How to Change Your Stars

Chapter Three ~ Leap of Faith

Sam crossed his arms behind his back. There it was, the look he'd had in the photograph. His eyes darkened and his face became expressionless, like a canvas scrubbed clean.

"I didn't mean it must be nice to be dead," Ari amended. She picked at the stargazer lilies stitched onto her jacket. "I meant it must be nice to not feel things."

"There are times when I wish I could," he replied.

"I'm sorry." The wind took Ari's apology and volleyed it between them, unsure it would be accepted.

Sam's features eased back into a grin. "No harm done. Being a ghost does have its merits. It's taught me two things, at least: patience and how to efficiently spy on people in their baths."

"You'd better not ever spy on me. I'll murder you." Ari gasped and clapped a hand over her mouth.

Sam raised an eyebrow. "Is that so? I was murdered once already. I believe it's a once-in-a-lifetime kind of thing."

Ari's face grew warm. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

"Now there's something I've missed."

"What?"

"Making a lady blush." Sam tugged a silver watch from his coat pocket and twirled the chain around his finger. "As you can imagine, I haven't met with the opportunity in a long while. There's a shocking lack of modesty in the afterlife."

"Oh," was all Ari could manage.

Sam glanced at the watch before tucking it back into his pocket. "I shall return . I have something important I wish to discuss with you."

Ari's teeth began to chatter. "All right. Do you want to m-meet out here?"

"Of course not. I wouldn't want you to catch cold."

Ari imagined her mother overhearing. The house was out of the question. Maybe not, she thought. He did say midnight. Her mom always took a sleeping pill before then. "How about m-my bedroom?"

Sam looked thoughtful. "I suppose, although now that you've invited me I would suggest you dress decently at all times." He tapped one gloved finger against his cheek. "But not in the bath of course."

"You-"

"Now, now. Save the pet names for later." His mouth turned up at the corners, the ghost of a smile. "Until midnight, Miss Jones." His voice whispered on the air, even after he'd faded from sight.

###

A scent like burning matches met Ari's nostrils. It permeated the stifling air. Her first reaction was alarm, but this wasn't her room. It wasn't even her house. Her alarm intensified.

She stood in the middle of a darkened hall. Silence pressed heavily on her ears. A flickering yellow light sliced through the shadows thicketed around her. She took a deep breath and moved toward it. It grew larger and larger until she could see a doorway. Light poured out, revealing columns on either side. The images carved into them resembled a Rodin sculpture: skeletal figures with despairing faces, their mouths open in silent screams. It made her skin crawl to look at them.

A phrase was cut deep into the archway, made up of bending and twisting letters like disfigured spines. She'd never seen anything like it, and yet she knew how to pronounce each word: "Renich tasa uberaca biasa icar." Even stranger, she knew what they meant: The world desires to be deceived; therefore it is.

She walked hesitantly into the room. A chandelier hung from the ceiling, glowing with hundreds of red candles. Their sputtering sounded like incoherent whispers.