Whispers at Moonrise (Shadow Falls #4)(47)

Besides, she wasn't even sure her grandfather and aunt were still there. Maybe moving into the woods would tell her, but not now. Still, she closed her eyes and listened with her heart. When she didn't feel even the slightest yearning to enter, she spoke in her mind.

Are you still out there?

"I'm here."

The words sounded at the same time as Kylie felt the cold. Not recognizing the voice, she snapped her eyes open. Standing in front of her was a blond woman, early twenties, wearing a diner uniform with a tag on it that read CARA M. Kylie's heart thudded faster when she realized this was one of the girls from the vision, the vision of being buried with Holiday's sister.

Letting go of a sigh, Kylie's breath turned to cold vapor.

"Damn!" said Della.

"Damn what?" asked Miranda.

"Kylie's got company," Della said. "White misty shit always snakes up from her lips when she's chatting with the dead."

"Oh!" Miranda took a step back and stared at Kylie. "Man, her aura is doing some crazy stuff again. This is so damn freaky. I'm so glad I'm not her."

Trying to shut out Della and Miranda, Kylie focused on Cara M. Kylie recalled Derek asking her to describe the uniform so she studied it for details. She snapped a picture of it in her mind-the V neckline, the checkered pattern around the bottom of the skirt-so she could describe it to him later. But why not just ask?

"Where did you work?" Kylie asked.

"I worked at my aunt's voodoo shop," Miranda answered. "Crazy crap happened there."

"She's not talking to you," Della snapped.

"Sorry." Miranda shrugged. "This is so freaky."

"Do you know the name of the diner?" Kylie continued to stare at the spirit.

"I ... don't know," Cara M. answered. "But can you please get us out of there?"

Kylie frowned. "I want to, but I need to know where you are."

"But you do know. The other girl took you there. Don't you remember?"

How could she forget? "I saw you guys and you were under a building of some sort, like a wood floor, but I don't know where that is. What town are you in? Is there an address? Is it close to here?"

"Yes, it's close. It didn't take much time at all to get here."

Kylie considered what she said and asked, "But how did you get here? I mean ... did you walk or ... come spiritually?" Kylie hadn't considered how spirits traveled and she realized how little she knew about the whole ghost-whispering thing.

"I don't know," the spirit answered. "But I can take you back there if you'd like."

"No," Kylie blurted out. The thought of being trapped in the grave again was too much. She took a deep breath and remembered to talk mentally. Can you tell Hannah I need to see her?

"Who's Hannah?"

One of the girls with you. The one with red hair. Kylie could feel Miranda and Della staring and she purposefully turned her back so she wouldn't be disturbed.

"So her name is Hannah? How do you know her name? She's not wearing a name tag." The spirit glanced down at the name tag attached to her uniform. "Do you know my name? They call me Cara M., but I don't remember being her. My life is like a vague picture book I once looked at and I can recall flashes of the images on the pages, but they never turn slow enough for me to recognize anything."

That's not uncommon after death, Kylie assured her, remembering Holiday saying that the more dramatic the death, the less the spirit remembered. The thought of what these girls possibly went through sent real pain skipping through Kylie's limbs. Her heart clutched with the need to help them. To do whatever they needed to help them move on.

"Will I ever remember?" Cara M asked.

The spirit's question came with such sadness that the emotion swelled in Kylie's heart. I'm not an expert, but from what I've seen, things usually come to you. Spirits generally hang around for a reason and once that's taken care of, they remember things, and then pass over.

Cara appeared to consider Kylie's words and nodded. "I think the reason is so we can get our own graves. I've never liked roommates. And it's really cramped in that grave."

Unfortunately, Kylie could remember just how cramped it was. She shivered, feeling her shoulders pressing against the dead girls' bodies on each side. Pushing the thought aside, Kylie concentrated on the conversation and not the horror of what had happened.

I'm trying to get you guys out. But something told Kylie that while Cara M.'s only need might be to escape the makeshift grave, Hannah wanted something much more. But hopefully while solving Hannah's problem Kylie would help out all three of them.

Cara M. stood there as if deep in thought. "Is it nice where I'll cross over to?"

Kylie debated what to say, then went with the truth. I've never seen it, but I think so.

The spirit looked around, then slowly floated up a good six or seven feet. She hung in the air, causing a big swirl of fog to appear around her, reminding Kylie of a scary movie. After a few seconds, she glanced down at Kylie with eyes that seemed lost, hurt. "It's nice here, too." She floated back down to the ground.

"I think I recognize this place. Are we close to that place with the dinosaur bones?"