drove through a small town, I asked how to do that.
“Excellent question,” Margaret said. “Now the real lessons begin. There are three ways to tell the ghosts from the living. First, clothing. For instance, if a man is wearing a hat and suspenders he’s a ghost, likely from the nineteen fifties.”
“I’ve seen guys wearing hats and suspenders,” Tori said. “Young guys, too. It’s retro.”
“A Civil War uniform, then. If he’s wearing that, he’s a ghost.”
No kidding.
“Second, as you may have noticed, ghosts can pass through solid objects. So if he walks through a door or a chair, you can be sure it’s a ghost.”
Even someone who wasn’t a necromancer could figure that out.
Margaret turned the car onto a road leading out of town. “And the third…Any ideas, Chloe?”
“If they don’t make noise when they walk?”
“Excellent! Yes. Those are the three ways to tell ghosts from the living.”
Great. So if I saw a guy standing still, and he wasn’t wearing an old uniform, I just had to ask him to walk through furniture. If he stared at me like I was crazy, then I’d know he wasn’t a ghost.
I hoped that the practice part of the day would go better. When I saw where she was taking us, though, that hope faded fast.
“A c-cemetery?” I said as she pulled into the parking lot. “I c-can’t—I shouldn’t even be here.”
“Nonsense, Chloe. I certainly hope you aren’t afraid of cemeteries.”
“Um, no,” Tori said. “It’s the bodies buried in them that worry her.”
Margaret looked from me to Tori.
“Uh, dead bodies?” Tori said. “Potential zombies?”
“Don’t be silly. You can’t accidentally raise the dead.”
“Chloe can.”
Margaret gave a tight smile. “I’ve heard Chloe is quite powerful, but I’m sure she doesn’t need to worry about raising the dead yet.”
“She already has. I was there.”
“I-it’s true,” I said. “I raised subjects of Dr. Lyle’s experiment, buried in the basement at Lyle House. Then I raised dead bats in a warehouse, and a homeless guy in a place we tried to spend the night.”
“Bats?” Tori said, nose wrinkling.
“You were asleep. I didn’t want to wake you up.”
“And I thank you for that,” she said. She turned to Margaret. “I was there for the homeless guy. I saw him crawling across Chloe—”
“I don’t doubt you did, but I’m afraid you girls have been the victims of a cruel trick. There are members of the Edison Group who have a very big stake in this experiment and would love to make it appear that the subjects’ powers were vastly increased by the modification. One of their staff necromancers apparently wanted to make the group believe Chloe could raise the dead. That’s absurd, of course. Not only do you need years of training, but it requires rituals and ingredients you don’t have.”
“But I raised the homeless guy after we got away.”
“That’s what they wanted you to think. Obviously, they were on your trail, which is how they intercepted you at Andrew’s house. It doesn’t matter. Even if you could raise thedead”—a twitch of her lips, clearly humoring me—“I’m here and I’ll make sure we take the proper precautions. Learning control is the best way to overcome your fears.”
When I tried to protest again, Tori asked if we could have a minute. We got out of the car and she led me to a spot under a maple tree. My stomach clenched every time I caught a glimpse of the gravestones, imagining accidentally slamming ghosts back into the corpses buried under them.
I only had to glance at the cemetery walls and I could see Derek’s scowl, hear him snap, “Don’t even think about training in there, Chloe.”
“She’s jealous, you know,” Tori said.
“What?”
“You can raise the dead. If she admits that, then she has to admit you’re a better necromancer than she is.”
“I don’t think being able to raise the dead makes anyone better .”
“In their world it
“Excellent question,” Margaret said. “Now the real lessons begin. There are three ways to tell the ghosts from the living. First, clothing. For instance, if a man is wearing a hat and suspenders he’s a ghost, likely from the nineteen fifties.”
“I’ve seen guys wearing hats and suspenders,” Tori said. “Young guys, too. It’s retro.”
“A Civil War uniform, then. If he’s wearing that, he’s a ghost.”
No kidding.
“Second, as you may have noticed, ghosts can pass through solid objects. So if he walks through a door or a chair, you can be sure it’s a ghost.”
Even someone who wasn’t a necromancer could figure that out.
Margaret turned the car onto a road leading out of town. “And the third…Any ideas, Chloe?”
“If they don’t make noise when they walk?”
“Excellent! Yes. Those are the three ways to tell ghosts from the living.”
Great. So if I saw a guy standing still, and he wasn’t wearing an old uniform, I just had to ask him to walk through furniture. If he stared at me like I was crazy, then I’d know he wasn’t a ghost.
I hoped that the practice part of the day would go better. When I saw where she was taking us, though, that hope faded fast.
“A c-cemetery?” I said as she pulled into the parking lot. “I c-can’t—I shouldn’t even be here.”
“Nonsense, Chloe. I certainly hope you aren’t afraid of cemeteries.”
“Um, no,” Tori said. “It’s the bodies buried in them that worry her.”
Margaret looked from me to Tori.
“Uh, dead bodies?” Tori said. “Potential zombies?”
“Don’t be silly. You can’t accidentally raise the dead.”
“Chloe can.”
Margaret gave a tight smile. “I’ve heard Chloe is quite powerful, but I’m sure she doesn’t need to worry about raising the dead yet.”
“She already has. I was there.”
“I-it’s true,” I said. “I raised subjects of Dr. Lyle’s experiment, buried in the basement at Lyle House. Then I raised dead bats in a warehouse, and a homeless guy in a place we tried to spend the night.”
“Bats?” Tori said, nose wrinkling.
“You were asleep. I didn’t want to wake you up.”
“And I thank you for that,” she said. She turned to Margaret. “I was there for the homeless guy. I saw him crawling across Chloe—”
“I don’t doubt you did, but I’m afraid you girls have been the victims of a cruel trick. There are members of the Edison Group who have a very big stake in this experiment and would love to make it appear that the subjects’ powers were vastly increased by the modification. One of their staff necromancers apparently wanted to make the group believe Chloe could raise the dead. That’s absurd, of course. Not only do you need years of training, but it requires rituals and ingredients you don’t have.”
“But I raised the homeless guy after we got away.”
“That’s what they wanted you to think. Obviously, they were on your trail, which is how they intercepted you at Andrew’s house. It doesn’t matter. Even if you could raise thedead”—a twitch of her lips, clearly humoring me—“I’m here and I’ll make sure we take the proper precautions. Learning control is the best way to overcome your fears.”
When I tried to protest again, Tori asked if we could have a minute. We got out of the car and she led me to a spot under a maple tree. My stomach clenched every time I caught a glimpse of the gravestones, imagining accidentally slamming ghosts back into the corpses buried under them.
I only had to glance at the cemetery walls and I could see Derek’s scowl, hear him snap, “Don’t even think about training in there, Chloe.”
“She’s jealous, you know,” Tori said.
“What?”
“You can raise the dead. If she admits that, then she has to admit you’re a better necromancer than she is.”
“I don’t think being able to raise the dead makes anyone better .”
“In their world it
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