by Rose Pressey
Pluto had been asleep on my bed, so I knew it wasn’t him. If there were mice in the attic, I’d have a chat with him. I wrapped my hand around the old knob and twisted. Releasing a deep breath, I pushed the door and eased it open. Immediately a squeak came from somewhere in the room and sent a shiver down my spine. When I glanced at the corner of the room, something flapped around. A bat was hanging from one of the ceiling beams. A scream escaped my lips before I even realized.
Stumbling backward, I tried to find my way out. I hoped that I hadn’t woken up the guests, especially not Cora. She would not be happy. I had to remain calm, but I wasn’t doing a very good job of it. Almost falling over myself, I lunged out the door, slamming it hard so that the bat wouldn’t escape the space. Something had gotten out though. It was all a blur. Had the bat gotten out or was it my freaked out imagination? I tripped to the right and onto someone. Another blood-curdling scream came out, even louder than the first one. The place sounded like a horror movie. When I spun around, I realized that Arthur was right behind me.
“Is everything okay?” He grasped my arms to steady me.
Arthur was shirtless, wearing only red plaid pajama bottoms. Now my face was smashed into his hard, muscular chest.
For a moment, I was at a loss for words. Finally, I managed to say, “I’m okay, but there’s a bat in the attic.”
“Really?” Arthur said. “Let me check it out.”
“Fine by me.” I stepped out of the way.
He moved over to the door and eased it open. I was right behind him. I looked over his shoulder, but the bat wasn’t there.
“I don’t see anything,” he said as he moved into the space.
I slowly followed him, looking everywhere for the creature. He was right though, I couldn’t see it anywhere. Arthur went over and pulled on the light switch in the middle of the room. The soft yellow glow filled the space. The boxes that I’d put there not long ago were still in the room, but nothing else. I’d cleared out all of my great-aunt’s stuff a while back. The place had been full of all kinds of eccentric things, the Book of Mystics being the strangest. But now the bat was nowhere in sight.
Chapter 16
“Are you sure you saw a bat up here?” Arthur asked.
I eased over closer to the spot where I’d seen the creature. “I’m sure. It was hanging right here.” I pointed.
Arthur moved one of the boxes to see if it was hiding back there. “It’s not back here. Maybe there’s a spot in the window and it got out.”
“There are no cracks in the windows and they’re closed,” I said as I stood beside the window.
I peered down at the lawn. Darkness covered the space. I couldn’t make out anything.
“Maybe you were just imagining things,” he said.
I’d known he would say that. I turned to face him. “I really don’t think that’s the case.”
“Have you ever seen a bat in here before?” He moved a couple boxes and looked under them.
I blew the hair out of my eyes. “No, thank goodness. What if it somehow got out and now it’s out in the main part of the house?” I was sure he could sense the panic in my voice. I couldn’t help it. I didn’t like those things.
“I’m sure if it’s hiding anywhere it won’t bother you. I can take care of it for you in the morning.”
“That would be great. Thank you,”I said.
Arthur followed me out of the attic. I pulled the door closed behind us. I peered around, looking for the bat.
He touched my arm. “Don’t worry, it won’t get you.”
I attempted a smile. “I guess you’re right.”
I could handle a lot of scary stuff, but I wasn’t sure a bat was on that list. Arthur walked with me down the hallway to the stairs.
“Well, goodnight,” I said. “Thanks again.”
“Think nothing of it.” He studied my face, which made me a little uncomfortable.
I turned and went down to the second floor. I’d forgotten to apologize if I had woken him with my overreacting to the bat. Once back in my bedroom, I crawled back under the covers and tried to forget about what had happened.
How had he known to find me down that hallway? I hadn’t thought anyone knew about that area of the house. Maybe he had been snooping around. I supposed that was natural in a house like this. I would do the same.
For the longest time, I stared at the ceiling. There were only a few hours left before breakfast time. Guests would expect me to have it prepared at a reasonable hour. I tossed and turned, but still couldn’t drift off. I closed my eyes, but sleep wouldn’t come.
I was still wide awake when I heard a noise again. This sounded different. It was like footsteps. Someone must be walking in the hall. Normally that wouldn’t be odd, but after everything that had happened I was a little concerned.
I was too curious and had to know what was going on out there. I slipped out of bed and over to my door. I eased the door open and peeked out, but didn’t see anyone. Now the footsteps sounded as if they were going down the stairs. I decided to go down and be snoopy. If it was Cora up to her potion-making, I would find out. Once over at the stairs, I peered down, but didn’t see anyone.
It looked like whoever it was had already made it to the bottom. I eased down the stairs, trying to not make any noise. I didn’t want to let whoever was down there know that I was coming too. When I got to the bottom of the stairs, I thought I heard whispers coming from downstairs. Either I had another ghost or someone was down there talking. So maybe it was more than one person. But where were they? I moved through the foyer and into the parlor.
No one was in the parlor or the library. But I heard voices and was almost sure they were coming from the kitchen. Arthur and Ben were in the kitchen—I recognized the voices. Maybe they were just getting a snack. Since it was five o’clock in the morning, maybe they were ready for breakfast. It was still dark out and too early for breakfast in my opinion. My internal clock wouldn’t let me think about eating for at least two more hours. I guessed they didn’t have that clock.
