6
Six
Cooper went looking for Hannah when she didn’t come back in a timely fashion. Tyler told him their new boss’s plans, and while he would’ve preferred going with her so she wasn’t alone, he understood that she wanted to get a feel for her new surroundings. He expected her to spend an hour at the creek and then return. When two hours passed, he got worried and set out to find her.
At first, when he crested the hill that led to the creek, he didn’t see anything of note. He was already cursing under his breath when he caught sight of Jinx. He initially assumed that Hannah had ignored Tyler’s warning about staying on this side of the creek, but the sight of the dog made his blood run cold.
The creek was slow moving, which was a benefit for the poor dog, who seemed to be struggling to keep Hannah’s head above water. He had a firm grip on her collar as he swam to the best of his ability. The dog, although powerful, looked tired. That made Cooper believe he’d been at it for some time.
“Son of a ... .” Cooper jumped into the water without removing his boots or rolling up his jeans. The water was about chest high on him when he reached the dog. That was well above Jinx’s head, though.
“Good boy.” Cooper encouraged the animal as he grabbed Hannah around the waist. Her body was cold, ridiculously so, and he hoped that was due to the water and not death. He hoisted her against his chest and slogged through the water until he reached the shore. An exhausted Jinx followed and held vigil next to Hannah as Cooper lowered his ear to her chest.
Her heart was beating.
“That’s good,” Cooper muttered, sliding his hand in front of her mouth. Warmth hit his chilled fingers, causing him to exhale heavily. “She’s breathing, too. Way to go, boy.” He rubbed Jinx’s head to encourage him, but the dog made a whining sound as he stared at Hannah. “I know. She’s hurt. We’ll get her back to town and have the doctor look at her. It’s going to be okay. I promise you that.”
HANNAH WOKE IN HER NEW bed, confused, and with a splitting headache.
“Ow!” Her hand automatically went to her forehead, but a stranger grabbed her by the wrist before she could touch the tender spot that was radiating pain.
“You’ll feel worse if you do that,” the man chided.
Hannah took a moment to survey her surroundings and then frowned at the man sitting on the edge of her bed. She didn’t recognize him. He looked to be about fifty if she had to guess, and he graced her with a kind smile. She was in no mood to be pleasant, though.
“Who are you?”
“Virgil Blake.”
“Is that name supposed to mean something to me?”
He chuckled. “I see you’re feeling surly. That’s probably a good sign.”
“That still doesn’t explain who you are,” Hannah challenged, her eyes moving toward the door when she caught a hint of movement. She was relieved to find Cooper standing there, although his expression was so grave she immediately turned fearful. “What happened?”
“I was about to ask you that.” Cooper flashed a tepid smile as he moved to the other side of the bed and sat next to her. He looked tired, as if he’d had a long day, and she couldn’t quite put the pieces of the puzzle together in an appropriate way. “Do you remember what happened?”
“I ... .” Hannah felt lost as she glanced down at the shirt she was wearing. It was one of her favorites, a ratty old thing from her college days that she slept in. She was certain she hadn’t been wearing it earlier. “Did you change my clothes?”
“Yes.” Cooper swished his lips as she made a face. “Your other clothes were frigid and wet. I needed to get you warm. That meant putting you in a hot bath and changing your clothes.”
Hannah was flabbergasted. “No way.”
“Should I have left you to freeze to death?”
“No, but ... .” She curled her arms around her chest and frowned. “Did you see me naked?”
He wanted to laugh at her reaction. It was welcome after hours of watching her sleep. She didn’t move the entire time and he had to keep checking her to make sure she wasn’t dead. “I didn’t look. I was a total gentleman.”
Hannah had trouble believing that. “Um ... how did you get my clothes on me without looking?”
“I have a gift.”
He was giving her a way out. She realized that. He obviously looked. If their positions were reversed, she would’ve looked, too. She didn’t want to admit that — even to herself — but she couldn’t deny it. Because of that, she decided to move on to something else. “So ... what happened again?”
“I’m not sure,” Cooper replied, his eyes moving to Virgil as the man used a stethoscope to check Hannah’s vitals. “You went for a walk down by the creek. When you didn’t come back, I went looking for you. I found you unconscious in the water with Jinx.”
Hannah bolted to an upright position, her head screaming. “Ow!”
“Don’t do that,” Virgil chided, trying to push her back down on the pillow. “You need to rest.”
“I need my dog,” Hannah argued. “Where is he? You didn’t leave him out there, did you?”
Cooper shot her a dubious look. “Yeah, I decided to allow him to spend time with nature. I figured it would be good for him.”
“You did?” Hannah felt as if her head could roll off her neck at any moment and yet she was still spoiling for a fight. “I have to get him.”
“Oh, relax.” Cooper helped Virgil force her back against the pillows. “He’s in the living room. One of the cooks at the restaurant made him a rare steak for being such a good boy and rescuing you. He’s having his dinner.”
“Oh.” Momentarily placated, Hannah let loose a small sigh. “That’s good. He’s okay.”
