by Rose Pressey
Stepping into the kitchen felt like entering my safe haven. Not that I could cook or anything, but there was something about all the spices and herbs that gave me hope… hope that one day I would be as good at witchcraft as my great-aunt. The kitchen was all shades of white with a large island in the middle. Apothecary jars lined every shelf to my left.
I placed the book on the counter, careful not to lose my spot. On one wall of the kitchen was a large stone fireplace. A big black cauldron sat in the middle of the fireplace. After filling the cauldron with water, I lit the fire underneath. As soon as the water began to bubble, it would be time to cast the spell. I had to be quiet so that I wouldn’t wake Nicolas or Liam. I didn’t want either of them to know what I was doing.
With any luck, within a few minutes, I would have brought Nicolas’ mother back. He would be so happy. Maybe it would relieve some of the guilt from Liam too.
Rushing around the room, I grabbed all the spices that I needed. Once the water had come to a steady boil, I sprinkled the items into the cauldron. With each drop into the water, I intoned the words written in the spell book: “Bring the magic to me. Protection from all negativity surrounds me. Harm threefold to thee who sends destruction my way. All hateful actions directed toward me will be inflicted upon thee.”
They were the words I’d used when I’d brought back the other ghost. But this time there were more words visible to the spell. Why had the extra words appeared this time? Perhaps that was why the spell had gone wrong the first time. All the necessary words hadn’t been there.
I tossed in the last of the spices. “Bring the spirit near, it should not cause fear. From death I give life. Come forward from beyond. So mote it be.”
Colorful lights swirled skyward from the cauldron, but after reciting the words, I realized this simply wasn’t enough for me. There was no room for a mistake this time. I wanted to add my own words to the spell. Calling to the elements had helped me use the magic to my full potential before, and I needed all the help I could get for this important spell.
“Element of Earth, I call to you to allow the spirit to rise again. Element of Air, I call to you to push the spirit back to the manor. Element of Fire, I call to you for warmth and protection. Help me have the knowledge. Element of Water, I call to you for force and tranquility. Give the spirit the power to return.”
The lights circled around me and my hair whipped around my face as a fiery wind blew through the kitchen. Smoke billowed up from the cauldron as the water bubbled, almost overflowing over the top. The smell of earth circled me, consuming the room. In a flash, the wind disappeared, the lights vanished and the earthy smell faded.
Releasing a deep breath, I looked around the room. It was the calm after the storm. Had the spell worked though? As if on cue, footsteps sounded in the library again. My heart beat faster and sweat beaded on my forehead. With any luck, the spell had worked and Nicolas’ mother had now returned from the dead.
Not wasting another second, I rushed out of the kitchen and toward the library. When I reached the library door, I stopped so quickly that I almost fell flat on my face.
A woman stood beside the desk in front of the tall windows. She had one of the thick red velvet curtains pulled to the side as she peered out the window. It was too dark for her to see anything. The woman wasn’t Nicolas’ mother though. And she wasn’t see-through either. She looked to be from the same era, maybe the late 1800s. The woman wore her hair in the same up-style as Gina with ringlets falling gently against the side of her face. Her hoopskirt dress was a beautiful shade of emerald green and black lace decorated the bodice. My stomach sank. I knew I was in trouble now. What had I done this time?
“Who the heck are you?” I asked, letting my politeness fly right out the window.
“You called me here to help, my dear.” A huge smile spread across her face.
Chapter Six
“No, I didn’t call you here.” I looked around the room. “I called Gina Rochester here. I don’t even know you. What is your name?” I asked.
“My name is Catherin Butterfield.” The sweetest of smiles curved her lips again.
“Well, it’s nice to meet you, Catherin, but I don’t know why you’re here.” I crossed my arms in front of my chest.
“I came here to help you. You called for someone to help you, right?” She waved her hands through the air. “So here I am.”
Kind of like a fairy godmother, huh? Where had I gone wrong with the spell this time and where had Nicolas’ mother gone?
“Yes, here you are indeed.” I shook my head.
Of all the darn luck. I’d managed to mess up a spell again. But how? Nicolas’ mother said I’d be fantastic with my magic now that I was the leader. Obviously, she hadn’t known who she was talking to when she said that. But I’d gotten rid of a demon with my new magic. What had changed in such a small amount of time?
“Listen, you have to get out of here. You can’t stay.” I motioned toward the front door.
She shook her head. “No, I can’t do that. I’m here to stay as long as you need help. And that could be a very long time.”
“How did you know I needed help?” I asked.
“I am your great-great-great-aunt. My grave site is right outside.” She pointed in the direction of the back yard.
In the rear of LaVeau Manor sat a small family graveyard where previous members of the LaVeau family were buried. My Great-Aunt Maddy was there too.
“I was the sister of your great-great-great grandfather… the famed alchemist. He built this home, you know? I lived here.”
I looked her up and down suspiciously. Something didn’t add up and I smelled a rat. Of course, maybe I was overly sensitive because the last ghost I’d brought back had really been a demon. Lightning probably wouldn’t strike twice though, so I needed to just calm down. A clear head would help me work through this problem, I reminded myself.
