“Why do you think that is?”
Abigail held her hands palms out and shrugged. “I have no idea.” She opted for honesty. “I was aware of what was going on, but I couldn’t make you guys see me. I thought that would still be the case when Hannah showed up. It turns out I was wrong. She sensed me from the start.”
“I don’t know if ‘sensed’ is the right word,” Hannah countered, making a face. “You hopped out of the water and scared the crap out of me.”
“That’s not the first time you saw me.”
“It certainly is.”
“No, it’s not.” Abigail was firm. “The first time you saw me was the first night you were here. You were in bed with the dog — you might want to break him of the habit of sleeping with you if you expect to make room for Cooper, by the way — and you looked right at me. I was surprised and faded, but you definitely saw me.”
Hannah’s mouth dropped open. “I ... you ... .”
“You saw her that first night?” Cooper was officially intrigued.
“She says so but that’s not how I remember it,” Hannah complained. “I thought I saw a shadow. That’s it. I figured I was imagining it because it was my first night in a new place. Jinx didn’t react.”
“No offense to Jinx, but he likes everybody,” Cooper said dryly. “He’s not very aggressive when it comes to being a watchdog.”
“I don’t want him to be aggressive. I could get sued and lose him. Do you have any idea how devastated I would be if he bit someone and I had to have him destroyed? I just ... I would run with him before that happened.”
“Yes, I can picture it now,” Cooper said dryly. “It will be like Thelma and Louise ... except it will be you and the dog. That won’t draw attention or anything.”
Hannah scowled. “Nobody asked you.”
“Oh, you’re definitely cute,” Abigail said, hopping up and down. “I can’t tell you how cute you are. I love it.”
“We’re not cute,” Cooper shot back, annoyance getting the better of him. “We barely know each other. Get a grip on yourself, Abigail.”
“Yeah,” Hannah echoed, her nose a bit out of joint. “Things aren’t going to go that way. You heard him. He doesn’t care either way about me.”
“Oh, I didn’t say that,” Cooper protested. “It’s just ... I don’t want you to encourage her.” His eyes flashed. “If she thinks she has a chance to get her way, then she’ll never give up. She fancies herself the queen of all matchmakers.”
“I definitely do,” Abigail agreed without hesitation. “I know a good thing when I see it and you guys are a good thing. It doesn’t matter, though. You’re not going to need my help. Your hormones are going to take control of the situation and it will be completely out of your hands.”
Hannah was appalled at the thought. Of course, in the moments leading up to Abigail’s appearance, that’s almost exactly what happened. She couldn’t explain it. “Well, um ... .”
“We should talk about serious stuff,” Cooper interjected quickly. He was as uncomfortable with the conversation as Hannah. He’d felt the buzz in the air at the exact same moment she did. He’d been inextricably drawn to her, as if a power stronger than them both had been in the room compelling them forward. He couldn’t help but wonder if Abigail was right and they would have little say in the matter.
In truth, Cooper wasn’t sure he wanted to be able to lodge an opinion. Ever since things went south with Astra, he’d made sure to shut down any woman who showed him the least bit of interest. He didn’t want to encourage anyone. That changed the minute Hannah hit town. For some reason, he wanted to do nothing but encourage her and he had no idea why.
They couldn’t get caught up in themselves for the time being. They had bigger obstacles to tackle. Astra was the biggest, but Abigail’s return might prove something of a hindrance, too. Granted, it was a welcome happenstance. That didn’t mean her return could be ignored.
“Astra has been hanging around,” Cooper started. “She’s been haranguing Hannah. She wants the grimoire. We need to do something about it.”
Abigail sighed. “I know. I don’t know why that girl can’t realize she’s going about things the exact wrong way. She can’t touch the grimoire, though. I made sure of that. It passed directly to Hannah.”
“I haven’t seen the grimoire, though,” Hannah pointed out. It was surreal to be talking with a ghost, but she’d pretty much resigned herself that her life was going to be a ball of nutty, tangled twine going forward. She saw no reason to continue arguing with Cooper when her dead grandmother was standing in front of her carrying on a conversation. “You said it’s in the cabinet and I don’t have a key.”
“You’ll figure out where the key is when you’re ready,” Abigail offered. “I already told you that.”
“In a conversation she thought was a dream,” Cooper muttered.
“I worried that would be the case,” Abigail lamented. “I should know better than waking someone up in the middle of the night. That’s when I’m feeling strongest, though. I think it’s because Hannah’s defenses are down in sleep and she allows me to approach whether she realizes it or not.”
“That’s possible,” Cooper mused. “You need to start making your presence known more to those hanging around, though. There are some people who want to see you.”
“I have every intention of doing that,” Abigail offered with a bright smile ... two seconds before her lips curved down. “Starting tomorrow. I’m fading already. Geez. This ghost thing should come with an instruction book. I can’t make myself stay for more than a few minutes.”
“You’ll get stronger,” Cooper promised. “I know you will. Don’t fight it for now. I’ll keep Hannah safe.”
Abigail chuckled. “Of course you will. That’s why you guys are just the cutest.”
