No Ghouls Allowed by Victoria Laurie Read Free Book Online Page B

asked her what was wrong, and she’d leaned over to kiss and reassure
     me, whispering, “Nothing’s wrong, child. I’m just here to keep you safe.”
    I’d never asked her what she meant and I remembered only the smell of her perfume
     as I drifted back to sleep, but there’d been other nights when I’d awakened to find
     her watching over me protectively. And then she’d soon become too sick to continue
     the practice.
    Still, I also remembered around the age of seven when I’d started sensing the spirits
     of our deceased loved ones, how concerned Mama had been. She’d ask me all the time
     if any of the spirits I sensed had ever tried to hurt me. None had until I was much
     older and started doing ghostbusts with Gilley.
    I wondered if any of what I was currently experiencing was part of that vague memory
     of my mother hovering close by me while I slept. Could this be just a very vivid dream
     instead of an OBE? If it was simply a dream, then it would explain encountering my
     mother as a child, but what I couldn’t get over was how
real
everything felt. The little girl pressed tightly against me was as real as real could
     be. Her skin was warm, her hair soft, and I could even smell the lingering scent of
     soap on her skin.
    Tilting my chin up, I could see the stars in the night sky and feel the breeze stirring
     the leaves of the elm tree above us. No dream I’d ever had had felt this vivid and
     clear.
    So what the heck was going on?
    And, for that matter, what had my mother experienced as a child?
    “How long has the Sandman been hurting you, DeeDee?” I asked softly.
    Her small shoulders shrugged. “I don’t know. A while. Ever since Everett told him
     to come find me.”
    My brow furrowed. “Who’s Everett?” I asked.
    “Glenn’s cousin.” She started to say more, but at that moment a light came on in the
     house. DeeDee gasped.
    “DeeDee!” we heard from inside, and my own breath caught. It was the voice of my maternal
     grandmother, clear as day.
    “I have to go!” DeeDee said urgently, already wriggling to get down.
    “DeeDee!”
my grandmother called again. “Child, stop hiding and come out right now!”
    I frowned as I set the little girl down on the ground. My mother’s mother had been
     a stern, religious woman. I’d always preferred my father’s mother to her, especially
     after Mama had passed away. “DeeDee!” I whispered, catching her hand before she could
     hurry away. “I know you have to go inside, but I want to tell you to get some magnets.
     Lots of magnets and put them under your bed and in the four corners of your room.”
    DeeDee appeared torn between nodding impatiently so she could get back to the house
     before she got in any more trouble and wanting to ask me why I was telling her to
     get some magnets.
    “As long as those magnets are in your room, the Sandman won’t bother you,” I told
     her. “His power will drain around the magnets—they’ll stop him in his tracks—so ask
     Grandmama—I mean . . . your mama to get you some.”
    DeeDee nodded and offered me a tiny smile. “Thanks, Mary Jane.” Then she was off,
     racing up the hill toward home.
    I watched her slip through the front door just as more lights in the house came on.
     I waited until I heard my grandmother exclaim, “There you are! Oh, you bad child!
     Why would you hide like that when you knew I was looking for you? And what on earth
     has you out of bed at this time of night?”
    I frowned again as my grandmother’s harsh words echoed out the open windows. I had
     half a mind to march up to that door and to lecture her, but at that moment I heard
     the sound of breaking glass coming from right behind me. I whirled around, but immediately
     lost my balance and began to fall to the ground. What was even odder was that as soon
     as I began to fall, I became totally disoriented, and for what felt like several long
     seconds, I had no idea which way was up. Flinging my arms out to