Ghost Club 1 by Deborah Abela

Author:Deborah Abela [Abela, Deborah]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: FICTION
Publisher: Penguin Random House Australia
Published: 2012-06-30T16:00:00+00:00

Dylan stared at the words, only just able to wring a few frightened breaths from his lungs. ‘They’ve left us a message . . .’ He gulped. ‘In blood?’

Edgar lifted his goggles and followed the drips across the ground to a discarded paint tin. ‘Red paint, actually.’

Dylan calmed a little. ‘So it wasn’t a ghost?’

Edgar stepped up to the stable wall and inspected the writing closely with his Tracker. ‘It was a ghost.’

‘How can you tell?’

‘There are spectral traces.’ Through the Tracker, the letters lit up around the edges with red.

Angeline smiled a broad, game-on kind of smile. ‘Looks like we have ourselves a ghost.’

‘Can ghosts paint?’

‘They can do anything depending on how strong their energy core is,’ Edgar said, oblivious to the fact that Dylan was beginning to hyperventilate again.

‘Have they gone?’ Dylan whispered.

‘They’re not here anymore.’ Edgar searched the area with his Tracker held before him.

‘So we can go home.’ Dylan’s panting slowed.

‘For now, that’s all we can do, but it’s a good start.’ Edgar slipped his Tracker into his satchel and made his way to the stables. ‘I’ll pack up the video.’

‘Griswold was right, though.’ Angeline said. ‘This castle is definitely haunted by real ghosts, not just cinematic ones, and it looks like they don’t want us around.’

‘Isn’t it best that we do what they want and stay away?’ Dylan asked.

‘Are you kidding?’ Angeline said. ‘It makes it all the more fun!’

There was a small silence before Dylan asked quietly, ‘How do you do it?’

‘Do what?’

‘Be so brave when you don’t know what it is you’re even facing?’

‘It’s not bravery.’ She shrugged. ‘We’re just doing our job.’

Dylan dug his hands into his pockets. ‘My grandfather has such high hopes for me. I don’t want to let him down.’

‘You can’t do this for your grandfather,’ Angeline said, ‘you have to do it for yourself.’

‘If I was doing it for myself, I’d be home in bed reading anything but ghost stories.’

‘Grandma Rose says it’s good for us to face our fears.’

‘Because it’s good to let the world know what cowards some of us really are?’ Dylan asked.

‘No.’ Angeline laughed. ‘Because sometimes what we’re most scared of isn’t that scary at all.’

‘You know the hardest thing about being the newest ghost catcher?’

‘Not being called out to as many jobs as you’d like?’ Angeline asked.

Dylan shook his head. ‘No, it’s that everyone believes I’m going to be great at it.’

‘But you will be!’

‘See what I mean?’ His head fell forward. ‘How come you’re all so convinced when I’m not so sure?’

‘You just need a little practice. If Grandmaster Fleischmann believes in you, that’s good enough for me. Not only was he a great ghost catcher, he also has a knack for spotting other naturals. I bet he must have told you lots of stories about his days catching.’

‘He tried to but I tended to get short of breath and light-headed whenever he started.’

‘So you really don’t know much at all?’ Angeline asked. Dylan shook his head. ‘Don’t worry – we’ll have you so trained up you’re not only going to be good at this, you’re going to love it.

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