Wicked Delight

by Lily Harper Hart

“Finally,” Susan announced, rolling her eyes. “You’ve been surrounded by people for hours. Do you have any idea how annoying that is?”

  Felicity clutched at her necklace, which was a protection moonstone she’d been wearing for years, and looked to her niece for clarification. “This is not an evil ghost, right?”

  Ivy chuckled, genuinely amused. “No.” She fanned her face to slap back the rising color. “You scared the crap out of me, though. We were just going to look for you.”

  “And why is that?” Susan asked.

  “Because I have a question about possession. Is it possible for a new ghost to take over an old witch?” She turned an apologetic look to her aunt. “I didn’t mean anything by calling you ‘old.’ It’s just ... well ... you know.”

  “Yes, I know,” Felicity said dryly. “I’m an old woman ... who is totally going to make you pay for calling me old when this is over with.”

  “Or we could just call it even,” Ivy suggested. “You were mean to me the other night after all.”

  Felicity sighed, the sound long and drawn out. “Fine. We’re even.”

  “Thank you.” Ivy was beaming when she turned back to Susan and found the ancient ghost watching her with annoyed eyes. “What?”

  “I forgot how distracting the world is,” Susan replied, shaking her head. “The noise ... the humor ... the endless conversations.”

  “Oh, don’t be a grouch,” Ivy chided. “It’s not my fault you’re dead. You said you wanted to help. You also said you had something to tell me when you showed up at the fairy ring the other day. I got distracted before you could tell me so ... here I am.”

  “It’s a little late for you to remember.”

  “It’s never too late.”

  “No, but the darkness is already here.”

  Ivy stilled. “Like ... a physical darkness?”

  Susan nodded. “Why? Have you seen something?”

  Ivy jerked her head back to where she’d seen the black shadow. The space was empty, but she could still feel a presence. “Maybe we should go back to the town square,” she suggested, a chill going down her spine. “I ... yeah. Let’s get Jack.”

  “Oh, I think it’s too late for that,” an unfamiliar voice announced, stepping from the shade of the building behind them and cutting off their avenue of escape. “There are some things we need to discuss first ... and unfortunately, I don’t have a lot of time.”

  “WHERE IS IVY?”

  Jack didn’t bother with niceties when he found Max joking around with Jordan and Blaine near the coffee cart at the edge of the square. He was agitated — mostly because he spent ten minutes looking for his fiancée and came up empty — and now he wanted to take out his frustration on somebody.

  “She headed out to the cottage,” Max replied absently. “She and Aunt Felicity were together.”

  “Why would she go back to the cottage?”

  Max held out his hands and shrugged. “I don’t know. She said she was done here. Oh, by the way, she dropped the bomb on Donahue and ran. He is not happy, by the way, so don’t be surprised if he tracks you down and blames this on you.”

  “I don’t really care about that,” Jack grumbled. “Although ... she was supposed to wait for me. I wanted to see his face.”

  “I’m guessing from the yelling I heard that it was quite the scene.”

  “I still don’t think you should’ve let your sister wander off without a bodyguard,” Jack pressed. “There is a killer out here.”

  “I know that. The thing is, the killer is probably here so Ivy is safer at home.”

  “Maybe.” Jack wasn’t convinced. “Still ... it doesn’t matter. I’ll check on her. I’m looking for Archie.”

  “Who is Archie?”

  “Archie Sheridan. He’s Éclair’s brother.”

  Max wrinkled his forehead, puzzled. “Why are you looking for him?”

  “Because he lied to us and I want to know why.”

  “What did he lie to you about?”

  “His relationship with his sister ... and how things work when it comes to money in his family.”

  “Oh, well, that could be of interest. I don’t know where he went.”

  “He’s the mousy guy you were talking to over at the table a bit ago, right?” Jordan interjected.

  Jack nodded. “Why? Did you see where he went?”

  “Actually, I did. He went that way.” Jordan pointed toward the street that led to the police station. “He left right after Ivy and her aunt ... and I don’t want to alarm you or anything, but it almost looked as if he was following them. I assumed he was going to ask them a few questions about the investigation.”

