“Wyatt’s gone,” Kayla announced in a mysterious hush the next morning. We’d gathered under the canopied pavilion at the tennis courts for the teen clinic.
“Gone?” Lily cried.
“What happened?” I asked.
“Ghost attack.” Owen made a slashing motion with his racquet.
“Seriously?” Lily sucked in her breath.
“Not seriously.” Kayla snorted. “His dad had to go back to the city. Some office emergency. The whole family packed up and took off early this morning.”
“Oh.” Lily couldn’t hide her disappointment.
Kayla wove her arm through Lily’s. “Wyatt has the looks, but he’s a pain. Trust me, no big loss. We’ll hang. I’m so much more fun than silly Wyatt.”
Lily grinned. “True.”
“Clinic’s starting.” I pointed to the bald tennis pro waiting on the first court with one of those machines that fires balls at you. Four other kids waited with him.
Neither Lily nor Kayla seemed to hear me.
“I love your outfit!” Lily gushed. Kayla wore a graphic white-and-navy tennis dress with matching hat and socks.
Kayla pulled an identical hat from the huge tennis bag she carried. “I have two. You should wear it. We need to protect our skin from the sun.”
Lily slipped it on. Kayla snapped a photo of their faces pushed together, grinning in their twin hats. I guess Kayla’s concern about the sun didn’t extend to my fair skin.
“Do you want to be partners?” Owen asked. “You know, if he pairs us up?”
Normally I’d be excited that a boy wanted to partner with me, but I was getting a strange vibe from Kayla. A vibe that made me want to be Lily’s partner. I don’t think I’m usually a very possessive person, but I was suddenly feeling really possessive over Lily. I didn’t like the feeling.
“Sure,” I said, unable to stop watching Kayla. She was telling Lily a story about an audition. She had a way of touching Lily’s shoulder every time she wanted to emphasize a point. She had a lot to emphasize. Every sentence seemed to have an exclamation point.
My phone buzzed. I hesitated, unsure if I should leave it on the bench and follow Owen out to the court. It might be Dad, I thought, reaching for it.
SO? A text from Mason.
SO NOTHING, I typed.
WHEN????
SOON.
“Who’s that?” Kayla reached for my phone.
“No one.” I grabbed my phone back.
“Ooh, do you have a secret?” she teased. “A secret boyfriend?”
“No.” I clicked my phone off. “Just a friend.”
“Who?” Lily asked. “Miranda?”
I didn’t want to lie to her, and if I did, she’d find me out. Lily and I have the same friends. “Mason,” I said.
“Really? Mason-who-used-to-own-my-dog Mason? I didn’t know you guys texted.”
“It’s not a big deal.”
“But he texts you? A lot?”
“Sara has a secret,” Kayla crooned.
Lily considered this. “Does he like you?”
“No way,” I said.
“I bet he does. Or you like him.” Lily smiled. “I could totally see you guys together,” she said loyally. “He’s really cute,” she told Kayla.
“That’s not how it is,” I insisted.
“Then how is it?” Lily asked. Not mean, just interested.
“Yeah, how is it then?” Kayla repeated what Lily said, only it did sound a little mean coming from her. Or was that just my imagination?
I hesitated, unsure what to say. This was the perfect opening for me to tell Lily. Except for the fact that Kayla was here.
“They’re hiding their love,” Kayla announced in a dramatic voice.
“No, you actually have no idea what you’re talking about,” I told Kayla, my voice betraying how tense I felt.
“New topic.” Lily came to my rescue. She could tell I was getting upset. She told Kayla about feeling the pull of the spirit.
“We need to go back,” Kayla insisted.
Lily shook her head. “There was a sign in the hallway this morning. Off-limits. Laura must’ve had Mr. Himoff post it after she caught us last night.”
“Boring!” Kayla cried. “A sign is just words. Come on, no one will know.” Lily chewed her lip. She wasn’t much of a rule breaker.
“There’s nothing to go back for,” I pointed out.
“Don’t be scared,” Kayla said to me. Then she turned to Lily. “It’s an adventure! We’ll meet tonight at room twenty-two when the clock strikes midnight.”
“I love little towns like this,” Mrs. Randazzo commented as we strolled in and out of the stores lining the main street by the hotel.
“We live in a little town like this,” Lily pointed out. “Stellamar has beachy tourist shops. This town has woodsy tourist shops. Shell paperweight. Moose paperweight. No difference.”
“Big difference,” her mom said. “I don’t live here.” She smiled broadly. “Check out how relaxed I am. Sara, back me up. Isn’t everything different on vacation?”
Was it? I thought about Helliman House and the spirit that waited for us in room 22. I’d come here to get away from haunted houses.
“It is, but—”
“Laura! Hey, Laura!” Lily called. She waved, and Laura glanced up from the store she was exiting. Dean’s Natural Foods.
“Don’t like the hotel food?” Angela asked as we met up with Laura.
“What? Oh, no. The food’s quite tasty.” Laura raised a recyclable canvas sack. “I needed supplies. Not to eat. For my job.”