She looked around the room. “So, where will I be staying?”
I released a heavy sigh and motioned for her to follow me. “Come on. I’ll show you to your room.”
There was no use fighting this and I supposed she was family. Plus, apparently this place had been hers originally. She was being very polite about this under the circumstances. Maybe she hadn’t even wanted to come back and I’d forced her with my screwed-up magical ways. But it seemed as if I was no longer running a bed-and-breakfast for living, paying guests. In reality I was running a bed-and-breakfast for dead ghosts who didn’t have two nickels to rub together. How would I pay the utility bill around this place with no income? Did they pay the leader of the Underworld a salary? Hmm. I’d have to look into that.
What would I do with this woman? It was more than a little embarrassing to ask Liam or Nicolas for advice considering I was the leader now and should know what to do. I’d show this ghost to a room, then find a spell to get rid of her. Well, in theory that was the way it would work.
“The home has changed quite a bit since we first built it… what with the new inventions and all.” She looked up at the chandelier.
How did she even know about new inventions? But I imagined that it would be quite a shock to see the house after that many years.
As I ascended the stairs with Catherin following closely behind me, I asked. “What did the home look like back then? Are there a lot of other changes?”
“No, no, not that I notice.” She didn’t sound entirely convinced.
She hadn’t even looked around when she said it. Now that I thought about it, why hadn’t she asked to walk through the house and take a look around? I knew if I had built this place and hadn’t been in it for years, I’d probably want to take a peek around.
But regardless of my uneasy feelings, I had to get her into different clothing. If anyone saw her they’d think I was putting on a Civil War reenactment. But most importantly, I wanted to keep her true identity a secret from Liam and Nicolas. Like I said, they didn’t need to know just how much of a failure the n
ew leader was.
Once at the end of the hallway, I turned toward the bedroom directly across from mine. It was the room where Isabeau had stayed and it was the perfect room to put former ghosts whom I wanted to watch.
“I hope you like what we’ve done with this room,” I said as I opened the door.
I motioned for Catherin to enter first.
She smiled graciously and stepped across the threshold. The fabric from her long dress made a swooshing sound with her movements. “Thank you, dear. I’m sure I will love it.”
“I just need to change the linens on the bed.” I pulled clean sheets from the bureau.
“Please, allow me. It’s no problem at all. I know you must be tired from your long day.” She reached out and took the sheets from my arms.
I stopped in my tracks. “How did you know I had a long day?”
Her lips formed a thin line as if she was appalled that I’d asked her such a question. “You have bags under your eyes. It looks as if you haven’t slept, so I assumed.”
I stared for a beat, then said, “Oh, well, I’m sorry. I guess I’ve just been on edge lately.”
She patted my arm. “It’s understandable. You must have been through a lot.”
“By the way, I think we should keep the little mishap that brought you here a secret. Okay? We’ll just tell my two other guests that you’re a paying guest, okay?” I nodded, hoping she’d go along with my story.
She looked down at her dress. “I think this will be a dead giveaway, no?” Her mouth twisted at the sides at her presumably unintended pun.
I motioned over my shoulder. “I’ll see what I can find for you to wear.”
When I reached the door, I paused with my hand on the knob. Now that I thought about it, Catherin hadn’t even mentioned my name. Had she really known who I was, or was she a complete fake? My paranoia really had reached extreme levels.
“How did you even know who I was? I mean, I could have been anyone. You just assumed I was Halloween LaVeau. How did you know you are my aunt?” I asked.
She chuckled. “You are a suspicious one. But I understand your trepidation. I’m not around just because I was a ghost. We can come and go as we please.”
“So you’ve been in the house before?” I asked.
“Why yes, of course,” she said sweetly.
“You just said you couldn’t believe how things had changed in the house.” I crossed my arms in front of my chest, waiting for her to get out of that one.
“That isn’t a lie. I couldn’t believe the changes. That doesn’t mean I hadn’t seen them before.” A forced smile crossed her lips.
Well, she had me there. That was a good explanation. Maybe I was being too hard on her. She probably was there just to help. After all, I was the one who’d messed up and brought her here.
“I’m sorry for being so suspicious. Please forgive me,” I said.
She focused her attention to the bed linens and looked away. “You’re forgiven. Think nothing of it.”
“If you need anything else, I’ll just be right across the hall.” I gestured.
She nodded. “Thank you, dear.”
I closed the door and leaned against the wood, releasing a deep breath. This was an absolute disaster. There was no way I’d get back to sleep after all that had happened. Besides, it would be time to make breakfast in just a couple hours. I hurried across the hall to my room and grabbed my cell phone. Annabelle would be upset with me for calling her at this hour, but she should be used to the craziness from me by now.
My bedroom had a large mahogany bed in the middle of the room placed against the far wall. The walls were a cream color. To the left of the door was a floor-to-ceiling bookshelf where I displayed my small collection of witch figurines along with my large book collection. I’d taken a gorgeous deep purple velvet chaise from one of the other bedrooms and placed it by the window in my room.
The white down comforter on the bed called my name. I sat on the bed and hit redial. Just when I thought Annabelle wouldn’t pick up, she answered with a groan.
