“A Ouija board!” Orion exclaimed, a grin splashing across his face. “Cool!”
Ouija board? True blinked, and the room rearranged itself, reality knitting itself back together. Ofcourseit wasn’t five ghouls perched around a carcass. These were just five teenagers, like her, dressed up as zombies and vampires—and what looked like Mothman—sitting around a Ouija board, probably from Target or somewhere. Atoy.
True’s shoulders relaxed, as did her grip on Orion’s elbow. She hadn’t realized she’d been digging her claws into him; to his credit, he didn’t seem to mind. Still, True flexed her fingers and dropped her hand nonchalantly to her side, just a tad shaky.Get a grip, True. Just not a grip on Orion.
A zombie dude in the room spoke, breaking her out of her reverie. “Hey, Orion! This is perfect. We need two more to make seven people. Come join us!”
Orion stepped into the candlelit room, then paused and tossed a rueful glance back at True, who still lingered just beyond the door. “Ah, we can’t, man. We’re on a mission. Have you guys seen Bradley Morris from Moon Ridge High? He and his buddies were dressed in football uniforms and they had a big witch mannequin with them?”
“Oh, sure,” a vampire girl began, her plastic fangs making her lisp. “They went to—”
“Ah, ah, ah.” Zombie Boy held up his hand. “We need seven to finish what we’re doing here. You help us, we help you.”
Orion chuckled. “You’re not the debate team captain for nothing, Zach.” Turning to True again, he shrugged. “Wanna do a quick round of Ouija before we continue on our search? I think Wicked Wynona will keep.”
After just a moment of hesitation True shrugged, picked up her skirts, and followed Orion into the room after closing the door behind her. This would probably only take a few minutes. She sat down on Orion’s left, sandwiched between him and Vampire Girl. “So why do you guys need seven people?”
Vampire Girl grinned, her fangs just slightly askew. “Gabbybelieves it’s the magic number we need to really get the spirits to engage with us.”
Was this girl speaking about herself in the third person? True was just about to say,And why doesGabbybelieve that?when a girl across the Ouija board who was dressed as a mummy sighed. “Itis,you guys. My mom’s a medium, and she says seven is the number that unlocks the portal.Especiallyon a night like tonight.”
“Okay.” Orion rubbed his hands together, looking down at the wooden board. It had numbers painted on in a dark paint, brown or black, True couldn’t tell which. The planchette was also solid wood except for the hole on its top and looked heavy, its glossy surface engraved (by hand?) with an intricate fleur-de-lis design. Actually, she could see now, the thing didn’t look at all like a toy. To be completely honest, it looked like it belonged in a New Orleans museum, not here in the Diamantes’ suburban mansion. Where had these people found it, anyway?
A cold, teasing finger pressed itself into True’s spine, and she told herself again to chill. Still, she found herself scooching just a smidge closer to Orion, taking comfort in the way his body heat enveloped her in a firm, solid way, like,Hey. Iwillkeep you safe.Not that she needed a guy to keep her safe. It was, you know, like health insurance. Smart to have, just in case.
“Okay, now we all have to put our index fingers on the planchette.” Gabby’s dark eyes glimmered in the candlelight. “We have to convey our energy through our fingers into the wood.” True glanced surreptitiously around as Gabby spoke. Onny’s house’s layout was hella confusing, but she was pretty sure this was ararely used—yet tastefully furnished—guest room. Hopefully this group wouldn’t burn it to the ground by midnight.
Everyone began placing their fingers on the planchette, and True followed. Her slender index finger, she suddenly realized, was pressed against the side of Orion’s much bigger one. Their eyes met for just a moment longer than necessary, memories of the moment they’d shared out in the hallway dancing in True’s brain. But then she blinked and looked away, her heart hammering.
“Who’s going to ask the first question?” Zombie Boy looked around at them all, a really unsettling grin on his face.
No one said anything.
Orion spoke after five seconds of silence. “I will.” His voice was sure and confident, not a trace of the unease present that she’d detected in Zombie Boy’s voice in spite of his outward bravado. Orion spoke in a rich, authoritative baritone True hadn’t heard yet. “If there is a spirit among us, please tell us your name.”
She might just have to watch all his YouTube videos if he always spoke to perceived ghosts this way.
Everyone’s gazes swiveled down to the planchette. It was stony-still for a good long moment, and then slowly, very steadily, it began to move.
“D…” Gabby read, her voice breathy, her eyes wide in the near dark. The planchette moved again. True tried not to roll her eyes; it was obvious someone was pushing it. “R… I… B.”
“Drib.” True raised an eyebrow. “Interesting name.”
“Oh my god, that’s ‘bird’ backward!” Vampire Girl pointed out, totally serious. “Maybe there’s a bird’s spirit here.”
Mothman spoke up for the first time. “Didn’t Onny used to have a parrot that died?”
The girl next to him, dressed as an evil mermaid, nodded vigorously, her scales flashing in the candlelight. “Yes! I think its name was Feathers. Maybe that was too long to spell.”
“Or too difficult,” Zombie Boy said thoughtfully.
Oh, for the love of science. True squeezed her eyes shut to gather herself. When she opened them, Orion was studying her again and, this time, she could see the laughter in his eyes. He knew this was breaking her brain.
“Let’s ask another question,” he interjected, before the conversation could go even deeper down the deceased-pet-bird hole. “Does someone else want to go next?”
Evil Mermaid Girl took a deep breath. “I will.” True caught the quicksilver glance she threw Mothman’s way before asking, “Who among us will be the next to be kissed?”
The planchette moved an inch to the left, then to the right, and then to the left again. True guessed multiple people must be pushing it to say their names, whether they were aware of it or not. She bit her lip to keep from laughing.
