“Yes.” I moved closer. “Nan, what did you see earlier?”
She stared at me. I don’t know just how solid I appeared before her, but I imagined that it was like looking at someone through a veil of gauze. “I can hear you. See you. Oh, my dear girl.” Her eyes filled with tears.
If I could cry I would have, but I could only feel that pressure in my chest. When she reached for me, I could feel the warmth of her hand against my cheek like a kiss from the sun.
“It’s almost All Hallows’ Eve,” I explained. “When the veil between the living and the dead is at its thinnest.”
She continued to stare at me as though she’d never seen anything like me before. Oh, right. She hadn’t. Her brow puckered. “It wasn’t you I saw earlier, was it?”
“No. She looked like me, though?”
Her frown deepened. I didn’t like seeing that confusion on her face. “Yes, but she was dressed differently. More old-fashioned. I suppose I ought to have known.”
“Alys,” I said—more to myself than her.
Nan didn’t look as surprised as I thought she would. “I ought to have noticed. I’ve felt her here, you know. I always assumed it was you because she felt so familiar, but now I realize your energy is very different.”
“Where did you see her?” I asked.
She shook her head. She seemed a little scattered. Was that because of me, the situation or something else? “Around the bottom of the stairs. If you can talk to me, why couldn’t she?”
That explained her confusion. I didn’t want to tell her what Lark and I thought—that there was something wrong with Alys. That she was stuck here when she ought to have moved on. If that was true, there was a chance that Alys could be twisting like other old ghosts. She’d better not be a danger to Nan, because I’d rip her apart, family or not.
“Maybe she’s confused,” I suggested. “If she’s become accustomed to you not noticing her, she might have not even heard you. Sometimes we don’t notice the living who notice us.” That was sort of true.
Nan nodded, and I relaxed. “Maybe you can talk to her, dear.” She looked up at me, her eyes watering again. “It’s so good to see you, my pretty, pretty Wren.”
I threw myself at her, engulfing her in my energy. She gasped, but I could feel her arms around my waist. I could feel her like Lark would feel her, and it was amazing. So much love and warmth.
The TV on the counter came on, and the timer on the stove dinged. Nan and I jumped apart at the same time, but it wasn’t my energy that had caused the surge.
Lark stood in the doorway between the kitchen and dining room, her pale hair wild around her shoulders and her eyes bright as gems. She was the one who had set off the electronics. As the veil between worlds thinned, I became more of a part of this world, and Lark became a part of mine.
I’d never been afraid of my sister, but at that moment I had no idea what she might do.
“Where the hell have you been?” she demanded.
LARK
Wren just stared at me, like she didn’t understand why I was so upset.
Okay, I didn’t understand why I was so upset, either. I just was. Bad. It felt like static electricity snapping beneath my skin.
My sister cocked her head, blood-red hair spilling to the side like a long, dense curtain. “Are you manifesting?” she asked.
I glanced around. Everything looked right—not like it had at Goodwill. “I don’t think so.”
“You are,” she said, coming toward me. I stepped closer.
My feet weren’t touching the freaking floor. I yanked my head up, gaze locking with Wren’s. “What the hell?”
Nan frowned in disbelief, her gaze pointed at my feet. “Lark, what’s going on?”
“I don’t know,” I said. My voice shook. “It’s never happened before.”
Wren was the only one of us who didn’t look freaked out. In fact, she looked at me like I was some sort of science experiment. “It’s All Hallows’ Eve,” she said. “It has to be. If the thinning of the barrier makes me more substantial in this world, it also increases the parts of you that are like a ghost.”
Nan nodded. “You do look somewhat ethereal, dear.” White hair will do that to you. “More so than normal, I mean.”
I drew a deep breath and pointed my toes. As I exhaled, I slowly lowered until my feet were flat on the floor. That was enough of that foolishness.
“I’m going to have to watch out for that,” I said. At least I felt normal again.
Our grandmother shook her head. “You girls certainly make life interesting.” And then, more seriously, “Is this something I should be concerned about?”
“I don’t think so,” I told her. “I’ll let you know.”
“I need a cup of tea,” she said, and walked back into the kitchen, toward the stove.
I glanced at Wren. The annoyance I’d felt toward her was returning. “Have a good night?”
I think she actually blushed. “I did.”
“Great.” And just because I could be such a bitch—“You missed all the fun. A ghost attacked Kevin and me last night.”