by Sarra Cannon
I know. I wanted to tell him. I mean, a lot of people on campus knew about it. Maybe I could say I had heard from someone. But then he would think I was prying into his life. No, no. I would let him open up. Little by little.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered.
“Me too,” he whispered back.
“Want to talk about it?” I asked, knowing the answer.
He shook his head. “Not really. I don’t like thinking about it, much less talking.” I caressed his hand, and my thumb touched the macramé bracelet on his wrist. A small smile appeared on his handsome face, illuminating his blue eyes. “My sister made that for me on my birthday a few years ago. She had one too. She said it was our thing.”
“It seems you two had a special bond.”
He nodded. “She was fifteen months younger than me, and we were best friends since she was born.” He pulled his hand away from mine and leaned to the front again, his elbows on his knees. “I’m … I’m sorry about yesterday.” He sighed. “You were trying to help me and I was a jerk. I’m really sorry.”
I hadn’t really expected an apology. “It’s okay.”
“No. It’s not.” He pressed his lips together before proceeding. “I went to the bar to watch the game and grab a bite. I was all quiet on my own until a guy recognized me and starting talking about the night my sister and my best friend died, saying I was a nut job. I tried to ignore him, but he started shoving me and I lost it.” He went quiet.
Biting my lip, I sat back in the pew, unsure what to do. If I was going to help him, baby steps were the way to go. Pushing him right now would just send him running. In silence, I stayed beside Sean for ten minutes, hoping he came to recognize me as an anchor of some sort. Only time would tell.
I reached over and patted him on the back. He went rigid with my touch, but didn’t pull away. Finally, I stood and walked out of the cathedral, thinking I had to be demented to want a damaged guy like Sean to find an anchor in me. What if he was truly lost and insane? What if he had a breakdown and dragged me with him?
I pushed those thoughts out of my mind. I would worry about him and his situation after Halloween. Right now, I had to prepare myself for the day to come.
Chapter 5
First thing I did on the Saturday morning of Halloween was to stop by the Midnight Cauldron and pick up my ingredients. The second thing was to make sure Kimberly wasn’t in our room (she had stayed at her hookup’s apartment apparently), lock the door, and prepare the potions.
If I had had more time, I would have been able to make some powerful potions, but with little warning, these ones would have to do. Hopefully, the bone necklace’s magic would compensate.
I fished four small cauldrons from under my bed, conjured a fire in the middle of my room, and mixed the ingredients. While the potions brewed, I did my homework, got ahead on a project, ate something, took a shower, and put on my mission-like clothes: black leggings, black long sleeve tee, black leather jacket, and black combat boots. I pulled my hair up in a ponytail and applied my mascara and eyeliner.
In the evening, the quantity of voices and footsteps ringing from behind my door increased. Everyone was getting ready for the parties—the one on campus and the many others around the city.
At some point, Kimberly came to change. I had already stashed everything back under my bed and recast the invisibility spell. She dressed in a naughty nurse outfit and stood in front of our only full-length mirror behind the bathroom door.
“I look great, don’t I?” She whirled around, proud of looking naughty.
I smiled, not because I agreed, but because she amused me. “Yup.”
She stared at me through the mirror. “And what are you supposed to be? That chick from that vampire and werewolf movie?”
I shook my head. “That’s Selene from Underworld. And no. I just dressed up, but no costume.”
“You’re no fun.” She picked up her tiny purse. “Well, don’t wait up for me. I probably won’t come back tonight.” She winked before leaving the room.
I waited a good fifteen minutes before dragging my things from under my bed again. I hid all the vials on a black utility belt, placed a dagger with them, made sure I had the bone necklace, and left my room.
Opposite to the sea of students leaving the building, I went up to the fourth floor. The door to room 408 was closed, and there was no light coming from under it. A couple of girls walked by, and after making sure they were gone and there wasn’t anyone else coming, I rested my ear on the door and listened for signs of anyone inside. Too quiet.
Voices came from the end of the hallway, and I pushed away from the door. I knelt down and pretended to fix my boots. The girls, all dressed up for the party, didn’t even see me as they walked by. They rushed down the stairs and I returned my attention to the room.
I touched the cold metal knob. “Aperi.” The lock made a click sound and I twisted the knob, pushing the door open.
The room was much messier than Kimberly’s and mine, and much pinker. And purple. I stepped in and a force pushed me back.
What the …?
The power filled the room, as if declaring ownership. Oh no. I clutched the bone in my hand and channeled my power. My veins filled with magic, a wave of bliss and power, a rush that made me feel strong and right.
I tried entering the room again. The ghost pushed me back, but this time, it was no match for the magic flowing in me. I stopped in the middle of the room and called it forth. “Apparet.”
White smoke appeared in front of me, slowly morphing into a human shape. Legs, a fluffy dress that came down to her knees, thin waist, arms, hair separated in two braids, and a fuzzy face.
A girl. The ghost was a girl.
I called on the magic, focusing on her face, wanting it to be clear.
Her white eyes widened, and the hazy expression on her face was of pure terror. She reached for me and opened her mouth, but nothing came out.
“What is it?” I asked. “You want to tell me something?”