He let loose a sigh as she disappeared and shifted his eyes to Hannah. “Well, do you believe now?”
Since there was nothing else to say, Hannah only shrugged. “Maybe. I need to sleep on it, though.”
“Fair enough.”
HANNAH HAD TROUBLE FALLING asleep. For the first time since hitting Casper Creek, she found slumber elusive. Jinx didn’t have that problem. He was dead to the world. And, thanks to the hot dogs Tyler gave him by the fire, he was continuously burping, which made sleep even more troublesome to come by.
Shortly before two, Hannah gave up and climbed out of bed. Jinx didn’t move so she left him, dressed in a pair of track pants and a T-shirt, and headed downstairs. She locked the saloon to make sure nobody could get in and then started walking.
The town wasn’t overly big. She found that charming ... and worrisome at the same time. She was used to having the world at her fingertips. At least in a commercial way. In Michigan she could go to a movie at midnight ... or a store ... or even watch mindless television until the wee hours of the morning. As far as she could tell, Abigail didn’t have a television. That was something she would have to remedy. Even if cable couldn’t be installed in Casper Creek, she could always get a Fire Stick and watch shows that way. She made a mental note to do some online shopping the next day and continued walking.
The town was quiet. There were no lights other than the outdoor ones placed around the businesses. They weren’t authentic to the time, but Hannah had a feeling they were necessary for insurance purposes. She was thankful for that now.
She was lost in thought, her mind drifting from ghosts to witches to handsome security guys with bad attitudes. She didn’t want to spend too much time thinking about Cooper, but she couldn’t seem to stop herself. She was so caught up in her thoughts she didn’t notice a hint of movement at the corner of the street. She was already on top of the shadow before she realized she wasn’t alone.
“What the ... ?” She reared back when the shadow slipped into the street in front of her, hands instinctively going up to protect her face. Instead of a physical assault, though, she was assailed by annoying laughter.
“If I
wanted to hurt you, I would’ve already done it,” Astra announced, moving slightly so her features were recognizable under the nearest streetlamp.
Hannah sucked in a shuddering breath and ordered her heart to stop pounding as she considered her options. Finally, she spoke. She figured running to the other side of the street and screaming would be considered weak.
“What are you doing here?” she asked, hoping she sounded braver than she felt. “You’re not supposed to be here.”
“Says who?” Astra adopted an innocent expression. “I just wanted to stop by and welcome you to the area. I don’t see why that’s not allowed.”
Hannah didn’t believe her for a second. “I know what you are.”
“Oh, really? And what is that?”
“You’re a bad witch.” Hannah felt ridiculous uttering the words. If this was where the men with cameras were going to jump out and yell “gotcha,” she wouldn’t have been at all surprised. Still, she steeled herself to get out what she had to say. “There’s a restraining order. It’s illegal for you to be here.”
“A restraining order won’t stop me.” She sounded sure of herself. “I think you’ve already realized that, though.”
“The only thing I’ve realized is that you’re mental. I mean ... why are you skulking around in the darkness? What do you hope to accomplish?”
“I’m here to talk to you.”
“And why is that?” Hannah felt helpless as she threw up her hands. “I don’t want to talk to you. From everything I’ve been told, I don’t want to know you either. We have nothing in common so ... shoo.” She made a fidgety motion with her hands. “If you leave now, I won’t report this to the police.”
Instead of being amused, Astra narrowed her eyes. “Do you think that’s funny?”
“I don’t know. Do you think it’s funny?”
“Not even a little.”
“Then I guess it’s not funny.”
Astra folded her arms across her chest. Her stance reflected annoyance and yet she didn’t make a move. Hannah found that interesting. If the woman was as powerful as everyone pretended, it seemed to her that she would start throwing magic around willy-nilly. Hannah was almost looking forward to it because at least that would be something tangible to hold onto.
Astra tapped her foot on the ground. When Hannah didn’t speak again, she let loose an exasperated sound and shook her head.
“You shouldn’t be here,” she said finally. “You need to leave. You don’t belong in this place. You certainly don’t belong with that book. Just hand it over to me and I’ll let you leave.”
Hannah couldn’t stop herself from snorting. She recognized it was likely to set Astra off, but she was incapable of sucking in the derisive sound. “I’m not leaving. This is my home now. This is my business. Maybe you should be the one to go.”
“I was here first.”
“Oh, I didn’t realize playground rules were in effect.” Hannah rolled her eyes. “I’m not leaving. If you think you can chase me away, you’re wrong. I’m not some little girl you can frighten.”
“I think that’s exactly what you are.” Astra took a menacing step in her direction. “You’re not strong enough to fight me. Even if you do have magic passed down to you from Abigail, it’s obvious you don’t know how to use it.”
This was the first time Hannah had really given consideration to the idea that she might somehow be capable of following in her grandmother’s footsteps. To her surprise, she found that the idea excited rather than terrified her. “I don’t need magic. I have the law on my side.”
It was a stupid thing to say because Astra threw back her head and started laughing. She reminded Hannah of a wild animal with her surreal cackle. “The law can’t stop me.”
“I guess we’ll have to see about that. Do you think I should call them?”
“Sure. Knock yourself out.”
