Page 19 of Tall, Dark and Haunted

Chapter Nine

Rhiannon

“Turnusintoghosts?” I cry.

The deputy mayor looks more frazzled than she did earlier. So much so that I wouldn’t be surprised if she shifted into her dragon and started breathing actual fire. If that’s not scary enough, she’s flanked by three police officers who look like they mean business. They’ve got their hands on their belts and their jackets are pulled back to reveal holstered weapons. Guns… Yup. We’re definitely not in Wales anymore. Except we are. Damn, this is confusing.

“You can’t turn us into ghosts!” I plead.

“I don’t mean you.” She shakes her head. “I am talking about these three. It’s obvious that they were the castle’s ghostly occupants, and they don’t belong here.”

“We can hear you,” Davy says pointedly.

“And we’d rather not be ghosts, if it’s all the same to you,” Topher adds politely. “We much prefer living.”

“We do.” Davy nods.

Red grunts in agreement.

“Yes, being alive is so much better,” I tell the deputy mayor hopefully. Which reminds me of my unicorn hot chocolate.

I take another sip of my drink, and the flavor explodes on my tongue. Chocolate. Cream. Sugar. So much sugar. And sweetness. I really should have enjoyed more things like this the first time I was alive—but this time, I’m making the most of every moment. Even if it is loaded with calories, like Mini said. I don’t even care if I gain a hundred pounds! I’d rather do that than be a ghost.

Scratch that, not a hundred, I quickly amend. But I’ll happily take an extra fifty. Or twenty. Or maybe just five. Yup, five is good.

I glance at the heavens. “Five,” I tell whichever Gods or Goddesses are up there, watching me.

“Five what?” The deputy mayor frowns, nostrils flaring. Her patience seems to be disappearing fast.

“Nothing,” I quickly tell her.

“Wait, are you with those three?” she asks, her gaze zeroing in on me.

I start to nod when Topher shakes his head. “Nope, we don’t know her. We met her after we left the castle. She was just… walking on Main Street.”

“No. I don’t think so.” The deputy mayor shakes her head. “I remember you. You were the naked girl. With that hair, how could I forget?”

“She was streaking through the castle,” Topher says quickly.

“On a dare,” Davy adds.

I gape at them.

“Why—” I start, but Topher shakes his head.

It takes me a second, and then I realize what they’re doing. They don’t want me to be turned back into a ghost. They’re trying to save me from whatever the deputy mayor has planned for them.

But I don’t want a second chance at life if it means leaving them behind. They’re everything to me, even if I don’t know them yet. They’re my mates. I can’t just give that up, even if it means I have to spend the rest of my life translucent and floating. At least this time, I won’t be naked. But I don’t want to be stuck in this atrocious outfit either!

I look around wildly, searching for something better to wear. Anything that isn’t this.

“There’s nowhere to run,” the deputy mayor tells me.

“I wasn’t trying to,” I snap. “I was looking for a new outfit.”

“What?” It’s not just her nostrils flaring now. Her entire body looks like it’s about to explode with rage. Her patience is definitely running out, and I’m pretty sure I see steam coming from those atrocious nostrils.

“Would you want to spend eternity looking like this?” I gesture at my clothes. “Because I don’t.”