Kylie nodded. "I know, and I love him, too." She recalled her conversation with her mom. "But what about parents' weekend in a few weeks? My mom is already making plans. She wants John and me to ...

bond." Kylie's mind created an image of being forced to be polite to her mom's boyfriend for a whole freaking weekend. Good lord, the last time she saw the man, she'd completely lost it and was slinging insults at him left and right. It was like she couldn't stop herself. He brought out the bitch in her big time.

Holiday dropped on the edge of the bed. "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it." But Kylie saw the concern flicker in her eyes.

Kylie hugged her knees tighter. "To be honest, I wouldn't mind not being able to make that weekend. So if you can find a way to call that off, I won't fight you on it. You've got my word."

Holiday sighed with sympathy. "Now ... what's this about a spirit carrying around a head?"

Kylie rolled her eyes. "You mean your ghosts don't do that?" she asked with sarcasm.

Holiday chuckled, even though Kylie hadn't really meant it to be funny. "I had one toting around his own arm and leg for a while. He'd lost it in an accident and wouldn't put it down. It was pretty gross."

"Lucky us," Kylie said, but then she thought about the spirits at the graveyard, and felt bad for being so cynical. Most of them were simply lost souls looking for a little help.

Holiday reached over and pressed a hand on her arm. "Lucky them to have us," she said as if she'd read Kylie's mind, or at least her emotions. "But not all of them deserve our help. I've told you this before, you can send them away. You have every right to say no to some of them."

"I know, and I tried, but I guess I didn't do it right. Or maybe I didn't try hard enough."

"From what Burnett told me, I think sending this spirit away is a wise thing. What's this about herwanting you to kill someone? Has she told you who it is?"

"No. She's short on facts like all ghosts. I'm not even sure if she knows the answers."

"Does she feel evil?"

Kylie thought about it a minute. "Yes and no. I mean, she's not an angel. She admitted she's killed a lot of people. Most of the times when I see her she has blood on her hands, but it almost seems like she feels guilt for it. Or at least sometimes she does," Kylie said, remembering how callously she'd carried around the severed head. "But I don't think she's out to hurt me. I even asked her if she was trying to take me to hell."

Holiday raised a brow. "And you think she'd admit it if she was?"

"No, but she didn't out and out deny it as if it was a lie. She matter-of-factly told me that she wanted me to send someone else to hell. And I think the whole head thing was because I started ignoring her. She just wanted to get my attention."

"And I bet it worked," Holiday said.

"Pretty much," Kylie said. "Kinda hard not to pay attention to that." She shivered, remembering the image of the head.

"I still think sending this one packing might be a good thing."

"I know, and last night I was even thinking it was a good thing to do, but there's one thing that makes me question doing that."

"What?" Holiday asked, and brought one of her legs up on the bed.

Kylie sighed. She hadn't really been too concerned about this earlier, but right now it seemed like something she should consider. "She says that if I don't do it, if I don't kill this person, that I'm the one who's going to die."

Holiday's brow tightened. "Okay, that does kind of put a new slant on things. Do you get the feeling she's trying to protect you, or just cause harm to someone else?"

Kylie considered the question. "I think she's doing both. I don't know why she would want to protect me. But then again, last night when Derek and I were leaving the compound, she's the one who told me to go to the graveyard. I think she was helping me."

Holiday frowned. "Okay, keep her around for now. But for God sakes, be careful. You've already got someone from this world trying to hurt you, you don't need someone from the afterlife trying to do you harm, too. You are too special for anyone to want to hurt you."

Holiday's words repeated in Kylie's head and she had a flash of someone else saying words so similar. Someone with green eyes and golden flecks, and warm ... lips. Suddenly, she recalled part of the dreamscape, an important part of it. The part where Derek kissed her.

"Oh, crap!" she muttered, and dropped her head into her hands. "What have I done?"

"What?" Holiday asked.

Kylie looked up at her. "In the dreamscapes, the person who initiates the dream is in control, but the person who is brought into it, she can stop things from happening, right?"

"Right. As long as she feels strongly about it not happening."

"Shit," she muttered again, because she recalled feeling confused about what she did and didn't want.

Confused about what was right and what was wrong. And if she was confused in the dream, then she might have let things happen that shouldn't have happened.

"Oh, damn," she said, and tried to remember the rest of the dream. Then she looked back up at Holiday."Shouldn't I be able to remember everything?"

"Yes, except..." She made a face as if she didn't think Kylie would want to hear the rest. "Except when you're really exhausted."