Page 48 of Never Been Witched (Starfall Point #3)

“Oh, I don’t know,” Paige huffed, sounding bored, despite the catlike smile spreading on her lips. “One of the new suites upstairs at the hotel. Collin moved me there earlier today. It took a little fussing from the housekeeping staff, but he knows how I like things.”

“You’re staying in the Cowslip Suite?” Alice asked.

Paige rolled her eyes. “Yes, of course. I couldn’t stay in that ridiculous grubby guesthouse. He had perfectly good suites right there. Why would I stay in some dinky little room? I wouldn’t stand for it. I’m his fiancée, after all.”

Alice focused on breathing steadily through her nose, not letting her hurt show. And still, Paige was talking.

“For a second-rate hotel, it’s not a terrible room,” she admitted, sounding sincere. “Honestly, I was surprised. Particularly in the en suite. I took a little swim in the tub this morning to wash the ick of that moldy guest room off me.”

“Y-you used the tub?” Alice asked.

“It’s the only thing that makes the suite remotely interesting,” Paige drawled. “Normally, I don’t go in for that sort of drama, but it has a certain quaint charm.”

Alice was boiling inside, even while she tried to keep her face still.

The ring story? That wasn’t Collin’s fault.

Paige was clearly lying, trying to get to her.

But this? He’d let her into the Cowslip Suite, their suite?

Alice hadn’t even seen it all put together yet with bedding and the special antiques she’d selected, and Paige had already taken a swim in her fucking tub?

The tub of her dreams? Collin knew how much that tub meant to her.

He’d heard her wax poetic about it, and he knew Alice didn’t wax poetic about much.

He’d taken something that was special to Alice and handed it to Paige as if it was nothing, an afterthought.

She might be his employee, but this made her feel like she didn’t matter.

He made something Alice loved feel less valuable by treating it like it was nothing.

Would he have even told her about Paige’s “occupancy”?

Or would he have pretended that it never happened and let Alice think she was the first to use the tub?

Hell, she might be less mad if he was engaged to Paige.

Later, she was going to take Caroline up on that offer of a nonstop, all-you-can-eat ice cream buffet. But for right now, she was going to escape this situation with a little dignity.

“I don’t believe that you’re engaged, because Collin would never give you his mother’s ring,” she told Paige.

“He knows you wouldn’t appreciate it, so I suggest that if you still have it, you put it back where you found it before I call the cops and you spend a couple of nights in our little one-cell jail. ”

“Who are you to tell me what I’m going to do with what’s mine?

” Paige seethed, grabbing Alice’s arm. For a moment, Alice considered using the same sort of magic on Paige that had repelled Clark.

She could feel her magic simmering under the surface of her skin, waiting to erupt.

With the rage bubbling inside her, she could probably make every wall sconce on this floor explode.

But as satisfying as that might be, she wouldn’t expose her coven to that sort of danger.

Wantonly harming a person—or light fixtures—had to be against some sort of magical law.

So instead, using strength born of moving furniture around for a living, she peeled Paige’s fingers from her sleeve, one by one.

“I’m Alice Seastairs. And I’m tired of your bullshit,” she told her, walking around the house to the porch. As she walked up the steps, she called, “Also, your quote-unquote ‘Cartier’ bracelet’s a fake. Cartier doesn’t work in gold plate.”

***

Hours later, the coven stood at the base of the folly with Caroline and Edison. Holding pickaxes. In the dark.

Alice wanted to yell at Collin. She wanted to rage at the thoughtlessness, the deception. But honestly, she had more important things to worry about than tub-based infidelity. And it was probably a good thing to stay away from Collin at this moment when she was holding a pickaxe.

“Honey, you know I offered anything you needed to process your Collin feelings, but you reached the angry, destructive phase really quickly,” Riley told her.

“Alice, I don’t know if it’s the best idea for us to be standing out here in the open like this, even if we are well armed,” Caroline said, nodding at the pickaxes Alice had found in Ben’s garden shed.

“I don’t like that Margaret hasn’t been seen on the island since Clark’s death.

She told her son Jeff that she had a medical appointment in Charlevoix, but that seems unlikely.

It just seems weird for her to be so quiet after she’s threatened us so effectively. ”

“I’m still reeling from the whole thing,” Edison admitted as Riley kissed his cheek.

“I knew it was possible that the Welling heir was someone we knew on the island, but Margaret? It just…hurts, knowing that she could have used me as an avenue to hurt you. Who knows what bit of information she picked up from me that she used against you? It’s insidious! ”

“I know how that feels, Edison,” Alice told him, patting his shoulder.

Edison nodded. “Although, now that I think about it, she did seem to take her authority as head library volunteer far too seriously.”

“And look, this isn’t about Collin,” Alice told Riley.

“Well, not entirely about Collin. I’ve been thinking about something Mina said.

What if Stanford wasn’t digging at the base of the folly?

Plover said the folly was added around 1900.

Maybe Stanford was putting something in the folly during its construction. What’s inside?”

“As far as I know, it’s a spiral staircase that flows upward into the ceiling,” Riley told them. “The journals haven’t been super helpful.”

“That tracks,” Caroline said. “How would we even get inside? There’s no door.”

“No, there is not,” Riley agreed. “But I do hear rattling from behind the bricks, sort of like when I found the first lock behind the wall. But that was more of a cold, emanating energy thing—like a magical conversation I couldn’t get out of fast enough.”

“So we make a door,” Alice suggested, brandishing the pickaxe.

