Final Lessons: Cherry Red Roller Skates, #3

By Nyx Lebeau

With her friends in the loop and Margaret by her side, Katy should be on top of the world. She probably would be, if said friends were not unbelievably worried about her and Margaret was not fading faster than ever. Now it's a race against the clock to find a way to help Margaret as potentially fatal consequences draw closer.

 

Take one last trip to Danson in the final installment of the Cherry Red Roller Skates series!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Nyx Lebeau
• Release date: Oct 17, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393181811

Book preview

Complications

If you had told Katy six months ago that the study schedule she and her friends had come up with would involve searching for occult texts and ghost stories she would have burst out laughing. Of course, that was not long before she discovered that her girlfriend was one of said ghosts, but even then the thought of telling her friends was enough to make her heart start racing. And yet there she was, sitting in a circle on the scuffed floor of the practice room with her friends and a stack of books taller than they are. Margaret was next to her, mussed curls squished as she rested her head on Katy’s shoulder, occasionally pointing out something that caught her eye. Emily and Jane were hunched over a book, occasionally reaching over to highlight a portion. Cassie and Amanda had taken the opposite approach, with papers scattered all around them and piles of notes stacked wherever there’s room. No one was saying much, instead just barely listening to the muffled noises of the roller rink as they work.

It had been almost a month of weekends spent like this, and despite the slow progress Katy was content. Margaret had been thriving with more company, Emily and Amanda had been ecstatic about sifting through true and fake ghost lore, and Cassie and Jane had taken to Margaret like ducks to water. All in all, they were doing well.

Of course, that was when Amanda brought up those god-forsaken message boards. Hey, I’ve noticed that there are some forums online that talk about local legends around town. Do you think we could find something related to Margaret’s case?

Margaret immediately tensed and Katy groaned. "Yeah, there’s one message board I know of. It isn’t great though, and the people who post there clearly reacted out of blind fear. It would have taken them an hour top to realize that this so-called monster wasn’t hurting anyone, but no, they had to turn to arson first!"

There was a deafening silence in the wake of Katy’s outburst. Ever so slowly she looked up and saw that everyone besides Margaret was staring at her with shocked expressions. That sounded pretty personal, Emily remarked.

Margaret sighs. That’s because it is, she said. That forum is RinkSurvivors, and it’s apparently for people who have met me. Katy found it when she was first figuring out what I am, and from what she told me the posters aren’t very kind. She shook her head before adding I will say, I’m surprised that Matt admitted to burning down this room. He never struck me as someone who would linger on past regrets. 

Holy crap, Jane muttered, her eyes wide. Is that why this room didn’t show up on the maps outside? When Margaret nodded the student leaned back and let out a low whistle. Wow. I mean, I’d heard Amanda and Cassie talking about it a while back, and I’d noticed that I couldn’t find it when I went looking for Katy, but I always thought that there had been renovations or something.

Nope, Katy said. Some idiot came in here a few times, freaked out about Margaret, and then torched the place. The owners could barely afford to reopen after that, and even people on the message board will ignore the very real and alive Matt and blame Margaret.

Amanda frowned, absently tapping a pencil against her lip. While that certainly seems like an overreaction, I can see where he’s coming from. There’s plenty of stories that suggest that burning or otherwise destroying whatever a spirit’s tied to will-

Don’t you dare take his side in this! The room went deathly silent after Margaret’s outburst. Her skin had turned that washed-out shade of grey that always accompanied the marks, her dress was tattered at the edges, and purple bruises marred her cheeks. She was halfway between this world and the next, and it showed clearer than any of Katy’s friends had ever seen. Do you know what he did, really? she ranted. "He acted perfectly fine, even stayed after he realized what I was. He came back a week later, gas can in hand, and he burned this room to the ground. The kids out in the main rink though? They barely escaped! One of the boys came in years later