“What’d you get?” Lily poked her hand in the sack. Her mom gave her a look. “Sorry.”
“No worries. It’s not a secret.” Laura pulled out each item. “Caraway seeds. Fennel. Sea salt.”
“Dinner for the ghost?” Angela joked.
“A last supper, perhaps.” Laura tilted her head, considering the idea. “With these ingredients, I’ll create a charm to move the spirit on.”
“You’re going to run it out of the hotel?” Mrs. Randazzo asked, surprised.
“Not exactly. That’s too harsh a way of looking at it. Spirits can’t be forced out.”
“So you somehow get them to move on?” Lily asked.
“Exactly! It’s not out but on. With love and kindness, I encourage them to continue their journey.” She raised her sack. “The caraway seeds and the fennel ward against evil. Sea-salt water combined with a pure heart makes the spirit more responsive to your wishes.”
“I love your approach!” Lily clapped her hands.
“This is my first big job,” Laura confided. After she said that, Angela looked at all of us and said, “So do you think I can trust her with our big secret?” After we all nodded, Angela told her about her article. Laura promised not to tell. She seemed happy not to be the only person working undercover at the hotel. “I’m a little nervous about all of this,” she confided, but then added quickly, “I mean, I’m really good at sensing the presence of spirits. I help people break free from the expectations of dead relatives. So I’m sure I can do this, too.”
“Have you ever gotten rid of a ghost?” I asked straight out.
“Not exactly,” Laura admitted. “But I feel in my heart, I can. I’m heading there now.”
I’d seen the ghost. Felt her negative energy. I doubted Laura’s gentle approach would work. I reached in my pocket for my phone to call Lady Azura. She’d know what to do. She’d help me help Laura.
I touched the screen and hesitated. Lady Azura always cautioned me not to invite in trouble. She’d say this spirit hadn’t bothered me, so why should I bother it?
She’s right, I thought as I slipped my phone back into my pocket. Not my problem.
At midnight, I stood outside the door to room 22 with Lily and Kayla.
Kayla had texted countdowns to the not-to-be-missed event all evening. There’d been no way to stop Lily from sneaking out, so here I was watching her bounce on her toes with nervous excitement.
I’m not here to help Laura, I told myself. I’m watching over Lily.
Lily and I both wore pajama boxer shorts and tanks. Kayla had dressed in black leggings and a long-sleeved black shirt as if she were breaking into a bank. She touched Lily’s shoulder in that familiar way. That possessive way.
Kayla reached for the knob. “It’s open. Totally weird.”
We scrambled inside and shut the door behind us. With the heavy drapes pulled closed, darkness blanketed the room. The sudden beam of a flashlight cut through the blackness. “Smart, right? We don’t want anyone seeing a light under the door.” Kayla seemed to have this sneaking-around thing all figured out.
The room looked the same in the thin shaft of light. Empty. Quiet. Cold.
Had Laura’s herbal tricks worked? I wondered. I didn’t feel anything. No tingling. Was the spirit gone?
And then . . .
Faint at first.
A glow in the corner.
A shimmer of orange light.
I strained my eyes against the shadows. Was the girl there? I couldn’t see a body. Was she the glow?
“We should go back before your mother wakes up.” I tried to sound calm, to pretend I hadn’t seen anything. “Lily?”
Lily didn’t answer. As if pulled by a magnet, she moved toward the corner with the glow. The glow grew brighter.
Lily stopped and stared blankly at the armchair slightly to the left of the glow.
“I’m bored. Hey, Lily, you sleepwalking?” Kayla moved alongside Lily and touched her shoulder.
The red-haired girl—suddenly as vivid as if she were still alive—shimmered into view.
“I think I feel something. Do you?” Lily’s voice sounded strained.
“Yeah. Boredom,” Kayla cracked. “This ghost is lame. Can’t it at least moan or groan?”
“Don’t be mean.” Lily peered about. Her eyes never rested on the girl, her red hair eerily ablaze in the orange glow.
“I’m not,” Kayla protested. “Let’s do a midnight swim in the pool instead. We can easily climb that fence.” She touched Lily’s shoulder again.
The orange glow flared.
A rush of warmth burst under my skin.
The spirit flung her arm toward Kayla, knocking a brass reading lamp. It clattered into the armchair.
Kayla and Lily jumped back. For a moment, none of us spoke.
“Whoops!” Kayla said, breaking the silence and righting the lamp. “I must’ve hit that.”
We all knew she hadn’t touched it.
At least, I knew.
The ghost girl glowed brighter. She glided closer to Lily.
“Time to go!” I reached for the doorknob and cried out in pain.
The knob was scalding hot!
Angry yellow flames licked the wooden door.
“What’s up?” Lily asked, trying to move past me.
I couldn’t let her. The door crackled with fire.
“Hey,” she protested, then reached around me. Through the flames. And opened the door.
The fire was gone. Had it ever been there? Was I seeing things?
Tentatively, I touched the knob. Cool.
I glanced back. The girl was no longer visible.
“That room had nothing in it,” Kayla complained.
Nothing, I thought, but an angry orange glow in the corner.