“I don’t know how I feel about this,” Riley said. “That seems a little more serious than the average renovation. It sort of feels like we’re attacking the house.”

Alice paused and nodded. “Also, I’m kind of getting the feeling that this thing, which is most likely a lock, is really, really excited about the possibility of us letting it out. And when scary things get excited, it’s time to take a step back and maybe reexamine our plan.”

“Yeah, what if the house protects itself and retaliates?” Caroline asked. “We’ve never done anything that could be seen as acting directly against it before.”

“That is…not an unreasonable concern,” Alice admitted.

“Do we have dynamite?” Caroline asked.

“Right, because there’s no way that could go wrong.” Edison snorted. When he caught the contemplative look on Riley’s face, he barked, “No dynamite! I should not have to explain to you the many ways that would put you in danger!”

“Fine,” Riley sighed. “But I should do it. Maybe the house wouldn’t take it so personally if it’s from me.” Riley picked up the pickaxe. “You guys stand back.”

Riley swung the axe and the point struck between two stones, pulverizing the mortar between them.

She paused, as if she was waiting for something to blow up or hit her in the face.

When Shaddow House didn’t smack her back, she swung the pickaxe again and again.

The others joined in, careful not to hit each other as they broke the folly open like a stubborn egg.

Dust burped from the gaping wound in the tower wall, making them cough and collectively wave hands in front of their faces.

The air felt colder somehow, and at the window, the ceiling ghost hurled itself at the glass, angrily shaking it.

“Well, that can’t be good,” Riley observed.

“Should we reach inside?” Alice asked.

“Not that I’m trying to guilt you guys when we’re choosing volunteers to reach into the mystery hole,” Caroline told them. “But I just want to point out I took one for the team when I got repeatedly possessed earlier this year.”

“Technically, we all got possessed,” Alice reminded her.

“Eh,” Caroline said, waggling her hand. “It was more satellite possession for you two.”

“I’ll do it,” Riley sighed. “My house, my ghosts, my hand risk.”

She crouched, putting her face near the opening. She clicked on her flashlight. “Please don’t be another evil hamster thing.”

Alice winced as Riley extended her entire upper body into the mystery hole. She wriggled around, clearly searching the floor of the tower.

“It is indeed a plain old metal spiral staircase…going directly into the ceiling,” Riley said, her voice muffled. “That is consistent with the rest of the house.”

Alice was poised, ready to drag Riley out of the tower by her feet if necessary. Suddenly, this all seemed like a terrible plan. Her friend could be bisected at the waist because Alice got a feeling about a mystery hole.

“And there is nothing on the floor,” Riley added.

Alice took a step back. The brick that had felt cold to her was just a few stones away from Riley’s opening. “Hey, Riley, you see anything to your left?”

Riley’s lower half turned on its side. “Um, yeah. One of the bricks looks different than the others. Can you hand me the pickaxe?”

“You’re going to take a pickaxe into the mystery hole?” Caroline asked. “This doesn’t strike you as ill-advised?”

A couple of loud, sharp thunk s later, Riley yelled, “Ow! Shit!”

Alice sprang into action, pulling on Riley’s ankles.

“No! No, I’m fine!” Riley yelled, kicking gently at Alice’s hands. “No blood or anything! I just banged my elbow.”

“Yeah, you might want to get out of there soon, Riles, because Plover appears to be having a small paternal ghost meltdown,” Caroline said, nodding at the window where Plover seemed to be yelling accusations of incompetence at Edison.

There were a few more thunk s before Riley shouted, “Got it!”

She scrambled out of the mystery hole and held up an object formed from copper loops. She was staring at it with a combination of horror and wonder.

It was a lock. Dusty and covered in a patina of green, but it was the lock.

“What the fuck…” Alice breathed. When Caroline sent her a startled look, she shrugged. “The occasion calls for it.”

“She’s right,” Edison said. “This is the moment for celebratory profanity.”

“Did we actually do this? We found it!” Riley laughed, holding the lock out for Caroline and Alice to see. “Honestly, take this from me, because I forgot how creepy it is to hold these with your bare hands.”

Edison approached with a cotton bag. Riley dropped the lock inside.

“We did it,” Alice gasped, nodding. “I can’t believe we did it.”

“I couldn’t have done it without you,” Riley told Caroline and Alice, throwing her arms around them. “Thank you.”

“Yeah, suck it, previous generations of Dentons!” Caroline crowed.

“Too far,” Alice told her. “What now?”

“No clue!” Riley exclaimed. “But let’s get it inside before Margaret feels some sort of disturbance with her evil Welling powers.”

Edison hustled the bag toward the door. Caroline and Riley helped Alice gather the pickaxes. It seemed like a bad idea to leave them lying around unattended.

“I’m just sorry Mina and Josh missed it,” Riley said.

“Eh, Ben’s stuck at the clinic,” Caroline told them. “Plus, Mom’s trying to give the kids extra hours at the bar.”

“They’re not allowed to serve alcohol,” Alice noted. “They’re underage.”

“They are allowed to clear tables and wash dishes,” Caroline replied. “And it’s football season. There’s plenty to wash.”

Alice shuddered. “Oof, that adult-responsibility thing is off to a brisk start.”

“Ah, it’s good for them, in judicious quantities. And Mom is thrilled to have them around,” Caroline said. “Oh, speak of the devil. Hey, sweetie, where’s your brother?”

Alice turned to see Mina running up the sidewalk, hopping over the fence with an agility that only belonged to the young. She looked absolutely stricken as she threw herself into Caroline’s arms. “Josh is gone.”