E ver wonder how Zoë and Rhonda met? Was it a good meeting? Accidental? Or was it a match made in heaven—at first. Were the signs always there? DEAD CORSE tells the story of how the not-yet Wraith Zoë Martinique and not-yet Sorceress Rhonda Orly met and began what they believed would be a long and loyal friendship. Will it last? Only time will tell the tale .
Happy Halloween! “I see in the cards you two are in love.” I looked at the couple. They were holding hands, having difficulty keeping their eyes from one another and had answered each other’s sentences for the past ten minutes. Duh. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to see these two were in love—nor did it take a deck of tarot cards. I’d never really paid attention to card reading until I saw my mom using them in her shop. She said she told her customer’s futures and I had to admit, her readings were a lot more in depth and believable than this boob’s. If only she could see me leaning against the wall behind her, my arms crossed over my chest and a sarcastic whatever look on my face. But she couldn’t. Because I was a ghost. My name’s Zoë. Martinique. I’m Irish Latin mix which means—I wouldn’t say I was ugly but I don’t consider myself beautiful either. I have olive skin, sort of topaz eyes (no really, my mom said so), long thick hair and freckles. I also have an overbite the dentist insists needs fixing. But I don’t think so. And there’s one more thing you might need to know—I’m a Traveler . Hmmm—that doesn’t sound as impressive as it should does it? Makes me sound like someone that travels the world and blogs. I think maybe I need to come up with a better name. Anyway, what that’s supposed to mean is that I—for some unknown reason—can slip out of my body and take a walk-about. I know right? Weird. But I can. And when I do it I don’t really look like I do usually. Yeah same face and hair, but my clothes are all dark and stealthy and I wear black bunny slippers. Mental Note: Black bunny slippers are awesome. And hard to find. Ever since I discovered I could do this I’d pushed it to its limits. The only limit I’d discovered so far was the length of time out of body. I’d never timed it because I couldn’t bring a watch with me—and I always forgot to look at a clock. I had noticed certain signs when I’d been out too long, like dizziness and nausea. And those times when I ignored those signs? It was a stone bitch when my silver cord yoinked me back and I slammed back into my body. The resulting hang over kept me in bed for a full day before I felt human enough to re-enter the world of the living. My recent doctor’s appointment hadn’t gone so well. He’d made me take a sugar test. He couldn’t explain my fatigue, lack of energy and constant peeing as anything other than a possible problem with my pancreas. I knew that wasn’t it—but I couldn’t really explain to him I was staying out partying all night out of my body. So here I was, eaves dropping in a haunted house two days before Halloween. I’d already taken a spin inside some of the more commercial holiday haunts, the ones that pop up the last week of September and disappear November first and yawned my way through. This house was a real mansion a local group had rented out and decorated up to earn money for breast cancer. I wasn’t there just to spy on people. I was there because I had a job! Someone wanted me to listen in and find a real Book of Shadows. Honestly? A Book of Shadows? I know what that was and I figured I’d go look and when nothing turned up I could at least be honest when I reported back it wasn’t there. “Oh…and I see you….” the fortune teller nodded to the young lady. “Have recently lost a loved one.” The girl’s eyes widened. “Oh, how did you know?” I rolled my eyes. “Lucky guess.” The