“Does it matter? It sounds fun and it would give me a chance, you know, socially. I’m sick of being picked on every time I walk into the common room.”
“You can’t–”
“There’s something in it for you.”
He hesitated. “What?”
“Well, it’s called
Truth
or Dare. Isn’t there some stuff about me you want to know?” I swallowed a knot of nerves. Would he still care why I’d grown away from him? Why I was so different now? Maybe he didn’t want to know anymore… but his earlier words suggested that my secrecy still rankled.
He gave a laugh so cold it almost froze the phone to my ear. “I suppose you won’t just tell me now.”
“What would be in it for me?”
He lowered his tone. “You don’t want to join the V club, Taylor.”
That was probably true, but I also didn’t want to get taken by the Darkness and right now I saw only the two options. “You’re in it.”
“Well, yeah, but I’m different.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“School’s over in a year. Can’t you put up with things the way they are for that long?”
My eyes narrowed and anger made me snap. “It’s easy for you to say. How do you think Hannah feels having to run through the common room with Tamsin Harper calling her names? Don’t you think she’s got enough to deal with at home? I join your V club and I can help her as well as me.”
I imagined Pete at his end, fist tightening on the receiver, guilt darkening his face.
“You think I haven’t tried to get them to leave her alone?”
“If they aren’t dogging me any more, surely that’ll extend to her.”
He hesitated. “Maybe. But you don’t know everything about the V club. It isn’t your kind of thing.”
“What’s my kind of thing then?”
He snorted. “Not being told what to do, for starters.” I heard his exhalation. “Taylor, there are loads of rules and I don’t think you’ll be happy with them.”
“That’s my choice.”
“I don’t know who talked to you about the club and what they told you about it, but you can’t talk about the club to anyone outside of it. If you get in you won’t be able to tell Hannah. She’ll want to know why you’ve suddenly got popular.”
“I can make something up.”
“You’re good at that.”
“So?”
“I can ask for a meeting.”
“Great.”
“But it doesn’t mean you’re in. You’ll need a second to agree–”
My shoulders tensed. “He didn’t say anything about a second.”
Pete pounced. “Who didn’t?”
“No one. What else?”
“You have to complete a dare.”
“And then I’m in.”
He hesitated. “I propose, someone else seconds and sets a dare. If you manage to complete it, then you’re in. But the dares aren’t what you’re thinking.”
“Whatever it is I can do it.”
“I don’t think you–”
“
You
got in.”
“That was a while ago.”
“If you’re doing these dares, I can too.”
“Whatever. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. I’ll call James and we’ll set a meet for tomorrow. But if you try and fail, things at school will get even worse for you.”
I glanced at the shadow beneath the table. Was it my imagination or was it closer to my feet than it had been?
“I won’t fail.”
19
DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT
As soon as I arrived at the bus stop Hannah's face froze over. “I'm sorry, Han.” When she didn't even look at me, I stood awkwardly in front of her. “You know what I'm like. I had–”
“Stuff, yeah, I know what you're like.”
“So we're cool?”
Hannah shook her head. “We're not cool. You dumped me at school. You didn't call or text or anything
for days
. You left me on my own without a word. Pete's right. I’m right at the bottom of your list. I get that crap from my Mum, I shouldn't have to put up with it from my best friend.”
“I'll make it up to you.”
Hannah glowered for another minute; then she relented. “Tonight?”
“Tonight – we'll do a movie or something. You can come over.”
Hannah's face thawed. “Popcorn?”
“Of course.”
“Salted?”
“I hate salted.”
Hannah raised her eyebrows.
“Fine, salted. You're absolutely right.”
“Yes, I am.” She threaded her arm through mine. “Now let me tell you what my mum did to Carl.”
Just before the bell went Pete walked past. He appeared to be ignoring me completely, but as he strode by his hand flicked out and a piece of paper dropped into my lap. Hannah had her head buried in her bag, so I quickly opened it.
It had today's date, a postcode and a time: 7pm.
