“So you were outside barefoot, in the freezing cold?” she asked in disbelief.
“Yes. I don’t know how or why, but I’m sure I was.”
She jumped out of bed and motioned me toward the door. “C’mon.”
I followed her down the stairs.
Pam stepped to the side of the muddy tracks and glanced over her shoulder. “Boy, you made a big mess.”
I frowned. “Tell me about it.”
“Don’t worry. We’ll get this all cleaned up before anyone notices it.”
As we walked into the kitchen, I could barely function. I was exhausted, and the thought of something jumping into me made me a nervous wreck. I leaned against the wall as a panic attack began to take hold. Breathe, I told myself.
Pam had a fit because she couldn’t find a mop, but she eventually just filled a bucket with hot, soapy water and grabbed some rags. “Zoey,” she said, “it’s gonna be okay.”
We walked to the door, and she started sopping up the muddy tracks.
“Let me help,” I said. I grabbed one of the rags and wrung it out, then went to work.
When I glanced at her, she smiled at me wickedly.
“Pam?” I said.
She wrung out her rag, and it dripped with thick, red blood, dripping into the bloody water. “You’re not falling back asleep on me, are you?” she asked. She kept scrubbing, but the big, round smears of blood made me want to throw up.
“Stop that!” I said.
“You need a wake-up call,” she said. “We’re real, and we’re here.” Pam then picked up the bucket of bloody water and dumped it all over my head.
I screamed. I was covered in bloody water, my white nightgown saturated with crimson blotches, like something out of some horrible eighties horror movie.
Pam just stared at me and laughed. “Zoey,” she finally said, “what’s wrong with you?”
I blinked, and everything was back to normal.
Shaking her head at me, Pam continued to sop everything up with a rag, and there wasn’t an ounce of blood on me or anywhere else. My hair and clothes weren’t even wet.
I cupped my mouth in surprise.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“You didn’t see that? The blood?”
She glanced around. “Blood?”
“I could swear you dumped a bucket of bloody water on me.”
She peered at me in horror. “What!? I’d never do that! Besides, the bucket’s only muddy, not bloody.”
I rubbed my temples. “Gosh. I’m losing my mind.”
“What exactly happened?” she asked.
“I don’t know. Nothing, I guess. I’m having hallucinations,” I whispered, terrified.
“Hey, I’m doing all the work here, and this is no hallucination. You were outside, and these muddy tracks prove it.”
“But I just saw bloody water too,” I said, then went on to explain the entire vision in graphic detail.
“Gross,” she said.
“I could swear it was real. I could even smell the blood.”
“Spirits can control visions, make you see what they want.”
I nodded. “You’re right. Anyway, thanks for being here for me.”
“Look, you need rest. Go on back to bed. I got this.”
“No way. I’m not leaving you down here by yourself.”
“It’s okay,” she said. “They won’t mess with me.”
“Yeah, you’re right. Only me…and that’s because I got my mom’s messed-up DNA.”
“It’s not messed up. You’ve got her gift.”
“It’s more like a curse. I hear and see things that aren’t meant to be heard or seen, feel things that shouldn’t exist in this dimension.”
We cleaned everything up, emptied the bucket, and put everything back.
Just as we reached the top of the stairs, a woman called both of our names.
I spun around to see a smiling, familiar face. “Isabella!”
“Please come,” she said, motioning me down. “We have much to talk about.”
Pulling Pam, I hurried down the stairs. Isabella disappeared in the blink of an eye, and I was overcome by a disturbed, uncomfortable feeling; the Isabella I knew didn’t play games like that.
“She’s gone,” Pam said. “I’ve got goosebumps on top of goosebumps.”
“It’s not her.”
Suddenly, a sinister giggling broke out behind us. When I spun around, the faux Isabella was at the top of the stairs. I knew we were dealing with another entity taking Isabella’s form, but it looked just like her. As she laughed, her face melted into a skeleton. Next, the image of Isabella turned into a black orb that levitated and bolted upward, through the ceiling.
