“The woman my dad was talking about was with Mr. Catania. They were at Dutch’s Diner, sitting by the big glass window. They were stuffing their faces, having a good old time. She looked right at me. It’s like she knew I stole it from the moving van. She bolted out of there like a dog after a rabbit. I ran like hell and jumped right off the bridge, swimming straight home. Two days later, she rented the mill and started searching for the box. I didn’t say anything at first. Why confess to something I hadn’t been accused of yet?”
“So Gisele knew you had it and brought it here. But she never found it. She needs that box. It must be part of her plot to destroy Jimmy Catania.” The spirit of Gisele was right. The box was the key to saving her dad. Randy steadily paged through the book, snapping pictures of a few pages with his phone. “What are you doing, Randy?”
“I’m sending these pics to Gary. He owns the antique bookstore in New Orleans. You know, the store where Gertie and I go to when we’re hunting for spell books?”
“Ahhh, so that’s the Gary I’ve heard about. Go on.”
“He’s an expert in medieval manuscripts and Latin. While you’ve been talking to the Vodniks, he’s already figured out a bunch of stuff on these things.”
“Well, frickin’ tell us!” I barked impatiently at him.
“You were right, it is a witch’s spell book. The inscription on the front of the book says it belonged to Stella Delfino, the wife of Phillip Delfino, a duke. There was a letter hidden under the cover.” Randy held up two sheets of paper. “This is a confession penned by Stella that she hoped no one would ever see until long after her death. She confessed to dabbling in the occult. She also had a lover named Marcus. One day, the Duke busted his little wifey, Stella, doing the horizontal pop with Marcus. Stella wrote all about her guilt, and trust me, this chick was loaded with it. She threw Marcus under the bus. She lied her ass off and said he was the one involved in sorcery. Apparently, he seduced her with his magic wand.”
Randy was in his glory at his theatrical story telling. I, on the other hand, rolled my eyes as he continued.
“Of course, Marcus was brutally tortured and killed for his crimes. But interestingly enough, he wasn’t the one who cursed the Delfinos. It was Stella. She was due to be executed and before they whacked her, she conjured up a curse for the Duke. Basically, if the Duke remarried and had children, the entire lineage would suffer her wrath. She literally made a deal with the devil to get this done. She’s our demon.”
“So, the woman who rented our home, Gisele, is possessed by Stella?” Mrs. Vodnik asked.
“Yes, but it’s the body of Gisele, the reanimated corpse you could say,” I explained.
Millie interjected. “We need to bring that demon back here.”
“Why? Why the hell would we do that?” I asked Millie.
“Because we need the water from the magic spring. Isn’t it true Mr. Vodnik, that demons have no powers in sacred waters? Be it holy water or any other blessed waters?”
“Yes, that’s true.”
“Let me think on this a little more,” Millie said. “I have an idea.”
Chapter Thirty Six
The Hero
The huge black bear busted through the door. On his back, Ezzy and Morgan rode on him like a horse. Ezzy clutched a handful of fur with one hand and cradled a wide-eyed Barney in her other hand. Morgan’s arms were wrapped around Ezzy’s waist. The crashing of furniture never woke Max or Uncle Carmine, who snored peacefully on a loveseat.
The bear made one last leap and landed in the center of the room on his belly. We watched as he shimmered and his fur shortened. His entire body shrank, morphing into a more human shape. When the shift back to human was complete, a naked Gabe sprawled on the floor. The girls swiftly rolled off his back. “Was it good for you, dear?” Ezzy quipped.
“Hey! Can I get a bear ride, too?” Gertie whined.
Barney hopped down from Ezzy’s arms. “If it wasn’t for the werebear, we’d be history.”
“Where did Gisele take you guys?” I asked.
“She was leading us somewhere up on the Catania property when Gabe charged in at full speed. He slammed into Gisele with the full force of his body, sending her flying off into the distance. We realized it was Gabe immediately and jumped on his back. We didn’t stick around to see where the bitch landed.”
