by Rose Pressey
I pasted on a smile of nonchalance. “I wanted to make sure you were real. I figured I was dreaming.”
“I can assure you I am one hundred percent real.” Her coolness was evidence that she was not amused.
When I made it out into the hallway, Liam was turning the corner to go up the next flight of stairs.
“Hello there,” the former ghost called out.
Liam turned around to look at us. Why had he been on the second floor? Was he coming to my room? He froze when he spotted Isabeau. She sashayed over to him with a devilish smile on her face. She walked a complete circle around him, looking him up and down. Liam remained frozen, as if he didn’t know what to do or say. I’d never seen him this flustered.
“Hello, and what might your name be?” she asked with a devilish tone.
He stiffened as though she’d struck him. “Liam Rankin.”
She knew who he was. If she’d been hanging around the manor as a ghost, then she had to know him. She was just playing games. Did Liam recognize her as the ghost? Perhaps that was why he looked so confused. I couldn’t tell him that I’d brought her back from the grave.
“Are you a guest here at the manor?” Liam asked.
She looked at me, then back at him. “That depends. I will be if Halloween will be so kind as to find me a room.”
I’d put her in the worst room for using my full name. That was totally unnecessary. Plus, I didn’t like the way she was acting around Liam. A little subtlety went a long way, but obviously that was something she knew nothing about. She’d put me on the spot. I couldn’t say no now.
Liam stepped back from Isabeau as she moved closer. Isabeau was sexy and alluring and apparently wanted to make up for the years she’d spent in the grave.
“Come on, Isabeau. Let me show you to your room. You must be exhausted from your long travels.” I grabbed her arm.
Liam quirked a suspicious eyebrow, but didn’t say anything about my comment. I motioned for her to follow me and she reluctantly obeyed. I’d put her in the room across from mine so that I could keep my eye on her. There was no way I’d let her stay on the third floor.
“You call me Hallie, got it?” I whispered.
“Sure thing, Halloween. I mean, Hallie.”
I glared at her and she flashed an innocent smile. Kicking her out was sounding more and more like the better plan.
Isabeau followed me into the spacious room. I stood by the door as she walked into the middle of the space. Another large wood bed like the one in my room sat in the middle of the far wall. It was covered with rich burgundy comforter and many plush pillows. A velvet-covered chair was by the window with a small table, a perfect spot for reading. Enjoying a good book seemed to be the last thing on Isabeau’s mind though.
“Um, there are towels in the bathroom. And the bed has fresh linens.” I pointed at the bed.
This whole thing was so incredibly creepy.
“Are you going to tell me who you are and where you’re from?” I didn’t hide my impatience.
“I told you my name is Isabeau,” she said curtly
“I know that, but other than your name, that is all I know about you. It would be nice to have a few more facts,” I said.
“I’m from Enchantment Pointe and I died a number of years ago. Happy?” She smirked and crossed her arms in front of her chest.
“That’s it?” I stared, speechless.
Was that all I could get from her? That wouldn’t cut it.
“What is a number of years ago? What are we talking here? Two, four, sixteen, one hundred?” I retorted tartly.
“A woman never reveals her age, does she?” Her mouth curved into an innocent smile.
Hmm. She had me there.
“Do you have family in the area?” I regarded her with curiosity, then noticed the change on her face.
I had her now. If she didn’t have family in the area then that meant she was probably so old that they had all died too.
She weighed the question, then answered, “My family wasn’t originally from Enchantment Pointe.”
I wouldn’t let her win this little game. She might have the high score at the moment, but I was at the top of my game. We stared at each other, wondering who would make the next move. Silence hung in the air until the doorbell chimed, echoing throughout the house. She’d been saved by the bell. I wouldn’t let her off the hook though.
“If you’ll excuse me. I’ll be right back.” I offered the sweetest smile I could muster.
She smiled. “Of course take your time.”
I stared for a second, then the bell rang again. I didn’t trust her alone, but I had to answer the door. I just hoped that Liam had locked his door. Isabeau was going to be nothing but trouble for me. I sensed it already.
I hurried down the hallway and made my way down the steps to the front door. Who could it be at my door? I prayed it wasn’t another strange guest. I wanted a successful business, but so far my guests had all been trouble, even Nicolas. I peeked out the little hole in the door, but didn’t recognize the man standing on the veranda. There was something strange about him. Maybe it was the smudged glass in the door, but he looked blurry.
Chapter Sixteen
I eased the door open just enough to poke my head out. The man studied my face but remained expressionless. However, he was tapping his foot. Had I taken too long to answer the door? I glanced over his shoulder. Liam’s car was still there, but apparently Nicolas had left. I hadn’t heard him leave.
“May I help you?” I asked.
