Blood Ties (2010) by Hooper Kay

Author:Hooper, Kay [Kay, Hooper,]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2011-01-14T19:14:48.468000+00:00

"I know I should go back with you, Miranda," Hollis said. "I know the doctor said there was nothing we could do for Diana here. But..."

"But you think otherwise?" Miranda showed no signs of impatience, even though the sheriff had gone ahead to tell their pilot that they were ready for the trip back to Serenade.

Hollis hesitated, then moved her shoulders in a gesture not quite a shrug. "I don't know what I think. But what I feel is that I need to stay close, at least for now."

"You realize that staying here will be difficult for you."

"Yeah. Yeah, I figured that out a few hours ago." Hollis didn't look at DeMarco, even though she could feel him watching her.

Miranda nodded and said, "I thought you'd seen at least a few spirits since we got here."

"It was worse downstairs in the trauma unit. A little better up here." Hollis avoided looking toward the hallway visible from this waiting area. "But they're still... awfully vivid. And I can't seem to close the door."

"Probably not one you opened." Miranda offered her a twisted smile. "I know from experiences with my sister that there are some places where spirits walk, and hospitals are at the top of that list. Mediums really can't help seeing them."

"I can handle it," Hollis said, hoping she could.

"I don't doubt you can. It just won't be easy. Look, Hollis, we don't know how the gray time works, but we do know Diana has always been convinced there are souls who end up there, disconnected from their bodies. Trapped, at least for a while, before they can move on."

"Or come back. Yes." Hollis was praying DeMarco would keep his mouth shut; they hadn't gotten the chance that morning to report the events of the night to Miranda, especially the part about Hollis now being drawn to the gray time whenever Diana opened the door. And Hollis wanted it to stay that way, at least for now. Because she had no doubt that Miranda would not approve of the risky plan taking shape in her mind.

"You believe she's there?"

"The doc said her heart stopped twice. We know it stopped once back in Serenade. If the gray time really is a corridor between this world and the next, I think it's likely that's where Diana's spirit would go. It's a place she's comfortable in, confident, almost at home. It could be a refuge for her in a situation like this one."

"A place to hide?"

"Maybe. With all that trauma to her body... maybe. She told me Bishop believes her conscious and subconscious minds haven't fully integrated yet after all the years of being medicated, and one thing her subconscious had gotten very good at was protecting itself. What her subconscious, her spirit, knows best is the gray time. I really think retreating there would be almost automatic. If so, she's still halfway in this world, this reality. At least half alive. She might try to contact one of us. Maybe Quentin. Or maybe me.

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