by Rose Pressey
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 outsid
e.
“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.
