“Oops,” Claire giggled, “wrong kind of cleavage.”
I needed help putting the third dress on; it was so tight and slinky. The most pink and shiny of all the dresses, the strapless floor-length pink satin with a slit up each leg left nothing to the imagination.
“Hey girl, are you single?” Claire said, mock leering at me.
“It looks okay?” I asked.
“I think more guys than just Avery and Ben are going to be fighting over you after tonight. You look smokin’ hot, big sis.”
“Thanks, Mel. Can you, uh, help me get out of it? I want to breathe all I can before I have to put it on again for the party.” She unzipped it and I inhaled deeply.
“All right, grab your stuff,” Claire said, heaving an enormous duffel bag from the closet. “I made us spa appointments for mani/pedis, hair and make-up at the Lodge in an hour and I want to hit up the See-Saw for some grub beforehand.”
My stomach growled at the mention of the diner. I could probably get away with a chili dog and fries, but not a chocolate shake. I had seven hours until I had to beat up an old lady while wearing a skin tight dress - plenty of time to digest.
It had started snowing heavily while we were eating at the See-Saw and I was glad for the snow tires Frank had put on the Legacy for me. There was no way I could have made it up the mountain and to the Lodge without them. I regretted not being able to stop and see Avery and Mom on the way, but with all the appointments Claire had made for us, there just wasn’t time. Still, my dad and his mom were in Portland at some chocolate expo, so it would have been safe for us to see each other and I really could have used a good dose of Avery to get me through the evening. I trudged on, reminding myself that if Claire knew what was going on she would have let me have hours alone with him. It had been Christopher’s suggestion that we don’t tell her. He thought she would cancel the party and tip off Mildred that we knew she was coming. I had to admit that that was probably what would have happened, but I still didn’t like keeping things from her.
“Okay, Giselle, give her one more round of hairspray and I think she’s good to go!” Claire said to the hairstylist through the cloud of stickiness hovering over my head.
I narrowed my eyes at her. “You know it will take me a week to get all of that product out of my hair, right?”
“Yes, but sometimes you have to suffer for beauty, Zel.” She smiled. “Besides, I just want you to look as awesome as I do.”
“Ha!” I took in Claire’s appearance. Her black shoulder length hair had been flat ironed to perfection, parted on the side and adorned with Swarovski crystals. The gown she had finally decided on was a shimmery orange strapless mini-dress that complemented her curves, tan skin, and brought out the caramel color of her eyes. The whole look was completed with expensive black open toed pumps that were so high there was only a four inch height difference between us. “Not possible. You’ve set the bar too high.”
“Hardly.” Claire nodded for the hairstylist to spin my chair around to face the mirror.
“Oh! Wow. You rock Giselle.” I studied my reflection, turning my head from side to side. My hair was like an architectural design. The front was divided into three French braids and pulled back to the crown of my head, where it was twisted into an elaborate knot interwoven with silver ribbon. The rest of my hair hung down my back in soft waves.
“Yeah, you managed to make her look nothing like she usually does,” Melody teased. She looked great herself, her blonde hair pulled back into a simple bun, further playing up her ballerina image.
Claire whipped the plastic smock off of me. “Go put your dress on! Time to par-tay.”
Melody and I entered the ballroom ahead of Claire, allowing her to make the grand entrance she deserved and also giving us some time to scope out any supernatural party crashers. I scanned the room, but didn’t see anything or anyone I didn’t recognize. Melody squeezed my arm, acknowledging that she’d come to the same conclusion. We moved off to the side, going to stand next to Ben and Frank.
Ben whistled his appreciation at us. “You two have got to be the hottest pastor’s daughters that have ever existed.”
“You both look lovely,” Frank chimed in.
“And you guys clean up pretty well, too,” I said, stepping back to admire them in their tuxedoes. Who was I kidding? Ben could’ve gone directly from this party to New York fashion week. If Claire had a rival for belle of the ball, it was him. I longed for the day when I wasn’t going to find him so attractive. Eventually I was going to get used to him and barely notice how beautiful he was, right? Because that had worked so well with Avery. I’d spent most of my life staring at him and he could still render me speechless with one of his crinkly-eyed smiles.
