GHOST SQUAD

CHAPTER 40- CONFRONTATION

Cora was silent for a minute. Finally, she said, "Before I answer, will you tell to me who taught you to use your powers?"

Alice sighed. "Mendaline,"

Cora scoffed, which sounded as if it took a lot of effort. "I should've guessed it was her," Cora said. "She's a pathetic teacher!"

Alice gritted her teeth. "If she was, I would've been dead by now."

"That's a long jump," Cora replied. "You'd probably be stuck with me, or have other ghosts haunt you, or you could be trapped in the world of the living and dead, or you would've gone blind, or your head would've burst out and then maybe, you'd die."

Alice closed her eyes, praying for patience. "Your point is?"

"Mendaline might have taught you to avoid all that, but she did miss out on one teeny tiny detail," Cora informed. "You could summon me in my worldly form."

Alice tried to act like she knew that. She wondered if Mendaline knew that as well or if was she as clueless.

"And why should I?" Alice asked.

"So perhaps you can face me?" Cora replied.

That was a valid reason. Despite how much Alice tried to, she couldn't block her mother's distorted face from her view. However, there was one problem.

"You don't know how to, do you?" Cora asked. There was no use hiding it now. Alice shook her head. "Can I teach you?" Cora offered.

"I don't seem to have a choice, do I?" Alice said.

"No," Her mother replied. "Anyway, instead of just picturing me, try to think about your time spent with me. Try remembering how my eyes looked, how I used to smile, how I used to stand, try and remember as much detail as possible."

"Should I leave out the part where you betrayed me and tried to kill my friends?" Alice asked. Still, her mind was already doing what Cora had asked.

"Focus on the good parts only, love." Her mother said, actually answering the question.

Alice closed her eyes and tried to summon a good memory spent with her mother. It was hard, but eventually, one such memory did appear in front of her closed eyelids.

Alice was fifteen, sitting on the kitchen chair, watching her mother put the tray of lasagne in the oven.

"How long, mama?" Fifteen-year-old Alice asked impatiently. "I'm starving!"

Her mother laughed. That time it had sounded melodious. "Almost done, my love,"

Alice was pulled back to the present by a satisfied sigh. She opened her eyes to see her mother standing in front of her. Not Cora, but her mother as she once knew her as, Sophie.

Alice tried to hold back tears as she saw her mother dressed in a familiar grey gown. Gone was her bloody hair. Instead, her hair was golden again and tied in a neat bun. Her mother's eyes were back to beautiful hazel eyes and she finally had lips. Her mother's face had regained its former glow.

"It feels so good to be back this way," Cora said, touching her face in awe.

"You got what you wanted," Alice said, trying not to stare at her mother's familiar face for long. "Now answer my questions!"

"What do you want to know?" Cora asked.

Alice blinked. She never expected Cora to give in this easily. "Who is Tristan?" Alice demanded. "You would never choose any random guy from the streets to be my best friend, would you?"

Cora nodded. "You're right, I would never," She confirmed. "Tristan's mother is...," She broke off. "was," She corrected. "Tristan's mother was my daughter."