Token of Darkness Read Online Free Page A

about it.”
    “Young or old? Unfinished business? Maybe a tragic death, murdered and dumped somewhere, and no one’s found her body and she desperately wants to make sure she gets a proper burial. That’s a little cliché, though. Maybe she
was
the murderer or she kidnapped someone, only then
she
died, and her victim is trapped somewhere and she can’t rest until the victim dies—or is rescued. That would be a cool story.”
    “Do you write?” Cooper asked.
    “Nah, I’m not creative,” Brent replied, straight-faced. “But your ghost—”
    “Doesn’t remember who she is or how she died,” Cooper said, before Brent could come up with another dozen scenarios. “But I think she’s young, our age, and from around here.”
    “Huh.” Brent paused again. “Amnesiac ghost. Trauma can bring on amnesia, and death has to be pretty damn traumatic. I wonder if a ghost could get psychotherapy? Or hypnotized?”
    “Let’s not go that route,” Cooper said, trying to derail what looked like it was about to lead into another list of possible plotlines.
    “Well … I’d check obituaries,” Brent said. “You need to figure out who she is and why she might be hanging around.”
    “And if she’s not in there?”
    “Check missing persons. There are lots of places online that have officially listed missing people, especially if she’s a kid. Or if you’re really brave, you—I mean, your
character
, of course—can go to the police station and say something like ‘I saw this girl the other day, and she looked a lot like someone I think I saw on a missing-person flyer in Boston,’ and see if they recognize the description.”
    “And if that doesn’t work?”
    “Well … psychics, I guess, would be your next stop,” Brent said. “A real psychic would be able to tell if your character is psychic himself, or if your ‘ghost’ is really a ghost. She could be something else.”
    “Like what?”
    “Anything. It’s your supposed book,” Brent said. “Maybe she’s an alien, existing on a slightly different plane of existence from us, and the passage to Earth was so traumatic she lost her memory of it and thinks she’s human since she’s surrounded by them. Or maybe she’s a fallen angel, and all her memories of Heaven were taken as punishment for her transgressions. Or maybe she’s actually some kind of demonic figure, sent to torment your protagonist, and she’s lying about not remembering who she is.”
    “Um … I think she’s just a regular ghost,” Cooper said. “Though those are interesting ideas,” he added, mostly to be polite.
    “You’ve pretty much admitted you don’t know a thing about ghosts, so how can you be sure she’s just the ‘regular’ kind?” Brent challenged. “She doesn’t sound like a regularkind to me, not if your character can see her and talk to her and she isn’t angry or anything. Maybe you should stick to writing football stories.”
    Cooper decided not to be offended, if only because Brent had said the words with a quirked smile, the jibe meant in good humor.
    “There’s nothing in here about ghosts like that?” Cooper asked, waving to all the books around him.
    “Not really,” Brent said. “Most ghosts tend to be location-specific. They’re rarely seen. Even ghosts who haunt people tend not to be very communicative outside of a séance or something. You’re sure your character hasn’t desecrated any graves lately? Maybe an Indian burial ground or an ancient pagan temple?”
    “Pretty sure,” Cooper answered, smiling despite himself. It was the longest conversation he had had with anyone but Samantha since the accident, and even if it wasn’t remotely helpful, it felt good to joke around with another
living
human being.

B rent regarded the guy next to him in a vaguely clinical fashion. He had recognized Cooper Blake pretty quickly as one of the receivers from the public high’s football team. They had actually met once, at a New Year’s Eve party