Nightshade: Kiss of Death (Book #1)

It didn't take me long to realize that the girl just standing feet in front of me was dead. The afternoon light made her already pale, blonde hair look almost transparent and lets just say that her skin wasn't exactly sun kissed. She could have easily passed for eighteen; except for the fact that her foggy eyes were wide with confusion and panic that made her slender face take on a more vulnerable look. I watched as she frantically tried to gain the attention of various teenagers who were dodging each other through the blue and gold halls ,trying to make it to their last class on time. At the sound of the bell the hallways were deserted and the girl gave a defeated sigh. 'Well now seems like as good a time as any'

I slowly made my way over to her in hopes of not to give her a heart attack, though I highly doubt that really mattered at this point. "Hey you, You can't stay here," I said shaking my head slightly.

Her head snapped up at the sound of my voice. Any confusion and fear left her eyes and was soon replaced with curiosity and suspicion. "You can see me?"

Now that I looked more closely, I could see a light gash on the left side of her face that seemed like it would hurt if her heart was still beating. Giving a slight nod I dare to take one more step towards the girl who's starting to resemble a lost dog looking for it's way home.

"Then why did everyone else pretend like I didn't exist? They looked right through me as if I wasn't even standing there!"

"I'm kind of a special exception, I guess. How do I put this? Um they acted like your were invisible because well you kind of are."

A bubble of laughter left her mouth ,which soon turned into a full blown fit, as I stared in shock. I've had spirits scream, yell, and even just stand there staring blankly at me; but never have I once seen one just start cracking up as if I had just said the funniest thing she's ever heard. Her laughter ceased as she straightened out from her bent over position and looked at me as if to say 'Did you hit your head?'

A pang of annoyance hit my stomach and worked it's way deeper into my consciousness, "Well more specifically, you're dead. About a day considering the size of your shadow." I said gesturing to the smoky black substance that surrounded her silhouette.

Everyone who has died develops a shadow that grows as each day passes after their death. If the person fails to move on to the Death Realm in time or passed away with negative feelings in their heart, their shadow consumes them. Turning what was once a human soul into a demonic monster. I've never seen it happen, but I have seen the outcome of this transformation. A human- no a person's soul turning into this totally different creature that's only out for two things. Blood, and destruction.

"What? I'm not dead," the blond scoffed as if I had just told her that she was ugly "Look I woke up today and everyone was acting as if they couldn't see me. I don't know if it's just some kind of sick joke, but I'm ready for it to be over. So if you don't mind I'm going to find someone who's not totally insane to help me."

She gave me a smile that dripped sarcasm and turned to leave but before she could, I wrapped my hand around her wrist in an attempt to stop her. Suddenly my vision became white and the scenery changed. I could see the same girl laughing at something that someone must have said, her golden hair being blown back from her face. It wasn't a natural wind though, she was in the passenger seat of a car. The person next to her leaned into her as if to whisper something before a loud boom echoed through the air and the last thing I saw before everything went black was pieces of glass falling freely around her like tiny, serrated snowflakes.

With a gasp I released the spirit who was currently staring at me with glassy eyes and a horrified look on her face, "What in the hell was that! Why did I see those things? I swear to God if this is some sort of sick prank, it's gone too far!"

I tried to swallow before any type of explanation made its way from my mouth but my throat felt dry and soar, "Sometimes when someone dies unexpectedly, they can loose their memories of what happened, causing them to become disoriented and confused. You said that you woke up today, but do you remember going to sleep?"

She opened and closed her mouth in an attempt to answer me but drew up a blank instead. Finally after a couple seconds of what seemed to be intense thinking she dragged her hazy gaze from the floor to meet mine, and in it was pure understanding.

"I really did die, didn't I?"

A small, sad smile was all that I could offer in an attempt of comfort. 'I have to be gentle, if I can convince her to pass on then I can save her'.

Something flashed in her face that looked like panic before she grabbed my hand, "What about Rian?"

At my confused face her grip tightened," Rian, my boyfriend. H- He was in the car with me when it crashed. He was the driver!"

" I'm so sorry, I haven't seen him. But it could be possible that he's alive or something so you don't need to panic yet!"

What was supposed to be a hopeful tone from me must have came across as something else to her because she let go of my hand and started walking away.

"Where are you going? You need to pass on before something seriously horrible happens to you!" I called out after her.

"I'm already dead, what else could possibly go wrong?" Her bitter tone didn't go unnoticed as she shimmered and then vanished.

A groan escaped my lips as I raked a hand through my raven hair. My aunt told me that it used to be a sandy blond before the accident. Now ever since then it's been the same color as a ravens feathers. The walk to my chemistry class was short as I found myself standing in front of the dull wooden door. Of course Mr. Bullard was sitting at his desk, a newspaper propped up to make him seem as if he were reading when in all actuality he was asleep.

A familiar golden mass of hair popped up at the sound of my bag hitting the floor next to my seat and the person turned to me.

"Well, well, well; someone seems down in the dumps."

Another groan comes as I lightly smack my head onto the desk, "Not. Now. Mads."

"Oh come on, lighten up Viv!" His semi-deep laugh filled the noisy class and next thing I know something heavy weighs my body down and my nose is bombarded with what smells like cologne and- oh God, is that dirty gym socks?

I shrug the heavy item, which turns out to be Mads' old leather jacket, off and throw it at him. "Jesus when was the last time you washed that thing? It smells like you left it in your Lacrosse locker for a month!"