I inhaled sharply. I'd thought the meeting was going to be at school. Quickly I scribbled on the back.
Can we make it earlier?
Then I grabbed a folder, took a deep breath and walked to Pete's table. Thankfully James hadn't arrived yet, but Harley grimaced like a gargoyle as I approached. “Hey, Chickety China,” he leered, but I could see his heart wasn't in it. Justin’s ghost was present, even when he wasn’t.
I grunted a reply and turned my back on him to put the folder in front of Pete. “Here's that work you wanted.”
Pete glared up at me. “What are you doing?”
“You don't need it anymore? Fine.” I lifted the folder, leaving the paper behind. Harley gave a desultory finger wave as I left.
When I reached my seat I looked back at Pete to check he'd got the message. He was just screwing the paper into a ball. He met my eyes, curled his lip and shook his head. Message received. My only chance to get into the V Club was at 7pm tonight, which meant I'd have to cancel on Hannah again.
My chest tightened. “Han?”
“Got it.” She rose from her bag clutching her lucky pencil. “Thought I'd lost it.”
“Look, about tonight...”
“I’m thinking old school
X-Files
marathon. We can start right at the beginning. It’ll be great.”
“Can we do it another time? I've just remembered I've got something on.”
Hannah leaned away from me. “Family stuff, right?” Her voice was cold and each word had sharp edges.
“That's right.” I spoke carefully, as if the wrong word would bring a blade down.
“Don't worry about it.” Hannah turned her back on me and laid her lucky pencil next to her work book.
“So we'll do Thursday?”
“I said, don't worry about it. Don't worry about rearranging, or fitting me into your busy schedule. Just don't worry about it. Not that you ever do.”
I tugged her arm with my gloved hand, trying to get her to look at me. “We'll do Thursday, definitely.”
“No, we won't. I'm done.” Finally she raised her head and her eyes were red-rimmed. “Either you see me tonight, or we don’t hang out ever again.”
I swallowed. My hand seemed to throb under the glove. I couldn't think of any other way of getting to the truth about Justin's death. I had to join the V Club.
“I-I can't do tonight, Han.”
“Whatever.” She scooped up her things.
“What are you doing?”
“Moving.”
She stalked away from the table and the sunlight caught in her hair, turning it into a neon halo. Her lucky pencil rolled from her book and landed on the floor in front of her.
“Hannah, wait.” The whole class heard. Like vultures they rotated to watch as Hannah's foot came down with a crunch. She wobbled and tilted, then went crashing down, her books flying around her.
As I leaped up to help, she glowered at me with poisonous eyes. Her face was completely colourless. “Leave. Me. Alone.”
My breath caught as she dumped her bag by a spare seat on the table furthest from me, and started rearranging her things.
Laughter reverberated from the doorway; Tamsin and James had arrived.
Trembling, I sat back down. My legs felt like jelly and my chest ached. I ducked my head and caught sight of my gloved hand.
“I hate you, Justin Hargreaves,” I muttered.
20
HOW BAD COULD IT BE?
“Don't speak to me,” I snapped, glaring at the piece of paper in my hand. I'd copied the postcode from memory, and had got it wrong.
“Bad day at school, dear?”
“Seriously, Hargreaves, if you don't shut up...” I turned my glare up and down the street. It was a quiet residential road with a large modern church right in the middle.
“What, you'll kill me?” Still, he took a step to one side.
“I don't have to let you stay in my house.” I shoved him so hard he staggered. “And I'm more than happy to transfer the Mark to Tamsin bloody Harper.”
I swung back round, clutching the paper to my heaving chest. I wished I really did have the guts to Mark Tamsin; that would teach her.
After a couple of bitchy remarks she'd pretty much left Hannah alone for the rest of the day, turning all her vitriol on me. I hadn't realised how much Hannah's quiet presence gave me the strength to put up with her. Now I was on my own and my ears still burned.
Hannah would forgive me in a few days, she had to. Until then... I growled under my breath... until my friend came back, I'd focus on getting rid of Justin Hargreaves. Which meant Marking his killer so he could move on.
