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Perhaps when one is fully dead, as I wasn’t at that time, one instantly knows.
    I stopped walking and faced her. “Lily, can all nonhumans see you?”
    “Not all. There are some that don’t have good sense of smell. There are some that can’t see what’s not physically in front of them. There are—”
    “Can shifters of any kind see you?”
    “Most. Yes.”
    “If you’re invisible?”
    She nodded. “They can smell me.”
    I rubbed a hand over my eyes.
    “You’ll always know where I am, Rue,” she said as if it was a special gift. “I can’t think of anything vampires aren’t able to detect.”
    I opened my eyes. “Except other vampires.”
    She tilted her head and looked at me in confusion. “Ohh, of course, but that gets better with age, doesn’t it?”
    “Tell me this,” I demanded. “Are all ghosts founts of knowledge?”
    She beamed. “Thank you.”
    Then a wonderful idea popped into my own ignorant head. My friend, Bill, would make everything better—I hoped.
     

Chapter Four
     
    On my way to the library for the nonhuman population, I wondered if ghosts could enter freely just as any other nonhuman. Humans were barred from the library run by my friend, Bill, but any other creature that didn’t have malice in their hearts against another visitor of the library were welcome. As often happened, I got notions. Like the notion of whether ghosts could hold malice, and if they did, would they cross Bill’s barrier? After all, Lily could be angry at any random being enough to want him or her dead, but what could she do about it? With that in mind, could she visit the library?
    I put the question to Lily but got back a huff in answer, indicating her offense.
    “That’s rude, Rue,” she complained as she continued to follow me. “Why would I want to kill anyone? I know this lonely existence, and I wouldn’t wish it on another soul.”
    “Well, that answers the question as to if you have dark intent,” I said, without feeling.
    She pouted at me, and I ignored her. Not even insulting her could change her mind about clinging to me. When I reached the area where the abandoned building lay, I passed the wrought iron gate onto the property. As before, light illuminated the darkness. Where there had been boarded up windows, there was now a warm, welcoming glow. Holes where one could see straight through to the dilapidated roof were filled in.
    I glanced over my shoulder to find Lily still dogging my heels, but rather than focusing on me, she stared at the library in wonder. This didn’t prove anything yet. We had to cross the doorway into the library itself.
    I led the way and opened the door. Sometimes when I visited the library, Bill was nowhere to be seen. Calling out to him produced nothing. My suspicion ran the gamut that Bill enjoyed hiding and watching his visitors to see what they would do, or he didn’t want anyone to know just how often he forsook his duties to buy tacos, his favorite—and as far as I knew, only—food. On other occasions, Bill was right there in the lobby to welcome me.
    Today was a day of greeting, not for me but for Lily. “Welcome to the library,” Bill said, staring at Lily. “How may I be of assistance?”
    I smirked, hands on my hips. “Hello, Bill.”
    He dragged his gaze away from the will-o’-the-wisp to smile at me. “Hello, Rue. It’s always good to see you.”
    “I wasn’t sure you had.” I gestured to the ghost. “Bill, this is Lily. Please tell me how to get rid of her.”
    His eyes widened. “Get rid of her? Why would you want to do that?”
    Before I could answer, Lily floated closer to Bill and circled him at her leisure, taking in every detail of his outfit. Apparently, Bill hadn’t moved on from his fascination with all things Justice League. I thought she might laugh or at most snicker, but it seemed the confusion in her expression lay not in Bill’s clothes but in the man himself. “What are you?”
    Her query answered my question of