I eased over to the door so that I could listen in to the conversation. That probably wasn’t the best thing to do, but I had to know what they were saying. They were discussing a meeting, but I wasn’t quite sure if they were both attending this meeting or if Arthur was just telling my other guest that he had a meeting to attend. So far it seemed like an innocent conversation, as if they were just making idle chitchat while waiting for breakfast.
But then they moved a little further away from the door and I couldn’t make out what they were saying. I had to either get them to talk louder or open the door slightly. I was sure that I would be caught if I opened the door. If they knew I was out there they might stop talking. Nevertheless, I would have to give it a chance. I needed to know why they had lowered their voices. Were they afraid of being overheard? That meant they were doing something wrong.
I moved the door ever so slightly, praying that it wouldn’t squeak. The hinges had a tendency to do that. I needed to fix the noise, but it definitely wasn’t at the top of my priority list with everything else that needed to be done around the manor. Not to mention all of my duties as leader.
At least now I could hear the conversation better. Unfortunately, I’d missed out on part of their talk.
“Yes, I saw them,” Arthur said. “I had a feeling they would be around soon.”
Who was he talking about? I wanted to ask, but I knew that I wouldn’t get a response.
“What will you do now?” Ben asked.
I was thinking the same thing, but probably for different reasons, considering I didn’t know who they were talking about.
“I will take care of them. Everything will work out just as planned.”
This didn’t sound good. Arthur seemed as if he had bad intentions. He seemed so nice. It made me sad to think that he might not be who he said he was.
The stools slid across the floor a little and I figured they were getting up. To keep fro
m getting caught, I hurried away from the door and into the parlor. I had to hide—there was no time to get back upstairs. Practically sliding across the floor to the sofa, I ducked behind the furniture, trying not to make a peep. My heart pounded in my chest at the thought of being caught. Why I was I hiding? I owned the manor. Plus, I was the leader of the Underworld. I should just demand that they tell me what they were up to.
That had never seemed to work out in the past though. So I had to be sneaky in order to find out the truth.
The footsteps sounded across the floor, but then they paused. I was pretty sure they were standing in the middle of the room. I expected them to pop over and look behind the sofa at any moment. How would I explain that I was behind there? I could tell them that I’d lost something. After all, they couldn’t prove that it wasn’t the truth.
Since they had paused in the room, I figured they knew that someone had been listening in. It was terrifying having to hide behind the sofa in my own house. Finally, the footsteps faded and I knew that they were out of the room. Now I had to worry about whether they were hiding or not. This was like a weird game of hide-and-seek. How long would I have to wait back here to make sure they were actually gone? I also discovered this was where the cat was hiding my socks.
Trying to be as quiet as possible, I crawled over to the edge of the sofa. It had been a few minutes now and I had to get out from behind there. I eased up from the sofa and thankfully didn’t see anyone. Now I wanted to go upstairs and see if they had gone to their rooms. I wasn’t trusting either one of them. I eased across the floor so that it wouldn’t make any noise. These old floors hada lot of creaks and groans. Maybe there was a spell I could use to help me figure out what they were up to.
I made it through the parlor and the library into the foyer. Just as I moved through the foyer, someone touched my shoulder. I screamed and jumped away. I pushed my arms forward in my best fighting stance.
Arthur held his hands up. “Whoa. I’m sorry if I scared you.”
He stared at me and for a moment I was speechless. Had he been waiting for me? Of course he had. What else would he be doing standing in the foyer? What would I say now?
“I was just coming to ask what you’d like for breakfast,” I said with a smile.
As soon as a lie left my lips I had deception all over my face. How would I explain this? However, this was my house, and I could go in any room I wanted.
Finally, a slow smile slid across his face. “I’m sorry, but I won’t be eating breakfast here this morning. I have a few things to take care of in town.”
Now I wanted to know exactly what those things were. Too bad I couldn’t follow him. Or could I?
“Well, let me know if you change your mind,” I said.
He studied my face. “I will, thank you.”
Arthur went back upstairs. He turned and looked at me when he was halfway up. I attempted a smile, but knew that I looked nervous. This was too creepy. He had seemed so nice, but now I wasn’t sure. As I’d found out in the past, looks could be deceiving. I shouldn’t trust him or any of the guests.
It was now close enough to breakfast time, so I decided not to go back upstairs. Arthur would probably be waiting up there for me anyway. No, I’d go into the kitchen and try to take my mind off things by preparing breakfast. Suddenly, I was starving anyway, which was unusual since I didn’t like to eat early. French toast seemed like a good idea. As I made my way toward the kitchen,I kept looking over my shoulder. I never knew when a guest would pop up. They had me on high alert.
Chapter 17
I kept thinking about Arthur and Ben being in the kitchen as I prepared my coffee. I was still debating whether to confront them. I just had to figure it out. I didn’t want to ruin my chances of finding it out on my own. So now I was suspicious that Arthur was on to me. Liam and Nicolas were already suspicious of him. I supposed they had a reason to be. If I told them they might overreact and blow my cover. I would have to keep it from them.
