Simon stopped us five feet from our spectral friend and bowed. "Good evening."
Specter didn't turn around when he spoke. "You want me to help you with something." It was a statement rather than a question.
Simon straightened and nodded his head. "Yes."
Specter glanced over his shoulder. "So what's in it for me?"
"A change in scenery," Simon offered.
Specter shrugged and returned to viewing the river. "The river's not so bad. Sometimes it's fun just sitting here counting the dead cows that come floating by. The guys like to dump them at night, so there's a lot to count."
"What if I were to offer you a monetary reward that would be transferred into Maeve's bank account?" Simon offered.
Specter stiffened. His voice was tense. "Would she know it was from you, or me?"
"Would our previous arrangement be preferable?" Simon asked him.
Specter tilted back his head and looked up at the stars. I glanced between Simon and our spectral friend. "What arrangement?" I whispered.
Specter lowered his head and shrugged. "Why not? I've got nothing to lose." He spun around atop the gravestone and faced us with a smile. "So how are you trying to get your girlfriend killed now?"
I glared at him. "He's not my-"
"A simple armored truck heist," Simon told him.
Specter arched an eyebrow. "That sounds pretty mundane for you. What's the catch?"
"The catch is we need your assistance in dealing with the driver," Simon explained.
Specter crossed his arms and floated a few inches above the tombstone. "You know I can't fly that fast, so is this truck going to be moving or sitting somewhere?"
"Moving, but we have transportation for you," Simon assured him.
Specter frowned. "That's not all the problem. I can't get a good grip on anything solid that's moving, so I'm going to need help getting onto that truck. That means a body."
Simon looked down at me and smiled. "We have our body among us."
I started back and glanced from one man to the other. "Wait, what? What am I supposed to do?"
"You will board the armored vehicle with Specter inside your body and assist him in taking control of the vehicle," Simon explained.
I felt the color drain from my face. "You're joking, right? You seriously want me to be vehicle hopping?"
Specter furrowed his brow. "She might be right. She's not a full vampire yet, and if something happened we'd both be in trouble."
"It is precisely because she is not a full vampire that she will make the perfect candidate," Simon insisted. "She has many of the benefits and yet can still be a host for you."
Specter turned to me and jerked his head towards Simon. "You want to go through with what he's asking?"
"I-I don't even know if I can," I replied. "I'm not exactly good at hopping on anything."
Simon smiled and gestured to the gravestones and Specter. "Then I leave you to Specter's capable teaching hands, and will return for you in three hours." He stepped past me and strode back to the car.
Specter dropped his arms. "Wait a sec. I'm not going to be babysitting anybody!"
I spun around and glared at Simon's back. "You're the vampire! You teach me!"
Simon waved his hand above his head, but didn't turn around. "Perhaps another time."
He disappeared into the trees that surrounded the graveyard. I turned to Specter and pursed my lips. "I really hate that guy."
A smile played across Specter's lips as he floated to the ground. "He's pretty hard to get along with, but I guess he's right."
I frowned. "So now you're going along with this?"
He shrugged. "Why not? That old man's got a lot of things wrong with him, but it isn't his judgment. He probably knows what he's doing if he left you with me."
My shoulders drooped and I hung my head. "Perfect. Just perfect."
"So where do you want to start?"
I lifted my head and an eyebrow. "Come again?"
Specter gestured to the gravestones. "Simon said you needed practice hopping. This place is as good as any to do that."
I held up my palm. "First, I'd like some answers."
He smiled. "Shoot."
I held up one finger. "First, what did you mean when you said we'd both be in trouble if I didn't make the jump?"
Specter folded his arms. "If you die and I'm inside you, I get do die again, too."
I blinked at him. "A ghost can die?"
He nodded. "Yeah, and I'm not sure what would happen to either of us. We could both be shoved into heaven, we'd both be shoved into hell, or nothing would happen and we'd both be stuck here on earth."
I cringed. "I don't really like any of those options."
"Neither do I, that's why after these questions you're going to practice," he told me.
