“Do you still believe that I am only a dream?"-Alastor”

“That empty sick feeling came over me again. In a big school it was easy to fade into the background, but I didnt know if that would be possible here. I tried not to think about it anymore.”

“What was I was dying for? The sins of the past? The wrongs of the present? Did it even matter?”

“Being dead does have its advantages.-Alastor”

“I bolted upright in my bed, gasping for air and still feeling his touch on my hand. I could feel him watching me. I could feel him waiting for me.”

“Being dead does have its advantages.”-Alastor”

“But this time as soon as he moved she began to fade. He stopped at once, not breathing again, motionless, willing his eyes to see that she had stopped too. But she had not stopped. She was fading, ...”

“Nico knew something about ghosts. Letting them get inside your head was dangerous. He wanted to help Reyna, but since his own strategy was to deal with his problems alone, spurning anyone who tried...”

“It was all real and blazing with detail. But I was shadow, light as mist, mute as the wallpaper.”

“She sensed her own power to enslave him. He would come willingly enough. No filthy atheistic beliefs she held were strong enough to douse what was crackling in the brief space between them. It woul...”

“Tugging her purse strap up on her arm, she headed for thedoor. You have my cell number. Ill text you. If something goeswrong and he pulls an axe, youll be the first person I call.Michelle groaned. ...”

“So you know you're a ghost?"I looked at my hands; they were transparent and glowed faintly. "Can you think of another explanation?”

“I woke up as the sun was reddening; and that was the one distinct time in my life, the strangest moment of all, when I didn't know who I was - I was far away from home, haunted and tired with trave...”

“I let out a laugh that sounded more like the yip of a startled poodle. "Superp-powers? I wish. My powers aren't winning me a slot on the Cartoon Network anytime soon... except as a comic relief. Gh...”

“To be haunted is to glimpse a truth that might best be hidden.”