My mother and Meri had been foolish enough to go in there once looking for something; I couldn’t remember what, but I knew better. She and Dad had made sure I knew better because while your average cemetery was no place to fear, the crypt certainly was.
As I stood there staring at the black double doors that led into the crypt, it finally dawned on me that I should wonder what I was doing there.
I had never sleepwalked in my life. Not even as a little kid. And yet, there I was, and it was the only explanation for the situation I found myself in that night.
My hand patted my pocket for my phone, but it wasn’t there. I’d left it back on the nightstand. After all, why would a sleepwalker grab their cellphone on their midnight walk to the graveyard?
It was way after midnight, though. I could tell by the moon’s position that it had to be around three in the morning. Whatever forces had brought me, they were not good.
“Looks like I’m walking,” I said to the moon.
Off in the distance, at the tree line between the cemetery and the woods surrounding the backside, I could see a man standing there watching me. It startled me at first, but he was a spirit.
Brody.
Uncle Brody couldn’t step foot on the consecrated ground of the cemetery. Still, somehow, he was able to manifest at the periphery. Where he was able to get the power to even do that was still a mystery to me. It was a puzzle I would have to solve at some point, but as long as he stayed in the outer edges of our lives I could focus on my current problem.
I had no way to call anyone, so I’d have to walk home in my pajamas and bare feet. While it was uncomfortable, I was thankful it was hot outside. Had it been winter, I might have been in trouble. Or, I would have had to use magic to keep myself warm. Using that much sustained magic for that long would have been a chore.
Other than the grass being damp and having to look out for broken glass on the sidewalks, walking home without shoes wasn’t that bad. Once I got to my street, there weren’t any more sidewalks. I didn’t think anyone was going to come along, so I walked down the middle of the road.
I did that mostly because it didn’t seem safe to walk along the side of the road. I could stumble and fall into the ditch, where there was a ditch anyway, but a shadow might also camouflage me from any car that did come along.
There was also the creepy feeling that something followed me. I didn’t know if it was Brody or someone, or something, else. I kept looking back over my shoulder, sure I would see someone right behind me, but no one was there.
When I finally got home, my front door was wide open. Of course, I’d just walked out and left it that way.
I went back inside and quickly made my way upstairs. I’d half expected to find Meri on the front porch waiting for me or meet me halfway on my walk back.
He was still in bed, sound asleep. I’d managed to get out of bed, leave the house, and walk all the way to the cemetery with Meri none the wiser. It was weird. Typically, if I rolled over at night or stretched, he’d move too. He’d get up and reposition himself so that he was pressed right up against me again. That’s how he liked to sleep, snuggled up right against my back. If you ever asked him, he’d tell you I was a dirty liar, but that’s how he’d always slept. Even when I was a baby. As soon as I was born, he’d abandoned my mother at night to be with me.
The briefest pang of guilt stabbed in my chest as I remembered the night I left out of my bedroom window. I had to push those thoughts away, though. It was in the past, and I was home. I’d never leave Meri again.
Not that he would have known the difference.
“Meri,” I said as I stood over him.
I’d waited a few minutes to see if he’d wake on his own. He didn’t. In fact, he was snoring.
“Meri,” I said again a little louder.
He finally opened one eye and peered through the groggy lid at me like I was insane. “What are you on about?”
“Are you okay?” I asked.
“I’m fine. What do you want?”
“Meri, I’m awake and out of bed, and you’re still asleep,” I said.
Finally, it dawned on him.
“Holy crud! What?” he said and jumped to attention. “Why do you look like you ran through a sprinkler? Did you shower in your pajamas?” He peered over the side of the bed. “Why are your feet all dirty? What the what have you been doing?”
“I woke up in the cemetery in front of the Skeenbauer Crypt,” I said. “I must have walked there in my sleep.”
“How is that even possible? How did I not wake up when you got up?”
“I don’t know,” I said. “I was actually hoping you’d have some idea.”
“It’s that book,” Meri said.
“The book we found today?” I hadn’t even thought about it.
“I told you there was something wrong with it,” Meri groused as he jumped off the bed. “What time is it, anyway? Is it time for breakfast? I want to have another look at that book, but I need bacon first.”
“And I need coffee.” I said. “Let me take like a two-minute shower to wash off my feet, and I’ll put on clean pajamas.”
“I’m timing you,” Meri said.
“Meri, it’s way earlier than you usually eat anyway. You’re not going to starve to death while I take a quick shower,” I said.
“You’re burning through your two minutes with idle chitchat,” he said.
“Meri.”
“You’re down like thirty seconds already.”
“Fine,” I said as I quickly grabbed a new set of pajamas from my dresser.
“Whatever,” he said after me as I closed the bathroom door.
As I turned on the water, there was a little flutter in my belly. My hand automatically went to cover my lower abdomen. Regular human women couldn’t feel their babies until they were much further along. Still, my little peanut was already making themselves known. My mother had said not to expect my pregnancy to go the way a normal one would.
“Good morning,” I whispered to the flutter. “I’m just glad you managed to sleep through the rest of it.”
My shower probably took five minutes instead of two, but Meri didn’t complain when I emerged. He knew he was about to eat, and that was the only time he could contain his snark.