And that meant finding the V Club.
“Fine.” I exhaled noisily. “I'm lost. Where am I supposed to meet them?”
“Seriously – here?”
Justin shrugged. “See, you weren't lost. Where did you think you were heading?”
“Not a church hall.”
He steered me forward by my elbow. “We're a youth group.”
As we walked I peered around me, challenging the eyes of passing tourists and checking every group for outliers.
Justin shook my arm. “You aren’t going to get a second to stand for you if you keep shoving the weird down everyone’s throats.”
“I have to check for ghosts,” I hissed angrily.
“I’ll do it for you.”
I hesitated in my scan. “Really?” I whispered.
“Sure. I had a feeling about the old guy. I’d probably be able to ID any others, right?”
“I-I guess.”
“Do you trust me to do this for you?”
Did I
? Justin had never liked me. He didn’t believe he was murdered and he didn’t particularly want to move on. This ghost had no incentive to help me find his killer. His only real motivation was that I’d threatened to Mark his girlfriend.
I swallowed. When I came to think about it, if the Darkness came for me, it probably wouldn’t bother Justin at all.
So if he saw another ghost, would he tell me?
I thought about how he’d fought the old guy to stop him from Marking me.
“Well?”
Reluctantly I made the decision. “Alright, but be alert and let me know if you see one of the dead. This kind of place attracts them.”
His grin widened. “You trust me.”
“Just look for the ghosts,” I hissed and strode up the steps into the church, eyes straight ahead for the first time in five years.
It was a Catholic church, I knew that much. It was called Saint Benedict’s and the sign on the door said the Priest was Father Harding and the Deacon, Don Lomas. I paused to savour the sound of those titles: Father, Deacon.
I looked up. It was a modern building, but even from the outside I could see that the windows were stained glass.
The door was ajar. I pushed it all the way open and stepped inside.
There was a bowl of water by the door and a notice-board that was full of newsletters, notes about the parish and information about charities. A letter from the Bishop was the centrepiece. A group of children were being confirmed in two weeks time and the choir practised on Tuesdays. Mrs Christophers was winner of the one hundred club this month.
To my left a wooden bookcase contained hymnbooks. I imagined a line of people trailing past, each taking a book before going through the glass doors in front of them. I blinked and looked away. I was spending too much time taking in sights that I normally skipped over in my search for the dead.
There was another door, a wooden door, to my right. I assumed I would have to go that way, but first… I wanted to see.
I moved towards the glass doors. The early evening sun was catching the windows just right and rainbows painted the pale wooden pews and spilled on the floor like oil on water.
A statue of the Virgin Mary opened her hands to me above a vase of lilies. My shoulders started to loosen and I allowed my eyes to skim lazily towards the altar. It was covered with a gold edged cloth that would have been white, but the light made it so many colours I couldn’t even tell what picture the window was supposed to be casting. I let my gaze follow the fractured image to the crucified man hanging above the altar.
Like the mummy in the museum this was one of the dead that couldn’t bother me. He should have been in agony, I’d heard crucifixion was a horrible death, but whoever had carved the image had given him a loving smile. My hand was suddenly hot inside the glove and I rubbed it on my trousers.
For the first time I wondered what would happen to Justin when he passed over.
“What’re
you
doing here?” The drawl could only belong to one person. My eye twitched and I turned. All thoughts of kindness fled.
But I needed someone to second me. “I’m here for the V club, Tamsin. Pete’s proposing me. He didn’t tell you?”
“Harley said he was proposing
someone
.” She snorted. “What a waste of my time. I had to come all the way over town to get here and now I’ll just have to turn around and head home again.” She tapped her nails thoughtfully on the glass. They made a snick-snick sound, like claws. “Maybe we’ll go out for a Chinky or something, when you’ve been sent on your way.” She tossed her blonde waves. “Oh sorry, was that offensive?” she sneered. “What was Pete thinking?”