The man looked to be in his early eighties. Was he lost? He wore a tweed suit and a fedora hat. His expression soured as his lips pinched into a thin line.
“I heard you can bring me back?” His mouth pulled into an unpleasant grin.
My stomach dropped. Surely he wasn’t talking about bringing him back from the dead? Was he dead? He wasn’t see-through like Isabeau had been, but his features had a strange blurred quality.
“I’m sorry. Are you lost?”
“You can bring back the dead? I found you and I’d like for you to bring me back.”
Oh no. My mouth dried and stomach turned. This couldn’t be happening. What had I done now? The Coven was so not going to like this.
“I don’t know what you are talking about.” I tried to retain my composure and not freak out.
I’d try to play dumb and maybe this ghost would go away. How in the heck had he found me? When I performed the magic had it sent out some kind of message to the otherworld?
His face suddenly went grim. “No, no, no. You know what I’m talking about. I’m recently passed and I figure if you can bring me back that would be great. I got good tips to bet on the ponies in the upcoming races.”
“You want to be brought back from the dead so you can gamble?” I stared at him in disbelief.
“We all have our vices,” he said, as a flash of humor crossed his face.
I shook my head. “I’m sorry. I can’t help you.”
As I began to close the door, he placed his foot over the threshold. It was too late for me to stop the door from being shut. My reflexes weren’t that good. I glanced down, but half of his foot was on the inside of the door and the other half remained on his body.
Why had he rang the doorbell to begin with? I was surprised he hadn’t just come on in. I hurried away from the door. I needed to get the spell book to see if there was a spell to reverse what I’d done. Maybe if I ignored him he would just go away. Forgetting about something made it go away permanently, right? I ran up the stairs, but when I reached the landing, I remembered that I’d left my bedroom door open, and the spell book right out in the open for anyone to see. Well, the only people who were in the house at the moment whom I worried about seeing it was Liam and Nicolas. I didn’t think Isabeau would have any interest in it. I hoped Liam wouldn’t go into my room without me being in there. After all, I’d caught him on the second floor.
I hurried over to my room and slid through
the door. When I glanced to my right, my stomach sank. The library books were there, but the spell book was missing. I glanced at the floor and on my bed, but there was no sign of it. I turned around and looked across the hallway. Isabeau’s door was closed. Liam was up on the next floor. Would he really come down and sneak into my room while I was downstairs? That left only one place where the book could be: in the hands of my least favorite guest, Isabeau.
I ran over to her door and knocked.
“Who is it?” she asked in a sweet voice.
Isabeau wasn’t fooling me with that act.
“Let me in,” I demanded.
“What do you want?” Her words were as cool as ice water.
I lowered my voice. “I want the book back.”
“What book?” she said with an even more unconvincing sweet tone.
“You know damn well what book I’m talking about. I want the spell book back. Now open the door before I open it for you.” I pounded on the door again but she didn’t respond.
I knew as an innkeeper that I probably shouldn’t open the door and go into her room, but she wasn’t a typical guest, so why should I act like a typical innkeeper? I pulled the key from my pocket and shoved it into the keyhole. I twisted the key, then grabbed the knob. Just as I had my hand on the knob, Isabeau opened the door. I almost fell flat on my face.
She chuckled. “You’re not very patient are you?”
“Where is it?” I snapped.
“Where is what?”
I rushed over to the bed and looked around. “My spell book.”
I pulled the covers down and yanked the pillow away. There on the bed was my spell book. I grabbed it and stomped toward the door.
I squared my shoulders and pointed at her. “Don’t ever touch my things again or go into my room. I’ll toss you out on your butt if you ever do it again.”
“Just so you know, I have my eye on Nicolas and Liam.” She plopped down on the bed and ran her hand across the silky comforter. “I sure wouldn’t kick either of them out of my bed for eating crackers.”
I refused to allow her to get under my skin. If Nicolas or Liam wanted Isabeau… well there was nothing I could do about that. It was their problem if they fell for Isabeau’s fake laugh and annoying constant hair-flipping.
She smirked, but didn’t offer another snarky comment. Good thing for her too because I was in no mood for it right now. Isabeau sure hadn’t wasted any time before causing mischief.
After stomping back to my room, I closed my door and locked it. Isabeau would never get her hands on the book again. I carried the library books over to the bed and sat down, placing the spell book on my lap. First, I’d see if there was any information on what language the book was written. If I could figure that out, then maybe I’d find someone who knew how to read it.
