Page 15 of Air Of Mystery (Witches On The Hill #4)

Using the key code from the owner, I let us inside. We entered through a small stoop that stepped up into the kitchen—which had recently been painted. Despite the strong scent of the paint and cleaner, the home still smelled stale. Or maybe it was the bad vibes that made it seem that way to me.

My grandmother wrinkled her nose. “Cheap paint, pine scented cleaner, and a lingering hint of pet urine...an unholy trifecta if there ever was one.”

“The owner must have hired out someone to paint and try and clean things up,” I said, looking around.

The cabinets were painted gray, and the walls were a matte white. Also, the kitchen floor had been replaced with new tiles. Seeing the spruce up in the kitchen caused me no small amount of alarm. Clearly, Don the owner was going to try to put the house up for rent again.

Orion frowned at the walls. “Whoever painted in here did a crappy job. There’s drips everywhere.” My cousin knelt down and ran his fingers over the kitchen floor. “This is peel and stick tile, the cheap stuff.”

Taking my flashlight and an EMF meter from the satchel, I switched the meter on and began a scan. Quickly I discovered that the readings were all within a normal range. Shocked, I quickly walked the rest of the first floor.

There was nothing out of the ordinary. There were no energy fluctuations, and no cold spots in the home.

As I moved around, I saw that the dining and living room areas had been recently painted too. In fact, a few gallons of paint were still resting on the floor on top of a folded drop cloth. The old blankets that had once hung from bent curtain rods were gone and replaced with new window blinds.

Behind me, my grandmother nosed around. Going down the hall and checking the first-floor rooms for herself. “I don’t sense anything negative here,” she announced. “It simply feels like an old house that has seen better days.”

“I’m not picking up any energy spikes with my equipment either,” I told her.

Orion shifted his gaze to me. “Do you suppose Kenna managed to blast whatever entity was here completely out?”

“That’d be great if that was true,” I said, pointing down the hall. “The entrance to the basement is this way. We need to check down there.”

I started toward the basement door with Orion and Grandma trailing behind me. There was no working overhead light, and it was dark in the stairwell. Taking a deep breath, I clicked on my flashlight and started down the stairs.

As soon as I hit the floor in the basement, I noticed a few things right away. One: my meter stayed quiet. And two: the basement also felt empty—or perhaps blank might be a better word.

Whatever had been lurking down there was now gone. There were no roiling shadows—as Kenna had described to me—and nothing paranormal was skulking around either. In fact, the basement had been thoroughly scrubbed down. The windows had been washed too.

“I smell bleach,” my grandmother said as she surveyed the stone walls of the basement. “Is there a wash machine down here?”

“No,” I told her. “I think someone came in and cleaned.” I turned and focused on the wall where I had cast the concealment spell. Briskly, I removed the spell, and the real surface of the stone wall was revealed.

Only the barest of burned outline remained. In fact, if you weren’t looking for it, a mundane would likely assume that it was simply a stain on the old stone. I blinked in surprise and moved closer for a better look.

Orion followed. “Whoever was here, Skye, they were professionals. Like the guys you hire after a flood or fire. Because there’s no cobwebs above.” He pointed to the rafters before walking over to swipe a finger across the top of the HVAC system. “And no dust.”

“Yeah,” I agreed. “They scrubbed it hard...not unlike a crime scene.”

It should have made me feel better, discovering that the house had been professionally cleaned, and was empty—except for a few paint cans—but instead, it made me twitchy.

Still, I went ahead and made sure there were no lingering traces of Kenna’s elemental magick or my concealment spell. Once that was done, I blew out a long cleansing breath and rolled my shoulders in an attempt to dispel my unease.

The three of us went back upstairs, and while Orion and my grandmother waited below on the first floor, I walked through the second floor doing a sweep with the meter.

But again, I couldn’t pick up anything, not from my equipment or from my senses.

As downstairs, everything had been painted, and the bathroom had been scrubbed.

The chemical smell was strong as I passed by the open door.

Shaking my head over the suspicious lack of paranormal activity in a once violently active house, I returned to the living room in time to overhear my grandmother and cousin speaking.

“Guess it’s a good thing you didn’t contact the guardian after all,” Orion said.

My jaw dropped. “Wait. What ?” I stared at my grandmother. “You didn’t contact them?”