“Mature swingers’ night?” Ezzy asked as she nodded toward the Vodniks.
I chose to ignore Ezzy’s comment about the Vodniks. I didn’t want to bring that subject up again. I didn’t need those warped images running through my mind, again. Randy and I gave a quick yet rather thorough rundown on everything that had taken place from the time we left to go to Chicago.
Ezzy and Morgan looked like they’d run for miles and crawled for a few more. Ezzy sniffed the air. “Max! Momma needs something to take down the adrenaline.” She pulled a stogie and a brass zippo lighter from Max’s shirt pocket. She sat on the floor, so close to Morgan they could have been Siamese twins. Barney sprawled out across both of their laps. “What a night. Huh, ladies? I didn’t think we were going to make it.” Ezzy shared Max’s special cigar with Morgan and Barney.
Gertie sat on the floor, cross legged, just in front of Ezzy. The girl’s smoke circled around her like a ghostly anaconda wrapping itself around a meal. “I don’t understand. When someone Max’s cigars smoke, my fuzzy gets more and more head.” She broke out in a fit of laughter.
“You mean, the smoke makes your head fuzzy.” Randy cleared it up.
“You, too? Just watch the dining table’s legs. Every once in a while, it jumps on the air and clicks its heels together.”
“Excuse me, everyone, I have an important announcement. Please disregard Gertie for the rest of the evening while her brain takes a vacation on the planet Saturn, courtesy of the Max Kovacs Outer Space Vacation program. Thank you.”
Millie took advantage of the brief silence and made an announcement of her own. “Here’s my plan. We need a speedy séance. I need a volunteer. Someone willing to allow the ghost of the real Gisele to temporarily possess their body. Anyone?” With the chorus response of “No” and “No way in hell,” Millie might as well have asked for a volunteer to wear a coat made out of live rattlesnakes.
“Use one of them.” Ezzy pointed to Max and Carmine, who still slept. “They’re not doing anything.”
“Excellent idea. I even brought something along that’s sure to help.” Millie walked into the dining area and sat down at the table. She unrolled a laminated sheet of paper that had a Ouija board printed on it. “Kelly, please come here by me. Ladies, will you join us in the dining room?”
They didn’t respond. The only thing we heard was Gabe moaning as he struggled to wake up from his transformation, amid the laughter of his audience. Poor Gabe was still in the fog of his change, unaware of his surroundings. I had no idea the shift back to human was such a lengthy process. I’d only seen it when I showered him with Gertie’s magic bear paralyzer. He rolled over, putting his manhood on full display. “Holy meatstick of pain!” Randy squealed. “It’s nice to look at, but I wouldn’t put that baby arm into anything.”
Morgan blushed. “I’ll never be able look at him again without picturing that.”
With her hands on her hips, Ezzy shook her head. “Tsk, tsk, Kelly, didn’t I teach you anything with Luke? It’s common decency to share your toys.” With an outstretched arm and her open palm turned up, she pointed toward Gabe’s naked body. “Especially when you have more than you could possibly need for yourself. Way more.”
“Ezzy! Come on. Give the guy a break. Gertie, please cover him with something.”
“I’ve got something to cover him with,” Randy chuckled. “Me, too!” Morgan quietly teased, slightly embarrassed that she was having fun at Gabe’s expense. “Make that three!” Ezzy laughed along, with no remorse.
“You guys are horrible. Look at this poor werebear, it’s okay, Gertie’s here.” Gertie acted as if she was talkin
g to one of her baby animals. She had a throw blanket from one of the chairs and she knelt down to cover him. She paused, cocked her head, and looked closely at him. “I just want to grab it. You know what I mean? Like, just squeeze it. I don’t know. It’s about the same as Brad’s. They look…strange. Have you ladies seen Randy’s? Just look at the pictures on his cellphone. Now that thing is long. No wonder he’s always playing with it.” She finally covered Gabe up.
