Body & Soul полностью

I gritted my teeth to keep from responding with any number of comments that would only make things worse. Yes, okay, her point was that she couldn't be haunting anyone in her current condition, but it was more than that, I knew. Alona hated being trapped in a body that wasn't her own or up to her previous standards — fine. But Lily was not exactly the Hunchback of Notre Dame, as Alona would make her out to be. Lily was cute, always had been, and yes, the scar on her face and the limp were noticeable, but they didn't make her repulsive… not by any stretch of the imagination.

But now was not the time for this argument.

“Look, we need to focus on the situation at hand, okay?” I glanced over my shoulder. Severed Arm Dude and Spring Break Girl had joined the faux-Lincoln ghost, and they were now talking among themselves and gesturing in our direction. Well, half gesturing, in the case of the ghost with only one arm.

Not good.

I turned back to Alona. “We need to see Malachi the Magical or whatever, and figure out what he knows, if anything, and then get out of here.” Hopefully in one piece and without a trail of ghosts following both of us home.

She jerked her head up to glare at me, and the all-too-familiar fierceness in her expression made me step back. That was all Alona. I could almost see her beneath the surface of Lily. It was… unsettling, to say the least. “Someone is pretending to be me, the spirit of me, to scare my best friend.” She jabbed a finger in my chest with the last three words. “How is that not a concern?”

I sighed. “Or maybe her guilty conscience is finally catching up to her, and she's seeing ghosts where there aren't any because she feels bad.” It happened all the time. Sometimes picture frames just fall over. Doors slam shut, screws fall out, etc. Not all of it is the result of ghosts, but when people feel like they deserve to be haunted, that's usually the first explanation they believe. “Which do you think is more likely?”

With a sound of disgust, she shoved past me and limped back toward Misty, who honestly looked a little frightened at her approach. Faux Lincoln and Severed Arm Guy scattered to get out of her way.

I groaned silently and hurried after her. This could not possibly end well.

“I'm sorry about that,” Alona said to Misty, as she reclaimed the chair next to her. “You took me by surprise is all.”

Misty gave a harsh laugh. “You don't believe me.”

Alona shook her head. “No, I do. Actually, we do,” she said, giving me a “go along with this or die painfully” look.

Oh, good.

“But I'm not sure why you think it's Alona. From what I know of her, she would never—”

“Wait.” Misty held up her hand with a frown. “Who are you again?”

I held my breath.

“Ally Turner. It was Lily, but I go by Ally now,” Alona said. “I was… I am a year behind you at school.” Her words sounded forced and false, but maybe only because I knew the truth.

“But,” Alona continued quickly, “we have experience dealing with this kind of thing.”

“We've been haunted before,” I added, lying to save our asses. Was she trying to get us killed? Why not just announce to all the ghosts in the room that we could see and/or hear them?

Misty nodded slowly, as if that was not a surprise. Then she shook her head with a sad smile. “Well, whatever you know about ghosts, you did not know Alona. And trust me, it's her. She…” Misty hesitated. “She was my best friend. But she wasn't exactly the forgive-and-forget type, you know? Revenge. That was her thing.”

Alona stiffened.

Oh, crap.

“Have you considered that maybe those people deserved what they got?” Alona demanded.

I poked her and she swiveled to face me with a frown. Shut up, I mouthed.

But fortunately, Misty seemed too lost in her memories to notice. “I took Chris from her. Actually, Chris and I… We just kind of found each other.”

“Found each other, right,” Alona muttered. Hmm. Maybe she hadn't yet completely forgiven Misty.

“I didn't think Alona knew before she died, but now I… I'm not sure. It wasn't intentional for either of us,” Misty added defiantly.

“And that makes a difference how?” Alona demanded.

I cleared my throat sharply. “I think what Ally”—

I emphasized the name, glaring at Alona, who rolled her eyes—“means is, what signs are you seeing that make you think Alona, specifically, is haunting you, not some other random ghost?”

“Oh.” Misty looked startled and then confused. “Why would there be a random ghost haunting me?”

I was pretty sure there wasn't a ghost involved at all, but trying to explain to Misty that she was likely haunting herself probably wouldn't have helped. All I could do was try to show Alona that it wasn't someone impersonating her. “There probably isn't. But I'm just trying to understand why you think it's her. Other than the fact you think she'd be angry if she knew about you and Chris, which she doesn't,” I said, aiming my last words at Alona, who slumped in her chair and folded her arms over her chest.

“Whatever,” she muttered.