  Jack’s heart dropped. “Seriously?”

  “Yeah. I mean ... I didn’t think anything of it at the time. I thought maybe they were all going to the same place. He was talking to you a few minutes before.”

  Jack shook his head, his inner worry monster threatening to make an appearance. “That’s weird, right?” He looked to Max for confirmation.

  “I guess it’s kind of weird. I don’t know why he would go after Ivy that way, though.”

  “I don’t either ... but I’m about to find out.”

  “YOU’RE ARCHIE SHERIDAN, RIGHT?”

  Ivy had no reason to be nervous around the man and yet fear grabbed her hard and fast as she took in his messy countenance. He looked to be sweating profusely ... and anger, red and hot, pulsed off him in waves.

  “Yes. Who are you? Wait. Don’t tell me. Ivy Morgan, the new star of the show.”

  “Not really.” Ivy slid a glance to her aunt and found her watching Archie with the same look of consternation. “If you’re searching for Jack — I know you were talking to him earlier — he’s either at the station or back at the town square.”

  “I’m not looking for Jack.”

  “No?”

  “I’m looking for Valerie.”

  Suspicion sizzled in the back of Ivy’s brain. “Why would you be looking for her?”

  “Because we have a few things to talk about,” Archie replied, matter-of-fact. “I was hoping to talk to her alone, before I got bombarded with questions by those stupid cops, but it didn’t happen ... and now I’m on a limited timetable.”

  He sounded so agitated Ivy couldn’t help glancing over her shoulder, hoping that a friendly face would suddenly appear. Even though she was out in the open, she felt vulnerable ... and it wasn’t a feeling she wanted to explore. Unfortunately, the street was empty, which meant they were on their own.

  “What’s your relationship with Valerie?”

  “Wouldn’t you like to know?” he sneered. “It’s really none of your business. I simply need to find her.”

  “Well, I guess I’ll leave you to it.” Ivy put a hand on her aunt’s arm. “We should get going. Jack is expecting us at the police station.”

  “Oh, don’t delude yourself,” Archie snapped. “He’s not at the police station. Trust me. I’ve been keeping track. He left a few minutes ago ... although Valerie is still there. That’s why I need you.”

  Ivy’s heart skipped a beat. “I don’t understand.”

  “He’s here to kill her,” a voice whispered, causing the hair on the back of Ivy’s neck to stand on end.

  She glanced around quickly, searching for another face, but all she saw was the hint of black she recognized from earlier. It darted around him, a coal-colored cloud of hate, and then dissipated.

  “What is that?” Felicity muttered.

  Oddly enough, Ivy felt better knowing she wasn’t the only one to see it. That didn’t mean she had answers, though, so she looked to Susan for help.

  “Her soul clung to this world instead of passing over to the next. Darkness came to collect her because that’s where she was going and she was afraid, so she fled. Her soul was tainted from the beginning,” Susan explained. “There’s no saving her.”

  Ivy had questions to ask, but she couldn’t in front of Archie. Despite the moments of heavy vol
atility, he didn’t notice Susan. That much was obvious. He didn’t as much as glance in her direction when she spoke.

  “I don’t know how you expect me to help you,” Ivy said after a beat. “There’s nothing I can do.”

  “Valerie is your assistant. I know. I heard the producers talking. That means you can go into the police station and ask for her and no one will be the wiser.”

  “Why would I do that?”

  “Because we need to have a discussion,” Archie replied, unruffled. “I think she’s been talking out of turn. I shouldn’t be surprised — I’ve been talking when I shouldn’t, too — but I need to know exactly what she told the cops.”

  It was then that Ivy realized Archie was in the dark about certain things, namely her relationship with Jack. He followed her because he thought she would be able to bring Valerie to him. He didn’t realize she had additional value. That was probably a good thing.

  “I’m not going into the police station to get her. She’ll come out when she’s finished.”

