Spirited by Shannon Delany, Judith Graves, Heather Kenealy, et al., Kitty Keswick, Candace Havens, Linda Joy Singleton, Jill Williamson, Maria V. Snyder Page A

see it.”
    Letitia wondered how she could see anything but the whites of Chris Beattie’s eyes, considering they’d been lip-locked since the yellow Grad Express pulled out of the school parking lot. She couldn’t help but notice, Chris kissed with his eyes open. Loser.
    The “it” in question was Franklin Castle, one of the most haunted houses in the entire country, according to Letitia’s research. She’d learned the mansion had recently been restored to its natural beauty—the big reveal coinciding with Cleveland High’s graduation celebration.
    How… lucky.
    Letitia peered over the sea of blonde curls as the bus rounded the corner. The stone mansion loomed on the corner of Franklin and 43rd, seemingly alone despite the modern homes surrounding it. Tendrils of ivy snaked their way up the walls to the tall tower window where human shadows sometimes lurked.
    Night had settled over the city, and a full moon spotlighted the infamous turret.
    Letitia sat taller and craned her neck to scan the window, but all remained still. Her cheeks heated with embarrassment. If her fellow students thought she actually believed in haunted houses, she’d be the laughingstock of the school.
    “I heard the last owner took a chainsaw to his whole family,” Carter Meade said. The sound of his voice—as if he hadn’t quite made it through puberty—always irritated Letitia.
    Isabella Carter puckered her lips. “That’s gross.”
    What’s gross is the shade of pink on your eyelids, Letitia considered whispering.
    Recently crowned prom queen, Isabella had her auburn hair pinned and curled, primed for the coveted cubic zirconia tiara. Letitia had no such ambitions. The glitter would clash with her oversized goggles. Steampunk style had yet to become popular in Ohio.
    As the bus pulled up alongside the six-foot wrought iron gate, Letitia’s pulse quickened. Students began filing out, crinoline swooshing, animated chatter betraying nerves, excitement, and impatience.
    “Don’t worry, I brought pepper spray,” Ava Smith whispered. At first Letitia thought the popular cheerleader was talking to her, but realized before answering that her comment was meant for David Greene, the senior jock.
    He nuzzled his face in Ava’s neck and murmured, “Is that to keep away the ghosts, or me?”
    Letitia smirked.
    Never mind surviving the spirits. She’d be lucky to survive a night with these tools.
    Ava’s snubs always stung the worse. Letitia’d yet to form a bond with any of her classmates, but she’d been drawn to Ava. She’d seen the lines across her skin, the telltale scars of a cutter.
    Ava had shrugged off the marks as cat scratches, and most believed her. Letitia knew better. She’d once caught Ava in the girl’s shower room watching fresh blood swirl down the drain. Ava hadn’t acknowledged her existence then, either.
    As Letitia stepped off the bus, chills ran along her arms despite the stifling air. A light fog hovered above the fence, and mist swirled from the ground like spirits waking from slumber. A dark cloud slid across the moon’s surface. Two antique streetlamps lit the cobblestone path to double front doors, ominous carved blocks of wood with two brass handles. A heavy, ringed knocker featuring the face of a snarling gargoyle was attached to the middle of the left door.
    How uninviting.
    “Should we knock?” one of the students asked.
    But the doors swung open almost magically, revealing a lobby alight with glittering candles and a soft—and familiar—classical melody. A giant chandelier welcomed the graduating class inside, and the students wasted no time entering, jostling and elbowing each other for the best vantage point.
    “You’re wise to stay back from the herd.”
    Letitia’s breath caught when she turned toward the young man standing before her. A crisp dress shirt was tucked into his white-and-black pinstriped pants. A tailored coat buttoned mid-chest left room for the goggles hanging around his