Veiled Shadows (Shadows #3) by Cege Smith

Author:Cege Smith
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: haunted houses, ghost, witches, heaven and hell, demons and angels, redemption
Publisher: Cege Smith
Published: 2013-05-29T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Ellie crossed the room in less than three steps and threw herself into Melanie’s open arms. She laughed and squeezed Melanie tight. “I can’t believe it! You are real!”

Melanie laughed. It was a loud brash noise that Ellie realized she missed more than she could ever describe. She gave Ellie a tight squeeze and then released her. “Please. I’m as real as this table.” She knocked a fist on the table. “Sit, sit. I can’t wait to hear how you’ve been.”

It was surreal. Ellie found herself settled into the seat across from Melanie as if she had never left the Other Side. But Mikel watching her from across the room ensured that she was constantly reminded that her two realities had collided. That was when it finally hit her. Melanie wasn’t acting surprised to see her. She wasn’t asking where she had been. A sinking feeling wrapped around her middle.

Ellie looked around the room, deliberately sliding her eyes past Mikel. “Is Kevin here? I’d love to see him and let him know that I’m okay.”

Melanie cleared her throat. “No, sorry, Ellie. Kevin isn’t here, but you aren’t really here either.”

“What do you mean?” Goosebumps rose on Ellie’s arms.

“We’re here, in your shop, but not on the Other Side. Think of it like there is an invisible barrier that divides the Other Side from the Afterlife. If you look closer, you’ll see subtle differences, other than the obvious lack of people. I thought you’d be more comfortable talking here.”

“More comfortable for what?” Ellie’s voice rose a notch. “What aren’t you telling me, Melanie? You’re dead too?”

“Look, doll, we’ve got a lot of ground to cover and not a lot of time. I thought you’d like to be in a familiar environment. No, I’m not dead. I’m not exactly alive either.”

“You better start explaining what the hell you are talking about, Melanie, or else I’m leaving.” Ellie was ready to try Lucy’s spell and go back to the waypoint, but something kept her rooted in her seat. As frustrated as she was, her curiosity was winning out.

“Okay. I get that you’re upset,” Melanie had her hands up and was making soothing strokes through the air. Ellie hated that Melanie looked exactly as she remembered.

Since the day that Ellie opened up her coffee shop, Melanie had made a daily appearance the moment the store opened and stayed until mid-morning. She had always told Ellie that she was an aspiring novelist who had a day job in freelance journalism. She was short and had crazy curly hair that frequently stuck out in inane directions. Her clothes were always bright and vibrant; just like Melanie’s personality. She had been someone that Ellie never questioned being there, and there she had been, under Ellie’s nose, for years.

“You’ve been spying on me.” Ellie didn’t bother to keep the accusation out of her voice. “You’ve been spying on me for him.” Ellie didn’t look at Mikel. It was obvious who she was talking about.

“For him?” Melanie’s expression of distaste seemed genuine.

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