Ghast Me Gently (Wicked Good Witches Book 4) (10 page)

“Pentagram,” realized William.

“You are smart.” She tossed him a wink. “Rather yummy to look at too.”

William cleared his throat, ignoring her forwardness.

“I’m surprised you never noticed the pentagram before, but now that you’re aware, picture where the Deane Manor is located.” She gave everyone a moment to think over what she’d said.

“Our manor is right in the middle. The center of the pentagram,” exclaimed Lucas.

“What does that mean?” asked Riley.

“Yeah, what he said,” agreed Michael.

“What it means, is that the Deane’s used the power of the pentagram to create a secret means to get onto and off the Isle. For themselves, and for your enemies,” she aimed at the Howards.

“I always wondered how they accomplished this,” uttered William.

“Underneath the Deane Manor, below the basement, is a second basement, an underground lair of sorts.”

The Howards looked toward Lucas and Riley for confirmation.

“I don’t know any such thing,” insisted Lucas.

“Oh it’s there,” Lizzy told them with certainty.

“I’ve been in the basement, I don’t recall seeing another door leading deeper below,” Lucas argued.

“That’s because until now I’ve have been hiding it. You see
that’s
my job. The job I was forced into. My ghastly spirit was supplied with the magic required to protect this secret. Thankfully, that magic also allowed me to create that nifty little scene that got all you guys in here. Anyway, below the manor is a set of five doors, each leading to one of the Isle’s lighthouses. This serves two purposes, one, as I said, was to draw off the energy of the pentagram, and the second allowed the Deanes and their allies to quickly reach certain spots on the Isle. But in the middle of the five doors is another door, a door which can be opened on either side. One side leads to the actual basement of the Deane Manor in the center of the lighthouses, the other leads to the old Deane property in Boston.”

“A property we no longer own,” informed Lucas.

“So when little Freddy Collier got lost that day, so long ago here at Suicide Light, he really did go somewhere else. Didn’t he?” queried Emily. She had explained her story to Charlie, Michael, William, Eva and Mack. Only Melinda, Lucas and Riley had no idea what she was speaking of. They listened intently, trying to understand.

“Yes. Poor little boy, I did feel for him. And did try to warn him. But the Deane’s were still living in their house in Boston at the time, and although they were no longer living on the Isle, I was still under my curse to protect those damn doors. I had opened the door, for reasons I won’t get into now, when Freddy fell through. First into the manor, here on the Isle, and after, through the door leading to the house in Boston.”

Emily had not yet informed the Howards about the part of the story Freddy had left out of the official reports, the one about the monstrous creature, possibly the same creature that had captured their missing father, Jack. She decided that for now she would keep silent. It didn’t seem like the right time to bring it up, not when Eva’s father was still missing.

“Freddy made it home okay. A little scared but unharmed,” spoke Lizzy.

“I’m sorry, Lizzy,” said Charlie. “I don’t mean to be rude as I understand you’ve been betrayed by both sides. Someone from our family did this to you, and someone from your family betrayed you and imprisoned you again. But why are we here? What is the point of all this?”

“Yes, now we finally get down to the real business. I have been waiting a very long time for this day. A day when I could gather family from both lines, Howards and Deanes. A day in which I could explain what I am and who I am, in hopes of you both working together. You see I don’t trust any of you, but I unfortunately need you, if I’m going to succeed.”

“Succeed in what?” Charlie sought impatiently.

William answered. “She wants to be returned to her body.”

“What the vampire said.” Lizzy eyes beamed in anticipation.

“You would still want to return after all this time?” said Charlie. “So many years have passed, nothing is the same.”

Melinda came to her defense. “Like she said though, she picks up a lot from all the tourists. And doesn’t she deserve a chance to live a full human life?”

“It would mean another Deane on the Isle,” murmured Michael, feeling the need to state the obvious.

“One that’s already claimed not to like either side,” reminded Mack, casting a wide eye at both the Howards and the Deanes.

