Cassie (The Coven's Grove Chronicles #3)

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Cassie (The Coven's Grove Chronicles #3) Page 16

by Virginia Hunter


  She finally found him slinking around the Carpenter family headstones. It wasn’t his standard hangout, but there were a lot of ghosts out tonight, so the place was pretty cramped. Spirits generally gravitated to one or two physical locations, any more than that and their presence tended to fade. Not that they couldn’t move from place to place, it just took a lot of effort for them to maintain themselves in unfamiliar territory, or so she’d been told.

  “Duck,” Paige reached out with her mind to the lanky ghost. “I need ya, man. I’ve got a special guest that requires some scaring.”

  The Duck perked up at her summons. Upon seeing her, he blinked out of sight, and then appeared right in front of her. “Hey, hotstuff.”

  Paige stuttered part of her monologue from the shock. I hate it when they do that. Recovering she said, “You’re all welcome to walk the perimeter, but please, not on the grass.”

  Duck snickered in her ear. “You’re too easy.”

  “And you’re a jerk,” Paige said out of the side of her mouth as she smiled at the tourists. “I’m not the one who needs scaring.”

  “Still fun though.” Duck sighed. “So, who’s the lucky victim?”

  “See the boy with Maggie?” She nodded in the pair’s direction.

  Duck rubbed his hands together. “I just love making children cry.”

  “Not the kid,” Paige corrected. “The douche bag just in front of them, the kid’s father.”

  “Dark rimmed glasses?”

  “That’s the one.”

  “On it,” Duck whispered, as he disappeared.

  The tour group spread out along the various cobblestone paths, studying the many headstones, none-the-wiser that ghosts surrounded them. Paige kept her eyes on the little family that had a dickhead for a dad. Maggie continued to whisper in Billy’s ear, and even held his hand as they moseyed through the low hanging fog. Paige was surprised to see Maggie expend such effort to comfort the boy. Being seen by the living was no small feat for the dead, let alone actually making physical contact. Spirits with a lot of focus generally possessed the kind of power it took to pull off the kinds of things Maggie was doing. Anger, unfortunately, was the most dominant emotion that provided fuel for the focus needed to breach the barriers between the living and the dead. That’s why most of the spirits lingering in this graveyard couldn’t or wouldn’t communicate with those of flesh and blood; it took too much effort, and they weren’t pissed off enough to care anyway. Maggie and Duck were some of the few spirits that hadn’t turned into malicious apparitions, using hatred and rage to make their presence known. They drew their power from a different source. They used love; the love of what they do. For Maggie it was all about the children, for Duck it was about getting his rocks off (which he was about to do). Regardless, whether a spirit used love or anger, it still cost them. Paige knew she wouldn’t see either Maggie or Duck for a couple of weeks after tonight. The effort would rob them of their power to manifest, even for Paige.

  The Duck’s hand came out of the ground near Billy’s father. The ghostly hand tapped the man’s black shoe, releasing tendrils of greenish mist that coiled around his foot and up his pant leg. The mist continued upward until finally reaching the man’s nostrils. He sucked in the green gas unawares, and moved on to the next headstone.

  “I liked your tour,” a young woman said from behind Paige. “It was very informative, and fun.”

  Paige turned away from the graveyard, and The Duck’s antics to face her admirer. “Thank you so much.”

  The woman was a tall, striking Native American. Her high cheekbones complimented the oval shape of her dark eyes, while jet black hair framed her face neatly in an A-frame cut. “Do you by chance offer your services to people with ‘supernatural’ problems?”

  Paige blinked. “I’m not sure what you mean?”

  The Native American woman smiled. “You can talk with spirits, and see them too. I require the assistance of someone with your skills.”

  “I think you may have the wrong person. I can’t see spirits, lady,” Paige lied. Experience had taught her that revealing her power was generally a bad idea. Most people didn’t handle it well. How this woman knew what she could do was a little disturbing to say the least, and her flight response kicked into high gear. “If you’ll excuse me, I have to finish up here.”

  “I’ll wait.”

  Paige pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes. “Look, I can’t help you with whatever it is you’re dealing with. I can’t talk to, or see ghosts.”

  A scream of terror filled the cemetery, stealing everyone’s attention. Billy’s father sprinted past the tombstones as if he were on fire. His high pitched screeching stemmed from the fact that he had an assortment of giant, insect-like apparitions clinging to his head, shoulders and torso. The terror stricken man galloped past Paige and the Native American beauty without a second glance. The other patrons looked on in shock as Billy’s father continued down the street, flailing at creatures that no one else could see.

  Paige snickered. “Never seen him use those before.”

  “Crater mites,” the Native American woman said. “Nasty beasts if they cross over.”

  “Really? I’ve never seen one do—” Paige slapped a hand over her mouth. The woman had totally tricked her into blabbing. “You did that on purpose.”

  The smile that spread across the tall woman’s face spoke more of her deception than words could have. “Can we talk?”

  “Maybe,” Paige drawled. “How did you see those phantoms when no one else can?”

  “I could ask the same of you,” she retorted. “You know that isn’t an easy question to answer.”

  Paige frowned. She knew full well how difficult it was to explain her power. It was easier to just keep a lid on it. “Are you a medium, like me?”

  “Sadly no, but I can see the spirit world.”

  Paige’s curiosity was perked, but she had a tour to finish. “We can talk when I retrieve Billy’s dad, and wrap up this tour.”

  The Native American woman nodded. “Sounds good to me. I’m Nova Walker by the way.”

  “Paige Eastick,” she replied. “See you at the shop, Necropolis by Night.” She didn’t wait for a response as she turned to her tour group. “I hope you all enjoyed the tour. If you’ll follow me back to the shop, I have gift cards for everyone, and a survey if you have time.”

