Page 11 of Air Of Mystery (Witches On The Hill #4)

The last place I expected to run into Charlie Smythe was outside the public library. Yet here he was. He lives in Ames Crossing , I reminded myself. It was simply incredibly bad luck on my part to have run into him this afternoon.

He had an armload of books too, so I couldn’t even ask what he was doing here, unless I wanted to sound like a paranoid moron.

So instead of asking, I simply nodded and said, “Charlie.”

Charlie eased me to one side, allowing a few more teenagers to pass us.

“How have you been?” he asked after they bounded down the steps.

“Fine,” I said. “Staying busy. In fact, I was hoping to speak to Amanda Beaumont-Parker about some reference material. So, if you’ll excuse me.”

I’d gone up only one step before I heard him say, “Skye, I’m sorry.”

I paused and peered back over my shoulder at him. Good gods, he was a gorgeous man. For the moment we were alone, my stomach tightened in longing, and I fought hard not to let my physical reaction show.

“I’m sorry,” he repeated. “Sorry about the way things turned out on that night in June after Kenna and Tyler...”

“It simply didn’t work out between us,” I said, “for a lot of reasons,”

“Maybe,” he said evenly. “Maybe not. Things might have worked themselves out if you hadn’t disappeared on me. Using your witchcraft like that during an argument? It wasn’t fair.”

I acknowledged that with a slight tilt of my head. “I probably deserved that.”

“Listen,” he began, “why don’t we start over. I was—”

Before he could finish his sentence—or I could say anything else—my name and Charlie’s were being called.

Turning my head toward the voice, I discovered Gabriella Midnight-Marquette and her trio of children leaving the library. “Hey, Gabriella.” I waved.

Gabriella headed straight for us, all smiles. “Hey!” she said, stopping on the steps beside me.

I was damn tempted to hug her for the impeccable timing.

“Hi Charlie!” The kids surrounded him, and all began to talk at once.

“Hi kids.” Charlie smiled at the trio as they showed him their books and new book bags.

Gabriella pitched her voice over the noise of her brood. “I was going to call you this week, Skye, but instead I run into you here today. Perfect timing!”

“Perfect timing for what?” I asked, shifting the bag of soap to my other hand.

“Every year our ghost tours become more and more popular, and because of that, we wondered if you would be interested in doing a paranormal investigation at the mansion this October for your show?”

My jaw dropped in surprise. I’d been trying to get permission to do an investigation without success at the mansion for years .

Yes, I’d been at their annual Halloween Ball, and had stayed overnight at the hotel for Cordelia’s wedding, but I’d been there as an attendee or a guest, not as an investigator.

“Would you allow me to bring all of my equipment along?” I asked.

“Sure,” she said easily.

“And my team George and Larry, they can be there too allowing for a proper investigation?”

“Sounds like fun.” As she spoke Gabriella reached out and pulled Archer away from his twin. “Stop poking at your sister,” she told the boy.

“I’d love to shoot an episode from the mansion!” I told her immediately.

“Our PR person, Nicole, brought up the idea at our last meeting,” Gabriella explained. “She thought combining the popularity of your YouTube channel with the month of October when our ghost tours are booming would be a perfect way to cross-promote.”

I could see the merit, and I agreed. “Were there any specific dates you had in mind?”

Charlie politely excused himself and went inside the library to return his books. A part of me wondered if he was using the task to avoid hearing about my channel or if he was simply on a schedule...

“Tell you what,” Gabriella said. “Why don’t you come up to the mansion and we’ll sit down with Nicole and Philippe and go over all the particulars?”

I nodded. “Whenever you like.”

Gabriella hooked her arm through mine. “Great. Let’s go right now.”

I had a moment to regret not having the chance to have Amanda help me in my historical research... However, when something this good falls into your lap, you have to roll with it. “I’ll go get my car and follow you up to the mansion,” I told her.

“Can I ride with you, Skye?” Danielle wanted to know.

“If it’s okay with your mom,” I said, and then thought to ask, “Do you need a car seat?”

In return I was given a withering look. “No. I’m not a baby.”

“Hey!” Archer and Celeste objected to that comment in unison.

Gabriella neatly stepped between Danielle and the twins. “So long as she rides in the back seat.”

“Got it,” I said with a nod. “My car is parked right down the street.”

“When you arrive at the mansion head toward the eastern wing and go around to the back, and park by the carriage house,” Gabriella directed as we parted.

Much as her mother had done, Danielle tucked her arm in mine and the two of us started off. She pointed at the hot pink bag that I still carried. “Did you get some soap from my Aunt Camilla?”