She nodded. She opened her mouth again, looking desperate to say something.
“Claritas,” I said, invoking magic to help her.
“You,” she croaked, her voice raspy. She touched her throat and tried again. “You can’t—”
She vanished.
My mouth fell open and I looked around. What the hell? Even her power, her force was gone. I couldn’t feel her anywhere. I looked out the window, trying to get a reading if she was out there, just out of reach, but didn’t feel or see anything.
Focusing back on my magic, I called her again. “Apparet.” I tried it a couple more times, without success.
My phone dinged and I fished it out of my jacket pocket. The note I had put in had beeped. It was time to go. It pained me to leave the ghost of this girl without resolution, but I had to go if I didn’t want to fail the white witches’ test without even trying it.
***
Knowing the mansion would be a bigger challenge, I headed to some of the other spots first. Some were easy peasy, just the normal ghost hunting job. Closing the cut was a bit harder, but nothing that needed too much power or complicated spells—not with the bone. The City Park, the hotel Monteleone, the Saenger Theatre, and the St. Louis cemetery required a bit more time—especially to hide from tourists and guests—and a couple of potions.
From outside, the mansion didn’t look haunted, just old and uncared for. I stood at the sidewalk, outside the tall, rusty gates, and looked at the place. Three stories with a turret on the right corner, a large front porch, and half a dozen broken stairs to the double front door. The once white paint was now graying and peeling; the roof was dirty and had several broken spots. Some of the windows had hanging shutters or shattered glass.
With magic, I pushed open the gate and walked up to the porch. The power emanating from inside only grew with each step I took.
I gulped down my fear, climbed up the steps, and reached for the knob. I peeked inside, afraid the ghosts w
ould be right there and would overwhelm me before I had a chance to get started. The light coming from the full moon seeped from the many windows and illuminated the interior. A large, squared foyer extended in front of me, a once beautiful crystal chandelier hung precariously from the ceiling, and double staircases extended from each side of the room, leading up to a landing upstairs. Under the staircase, an archway led to the rest of the house.
Cautious, I stepped inside. It was cold in here and the power was even stronger, but not as strong as if the cut in the veil were open. I frowned. Why wasn’t the cut open yet? I pulled my phone from my jacket pocket and checked the time. One hour to midnight. Oh crap. What if I had missed the window? What if the veil had already opened, let out a bunch of ghosts, and now was closed once again? Shit. Here was where I was supposed to prove myself to the white witches. How was I supposed to do that if the cut was gone?
Wait, no. The cuts would still be open if not forced closed. It was true for the others, and this one wouldn’t be any different. The cut here hadn’t opened yet, and I couldn’t draw a circle and start the spell until it did.
I held my breath as a ghost of an old man walked on the upstairs landing, emerging from one wall and disappearing into the other.
I turned to close the door, before a ghost noticed something was out of order, when someone came barreling inside, bumping into me and almost making me yelp and fall. I pressed a hand over my mouth and the person held my elbow, keeping me up.
“Sorry.”
I gasped, recognizing that voice. I grabbed his biceps and pulled him to a thin strip of moonlight. No. No. No.
“What are you doing here?” I whispered, wanting to scream at him.
Sean looked at me as if I was crazy. “What are you doing here?”
“Shhh.” I tried pushing him back out the door, but he was much bigger than me and didn’t budge. “You have to go. Now.”
“No. You have to go. I won’t leave if you don’t leave with me.” He reached for me and held my hand, a gentle touch that was opposite of the terror illustrating his face. “Please, let’s go. You have no idea the bad things that can happen here.” He tugged my arm. “Come on.”
“Sean,” I whispered. “I can’t go. But you have to.”
Nodding, he let go of my hand and I exhaled a relieved breath. He would leave and I would be able to work without interference.
Instead, Sean grabbed me around the middle and hoisted me over his shoulder. His arm wound around my thighs, just below my butt, and he ran out of the mansion. I had to bite my tongue so I wouldn’t yell for him to let me go.
I jerked on his grasp. “Put me down,” I demanded, maintaining a low voice.
He raced down the stairs from the front porch. I jolted on his shoulder, kicking my legs and punching his back. He didn’t even flinch.
Finally, just in front of the gates, he set me down. “There.”
I straightened my jacket. “Why did you do that?”
“Because!” he yelled, clenching his fists.
“Don’t raise your voice.” I sighed. “Sean, please, just leave and don’t come back.”
I stepped away from him, but he wrapped his hand around my wrist and yanked me back. “Where the hell do you think you’re going?”
I stared at him, not one bit afflicted by his raging glare. “Please, please, please, release me and go away.”
He pulled me closer. “Hazel, this place is …” He pressed his mouth shut and shook his head.
I relaxed a bit. “This place is evil. I know. I read what happened here last year, but I would like you to tell me.” He shook his head. I turned to him and, with my free hand, touched his arm. “Please, Sean, tell me. I swear I’ll believe you.”
He snorted, a sound full of sarcasm. “Not even I believe what my own eyes saw. Why would you?”
“Try me.”
