“Melinda, I am never disappointed in you. Only concerned. You know I only want the best for you. I want you to live your life. I want you to stop feeling guilty, but I cannot force it upon you.”
“I’m fine,” she insisted. “Really.”
He searched her face, looking for his answer. “No, you are not fine, Melinda. But I will let it slide, for now, as we have urgent matters to attend to.”
“Just help me save Emily,” she begged softly.
“Very well.”
“Where should we start?” she asked, holding back a sniffle.
“The ring, as you said, seems to be of some importance. We will pay Emily a visit, but not until morning. If you truly do not wish to alarm your brothers, we should wait until they depart for the cave at Bloodsucker Bay.”
“And what do we do now? There’s no way I’m falling back to sleep tonight.”
He dashed away, returning a moment later with a stack of books.
“Perhaps, if we are lucky, we will locate information in regards to Emily’s ring.”
“I don’t feel that lucky at the moment, William, but hand me a book.”
She spent the remaining hours of night flipping through page after page, but found nothing that looked anything like the ring Emily wore. William, even reading at speeds no human could imagine, did not have any better luck. Daylight crept upon them and Melinda tiptoed back into her bedroom. She wanted to at least pretend she had slept through the night, so as not to worry her brothers. When she heard them stirring in the hallway just minutes later, she exited her room, dressed and ready to go.
“Rough night, Sis?” Charlie asked, instantly concerned when he saw her.
“Why do you say that?”
“You don’t look like you got any sleep.”
“A little tossing and turning, nothing to fret over,” she replied.
Once the siblings had gathered in the kitchen, Michael shot a sideways glance at her. Before he could ask, she squelched his concern. “I am fine. You guys go check out the cave already!”
“Melinda, I can feel the anxiety pouring off of you,” Michael said.
“Don’t use your empathic abilities on me, Michael,” she scolded.
Having a brother that was a death reader was one thing, but one that was also an empath made things very complicated. With Michael around, it was impossible to keep one’s true feelings to themselves. She was just glad that he hadn’t picked up on her feelings about William. She’d have never heard the end of it.
As if his presence had been requested, William breezed into the kitchen standing just behind her.
However, Michael wasn’t ready to drop the subject. “Melinda, what’s going on?” he asked, keeping a cool voice.
“It’s nothing, really,” she insisted again. “I already talked to William about it and we have it all sorted out, don’t we?” Her eyes pleaded with him not to tell.
“It is nothing of consequence,” William agreed with ease. “You two hurry along now.”
“If William says they have it under control, I say we get going,” Charlie chimed in.
“The jeep is packed and ready,” Michael informed him.
“Let’s get moving, then.”
“You two be careful, okay?” Melinda hugged each of them.
As soon as her brother’s jeep had left the garage and pulled away, William held out his arm motioning for Melinda to lead the way. She did so, but apprehensively. Not just because she was headed into a public place, but also because she felt certain if she swung around, she’d find William’s eyes watching her every move. She suddenly felt awkward, as if each step was heavy and labored. She breathed easier when he drifted up alongside her.
Their intention was to bump into Emily as she stopped for her morning coffee. Melinda ignored the people she crossed paths with, not in the mood for the local’s uncomfortable stares.
Minutes later, they spied Emily stepping into the Wicked Muddy Café.
“There she is. Good old predictable Emily,” Melinda whispered gratefully.
They stepped in after her, hopping into the line, already filling up with caffeine-deprived early risers.
“Emily,” called out Melinda.
Emily’s lanky, auburn ponytail nearly took out three customers as she swung around to see who was calling her name.
“Melinda! William! What a pleasant surprise,” she said, moving back a few customers to stand with them. She greeted Melinda with a quick hug and allowed William to kiss her cheek, which turned rosy as she readjusted her glasses.
“It is always lovely to see your beautiful smile,” William told her.
“Isn’t he just the sweetest,” she replied. Her Georgian drawl seemed overly accentuated. “What brings you two out this morning? I can’t recall the last time I saw you both out this early.”
“We decided it was too beautiful a morning to have coffee at home,” Melinda lied, trying to catch a glimpse at Emily’s ring. It was hidden from view by the coffee mug Emily carried with her.
Emily eyed Melinda suspiciously. Since when did she ever want to go for coffee in a public place? She shrugged it off, happy to see her friends.
They arrived at the counter to order.
“Ah. Ms. Bookstore Manager. The usual?” the gruff looking woman behind the counter asked.
“Predictable me,” Emily giggled, shrugging.
“Comin’ right up!” She glanced sideways shouting, “One wicked muddy, regular, crème horne, cut in half, don’t need a fork.” She grinned at Emily as she took her money. “You have a nice day now, Hun, ya hear?”
“Oh, you too, Grace,” Emily said with complete sincerity. “See you in the morning,” she added as she grabbed her order, allowing William and Melinda to step up to the counter.
“I’ll have a wicked muddy coffee as well, please,” Melinda ordered politely. “But not regular, just crème, no sugar. And no crème horne. That much sugar and I’ll be trying to climb walls,” she tried to joke. “Not that I do that sort of thing,” she hastily added. “I mean, who could actually climb a wall?” Oh shut up already! Why do I try to converse with people…
The woman named Grace just threw her an odd look and slapped down a paper cup filled with coffee so darkly colored that Melinda thought she’d need a cup twice the size to add enough cream to her liking.
