Dead of Night (Ghosts & Magic #1) by M.R. Forbes Read Free Book Online Page A

just... I'm tired of living this way, and I'm even more tired of dying this way. I'm doing this job with or without you."
    She reached out and put her hand on my face. "With me, Conor. I'm not about to abandon my best friend, even if you are being a jackass."
    "You say that like it's something new."

CHAPTER SIX
    It's not easy being green.

    We left the house two hours later, after clearing out our meager possessions and pouring kerosene on anything that would burn. The back of the van was surprisingly empty: two corpses in the coolers, an old steamer trunk filled with tools of the trade, and a couple of dumpy old fabric suitcases containing ninety percent clothes, and ten percent memories.  
    Outside of what I carried, my most prized possession was a picture of Karen, Molly, and myself that I'd found on Facebook, printed from an inkjet on thin copy paper and framed in clear plastic. It was my reminder of better days, and the perfect life that had gone sour because of a breakdown in my molecular construction. I don't know why, but when I looked at it I almost felt normal again. I almost believed I was still a human being. I'd laid it on top of my pile of dark hoodies, black tees, jeans, pants, underwear, and socks, so meager that I couldn't even fill my suitcase completely.  
    Danelle's stuff wasn't much more impressive. She had a greater range of blouses, camis, sweaters, tights, and jeans, but her own memories were limited to a photo of her with her brother before she'd been disavowed, and another of her with her ex-husband, before he'd been caught on a job and killed.
    It was a sad life, but it was a life.
    "Thanks, Rayon," Danelle said, after the big zombie lowered her gently into the passenger seat. "I'm going to miss you."
    "Really?" He seemed surprised.  
    "Really."
    He gave her a half-smile, turned, and shambled back towards the house. I was standing at the front door, holding a lighter.
    "It's okay, boss." He could tell I was feeling guilty. I don't know how, but he could. "I don't know what I'm going back to, but something tells me its better than what you've got." He looked back towards the van. "With one exception, maybe."
    I couldn't believe he was trying to cheer me up, when I was about to turn him to ash. Then I remembered what I had packed into the van.  
    "Maybe you're right, with one exception." Danelle and I made lousy bedmates, but we'd clicked everywhere else. I patted the zombie on the shoulder, and handed him the lighter. "You know what to do. Maybe I'll see you on the other side someday. Just not too soon."
    His answer was unexpected. His face turned eerily dark, his eyes narrowing and his lip curling in an almost-snarl. "Stay away as long as you can. If you think it isn't safe for you here, you have no idea what's waiting."  
    A lump rose into my throat. "What the hell are you talking about?"  
    Rayon's face regained its peaceful neutrality. "What?"
    "What...the...hell?" My heart was pounding, and I could feel my muscles tensing up. I'd always been afraid of death. Having it threaten me was new.
    "I don't know."
    "You don't know?"
    "Sorry, boss."
    I stared into his blank brown eyes, searching for some shred of whatever had caused the outburst, and finding nothing. "Whatever, Rayon. Go do what you need to do."  
    I headed back towards the van, trying to calm the pounding in my heart. The door to the house creaked open and smacked closed behind me. By the time I slid into the driver's seat and turned to look, the flames were licking at the windows. I could see Rayon through them, his hand raised in a wave, smoke swirling around him.  
    I found the thread connecting us and cut it. A second later, his body fell from view.
    "It never gets easier, does it?" Danelle asked.  
    I turned the key and brought the van to life. My hands were quaking against the wheel. "That depends on the corpse. Evan's useful, but he's an asshole. Ray was a good one, though."  
    I put the car in reverse and backed it out