Girl of Nightmares

Every time I question him about the feasibility, he smiles at me like he's Yoda and I'm just a dumbass without the Force.

She crossed over death to call me. I crossed through Hell to find her.

What?" she asks, but I don't answer. Instead I kiss her, one time, and try to tell her in that single gesture everything that she'll forget as soon as she turns away. I tell her I love her. I tell her I'll miss her. And then I let her go.

Jesus. I have become the thing they call the third wheel.

I don't care what your name is," she hisses. "And I don't care who you are. If you don't get him some help, I will burn your fucking place down." Go Carmel.

I love her.” “She’s dead.” “That doesn’t mean to me what it does to other people.

All this faux flattery. It's not enough to make me forget he's a dick. Admittedly, though, he's sort of a charismatic dick.

Chef?" Carmel exclaims. "I could give a shit about a chef. I'm going to find the most expensive thing in that kitchen, eat one bite, and throw the rest on the floor. Then I'm going to break some plates.

Damsels? You get sliced open, burned, and dashed against rocks about a thousand times or so. Then we'll see who the damsel is.

He almost killed my friends. Fuck that guy.

She glares at me resentfully, like I'm being unfair. But she's probably going to try to kill me, and kill me righteously, so eff you very much.

Cassio,” she whispers. “Get me out of here.

Jestine and I lock eyes. She's going to look away first. Even if my eyeballs have to completely dry out.

In the sixth row of the theater, in the third chair in, Anna winks at me. Or maybe she just blinks. I can't tell. She's missing half of her face.

It’s true what they say about answers only leading to more questions. There will always be more to find out, more to learn, more to do.

I’m just saying it doesn’t always have to be spirits and magic. Sometimes hauntings are in your mind. It doesn’t make them less real.

You'd better eat that," she says. "I'm taking it easy on my stomach," I protest. "Come on. It just had a knife in it.

But the mall is a thing that should not be suffered. Except maybe for Cinnabon.

Guys," he says. "After this is over, can we go get a burger or something?" "You're thinking about food now?" Carmel asks. "Hey, you haven't spent the last three days fasting and doing herbal rue steams and drinking nothing but Morfran's gross chrysanthemum purification potions." Carmel and I grin at each other in the mirror. "It isn't easy becoming a vessel. I'm freaking starving.

Everyone seems to know more than I do, and being on the shallow end of the information pool is starting to piss me off.

Don't profane yourself, or the Biodag Dubh." Oh, Mary Ann. Me and the Beedak Doo are just fine.

Without a word, we start to walk together down the long hall. I'm so pent up and irritated with this place; I want to kick down the closed doors and break up a prayer circle, maybe juggle the athame with a couple of candles just to see the horrified looks on their faces and hear their screams of "Sacrilege!

She's liked you since chemistry last semester," Carmel says, scowling. "Then you should have told her what an ass I am. Made me sound like a moronic jerk." "Better to let her see it for herself.

I want to cross my arms and say things like, "Don't come back if you're not going to stay!" and "If you think that nothing's changed, you're wrong." But she probably heard all this stuff from Thomas already. I wasn't the boyfriend. I don't know why I feel like I should get the chance to yell at her too. Jesus. I have become the thing they call the third wheel.

Your morality isn't the only morality in the world. Just because it's yours doesn't mean it's right.

Can you fight?" Jestine nods in my direction. "I can take Cas on pretty easily." "Is that supposed to impress me?

His skin is black as a struck match, cracked and oozing liquid metal heat, like he's covered by a cooling layer of lava. The eyes stand out bright white. I can't make out from this distance if they have corneas. God I hope they have corneas. I hate that creepy weird-eye shit.

This is weird. There's a dead woman in front of me like dozens of other dead women I've seen. But this one is a queen, and a famous one. If it's possible to be starstruck by the dead, then I guess that's what's happening.

She raises her brows at Thomas and Carmel. "How do you want to room? The two of you and the two of us? Or boys in one, girls in the other?" "Boys in one," I say quickly. "Right. Back in a minute." Jestine gets up to make the arrangements, leaving me with my gaping friends. "Where'd that come from?" Carmel asks. "Where'd what come from?" As usual, playing dumb gets me nowhere.

I’ll be here if he needs me. I’ll watch his back.” Carmel smiles. “Better watch all sides. He can be downright clumsy sometimes.