“Damn it, Gertie!” Randy’s face turned bright red.
“Hey, Millie,” Barney yelled and took another drag. “You can use one of my balls if you want.”
The others all rolled around laughing.
“What? I’m being serious, I have two crystal balls, you know.”
“Come on, Millie, let’s just do this without those buffoons. Who knows how long it will be before the monster shows up.” I looked over by the pantry. The Vodniks had been watching us like hawks. Thankfully, they seemed to be amused with the antics playing out in front of them. I was absolutely amazed no one had managed to offend them. That alone was sheer dumb luck. Who knows, maybe they had their own fair share of clowns in their underwater kingdom.
Millie and I repeated the Ouija ritual on her travel sized board. “Gisele! Gisele! I feel you here with us. I have a body for you to use, for now. He is on the other side of the room. He has long gray hair in a ponytail, a long beard, purple tinted round glasses, and a black, orange, and green headband.”
Millie looked at me and we waited for a response on either the Ouija board or from Max’s mouth. Max suddenly stood up and for the first time I could recall, he spoke perfectly clear. “It’s me, Gisele. Thank you, Millie, for giving me some more time in the world of the living.” She walked in our direction. She paused momentarily by Gabe’s body, curious why the man was there.
Max, or Gisele in Max’s body, sat down next to Millie. “What is your plan? Just before you summoned me here, I saw the evil creature on the road to the mill. She is moving quickly.”
“Whatever happens, I want you to trust Kelly and me. Can you do that?”
“Of course. I’ll do whatever it takes to save my father and not cause him any pain. As well as to stop this monster.”
“The monster’s name is Stella. The Vodniks found your copper box. It contained books on magic, along with Stella’s confession. She made some sort of deal with the devil. If we can separate her from your body, we may very well accomplish our goal.”
Barney raised his hand. “Excuse me, I need some help.”
“Barney, there’s a bunch of things you need help with, but we don’t have time for all of that right now. Is there one thing in particular you’d like to ask?”
“I’m having a problem keeping track of who the fuck is who in this game of musical ghosts.”
With an annoyed sigh, I quickly brought Barney up to speed. “Stella is the bad demon who is using Gisele’s body. Max’s body is playing host to the ghost of Gisele. Got it?”
“Got it, boss lady.”
“Kelly, remember we need to get Stella down to the Vodniks’ whirlpool on the lower level. We’ll let Stella in and you’ll show her the box. Lure her with it.”
Gabe had finally recovered and stood by the table, the small blanket wrapped tight around his waist. “This sounds dangerous. I was able to hear the explanation and everything that was said.” He looked over at my goofy friends. “Everything,” he said loud enough for them to hear. “I’ll take the copper box and lure Stella to the basement. It’s not because I don’t think you can do it, Kelly, but if she wants to fight, I’m bigger. It’ll be much harder for her to fight me.”
“If that’s what you want, be my guest.” I pointed to the little door in the pantry. “The stairs are behind that door. They’re narrow, so be careful. When you get to the bottom, turn. There’s only one way you can go. Just go straight ahead. The pool will be about fifty feet in front of you. I’ll give you some light to take with you.”
We didn’t have to wait long. The lights flickered. “She must be trying to kill the power, to use the dark to her advantage.” I tapped my wand until the tip glowed. “Just to be prepared.”
Gabe sat at the table and placed the old box in front of him. “If she gets in, I want her to see it. She’ll go right for it.”
The lights went out and we waited silently. There was tapping on the windows. My head swiveled left and right. I couldn’t see a thing. The full moon was framed perfectly by the window straight ahead of me, which was directly behind Gabe. Then I saw it. Floating up next to the glass was the silhouette of a woman. The sound of her nails clawing against the glass was nearly unbearable. Her hair flowed around her in defiance of gravity. It looked like I was watching a woman floating in water.
“Gabe, can you see her?”
Gabe turned around. When he saw the levitating corpse in the moonlight, he stood up. He held the copper box up, taunting her. He lifted the lid and rifled through the papers, teasing her more. I could tell Stella was about to crash through the window.
