Page 26 of Air Of Mystery (Witches On The Hill #4)

“We asked Amanda to see what she could find in the county records for us,” Gabriella explained. “She’s a wiz at research.”

“What’d she find?” I asked her.

“She confirmed that Jacques Marquette was born in 1824 and died here in Ames Crossing in 1828.”

“It was quite the revelation,” Philippe said. “No Marquette in my family had ever heard of him or known about his all too short life.”

“There’s an old private cemetery behind Notch Cliff,” Gabriella said. “Amanda discovered that he’s interred there.”

My eyebrows rose. “And not with the rest of the Marquette family in town?”

“No,” she said.

I sat back in my chair as it all began to sink in. “Which makes you wonder if he was legitimate.”

“Yes,” Philippe said.

I sighed. “And I imagine you’d like me not to mention any of this in my episode?”

“Actually,” Gabriella said, “Philippe and I have talked about it, and after the flower girl incident and discovering that passageway that runs through the mansion...we were wondering if it might be time to share what we know about Jacques.”

I nodded. “From a purely historical perspective it is fascinating. It’s a great story about how he led the lost flower girl to your kids. Plus, I doubt you’ll be able to keep it quiet that one of your guests accidentally found a hidden passageway.”

Philippe made a face. “Word is already out.”

“Then I say we use it to your advantage,” I told him. “We play into that with this episode, and you add the new story in with your ghost tours. I have money on the table that says your hotel guest bookings jump substantially.”

Philippe crossed his arms over his chest. “I suppose it will depend on how the information is presented.”

I smiled. “You leave that to me. I promise once I edit this and narrate it, we’ll do justice to Jacques, his memory, and how he—and your trio—heroically helped another child here at the mansion.”

“Heroic.” Gabriella laughed and shook her head. “Lady help us. There’ll be no living with the kids after this.”

***

After the meeting with the Marquettes, I gathered up my things and Gabriella escorted me back through the connecting hallway and into the hotel’s lobby.

“I’ll show you Archer’s interview before it airs,” I promised. “Make sure you are happy with it. Also, I’ll be sure and edit out any names he said.”

“Thank you,” she said. “But I trust you, Skye. I know you’ll be discreet when it comes to the children.”

My cell phone began to ring, and I tugged it from my pocket to glance at the read out. I had figured it was Charlie, but instead I didn’t recognize the number. A second later, my stomach dropped.

A premonition—a warning of danger—hit me so hard that I stumbled.

“Hey!” Gabriella grabbed my arm to steady me. “Are you okay?” She led me straight to a cushy loveseat in the lobby and gratefully, I sat down.

“Give me a moment,” I said, pressing accept. “Hello?” I said into the phone.

“Skye? I don’t know if you’ll remember me. This is Corrine Thompson I live across the street from that Victorian on Henry Street.”

“Yes of course, Mrs. Thompson,” I said. “I remember you.”

“Great. Call me Corrine.”

“Okay, Corrine it is,” I agreed. “Is something wrong?”

At my words, Gabriella sat beside me and leaned closer. I obligingly tilted the phone so she could hear the conversation.

“I think something bad is going on over at that old house,” Corrine said.

“Originally a young couple moved in, but then another person moved in with them. Now, I consider myself pretty open-minded, but the new man? He’s creepy.

We’ve only seen him a handful of times, but there’s something sketchy about the way he acts with the young couple.

It’s almost like they are subservient to him.

” Corrine sighed loudly. “I know this makes me sound like a terrible busybody, but…”

The tone of her voice was concerning me. “Tell me what has happened that’s upset you?”

“Well, I haven’t seen the young couple that lives there in days .

The last time I did I was in my front yard planting mums, and I saw the woman outside.

She was sort of staggering around her yard.

I ran over to see if she was hurt, and the woman was pale with these bruises all over her arms, and several more were visible on her neck.

She seemed disoriented and her eyes kept darting back to the house as if she wasn’t supposed to be outside. It was so odd!”

Bruises on her neck, I thought and shuddered, despite myself.

Like a vampire attack? My stomach dropped again.

Sunny’s visions were turning out to be dead on the money.

I’d thought predator, but it seemed that we were both right.

“Corrine, do you think the woman was being physically abused?” I asked softly.

“I offered to take her to a shelter,” Corrine continued, “but she ran away from me and went back indoors. That was three days ago, and I haven’t seen her since.

