Series:

Dead Is

Excerpt from book:

Chapter 1It got chilly on the beach at night. Cold sand between my toes made me shiver. I got up and threw another log on the fire.
   “I can’t believe summer is almost over,” Eva said. She snuggled closer to her boyfriend, Evan.
   “The sooner, the better,” said Andy. She flipped her curly blond hair in her haughty way. “We’ve gotten soft during the summer.”
   “Flo was on her honeymoon part of the time,” I pointed out. Flo was our trainer and head virago—woman warrior—which meant she was pretty much our boss.
   “We still should have worked out every day,” Andy said sternly. “Instead of spending all our time at the beach.”
   “We played volleyball and ran on the sand,” Raven said. “That’s still working out.” Raven was petite with dark hair. She’d grown it out this summer, and it hung down her back in a long braid. She didn’t look anything like her brother, Dominic, who was tall and blond. He resembled his aunt Katrina and his mom, but I knew from photos that Raven looked like her dad.
   Dominic stared at the fire. “I can’t believe it’s my senior year.”
   I had to bite my lip to keep from blurting out that I didn’t want to talk about it. Senior year and then what? He’d go off to college or move to LA to make it in the music business or something and we’d be over.
   He glanced at my face and seemed to read some of what I was feeling, because he added, “I don’t want to think about tomorrow. I just want to enjoy tonight.”
   He ran a hand through his hair, which had become even blonder over the summer.
   “Not me,” Andy said. “I can’t wait for senior year to start. The sooner it starts, the sooner it’s done and I can get to the good stuff.”
   The “good stuff” for Andy usually involved kicking someone’s or something’s butt. The town of Nightshade had been surprisingly quiet lately, so she was spoiling for a fight.
   “School doesn’t start until Monday,” Raven said. “We have the whole weekend. And look at that moon!”
   I craned my neck to look, and leaned back into Domi
nic, who put his arms around me. The crescent moon was obscured by a heavy fog.
   “Jessica, do you hear that?” Andy asked. “Hear what?”
   “That thumping noise.”
   “Sounds like something running,” Raven said.
   The “something” came into view. A ghostly white horse raced along the sand, hooves thundering as it went. Its eyes glowed red as it let out an ear-splitting whinny, and I was immobilized by a sickly dread. The whirlwind tattoo on my arm that alerted me of danger didn’t just tingle. It burned.
   I screamed.
   A second later, the horse vanished.
   “That was awesome,” Eva breathed. “Reminds me of the Legend of Sleepy Hollow—except without the Headless Horseman.” My best friend was a big horror movie fan and budding filmmaker.
   Dominic shivered and said, “I always wondered what paralyzing fear felt like. Now I know.”
   I nudged him. “I thought you never got scared.”
   “I do now,” he said. “That was freaky.” He picked up his guitar and strummed it shakily. A familiar blank look passed over his face,

In the eighth installment of the popular Dead Is series, paranormal warrior Jessica must find out who or what is causing Nightshade residents to die in their sleep with horrified looks on their faces. Can they keep Nightshade from turning into a nightmare?