Charlie whispered softly, so only William could hear him. “Do you think this is some sort of trap? Some long term plan by the Deanes?”

William turned his face just slightly to see Charlie’s eyes and shook his head. However, even with William’s approval Charlie wasn’t certain.

“So how do we do this, Lizzy? How do we find your body? And how can we be sure that returning you to your body isn’t a mistake? How do we know if you’re lying to us about how you were cursed to become a ghast? There’s no one to backup your claim. Even William’s only been on the Isle just over a hundred years.”

“I was afraid you might think like that.” Her ghastly eyes drilled into Eva’s. “So… I got myself some leverage.”

“My father. You do have him, don’t you?” she accused.

“Ask yourself to what lengths you would go? After being betrayed by both sides, having no one I can trust.
I want my body back!
I want my life back.”

Eva opened her mouth to reply. Charlie feared she would say something that could endanger their already precarious predicament. He grabbed her arm with a silent plea to keep quiet and let them handle it. She furrowed her brow but bit her tongue.

“And if we do this, Lizzy, you return Eva’s father?” confirmed Charlie.

“Yes. Done. Simple. And he’s perfectly fine. Just a little lost at the moment. I’m not a cruel person. I don’t like to hurt people. On the contrary, I always thought myself on the side of good. But I need to make certain that no one betrays me this time. I’m sorry. But I have to protect myself from all of you. Your father wandering into the wrong place was the final piece of the puzzle to end this so called
existence
called my life.”

Charlie glanced at his siblings.
Shit. What’s the right thing here?
He didn’t want to make the wrong choice. But if he thought about it logically, if Lizzy really was telling the truth, she deserved her freedom. Her life had been hell and they could end that for her. And she had every right to distrust them all. But the timing of this… and Eva’s father finding this map… how? And where?

And just how was it there were still secrets to discover about The Demon Isle? How did their family not know about this map, or the doorways in the lighthouses? Or that their layout created a pentagram… so many things to take in. He let out a breath, going with his first instinct before he could let paranoia take over.

“Okay, Lizzy. We’ll help you. What do you need us to do? Do you know where your body is?”

Lizzy let out an ecstatic exhale.

“Yes. I do. But right now there’s only one of you that I trust to tell. The rest of you will need to ready the ceremony. You will all need to work together.”

No one spoke for a moment; no one relished the idea of Howards and Deanes working together.

“One question, Lisbeth,” began William. “You have been watching these doors for many a long year. What happens to these doors once you’re no longer in charge of them?”

“They will need to be closed. Permanently. If I am not in control of them, they can still be used. And there’s something else you should know about these doors. The Deanes cast certain protections, to ensure that the evil they allowed onto the Isle would do their bidding. When one steps onto the Isle via the door from the Boston house, that
being
would be stuck on the Isle unless they returned the same route.”

“So once through, they had to leave the same way?” Oddly, it was Emily that asked. Michael threw her a questioning gaze. “Tell you later,” she whispered.

“You are correct. I only explain this because you should be aware that there is a creature still stuck on this Isle. There
were
two; one died a few years back. They came through the door in Boston and were not allowed to leave, either by myself, or the Deanes. On the Deanes part because they did not consider the job finished. And on mine, once the last Deane that knew of my existence died I just didn’t feel like letting them go back through.”

“Do you think if this creature learns of your plan to return to your body, it will try to escape? Or attack?” asked the sheriff. “I have to take into account the safety of the non-magical folk on this Isle.”

“It might,” Lizzy returned. “Which is why I have a follow-up plan that you will need to implement to ensure the doors remain closed, once I’ve successfully reunited with my body.”

“Perhaps we should just let it escape,” suggested Michael. “It might be safer to let it go. Let it off the Isle, away from causing any possible harm to anyone.”

Emily could not allow this to happen. She’d have to explain what she’d learned in her talk with Freddy Collier before it was too late. “Lizzy, could I please ask you a question? You’re the only person that could answer since you are the door’s protector.”