  “Well, that’s not going to work for me,” Archie hissed, his eyes going cold and dark. “I need her now. I can’t stay here unless I’m sure she stuck to the plan.”

  “And what plan is that?”

  “You don’t need to know.”

  The shadow was back, whispering. “They’re going to kill my father,” the dark remnants of Éclair announced. “He’s set it up to make my father look guilty for my death. They’re the ones who bought the life insurance policy. He’s the one who lured me out of the hotel, said he had money for me. They want all eyes on Father and then they’re going to kill him and make it look like a suicide.”

  “Well, that’s just rude,” Felicity muttered under her breath.

  Ivy agreed wholeheartedly. “Your father didn’t leave town, did he?” she said finally, opting to chase answers rather than run. If Archie tried to hurt her — especially here and now — things wouldn’t go his way. She would make certain of that. Sure. She might be injured in the process, but she had faith she could hold her own in a fight. “You made it look like he left town, but he’s still here.”

  Archie’s mouth dropped open in surprise. “Who told you that?”

  “A little birdie,” she replied, her eyes locking with Éclair’s dark orbs. “As soon as Jack and Brian showed up to question your father regarding Éclair’s death, you knew you had to put your plan in motion. You want all the money, right? To get it, your father has to be dead.”

  Archie was incensed. “Who told you that? Wait, let me guess, it was Valerie. She has the biggest mouth in the world. So much for us being partners.”

  Ivy shook her head, bile rising into her throat. “You and Valerie worked together, yet you’re both such horrible people you turned on each other. She had a plan to get the money for herself and you had a plan to get the money for yourself. That meant betraying each other.”

  “I’m sure she only told you her side of the story,” Archie complained. “There’s a lot more going on than she’s willing to admit. Did you know that she slept with my father? For a full year. I mean ... how gross is that?”

  “It’s pretty gross,” Ivy conceded. “I think this entire thing is gross. I think killing people for money is gross.” Her eyes rested on Éclair, who was practically vibrating with anger as she circled her brother. She was a malevolent force, evil to her core, and still he didn’t feel her. That meant he was made from the same icy hatred. “Your father raised horrible children, didn’t he? Neither you nor Éclair are worthy of saving.”

  “Éclair can’t be saved. She’s in Hell roasting marshmallows with ... well, whoever will have her. Trust me. She’s no big loss. Now, I really need you to collect Valerie. I don’t have time to screw around.”

  “I’m not getting Valerie.”

  “Why?”

  “Because she’s exactly where she should be.”

  “From your perspective, perhaps. From my perspective, I need her. I have to know what she told the cops. Also, I need her out of here. She has a huge mouth. I can’t trust her to keep it shut.”

  “So ... what? Are you going to kill her like you did Éclair?”

  “First off, I didn’t kill Éclair. Do I look like the sort of man who would beat a woman to death in an alley? Yeah, that wasn’t me. I hired someone to do it and he got a little overzealous. I had to pay him extra after the fact because he was acting crazy.”

  “Oh, well, that sounds awful,” Ivy drawled.

  “You can’t stay here,” Susan warned, her eyes on the black ghost. “She will lose herself soon and take him over. When that happens ... .”

  Ivy already had a feeling she knew what would happen if Éclair got her way, and it wasn’t pretty. He was a horrible man without his sister’s influence. If their souls touched ... it would be ultimate evil working from the same body. That couldn’t possibly end well.

  “I can make this worth your while,” Archie offered. “I’ll pay you to fetch Valerie and then look the other way. You’re obviously in need of money. Why else would you be on that horrible show?”

  “Only one reason.”

  “Yes, well, I can make it so you don’t have to participate. I’m about to inherit more money than I can ever spend.”

  “And you expect me to trust you to give some of it to me?”

  “Um ... yeah. I’m a trustworthy guy.”

  “Right. That’s why you’re looking for your former partner. You just want to talk to her because you’re trustworthy.”

  “Hey! Valerie was untrustworthy first. My relationship with her is none of your business. In fact ... .”

