I squeezed my eyes shut. Sometimes standing up for myself was nearly impossible. “I’m afraid that Greer is in charge of her own wedding. I can’t possibly try to tell her how to plan it, or where,” I informed her mother.
Mrs. Dice did that thing where she breathed in sharply through her nose, just like my principal had done in high school when she was angry and trying to control it.
I felt so small, it was no wonder that it seemed like I was being stepped on.
But I had done the right thing.
“Very well. I see why my daughter is friends with you,” Mrs. Dice said, starting to rise.
“I’m actually reasonably certain that you don’t,” I informed her, getting irritated, and letting it show.
Mrs. Dice rose. “I won’t take up any more of your time,” she said, immediately getting up and making her way down off the porch.
“All right,” I said, rising as well.
“By the way, your porch stairs need to be fixed,” she informed me. Then she walked quickly to her car and left.
I watched her go, my nerves a churning whirl of stress.
“You go, girl,” said a ghost cat that I couldn’t currently see.
Chapter Fourteen
Unable to sit around the house after that interaction, I got ready and headed out to do my cat sitting chores. Driving was a relief, if only because it forced me to pay attention to something other than what had just happened with Greer’s mom.
I intended to go see Duchess first, but as I drove in that direction an idea took form in my mind. Since it was an idea that I didn’t want to act on alone, I turned right around and went back to the farmhouse. When I got there, Greer was in the kitchen looking bleary-eyed.
“Was my mom here?” she asked by way of greeting.
“Yeah,” I said, totally failing at thinking up a good fib.
Greer nodded. “I felt a chill in the air.”
“Want to come with me to do something that’s kind of stupid and probably dangerous, and I’ll tell you about it on the way?”
She shrugged. “Anything to get my mind off the happiest day of my life.”
Fifteen minutes later we were back in the car, talking quietly. I wished Greer weren’t so frustrated about her wedding, but she was, and there didn’t seem to be anything I could do about it.
Cat care helped. We took care of the Ivy cats, but then, instead of leaving the neighborhood, I drove further down the road. I just wondered whether there was any chance that Betty was at the same house where I had found her before. Greer had agreed to my idea, if reluctantly.
I parked the car far away from the house and got out. The air was cold in the shade, so I grabbed my fleece. Then I drew my wand.
Greer still looked tired. She had gotten out of bed too early, but I figured she was also weighed down with concern about her mother. Sooner or later she was going to have to say something to the formidable Mrs. Dice, but she needed to speak to Deacon first, and Deacon was still out of town.
As we inched toward the house where I had first seen Betty, part of me started second-guessing my decision to come here with no one but Greer, but another part of me insisted that I didn’t have a choice. Hundreds of dark ghosts had attacked me at the mayor’s house, and they were getting stronger with every encounter. There was no getting around it. Soon, nowhere in Mintwood but the farmhouse would be safe, and the more places I could search for clues, the better.
The abandoned house on the hill was in worse condition than it had been the last time I’d seen it. It was even more dilapidated than before and had clearly been abandoned. I moved carefully even so. You never knew who or what might be hiding in the shadows.
“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Greer asked, more awake now, and frowning.
“No. But I think we should do it anyhow,” I said.
“Agreed,” she replied. Her face was tight, but she didn’t betray her fears in any other way except by staying behind me. I knew very well that I was putting her in danger, but coming here alone hadn’t been an option either. Betty might be using this place as a base of operations, or maybe she was just coming here to shower. Either way, I had to check it out.
Just then a rustling to my left made me jump. Greer grabbed my arm and I put myself more securely between her and the house. Then I nearly tripped when a bird came flying through the trees, with several squirrels running around beneath them.
I took a deep breath. I needed to relax.
“That’s terrifying. A bird terrified me,” Greer muttered. “What is the world coming to?”
As we drew near the house, my hand gripped my wand so tightly that my fingers were going numb. I loosened them. Then, instead of making my way around the back, I headed straight for the front door. When I turned the knob, I was unsurprised to find that the door was locked.
I quickly did an unlock spell, sending a tiny stream of green sparkles from my wand to the lock.
The door creaked open. I winced at the sound.
“If anyone’s here and they didn’t know we were coming, they sure do now,” Greer whispered.
“By the same token, I think we’d hear them if they were trying to get away,” I whispered back.
“Yeah, so maybe this place is deserted. Or maybe they stayed in the house to hide when they heard us coming,” she suggested.
The suggestion was ominous. Without waiting another moment, I cast the shield spell I’d been practicing.
This one was easier than the light spells I had trouble with, so I managed to do it properly the first time. Tank’s help when I practiced had made my control of the shields much solider.
If Betty was hiding around the corner and decided to attack, we’d be ready. With the help of the shield, we’d at least have some notice before she could get to us.
Green sparkles splashed out in front of me. “That’s impressive,” Greer whispered. “Are you a witch or something?”
“Definitely,” I muttered back.
Just then we heard a knock, then a clank. I swallowed hard. There was definitely a noise coming from the basement.
We both went utterly still.
