I’m too terrified to breathe. The ghost is a woman, tall, severe, eyes narrowed. She’s floating a few inches off the ground and wearing worn leather shoes, a flowy blue dress with a white apron, and a checkered headband. She’s maybe in her fifties. She doesn’t seem as old as Grampire, but she does have little crows feet around her piercing, otherworldly blue eyes. Her outline is blurry, like someone tried and failed to erase pencil marks at the edge of her skin and clothes. Her body has a slight blue, washed-out tinge, and she’s entirely translucent; I can see a cloudy version of room 2A through her. There’s also a dark bruise on the right side of her neck, and faded blood stains her otherwise immaculate apron.

  “And who are you?” The ghost’s voice booms, rattling the random trinkets in the room, and my body shudders. I’m halfway to a transformation before I stop myself. I don’t want any trouble, and transforming automatically translates to a threat. Besides the fact I don’t want to fight anyone, I’m not confident in Grampire’s Eyes-Throat-Belly theory in relation to a ghostly apparition. My teeth would phase right through her. No, I have to be calm and friendly, and hope she’s just a ghost and not a poltergeist.

  “I-I’m Malia! Nice to meet you…?” I trail off, waiting for her to introduce herself, but the ghost doesn’t seem to hear me. She looks around 2A, her eyes glowing brighter and her form getting blurrier by the second.

  “What have you done to this room? Are you stealing from me?”

  “No! No, I swear, I wasn’t stealing anything.” My voice is a terrified squeak and my palms are slick with sweat. Grampire…please get home soon. “I was just cleaning up. There was a lot of trash, so I got that out, but I’m just organizing everything. Promise.”

  The ghost narrows her eyes at me, then at my various piles. She glances at the open trunk at my feet and then, thankfully, her scowl turns into a small smile. “I see. It does appear cleaner.”

  “Yes! I’m sorry if I moved anything I wasn’t supposed to, but I haven’t thrown anything away yet.”

  The ghost considers me for a second. Her body becomes clearer and her dress stops billowing in invisible wind. She touches her feet to the floor and for a second, she seems like an ordinary woman (albeit with a spectral glow). “My apologies, Malia, there seems to have been a misunderstanding. But it’s not me you need to worry about. You must have a death wish sneaking into the Bonecrusher’s lair.”

  Oh, she’s just warning me about Grampire. Some of the hair on the back of my neck smooths down. “No, ma’am, I don’t. I’m actually staying with Gram—I mean, the Bonecrusher right now.”

  The ghost’s eyebrows shoot up her forehead. The motion causes several wrinkles to form in her pale skin. “You mean for me to believe that mean old vampire is allowing you to live here?”

  “Yes, ma’am. I know it’s kind of unbelievable, considering how much she hates visitors. But I messed up her front door and she’s making me fix it before I go.” Not that I have anywhere else to go, but that doesn’t seem like a first-meeting conversation.

  The ghost disappears without warning. I jump, but just as the temperature in the room starts to creep back up, she reappears. She laughs, her voice booming like thunder overhead. “I’ll be! You tore that door right up. So, are you her prisoner?”

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  “You know, I brought that up once and she didn’t like it.”

  The ghost laughs again and my body slowly relaxes. Her voice is getting softer and the temperature in room 2A isn’t as frigid as it was before. She seems to be in a good mood now.

  “Can I ask your name? Oh, and do you live here? I should have asked…”

  The ghost smiles at me, her blue eyes flashing in the poorly lit bedroom. “I’m Raina. And please don’t apologize, you couldn’t have known! I’m only here on Thursdays.”

  Oh. Oh! That’s why Grampire asked what day it was. What else did she tell me again?

  “Anyway, I’m worried for you, little lamb,” Raina interrupts my thoughts. Her expression turns grave. “You are in great danger by being here.”

  “Umm…from what?”

  “From the vampire!” Raina puts her hand over her heart. “She murdered me, you know.”

  My blood runs cold. No…surely not? I struggle to imagine Grampire murdering someone. Well, she did punch the Wizard’s teeth out, but that was self-defense! And if Raina was a human, well, I mean, Grampire is a vampire… “I’m really sorry, but vampires do have to drink blood. Hopefully it wasn’t painful?”

  Raina gapes at me. “I-I can’t—no! She murdered me not for food reasons, but for sport.”

  “Oh.” I’m still doubtful. Sure, Grampire is intense, and can be violent, and her methods are mean-spirited and unorthodox, and she does terrify everyone she meets…okay, yeah, I’m hearing it now. “Please explain. Did you provoke her?”

  Raina snorts. “You’re too naive, my young friend. Come with me.”

  The ghost floats out of the room, her shoes skimming the path I made between the piles. I hurry to follow her into the hallway, dodging the furniture I stored out here, and Raina leads me downstairs. She stops floating beside Grampire’s armchair and points to the pile of human bones that rest beside it.

  “Child, do you know what these are?” Raina asks.

  “Umm, bones…?”

  “Correct.” Raina takes (an unnecessary) deep breath. “Mine are in here. Along with my entire family’s.”

  I grimace at the bone pile. That’s not a good case for Grampire. “Are you sure you didn’t provoke her? She hates being bothered.”

  Raina’s outline gets blurrier and her eyes blaze with anger. “I’d know what caused my own death, thanks. That foul creature broke into my home and murdered me in my bed. She choked me out before I could even scream.” Raina points to the dark bruise on her neck.

  That does look like a nasty injury…probably one that was enough to kill someone. But I just can’t see Grampire killing someone unprovoked. She normally just wants to be left alone.

  Raina sniffles and dabs her eyes with her ghostly apron. “I watched, helpless, as she went room by room and slaughtered my family and our guests. She started with the kids, you know. Precious lives, snuffed out without a second’s hesitation.” Raina touches a hand to her chest again and blinks tears from her eyes. “The others moved on, but I promised I’d remain behind to warn any unsuspecting souls of her wrath.”

  My hair is starting to stand up again. I don’t want to believe the ghost’s story, but I don’t actually know anything about Grampire. She won’t even tell me her name; I had to find out that she has a kid on accident! She’s been kind to me, but maybe that kindness is limited. Grampire could be a serial killer, and I’d never even know.

  “You should beware,” Raina warns, her eyes glowing like twin blue coals. “I’ve seen the vampire invite many guests to this house. And none have left.”

  Thunder rumbles in the distance. I swallow the lump in my throat. As scary as this story is, Grampire has always helped me. I can’t forget that, beef with the humans who lived here before or not. “I don’t believe you. Grampire’s been nothing but nice to me.” Well, usually. Except for right before she left.

  “Then believe this!” Raina gestures at the door. I turn, surprised, and heavy footsteps drag up the porch steps outside. Grampire kicks open the door, splinters flying into the house from the momentum. Lightning flashes, illuminating her form.

  Her entire nightdress is soaked with fresh blood.