“Have you detected any threats?” Melody said in a low voice to Frank.
He shook his head. “All clear for the time being.”
“Any sign of Aunt Hazel? I haven’t heard from her yet.”
“She’s on her way,” Frank said. “She texted me a half hour ago.”
“Is she bringing reinforcements?” Melody asked.
“Two. A Retroact from Ohio named Gabrielle Guajardo and her half-sister Lookout, Ashley Martin.”
“Only two?”
“People are scared, Mel,” Ben whispered. “If this doesn’t go well...”
We all exchanged somber looks.
Jason’s band started playing a song he’d written for Claire when they were dating as the tall gilded doors to the ballroom were opened by two decked out Lodge employees. The room went completely silent except for the rocking music. Everyone turned their attention to Claire, escorted by her dashing father, gracefully walking to the center of the room.
My best friend kicked so much ass I wanted to cry.
“Holy shit,” Ben remarked loudly.
I sent my elbow backwards, jabbing him in the ribs. A few people around us snickered.
Claire motioned for Jason to cut the music and then addressed the room. “Thank you all for coming to my birthday celebration. I’m so grateful that those of you who travelled from other countries have arrived here safely. I feel truly blessed to have such an awesome group of people to celebrate with. Please let one of our wonderful Lodge employees know if you need anything. I hope you all enjoy yourselves.” She dropped her debutante affectations and traipsed over to the band. “Now, let’s dance!” The music started up again and the partygoers swarmed around her. She was in her element.
Ben grabbed my hand. “C’mon, let’s have a little fun while we can.”
I started to tell him that I couldn’t really dance, especially not in my skintight dress, but then I noticed Claire waving me over to her. I let Ben drag me onto the dance floor. Immediately a circle formed around him as he showed off his dance moves. I stuck to the edge of the crowd, clapping along to the music. When Claire joined Ben in a dance-off, the room erupted in a loud cheer. I couldn’t help but laugh watching the two of them outdo each other. At least Claire got to have this moment before my kind went and jacked it all up.
Someone tapped me on the shoulder. I turned to find Christopher standing behind me, also looking quite dapper in a tux.
“Your great aunt’s here. Come with me.” He walked away, sure I’d follow.
I left Ben and Claire and their superior moves on the dance floor and hurried after Christopher.
I caught up with him and a seriously underdressed Aunt Hazel, along with two women in their late twenties, over by the coat check. Even though I knew she’d be uncomfortable with my showing her affection, I pulled Aunt Hazel into a hug. “I’m so glad you’re here,” I said into her hair. “Sorry about Grandma. Are you okay?”
She patted my back, signaling that I should let go of her. “I’m fine. Although I’ll feel even better when we’ve eliminated Mildred and freed the spirits from captivity.” Aunt Hazel gestured to the women standing beside her. “Gabrielle, Ashley, this is my grand-niece and namesake, Zellie.”
“Hi,” I said, ste
pping forward and shaking both of their hands.
“Okay, you two,” Christopher said, pointing to Aunt Hazel and Ashley, “go see Frank and Melody for your assignments. They’re stationed behind the cake table for the time being.”
Aunt Hazel raised her eyebrow at me.
“He thinks he’s in charge,” I muttered.
Christopher reached over the coat check counter and yanked two floor-length black dressy coats from their hangers. “And put these on. You all look like you’ve been bathing at rest stops.”
Ashley put the coat on and pulled her long blonde hair from underneath the fur collar. “That’s because we have been, you idiot.”
I adored Ashley.
Christopher shooed them away and then spoke to Gabrielle. “How is your rewinding? Are you strong?”
Gabrielle shot her hand out and rewound a couple dancing their way onto the dance floor from across the room.
“Good. So there’s nothing wrong with you then?”
I slapped his arm. “Don’t be so rude!”