Chapter Fifteen
“I don’t suppose you think that’s a very large possum?” Greer whispered.
“Maybe it’s a rat,” I muttered.
“Too large. Maybe a fox,” she suggested, starting to shake.
“Maybe we’re just hearing things. Maybe it’s the wind,” I offered.
Neither of us had moved an inch.
“Help! Please help me,” a voice yelled from somewhere beneath us.
“Oh, no,” I muttered. “We have to get down there. Right now.”
The old house didn’t get much sunlight, and the air was cold, chilling even. We darted for the basement door. I was careful to hide behind it as I opened it in case the cry for help was a trap.
When nothing happened, we peered carefully around the door. All I could see was a dark basement, with a light shimmering on one side that was so faint I almost thought I was imagining it.
“Stay here,” I whispered to Greer.
“No way,” she replied. “You think I’m going to let you go down there by yourself?”
“You really should,” I said. “We don’t know what could be hiding down there. It could be dangerous.”
“This whole thing is dangerous,” Greer argued. “We have to get a move on right now and start searching. Somebody needs our help.”
Before I could stop her, she went around me and down the stairs, which turned out to be so rickety that they were louder than my own long-suffering porch steps. If the situation hadn’t been so serious, I might have felt a smidgen of satisfaction. Then again, these steps were in the basement of an abandoned house, so I held off on the celebration for the moment.
The second we hit the mud floor of the basement I knew we’d made a mistake. There were no windows that I could see, and the whole place smelled like dirt.
There was no light except for the sli
ver spilling from behind us through the door we’d just walked through.
Even worse, in the corner was a row of bars.
Behind the bars floated a dark ghost.
The problem with that was instantly apparent: a cage wouldn’t contain such a thing.
The dark ghost smiled. At the same moment, I heard the door slam above us. We were plunged into darkness and I heard the ominous sound of a key turning in the lock.
“See, now we’re in trouble,” said Greer dryly. A chill ran down my spine.
The dark ghost, a slender, older woman with spectacles, was laughing her head off. I realized despairingly that there was one spell I might have learned but hadn’t: one that would turn a dark ghost back into the real ghost she was supposed to be.
Madame Rosalie would know exactly what to do, but asking her to teach me would come at a high price. And anyhow, she wasn’t handy at the moment.
“What now?” Greer whispered.
My shield spell had disappeared with my mad dash down the steps, the green sparks fading into nothing as I blew through them. I went racing back up the stairs and tried the door, then cast several variations on unlocking spells. I even tried a dangerous blasting spell that I shouldn’t have actually been messing around with in such close quarters.
Nothing worked. When I rejoined Greer at the bottom of the steps, the dark ghost was still cackling.
I tried a couple more spells, hoping to counteract any that had been cast by the dark witches, but nothing I did had any effect. The air already felt hot and heavy. The smell of mud was oppressive. There was hardly any space underneath the doorjamb for air to come through.
Still floating behind the bars, though I didn’t know why she was keeping up the charade of being imprisoned there, the old ghost woman cackled and said, “You think you’ll win? You shall not!”
“Let’s get out of here,” said Greer through the side of her mouth.
“My dear Betty will drive you away!” ranted the ghost. “Then Mintwood will be hers! She will finally have a place to call her own.”
“You know Betty?” I asked, taking a step forward.
My wand was still in my hand. If I needed to, I could call the shield spell again. I might even try the bright spell. I didn’t think this dark ghost would like that, but it wouldn’t matter unless I could perform it successfully, which I hadn’t been able to do so far.
Then again, I hadn’t needed it when Greer’s life was in danger before.
“My daughter,” said the dark ghost. “When she started doing this work with Ellie, she came to get me. Oh, she told me not to tell you that.” The old woman bit her lip, then smiled brightly. “It doesn’t matter. You’ll never get out of here.”
“Aren’t Betty and Possy sisters?” Greer asked me quietly.
“I think so,” I whispered back.
“Possy is not the exceptional witch that Betty is,” said the dark ghost shrilly.
“We’re going to get out of here,” I said. “Just let me think.”
Just then the sound of footsteps came from the creaking floorboards above us, and Greer and I went quiet again. My breathing slowed as the footsteps receded without coming near the basement door.
“Whoever locked us in is just going to leave us here?” Greer demanded.
The ghost opened her mouth to answer, then shut it again. But her will power wasn’t strong; she couldn’t keep from taunting us. “Of course they are. Why not? The door is spelled.”
“Clearly,” I said.
“Why is Betty helping Ellie?” I asked the ghost.
Greer started to move away. I wasn’t sure what she had up her sleeve, but I decided not to call attention to her movement by asking.
The dark ghost herself wasn’t much of a threat, not when I had my wand. There would need to be more of them to be a serious, direct danger. Still, we didn’t need her getting the attention of whomever she was with, so I tried to keep her focused on my questions.
“Because it’s the right thing to do,” said the woman. “She told me not to talk to you.”
“You said that, but according to you, we aren’t getting out of here anyhow,” I shot back.
“That’s right,” she affirmed.