“He’s fine, although I think he’ll sleep long and hard tonight,” Cooper supplied. “When I found you, he was swimming in the middle of the creek and he was holding your head up while doing it. I have no idea how long he was down there, but he looked tired.”
“Oh, geez.” Hannah’s hand flew to her mouth. “Can I see him?”
“When he’s done eating. I’m going to take him out so he can do his business and then lock him in here with you tonight. He’s been with you the whole time. Only that steak could coax him out of the room. He’s been making whining sounds while pacing.”
“He’s a good boy.”
“He’s a very good boy,” Cooper agreed. “I’m pretty sure he’s the reason you’re alive.”
“Then he can have steaks all week.”
“That sounds like a plan to me.” Cooper smiled, although the sentiment didn’t make it all the way to his eyes, and patted her hand. “We need to know what happened to you. I mean ... did you see something? Were you attacked?”
“I ... don’t ... know.” Hannah racked her memory for answers. “I remember being at the creek. We were having a good time. Jinx was chasing frogs and then I felt as if someone was watching me.”
“Did you see anyone?”
“I think so.”
“You think?” Cooper’s eyebrows hopped. “What is that supposed to mean?”
“It means that I can’t decide if I really saw it now or if it was a dream. I mean ... I hit my head, right?” She turned to Virgil for answers.
“You did,” he confirmed. “You hit it hard. You don’t seem to have a concussion, which is good, but I’m going to be checking on you again tomorrow.”
“Are you a doctor?”
“I am, although I’m a re-enactor, too.” He puffed out his chest with pride. “I’m the town doctor here and I actually have a license to practice medicine that I keep current. I was here when Cooper brought you back.”
“Oh, so you saw me naked, too.”
His eyes twinkled. “Of course not. That would be rude.”
“Thank you.” Hannah focused on Cooper. He was still waiting for an answer to his question. “I saw three women on the cliff above the creek. At least ... I think I did. I thought they were workers at first and calle
d out to them. They didn’t respond, though.”
“What makes you think they weren’t workers?”
“They were ... odd. One of them was clearly in charge. She had really long hair – I swear it was white – and she was staring at me. They all wore really bright tops and one was wearing a dress so they all stood out. I know this is going to sound weird, but for some reason the first word that popped into my mind when I saw them was ‘coven.’”
Cooper pursed his lips, his eyes momentarily flitting to Virgil before returning to her. “Did they do anything to you?”
“I don’t know.”
“How did you end up in the water?”
“I don’t know. I don’t remember that either.”
He exhaled heavily. “It’s okay. We’re going to get some soup into you and then you’re going to get some rest. Maybe you’ll be able to remember in the morning.”
Hannah hadn’t missed the shared look and knew Virgil and Cooper were hiding something from her. She thought about pressing them, but she wanted to think on it some first. She felt exposed given the events of the day and she wanted to curl up in her cocoon until the feelings went away.
“That sounds good,” she said finally. “Except for the soup. Why can’t I have a steak, too?”
Cooper snickered. “Sick people get soup.”
“I want a steak.”
“You’re getting soup.”
“That’s just mean given my ordeal.”
He held her gaze and then shook his head. “Maybe you can have a steak and soup. You have to eat everything I bring you, though. No complaints. You need your strength.”
“I’ll eat what I want ... and it better include steak.”
“I see you’re already acting like the boss, huh?”
“And don’t you forget it.”
HANNAH ATE EVERYTHING COOPER provided. She didn’t go as far as to lick her plate clean, but she was tempted. She couldn’t remember ever having a better steak and she almost made growling noises when she dug in. Cooper hung around until she finished and then he took the dishes with him when he walked Jinx. He locked her in, making sure Jinx was stretched out next to her on the bed, and promised they would talk about work things the next morning.
That was it. After that, he left.
Once she was alone, Hannah thought she would struggle to fall asleep. She’d already slept half the day away. The big meal combined with the sound of Jinx’s even breathing was enough to lull her, though. She drifted off before ten and was well on her way to eleven hours of sleep when something woke her at the stroke of midnight.
She lay still in the bed, ordering herself to calm even though her heart rate had picked up for no apparent reason. The apartment was quiet, without as much as a sound greeting her. The country wasn’t like the city. There was no ambient noise to reassure her that people were around. There was no traffic on a nearby street, or even sirens as the police chased people for motor vehicle violations.
There was nothing.
And then there was something.
Movement in the open doorway caused Hannah’s eyes to open to the size of saucers. Fear gripped her by the throat and even though she tried to call out, no sound could escape. The figure standing there moved into the limited light allotted by the moon. Everything tumbled into place in Hannah’s head, and in fantastic fashion.
She recognized the woman. She was transparent, the same as she had been at the creek. She was older, probably in her late seventies, and she had a kind smile that she fixed on Hannah. Her hair, which was probably a dark shade of brown at one point, was shot through with gray and almost glowed thanks to the eerie moonlight.
Hannah wanted to scream but couldn’t. Next to her, Jinx thumped his tail on the bed.
“You were a very good boy today, Jinx,” the ghost announced. “You were such a good boy. You saved the day.”
