AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Zoe drew a startled breath, before she laughed in relief. What was it with these ghosts and their terrible intuition?
“That’s not…”
“Oh, there’s no use denying it, darlin’. My bartender’s intuition isn’t tingling for nothing!” Misty floated through the air and batted her eyelashes suggestively. “Let me guess. Does your heart flutter whenever you lay eyes on him? Do your fleshie hands grow clammy to the touch? Do you lie awake at night, tossing and turning, wishing he’d join you in those silk sheets of his?”
“No, listen, you’ve got this wrong.”
“Love can bloom in the most unlikely of places, even here in the Underworld. And who knows, it might just be the very thing to bring the magic back to this place. But for now, it will be our little secret.” Misty let loose a high-pitched titter, before she dusted her hands on her apron. “Now, you’ll have to excuse me, ma’am. The Spectral Soirée is right around the corner, and there’s so much to do. The catacombs need sweeping, the invitations need to be sent, and every gravestone needs to sparkle!”
Without another word, Misty disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving nothing but the lingering scent of her perfume behind. Zoe groaned in despair as she thought of the ghost’s so-called bartender’s intuition. Sure, Shadow’s godly looks and brooding charm might appeal to some, but Zoe simply didn’t have the time to have a crush on anyone. Besides, she might have seen several unbelievable sights during her time in the Underworld, but there was one thing that its magic couldn’t overcome. The living just simply didn’t date the dead.
“Fleshie alert! Fleshie alert!”
Zoe snapped out of her thoughts as Spooks sped into the saloon bar, wailing in the perfect imitation of a police siren. He approached in a cloud of blue smoke, while his eyes gleamed with one thing. Mischief.
“Spooks, what’s the matter?”
“I’ll tell you what’s the matter.” Spooks skidded along the saloon bar, before he came to a screeching stop before her. “You fleshies are like busses in the night. You wait five hundred years for one to come along, and then two of you arrive at once!”
Zoe drew a breath in surprise. “You mean, there’s another human in the Underworld?”
“Bingo! Which means it’s time for us to have some fun…”
Zoe groaned as the poltergeist broke into a roguish smile. “I’ve told you, I don’t have time for fun. I need to focus on work…”
“Exactly! And if you’re going to write an award-winning scoop about this town, then you’ll need to see how we pass the time here.” Spooks chuckled in delight. “Which means it’s time for a game of Frighten the Fleshie!”
“I really don’t have time for…”
Zoe yelped as Spooks took her hand, and pulled her at top speed into the desert. With a merry toot, he chugged along like a runaway steam train, emitting clouds of blue smoke that drifted into the sky.
“Oh, there’s nothing quite like a game of Frighten the Fleshie! Trust me, you haven’t lived until you’ve played it.” Spooks plucked a gigantic glowing water gun from thin air, with a maniacal cackle. “It’s the perfect opportunity to give the Ecto-3000 its first outing! This way, your fleshie friend will find it impossible to ignore me!”
Zoe shook her head in despair. Even without her gift, she couldn’t help but think it was impossible to ignore the mischief-making jester. They veered towards a patch of overgrown shrubbery, before Spooks skidded to a halt and pointed to a gap between the snow-covered branches.
“Over there!”
Zoe parted the branches, and peered into a small clearing perched on a cliff edge, that overlooked the valleys below. A parked car stood idle nearby, while a figure of a man stood in the shadows, talking loudly on his phone.
“You see!” Spooks readied the glowing gun, and pointed the oversized barrel towards himself. “Oh, this will be so much fun. If my calculations are correct, one shot from the Ecto-3000 and I’ll glow brighter than a firefly convention. Finally, I’ll get to perform my best pranks and tricks for fleshie eyes!”
“I don’t know about this, Spooks…”
“Oh, lighten up a little.” Spooks somersaulted through the air, before he fired up the gun. “Now, let’s give him the fright of his life on the count of three. One…”
Zoe pulled the branch lower and peered into the clearing. There was something so familiar about that man’s voice. And she couldn’t help but get the feeling that she’d heard it before.
“Two…”
A series of strange flashing lights and beeps erupted from the gun, while a glowing mass of goo bubbled excitedly inside. But despite the spectacle beside her, Zoe peered closer at the man in the clearing.
“One!”
Zoe drew a startled breath as the man stepped from the shadows and into the sunlight. She turned to the poltergeist in horror as the gun whirred to life.
“Spooks, no!”
Zoe braced herself as a click of the trigger filled the air. She waited for an explosion of goo. For a spectacle of lights. For pandemonium to erupt. But as a foul-smelling smoke drifted from the barrel of the gun, Spooks peered at the gadget in confusion.
