The Seance by Heather Graham Read Free Book Online Page A

a room when they have a perfectly good house?” Mike asked.
    â€œForget it, it’s Ouija board time,” Ana announced.
    â€œThe parlor is a mess,” Christina said.
    â€œWe can just sit on the floor,” Ana said, waving away her objection. “We’ll start with Tony and Ilona. Maybe the Ouija board can give us a wedding date.”
    â€œSure,” Tony said with a shrug.
    Ilona giggled. “Shouldn’t we dim the lights or something?”
    â€œWhy not?” Mike asked with a shrug, moving to the switch that controlled the lights.
    Dan made a sound as if a soft and wicked wind were moving through the room.
    Christina, arms folded against her chest as she leaned against the arched doorway, groaned.
    Ilona and Tony set their fingers on the planchette, which began to move, finally settling over the J.
    â€œJanuary,” Ana breathed.
    â€œIt’s gotta be at least July,” Tony said. “We’re just not ready yet.”
    â€œLook at that,” Mike said as the planchette started moving around erratically. “She wants January, he won’t be ready until July, and poor Mr. Ouija doesn’t know what to do.”
    â€œYou’re pushing it,” Tony accused Ilona.
    â€œNo—you’re pushing it,” Ilona protested.
    â€œDon’t take it so seriously. It’s just a game,” Mike said lightly, as if aware that a real argument was in the offing.
    And that was all that it was: a game, Christina reminded herself.
    â€œFingers barely touching the planchette,” Ana advised. “Christina, come over here and help me show them how to do it.”
    â€œOh, all right. But we’re not doing this all night,” Christina protested. She flashed a smile at Ilona. “I want to learn more about how you and Tony got together. Who cares when the wedding is? We’ll all have a good time whenever you choose to have it—if we’re invited, of course.”
    â€œOf course you’re invited,” Ilona said.
    â€œAll right, all right,” Ana said. “Just get down here.”
    â€œIs it dark enough? Want it spookier?” Dan teased.
    â€œThat fog is spooky enough,” Ilona said, and shivered.
    â€œIt’s just fog,” Christina said, barely managing not to shout. Damn. It wasn’t like her to be so edgy, but it was unnerving to realize how closely she fit the description of the victim of a serial killer.
    Either a copycat…
    Or a maniac who had somehow escaped detection for twelve years.
    â€œAnd don’t forget the moon,” Ilona added.
    â€œAre you thinking werewolves?” Tony teased her.
    â€œThere are enough real monsters out there,” Christina said. “There’s no need to make up more.”
    There was a sudden uncomfortable silence in the room. She realized she had snapped out the words rather than simply speaking them.
    â€œI’m sorry,” she said quickly. What was wrong with her? It was just…
    It was just that stupid Ouija board and the idea of talking to spirits. She suddenly found the past welling up in her mind, a vision that was far too real. She could see Gran, after her grandfather had died. Sitting in her chair, looking at her so somberly. She’d dreamed that she’d talked to her grandfather. A psychology professor had once told her that such dreams were defense mechanisms, a way to reconcile oneself to losing someone. But Gran had said, “It’s dangerous. You have opened a door….”
    That was just Gran and the Irish speaking. She had never had such dreams again. Not even when she had lost her parents.
    All of that was far behind her now. She was a perfectly rational, sane person, and it was just the Irish sense of fun that made them all pretend to believe in banshees and leprechauns and even dreams.
    â€œOkay, Ana, let’s show everybody how it’s done,” she said, then lowered her voice teasingly. “It was a