Page 14 of Air Of Mystery (Witches On The Hill #4)

I blinked. “Estella fought for her life?”

“I saw photos of the bruises. Handprints on her arms,” Gabriella told me.

“It’s rare for a spirit to be able to affect the physical form of—”

“ Believe me ,” Gabriella said, cutting me off.

“The psychotic ghost of Victoria Midnight tried to push my sister over one of the stone balconies. After that, we did everything we could to drive out the entity from the mansion...well, my sisters, niece, and cousin did. I was pregnant with the twins at the time, so I had to sit that particular ritual out.”

I reached for her hand. “I’m sorry your family went through all of that Gabriella.”

“Now do you understand why we kept certain aspects of the haunting well away from reporters, thrill seekers, and public consumption?”

“Yes, I do,” I told her. “I have done the same to protect my family. I appreciate the tour, and for you allowing me to privately view the amethysts.”

She nodded. “Of course. You should ask Camilla about being interviewed for your October show. Since she’s the one that found the dowry after all.”

“I absolutely will,” I said with a smile. “I’d like to come back and get some preliminary shots of the dowry, the building, the old newspaper headlines...and the photo of Pierre Michel and Bridgette if that’s okay with you.”

“Of course,” she said as we walked out of the museum room. “One of our tour guides, Janet, she’s like a walking encyclopedia. Knows all the dates—when the house was built, when the winery was in operation and all that. Comes from answering questions on the tours. I’d be happy to set that up.”

“That’d be fabulous,” I said, “and I won’t betray your confidence, Gabriella. What you told me about Estella and Chauncey’s experiences will stay private. I’ll focus on the scandal of 1847, and the missing dowry, and how it was found. That’s plenty of intrigue to keep my viewers happy.”

The sun was beginning to slide lower in the western sky as I walked around the family wing of the house toward the parking area at the carriage house. My mind was on everything that I had learned about the history of the mansion and the early Marquettes who had lived there so long ago.

I was reaching for my car door when I noticed that someone was sitting at a table on a flagstone patio next to the carriage house. Turning automatically, I discovered that it was Charlie.

“Hello,” he said.

“Hey.” My eyes swung from the pretty patio and back up to the second floor of the carriage house. “You live here now?”

He stood. “I do. It’s quiet, mostly private and very convenient.”

I nodded. “Short commute to work too.”

“There’s that,” he said, walking closer. “I watched your last YouTube episode.”

I blinked in surprise. “You did?”

“Yes. It was very informative. I especially liked how you talked about the history of the building and the land. How was your meeting with Gabriella?”

“It went well,” I said cautiously. “We chose a date in October.”

“I bet you’re excited about that.”

I narrowed my eyes. While his tone and facial expression had remained neutral, I could sense that he was still conflicted about it all. Especially as he was standing right beside me. “Well,” I said, opening my car door, “good night.”

“You staying clear of that old creepy Victorian in Alton?”

I hesitated. “I haven’t been back yet.”

He frowned. “Yet?”

“I’m still waiting for permission from the owner to return.”

“Why in the hell would you ever go back there?”

We stood on opposite sides of my open car door. It wasn’t much of a shield from the frustration that was radiating off of him.

“Witch business.” I patted his hand where it rested on top of my door, fully aware that it was a dismissive gesture. “There’s nothing for you to worry about.”

In a flash his hand turned over and held onto mine. “You’re not going to brush me off that easily,” he said. “You’re going back in there to remove any traces of Kenna’s magick. Aren’t you?”

I simply raised one eyebrow in response. Clearly, he had remembered what I’d said.

“So the camouflage you did that day won’t last indefinitely?” he asked next. “It does have a time limit?”

I inclined my head in acknowledgment. “That’s one way to look at it.”

“You shouldn’t go in there alone.”

“I hadn’t planned on it. But thank you for your concern.” Somehow, I managed to make that sound polite instead of condescending.

For a long moment we stared at each other, neither of us knowing what else to say. Finally, he released my hand. “Take care of yourself, Skye.”

I nodded. “See you around, Charlie.”

He nodded. “Yes, you will.”

Surprised at his statement…which had sounded like a warning, I slipped into my car and started it up. It took all of my self control not to check the rear-view to see if he was standing there watching me drive away.

