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“That’s a little cheesy,” I cracked, obviously not remembering my previous note to self. Craig smiled for the first time since I’d met him. “You thrive on cheesy. Don’t pretend otherwise.” “I have to ask, though. If I’m this force to be reckoned with or whatever, then why couldn’t ...” I glanced back over my shoulder at the group of black-clad people gathered around Tucker’s grave. “Why couldn’t I save him?” “You can’t save everyone.” His voice was quiet, much less harsh than usual. “All you can do is try. And you did all that you could for Tucker. This was too much to handle the very first time you encountered it.” “Well, thank you for the heads up, in any case. At least now I can be prepared for what’s going to come knocking on my door eventually.” I tried to straighten up, but that burden was so damn heavy. “That will never get lighter. But you will get stronger and it will be easier to carry.” He leaned down and gave me a one-armed sideways hug. “Take care, Chelsea. And remember I’m not too far if you need my help again. I’d be happy to work with you anytime.” “Thank you.” I squeezed back and then he, too, turned away and disappeared into the headstones. The days turned into weeks, and Craig turned out to be right. Every day that I kept my head up, the weight on my shoulders got a little easier to bear. I was able to let my heart peek out of its hiding place every now and then. Work and school kept me busy, as well as spending time with Gunner. The group asked me once or twice if I wanted to come to a meeting or go on an investigation, but I wasn’t ready to head back into the fray just yet. That might take a little while, but I knew after my talk with the demonologist that eventually it would find me, even if I wasn’t in the mood. The only things that didn’t go away were the nightmares. Each night, without fail, I’d snap up in bed wide awake after some morbid dream about fighting with demon Tucker. Usually, I would be the one to wrap the noose around his neck. Sometimes I got 198
creative and used a knife. Once I even burned him with a kitchen lighter. And in the moments before he died, I could hear his voice again. “Chelsea ... I’m so sorry. Please ...” One night I woke up from a particularly freaky one that involved a push down those wooden steps. Instantly my fingers went to the thin black rope around my neck and closed around the chunk of obsidian at its base. As I peeled my hair away from my face and tried to catch my breath, I glanced around the room. Something was different. Something was ... off. Then my eyes fell on the shadow in the corner. My heart instantly screeched to a stop in my chest. I didn’t have time to ask who was there before the faint words reached my ears. “Chelsea ... I’m so sorry. Please ...” 199
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The Haunted Hearts on Fire By Kathe
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Dedication For Lisa, who showed me
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Thank you, Rob, for opening my eyes
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Chapter One For his fiftieth birthd
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happened to be walking by and see m
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try and give this a chance. It may
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slowly. She pointed at one man in t
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trained me for three months to teac
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trying to break through that crowd.
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Chapter Two It didn’t take me lon
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used book store. Well, the guy who
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again. I had plenty of questions of
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“I’m walking out of here in ful
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“I have good news. The future lea
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23
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the parking spots were filled up an
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Somewhere in the middle of the stor
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stuff they use on TV? Whenever Gunn
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he was pretty much alone around her
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“To be fair, you’re working two
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I wasn’t sure if I wanted to hit
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As Friday approached all too quickl
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deep thought that I actually missed
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The rest of the drive didn’t take
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Chelsea will stick with me.” As T
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out of batteries or stops working.
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Chapter Five I may have been scared
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e okay, he led the way out of the r
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was definitely less frightened than
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“How is everybody doing?” Tucke
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I reached into the nearest open bin
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Eventually, Brad’s voice crackled
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out after what had just happened. I
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Well, now I felt even nicer. “Tuc
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Tucker’s low chuckle filled the c
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explain what that means later. But,
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After a while, I sat back in the ch
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I swallowed that pleasant, warm fee
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Chapter Seven Gunner had pretty muc
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than others, and a few times they p
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The anger finally overtook the last
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When he lowered himself — way too
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I pulled away so I could get a bett
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“It might be helpful if you figur
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Brad agreed, and departed to go get
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Chapter Eight We sat in the playroo
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Instead of a terrifying monster wit
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Tucker was quiet for a moment, and
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to borrow some of that confidence a
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and pressed myself up against him,
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“Please explain to me how that’
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Chapter Nine It took a few more wee
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The pair went on to explain to me t
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“Tough luck, sister.” He gave m
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his body was moving on its own but
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Boy, I had no idea what I was getti
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Chapter Ten “You are absolutely b
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swung my legs out of the car, the f
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household. Someone who is Wiccan wo
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He blinked furiously to keep his te
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Mr. Johansson didn’t even look up
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who was twisting the bottom of his
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Chapter Eleven “Are you positive
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Mr. Johansson opened the door. I wa
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That uneasy feeling was creeping in
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The bang echoed deafeningly in the
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able to blink and turn his head was
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129
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Eventually, Daisy spoke up. “Wow!
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was a very real possibility that I
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“I have to ask,” I said, keepin
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And what about Tucker? Would he be
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deeper than I could see. It was so
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Chapter Thirteen I tried really har
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fire. When he pulled it away from t
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He picked up on the third ring, and
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Page 155 and 156: and humble, and as far as I knew, h
Page 157 and 158: “Look. I don’t know what’s up
Page 159 and 160: flipped my light switch behind me a
Page 161 and 162: “Hi, guys,” she greeted us befo
Page 163 and 164: Once Tucker had dropped off Susanna
Page 165 and 166: Tucker laid me down on his bed, and
Page 167 and 168: that wasn’t the most disturbing p
Page 169 and 170: I ground my teeth together violentl
Page 171 and 172: I seriously contemplated my options
Page 173 and 174: he watched the little flame dancing
Page 175 and 176: At that moment, several things seem
Page 177 and 178: window one last time. That same hol
Page 179 and 180: “Whatever was in that house was e
Page 181 and 182: Next, it was my turn to ask questio
Page 183 and 184: Richard and Daisy both sat down and
Page 185 and 186: Susannah’s expression instantly m
Page 187 and 188: Chapter Seventeen On Tuesday night,
Page 189 and 190: “She never wanted me her whole li
Page 191 and 192: “I don’t want anything. I want
Page 193 and 194: But I couldn’t help but feel stun
Page 195 and 196: “Whatever was there went home wit
Page 197 and 198: there around eight. Ethan, Richard,
Page 199 and 200: When a few minutes had passed, Crai
Page 201 and 202: of emotion it pretty much anchored
Page 203: He must have understood that being
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