Once again my mental best friend doubles over in laughter before he suddenly stops and he studies me with mischievous sea glass colored eyes. I feel my own widen as I scramble to back away from him now inching closer to me while holding up his jacket as if he's trying to catch a cornered animal.

"Don't you dare even think abo-"

My threat is cut short as the heavy leather once again get's thrown over my head and my lungs fill with what should really be considered poison. After about a good three minutes of gasping and struggling to push Mads away Mr. Bullard's voice lazily crosses the room.

"Mr. White, can you please refrain from suffocating the only person who ever does any work in this class? Ms. Carson, why didn't you just hit him?"

My hands go straight to my hair as the jacket is removed and Mads sits back down in his seat.

"Really Mr. B? You just encouraged violence among students and you're lecturing me?" Mads tsked. By now the entire class was used to his unusually loud behavior, but there were still a few glances in our direction. Some curious- some annoyed, it didn't bother him as much as it should though. If anything I feel more embarrassed by some of Mads' outbursts than he does. After the class settled down I rested my head on my arms and closed my eyes.

"Seriously Viv, what's wrong? Is it Sophia again?"

I couldn't help the small smile that etched itself onto my face. Though he was a bit loud at inappropriate times and had no filter, there was no one kinder than Mathias White. He was my first and only friend after the accident that killed my whole family, including myself. I was only four and since then I've been living with my dad's sister.

"No it's not her this time, she gave up on trying to act all authoritative. I guess she figured that I had one more year until I go to college so she doesn't have to pretend to play the parent card anymore," I sighed and just stared at the wall behind his head before continuing, "There was a spirit in the halls before class. She lost her memories and totally blew up on me when I returned them, then stormed off when I couldn't tell her if her boyfriend was dead or not."

His eyebrows shot up at the mention of the girl. It wasn't rare to see the dead walking around this dimension, but it was to see one having a panic attack because of memory loss. Ever since that stupid accident I've been able to use my five senses on the dead. So yup, that means that not only can I see and hear them; but I can also touch, smell, and even taste them if I wanted. Generous gift isn't it? I should be grateful for the fact that I got a second chance at life, but I can't help but feel like I was cheated. My parents are dead, I practically have no family, and my "gift" is being able to do something that all Nightshades can do and then some. Even so, I've always felt compelled to help whatever spirit I could pass on to a hopefully better place.

Seeing my creased brow Mads scooted his chair closer and put his large hand on my shoulder, "Hey come on. You know that you can't save every person that dies, it's just not possible. So what if some crazy chick get's mad that you didn't leave her wondering around until she became a blood thirsty demon, that's her fault. Not yours."

I shot him a 'Not helping' look that just made him crack another nearly blindingly bright smile. Almost as if a bucket of Ideas had been poured over my head, a thought filled my mind that made me shoot up from my dead position. Already knowing that those actions meant 'brilliant idea' in Vivian language, Mads narrowed his eyes as his smile turned into a grin.

"I know that look. That's the 'I've got a crazy idea that might get us in trouble but I don't care' look. What is it?"

Another smile made it's way onto my face as I said ," You know how when we were kids you always wanted to go ghost hunting? Well now's your chance, prepare to do some digging Maddy my boy."

Mads may be a jock, but he was actually the smartest kid in our school and there was one thing that he loved almost as much as he loved playing sports, and that was investigating. If you needed to find something out about any person or thing, Mads was your guy. The bell screeched just as he reached out to high-five me.

"I'll pick you up after your shift ends, then we can go to somewhere and start, K?" He called out from down the hallway as I undid my locker combo and grabbed my skateboard.

The wind rushed past me as I sailed down the sidewalk to my job at "Booker's", a small bookshop down town. It was a quaint little store that was painted red with a black sign hanging just above the door way and two medium sized shopping windows on either side. As I passed a nearby park I couldn't help but feel as though someone was watching my every move. Risking a glance behind me I sucked in a sharp breath. Staring from behind a shadowed cluster of trees was a jade colored pair of eyes. At first I wasn't sure if I had seen them correctly, but after blinking a couple of times and not seeing them disappear I did the only thing that came to mind: run. Adrenaline filled my veins making my heart pump faster and my legs push harder. Not soon enough I found myself gasping for precious air outside of Bookers' wooden door.

The door opened and a small, plump old lady with greying red hair jumped and gasped. "Oh dear Vivy, you scared the life from me. I was just going to see if you were down the street at the bakery when all of a sudden you look as if you'd seen a ghost!"

I laugh as she smiled at her own joke. Mrs. Jones is the owner of the store and my boss. She's a sweet old lady who knows me almost as well as Mads, and by knows me I seriously mean it. She's the only other person who knows about my little trip to the Death Realm besides my psychotic best friend. Her husband Michael, had been a Nightshade like me and in being a Nightshade, could see my shadow. I was twelve when I first wondered into their little book store. I would come in every day to check out a new book and eventually they offered me a job. Michael died three years ago so I try my best to visit Mrs. Jones as often as possible.

After apologizing profusely I explained to her that I was just running a little late from school. Being the forgiving lady that she was Mrs. Jones assured that it was fine and headed inside. Still feeling the lingering gaze of someone I chanced another glance around my surroundings; almost sighing in relief when I saw no one there before disappearing into the doorway.