It crept along my spine and penetrated my soul with a quickness that I couldn’t defend. As the air in my lungs stifled and chilled, I looked around to see where the feeling was originating from.
The other three girls were still staring at the rose, unaware of the evil that had arrived.
“Carmen, I think we should -“ I whispered.
“Oh my God.” Phoebe’s strained voice and stricken eyes had us following her shocked gaze to the sand dunes at my right. Not a word was said. Not a sound was made. No one so much as took a breath as our eyes met hers.
Dressed in the same faded blue dress, she was poised several feet away watching us curiously. Her flowing blonde hair still hung down below her shoulders, and her thin arms remained limp at her side. Her bright green eyes locked on me and I watched as a shadow of fear crossed her features. In that instant I could tell that the darkness I was feeling wasn’t emanating from her. With a start, I felt something else. Phoebe’s hand. And it was currently crushing every bone in mine. I squeezed it to let her know everything was going to be okay, but I wasn’t sure I believed that, so it probably wasn’t very reassuring. As the ghost girl continued to stare at us, I tapped into my ‘other’ sense, as Finn had called it, in an attempt figure out where the evil chill was originating from. It simply seemed to be all around me; not approaching from one specific direction.
“What’s your name?” Somehow Carmen had found the courage to speak.
“Bianca.”
The blood vessels in my left hand were threatening to burst under the pressure of Phoebe’s vice grip. But this time I gripped back just as hard. When Bianca spoke, it had resembled a soft echo riding on a light breeze. It lightly tickled your ear drums, but also resonated deep within your soul.
“Why are you here?” I mustered up the nerve to speak; hoping she could enlighten me on why she was appearing to me.
“You called me,” she responded plainly. She furrowed her brow, somewhat confused at my question.
“Why have you been appearing to me?” I tried again with more tenacity.
“She makes me,” she answered matter-of-factly; her voice bereft of lightness. My heart leapt to my throat, and I tried to exude calmness despite the explosion of terror and hysteria that had engulfed me at her foreboding words.
“Who’s….she?” I asked carefully; hearing the unsteady waver in my voice. She glanced around, and began closing in on our circle.
“The Reaper,” she whispered.
Chapter 11
I heard Willow’s surprised gasp as well as Phoebe’s high pitched squeak of fear. My own terror was so all consuming, I was having trouble breathing. Glancing sideways, I noticed Phoebe’s face had completely drained of color as she continued gawking at Bianca.
“She is close,” Bianca warned as her green eyes flitted toward the ocean and then back to us.
She stopped at the edge of the sea salt ring and peered down at the scorched rose lying at Carmen’s feet; its petals now decrepit and charred. Her placid face fell as her eyes glistened with translucent tears of mourning.
“The living never understand the plight of the dead,” she breathed, face pained. Suddenly she looked directly at me in a panic. “The beacon - it calls to her, too. Use it wisely. She –“ Her words cut off abruptly and I felt it again in earnest. As I looked on with dread, her slight body trembled and blurred before us. My own body became racked with waves of icy daggers; relentlessly slicing into my heart and causing a piercing pain that echoed out from my chest. I bent over in agony, attempting to catch my breath and to understand what was happening. The trace on my wrist and hand had taken on a brackish color; absorbing the darkness pulsing through me. Bianca’s image stabilized.
“Careful, girls,” her crisp voice had become layered and forced, “If you call…you might just get an answer.” She chuckled, but the sound came out as more of a hiccup. Bianca’s once serene features had contorted into a smirk and her bright green eyes had darkened considerably; becoming the greenish-brown color of a murky sea. The pain in my chest suddenly dissipated.
“Bianca?” Carmen asked cautiously; observing her with suspicion.
“I don’t think that’s Bianca anymore…” Phoebe murmured to Carmen. Willow swiftly clamped a hand over Phoebe’s mouth.
“Ah, Bianca…nice girl. A little too talkative though.” A sly smile slithered across her face and she scrupulously began to circle us. I regarded her aversion to the outermost salt ring.
“Then…who are you?” Carmen spat at her. Her hostile and annoyed tone towards the ghost paralyzed us with fear as we awaited her answer. Thankfully, Bianca only laughed again, but her murky eyes collided with mine and her steps stalled behind Phoebe. As she raised an eyebrow, I realized with dismay that I knew exactly who she was. Suddenly the piercing pain in my chest exploded and I slipped into unconsciousness.
When I snapped open my eyes again, I saw that the world had been transformed. The lightness I felt told me my soul had been involuntarily snatched from my body. The fact that I could see myself slumped over below was the more glaring clue. Phoebe, Willow and Carmen were scrambling around me, calling my name and lying me on my back. My mind reeled as I tried to figure out what had just happened. As one startling possibility slammed into me with force, I locked onto the eyes of my true attacker.
“What did you do?!” I screamed at her. She just rolled her eyes at me and shook her head, moving closer.
“Relax. You’re not dead. I just wanted some…privacy.” A wicked sneer spread across her glossy lips and her golden eyes twinkled. The fact that I hadn’t just experienced my own demise calmed me instantly. Now I was just pissed off.
“Why are you here, Nadia?” I shot back with annoyance, narrowing my eyes at her. She stood before me, appearing darkly ethereal in a long, black strapless maxi dress with an imposing pendant necklace taunting me from her neck. The deep red stone shimmered with the orange and yellow of a dancing flame as she stepped towards me with fluent grace.
“Fire agate. Isn’t it simply amazing?” she purred and touched the stone. “It represents perfection… naturally.” She curtsied; alluding to her obvious arrogance. My thoughts catapulted to the beacon Finn had given me; the fire agate emerging from the onyx.
“So why are you here?” It was amazing how her presence could ruin a perfectly good night. “I just wanted to size up my competition…or lack thereof…” she scrunched her nose at me.
“This isn’t a game, Nadia,” Finn’s voice swept over me like a warm blanket on a cool autumn night, as he stepped out of the darkness of the dunes. The fervor in it was unmistakable.
“Oh isn’t that sweet! Our dark Prince Charming has come to the rescue,” she snickered and continued to glare at us. Finn was instantly in her face; menacing and terrifying.
“Release her soul,” he commanded with chilling calmness.
“But I was having so much fun!” she pouted, reaching up to touch Finn’s cheek. He swatted her hand away and her eyes turned steely; her tone sarcastic. “Uh, fine. But only because you asked so nicely.”
I was instantly overcome with the motion of my soul slamming back into my body with immense speed. I opened my eyes to the disturbing sight of my roommates in an all-out panic.
Willow’s blue eyes were filled with tears; desperately attempting to heal me and wake me up. They smothered me with relieved hugs as I managed to sit up.