Hannah’s mouth was unbelievably dry, but she moved her jaw and tried to work up some saliva. She was trapped in her own bedroom, but she had no intention of tugging the covers over her head and hiding. Something had to be done about this situation.
“Who are you?” she finally croaked, her voice breaking.
“Who do you think I am?”
“Is that a trick question? How am I supposed to know who you are? I’m new to the area.”
“You’re new to the area, but not my heart.”
Oh, well, that was a weird thing to say. Hannah rubbed her forehead as she tried to maintain control of her faculties. “Who are you?” she repeated pathetically. “Just answer the question.”
“I’m your grandmother.”
And there it was. Deep in her heart, Hannah suspected it. The notion was so absurd, though, she couldn’t quite force herself to believe it. “My grandmother is dead.”
“That doesn’t mean I’m not here.”
“But ... .”
“No.” She shook her head and held her hand up. “I don’t have a lot of time. I’m still learning to control my new reality. I won’t be able to sustain the energy for a full conversation right now. That means we have to touch on the basics because you’re going to deny this happened tomorrow and I’m going to have to store up my energy to come back and do it all over again.”
Hannah wrinkled her nose. “How do you know I’m going to deny this happened?”
“Because Rose raised you and she refused to believe what was right in front of her,” Abigail replied simply. “She didn’t believe in magic so her life wasn’t magical. She raised you not to believe. You, my dear, are going to have a magical life, though. I’ve known that for a very long time.”
“And how do you know that?”
“Faith.”
“It seems to me that you would need a little more than faith,” Hannah argued. “I don’t understand any of this. How are you even here?”
“I chose to remain behind. I wasn’t ready to leave. My employees — many of whom I think of as children — weren’t ready for me to leave. Cooper especially still needs me.”
“Cooper needs you.” Hannah echoed the words. “I don’t understand. I really don’t. Is this even happening? I have my doubts. I have a head injury.” She pointed toward the tender spot on her head. “I could very well be imagining this. No one would even blame me.”
“You could, but you’re not.” Abigail’s expression was smug. “I’m the one you saw in the creek right before you fell and hit your head. It’s on me that this happened in the first place. I shouldn’t have approached you there, especially when the others were near, but I wanted to get a look at you.
“I’ve seen pictures of you over the years, of course,” she continued. “Your mother didn’t send them, but your father did. He never understood why your mother and I had so many issues. He was always fond of me ... and this place. He desperately wanted to visit this place.”
“That sounds just like him,” Hannah noted. “He’s always been obsessed with the west. He claims we’re descended from Wild Bill Hickok.”
“Who’s to say you’re not?”
“Um ... genealogy. He bought several kits and tried to trace his ancestors. He never found Wild Bill Hickok in there.”
“That doesn’t mean it’s not true. I don’t know that it even matters. What matters is that your father loves you. I’m sure your mother did, too ... at least in her way. You’re destined for greatness, Hannah. That’s why I left this place to you.”
“I don’t understand.”
“I know. You will eventually, though. Unfortunately, I can’t explain everything tonight. I’m already fading. That means I can’t tell you the things you need to hear. You still need to learn them, though.”
“Oh, really?” Hannah was growing more and more convinced this was an unsettling dream. “How should I do that? Are there other ghost teachers running around?”
“Definitely. They can’t help you right now, though. You need the book.”
“What book?”
“The grimoire.”
Hannah pinched the bridge of her nose. “And where would I find that?”
“It’s in the case in the living room.”
“That case is locked.”
“Yes. You need to find the key.”
“And where would that be?”
Abigail’s smile was mysterious. “In the last place you look.”
“That’s not really an answer.”
“No, but I can’t give you an answer in case someone overhears. If you think about it — I mean, really think about it — you’ll figure out where the key is. Once you find it, get the book. Make sure you always lock up the book when you’re not using it, though. That case will protect it from whoever might come looking.”
That made no sense. Hannah was convinced the ghost was crazy — or she was because she was the one playing host to the weird dream — but she couldn’t voice that opinion because her grandmother was already gone.
“The book has the answers,” Abigail called out as she disappeared.
“Well, great,” Hannah muttered, shifting her eyes to a sleeping Jinx. “Some watchdog you are.”
The dog didn’t as much as open an eye.
“You’re going to have to get better at this if you want to keep getting steak.”
Jinx didn’t look worried. Hannah didn’t blame him. The dog was her lifeline now. She had to cling to him because otherwise she would give in to literal ghosts ... and nobody wanted that.
7
Seven
Cooper was waiting for Hannah when she woke the next morning. Somehow he’d let himself into her apartment without her hearing and she was surprised to find him sitting on the couch stroking Jinx.
“I wondered where you’d gone,” Hannah muttered when she saw the dog. He didn’t make a move to join her, instead preening under Cooper’s talented fingers and thumping his tail in delight. “Traitor.” She’d meant to say the last word in her mind, but the look of amusement on Cooper’s face told her she’d failed at that endeavor, miserably.
The Dirty Coven Page 6