Squaring my shoulders, I reminded myself that it was best to put Charlie Smythe in the past. After all we’d barely gotten started before things were derailed by my family’s drama. Or let’s just call it what it was and say: the witchcraft.

We had dated. It didn’t work out. Period. End of story.

There was no sense mooning over something I’d never truly had, or lusting after a man who didn’t approve of me—or what I did for a living.

Focusing on the road ahead of me, I drove back to Alton and told myself to concentrate on my upcoming investigations, my channel, and throwing my big sister an amazing bridal shower. There was plenty to keep me occupied. It was going to be a busy summer.

***

The first episode for the investigation at the haunted restaurant in old St. Charles dropped, and the comments and the amount of likes were some of the best numbers I’d ever had since starting the YouTube channel.

I told Brynn the date for her shower was secured but did not tell her the location.

Naturally she was curious, but I waved away her questions and promised to reveal all soon.

After a quick confab with Kenna, Cordy, and our mother, it was decided that Kenna was going to take care of the desserts for the bridal shower, and Mom and Cordelia promised to pitch in and help me make the rest of the food.

Mom and Dad would travel up for the bridal shower and then stay for the weekend and visit before heading back to Florida.

With the ball rolling along, I sat down and mocked up some invitations on my computer one night, that way Brynn would have final say in the look of the invites. Of course, I went with floral themes and some autumn ones as well.

Jim—the restaurant owner from St. Charles—called to let me know that his dinner reservations were now booked solid, and that they’d even been enjoying an uptick in lunch traffic.

I received more good news a day later, when I finally heard back via email from Don, the owner of the house on Henry Street, and was given permission to return.

He’d given me an hour. Don thought I was there to do a follow-up for my show, when actually I was making sure that any remnants of Kenna’s magick were completely erased. So, it wasn’t a lie...not truly. I would be ‘following up.’ I just wasn’t following up for my YouTube channel.

As Charlie said, that concealment spell I’d put on the basement wall would only hold for so long. If any other groups or investigators went in there, I didn’t want them to see or be able to document any evidence of Kenna’s elemental magick.

It was a bright sunny day when I returned to the old Victorian. And while I did not take my team with me, I didn’t go alone either. This time I took along a couple of the strongest, most capable Witches that I knew. My grandmother, Althea Blackthorn-Golden, and my cousin Orion.

We pulled around back and entered the property via the alley this time. It was more discreet this way, and as I parked the car in the rear driveway, my grandmother leaned forward in her seat to peer out the windshield at the house.

“The exterior of the home certainly is a hideous color,” she said. “The trees and the lawn are also all dead.”

“I have a theory,” I said as they stepped from the car, “that whatever is here, has also tainted the land around the house.”

“Causing even the trees to die…” Grandma Althea nodded in agreement.

Planting his feet on the brown grass, Orion closed his eyes and took a moment to sense the area. I stood still and waited.

Orion’s lip curled and he opened his eyes to focus on me. “You didn’t exaggerate about the sour energy that is on this property.”

“There’s a field of negativity around the house and yard,” I said as I walked around him to go to the trunk of my car. “I’ve never experienced anything like it.” Popping the trunk, I pulled out a satchel of equipment.

He took the satchel from me. “Well despite all that, thanks for asking me to come along for the clean up, Skye.”

“Thank you for coming,” I said, closing the trunk.

“Tyler is my friend,” he reminded me. “The least I can do is help you make sure that whatever entity that attacked him is gone for good.”

“I told you when we talked the other day,” I began as we fell into step together, “that my goal in coming here today is two-fold. One: to remove any traces of Kenna’s magick and two: to try and gather more evidence of whatever it is that has taken hold of this house.”

“First we need to identify it,” our grandmother said, joining us as we headed for the back door. “Knowledge will be the key to removing it.”

Glancing up at the small security camera mounted over the back door, I frowned. It hung crookedly; someone had tried to yank it down. The wires had also been torn out.

“Interesting,” I said.

Orion noticed it too. “Think kids tried to get in and when they couldn’t, they vandalized the camera?”

“Maybe,” I replied, but I truly didn’t think that was the case. The neighborhood families avoided this house. Its negative reputation was too well known.