I don't know why I lied, probably because you made me nervous. I could see you weren't human, but I couldn't tell what you were and it seemed strange. Not really a bad strange. You were just like a puzzle I wanted to figure out. Ha! It's been ten years, and here I'm still trying to figure you out. Part of me wonders if it's because you are a female, girls are always a mystery, or if you are really that big of a puzzle.
Anyway, I hope you'll think this is good news, but I may be able to come back to the camp. I've spoken with Burnett about it and he said he has to get clearance from a couple other people and if they say it's okay, I'll be back. Hopefully, I'll be able to explain more then.
Okay, I hope to see you soon, but until then ... dream of me.
Your admirer and friend forever, Lucas Kylie dropped the letter and just stared at those three words. Dream of me.
Exactly what did he mean by "dream of me"?
Did it mean anything? It had to, didn't it? Kylie folded the letter and stuffed it back in her drawer. Her emotions ran all over the place.
Then she realized a second place she could look for answers. The place she always went for answers. Holiday.
Kylie looked at the red glowing numbers on her clock. Still too early. It wasn't quite ... five.
But what happened to the regular cold that always came at dawn? She looked at the window and saw the vaguest sign of sunrise. For some reason, her mind moved away from ghosts and to the two girls who'd died yesterday. They would never see another sunrise. Never experience another day. Or have another dream. She clutched two handfuls of blanket and fought back the emotion.
She'd just gotten her breathing back to normal when the cold crept into her bedroom like a bad omen.
"Okay," Kylie said, searching for patience that she seemed in short supply of lately. "How about let's have a talk? What can you tell me that I don't know? Give me something. You gotta give me something so I can help whoever it is that needs help."
"You can save her." The ghost's words filled the frigid air and her spirit appeared. Her long dark hair flowed over her shoulders. She didn't appear as thin or sick this time. And there was something about her, something that looked vaguely familiar. Kylie wondered if that meant anything.
"You can save her. You don't know you can, but you have the ability," the ghost said.
"How am I going to save her?" Kylie asked, hoping this might lead her to understand the identity of the person. She needed something, damn it-something to help her figure this out. "Who do I need to save?" "She's scared. She needs you."
"Who?" Kylie gritted her teeth. "Just tell me who, and I promise I'll do everything I can to save her. Can you understand that I can't save anyone until I know..." The ghost vanished.
"Damn it!" Kylie dropped back on the bed. She breathed in and out and tried not to think about her frustration with the ghost. Tried not to think about the frustration with Lucas and the so-called dream. Tried not to think about the girls who'd lost their lives yesterday.
With so many limitations on what she could think about, she found one she could. Today was parents day.
That sent a whole new wave of frustration over her. Her mother wouldn't be here. Her dad ... her stepdad ... was off bumping uglies with a girl practically Kylie's own age, and Kylie would probably be the only one whose parents didn't show up.
Didn't that make her feel special?
"Daniel?" she said her father's name aloud. "Could you maybe drop in a minute?" For moral support. Maybe answer a few questions about your parents? "Please." No answer came. She counted to ten. Said a prayer.
And waited another minute before she lost her patience.
She pounded her fists on the mattress. It felt like a juvenile and stupid thing to do, but in her mood, it also felt good. So good, she continued to do it for a few more minutes.
Socks let out a frightened cry and Kylie felt him take a flying leap off the bed. She might have felt sorry for him if she wasn't in such a piss- poor mood. And that's when she remembered what the whole mood swings problem could possibly mean. She, Kylie Galen, might be morphing into a wolf in two days. Could life get any more friggin', fraggin' messed up?
Chapter Nineteen
After Kylie had given her mattress a good beating, she got dressed, apologized to Socks for acting silly, and left her cabin in search of Holiday. The mornings were getting hotter and muggier. Welcome to July in Texas, Kylie thought as she made her way to the office to ask questions.
The frustration buzzing in Kylie's gut encouraged her to run, but as eager as she was to find answers about the dreams, she was equally uneager to ask the questions. Holiday, with her emotion meter, would probably read what kind of dreams Kylie was talking about.
However, her need for answers obviously weighed in more than her need to avoid embarrassment, because she kept walking.
The moment Kylie stepped onto the office cabin porch, she heard angry voices coming from inside. She stopped by the white rockers where she and Derek had eaten pizza last night and listened. Not to eavesdrop, but to make sure Holiday was okay.
"What the hell is wrong with my money?" a male voice boomed, and Kylie immediately recognized it as Burnett.
"Nothing is wrong with it," Holiday answered. "I didn't say I wasn't going to accept it. I said give me a few weeks to decide."
"A few weeks to try to find another investor, you mean. Tell me that isn't what you're doing."
"Fine," Holiday answered back. "That's what I'm doing, but-"
"Do you hate me and vampires so much that you'd risk having Shadows Falls shut down?"
Kylie flinched when she realized she had shifted from concern for Holiday to ... eavesdropping. Not wanting to infringe on Holiday's privacy any more than she already had, Kylie stepped off the porch and moved a good fifteen feet out of hearing range.
"I'm not going to let Shadow Falls close down!" Holiday's voice still reached Kylie's ears. Wincing, Kylie turned and moved another twenty feet back.
"But you won't deny hating me, will you?" Burnett snapped.
"Hate is pretty powerful word," Holiday said.
Kylie looked at the office in the distance, frowned, and moved another ten feet back.
"Damn it," Burnett said, his voice, loud and clear, still reaching Kylie's ears. It was as if ... as if he stood right next to her.
"Not good," Kylie muttered, realizing she shouldn't still be able to hear Burnett and Holiday. They were inside. She was outside. And a good-she measured her distance-a good fifty feet from the office.
Oh crappers! Things must be changing ... again. Kylie grabbed her boobs to make sure they hadn't grown another cup size. Thankfully, they felt the same.