My grandmother folded her arms over her chest. “Typically, I prefer to deal with things in my own territory as needed. You know that the Guardian is only to be called upon for the most dire of magickal problems or emergencies.”

“You saw the shape Tyler was in!” I fought to not shout, but I was shocked and angry that she hadn’t done as I’d asked.

She merely inclined her head. “Yes, I did.”

“I know that you spoke to Kenna in detail about what she saw, and how hard she fought against that entity.”

“Correct,” she said calmly.

“And do you think I exaggerated, or made up all of the problems my team has had from our long-term exposure to this property?”

“No, I don’t,” she said. “However, the house is currently clear—”

“For now!” I interrupted her. “Who knows how long it will stay that way?”

The sound of the front door opening stopped our argument instantly. A middle-aged woman walked in and blinked in surprise to discover the three of us standing in the living room.

“I was told the cleaners would be gone by now.” She impatiently checked her watch. “I have the house reserved for showings for the rest of the day.”

“We’re leaving right now,” I told her, not bothering to correct her assumption we were the cleaning crew. As one, Orion, my grandmother and I left the way we came in, straight out the back door.

Wordlessly, we walked across the brown grass of the back yard, and I remained silent on the drive back to Blackthorn Manor where I dropped my cousin and grandmother off. I was steaming mad, and honestly afraid to open my mouth, because I had no idea what might come out.

“Sorry, Skye.” Orion patted my shoulder as he climbed out of the car. “Look on the bright side—it all seems clear now.”

My grandmother hesitated for a moment. “You should be happy that whatever paranormal problem was in the house, has been removed. Instead of sulking that there was nothing left there for you to battle against.”

I simply nodded and remained silent.

With a sigh Grandma opened her passenger side door. “But you’re going to sulk anyway.”

Orion assisted her from the car and then shut the door for her. He gave me a wave, and she walked into her manor home without so much as a backward glance.

“This is such bullshit,” I muttered. Backing out of the driveway with exquisite care, I barely resisted the urge to floor it and pull away with an angry squeal of tires.

But I did not. Instead, I headed for my home and the Golden Hill neighborhood.

By the time I arrived back at the house, my jaw was clenched so tightly that it was making the sides of my neck ache.

I did not slam my car door once I parked in the back drive and instead shut it like a rational adult.

Despite it being hot, I headed straight for the family gardens hoping to find some peace and tranquility.

Or if nothing else, maybe walking around all of Brynn’s flowers would help me work off some of my frustration.

As usual the gardens were stunning, and after a while I ducked under an arbor that was covered in hot pink roses and sat on a bench.

There was a bit of shade coming from a nearby Japanese Maple tree that I took advantage of.

Rolling my shoulders, I then tipped my head from side to side trying to pop my neck in an effort to alleviate some of the pressure.

Brynn suddenly popped her head around the arbor. “Hey there.”

“Hi.”

“Things not go well at the house on Henry Street?”

“Did you speak to Grandma?”

“No.” Brynn shook her head. “Frustration is written all over your face.” My sister sat beside me and dropped her hand on my leg. “Tell me.”

After taking a deep cleansing breath, I did.

Afterward, Brynn sat quietly for a long moment.

“You and your team have dealt with some incredibly active hauntings at that location for the past few years. That was scary enough. Then in June, Tyler was attacked there, and although Kenna managed to fight it off...I have to admit that I still get creeped out any time I’m in the neighborhood of that old Victorian.

” She flashed a wry smile. “I’m not as brave as you or Kenna. ”

“Oh bullshit,” I said immediately. “You acted like Wonder Woman scooping up and hauling an unconscious girl out of that house last year.”

“Hey, whatever happened to Sophia?”

“She’s living with her paternal grandparents now. They’re good people and she’s doing well,” I told her. “My friend Jason checks in on her from time to time.”

“Good,” Brynn said. “That’s great news.”

I drug a hand through my short hair. “I gotta tell ya, Brynn, the fact that the house was cleaned so hardcore, worries me more than a little bit. There was a realtor there. She told us she had showings for the rest of the afternoon. So, Don’s definitely selling it.”

“Let me check.” Brynn took her phone from her pocket and pulled up a real estate website. “I found it,” she said and flipped her phone around to show me. Together, we scrolled through the photos that were taken of the interior.