Phantom Fears – An Evernight Free Read –
promo package
Blurb
As a private investigator with a werewolf
girlfriend, Shannon Ryan is used to the unusual. But her latest case has even
level-headed Shannon questioning reality. Joyce Bonner swears her daughter is
being haunted by a poltergeist. Charlotte Bonner swears she's not. Shannon has
one night to uncover the facts behind the supposed supernatural phenomena.
Between an over-enthusiastic ghost-hunter and her own scepticism, can she get
to the truth?
Available from – http://www.evernightpublishing.com/
Excerpt
Charlotte moaned again, mumbling something
incoherent and probably rude. She sat up slowly, as if she was moving through
tar. “Whassup? S’not time for school.”
“There
was a power cut,” I said in explanation. “We just wanted to make sure you were
alright.”
“I’m
fine,” she said irritably. “Just wanna sleep.”
Esther
fussed around her like a mother hen, fiddling with the duvet and muttering
about hormones. I was about to tell the au pair to leave Charlotte be when the
screaming started.
I’m
not ashamed to admit, I jumped. Esther did too, clutching at the bedpost for support.
Charlotte just groaned “What the fuck?” and buried herself under her duvet. I
wished I felt so apathetic. It was a woman’s scream, shrill and eerie, and once
again I was plunged back into the shadows of Paris. I didn’t want Ayla’s night
vision or sense of smell anymore; I just wanted Ayla.
I
sucked in a deep breath and reminded myself forcefully that there was no such
thing as ghosts. “We should go find out what that is,” I said, impressed at how
calm I sounded. Esther gripped my hand as we left Charlotte’s bedroom and I
squeezed her fingers as I would Ayla’s, missing the warmth and reassurance of
Ayla’s firm grip.
Taiki
was running down the hall when we came out, a torch in hand. “How amazing is
this? Actual manifestation! I can’t wait to see the data!”
I
snatched the torch from him since he was waving it around like a lunatic. The
beam wasn’t very bright, but I felt better with a light in my hand. The sound
of clanking blended in with the screams now, like some old brass machine full
of rusty gears. I gritted my teeth, hating the sound. “Where’s Joyce?” I asked
Taiki.
“In
the kitchen. Where’s Charlotte?”
“In
her room, trying to sleep through this racket.” I shone the torch around the
hall, not sure what I expected to see. My chest was tight with adrenaline, but
the longer I stood here listening to the awful noise, the less nervous I felt.
Noise was all it was. No slime dripping down the walls, no apparitions or
flying objects. It was surprisingly anti-climactic and I just wanted it to
stop. That meant finding out where it came from.
Without
waiting for the others, I ran down to the kitchen, calling Joyce’s name. She
sat at the kitchen table, head in her hands. I touched her shoulder lightly and
she jumped, slapping my hand away.
“Shannon!
Oh goodness, I’m sorry. I just…my nerves…I can’t take much more of this.”
“Then
let’s stop it,” I said. The noise wasn’t as loud down here, although I still
had to raise my voice to be heard. “Let’s get the lights back on, okay? Where’s
the circuit board?”
“In
the basement.”
Of
course it was. What horror film scenario was complete without a trip to the
basement in the dark? “Right, show me the way then.”
About the Author
My first love as a writer is urban fantasy,
quickly followed by werewolf myth and legend. The Urban Wolf series lets me
combine the two and put my own spin on them – what more could a girl want? When
I'm not writing, I'm probably creating my own perfumes, reading, watching wacky
documentaries and/or drinking fancy tea.
Find me online:
Twitter - https://twitter.com/naomi_jay
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/naomijclark
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