Miss Duball came flying out of nowhere. “What’s going on here? What are you two up to?”
“I-I saw a ghost!” Pam said.
“Nonsense! Those childish excuses don’t fly with me, young lady. Why are you down there at this hour?”
I hurried up the stairs. “I’m sorry, Miss Duball. I was just thirsty.”
She placed her hands on her hips. “To bed…right now!”
“Yes, ma’am,” I said.
As we hurried back to our rooms, Pam shot me a look. “Your Isabella didn’t look so friendly.”
“That’s because it wasn’t her,” I said, certain of that if of nothing else.
Chapter 9
A week passed, and I tried to forget about my latest haunting escapades. They told us Margaret’s mother had come to take her back to the States to undergo what would be a long recovery process. The stroke had left poor Margaret in a vegetative state, and her mother ultimately had to hire a nurse to take care of her. My heart went out to her, and we all sent her cards and hoped things would turn around for her soon.
***
We woke up to a beautiful snowfall. Hunter wanted to take my mind off everything, so we decided to go out and have some fun.
The winter landscape looked like the front of a Christmas card, and it took my breath away. The trees and labyrinth were covered in white, and it really added to the charm of the castle. I really felt like I had been thrown into some sort of real, live winter wonderland, a frosty fairytale. Nothing was better than being outdoors with my baby on a winter day, with the sun glistening off the fresh coating of snow.
All bundled up under several layers, I spun in a slow circle. “It’s so pretty out here.”
“Yeah, it reminds me of when I was a kid. In the winter, I’d wake up, leap out of bed, and look out the window at the snow, then watch the news for school closings. Man, when I saw my school on the ticker scrolling across the bottom of the screen, I was so happy.”
“I know, right? For a kid, that feels like winning the lottery.” I looked around and smiled. “No snow days at the castle, though, since school and home are the same place.”
“That’s okay,” Hunter said. “There’s no law against snowmen in Scotland. C’mon!”
We quickly rolled snow into three big balls and built a flimsy snowman that leaned to the side. We couldn’t stop laughing at how pathetic he looked. We used rocks for his eyes and a stick for a nose, since we didn’t exactly have a carrot.
For a finishing touch, Hunter took off his scarf and wrapped it around the neck of our creation. “There. That’s better,” he said, wearing a proud smile.
I grinned and took off my wool hat and put it on the snowman’s head carefully, so as not to topple the fragile Frosty over. “That oughtta do it,” I said. “When I was little, I used to love making snow angels. I made ‘em all over the back yard, leaving none of the snow untouched. Want to make some?”
“The guys and I used to make the biggest snow fort when I used to visit my aunt in Colorado. Wanna try that?”
“But snow angels are so pretty,” I said.
“Then snow angels it is.”
I smiled. “Thanks.”
Hunter dropped to the ground and stretched out his arms and legs, then started flappin
g them back and forth.
I quickly joined him, and I’d never had so much fun. I looked up at the blue sky and giggled like a ticklish six-year-old. I’d made a lot of snow angels in my life, when my arms were a lot shorter, but I’d never had so much fun.
While lying in the snow, I turned to meet Hunter’s gaze. He stopped waving his arms and smiled back at me. I couldn’t stop the huge grin that was plastered across my face. I’d never felt so alive, so elated. I felt like I was walking on clouds.
“Life is serious,” he said. “I’m so glad we don’t have to be, at least not all the time.”
“Snowmen and snow angels are fun,” I said, “but how about a little more action?”
“Action, huh? I kinda like the sound of that,” he said, winking at me.
“Hey! Calm down, before you land yourself on Santa’s naughty list. I was thinking more in terms of…a good, old-fashioned snowball fight?”
Grinning, he jumped up. “You’re on!”
I spun around to start selecting snow for my ammo when I was suddenly ambushed.
