Playing with Fire by Phoebe Rivers

yesterday.”
    â€œNot now, Sara. Meditate with us.” She followed Kayla in a series of forced breaths.
    â€œOmm . . . om . . . ,” Owen teased.
    Lily giggled until Kayla shushed her.
    â€œGhost, oh, ghost! Show yourself!” Wyatt commanded.
    My entire body prickled with an itchy heat. I scratched my neck. Then I saw her.
    Waist-length red hair falling in loose waves.
    Long, white cotton nightgown. Ruffles around the wrists and collar. Nothing a girl today would sleep in.
    But she wasn’t from today.
    She wasn’t even alive.
    Her body had that shimmery, real-but-not-real quality I’d seen many times before.
    She looked about sixteen. Her slender bare feet poked out from beneath the nightgown.
    Wyatt continued to make jokes, calling for the ghost.
    He had no idea she stood right here.
    No one did. Except me.
    Ghost girl reached out and placed her translucent hand on Lily’s dark hair.
    Lily’s shoulders stiffened.
    Had she felt something?
    The ghost girl stroked Lily’s hair, as if petting her. Her dark eyes had no pupils, and she focused them on my best friend.
    Lily squirmed and tucked a strand of hair behind her ears.
    Ghost girl crouched down. Closer to Lily. She ran her fingers down Lily’s bare arm.
    Goose bumps sprang up, and with a slight shiver, Lily hugged her arms about her.
    Ghost girl moved in closer. Nearly on top of her.
    Closer. Closer.
    What was she doing to Lily? I reached out to push her away.
    A wave of hot air rushed over me as my hand connected with the spirit.
    The ghost girl began to glow. A halo of orange light shone from around her body.
    I squinted and pulled back. I’d never seen this before.
    The air turned thick and suffocating. I gulped, desperate to wet my dry throat. My head throbbed. All I could see was the glow of orange.
    Brilliant orange light.
    And then the red-haired girl came back into focus.
    No Lily. No Kayla. No hotel.
    The red-haired girl sat on a large four-poster bed. Pale pink canopy. Ivory wallpaper with tiny pink flowers. A window with white curtains let in the humidity of a summer rain and the scent of lavender. The lake glimmered in the distance.
    Another girl in a white nightgown sat beside her on the bed. Her face stayed hidden under a curtain of dark hair that the red-haired girl brushed with a silver-backed brush.
    â€œMake my bed and light the light.” The dark-haired girl’s voice rang out clear and high.
    â€œI’ll be home tonight,” sang the red-haired girl.
    â€œBlackbird, bye-bye.” They finished the verse together with a failed try at harmony.
    The dark-haired girl, her body smaller and narrower, bent over and let out a giggle. A deep, infectious giggle that caused the red-haired girl to smile.
    The giggle grew louder.
    The room grew hotter.
    My skin burned. Laughter rang in my ears.
    â€œWhat’re you doing? Why are you here?”
    I sucked in my breath. She was talking to me!

Chapter 7
    The voice had come from Laura. She stood in the doorway, her body rigid, her eyes angry slits.
    The bed and the pretty floral room were gone. So was the dark-haired girl.
    The red-haired spirit remained. Next to Lily.
    Wyatt motioned to Owen, and the two boys dodged around Laura and out the door. Cowards.
    â€œWe just—” Lily began to explain.
    Laura held up her hand and moved toward Lily. We watched as she turned both palms skyward. “There’s an energy here. A strong energy.”
    â€œA ghost? There’s a ghost?” Lily asked. She stood. There were only inches between her and the spirit.
    Laura nodded. I remained frozen.
    â€œOh, please, I don’t feel any ghost,” Kayla scoffed.
    â€œI do,” Lily said quietly. “I think.”
    â€œSeriously?” Kayla widened her eyes.
    â€œWho are you?” Laura asked.
    â€œKayla Graham.”
    â€œWell, Kayla, if you are going to be here”—Laura gave each of us a pointed