“Sure did,” I said as we walked to my car.

The ride up to the mansion was a short one, and Danielle was chattering away about the summer reading program at the library—hence the new book bags.

“What books did you read when you were little?” Danielle asked.

“ Nancy Drew mysteries were my favorite,” I told her.

“Did you have any spell books?” she asked next.

“A few,” I answered easily.

“ Maman says I have to wait until I’m thirteen to read her spell books.” Danielle sighed. “I don’t see why I can’t start learning now.”

Knowing the Daughters of Midnight as I did, I was willing to bet that Danielle had already been taught quite a bit.

“Aunt Camilla says my mother needs to loosen up,” Danielle added.

I bit down hard on my lip as not to laugh. That totally tracked. I could see Camilla being more relaxed about teaching her kids the Craft.

“Aunt Camilla gave me a crystal point necklace for my last birthday. Told me it was protective.”

“How old are you now, Danielle?” I asked. “Seven...eight?”

“I turned eight this year,” she announced proudly. “I’ll start third grade in the fall.”

“My Grandma Althea, she was pretty strict with teaching my cousins, my sisters, and me magick,” I told her. “We had to wait until our thirteenth birthday before we could begin any serious training too.”

Danielle sighed again. “It’s not fair.”

I glanced back at her using the rear-view mirror. How many times had my sisters, cousins and I said the same to our grandmother? “I’ll bet you already know more about the Craft than you think.”

“Maybe,” she grumbled.

“How many sabbats are in the Witch’s year?” I asked.

“Duh.” Danielle folded her arms. “Eight.”

“Name them,” I said as I drove up Notch Cliff Road.

“Imbolc, Spring Equinox, Beltane, Midsummer, Lughnasadh, Autumn Equinox, Samhain and Yule.”

“Which are the greater sabbats?” I asked her.

Danielle blinked. “Greater?”

“Meaning their dates are fixed—or set. They don’t move.”

I checked my rearview and saw her frowning over the question.

“I don’t know,” she admitted.

“The answer is: Imbolc, Beltane, Lughnasadh and Samhain. Each of those holidays are cross quarter days; meaning the halfway point between the seasons.”

Danielle leaned forward in the seat. “And the other four sabbats move ?”

“The other sabbats are celebrated on the day the sun enters a specific astrological sign that coincides with the first day of the season. For example, Ostara, the sabbat of the spring equinox, can fall anywhere from March nineteenth through the twenty-third. It all depends on when the sun enters the sign of Aries. Which…can be a different date from year to year.”

“Oh.” Danielle thought about that. “My birthday is in March. Right around the equinox.”

“Nice,” I said, and figured the girl was likely born on the cusp of Pisces and Aries. I bet the girl has more Aries qualities as she used to hate the water, I thought. Cordelia had in fact taught her to swim for her own safety after the incident that occurred the night I’d met Charlie...

Danielle was still talking, and I yanked my mind back to our conversation.

“Aunt Dru taught me about the flowers and herbs in the garden,” she said. “What they mean…and Maman talked to me about the rule of three and how you don’t use magick to get your way, or to be mean, or to mess with somebody else’s free will.”

“Sounds to me like your mom and your aunts have already begun to train you; they’ve simply been discreet about it.”

Danielle’s brow puckered up. “Discreet?”

“Subtle,” I explained. “Sneaky.” I tried that word and got a big smile in response.

When we arrived at the mansion, Danielle pointed out how to take the gravel drive around to the family’s side of the mansion. Pulling my car around back, I parked next to a charming carriage house apartment that was over a three-car garage.

Cordelia had lived in this apartment for a time last year, and I could see why she’d loved it. In the summer with the flowers exploding all around it and the formal gardens so nearby, it was like something straight out of a faery-tale.

“Thanks, Skye, for talking to me about magick,” Danielle said as she hopped out of the car.

I slung my arm around her shoulder. “You betcha.”

“I’m glad you came to visit.” Danielle smiled.

“Me too.”

Danielle led the way back around to the front of the building and to the private entrance used by the family.

Here a Japanese maple, underplanted with painted ferns and a variety of hostas, reigned in the small, shaded courtyard.

Old bricks had been used to create a walkway, and the carved wooden door was flanked with huge urns that had flowers spilling out of them.

As we walked closer, I noticed a large antique stone gargoyle that stood sentry by the front door.

“Hello, gorgeous.” I crouched down to get a better look at him.

“That’s Louie,” Danielle informed me. “Maman says she found him buried in the gardens before I was born.”