  Most of the tour group followed her back, and hung around the gift shop for a few minutes. Billy and his mother were already there when Paige arrived. Maggie was saying goodbye to the little boy while his mother comforted the distraught father.

  “They were all over me...” he was saying as Paige went in the front door. She couldn’t stifle the smile that crept across her face. No long-term good might come from The Duck’s little scare, but it sure did wonders for her mood. It was always good to see a douchebag get a humbling.

  Paige went about tidying up the store as the last few patrons meandered out the door. She hoped Nova actually showed. After getting over the initial shock of being found by another person who could see, Paige was actually looking forward to the meeting. There were so many questions that needed answering. She hoped the Native American woman could fill in some of the blanks that had been plaguing her over the past few years. More than that however, it would be nice to have someone to talk to about the things she’d experienced. There had been only one other person Paige had found that possessed the ability to interact with the spirit world, and that poor man had been driven insane because of it. Nothing good had come from that meeting, and had actually put her off from communicating with spirits for half a year. A shiver went down her spine from the memory of seeing the poor man huddled in the corner, drooling on himself. That won’t be me.

  She locked up the shop and headed toward her car to wait for Nova, only to find the tall beauty leaning against the front fender. “Glad you made it,” Paige said, barely able to contain her excitement. “Do you wanna get some coffee or something?”

/>   Nova hesitated. “I can’t, sorry. But if you have a few minutes to talk...”

  Oh, hell. I’ve already crossed the awkwardness line, Paige thought. “Sure.” She took a spot next to Nova and crossed her arms, feeling a bit embarrassed.

  “Like I said before, I need your help,” the Native American woman said without skipping a beat. Her calm demeanor cracked a little as she continued, “Actually, my brother needs your help.”

  “I’m not sure I can really help,” Paige replied with a shrug. “I mean, I interact with spirits, sure, but otherwise I’m just a tour guide.”

  Nove came away from the car. “You’re so much more than that. You possess real power.”

  Paige frowned and shook her head. “How do you even know that?”

  The tall woman bit her lip. “I just can.”

  “Ya see, this is the kinda thing I’ve been hoping to find; a person that has the same issues I have.” Excitement tickled the back of Paige’s neck, and she began pacing. “We could learn from each other, or help each other learn stuff--”

  “I can’t,” Nova interrupted.

  Paige stopped in her tracks. “Why? Do I smell or something.” She sniffed her underarm, adding to the snark, and then drained the humor from her face entirely. “Or am I just not good enough?”

  Nova raised her hands. “It’s not like that. It’s me. I can’t help you the way you’re hoping I can.”

  “Well that makes two of us then.” Paige crossed her arms again. It was a shitty thing to say, but she was frustrated, and wasn’t in the mood to play nice.

  Nova dropped her hands with a look of despair. “Please. We need your help.”

  Paige sighed, she hated being the asshole. “Maybe, but you gotta give me something in return.”

  “I can, and I will,” Nova promised, life coming back into her eyes.

  “I’m not talking just money either,” Paige said hastily. “I want some information about what we can do.”

  “I’ll do what I can.”

  That’s all Paige really wanted from her. Even though they didn’t know each other, the effort was appreciated. She reached out to pat Nova on the shoulder. “Thanks, I hope--”

  Nova shied away from her touch, but didn’t move quick enough. Paige’s hand passed right through her.

  What the hell? Paige stumbled back. “You’re dead!”

  “Let me explain...”

  “Screw that!” Paige snatched her keys out of her purse and got in the car, Nova pleading with her the whole way. She’d had experience with and exposure to the dead, sure, but she’d never been fooled by one like this before. She’d never had one appear so...alive. “Back off lady. You’ve got issues I can’t help with.” She slammed the door shut, and started the car.

  Nova’s head popped through the window. “I’m so sorry, please--”

  Paige put the car in reverse and hit the gas. The ghost’s head and shoulders slid through glass and steel to be left behind in the dust. Once out of the parking lot, she peeled out and took off down the street. It was a ways down the road before she noticed her hands trembling on the steering wheel.

  Damn, that was messed up. It was more than just the actual encounter that had shaken so badly though. The loss of a potential comrade-in-arms after so long of finding no one had hit deep. The loneliness she had been coping with on a daily basis suddenly became an insurmountable weight that crushed down on her. Tears welled in her eyes as she pulled into her apartment complex.

  She wiped her face with the back of her hand before she got out of the car and went inside. Her purse was thrown on the couch as she crossed the small living area, and headed straight for the bathroom. She drew a bath and stripped out of her work clothes, the walls of isolation pressing in on her. The water was blessedly hot, but provided little comfort as she wept.

  Coming Soon!

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  About the Author

  Virginia L. Hunter

  Was born in St. Louis, and has traveled much of the United States during the course of her life. Her journeys have allowed her to experience many wonderful things, and make many lifelong friends. Married for 19 years, Virginia met her husband in college and knew upon first laying eyes on him that she would bewitch him and become the mother of their two children.

  Virginia has always enjoyed her supernatural stories to be flavored with a bit of steamy romance. The many stories she has read over the years inspired her to write about the things she loves most—titillating tales about sexy witches and the men lucky enough to be chosen by them. Her hope is that her readers will enjoy her stories as much as she has enjoyed reading the stories of countless others.

  Table of Contents

  Title_Page

  Jacket_Copy

  Virginia_Hunter

  Prologue

  Chapter_01

  Chapter_02

  Chapter_03

  Chapter_04

  Chapter_05

  Chapter_06

  Chapter_07

  Chapter_08

  Chapter_09

  Chapter_10

  Chapter_11

  Epilogue

  Paige_Sample

  Coming_Soon

  About_the_Author

 

 

 


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