“Why did you agree to do this? Aren’t there other dark ghosts like Wendell who could have done it?” I asked. Wendell had so far been the point ghost for tormenting me.
The old ghost’s eyes clouded. “Wendell,” she spat. “Who is he but a troublemaker and a has-been?”
“You don’t like him, I take it?”
“He does no good,” she said. “I’m the one who really helps. Wendell only assists the witches when there’s something flashy for him to do.”
“Like attack the coven meeting?” I said.
“Ellie was furious. He wasn’t supposed to take that many ghosts with him. Of course, some of them wouldn’t follow orders. Ellie wanted him to go alone, but he was too afraid. Well, he should be. Geraldine and Rosalie are formidable. Even Ellie doesn’t want to confront them.”
“Doesn’t she think she’ll have to at some point?” I said.
“Not until she’s ready,” said the old ghost, shaking her head.
“What’s your name, anyway?” I asked.
“I’m not telling you that! If I told you, then it would be a lot like talking to you, wouldn’t it? I see what you’re doing. Those tricks.”
“It’s dark down here. I’m just trying to make conversation to pass the time.”
“Where’d the other one go? There were two of you. Now I can only see one. Where is she?” whispered the ghost, starting to float toward me.
Greer chose that moment to reappear right next to my arm. “I’m right here,” she said. “I see you missed me, although why I’m not sure. I’m sure we could have a much easier conversation if you told us your name.”
“I shall not! I shall merely wait until Ellie and my Betty have defeated you,” the ghost said imperiously.
“What about Possy?” I asked.
Betty and Possy were sisters. It would therefore stand to reason that this was also the mother of Possy, unless Betty and Possy were half sisters or adopted or not sisters at all.
“Don’t you talk about my Possy,” hissed the old woman, her eyes flickering.
“Is she your daughter as well?” I asked.
“Of course,” she said.
“Isn’t Possy playing a role in this takeover as well?” I asked.
The old ghost frowned and started to fade in and out a bit. Because she was a dark ghost, her sparkling tint was darker than the shimmer of ghosts like the ones at the farmhouse. Still, she shouldn’t be fading in and out so much unless something was wrong.
Just then there came a noise from behind her and she turned around to see what it was.
Taking the opportunity of the ghost’s back being turned, Greer leaned into me. “There’s a window,” she whispered in my ear.
“What?” I said, glancing over her shoulder. All I saw was darkness.
“It’s covered in an old sheet that I think turned black around the thirteenth century. But it’s definitely there,” said my friend.
“Okay. But I don’t want to hurt this ghost to get out of here. We need to figure out a way to fix the dark ghosts,” I murmured.
“Now’s probably not the time to discuss it,” she said.
“True,” I said, taking a deep breath.
“What are you two murmuring about?” demanded the ghost, who had turned around and was now staring at us and floating closer. She came through the bars that she’d been hovering behind, and as she did I suddenly realized that they were really just a sort of broken down curtain, or something equally insubstantial.
“Nothing. Just how nice and fresh it smells down here,” said Greer.
“I can’t smell,” said the ghost, looking uncertain.
“We have to make a break for it,” Greer whispered, sounding more urgent.
“I can’t even see where the window
is,” I said quietly. The whole basement was dark. If there was anything on the floor at all, we were likely to trip on it if we tried to race to a window we couldn’t even see. Sprawling in whatever was on the floor was not an appealing prospect.
Greer sympathized, but we both knew that we really didn’t have a choice. “Just follow me,” she urged. “Once we get there, I’ll point to the window. Grab my arm if you need to, to see where I’m pointing. We’re going to need you to perform a spell.”
“Oh, sure. And next I’ll get out my trusty transport machine,” I said.
In the dim light of the ghost’s shimmer, I could see my friend’s lip twitching. She was trying not to laugh.
“Now, ladies, what are you planning?” the ghost asked fretfully.
I swallowed hard as I saw her growing in size and getting nearer. This is not going to end well for us. Whereas the ghost had seemed quiet and a bit addled at first, there was now a menace in her tone.
As I tried to get up the courage to follow Greer to the window, footsteps sounded again from upstairs. Greer and I looked up. I felt her shudder more than I actually saw it.
Danger was looming.
Chapter Sixteen
“Okay,” I agreed at last. “We’ll have to make a break for it. On my mark.”
The ghost kept advancing as Greer and I started to take slow steps backward. “One, two, three,” I whispered.
Once the ghost realized that we were running, light wouldn’t matter, so as I pivoted I sent green sparks to the end of my wand to light our way. Greer then took the lead and guided me toward the window.
Now we were both flat-out sprinting.
When the ghost started after us, I threw some sparks in front of her. Temporarily distracted, she started to yell. At the same time, the footsteps upstairs quickened their pace.
“We’re in an awful lot of trouble if we don’t get out of here pronto,” said Greer.
“Let’s just get to the window,” I panted.
Greer stepped in front of what looked to me like a solid wall and pointed. When I got a couple of steps closer, I felt a slight draft. Then I saw the window.
Mysterious Mintwood Murmurs Page 9