“Should you really be drinking coffee?” he asked about halfway through his bacon. It never took long for it to come back, though.
“Thank you for your concern, but the baby is protected,” I said. “You should know that; you helped me with the spell.”
“I know, but I’ve got to keep you on your toes,” he said and went back to his bacon.
I was going to say something about him already loving the baby, but I held my tongue. I wondered if he would take to the baby as quickly as he had me. I knew I’d better soak up my time with him as best I could until the baby came just in case he did.
After our early breakfast, Meri had bacon and I had a massive bowl of fruit salad and a glass of milk, I got the book off the fireplace mantle. I still hadn’t decided if I wanted to add it to the attic library or not. Even if it was responsible for my sleepwalking I’d probably need to figure out something else.
“Open it up on the coffee table again,” Meri said.
He did as I requested and jumped up onto the table and began pawing through the pages. He studied it while I worked on accounting for the store on my laptop.
“Anything?” I asked when he finally jumped off the coffee table and joined me on the sofa.
“I think we should have Remy take a look at it, Kinsley. If nothing else, he can cast a spell on us so that we understand what the book says.”
“Can’t I just focus my attention on knowing what the book says?” I asked. “Why do I need a spell?”
“I believe you could try, but you’re supposed to be taking a step back from using magic. You’re supposed to be using all of your energy for the baby,” Meri said.
“You’re right,” I said.
“You should ea
t again,” he said.
“I don’t suppose you’re trying to score a second breakfast for yourself,” I said with a chuckle.
“But we ate so early,” Meri protested. “I’d just like a bit of salmon.”
“We did eat an early breakfast, but that was half an hour ago.”
“All you ate was fruit,” he further protested.
Right on cue, my stomach growled. “Fine, we’ll have some more breakfast, and I’ll take the book with me to the shop. That way, my dad can come in and have a look at it.”
Chapter Two
By the time I got into work, I had forgotten all about calling my father. Apparently, Meri did too because he didn’t say anything.
The workday was utterly uneventful. The men with the dark energy around them didn’t return to my shop, which gave me a measure of relief. For some reason, I kept expecting to see them.
It concerned me that I couldn’t forget them, but I told myself it was because their tattoos had bothered me so much. Oddly enough, it did not occur to me that they might have left some of their energy behind.
Something else that wouldn’t hit me until later was that the ghost who haunted the shop had gone entirely silent. There wasn’t a rattle or a random toilet flush all day. Reggie even went into the back to grab stuff from the stock shelves without a care in the world. It was as if she could sense that the ghost was gone or in hiding, and neither of us put words to the change. We just sort of accepted it.
At the end of the day, I locked up the shop and we went our separate ways. She went home to have her call with Jeremy, and I went home to eat dinner with Meri and watch a movie. Meri and I had spaghetti with garlic cream sauce. Well, I had that. Meri had bacon and tuna. Fresh seared tuna. Not the stuff from a can.
I think I might cut my little vacation short, was the first text from Thorn.
Tonight? I tried not to get my hopes up, but I missed him more than I realized.
I wish I could, honey. It rained a lot here today. Cabin is surrounded by mud. I’m afraid I’d get stuck. Hopefully, the sun will dry it tomorrow. I’d call, babe, but the signal isn’t good enough. Just glad my texts are going through. Miss your voice, he responded.
I could come get you. Mud is no match for me, I texted back.
I don’t want you out in the woods at night trying to rescue me, Kinsley. We have a baby to think about. I’ll find a way back tomorrow even if I have to hike to the road. I’m sorry I’ve been gone for so long, he texted.
We have a baby…
That’s what he’d said. I could feel my heart practically leap out of my chest. Something splashed on my thigh and I realized I was crying. Happy tears streamed down my face as I felt the weight of the world lift off my shoulders. I should have never had any doubts that he’d come back to me, but if I was honest, there had been times I was terrified he wouldn’t.
I’ll see you tomorrow, then, I answered.
I love you, Kinsley. Tell the peanut I love them too. Oh, and tell that cat I said hi.
I laughed at his text, but it also made me cry even harder. I guessed we were calling the baby peanut until we knew for sure if it was a boy or girl, but it didn’t matter. Thorn said he loved us both. That was all I could ask for in the whole world.
I love you too. We love you too, was my last response.
After the conversation ended, I found myself starving. It hadn’t been that long since I’d eaten, but the stress of wondering about Thorn must have suppressed my appetite. Knowing that he was coming home to me had opened the floodgates. Meri watched me eat with a mixture of horror and appreciation. But he also seemed to approve.
He’d told me more than once since Thorn left that I needed to eat more. I’d always figured it was because he was angling for more food. Maybe it had been because I genuinely wasn’t eating enough for my magical pregnancy.
My phone vibrating pulled me out of a deep sleep, but at least when I woke up I was still in my bed.
“Hello,” I said groggily.
“Kinsley Skeenbauer?” a man on the other end asked.
“This is.”
“I’m calling because Regina Harlow says you’re her emergency contact.”
“Oh my. Is this the hospital?”
