K.J. Emrick - Darcy Sweet 13 - Ghost Story Read Online Free

looked cute in an apron,” was her answer.  Andrew rewarded her with another kiss.
    Jon quirked an eyebrow at Darcy, with a smile to match.  He liked seeing their friend happy, too.  Darcy might have been the main reason Helen’s ex-husband had been arrested for murder, but it was Jon and Grace who had made the arrest.  If Andrew could make Helen happy again, that would ease a lot of bad memories for everyone.
    “So,” Andrew said to them, “I’ll go and get the desserts ready to serve.  Excuse me.”
    He headed off into the kitchen, the swinging doors slapping at each other as he passed through them.  The conversation lagged a bit at that point.  Everyone was full of good food, comfortable in their silence.
    Helen began humming to herself, nodding her head every so often, staring down at the table.  She picked up the cloth napkin from her plate and began twisting it back and forth in her hands.
    Across from Darcy, Addison began to fuss and stir in her carrier.  Grace rocked her back and forth gently and cooed softly until the baby settled again.
    “Thanks again for the invitation,” Jon said to Helen.  “What made you decide to have a party?”
    She looked up, her eyes going through Jon for just a moment before focusing again.  “Oh.  I, uh, needed to talk to all of you.  All of you.  You need to know.”
    “Hm?” Jon said, confused.  He leaned forward in his chair, looking at Darcy and Grace and Aaron to see if maybe they knew what Helen had meant.  “You need to tell us something?  Is it serious?”
    “Yes.”
    Darcy noticed the faraway tone in Helen’s voice.  Her eyes lost their focus again.  It was like their friend was here at the dinner table in her house with them, but at the same time, she wasn’t.
    Addison fussed again, making little upset baby noises in her sleep.
    “Helen, what’s wrong?” Jon asked her.  He was sitting on Darcy’s left, closest to Helen, and he reached out like he was going to shake her awake.
    She pulled back into herself, crossing her arms over her chest, hugging her shoulders.  Blinking rapidly, shaking all over, she twisted her head back and forth, back and forth.  “No.  No, no, no.  No, he wants me to tell you.  You need to know.”
    “Helen?”  Andrew had come back in from the kitchen, glass serving trays holding perfectly sliced pieces of cheesecake and lemon meringue pie.  He hesitated, sensing that something had happened in his absence but not knowing what.  “Is something wrong?”
    Helen’s chair crashed loudly to the floor as she sprang up to her feet and turned on Andrew, arm extended, her finger pointing accusingly.  “You!”
    Andrew took a step back from her.  Jon and Aaron both got up from their chairs slowly.
    Addison cried out, once, and then began pushing with all of her infant strength against the sling.
    Helen swung back to the table and Darcy saw the way her face had gone slack.  There was no emotion there at all.  None.  Her lips pulled back from her teeth harshly.  Her eyes rolled back into her head.
    And she spoke to them.
    “You!  All of you!  Listen to me.  The spirit of Nathaniel Williams commands you to listen!  You have taken for yourselves that which is mine!”
    Nathaniel Williams.  Darcy couldn’t believe what she was hearing.  The Pilgrim Ghost.  Helen was talking about the Pilgrim Ghost. 
    No.  Not talking about him.  Talking like she was him.  Her voice had changed.  It was more masculine, stronger, and there was a strange accent layered over the words.  Not quite British.  That wasn’t Helen’s voice.
    “Darcy…?” Jon said slowly, keeping his eyes on Helen.
    “I know.  It’s not Helen.”  Darcy understood why Jon had asked her for an explanation.  He knew when things had taken a turn into the weird, and Darcy was the expert on all things bizarre and strange. 
    Something else was controlling Helen. 
    She was possessed.
    Make it stop , came the words in Darcy’s mind.