to her, and something had gone wrong. Could someone have blackmailed her and she wouldn’t give in, so that’s why they killed George? I couldn’t rule out the possibility, but then why did the townspeople keep reelecting the woman?
Summit’s Edge didn’t have a superstore. Nor did we have a mall. The nearest Walmart was miles away, and unless I could drive a car or could somehow zap myself there, I was out of luck. Not to mention it being the middle of the night. I considered heading toward the park but imagined Ian feeding and gagged.
I wound up at the police station, and at first, I started to walk on by, feeling a sense of dread like I would be arrested on sight. Then I remembered I didn’t have to show myself at all. Drifting in through the door, I found a young man at the front desk, nodding off while trying to hold a book open. I didn’t recognize him and figured he was someone’s grandson down for summer break and needed to make some extra cash working the graveyard shift as a dispatcher. Nothing ever happened in the middle of the night—or almost nothing, not withstanding George’s murder—but Olivia insisted on staff being available at all times.
The police station wasn’t very big, more like a square building with a front desk, a couple of deputy desks on the side, an office for the chief, and another for booking, equipment, and evidence lockers. Beyond the front area was a bathroom and a closet, and farther still, cells. Two cells were all Summit’s Edge could provide, or ever needed.
I drifted through the wooden swinging gate into the dispatcher and deputy area on back toward the chief’s office. As I neared, I noticed a light beneath the door. Either the chief had left it on, or he pulled some late
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