Read Online Ghouls, Ghouls, Ghouls by Victoria Laurie - Free Book Online
Authors: Victoria Laurie
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like nothing I’ve ever experienced. Not even the demon we encountered in San Francisco or the Witch of Queen’s Close could even touch the power of this ... this ... thing .”
“It must be the phantom everyone’s been talking about,” Gil said, his eyes large and afraid.
“Is that what knocked you over?” John asked.
I thought back. “No. I think that might have been Heath.”
Gilley leaned toward me. “So he was next to you right up until then?”
I nodded. “Yeah, Gil. I think he was.”
“Can you remember anything else after that?” he pressed.
I sighed, feeling suddenly exhausted. “Not much, buddy. I mean, I remember falling to my knees, then being knocked over by Heath, then crawling away down the hall where you guys found me, and that’s when reality clicked in again.”
“What do you think made the attack stop?” Meg asked.
My eyes moved to Gilley’s sweatshirt. “That,” I said, pointing to his chest.
Gil looked down. “Me?”
“Your sweatshirt.”
“But why didn’t your spikes work?” John said. “I mean, if Gilley’s sweatshirt was able to stop the phantom from attacking you, then why didn’t your spikes stop it in the first place?”
I leaned over and felt Gil’s shirt. It was packed with magnets. “Have you seen inside his shirt? He’s probably got two dozen magnets glued to the inside.”
“Three dozen,” Gilley corrected.
I sat back and regarded the group. “I think there might have been just enough magnetic energy radiating off Gilley to thwart even the phantom.”
I could see the small bit of relief in Gilley’s eyes. I knew he was terrified of being in the castle with a powerful phantom on the loose, especially since he’d seen the state I’d been in just twenty minutes before. But knowing he was wearing enough magnetic power to keep the phantom away probably lent him a bit of comfort.
“So what do we do now?” Kim asked softly.
I sighed again, because a tiny idea had come into my mind that was incredibly risky, but perhaps the only choice we had. The problem was that I was so tired, both physically and mentally, that I wasn’t sure I could pull it off, and I certainly knew I’d have to make myself a target again in order to try it.
Gilley seemed to notice I had a plan in mind, because he said, “M. J.? What’re you thinking?”
I didn’t look at him when I spoke, because I didn’t want to see the fear in his eyes. “I think I need to try and find a ghost within this castle to communicate with. I might be able to find a spirit who knows where Heath and Gopher are and maybe even to help me figure out what this phantom thing is and how to deal with it. And to do that, I need to be well away from all of you, because while I’m gone, you’ve got to keep your spikes out in the open and huddle around Gilley.”
We argued for at least ten minutes about my idea. No one in the group thought it smart, wise, or something I should even consider. In the end, we settled on a compromise: I would head into one of the corridors off the main hall and attempt to find a ghost to communicate with, and John would accompany me carrying a fistful of capped grenades. At the first sign of trouble, he’d uncork them and let the magnets rip. The part about John accompanying me was nonnegotiable, or so he and Gilley both told me. I argued that he could become a liability if the phantom found us, and I worried that he wouldn’t have time to uncap the spikes. “I’ll get to them,” he assured me, his face hard and stubbornly set.
In that moment I gained a new level of respect for him, because I knew that deep down he didn’t want to go anywhere but off that stinking rock. “Fine,” I relented. “But don’t uncap anything unless either I give the signal or I go down.”
“Got it.”
Before we left the group again, Gilley pulled me aside out of earshot of the others. “What happens if you don’t come back?”
I looked out the door at the storm. Much of
“It must be the phantom everyone’s been talking about,” Gil said, his eyes large and afraid.
“Is that what knocked you over?” John asked.
I thought back. “No. I think that might have been Heath.”
Gilley leaned toward me. “So he was next to you right up until then?”
I nodded. “Yeah, Gil. I think he was.”
“Can you remember anything else after that?” he pressed.
I sighed, feeling suddenly exhausted. “Not much, buddy. I mean, I remember falling to my knees, then being knocked over by Heath, then crawling away down the hall where you guys found me, and that’s when reality clicked in again.”
“What do you think made the attack stop?” Meg asked.
My eyes moved to Gilley’s sweatshirt. “That,” I said, pointing to his chest.
Gil looked down. “Me?”
“Your sweatshirt.”
“But why didn’t your spikes work?” John said. “I mean, if Gilley’s sweatshirt was able to stop the phantom from attacking you, then why didn’t your spikes stop it in the first place?”
I leaned over and felt Gil’s shirt. It was packed with magnets. “Have you seen inside his shirt? He’s probably got two dozen magnets glued to the inside.”
“Three dozen,” Gilley corrected.
I sat back and regarded the group. “I think there might have been just enough magnetic energy radiating off Gilley to thwart even the phantom.”
I could see the small bit of relief in Gilley’s eyes. I knew he was terrified of being in the castle with a powerful phantom on the loose, especially since he’d seen the state I’d been in just twenty minutes before. But knowing he was wearing enough magnetic power to keep the phantom away probably lent him a bit of comfort.
“So what do we do now?” Kim asked softly.
I sighed again, because a tiny idea had come into my mind that was incredibly risky, but perhaps the only choice we had. The problem was that I was so tired, both physically and mentally, that I wasn’t sure I could pull it off, and I certainly knew I’d have to make myself a target again in order to try it.
Gilley seemed to notice I had a plan in mind, because he said, “M. J.? What’re you thinking?”
I didn’t look at him when I spoke, because I didn’t want to see the fear in his eyes. “I think I need to try and find a ghost within this castle to communicate with. I might be able to find a spirit who knows where Heath and Gopher are and maybe even to help me figure out what this phantom thing is and how to deal with it. And to do that, I need to be well away from all of you, because while I’m gone, you’ve got to keep your spikes out in the open and huddle around Gilley.”
We argued for at least ten minutes about my idea. No one in the group thought it smart, wise, or something I should even consider. In the end, we settled on a compromise: I would head into one of the corridors off the main hall and attempt to find a ghost to communicate with, and John would accompany me carrying a fistful of capped grenades. At the first sign of trouble, he’d uncork them and let the magnets rip. The part about John accompanying me was nonnegotiable, or so he and Gilley both told me. I argued that he could become a liability if the phantom found us, and I worried that he wouldn’t have time to uncap the spikes. “I’ll get to them,” he assured me, his face hard and stubbornly set.
In that moment I gained a new level of respect for him, because I knew that deep down he didn’t want to go anywhere but off that stinking rock. “Fine,” I relented. “But don’t uncap anything unless either I give the signal or I go down.”
“Got it.”
Before we left the group again, Gilley pulled me aside out of earshot of the others. “What happens if you don’t come back?”
I looked out the door at the storm. Much of
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