Free Dream Dancer (Ghosts Beyond the Grove Book 2) by Joy Elbel Page A

Getting rid of Clay didn’t get rid of her the way I’d hoped it would.  I refused to even think her name anymore for fear that she would reappear. 
         But it was going to take far more than that to stop the torture she seemed to enjoy inflicting upon me.  Far more.  She was close by.  I could feel it.  And she was more determined than ever to destroy what tiny shreds of sanity I had left inside of me.   
     

11.  Doing the Backstroke
     
     
         Staring down at those stones I was almost convinced that I was still asleep.  I had to blink twice and pinch myself to be sure I was actually awake.   What I held in my hands seemed impossible.  It had to be another sign.
         “Shelly!  Shelly!” I called out repeatedly as I rushed downstairs to find her.  By the time I got to the kitchen, I was out of breath.  “Look at these!” I said between panting breaths.  “It’s another sign!”
         I proudly plopped the stones down in front of her on the kitchen table.  Curiously she picked them up and inspected them but showed no sign of the excitement I was expecting to see.
          “What are they?  And where did you find them?”
         The rainbow moonstones given to me by Salma had changed so drastically in color overnight that Shelly didn’t even recognize them.  The once pure white stones were now two entirely different colors.
         “Those are the protection stones I brought back from Sedona.  That one right there,” I said pointing to the milky gray rock on the left, “is the stone I designated as being Zach’s half.  I held in it my hand as I fell asleep last night.  When I woke up, it was in the exact same place but looked completely different.”
         “So this one was yours then, I assume?” she replied, picking up the half that was now a deep shade of electric blue.
         “Yep.  I don’t know what it means but I’m about to find out.”
         Once again, I pulled out my laptop and began searching for information on moonstones changing color.  I sifted through site after site but kept finding the same dumb information that I already knew—that the stones were iridescent by nature.  Duh.  I didn’t have to be made of eyes to see that what happened to my stones had nothing to do with natural iridescence.  I was about to give up the search when I found what I was looking for.
         “Here it is, Shelly!  And it’s good news!  According to this website, Zach should be back to his normal self now!  I’m not going back to Liberty today—not without him at least.”
         Shelly should have been jumping for joy with me but instead she glared at me with brooding skepticism.  “I know how much you want that to be true, Ruby, but don’t you think you’re counting your chickens before they’ve hatched?  What exactly does that website say?”
         “No, I know exactly how many chickens I have—one, one chicken.  One chicken I absolutely refuse to leave Charlotte’s Grove without.  There it is in black and white—read it for yourself.” 
         I slid my computer across the table to her and pointed to the important paragraph that explained everything.  There was no way she could argue with my conclusions after reading what I’d just read.  I couldn’t help but sit there with a smug look on my face.  I was right and she was going to have to admit that.  Wrong again, Ruby.  Even after making her read it a second time, Shelly still thought that it was wishful thinking on my part. 
         “This website is referring to people using crystals in some sort of healing ritual which you did not do and I’m not sure I really believe in anyway.  While I will admit that what happened to your stones is incredibly odd, I don’t think it means what you think it does.  And I’ll prove it to you.  Your dad may not be able to get in to see Zach, but he should at least be able to find out if there was a