I busied myself with preparing breakfast. A part of me was glad that Arthur wasn’t going to eat breakfast, but then another part made me think I could’ve asked questions. I had to be subtle about this. I didn’t want them to suspect too much. I had all of the ingredients set out for my breakfast, now I just had to cast a little spell and make the magic happen. I hoped the other guests were coming, but with the tension between Jolene and Cora, it wasn’t going to be pleasant. I gathered all the ingredients and spices that I needed.
“Element of Earth, I call to you. Make the food magical.” I whisked the eggs. “Element of Air, I call to you to make the food wonderful.” Stirring more, I recited the words: “Element of Fire, I call to you to guide me in the kitchen. Help me have the knowledge.” To complete the spell, I recited the words: “Element of Water, I call to you to make the food divine.”
Sparks flew through the air. Electricity whirled around and around like a hurricane in front of the food. If the level of activity from the spell was any indication, then this would be my best breakfast yet. My magic just kept getting better and better. I placed the food in the oven with a smile on my face.
I placed all of the food onto the plates and it looked gorgeous. I figured the guests would be down any second now, but that was when I heard the ruckus. It had been so loud that I almost dropped the plates. It hadn’t come from in the house though. I knew the difference. This sound had come from right out the back door. I placed the plates down on the counter and hurried over to the door.
At first I didn’t see anything at the door, but I unlocked it and poked my head out. No one was there, but I knew there was a reason for the noise. I hadn’t imagined it. What were my guests up to now? I had a suspicion it was something that they had done. My number one suspect was Cora. I looked around again and didn’t see anything. I figured I would give up and just go back inside and pray that nothing happened. Breakfast would get cold.
Just as I turned, Beth Sallee and Williamina Hamilton stumbled around the side of the house as if they had had too much to drink. As soon as they saw me they started waving like crazy. Like they were so happy to see me.
I stepped off the little porch. “Are you ladies okay?” I asked.
“We don’t know what’s going on,” Beth said.
Maybe they had been out drinking.
“Come on inside. I have some breakfast prepared. Maybe that will make you feel better.” I motioned toward the door.
They followed me into the kitchen and sat at the island.
“How are you feeling?” I asked as I poured coffee and placed the mugs in front of them.
They took a couple drinks from the cups. When they placed the cup down, Beth said, “I feel strange.”
“Me too,” Williamina said. “I definitely don’t feel like myself.”
“What do you mean?” I was beginning to get a little worried.
“It just feels like we had a little too much to drink.” She rubbed her temples.
“And did you?” I asked.
“Oh, heavens, no,” Williamina said. “Nothing like that.”
After preparing the women plates of food and orange juice, I sat down beside them. I might as well have breakfast too. This was going to be an interesting story. The women sank their forks into the eggs.
“This is absolutely delicious. The best I’ve had in my whole life,” Beth said.
It looked as if my magic spell had worked as planned. Now if I could just get more information out of them.
“Tell me more about what happened last night,” I said as I took a bite of my food.
Williamina pointed at me with her fork. “You know, I think it was that woman staying here.”
“What was her name?” Beth asked.
“Cora?” I asked, almost afraid to find out the answer.
Beth nodded and pointed her finger at me. “Yes, that’s the one. I think she gave us something to drink last night.”
“After that we didn’t feel right,” Williamina said.
>
This was beginning to sound a whole lot like the other situation. I wasn’t going to let Cora get away with this.
“I’ll go get her and ask her what she did,” I said.
“We don’t want to get her in trouble, but it was very concerning the way that happened.” Her voice wavered.
There had to be more than Cora was sharing with me.
“I’ll be right back, ladies,” I said.
I hoped they’d be okay while I was gone. Rushing out of the kitchen, I hurried up the stairs. When I reached Cora’s door, I knocked on the door.
Cora said, “Go away.”
“I will not go away. I demand that you open this door right now,” I said in a stern voice.
I thought that I was going to have to get the key and open the door. I had no problem demanding that she come out. Finally she came over and opened the door. Cora stared at me and placed her hands on her hips.
“What do you want?” she asked.
“I need to talk to you right now about what you gave Beth Sallee and Williamina Hamilton last night. If you would be so kind as to join me downstairs, I would appreciate that.” I tapped my foot against the floor.
“I’m not going anywhere.” She tried to close the door, but I stopped her with my foot.
“Don’t make me drag you down there.” I pointed toward the hallway. “Don’t make this any harder than it has to be.”
Finally she reluctantly stomped into the hallway. I followed her down the stairs to make sure she didn’t try anything sneaky. We marched through the house and back into the kitchen. The women acted afraid when they saw Cora. The scowl on her face didn’t help.
“Cora, if you’d like to have a seat here with us, we have some questions for you.” I pointed toward the stool.
Cora eyed us reluctantly and then took a seat at the corner of the island. If she hadn’t done anything wrong then why was she acting this way? Cora grabbed a plate and helped herself to the French toast. She poured syrup onto her food. “Just what is all of this about?” She took a bite and we watched her chew. When she finished with syrup dripping from her mouth, she said, “Well? Can’t you speak now?”