My husband told me the couple is probably into drugs, and that I should mind my own business; but I think something is wrong!

It all reminds me of when you and your sister rescued that poor girl—Sophia—from that house.

I’ll never forget that. I’ve never seen a child so badly treated in all my life. ”

“I’ll come,” I told her. “I’ll be there within an hour. In the meantime, stay indoors and keep your kids away from that house.”

Corrine laughed a bit nervously. “Not a problem, I’m sort of afraid to walk over there by myself. I’ve started to a few times, but I get this awful feeling in the pit of my stomach and I can’t.”

“You did the right thing calling me,” I assured her. “Please, stay off of that property.”

“Do you know what’s really going on over there, Skye?” she asked.

“Yes,” I said. “I’ve been working with a psychic that I trust, and she recently...pinpointed the issue.” It was an evasive answer, but I didn’t want to frighten the woman any more than she already was.

“Is there anything else I can do to help?” Corrine wanted to know.

“What you can do is to keep an eye out. But stay on your own property and let me know immediately if you see anything or anyone else that doesn’t look right.”

“Done,” she said. “I’ll absolutely keep watch.”

“Perfect,” I told her. “Thanks, Corrine.”

I ended the call and sat for a moment, going over in my head everything I’d learned.

“Skye?” Gabriella said.

“It is a god-damn vampire,” I muttered to myself, as I secured the laptop case strap back over my shoulder. Or some type of one. “Well, there’s something you don’t run into every day.”

“Skye?” Gabriella repeated, touching my arm to get my attention. “Do you need help?”

I focused on her. For a moment I thought about asking her to come with me, but Gabriella had children. I wasn’t about to put her in a potentially dangerous paranormal situation…so instead I simply said, “No thank you. I don’t need help.”

“You sure that’s a good idea, you going to that house alone?” Gabriella asked.

“I’m out of options and out of time, Gabriella,” I said, rising to my feet. “I’ve been trying to get a message to the Guardian unsuccessfully for months about the paranormal issues at this location on Henry Street. I asked my grandmother to contact them—but she refused.”

Gabriella stood with me. “Althea refused? Why?”

“At this point it doesn’t matter anymore.” I grabbed my rolling suitcase handle and started for the exit. “I can’t wait any longer for the Guardian. So, it’s going to have to be me.”

She took ahold of my arm before I could leave. “Think. Think, Skye, before you go charging in there. Think about what happened to Tyler and Kenna—”

“Kenna did her job,” I said, cutting her off. “Now it’s time for me to do mine.”

“Well, if I can’t talk you out of it…then at least—” Gabriella gave me a quick hug. “Oh, be careful, damn it.”

“Always,” I told her, and hurried out to my car.

As I jogged across the parking lot the wind swirled around me. With a shrieking sort of whistle it blew from the north, sending my hair into my eyes and blinding me for a moment.

“North wind. Banishing energy,” I said, acknowledging the message from the element. “I’m on my way to go do just that. I’ll get rid of the thing, whatever it is. Once and for all.”

The wind blew again more gently this time as if in answer and it made me smile. “I appreciate the support.”

The wind settled as I tossed my luggage in the back seat and hopped in my car.

Racing back to the hill, I threw my car in park in our driveway but left the engine running.

I hurried inside only to discover that no one else was at home.

“Figures,” I said as I hauled my luggage and laptop case into the foyer and dropped it off.

“House full of Witches yet never anyone around when you need them.”

Then I stopped wasting my breath grousing and bolted up the main staircase to my attic apartment.

I rushed into my apartment and immediately toed off my sneakers.

Going to my closet, I grabbed a pair of cargo pants and began to change out of my nice jeans.

After hiking the sturdy pants up, I added a belt and went to the trunk at the foot of my bed where I stored my magickal supplies and a few weapons.

I tucked into my pockets bottles of a mixture of black salt, angelica and nightshade. I also added my taser in its leather sheath, threading it through my belt.

I’d started carrying one at more remote or secluded investigations after I’d been jumped by a strung out, homeless person a few years prior.

The taser for me would always be a last resort, especially as I wasn’t one hundred percent sure this wasn’t a human with severe psychological problems. Unfortunately, my intuition told me I would be walking into real danger—the preternatural kind.

“Too bad I don’t have any wooden stakes.” I shook my head over that. “Then again. I’m not sure that would actually work.”