Free Krysta's Curse by Tara West Page A

Sophie’s question had
summoned their spirits, Ed and Gertrude floated into the living
room.
    “Hey!” I called up to them. “Are you guys
famous?”
    “What?” Falling to her bottom, Sophie
scooted back toward the couch. “They’re here?” she squeaked while
pulling her knees to her chest.
    “Please don’t pull an AJ on me.” I rolled my
eyes, holding in my laughter as my friend cowered in the corner
like a frightened mouse. “They’re not going to possess you or
anything.”
    Ed scratched his beard while speaking
through a frown. “I don’t reckon we’re famous.”
    Gertrude nudged him in the ribcage. “I won
twelve blue ribbons for my peach preserves.” Tilting her chin up,
Gertrude looked kind of cute for a dead old lady.
    Ed nodded. “Gerty had the best jam in three
counties.”
    “I don’t think jam counts, Ed,” I sighed.
“That doesn’t make you famous.”
    Keeping her eyes focused on the ceiling
about two feet from where Ed and Gertrude were hovering, Sophie
scooted back to the coffee table and ducked behind her laptop. “Is
there a historic building on the site?” She scrolled down the
screen with a shaky hand.
    “Ain’t nothin’ there but that oak tree,” Ed
bellowed. “And now that’s gone, too. They done tore down our house
years ago.”
    “No,” I answered.
    “What about a historic battle?” Keeping her
eyes glued to the screen, she chewed on her bottom lip.
    “No,” I responded as they shook their
heads.
    “Hmmmm.” Sophie’s lips looked locked in a
vice grip.
    “What’s that flashy thing sayin’, Emmy?”
Gertrude asked.
    I nudged Sophie. “What’s wrong?” But I was
afraid of her answer. Why did they need a historical battle to
protect their sanctuary?
    Folding trembling hands in her lap, Sophie
looked to the ceiling, then to me with worried eyes. “I don’t think
their graves are protected under the Preservation Act.”
    “What about that it’s been my home over one
hundred years?” Ed pounded the air with both fists.
    The pictures on the walls shook with a
sudden, violent force, causing one to fall off its hook and shatter
on the floor.
    “Oh-mi-god, Krysta!” Sophie gasped and then
grabbed hold of my arm, nearly breaking skin with her nails.
    “Easy, Sophie,” I soothed, while pulling my
arm free from each claw. I narrowed my eyes at the spirits above.
“We’ll find a way, Ed. Calm down, you’re scaring Sophie.”
    “I think I wet my pants,” Sophie
squeaked.
    “Don’t worry,” I spoke while flinching as I
pried her fingers from my skin. “He’s not mad at you.”
    Her eyes looked ready to bulge out of their
sockets. “Well, that’s good to know, I guess.” She let out a burst
of nervous laughter before slapping her hand over her mouth.
    “Did your mom have any other options?”
Despite the severity of the situation, I almost lost it myself. I
mean, Sophie looked pretty funny when freaked. I wondered if she
really did piss her pants a little.
    “No, not really.” She spoke through a shaky
voice while her gaze darted from me to the ceiling. “Lots of people
said that old cemetery was haunted. Maybe we can spook the
developers away.”
    “I doubt it.” I grimaced at the thought of
Ed and Gertrude haunting away the construction crew. How much could
those two do to scare them? Besides, all the developers had to do
was throw some concrete over a few graves and they’d be off to
build another mall somewhere else.
    Sophie gasped, then her eyes bulged.
    Oh, crud. I’d seen that look before.
    Sophie had an idea. Or what AJ and I liked
to call, “A brain fart.” Some of her schemes over the years have
been pretty crazy.
    “What if...” She sucked in a large breath of
air before speaking on a rapid exhale. “We get the news
involved?”
    My limbs froze. “The news?” How did I know
she’d go overboard with this?
    “We could hold a protest.” She jumped to her
feet, slapping both hands together.
    “Like with picket