Queen of the Dead

dancing in her glassy eyes. Was that still how she looked even with me in here?

I shuddered.

Maybe…but maybe not. Tyler had noticed some kind of difference in Lily. I wondered what it had been that had tipped him off. I couldn’t ask — not even with the time-intensive and laborious “spell it out through the Ouija board” method. (That was seriously getting old, and fast, by the way.) Mr. Turner had left to take Tyler, who’d been more than a little shaken up, home a while ago. I’d scared Tyler, apparently. I hadn’t meant to. Then again, it had worked and the Turners were no longer talking about taking Lily home to die…so I was going to count that as a win. She had to stay alive long enough for Will to get me out of here, at the very least.

I tried to shift to alleviate the dull ache and pressure all up and down my left side, but I couldn’t quite manage that much movement yet. Nor did I really want to be here long enough to attain that new level of skill. And yet, the cell phone on the bed side table next to me stubbornly refused to ring.

Mrs. Turner caught me staring at the phone.

“He hasn’t called back, I promise,” she said. “I just checked it.”

When? I hadn’t seen her do it.

“You’re scowling at me,” she said with wonder in her voice.

Yeah, well, she should get used to it. How hard would it be for her to check it again and show me? I mean, seriously.

My fingers twitched with the desire to snatch the phone away and see for myself.

“I know what you’re thinking,” she said, amused. “I’m still your mother.”

Uh, nope.

“Go ahead. If you can get it, you can have it.” She nudged the phone a few inches closer to me, but it was still much farther away than Tyler’s wrist had been.

After one final glare at her, which seemed to have no effect on her serenity, I summoned all of my effort and made a lurching sideways grab for it.

The phone skittered away from my fingertips and plunged toward the floor. Mrs. Turner caught it before it hit.

She put it back on the nightstand and then shifted me by the shoulders in the bed until I was upright again. “Give it another try.”

When she could just hand it to me? Why? What was this, some kind of game to her?

I frowned at her, which didn’t seem to bother her at all.

“It’s okay,” she said. “You don’t have to, if it’s too hard.”

Right. If I wanted that phone, I would get it. Period. I took a deep breath, focused on the phone, and tried to control my slide/fall toward it. This time I managed to lock my fingers on it before it slipped away.

I shrieked in frustration on the inside, but nothing louder than an annoyed huff escaped my lips.

Mrs. Turner just put the phone in place and set me to rights again without a word.

It occurred to me then that she was actually playing a game of sorts. She was using something I wanted to push me into further progress.

How wonderful for her and Lily. But just give ME the damn phone! I didn’t want further progress. I wanted Will and I wanted out!

I locked gazes with Mrs. Turner, doing my best to convey that sentiment without words.

A knock on the door startled both of us. My head whipped around, the response time almost as fast as if it had really been me rather than me in a Lily shell.

A priest stood in the doorway, his hand still raised in the knocking position. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to disturb you.”

“Of course not, Father. My daughter and I were just having a disagreement.” She smiled at me fondly, which made me want to kick her. I would not be so easily dismissed.

“I’m Father Hayes, the chaplain here at St. Catherine’s. I was visiting another patient down the hall, and I heard about your daughter’s miraculous recovery. I had to come and see for myself.” He gave us a shaky and uncertain smile.

Um, okay, Father. You’ve had your glimpse of miracle me. Now, go away so we can get back to the matter at hand.

But oh, no…it couldn’t be that easy.

“Come in.” Mrs. Turner waved him forward. “I’m Corrine Turner. This is my daughter, Lily.”

He stepped farther into the room and nodded at us. His gaze met mine for a bare second before it bounced away swiftly, focusing on Mrs. Turner.

“Is it true she was in a coma for almost a year?” he asked. His Adam’s apple bobbed above his collar like it was an independent creature trying to escape his throat.

What was making him so jumpy? Also, hello, I am here and can hear you.

“Since last September,” she said.

“Now she’s awake. Just like that?” he asked, sounding more concerned than overjoyed.

Mrs. Turner didn’t seem to notice. “Yes,” she said, beaming.

“And they have no idea why. The tests—”

“Don’t show anything yet, but as you know, some things are still beyond the understanding of science.”

“God truly works in mysterious ways,” he said with a tight smile.

I was not liking the vibe I was getting from him.

“Can I ask, have you noticed any…changes in her personality or unusual behavior?” he asked in a rush.

What the hell? I stared at him, and once more, his gazedarted toward me and then away just as quickly, like hewas afraid to look at me for too long. Did he…actually suspect something was going on? I supposed in a technical sense what I’d done could be seen as a form of possession, even though that was far from what I’d intended. And priests and possession, well, I didn’t need Will and his bottomless bank of movie trivia to know there was a history, to say theleast.

Mrs. Turner cocked her head to one side with a laugh. “My daughter has been awake for only a few hours after coming out of what was called an irreversible coma. I’d say all of it has been unusual, wouldn’t you?”

“Of course.” He shook his head, flustered.

“Is there something in particular you’re asking about, Father Hayes?” For the first time since the start of the conversation, Mrs. Turner’s voice held a hint of suspicion.

“No, no.” He raked a hand through his sandy brown hair before seeming to realize what he was doing and making a belated attempt to smooth it down. “Just trying to find pieces of hope in her story to share with other patients who might need it.”

She nodded slowly, not convinced. “It’s hard to know what her experience has been since she hasn’t started talking yet.…”

And if I was talking, I’d be finding one of many ways to tell him to…“Go away.” The words escaped my lips, shocking me more than anyone. I’d been thinking them hard enough to actually give them voice. Lily’s voice, in fact, which was lower and huskier than my own.

“Lily!” Mrs. Turner sounded both thrilled and horrified.

“It’s okay,” he said with a laugh that sounded more like a nervous dog’s bark than anything related to true humor. “For someone who’s been through as much as your daughter, I certainly understand wanting to be left alone. She deserves some peace, and it’s up to the rest of us to make sure she gets it,” he said, his stare boring through me like a warning.

Was he attempting to threaten me with an exorcism? Ha, bring it. Except…wait, what happened to exorcized spirits? If it was just getting me out of Lily, fine. But if it was intended to get rid of me by sending me into oblivion? No, thanks.

“Um, yes,” Mrs. Turner said, now sounding flustered herself. “Speaking of which, it’s probably best if she focuses on getting some rest now.”

In other words, leave, dude.

He nodded, getting the message. Finally.

“A quick blessing, first?” he asked, but he was already standing over me before either of us could answer. His thumb, cool and kind of clammy, traced a cross on my forehead lightly while he murmured words of blessing.

He jerked his hand back as soon as he was finished, as though he expected me to go up in flames. And