I sighed and held up a second finger. "Second, if this is so dangerous then why can't Simon do this himself?"
Specter smiled. "It's because Simon's a vampire. A ghost can't possess somebody who's already dead, or even undead."
My shoulders drooped. "So I'm stick with this job?"
He nodded. "Seems like it. So you want to start practicing, or do I get a spot in the dirt ready next to me?"
I swept my eyes over the graveyard with its ancient tombs. "Where exactly are you buried?"
Specter's smile slid off his lips. He waved at a far corner of the graveyard close to the river. "Over there, but that's not important. What's important is keeping you out of the dirt for a couple hundred more years." He stepped aside and nodded at the gravestone he'd occupied only moments before. "Climb up on this one and we'll check out you're hopping skills."
I pursed my lips, but marched forward and crawled onto the top. I stood on the precariously thin curved ridge and jerked from side-to-side as I tried to keep balance with my arms.
Specter stepped back and studied my stance. "We are in deep shit."
I glared at him. "I don't have much balance, okay?"
He shook his head. "No, it's not okay, but I guess we'll fix that." He nodded at a headstone some six feet from the one on which I stood. "Hop to that one."
I followed his gaze and my mouth dropped open. "Are you kidding? I can't do that!"
He sighed. "You're a vampire, remember? That's an easy jump for you."
I pursed my lips and braced myself. "All right, but don't laugh." I took a deep breath and jumped.
Or rather, hopped. My hop got me half the distance and I dropped to the ground. My only consolation was I landed on my feet.
Specter floated in front of me and folded his arms. "I've seen roadkill jump farther."
I whipped my head up and glared at him. "That's easy for you to say. You're a ghost."
He paused and rubbed his chin. "Now why didn't I think of that sooner?"
I straightened and arched an eyebrow. "Think of-hey!" Specter dove into my body.
I felt him shove aside my mind and take control of my body. He tested out my hands and shook my feet, and all the while I was screaming inside my mind.
Get out!
My lips moved, but it wasn't me doing the talking. "I'm going to prove to you you can do this."
Specter turned me around and forced my body to climb back on top of the tombstone. He stood atop the tombstone without using my arms for balance and faced the opposing grave. I wanted to shut my eyes, but he kept them open.
"Don't worry. You can do this," he assured me.
But do I have to watch? I snapped back.
He smiled. Or I smiled. My body smiled. "Watch and learn."
Specter leapt my body into the air. We sailed across the six foot expanse and landed neatly on the top of the other grave. He even showed off by landing on the toes of one foot. I would have glared at him if I had been a spectator and not a participant.
Can I have my body back now? I demanded as he settled me on two feet.
"I'll leave when I'm sure you're not going to send both of us to hell," he told me.
He retreated into my mind and I felt myself regain control. My eyes widened as I lost my balance. I swung my arms and kept myself from falling the three feet to the hard ground.
Now it's your turn he whispered in my mind.
I turned my head slightly and tried to glare at the back of my head. "Don't push me. I'm still new at this." He nudged my mind and my foot scooted forward. "Knock that off!"
Come on. We might both have all eternity, but I don't want to wait that long for you to learn he teased me.
I ground my teeth together, but slowly turned myself around so I faced the original tombstone from which we'd jumped. I held my arms out and scooted to the back of the tombstone. My heart thumped in my chest as images of my broken body draped over the grave came to my mind.
That's pretty gruesome Specter scolded me.
"You'd better not be digging too deep in there," I warned him.
He chuckled. Not yet, but if I get bored I can't make any promises.
I took a deep breath and raced the one and a half feet across the tombstone. I jumped at the last second and sailed over the ground. Farther. Farther. And then I sailed right over the tombstone.
"Ack!" I yelped.
I flailed my arms and landed one foot on another grave marker. My other foot couldn't get a grip, so I pushed off that slab of rock and flew into the air. I danced across the top of several tombs before I ran out of rock and tumbled to the ground. My heart beat against my rib cage as I rolled to a stop near the tree line. I sat up and gasped for air as I looked back at how far I'd gone. Twenty yards without touching the ground.