Splat!
A snowball hit me right on the back, as if I was wearing a bull’s-eye on the back of my coat.
I picked up a pile of snow and started forming several snowballs. The snow was perfect for packing, and I quickly stockpiled an arsenal. When Hunter came near, I shooed him away. “Wait! I’m not ready.”
“But I’ve got something for you,” he said sweetly. He smiled sheepishly and handed me a snowball he’d fashioned into the shape of a heart. It was the simplest thing, just a small gesture, but my heart literally gushed, and that moment would be etched in my mind forever.
“You’re so sweet,” I said. “There’s no way I can throw a snowball at you now.”
“Oh yeah?” He reached down, grabbed some snow, and playfully sprinkled me with it.
“That’s it, mister!” I shouted. “All’s fair in love and war!”
He laughed.
“I wouldn’t laugh if I were you. I’ve got some top-notch snow grenades!”
Splosh!
I hit him on the side of the head and quickly released another icy projectile, but it broke apart en route.
Thwack!
He got me right in the stomach, then wound up and launched one at me with all the passion of an MLB pitcher.
Whoosh!
I ducked, and it whizzed right past my ear. I then threw a ball to the left.
Swish!
He moved, with ninja-like precision, out of its path.
I rolled another ball and aimed for his chest. Snow exploded as my snowball found its target.
Smiling, he retaliated and threw three of them at me in rapid succession.
I moved to the side, out of their path, ducking the terrible trio with ease. “You missed!” I playfully teased, then launched another of my own.
He wiped snow from his face.
I tossed a snowball underhanded, and I scored another hit, only to be temporarily blinded as his next round came my way.
Hunter, ever the gentleman, apologized profusely, but I assured him that I was okay and that I would get him back.
Playing in the snow was so much fun, and the winter warfare only became more heated when Eric, Pam, Shantal, and a few others joined in.
“No snow to the face, because that’s a major buzz-kill,” Pam said. “Also, no ice balls. The Geneva Convention of Snowballs would frown upon that. Anyone who makes one will be encased in snow for a thousand years.”
We all laughed, and then the games began.
Pam started by throwing a yellow snowball that exploded.
“Seriously?” I said, wiping off my coat. “Was that pee?”
“Well, I don’t see any lemonade stands around here,” Eric said.
“Gross!” I shouted.
Pam grinned and held up a tiny bottle of yellow food coloring.
“Nice,” I said, smirking. “Always the jokester, huh?”
For our next strategic move, Hunter and I joined forces to take down the others.
Hunter nudged me. “You ready for combat?”
“I was born ready,” I said. “Let’s win this snowball war.”
He squinted. “Okay. Let’s sneak up behind the enemy and take ‘em down.”
“Great strategy. We’ll catch them off guard and unleash a barrage on them!”
“That’s the plan.”
Before we launched our assault, we stocked up our ammo pile. When that pile was gone, I rolled the snow into balls and handed them to Hunter. He threw them, one after another, like one of those tennis or baseball pitching machines. We’d never run out of ammunition because I kept Hunter armed and ready, with an unlimited supply of snowballs. There was no way we’d lose that chilly contest, and we would ultimately have all the bragging rights. Hunter insisted we trade off so we could both have the fun of throwing nonstop snowballs.
Soon, we both joined in the throwing action and went at the others fast and hard. I was out of breath from hurling snowballs so fast and from laughing, but it was the best feeling in the world. A short while later, more people came out to play, and Eric, Shantal, and Pam defected and teamed up with us.
“I’ve got an idea,” I said. “Have Pam make a snow angel. When they come to pound her, we’ll be waiting.”
“That’s dirty,” Eric said.
Pam smiled. “So I’m the bait?”
“Trickery,” Shantal said. “It’s brilliant.”
“Are we ready, winter warriors?” Pam asked.
“Yes!” we all sang out, bumping fists.
