Dead Girl Walking Read Free Page B

of the building.
    “Can't say I have. Have a good night.”
    Once Larkin was out of sight, Edon reached down and grabbed Leila's arm. He pulled her onto the back of the horse with him as he took off from the scene of the crime.
    “You have to take me back!” Ophelia slammed her fists into his back. He seemed to be the only one capable of seeing and feeling her existence.
    “That's why there's no communication with your previous life,” he said into the wind. He held the reins of the horse as they moved swiftly through the forest. “Besides, he couldn't see you or hear you, Ophelia.” It was the first time he'd called her by name. “How do you think you'll be able to communicate with him?”
    “You could tell him for me.” She doubted he would, but he was her last chance.
    “Right. That will go over so well. Me speaking for a dead girl. I don't think so.”
     
    Dawn broke over the horizon. “We're here.” Edon climbed off the horse.
    “What time is it?” Ophelia didn't feel tired. She didn't feel much of anything physically. Emotionally though, her fears and feelings were intact. She was beyond nervous as she looked at what Edon had referred to as the asylum. It was every bit as creepy as it sounded. Covered in three stories of beige and red bricks, it could be classified as a haunted house.
    “It's just after nine.”
    “Where is here, exactly?” It looked like a way station to Hell.
    “The asylum. Nestled in the southwest of Vera. We offer free room and board. Plus, I have a nice cozy office on the top floor.”
    Ophelia knew of Vera. It was a large peaceful country just south of her homeland. They were mostly known for farming, a quiet culture without a king. She wasn’t privy to their innermost politics, but she knew an alliance between Vera and Casmerelda had been born nearly one hundred years ago.
    “You expect me to stay here?” Could this day get any worse? Just yesterday she was at home in the warmth of the castle, studying with a tutor. Now, she was dead!
    “Consider your payment to be retirement when you're done. For now, you live here at the asylum, or you bunk up like Violetta and Emblyn, in reaper housing.”
    “I'll take the second option.” She didn't care who Violetta and Emblyn were. She could get along with anyone if it meant not living in the creepy asylum. Ophelia hesitated. She didn't even want to step foot inside.
    “We don't have all day. They're waiting for us.” He unlocked the door and stepped inside, waiting for Ophelia to follow him.
    “This is a new kind of hell. One for the living,” she said under her breath. Her eyes moved over the locked rooms and she followed closely behind Edon. “Is this really where crazy people go?” She'd heard of an asylum, but had never seen one, let alone stepped foot inside one.
    “I wouldn't use that word around here.” Edon kept his voice barely above a whisper. “Just stick with me, and you'll be fine.” He unlocked the back stairwell and led her up to the third floor. “This way.” He gestured toward the end of the hallway, insisting she follow. He pulled out another key, unlocking the door to a small room. Papers were askew on a desk in the corner. A bookshelf perched against a wall, filled with hand-written texts. Ophelia wanted to reach out and touch the books. He had acquired more books than years she lived. Three giant windows offered light into the room. Ophelia stepped inside. It looked far less frightening than the outside of the building, or even the first floor. So, this was a grim reaper’s office.
    Two girls waited on the sofa, talking quietly to one another. The closest one looked frightening, dressed all in black with black eyeliner and matching lipstick.
    “Violetta Mercier, I'd like you to meet Ophelia Dacre.”
    “Wow.” Violetta held out her hand. Ophelia hesitated before taking it. Apparently, she could interact with all grim reapers, just not the living. “So, it's true. The princess really is dead.