He stared at me, those bright blue eyes softening. He must have seen something in me, because he sighed and said, “I … Doug and I had always heard about all the haunted places in New Orleans and we always said we should visit them during Halloween. Last year, we finally did it. We chose this house because it’s said to be the worst of all haunted places. Deep down, we thought it was all stories for the tourists. I never thought …” He paused and looked up at the full moon. “I never thought it could be real. At least, I think it was real. Psychiatrists say I had a breakdown and everything was my imagination. At some point, I think I believed them. I believed I was hallucinating.” He glanced back at the house. “However, here we are, and I can’t shake the feeling that it was real.”
“What was real?”
He faced me again, his eyes frightened. “Ghosts. So many ghosts. And they were corporal, most of them. They grabbed us, they played with us, they tortured us. Finally, I was able to break free, and I was about to help Lisa and Doug, but the ghosts killed them. Right in front of me. I saw the light go out in their eyes. I saw their bodies slump. The ghosts turned to me and I just ran.” He closed his eyes. “I ran like a coward.”
“No, Sean. You’re not a coward.” I pulled him into a tight embrace. He was rigid at first, and then he melted into me. His arms snaked around me, pulling me close. “Ghosts are vengeful and evil. Most of the ones that stay in this world are. There wasn’t much you could have done.”
He lifted his head to look at me, a big V between his brows. “I just told you I saw ghosts, and you aren’t telling me I must have imagined things.”
I could lie. I could say he was imagining things. But maybe he was here at this exact moment for a reason. Maybe he was supposed to find out about ghosts and the other world so he could move on.
“Because you didn’t. Ghosts are real. I can see them.”
His eyes went wide. “W-what?”
What the hell? I was going all the way now. “I’m a witch, Sean. In my spare time, I help ghosts cross over to the other world.”
Suspicion spread through his face and he stepped back from me. “Is this a joke?”
I sighed, extending my hand between us. I channeled my power and whispered, “Incendo.” Flames danced at the end of my fingertips. Sean retreated another step. “I’m what we call a good witch, or in other words, a white witch.”
He stared at the fire, mesmerized. “If there are good witches, then …”
“There are also bad witches. We call them dark witches. And there are witch hunters too, the Brotherhood. They hunt white and dark witches, since, to them, we’re all witches, which means we’re all evil.”
He locked his eyes on mine. “Why are you telling me all this?”
I closed my hand and the fire vanished. “Because I’m here to do my job, Sean. Soon, somewhere inside the house, a cut will open in the veil between our worlds and more ghosts will come out. I need to close the veil and send the ghosts back. I’ll avenge your sister and your friend, and hopefully you’ll feel better after that. But right now, I need you to stay away from the house, okay?”
He reached for me. “Wait, no—”
I stepped out of his grasp. “Stay safe.”
With a small smile, I turned around and walked back to the house.
Chapter 6
I entered the mansion feeling both relieved and nervous. Relieved that Sean had stayed outside, and nervous because it was eleven thirty and there still was no sign of the cut. It should open any time now.
I leaned on the door, intent on closing it without a sound, when it was pushed back on me. Sean barged in again.
“What are you doing here?” I whispered.
“I can’t let you do this alone,” he whispered back.
“Sean. I have magic. I have potions. You don’t have any kind of weapon against them. I can’t think about protecting you while I’m busy casting spells to close the veil.”
A muscle in his jaw popped. “You don’t have to worry about me. I’ll be fine.”
I shook my head and pushed him back. “No. Please, Sean, leave. I’ll feel better.”
&
nbsp; He held my hands in his and looked into my eyes. “I lost someone special to me here. I won’t let it happen again.”
My heart squeezed. I wanted to ask him what he meant by that, whether he wouldn’t let another person die here, or if I was someone special to him. I wanted to revel in his words and daydream about the meaning. But hell, this was not the time!
“I want you to be safe.” I yanked my hands from him and sent a wave of air over him. It pushed him back to the door. But, before he could cross the threshold, the door closed itself.
Sean bumped into it. “Ouch.”
My blood chilled. I turned around. The ghost of an old woman was on the right side of the staircase, and she had a wicked grin on her twisted face.
Damn it. I put myself between Sean and her just as she let out a screech and floated toward us. I channeled the magic from the necklace and sent a wave of energy to her, slowing her down. Meanwhile, I reached inside my utility belt and grabbed the pouch with the red powder.
Her white fingers inched closer. I threw the powder at her and chanted, “Liberi.”
The ghost exploded into white smoke.
“Whoa,” Sean muttered from behind me.
“Come on.” I grabbed his hand and pulled him under the staircase. “Her scream might have alerted others that there’s someone in the house.”
We crossed the archway into a huge living room. A door on the left caught my attention. I opened it and, after noticing it was just a small closet, pushed Sean in and joined him. I closed the door and immediately cast a light bolt on my palm to illuminate the place. Not wasting time, I picked the pouch of salt from my belt and formed a small circle around us.
“Is that salt?” Sean asked.
I nodded. “Stay in the circle.” He stepped in and his chest brushed with mine. He was hard and tall and wide. I felt myself blushing, which was ridiculous. How could I feel like this in such a dire situation?
“Won’t they find us here?” Sean asked.