Pam bravely plopped down in the snow, and we waited. It didn’t take long before a group walked in her direction. Armed with snowballs, reinforcements hid in the snowy trees, waiting for just the right moment.
“Attack!” Hunter yelled.
The surprised look on our adversaries’ faces was priceless as we nailed them with shot after shot. The other group was by the gate, so we all split up to attack them from various directions.
When a dozen snowballs came at me, Hunter pulled me behind an angel statue, just in the nick of time. Snow covered his hair and even his eyelashes. We were both absolutely covered with the stuff. His blue eyes sparkled in the sunshine, and I felt lost in his gaze. He pulled me in for a long kiss that warmed me from head to toe and was sweeter than any cup of hot chocolate ever would be. There was nothing like winter romance. I wrapped my arms around him as he pulled me close.
Afterward, we went inside to change. My clothes were sopping wet, and I was freezing. Once we were all dry and warm, we met in the living room for mugs of hot chocolate.
“That was fun,” I said.
Hunter smiled. “Especially since we won.”
I gave him a fist bump.
I set my hot chocolate down on the coffee table. The fire felt so warm and toasty, even more so because Hunter held my hand as we watched it. I wrapped my arm around him, and he pulled me close. Big logs blazed, and the crackling flames captivated me. Snuggling up to each other, we stared, mesmerized, at the popping, roaring fire. The flickering, leaping flames bathed the room in an orange glow as the soft timbre echoed all around us.
Lost in the romantic moment, I laid my head on his firm chest, and he wrapped an arm around me. I could hear his heartbeat, and I loved being that close to him. My hair spilled across his sweater, and he played with the stray strands, curling it around his fingers. I didn’t know what was going on in the castle or what was going to happen to any of us. The one thing I did know was that I wanted Hunter to hold me like that forever.
Chapter 10
Surprisingly, I slept well for several nights, and everything seemed to be going okay. Hunter and I were inseparable. We continued to search for clues about how to free the castle spirits using the medallion and stone, but we couldn’t figure any of it out, not even with help from the almighty Internet. Still, we wouldn’t give up, and we swore to keep trying, at all costs.
After class, I carried my books up to m
y room. When I tried to open my door, it wouldn’t budge.
“Lock yourself out?” Shantal asked, walking up behind me.
“It’s weird. I know I left it open a crack. I swear I did.”
I continued pushing on it and turning the knob, and it finally moved slightly ajar, just a few inches. I slipped my foot inside and pushed a little more. Shantal helped me, and we managed to move the stubborn door a few more feet, far enough for me to see that my dresser had been moved across the room and was blocking it. We kept trying, and after a few more heaves, we were able to push through.
“Is this a joke?” Shantal asked. “One of the guys?”
“If it was, how could he have gotten out?” I asked.
She went to check the window, and it was locked tight.
I walked around in complete amazement. There was no way anyone could have moved the dresser across the room and then just disappear. The fact that there was no logical explanation had the hair on my neck standing on end. “It could only have been…a ghost,” I muttered. “I guess it’s back to create havoc and chaos in my life, as if I don’t have enough of that already.”
“Darn that Casper.”
We both burst out in laughter; we seemed to accept it so nonchalantly, as if it was completely normal to be talking about ghosts in a castle.
“Do you think they’re still in here now?” she asked.
“If they are, they can’t be seen with the naked eye.”
She cocked a brow. “Do you sense anything?”
I shook my head. “Nope. Nothing.”
Suddenly, Haley banged on my door. She slid past the dresser and looked at us questioningly. “Rearranging furniture?”
“Long story,” I said. “What’s up?”
“Were you trying to scare me?”
I cocked a brow. “What?”
“Don’t play dumb. I heard you banging on the wall.”
“Uh, it’s stone,” Shantal said.
“It came from your closet.”
“Seriously? We’ve got better things to do than hide in my closet and try to scare you, Haley,” I said.
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