“Oh, Annabelle. You’re not going to believe this,” I said.
“Are you kidding me, Hallie? I would believe anything out of you at this point. The most important question right now is are you okay?” Worry colored her words.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Well, I think I’m okay… but something else happened.” I rushed my words.
“What happened this time?” The excitement in her voice increased.
After explaining about seeing the ghost of Nicolas’ mother, casting the spell, and then the wrong ghost showing up, there was silence at the end of the line. I couldn’t believe it, but I’d finally left Annabelle speechless.
“Talk to me, Annabelle. What do you think? Should I trust her?” I asked.
“You truly are a magnet for trouble,” she said.
“Don’t remind me. Are you coming over for breakfast?” No doubt I would need help dealing with Catherin.
“I have to tell you, Hallie, all these ghosts really are freaking me out. I mean, I knew the place was creepy before, but now…” Fear crept in to her voice.
“What? No, the house is fine. Really. Besides, I guess Catherin seems innocent enough. She’s kind of like a sweet fairy godmother come to help me solve my problems, now that I think of it,” I said, trying to sound casual.
She snorted. “Yeah, right. She’s your evil fairy godmother maybe.” Annabelle sighed. “I’ll be over soon. But I’m just coming into the kitchen. Maybe the dining room, but that’s as far as I go, okay?”
“Okay, it’s a deal. I’ll see you soon,” I said.
I really needed to work on Annabelle’s phobia. Maybe there was a spell for that. No, I didn’t want to jeopardize my friendship. If I messed up a spell on Annabelle, she’d never forgive me.
As I made my way downstairs to prep for breakfast, a thought popped into my head. Catherin had said she was buried in the back yard. Her grave would be there. If her name wasn’t on one of the tombstones, I’d know right away that she was lying to me.
Once I made it to the kitchen, I stepped out under the canopy of the darkened sky and headed toward the old graveyard located at the edge of the property. Tall moss-covered oaks ringed the cemetery, shading the graves and making the grounds even spookier. The sun hadn’t popped up yet, so I had to watch my step as I trailed through the grass—had I mentioned how spooky it was out there? No wonder Annabelle found even the outside of LaVeau Manor scary. Spooky movies could be filmed on location at LaVeau and they wouldn’t have to change a thing.
The sensation of being watched followed me everywhere I went. I hoped a ghost or other creature didn’t step out of the shadows and come after me. The sound of water lapping against the edge of the earth carried across the air.
It was hard to believe that a short time ago I’d been fighting for my life in that water. Mara had wanted the Book of Mystics so she could be the leader of the Underworld. We’d battled in the backyard, and when I’d run out of places to run, I had been forced to jump in the water. I’d been known to use a water noodle as recently as last summer, so that had been no easy decision on my part.
I’d seen my Great-Aunt Maddy in the old graveyard too. She’d reminded me of my new powers of the elements. If it hadn’t been for her, I probably would have drowned. Would she appear to me now? I could really use more advice right about now.
A black wrought-iron fence surrounded the graveyard. I pushed my way through a curtain of Spanish moss and stepped through the little gate and looked around at the aged tombstones. The names and dates had faded on most of them. Where would I even begin to find Catherin’s stone? I’d have to look at each and every one. The sun had yet to pop up, so my visibility was low. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and clicked on the flashlight.
As I stepped through the graveyard, navigating the uneven terrain, I stopped at each stone, holding up the flashlight to read the names etched in the stone. Most of the markers ended with the last
name LaVeau. But there were a few other names that I didn’t recognize. I wished I’d taken more of an interest in my ancestry now. I’d always planned on researching the graves sometime in the future, but I hadn’t gotten around to it yet.
With each passing grave, my apprehension grew. What would I do if Catherin’s name wasn’t on one of these stones? I’d have to find a spell right away and try to get rid of her. Maybe I’d have to break down and ask for help from Liam and Nicolas. But Nicolas didn’t appear to be in any shape to help. Asking for help was one of the things I liked doing the least. I wanted to be able to handle all of this on my own.
I reached the last row of graves and had almost given up hope on finding her tombstone, when I saw it. On the stone was the name Catherin Butterfield. Born 1813 and died 1865. The epitaph read: We shall meet again. A huge weight of relief had just been lifted from my shoulders that I’d found her grave site, but it was creepy nonetheless.
A cold breeze blew across my skin like a whisper from the dead. Dizziness overwhelmed me and then there was blackness.
Chapter Seven
The sound of my name being called out caught my attention. When I looked around I realized I was lying on the ground next to the grave. How the heck had that happened? Had I blacked out? The last thing I remembered was looking at Catherin’s grave. The sun had just begun its rise, illuminating my surroundings. I’d probably been out for at least thirty minutes. How could I have missing time?
Maybe I’d fallen asleep. Was that possible? After climbing to my feet, I brushed the dirt from my clothing and hurried out the old iron gate and toward the house. Annabelle was standing on the back steps waiting for me.
She rushed over to me. “Where the hell have you been?”
I brushed more dirt from my arms, then gestured over my shoulder. “I was in the graveyard.”
