✨A WATTYS 2022 PARANORMAL & "BEST CHARACTERS" WINNER✨
A college basketball star risks everything to prove his innocence with a girl who can communicate with ghosts.
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Ace Jones isn't certain about a lot of things in life, but basketball has always...
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I CAN'T move.
I can't think.
I can't cry.
The only thing I can do is watch as Ace seizes up, his mouth and eyes twisting in pain. My heart thumps helplessly and a thousand voices scream at me to run. To get out of here. Because Ace is no longer going to be himself. He's going to be a vengeful demon in a body so much stronger than mine.
I gulp as the creature comes to consciousness through Ace's eyes. He takes a deep breath in through the nostrils, no doubt savoring the life he has stolen.
"Deeeevynn," it drawls in Ace's voice. "You've made me very, very angry." His brown eyes come over mine.
I shriek, remembering my legs, and bolt towards the door.
"Nuh uh," he says, running after me.
"Leave me alone!" I cry, terror shriveling all prior courage of mine.
Just as I grab the door knob, the demon presses a palm on the top part of the door. "Leaving so soon?" He tugs me away from the door.
I struggle against him, pushing and shoving to no avail. The demon slams me hard against the wall, scaring me to my very essence.
He clicks his teeth while I shiver beneath him, a million torments of what he might do to me next flashing across my mind—all in quick lethal scenes.
Snapping my neck.
Breaking my legs.
Suffocating me with his Ace's hands.
Forcing Ace to commit murder for real.
"Shhh," he says, smiling. He strokes my cheek with the back of his fingers. Then he leans in to whisper, "Open the portal and I'll release your friend."
Goosebumps rise like a crown, circling my neck and shoulders. I do nothing but tremble before him—a tear darts down my cheek.
"No?" He draws back, boxing me in with his arms. "You still won't do it?"
I look Ace in the eye and find the demon at the center of him to deliver all my hatred. "I. Can't."
He sighs with lightheartedness. The smile I've come to love so much on Ace now makes me sick to my stomach.
Another tear forms and falls. The demon leans in, licking it—his tongue pressed hard against my cheek.
I cringe.
He laughs. "Open the portal, Gatekeeper. I know you can. I've been watching you. Your aura is strong."
"Then you are sorely mistaken because I don't know how to do what you're asking."
He wags a finger. "Lie after lie. Is that all you do? I know your kind. You help the pale ones into the portal."
Damn. This demon has been around the block for some time, which means I can't convince him otherwise. Even if the ironic thing is that Aunt Atheena hasn't taught me how to do that yet. But she did say I can always turn to threats if nothing else works.
