Wraith Tide

Part One

1. Ice Queens

Karen Ann Masterton loved to skate. As soon as she could walk, her grandmother, herself a former figure skater and champion of the sport, had put her into skates. Karen had been raised by her grandmother from the age of six months, after both her parents had been shot and killed during a bungled robbery at their convenience store while Karen slept, unharmed and out of sight in the rear storeroom.

She knew her parents only from photographs. With no siblings, she had suffered a lonely childhood, loved by her grandmother yet finding little time for anything other than ice-skating. It had become her life and passion as she trained constantly, desperate to realize her grandmother's dream of winning a gold medal at the next Olympics.

The day before her eighteenth birthday, Karen's grandmother, Jacqueline Masterton, had died. Now, eleven months later, the loss still weighed heavily on her mind and she missed her grandmother terribly, so much so that she often sensed her presence, especially when training at the rink. With her gleaming skates carving up the ice, her grandmother's voice often echoed through her ears, shouting instructions and cheering her on as if she were still coaching from the sidelines.

With two routines still to rehearse before the Ice Center opened to the public, Karen pushed herself to the limits of her abilities. Watching herself in the mirror-lined walls of the rink as again and again she attempted the difficult combinations of single Axel, single loop, half loop and double Salchow, determined always to land on the correct foot.

She had inherited her mother's stunning looks and her father's Negro blood. Her black, beaded hair was a stark contrast to her caramel skin and hazel eyes while her red, spandex suit hugged her svelte, yet shapely body.

As it had done so often of late, Jacqueline's coffee-colored face smiled back at her from the glass. Karen knew she was wasn't really there of course, but just the thought of her grandmother still looking out for her comforted her somewhat and she had become used to the eerie visitations, even feeling a little disappointed if her grandmother missed a session.

Only today, Karen realized that Jacqueline wasn't watching her through the glass. Instead, she sat alone in the top row of the stand, clapping and cheering her granddaughter's achievements.

Hearing the sudden sound of the claps from the otherwise empty auditorium, Karen stopped her routine and glided to the edge of the ice, staring up at the figure seated above her.

"Grandma?" she asked, rubbing her eyes. "Is that you?"

"In the flesh, Kam," she answered, using her pet name for Karen, coined from her three initials. "In the very flesh I died with, in fact!"

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