“For you, I will grant one question.”

“Back when little Freddy Collier got lost, he told me that he saw a monster come from the house in Boston, onto the Isle. It was a… oh gosh, I’m not even positive how to describe it, a swirling blackness sort of thingy… did that creature ever leave the Isle?”

“Emily?” questioned Michael.

She motioned for him to wait.

“No. No such thing has left the Isle.” Her eyes lit up. “It just so happens, it is the living creature of which I spoke. The one still imprisoned on the Isle.”

Charlie’s face wrinkled together as he began putting together the pieces. But it was William that spoke.

“Lisbeth, you’re saying that this creature is still here, on The Demon Isle.”

She smiled knowingly. “I guess I might have had leverage all along, which I did not know I possessed.”

“Oh my God! Is it possible?” Melinda blurted, to no one in particular.

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” warned William.

“But our dad might have never left the Isle!” Charlie and Michael stated at the same time.

Melinda thought she might fall over. Her legs went limp. Riley put his arm around her waist but quickly let go once his brother noticed and shot him an evil eye.

Charlie took a sharp breath. “Let’s focus on one thing at a time. Even if it is true and our dad is here, somewhere, we still need to take care of the issue in front of us. We need to get Eva’s father back.”

“Um, okay, yeah,” agreed Michael, tensely.

“The swirling blackness you speak of is called a Soul Hunter,” advised Lizzy. “It was hired to come here many years ago after the Deanes were banned from the Isle.”

“For what purpose?” inquired William.

“After their removal from the Isle they still had me, and they still had access to the door, from their house in Boston. They sent the Soul Hunter through the door in hopes it might seek out the
soul
of The Demon Isle.”

“The power source,” mumbled Charlie. “Did the Hunter find it?”

“No idea. It disappeared for quite a long time, never reappearing to attempt exit, until a few years ago. But I would not allow it to leave and to my knowledge it’s in hiding somewhere on the Isle.” She paused. “Do not take this foe lightly. If it captures your soul it won’t just let you have it back.”

The Howard siblings all looked at each other, a gloomy doom settling over them. Was their father dead or alive? Had this thing captured his soul? Keeping him from moving on? Or was he somehow still alive?

“Don’t worry,” said Lizzy. “Once I am back in my body we can instantly do a spell to lock the doors. The chances are quite slim that this Hunter will escape.”

“Slim chance still means there
is
a chance. Is there anything we can do to keep the doors locked while you’re in transition?” asked Charlie.

“Other than guarding them, no.”

“We don’t know how to go up against this Hunter,” reminded Melinda. “Look what happened to Mom and Dad…”

“I will find a way,” advised William swiftly.

“Yes, this is all good and what not, but shall I tell you all what you need to do?” Lizzy interrupted, reminding them of the task at hand. “You do have a ceremony you should be preparing for.”

CHAPTER EIGHT

Lizzy, the ghast, dissolved into the darkness. Charlie popped a few magical light orbs up to the ceiling so they could see to exit the lighthouse. Once outside they were grateful that the fog had lifted, and it was now a clear evening, with the new crescent moon rising dimly overhead.

The Howards, Deanes, Eva, William, Emily and the sheriff, stood motionless. The sudden silence grew awkward as Charlie tried to decide how to divide the jobs that needed done in preparation to return the ghast, Lizzy, to her body.

It meant working together… could he really ask this of his family and friends? To work side by side with the Deane brothers.

“I’m not sure how to divide up the jobs,” he finally admitted. “This is not a situation I expected us to be in and to be honest, I don’t really know where to go from here.”

“Well, I can start,” offered Emily. “I’m going to need some super strength, a.k.a. William, to help me. I cannot carry Lizzy’s body all on my own. I’m not sure what she was thinking by only telling me where her body is hidden.”

“She’s thinking you’re the only one she can trust,” explained Michael. He could not help but be proud of his girlfriend, but at the same time, feared what this ghast would do once returned to her body.