“No, this is Steve. I’m a bartender at the tavern,” he said with a sigh. “Your friend is the drunkest person I’ve ever seen, and in my line of work I’ve seen a lot of drunk people. She’s also crying all over the bar and five dollars short on her tab.”
“What is she even doing at the tavern?” I asked.
“Look, lady, I don’t know. Are you going to come get her? I can call the police if she doesn’t have anyone to come get her. Sorry, but that’s the policy.”
“No, don’t bother the police. I’ll be there in a few minutes,” I said. “Please give her some water.”
“I’ve tried three times,” he said with another sigh. “She just keeps shouting more gin at me.”
“Tell her I said to drink the water or else, and I’ll be there as soon as possible.”
I jumped out of bed and debated whether I should even put on my clothes or just go in my pajamas. Pajamas won just because I needed to get over to the tavern. The only people out at that hour were probably on their way to being as drunk as Reggie, so I doubted they would care.
“Where are you going?” Meri asked with genuine alarm.
“Reggie is drunk as a skunk down at the tavern. I’ve got to go get her, or they’re going to call the sheriff’s office,” I said.
“Good grief,” Meri said and stretched. “Just give me a second.”
“It’s okay,” I said. “You stay and sleep. I can handle a drunk best friend.”
“If you insist,” he said and flopped back down. “Just don’t fall asleep and end up out in the middle of nowhere.”
“You’re hilarious,” I said.
His eyes were already closed, but he cracked one open to look at me again. “But, seriously, you’ll be okay, right? I can get up.”
“I’ll be fine, Meri. I’m driving over to the tavern to get Reggie, and then we’ll be right back.”
“You’re bringing her here?” he groused as I pulled on a pair of socks.
“Obviously, something is very wrong that she went to the tavern and got rip-roaring drunk instead of coming to me. So, yes. I’m bringing her here. Don’t worry, I’ll have her sobered up by the time we get back.”
“Whatever,” he said.
“Whatever,” I retorted, but he was already snoring softly.
As I walked out the front door, I looked over at the spot where the book sat on the mantle. I felt a pull in my chest. It was almost like a craving. Suddenly, I wanted to hold the book again. It was probably a good thing I had to be somewhere because some part of me just wanted to sit there on the sofa turning the pages. I could almost feel myself running my fingers over the ancient parchment.
I shook my head as if to clear the fantasy and pushed myself out of the front door. The book wasn’t important. I was being ridiculous.
I had the same problem as I drove through Coventry’s quiet streets toward the tavern. My mind kept telling me that I could just go back and get the book first, but that was ludicrous. The book didn’t need me. Reggie did.
Cars lined the street in front of the tavern, so I had to park nearly two blocks away. I got out of the car, locked it, and walked quickly up the street toward the tavern.
Although Coventry had felt like an oven lately, there was a bit of a cool breeze. Unfortunately, it was still in the eighties, so all the breeze did was make me shiver as it hit my sweaty exposed face and arms. I’d only walked half a block, and my skin was already clammy. My hair had begun to stick to the back of my neck, and I wished I’d pulled it up before I left. The slight wind hitting my damp pajamas was more disconcerting than it was refreshing. I wondered if there was a storm coming.
I opened the door to the tavern and was hit with the overwhelming scent of beer and those pizzas the bartender ma
de in a little oven in the back. Usually, it would have been a good thing, but in my condition it made me feel queasy. I wanted to run back outside. At least there was fresh air out there. I would have chosen clammy over nausea any day.
Fortunately, Reggie wasn’t hard to find. She was still at the bar with her head in her hands, bawling. Anyone with a stool near hers had scooted it as far away as they could. I walked up to the bar and slipped fifty dollars to Steve, the bartender.
“I’m here to clear Reggie’s tab,” I said.
“Let me get your change,” he said glumly.
“The rest is for you. I’m sure if she didn’t have enough to clear her tab, she didn’t tip you properly. So, keep it.”
“She’s just been drinking cheap beer. That’s more than ten percent,” he protested.
“Keep it,” I said. “Thank you for helping.”
“Thank you,” he said. His expression softened considerably. “She’s right down there.”
“Yeah, I see her. You can’t miss her.”
With her tab cleared, I headed down the bar to collect Reggie. When I put my hand on her shoulder, she looked up at me with bloodshot eyes and a huge clump of hair stuck to half of her face. Probably from snot. It was not a good look for her at all.
“Thanks for inviting me to the party,” I said.
“Kinsley, I just…” But before she finished whatever it was she was going to say, she started blubbering again.
“Hang on just a second,” I said to her.
It only took a bit of healing magic to sober her up completely. I grabbed some napkins off the bar and cleaned up her face using the water she refused to drink.
“Oh my gawd,” Reggie said as soon as she was sober and realized how horribly she’d behaved. “Can we get out of here?”
“Yeah,” I said with a laugh. “Let’s do that.”
“Oh my gawd, Kinsley. I’m so so sorry.” She said as we headed quickly for the door.
“It’s okay. What are friends for?” I asked as I pushed the tavern’s door open. “Are you okay? What brought this on?”
“I got in a fight with Jeremy,” she said.
Book of Dark Magic Page 2