The book looked the same. Had I really expected something to change? The spell appearing in English had been a fluke. Grabbing the other books, I flipped through the pages until my eyes blurred. It was no use. There was no match for the language in any of the books. Not even close. I opened the spell book again. It looked the same. I’d waited for another wind to pop up, but it never happened. When I needed the magic the most…
I shuffled through the pages again, but they were still all in the same mysterious language. I couldn’t even find the pages with the spell I’d performed. I knew I’d seen it. I hadn’t imagined it. How had this happened? It was looking more and more like I’d have to ask the Coven for advice, as much as I didn’t want to. Who else did I have to ask? They were my only connection to the magic world.
The search for the book and a reversal spell had so consumed me that I’d forgotten about the man at my front door. Was he still out there? I opened my closet door and pulled up the loose floorboard and slipped the book back under it. Now that Isabeau was alive she wouldn’t be able to slip into my room anytime she wanted. I’d keep my door locked at all times. There was no way anyone was getting their hands on that book. I’d made a mistake once, but I’d never let that happen again.
Moving over to the window, I peered down, expecting to see the ghost. The man had seemingly vanished. Maybe he’d gone for good. He hadn’t been a dream.
As if he’d read my mind, the echo of the doorbell rang out through the house again, jarring me from my thoughts. Uh-oh. I should have known it wouldn’t be that easy. It looked as if he wasn’t going away anytime soon. Soon I’d run out of rooms. And the bad part was that the once-dead guests didn’t even have money to pay me for their visits. But I guessed I had been responsible for bringing them back. The least I could do was to offer them a place to stay.
Apparently, the spell book really had given me the power to reanimate the dead. It took a day for the magic to work, but now that it had, I knew that I was in trouble.
When I reached the door, I peeked out again. To my relief, the man wasn’t there. Annabelle stood in front of the door, but she seemed distracted. She was looking over her shoulder. What had she seen? Was the man still hanging around? How was I going to tell her about what had happened?
I opened the door and she motioned for me to step outside.
“I thought you may need help picking out something to wear for your date. Of course you’ll have to bring the contents of your closet downstairs. I need to be close to the door in case I have to run out.” She looked around suspiciously.
Annabelle had long legs and could run fast if she needed to. It wouldn’t surprise me if she took off in a sprint.
A whisper of a breeze floated across my skin as I stepped out onto the veranda and looked around. The treetops stirred, but other than that, all was quiet and the elderly man was nowhere in sight. I didn’t trust him and waited for him to reappear. He wouldn’t leave that easily. If I told Annabelle that there really were ghosts she’d never come in the house again. But I had to tell her. There was no way around it. She’d just have to get over her fear.
“What are you looking for?” Annabelle asked.
I ran my hand through my hair and let out a deep breath. “Did you see a man standing out here when you pulled up?”
She glanced around. “No, why? Did you have another potential guest?”
I stared for a beat. “I’m not sure.”
“You don’t look so well. Your face is a little white. Why don’t you sit down?” She grabbed my arm.
“I’m fine. It’s just that there’s something I have to tell you.” A knot formed in my stomach.
“Oh no. This can’t be good. Are you all right? Is your mother all right?” she asked with panic in her voice.
I nodded. “She’s fine. And I’m okay.”
“You don’t sound confident. Hurry and tell me what’s wrong before I hyperventilate.”
I opened my mouth to answer, but was cut off by Isabeau’s voice. Annabelle’s eyes widened and I turned to see Isabeau standing in the doorway. She slipped through the house like a cat so it was no surprise that I hadn’t heard her sneak up. She had that look a cat got when it ate the canary.
“Hello,” she purred.
Chapter Seventeen
Annabelle looked at me as if to say, Aren’t you going to introduce us?
I reluctantly said, “Annabelle, this is my new guest, Isabeau.”
“Nice to meet you,” Annabelle said.
“Likewise.” Isabeau smiled.
I couldn’t break the news to Annabelle with Isabeau standing right there.
“Are you a guest of the manor too?” Isabeau asked Annabelle.
“No, I’m Hallie’s best friend.”
Isabeau narrowed her eyes. “Oh, well, isn’t that sweet.”
“Are you a guest?” Annabelle asked.
“Yes, I guess you could call me that. But I think it’s just a little more than that.”
“I’m confused.” Annabelle looked from me to Isabeau.
I reached for the doorknob. “Isabeau, if you’ll please excuse me and my friend. We have a few things to talk about.”
/> Isabeau frowned but I didn’t let that stop me from closing the door in her face. She mumbled something from the other side. Annabelle stood with her mouth wide open.
Finally, she said, “What the heck is going on, Hallie?”
“Let’s sit down.”
I knew I’d scared Annabelle to death at this point. We sat on the veranda steps and she looked at me expectantly. The sun inched toward the horizon. It would be dark soon.
“Did she show up like Liam and Nicolas?” Annabelle asked.
“Not exactly.” I fidgeted with my hands.
