Bone Cold: A Soul Shamans Novel (Volume 2) Read Online Free PDF Page B

out a movie, slid it into the DVD player, and ordered a massive pizza buffet. A couple of hours into the feast, the half-assed movie watching, and the lighthearted chatter, I started to relax. George and Laura got started on the beer when the first movie’s credits filled the screen, but I opted for water after last night’s mess.
    “So, you keep saying Seaport’s like Salem.” I tossed Pulp Fiction onto the maybe pile for our next film choice.
    “Yep.” George grabbed another slice of pepperoni. “In the time since I’ve been here, a girl’s been attacked by a ghost, and I’ve been invited to a house full of ancient artefacts. Not normal. Neither is Salem.”
    “Give it a chance,” Laura said around a mouthful of pizza. “Seaport’s not so bad most of the time. Today is a perfect example of its awesome normalcy.”
    My fist pounded my chest when I coughed out a nervous laugh. I decided not to mention that I wasn’t so sure Laura was right about that, not anymore. The weirdness in Seaport had lain dormant for a long time, but I was pretty sure it had only been on intermission. Weird was quickly becoming Seaport’s new normal.
    “Even though things have definitely started off on a crazy foot for you here, I don’t think Seaport and Salem are that similar,” I finally said. “Mom and I visited Salem a few years ago, and it just seemed like a big tourist trap.”
    “Things aren’t always what they seem.” George’s smile turned knowing, like she held some deep dark secret inside her chest about Salem, Massachusetts. One I actually kind of wanted to know. It seemed Laura felt the same as she gave me a quick glance before cocking her head toward George.
    “So, why you’d leave?” Laura leaned forward and snatched the last slice of pizza from the now-empty cardboard box.
    George sighed and leaned back into the couch. “To get away from all that. I hated the drama. I’m telling you, Salem was just like Seaport. Exactly.”
    George’s words hung heavy in the air, and I wondered if she really meant them. If Seaport was just like Salem, then it sounded as if she believed in witches and magic and all the other stuff people laughed out of town.
    It also made me wonder if she was right about the similarities. Salem wasn’t that far from Seaport after all. Maybe magic used to exist there, too, and it had seeped into the stones and spread across the foundation over the years. Maybe being so close to Salem was what brought magic to Seaport in the first place. Mom had always said this town was a special places for shamans. This could be the reason why.
    “So, you’re killing me here. What exactly happened?” I asked, unable to control my curiosity.
    “Let’s just say this isn’t the first time I’ve been in the same vicinity as a ghost.”
    I bit the insides of my cheek to keep from smiling. Despite all her talk, George didn’t actually know anything about the spirit world. Not if she thought those soul suckers were ghosts. She probably hadn’t even had a run-in with anything supernatural at all. It was a little disappointing to find out that George was just another human with an overactive imagination, but ghosts didn’t exist. Period.
    “We need way more details than that,” Laura said, twirling her nose ring.
    A wicked grin split George’s lips as she met Laura’s intense gaze. “Over my dead body.”
    Laura’s cheeks flushed with color as she glanced away, her usual snarky retorts absent for once.
    An idea sparked in my mind. “You know, George. If I remember correctly, you were the last one in the water last night.”
    Slowly, a smile crept into Laura’s eyes. “You’re so right, my friend. George finished last, and therefore…”
    “She has to subject herself to Wanda’s infamous tarot card reading.”
    “You can’t be serious,” George said. “I didn’t escape Salem to spend my Saturday afternoon doing tarot cards with a hack.”
    “Hey, when you take on a dare, you have to be