It was only then that Hannah remembered her cell phone was plugged in and charging on the nightstand upstairs. She would have to turn her back on Astra if she expected to retrieve it.
“Fine.” Hannah didn’t see where she had any other options. “I’m going to call Sheriff Boone right now. I don’t think he’ll be happy to know you’re out here.”
Decisively, she turned on her heel and walked toward the saloon. Her hands were shaking as she stomped away from the maniacal woman. For a moment, she let herself believe she was going to win. That was a mistake because Astra had no intention of letting it happen.
Hannah was almost to the door when she felt Astra move in behind her. She swiveled quickly, but it was already too late.
Astra, her hands glowing with some sort of green energy Hannah had never seen before, was reaching for her with grim determination. It was already too late for Hannah to get away.
“Let’s see what you’ve got, shall we?” Astra was all snark and sneer. “I’m willing to bet it’s absolutely nothing.”
12
Twelve
Hannah had no idea what to do. Astra’s hands were on either side of her head and she could hear a whirring sound, accompanied by unbelievable pressure. She gasped as she tried to push the invader out. She couldn’t do it physically but something mentally sparked in her head.
“What the ... ?” She viciously swore and gathered what looked to be a ball of light from within. She had no idea what it was or where it came from. She only knew that it was there and somehow whispering to her. “Get out!” She lashed out with the only thing she had, the ball of light. She didn’t expect anything to happen. How could it, after all? She was imagining it. That was the only thing she could think.
Apparently she wasn’t, though.
Astra let loose a wild scream, her hands coming loose from Hannah’s head as she was blown back by the force of the magic Hannah didn’t even know she possessed. On the second floor, Jinx started barking wildly. He’d finally realized something was amiss. He threw himself at the sliding glass door but there was nothing he could do.
Hannah tripped in her haste to keep moving and landed on her knees, grunting as the air wheezed out of her lungs and the fog lifted from her brain. She could feel the skin on her knees scrape against the ground. The pain was dull, though, and far away. Hannah figured she was in shock or otherwise she would feel it twice as bad. Her only coherent thought was escape.
“What’s going on here?”
She jerked her head at the sound of a new voice, her eyes widening when she saw Tyler standing in the middle of the street. He had a shotgun in his hands and a dark look on his face. He didn’t look happy in the least to see Astra.
“She did something to my head,” Hannah volunteered, viciously rubbing at her temples. “I think she was trying to see.”
For her part, Astra looked dazed and confused. She sat on the ground, her head tilted to the side, and stared at Hannah with something akin to marvel. “How did you know to do that?”
“Do what?” Hannah queried, groaning as she crawled away from the crazy woman. She would still be feeling the fall the next day. “I didn’t do anything. I just ... I don’t know.”
“Get out of here, Astra,” Tyler ordered, cocking the gun. “You’re not supposed to be here and you know it.”
“Oh, stuff it, Tyler,” she shot back, her fury returning with a vengeance. “You’re not the boss of me.”
“No, but I’m well within my rights to shoot you,” he warned, his voice laced with venom. “You’re trespassing in the middle of the night. I saw you attack Hannah. I could shoot you right now and no one would do a thing to me.”
Despite the danger she felt emanating from the other woman, Hannah didn’t want to see Tyler shoot her. That would be way too much to explain the following morning. “It’s okay,” she muttered. “I’m ... okay.”
“You’re a bloody mess,” Tyler countered, his eyes moving back to Astra, who was slowly getting to her feet. “I can feel what you’re trying to do and it won’t work,” he warned. “You can’t get in my head the way
you want. I’m impervious to that sex charm you like to fling around and you know it.”
Astra scowled. “I wasn’t doing anything.”
“Wrong. You are doing something. You’re getting off this property. I’ll shoot you if I have to, Astra. I won’t like it, but I’ll do it.”
She watched him for a long beat, her eyes so narrow they resembled those of a snake. Finally, she made a contemptuous sound deep in her throat and started tracking to the east. “You never did have much of a sense of humor, Tyler.” Her tone was flippant. “You really should try unclenching once in a while.”
“When that happens, I guarantee you won’t be around.” Tyler remained rigid for a long time in case she tried to turn back. Eventually, he moved his eyes to Hannah, who had given up even trying to stand. “You’re a mess, girl.”
“So I gathered.” Hannah dragged a hand through her flaxen hair. “My knees really hurt.”
“I can tell. There’s dirt and grit in them.” Tyler utilized the safety on the gun and leaned it against the porch before hunkering down to give her a serious look. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah. I feel a little slow but otherwise I’m okay.”
“That’s good.” His fingers were gentle as they moved to her knees. “We’re going to have to clean these up.”
“Okay.” Hannah was feeling amiable. “That sounds like a plan.”
He grinned despite himself. “While we’re doing that, you can tell me what you did to throw Astra across the street. That was impressive.”
“I have no idea. It just ... happened.”
“Well, I don’t think things like that just happen. I think you made it happen.”
“Something started burning in my head.”
He cocked his head. “Burning?”
“There was white light. I don’t know how to describe it.”
The Dirty Coven Page 11
