“We’re not Alexander,” a feminine voice said.
Whipping around, goose bumps trailed my arms, and I spotted three ghosts behind me, two men and one woman. Terrific! “I need to speak to Alexander. You will have to wait. So, get in line and take a ticket. I’ll get back to you when I can.”
A young man, who was maybe in his early twenties, gasped in surprise. “Did she hear you, Victoria?” His hair was messy, spiked in complete disorder, and his brown eyes were soft. The gentle contours of his face portrayed youth and his slender body told me he didn’t eat well before he died.
Victoria nodded frantically at him, clutching at the front of her nineteenth century white blouse. “Yes. Yes. Sammy, she heard me.”
The older man stepped forward, looking me over from head-to-toe. No doubt he’d died centuries ago, since his breeches and boots with tailored jacket looked ridiculous next to Sammy’s casual clothes from the eighties. “How can you see us?”
“Oh, no, we are not doing this,” I snapped. “I have enough ghosts to help, thank you very much. I can’t deal with you right now.”
Victoria’s blue eyes widened. “Can you help us…leave here?”
“Yes, I can, but not now.”
While I felt bad for them—I really did—I also didn?
??t have the patience to take on anything else. The moment I opened the doors of communication they’d suck me in with their sad story. I had officially reached my limit.
Remembering the power I owned, that Dane had taught me, I pushed my irritation into my voice. “You are to leave me alone—all of you. Go away.”
As my lips sealed shut, they instantly winked out of existence and the dark night settled in once again. I’d never been so happy to see nothing but black sky. I sighed. “Thank God that works.”
“How many were there?” Gretchen laughed.
“Three.” I gave her a look. “In this old place, I imagine they won’t be the only ones pestering me.”
Before she could respond, a sudden shimmer flickered in my peripheral vision. I jerked my head to the side and an odd light formed. I turned to fully face the white orb that fluttered around in front of me. It started at the ground then floated about a foot above me. Slowly, the light began to become solid. “This is weird.”
Gretchen stepped in next to me. “What’s weird?”
I’d never seen a ghost look like…a ghost. Normally, they looked like everyday people—exactly like the ones I’d just seen—only the goose bumps along my body and the sensation of coldness indicated spirit. But weird might not have been a strong enough description for the happenings now. “Do you not see the light?” I pointed at the strange glow. “Right there, in front of me?”
“I see nothing,” Gretchen replied in a low, drawn out voice.
Perhaps I suspected she would, since it was bright enough to force me to squint. The change of light to a solid happened so gradually, as if I could see each part of the body forming. Fingers shaped, arms and legs followed, all building from the mass of light. “It’s a ghost.” I shook my head, searching to find the right words. “I mean, it was light, and now it’s becoming a ghost.”
“What?” Gretchen gasped.
I would’ve looked over at her and nodded in agreement over the same sort of shock I heard in her voice, but I thought it wise to keep looking at the ghost in case something happened. Exactly what would happen, I had no idea. “He looks like an apparition.”
Gretchen sighed. “Which is different than usual because…?”
“They’re never see-through.”
Gretchen stayed silent. Maybe she took the hint I knew nothing else, since I definitely would’ve told her. I shielded my eyes against the piercing light as the misty haze continued to morph into the shape of a body.
One blink later, the body had formed.
It still, in no way, resembled anything I’d seen before. The man figure wasn’t solid. I could, in fact, look right through him. But his features were there. A crooked nose, wrinkled face, short white hair, and dark eyes, even if I couldn’t make out the color.
Standing to the right of the swamp, he stared at me and a long awkward pause followed. I figured best get right to it. “Are you Alexander?”
He waved.
I finally looked at Gretchen and she watched me fiercely, thoughts clearly rummaging in her mind. Then, she turned to where I’d been looking. “Is he there now?”
“Yes.” I regarded Alexander and his odd state. “But he’s different—ghost-like.”