Ashes to Ashes (Experiment in Terror #8) Read Online Free Page B

Soundless.
Tasteless.
    In front of me was my
grandmother, Pippa. She wasn’t close, just a few yards away, but
even then I could tell there was a marked change in her. Despite
the fact that she was dead, the times I had seen her in the past
she’d looked a lot more vibrant. Now she was skinnier, and dressed
in a shapeless dress and long coat that hung off her bones. Her
hair was thinning more, the curls dull. There was no makeup on her
face at all, making her look both more human and more
vulnerable.
    “ Pippa,”I
said, never feeling comfortable enough to call her Grandma. “Where
am I? Am I in the Thin Veil?”
    We are
somewhere I think is safe , she said
without speaking.
    Am I
dreaming ? I asked, remembering I could
just think it and she would hear it. I was wearing every day
clothes, not Dex’s t-shirt I fell asleep in every night.
This had to be a dream.
    She held my gaze steady, her
eyes still full of life even though the rest of her seemed to be
wasting away.
    I’m sorry I
haven’t been around , she said.
    I swallowed and nodded,
noticing the tense tone of her voice.
    Things are
changing over here , she said. Things are changing for me. I’m
afraid I won’t be able to see you very often.
    Why?
    I don’t know. But I feel it. I
know you can see it in me. Though I am dead, I am also dying. And
you…you are growing stronger.
    I bit my lip. I don’t understand. Stronger
how?
    You are able to put your
thoughts in other people’s heads and you’re starting to pick up on
their thoughts. Not with everyone, but with others like you. Like
me.
    So? I mean, what’s the use in
that? I don’t want that, I don’t want people to know what I’m
thinking, and I don’t want to know what they’re thinking.
    You will learn to block your
thoughts and learn to block theirs. But that is beside the point.
You are gaining these gifts at rapid speed, which means you have
the capacity for immense power.
    I’m not a fucking
superhero.
    Don’t swear,
Perry , she chastised me, her nostrils
flaring.
    Sorry, I replied.
    I’m trying to warn you.
    Then come out and say it. You
know this passive aggressive dilly dallying has never worked in my
favor.
    I would tell
you more if I knew for a fact, for certain. Alas, I do
not . She looked up at the sky, frowning.
I followed her gaze but saw nothing out of the ordinary for
whatever world we were in. She went on. But I do feel things, and I have…instincts…that I
never had when I was alive. The demons on the other side are
growing. The ones that make it through to the Veil are strong. The
ones who make it through to your side are even stronger. It gets
worse each year.
    My heart slowed a few
beats, but still I raised a brow, forcing myself to be cynical
rather than scared . Is that
so?
    She smiled lightly which
only made her hollowed out cheekbones more pronounced. You feel it. Everyone on your side
feels it. The disasters, floods, hurricanes, tornadoes,
earthquakes. The daily violence. The fall of humanity. Everything
crumbles for a reason.
    So what do I
have to do with the fall of humanity ? I
asked. What she said did make sense but you could probably say that
about humanity at any time during our planet’s history.
    You don’t have anything to do
with it. But maybe you will. Or someone you know will. Someone who
is as equally special as you.
    Dex , I said, exhaling
slowly.
    Yes, she said. I think he might be a target. Could be. Or maybe your
sister. Or maybe other people that I do not know. I just know that
when demons get to the other side, they look for a host and they go
after the ones with power.
    Been there,
done that , I said, narrowing my eyes at
the memory. Have the
t-shirt.
    This isn’t
the time for jokes, Perry .
    Well what the
hell am I supposed to do about it? I
asked, raising my hands in frustration. I don’t even know where I am and you’re telling me
that more demons are looking for people like me.
    Her eyes turned soft, her
mouth grave . I just wanted to
warn