“Gabe!” I joined him by tapping the box with my lit wand. I left a bright greenish glow emitting from the lid.
The glass shattered into tiny shards that scattered across the floor. Stella had arrived, complete with a crazy look on her face. “Now! Run!”
Gabe ran for the stairs. The sounds of both of them racing down the wooden steps worried me. I ran after them, with Millie and the possessed Max close behind me. The Vodniks, I assumed were behind them. Just as I turned the corner, I saw Gabe almost make it to the edge before Stella swiped her hand at him. The blanket fell from his waist and he tripped on it. Stella fell on top of him.
We watched helplessly as they fell into the dark, angry pool. Mr. Vodnik dove into the water and went after them. We waited for several agonizing minutes. My heart sank. I felt nauseous. That wasn’t how it was supposed to go.
Chapter Thirty Seven
The Witches Council-Again
“What? That’s it? We’ll have your apprentice pulled apart by oxen, disemboweled, flogged with thorny rosebush branches. And whatever else we can come up with. You hear me, Marie Laveau? You put her back under. Now!”
“I don’t know if you can handle it. The end. It’s heartbreaking. Or it might be. I just don’t know. And I don’t know if Witches Apprentice Kelly Franchetti’s brain can handle anymore.”
“Marie! This is your last warning! Let her finish!”
“All right. I’ll let her finish. But you bitches listen and listen good. I will only put her under again if you agree to wipe out all of the charges. I want full immunity for Miss Franchetti and all of her friends. That includes any potential charges that could result from crimes committed in the finale of her story. Got it?”
“Yes, yes. Full immunity. Annabelle, ensure the record reflects that.”
“Now. GO!”
“Kelly? It’s Marie. Go on, girl. It’s okay, you can finish now.”
Chapter Thirty Eight
In the End
Ezzy leaned her folded arms against the rail of the stone porch. I smiled at her, she looked content. “Beautiful day, isn’t it?”
“Meh. At least it’s not snowing.” She cackled. “So…looks like Gertie finally gets to wrestle around with bears.” Ezzy nodded to Gertie, who was rolling around on the ground with two black bear cubs.
Her boyfriend, Brad, had the barbeque grill smoking, down in the gravel parking lot. Randy’s friend, Gary, playfully knocked Randy into the mill pond. They goofed around in the water, and I was sure I didn’t want to know what they were up to. Barney hopped off the dam into the water, and he joined in their aquatic games.
Morgan walked along the side of the pond, with a young woman carrying a Chihuahua.
“You know, Ezzy, I think what worked out best of all was that Gisele’s ghost was able to reenter her old body, with the demon vanquished back to Hell.”
“Yeah. It’s like the demon actually did her a favor by keeping her corpse animated, like sh
e never died. And look at Jimmy Catania down there with Carmine, Max, and Millie. Talking about the glory days I’m sure. He has his real daughter back now. Good thing he never believed in curses!” Ezzy laughed. “He never knew any different, well, except that Gisele isn’t a conniving, murdering bitch anymore! If Stella thought she had the ultimate Karma spell against the Delfino family, that bitch came back at her like a boomerang. The sweetest Karma outcome was Gisele’s return to life, with her father.”
I nodded in agreement with Ezzy. “See Gisele down there carrying Hobo? I mean Mario? Dogs are super loyal. The poor dog waited in the icehouse for his poor owner for three years. I just wish I wouldn’t have started calling him Hobo. He started to answer to it.” I sighed at everyone. “I just wish Gabe could be here.” I felt like I had an empty space inside of me.
Familiar big arms wrapped around me, pulling me close. Then came the kiss on the back of my neck. I held his arms. “You’re back from the store already?”
“Yeah. My sister drove. She drives crazier than I do,” Gabe said, then he kissed my neck again. “I’ll be back, just going to give her a hand getting a cooler out of the truck.”
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