“It’s okay,” she said, pushing the top of her ear down to reveal a tiny hearing aid. She eyed Christopher. “I’m partially deaf and partially Mexican. Either of those going to be a problem for you, Pastor Asshat?”
Okay. Adored Ashley. Freaking loved Gabrielle. We were all safer with these women on our team.
He leaned away from her, intimidated. “No. I just wondered why you weren’t with The Society, is all.”
“Oh.” Gabrielle backed off a little. “My dad was my mom’s trigger. She left The Society so she could be with him.” She shrugged. “She’s just a seer, so they didn’t care that much and when they found out that I had a hearing loss they weren’t that into recruiting me either. Which is fine. They don’t know what they’re missing.”
“But Ashley is your half sister? Your mom...remarried?” I asked. I had to know if there was a trigger out there who had survived his foretold death.
“Yeah, my mom married Denny after my dad died.”
Our eyes met, her whole face smiling at me. “You let me know if you figure out that loophole, okay? There’s this guy in Cleveland, my trigger, he’s been waiting around for me for eleven years. I’d sure like to see him again.”
“Fabulous,” Christopher interrupted. “My trigger’s already dead and my ghost boyfriend betrayed me. Can we cut the romantic talk and get on with my plan?”
While Christopher instructed Gabrielle on what her role in the plan was, I went back to Claire and Ben. They were taking a break from dancing, sitting at one of the banquet tables eating sushi.
“Hey guys, what’s up?” I said, plopping down next to Claire and snatching a salmon roll off her plate. Ben shot me a guilty look.
“Not too much,” Claire said. “We were just chatting about how well Mrs. Acevado’s Versace coat suits Aunt Hazel.”
I choked on the roll and Ben swiftly rewound me with a flick of his wrist. “Sorry. I really hated lying to her. I caved.”
“Like it was easy for me!” I took her hand in mine, ready to grovel. “Claire--”
“Zellie, it’s just a party. If that old bitch so much as singes a hair on your perfectly coiffed head I will go mental...suffocate her with cake if I have to.”
I kissed her cheek. “I love you, you know that?”
“I love you, too.” She kissed me back.
Ben grinned lasciviously. “And I love where this conversation is going.”
We responded with a simultaneous eye roll.
“Cake time,” Claire trilled, rising from her chair.
“Yay!” I got up to follow her.
Ben took hold of my arm and brought my ear down to his mouth. “It’s going to start soon. Before you came over to the table, Claire and I were having the conversation from our vision.”
My body stiffened, going on high alert. Please God, I prayed, let us just get through Happy Birthday.
Chapter Sixteen
“And many moooooore!” I sang at the top of my lungs. I hugged Claire to me. “Get a piece of carrot cake and get the hell out of here.”
“Roger that.” Claire clasped me to her tightly. Between her and the dress, I couldn’t catch my breath for a few seconds.
When she let go, I expected her to pick up a plate and hightail it outta there, but instead she climbed up onto a chair and waved her arms around. “Can I have everyone’s attention please?” She waited until everyone quieted. “I am having a super fun time, how about you guys?” We all cheered. “Great!” She scanned the crowd. “Melody? Frank? Could you raise your hands please?” On opposite sides of the crowd, Mel and Frank waved. “Okay you guys. Please follow these two to the Pine Cone Lounge. It’s karaoke time!”
Several “woots” and “woo-hoos” echoed throughout the ballroom as Frank and Melody led the parade of revelers toward the farthest building from where we were at the resort. Aunt Hazel busied herself hustling the Lodge employees from their work and out the door for the rest of the festivities. Not surprisingly, they all listened to her.
I helped Claire down from the chair. “Good thinking, but how are you going to get a bunch of underage people into a bar?”
“Dad will have it dealt with by the time I get there.” She winked at me, and then her expression turned serious. “Do you have your objectives all worked out? You know what you’re supposed to do?”
“You don’t really want to know what I’m supposed to do.” I avoided looking her in the eye.
“Zel...” she grabbed my hands, “I’ll worry less if I know you’ve got your head on straight.”
