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    The Ghost Crow
    The Ghost Crow
    The Ghost Crow
    Ebook74 pages1 hour

    The Ghost Crow

    By M. K. Theodoratus

    ()

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    About this ebook

    Seeing ghosts has plagued Dumdie Swartz since early childhood. Afraid that ghost guts might stick to her if she stepped through them, thirteen-year-old Dumdie Swartz still cringes when she encounters them. Her strange attempts to avoid spirits create a lonely life. Her sisters constantly mock her strange behavior, her parents are clueless, and her social life is zero. Dumdie finds solace working in a shared garden with her elderly neighbor, Mr. Carson. When teens from her high school steal pumpkins from his garden, Mr. Carson is hurt during the theft, and later, dies. Dumdie’s life takes a dark turn. She learns there are stranger things than ghosts, when she senses something evil living in Kyle, one of the boys who had raided the pumpkin patch. Kyle bullies Dumdie to scare her into silence. The more Kyle threatens her, the clearer she perceives the evil thing possessing him. Dumdie finds support in an unlikely group of girls who befriend her when she helps them with their costumes for the Pumpkin festival. During the festival, Dumdie’s fears explode when the thing possessing Kyle decides it wants to possess her.

    This is a prequel to The Ghost in the Closet. Read about Dumdie, young and old.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherM. K. Theodoratus
    Release dateMar 1, 2015
    ISBN9781310487644
    The Ghost Crow
    Author

    M. K. Theodoratus

    "Fantasy is a wonderful way to run away from the mundane,” sez me. Others say, "M.K. Theodoratus is a captivating storyteller who prefers the power of short stories. Theodoratus has been in love with fantasy since first discovering the Oz books as a child. She has never stopped delving into the fantasy worlds of other writers. She became inflicted with an addiction to story and writing after creating a Nancy Drew fan fiction novel for a school assignment. Her incomplete assignment turned into her first novel the summer after the sixth grade. Now, Theodoratus has created the worlds of Andor and Far Isles Half-Elven for readers to get lost in. Andor is populated with stalking demons, always hunting for unsuspecting humans to prey on and terrorize, and magic. The Far Isle Half-Elven is a society in upheaval as genetic drift of the hybrid human-elf population changes everything from relationships to politics. Check out her short stories about Andor and the Far Isles, some of them free. M.K. Theodoratus loves connecting with fans. Check out her author hub for news and snippets of upcoming work at http://www.mktheodoratus.com. You can read and comment on her blog, find her on Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, and Google+.

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      Book preview

      The Ghost Crow - M. K. Theodoratus

      The Ghost Crow:

      A Tale of Andor

      By

      M. K. Theodoratus

      Copyright © 2014, M. K. Theodoratus

      Smashwords Edition

      All Rights Reserved

      No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the author, except for use in reviews or critical analysis.

      Crossings is entirely a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is purely coincidental.

      For more information about M. K. Theodoratus’ fiction, visit http://www.mktheodoratus.com or read the comments at the end of this novella.

      The family car prowled the parking lot of the state park as Herfather searched for an open space. He muttered curses under his breath. Other kids called their male parent dad or pop, but Dumdie Swartz never could remember doing that. The words had never made any sense to her in reference to the cold man before her. He had been Herfather to her for since forever.

      Dumdie clutched her arms tight to her body, holding back a scream when he drove through a group of ghostly soldiers standing at attention, wishing he could see the specters as plain as she did.

      Please. Let the ghost guts stay on the outside of the car.

      Ghosts turned her blood cold. She didn’t understand them, and she knew no one to ask about them. She was the only person she knew who saw the remains of people floating around or acting like wispy people, who sometimes could grab you if you weren’t careful. She gave up long ago trying to explain why she twitched and cringed when she saw cold misty people no one else could see. The others in Herfamily thought she was crazy or pretending or seeking unwarranted attention.

      The sharp scent of pine needles, spicing the air of the state park, entered the open window, giving Dumdie a hint of normalcy. She clenched her fists in her lap and closed her eyes. She couldn’t remember ever being like the other kids at school or anywhere.

      More ghosts appeared in the parking lot. Wide-eyed, Dumdie Swartz recoiled against the seat. She’d never seen so many ghosts at one time. Her panic rose like sour bile in her throat. Everything was changing. The specters were becoming sharper and harder to ignore.

      Hah!

      The big family sedan darted forward, stopping just inches from the bumper of a car pulling out of a space. Herfather waited patiently as it maneuvered among the people walking towards the reenactment ceremonies. Dumdie huffed for air, waiting for more ghosts to appear in the empty spot. Luckily, this time everyone in the car ignored her in their excitement. Herfather followed the car closely so no other car could steal the space.

      How can they like going to strange places?

      Sue, her older sister and worst tormenter, pinched her arm. Don’t you go all weird on us. I saw all sorts of kids I know from school here, she whispered. I don’t want them to see me with you drooling like an idiot.

      Pulling her arm away, Dumdie hunkered down as a ghost floated across the hood. The trip was supposed to be fun. Herfather said it would be fun. It wasn’t supposed to be a ghost convention. Dumdie could feel the terror rise in her throat, but knew her male parent wouldn’t help her. I should have stayed home, where I’m safe.

      But that morning at breakfast, Hergrandma had coaxed her to join the family outing when Herfather had thrown his hands in the air as she refused to go on the outing.

      For once, Herfather’s muttering was clear. Why can’t we do something like a normal family? Half the town’ll be there.

      Please, child. Keep peace in the family, Hergrandma had said.

      Hermother, who loved to sew, added, You might enjoy it. All the enactors’ll be wearing authentic period costumes.

      Hergrandma reached across the kitchen table to pat her hand. You like history. You’ve read two history books since I’ve been here.

      Dumdie had given in. Now wished she hadn’t joined Herfamily. I’m going step through one of the cold, clammy things. My own innards’ll freeze. There’s way too many ghosts to avoid all of them, especially if I walk with my family. They always barge right through the ghosts.

      The doors of her car popped open as soon as the engine stopped. Sue and Lizzy, her nicer sister, bounded away. To prove her reasoning, Sue and Lizzy plowed through a group of three misty soldiers. Dumdie stopped at the side of the path.

      Dum – dieeeeee!

      Hermother’s shriek rose like an opera singer’s, but Dumdie’s feet refused to move. She wanted Dumdie act normal, like her sisters. Dumdie’s avoidance tics made Hermother nervous. She glanced at her parents as they whispered together and glanced at her.

      Words drifted towards her. Crazy. Can’t you control her? People are looking at us.

      Dumdie wondered what their reactions would be if she didn’t move from the parking lot. If she just stayed in the car.

      I should’ve stayed home. Why wouldn’t Myfather let me stay home?

      Her feet shuffled forward but came to a halt at the path to the fort’s grounds and stopped. Ghosts in hooped skirts and military uniforms crowded

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