“Crème’s over there,” Grace nodded toward the end of the counter.
“Oh, I just add it myself?” Melinda questioned, confused, since it had been added to Emily’s coffee for her.
“We find that people who don’t take it regular prefer to fix it themselves,” explained Grace. She walked away to grab another stack of paper cups.
“Okay then,” Melinda muttered, heading to add her crème. When Grace returned, she asked William what he’d like to order.
“Oh, nothing for me, thank you. Just the coffee for Ms. Howard if you please.”
Not even gruff Grace could ignore William Wakefield’s charms, whether he intended it or not. She blushed as she took William’s money and handed him back his change.
“Please keep the change, dear lady. Good day to you.”
“You don’t be a stranger now,” Grace called out as he and Melinda departed the store.
“See Melinda, you’re making friends with the locals already,” William whispered.
“Yeah, um, I’m pretty sure she meant you, William. Not me.”
He shrugged as they stepped outside, where Emily waited for them.
“Can we walk you to work this morning?” William asked her, holding out his arm. She took hold and giggled again.
Melinda could not help but feel a twinge of jealousy seeing them walking arm in arm.
“What is Michael up to today?” Emily asked.
“Exploring a cave with Charlie,” William informed her.
“With Charlie. That’s great! Are they getting along better now? ‘Cause if I have to listen to Michael go on and on about Charlie this and Charlie that…” sh
e stopped, biting her tongue.
“Don’t worry, Emily. We feel the same way,” Melinda told her.
“To be honest,” began William, “they are researching a case for the sheriff. A man’s skeleton was discovered in a cave yesterday.”
“Oh. Well, that’s too bad, but maybe the time together will be good for them.”
“We can only hope,” Melinda agreed wholeheartedly.
“It’s just so nice to see you both,” Emily said with a happy sigh. “It’s the perfect start to my morning. Well, including this,” she grinned, holding up her crème horne bag. “Just can’t seem to get my gumption without my morning sugar fix.”
“Frankly, Emily, it’s sort of a relief to know you have a weakness. You’re too perfect!” said Melinda.
“Me? Perfect? Hardly,” she snickered.
Melinda wished she could have an ounce of the likeability Emily possessed. She always found it so easy to be around people, as if they’d been friends her entire life.
“Here we are,” said Emily, searching her oversized purse for the key.
A carved wooden sign hung out over the edge of the building. It read, Harboring the Book… aptly named after the harbors that surrounded the town, and for being a haven for new and used books.
Twice, while searching for the key, Emily’s glasses fell off and into her bag, and once she had located the key, she dropped it. William’s astute movements caught it just before it slipped into a deep crevice in the pavement.
“Thank you, William. You move so fast. That must come in super handy.” She entered the store, leaving the door open so they could follow.
Emily Morgan knew everything about the Howard family. About them being witches, about Michael’s ability to see how someone died, about William being a vampire, and about Melinda’s prophetic dreams. She even, at times, assisted with research on difficult cases.
Emily had moved, with her parents, to The Demon Isle from Savannah, Georgia, at the start of her senior year of high school. She and Michael had become fast friends, especially after her mother’s death just months after their move. This was followed by the Howard’s parent’s deaths, just a few months later.
After graduation, Emily left the island to attend college, but a year in, her father’s health had taken a toll for the worse and she returned home. The bookstore owner hired her as part time help, and just a couple years later decided to retire, leaving Emily to manage the store.
“Ah, the smell of books,” she sighed satisfactorily. She set down her belongings and turned to Melinda and William. “So what brings you out today? I’m guessing this isn’t just a social call. Do you need help with research for the case your brothers are working on?”
“Well… actually… we are here to see you, Emily.” Melinda admitted. “I wonder, would you mind if we took a look at your ring?”
“This ring?” Emily held out her hand. “Whatever for?”
William dashed over and looked closely at the ring, hoping for any clue as to the ring’s true purpose. “I am afraid I have never seen a ring like this before,” William said, disheartened. “I had hoped upon closer inspection I would recognize it at once.”
“Well, what’s so important about my little ‘ole ring?” Emily asked, sudden comprehension stretching across her face. She pulled her hand away from William and stepped back, her eyes darting to Melinda. “You had a dream about me, didn’t you?” Her tanned skin paled, looking sickly.
Melinda gulped. She would not be able to hide what she had seen from Emily. William handled the difficult part of explaining.
“Emily, it is true. Melinda has had a dream regarding you.”
“Everyone in your dreams always dies.”
“Don’t panic, Emily! Please! We think we already have a good lead on how to save you!” Melinda blurted out artlessly, her own panic mounting.
“Save me... This does not sound good at all,” Emily cried.
“Emily,” said William, gazing into her eyes assuredly. “We will not allow anything to happen to you. Please, do not worry.”
She didn’t speak, but rather nodded that she understood. She at least seemed less panicked. William took her warm hand, gently, into his cold hand, and inspected the ring again.