  Éclair, clearly bored of waiting for a moment to present herself, slammed her ethereal form into Archie’s back. Ivy watched, fascinated and repulsed, as the ghost wedged herself inside the brother who was responsible for her death.

  “I know you did this to me,” she screeched. “You’re the one who ruined everything. You’re the one who made it so I couldn’t have what I wanted. It was always you, whispering in Daddy’s ear and telling him I wasn’t worthy. Well, who’s not worthy now?”

  “What’s happening?” Archie asked, his mouth going slack. “I ... what is this? I think I’m having a seizure or something. I can’t see and there’s this … buzzing. Where’s that coming from? I ... what’s happening?”

  He slurred the final words, making Ivy wonder if he was onto something. He could very well be having a stroke.

  “We need to get out of here,” Felicity announced, grabbing Ivy’s arm and giving it a ferocious tug. “Now is the time to run.”

  In her head, Ivy knew that was true. She couldn’t turn away, though. She was fascinated enough to remain behind and watch Éclair’s shade overtake her brother ... and then crush him from the inside out.

  “Ivy!” Felicity sounded desperate and yet Ivy remained where she was standing.

  Feet pounded on the pavement as Jack and Max rounded the corner. Jack wasn’t sure what was happening — all he saw was Archie grabbing at his head and making odd screeching noises — but he moved to Ivy first.

  “Are you okay?”

  She jerked her head, surprised by the sound of his voice. “I’m not sure. I ... I don’t know what this is.”

  “It’s revenge,” Susan volunteered. “That’s all it is, plain and simple.”

  “What will happen to Éclair’s soul once this is over?” Ivy asked, genuinely curious. “Will she hang around and manage to infiltrate someone else? If so, we can’t sit by and do nothing. That’s not something that should be allowed.”

  “She’s burning up all her energy here,” Susan replied. “She won’t last long. She’ll simply drift away after that and won’t be able to stop the claiming of her soul.”

  “Are you sure she has a soul?”

  “Yes, but it’s dark.”

  “Well ... .” Ivy instinctively reached over and grabbed Jack’s hand. He looked confused as he watched Archie twitch and moan, the ashen man slowly lowering himself to t
he pavement.

  “I should call an ambulance,” Jack said finally. “That’s the right thing to do.”

  “Go ahead,” Ivy whispered. “He’ll be gone by the time the ambulance gets here.”

  “I don’t understand,” Max intoned, wrapping his arm around Felicity’s shoulders. “What is this?”

  “The end of two bad people,” Felicity replied. “I’ve never seen anything like it — and I can honestly say I hope to never see it again — but it’s justice.”

  Ivy wasn’t certain about much, but on that point, she could rest easy. “Justice,” she echoed. “The end is almost here. Call for help. It won’t matter, but you have to do it.”

  Jack moved his arm around Ivy’s back and tugged her to him as he pulled out his phone with his free hand. “It’s okay, honey. I’m right here. Just .... hold on. We’ll get through this.”

  “I know. We always do.”

  Twenty

  Jack walked into the cottage shortly before seven that night, a bouquet of flowers clutched in his hand.

  Ivy, who was cuddled on the couch with Nicodemus and a book she was only pretending to read, arched an eyebrow. “What are those for?”

  “My favorite person in the world,” he replied without hesitation, double checking the door was locked behind him before kicking off his shoes and heading toward her. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine.” She made room so he could sit next to her and accepted the flowers he placed in her lap. “You didn’t need to spend a bunch of money on roses.” She lifted them anyway and inhaled deeply. “They’re beautiful, though.”

  “You’re beautiful.” He kissed her cheek and studied her features for signs she was having a tough time of it. In truth, he’d spent the better part of his day worried that she was melting down, that she needed him and he was too busy to be with her. She looked relatively put together, though, and he wasn’t certain if that made him feel better or worse. “I love you.”

  Ivy’s smile was rueful as she moved the flowers to the coffee table and focused on him. “Have you been obsessing about me all day?”

  “I obsess about you every day.”