I exhaled and met her gaze. “My objective is to kill Mildred. Christopher’s boyfriend Wes told him that her death will free the spirits she’s locked in limbo and eliminate the threat she poses to The Society.”
Claire snorted. “Oh, is that all?”
I knew she was joking, but I wasn’t in the mood. “Well no, actually, if this room bursts into flames like we saw in our visions I’m supposed to rewind that too.” I picked her slice of birthday cake up from the table and handed it to her.
She got the hint. “See you later?”
“See ya--”
The room began shaking violently, bouncing glasses and plates off of the tables onto the wooden floor and causing the chandeliers to swing. I pushed Claire toward the emergency exit behind her. “Go now.” She took off running and slammed through the door. The alarm added to the cacophony of broken glass and china.
“I got her covered!” yelled Ashley, leaving her sister’s side and dashing after Claire.
Christopher, Ben, Gabrielle and I gathered in the center of the room, each of us facing a different direction, not knowing where Mildred and her minions would be coming from. The thick mahogany paneled walls of the ballroom contracted, as if the room was inhaling a deep breath, and then with a deafening crack! the walls sprang back, shattering all of the windows. We backed up tighter against one another as the chandeliers dropped from the ceiling, sending bright little rainbows of glass crashing to the floor.
In the split second it took me to trace the path of a sparking wire dangling from the ceiling to where it ignited a nearby drapery panel, the room became overwhelmed with spirits.
Ben reached back and grabbed my hand. “You seeing this, Zellie?”
“Yeah.” I took hold of Gabrielle’s hand closest to me. “Can you see spirits, we forgot to ask?”
She laughed, cynically. “I can’t see them, but I can hear them.”
“That is seriously screwed up,” Christopher said. “You’re just as much of a freak as the three of us are.”
None of us disagreed. Instead, instinctively we all backed up as near as we could get to each other, joining hands. The spirits moved in on us; people of all ages, ethnicities, and dress. Mildred had managed to build a multi-generational, multicultural ghost army.
“What can they do besides scare the crap out of us? I mean physically?” Gabrielle asked.
I glanced over her shoulder. A
teenage boy with stringy brown hair and a Grateful Dead t-shirt was eyeing Gabrielle with interest.
“They can inhabit our bodies and use our own energy against us,” Christopher answered.
A little girl wearing a yellow smocked halter top and blue shorts with yellow piping reached her hand up to my face, her smile eerie and hungry.
“How do we stop them?” I hollered.
“I don’t know!” Christopher yelled, panic in his voice.
The little girl stuck her head in my torso, testing. I could feel her moving inside of me, looking around like she was hunting for a jar of canned peaches in a dark pantry. Ben pulled me away from her and we changed formation; four across, our arms linked.
“Rewind!” Ben shouted
As if we’d been working in tandem all our lives, we brought our hands together, concentrating our power. The spirits backed off.
“It’s working!” I said.
“Yes, dear. Nice job. Now what are you going to do with them?” said a voice from behind us.
I broke from the line and spun around, face to face with a woman who could only be Mildred. She was exactly as I’d seen her in my vision: medium height with a slight hunch in her back, her long gray hair hanging to her waist. She wore a royal blue tunic with black flowy pants underneath, a pair of sensible black boat shoes on her feet. She looked like a woman who should be welcoming grandchildren into her expansive lap for story time, not trying to kill me. I raised my hand to her, trying the only thing I knew to do. Nothing happened. Not a goddamned thing. I like, didn’t even manage to smudge her lipstick.
She tilted her head, evaluating me. An expression of disgust passed over her face. “I have no idea why I was ever afraid of you.” She snapped her fingers. The spirit army disappeared. Christopher, Ben, and Gabrielle wheeled around, flanking me.
During the confrontation with the spirits, the fire had been spreading around the room, jumping from drapery to drapery. Black smoke was accumulating at the ceiling. There wasn’t much time. We had to figure out a way to stop her.
Zellie Wells Trilogy Page 30