“What do you know of this ring?” he asked her softly.
“Nothing really. My daddy gave it to me when I was a little girl. Told me never to take it off.”
“Did he ever tell you why you should never take it off?” Melinda asked.
“I never really asked. I just thought he didn’t want me to lose it, seeing as I do have a habit of losing things…”
“Emily, have you ever suffered from seizures of any kind?” Melinda questioned.
“Seizures. Well, no. I can’t say that I have ever had a seizure. Why? Is that what happens to me? Do I have some kind of seizure?” They could hear the panic returning to her voice.
“I’m sorry, Emily. I really don’t know. The dreams, they are not always clear. But I feel confident that it has something to do with your ring.”
“Here, then,” said Emily, starting to slide it off her finger.
“No!” said William, stopping her. “I fear it may not be safe for you to remove the ring, Emily.”
“Oh, okay,” she muttered, clearly dazed.
“Now that I have properly inspected the ring, I have a good picture in my mind. It is all I require for research.”
“Which William is an expert at,” reminded Melinda.
“You know,” started Emily, scrunching her nose, as if trying to remember something. “Now that you mention seizures, I do remember my mama having one once. And, oddly enough, it was just a few weeks later that my daddy gave me this ring.”
“Your mother?” William repeated.
Melinda could practically see William’s mind racing through his vast stores of knowledge, hoping some bit of information would lead him in the right direction to solve this puzzle.
“Was your mother prone to seizures? Did she have them often?” Melinda prodded.
“I only remember the one time.”
Just then, a little ding sounded.
“Oh dear, a customer,” said Emily, rushing off in a haze. Melinda was impressed at how easily Emily seemed to put aside her fears and help the woman locate the book she was looking for, with a smile, as always.
While Emily was away, Melinda noted a familiar look spreading across William’s face. He was listening to something no human could hear.
“What?” she demanded.
“Be right…” before he could say back, he had sped away so quickly no human eye could have seen him. A minute later, William was back at her side, as if he had never left.
“There is something in this bookstore,” he told her. “Something not human. Something dead I do believe. We may need Michael’s assistance after all.”
“You mean, like a ghost?” Melinda clarified.
“I believe yes.”
“Can Michael even read a ghost? There’s no body he can touch.”
“I am unsure, as he has never tried.”
“Okay. So, do we focus on the ring or the ghost?”
“Both,” answered William. “Perhaps this spirit has some interest in the ring? I also feel it is necessary to have a chat with Emily’s father.”
“Okay,” agreed Melinda. “Should I try to reach Charlie and Michael?”
“Not yet. Let’s investigate first.”
William walked next to Melinda, at normal speed, back to the front of the bookstore.
“Find anything?” asked Emily, alone again after her customer’s departure.
“Not really. Look, Emily,” said Melinda. “We’ve got some things to look into. Why don’t you just go about your day, try not to worry, and call me on my cell if you think of anything that might help us figure out what’s so special about your ring.”
“And do not take it off,” reminded William, kindly.
“Yes, sir,” she saluted, attempting bravery. �
��I’ll just stay here,” she said as they left the store, adding in a small voice, “and try not to think about the fact that you just told me I’m gonna die.”
##
The jeep bounced as Michael drove he and Charlie out of town, edging their way toward the outskirts of The Demon Isle. After leaving town, they turned toward the ocean, passing by the harbor where a ferry was just arriving full up with early arriving tourists.
Michael tossed a dazzling smile to a few bikini-clad twenty-somethings leaning over the ferry’s railing, all waving to anyone watching on shore, excited to spend a day on the Isle. One thing I might miss, just a little...
Michael glanced at Charlie and shook his head. He hadn’t even noticed, his gaze straight ahead. Michael sped up, jetting down the road before the cars could start pulling off the ferry, jamming up the traffic.
They continued on, after a couple more miles, passing by the entrance to White Pines National Park, which included Fort Ridgley, a fort that had been mainly used as a commerce port during the late 1800’s and early 1900’s.
After another mile of winding roads, they came to a fork. One direction led to a lighthouse, the other, toward Bloodsucker Bay. About five miles down the road Michael slowed to nearly a stop, taking a sharp turn down what appeared to be an old, infrequently used dirt road. It was dotted with deep mud-filled pothole’s, which splashed the sides of the jeep as they drove across.
After another thirty minutes of bouncing across the poorly maintained road, Michael pulled the jeep off to the side and parked. Just ahead sprawled the rocky beach of Bloodsucker Bay.
The bay was made up of both fresh water, which leaked in from a nearby lake, and salt water, which leaked in from the ocean during high tide. The lake was infamous for its bloodsucking leeches; leeches which had adapted to living in both fresh and salt water.
“You sure this cave will be easy to find?” Charlie asked Michael as they readied their diving gear.
“Got a crystal ready to go. Should be easy.” Michael took it out of his pocket. He plunged it into the water and after a second, it twisted in the palm of his hand and lit up. “That’s the way we head.”
“Nicely done,” Charlie said, impressed. “You’re good at being a witch, you know.”
Witches of The Demon Isle Box Set, Volumes 1, 2 & 3 Page 4