How powerful a witch was she? Whose side would she be on? At the moment, he’d answer that question as
her own side
, however, once human again, everything would change. And it was Deane blood that would course through her veins. And being in spirit form, he could not use his empathy to get a sense of her true feelings.

“Regardless of trust,” said Emily, “which I do not take lightly, I will still need William’s help.”

“And you may have it,” William promised. “That leaves the rest of you to gather the required items and prepare the ceremony location.”

“We don’t have any of the needed items,” informed Lucas. “I suppose the old house might have a store of stuff we haven’t come across yet.”

“It’s a big house, it could take months to find,” said Riley.

“I guess that means you will need to prep the location then,” Charlie aimed at the Deane brothers. “We may not have all the items ourselves, but I know where we can get them if we don’t.”

Lucas nodded, looking like he wanted to speak. It took him a second to do it. “This is a lot to ask, but I’m not sure just my brother and I can get the location ready in time. We might need some help with that.” He sucked in, letting out upon exhale, “We’ve never done anything like this, so I have no idea what I’m supposed to do. And I have no idea where this place is we’re supposed to go to.”

“I’ll go with you,” offered Melinda. She quickly shot
don’t-bother-arguing-we-have-to-do-this
eyes at her brothers and William.

Mack, as if reading the brothers minds reminded, “I’ll be close by, securing the area for the ceremony.”

“Okay then,” caved Charlie reluctantly. “William, Emily, to Lizzy’s body. Lucas, Riley, M-Melinda,” he stuttered uneasily, “and Mack, to the ceremony location, and Michael, Eva and I will gather the required items to perform the ceremony.”

“I think we’re forgetting one big problem,” halted Michael. “We need a plan for the Soul Hunter. We need to be prepared for the possibility it will try to escape, and I for one, do not want that Soul Hunter to get off the Isle.”

“William, any ideas?” asked Charlie.

“No. I’m afraid my dealings with such a creature are nil. But once we have located and transported Lizzy’s body I will return to the mansion and do as much research as possible.”

“Actually, we might be able to help out on this one,” spoke Lucas. “I don’t know the answer,” he clarified swiftly, “however, our library is still intact. If my family brought the creature here, perhaps there’s info about it in one of
our
books.”

“Very well, if you permit, I shall look through yours, as I feel confident browsing through my own will prove useless.”

“The house is open. The library is on…”

“The first floor, at the back of the manor,” finished William.

“You’ve been there before?”

“Yes. On a few occasions.” He did not expand. “And, thank you.” He nodded curtly.

“
Anything
we can do to help,” asserted Lucas. “This Soul Hunter is here because of something our family did, and we will do whatever we can to fix that. And Lizzy… she may have become a ghast because of a Howard, but our family betrayed her, too. I thought we’d have a lot to make up for, but this is much more than I expected so soon.” He appeared honestly disheartened by what was happening.

“Well, how about let’s just make it through tonight… if we can get Lizzy back into her body without allowing the Soul Hunter to escape, we can consider this night a success, and worry about the rest… some other time,” said Charlie. He wanted to put the past behind and believe that the Deane brothers would be true to their word, but remembering their history kept him from doing so.

Charlie and Michael watched anxiously as Melinda walked by them, leaving with Lucas and Riley, with Mack behind them heading to her cop car. Melinda’s gaze never left Riley walking alongside his brother.

Michael grimaced, letting out a disappointed grumble. “Shit.
Seriously?
”

Melinda swung around, realizing too late what had happened. Michael knew. He’d sensed her emotions and discovered she liked Riley.
Fucking empathy…

He was going to find out eventually you know.

You’re such an idiot. Grow up, and grow a pair already!

His sister’s emotions were all over the place but regardless, it was obvious she was crazy about Riley Deane. Michael pursed his lips, his face hardened.

Only one more brother to go…
Melinda wanted to just get it over with, so they could get pissed and hate her all at once.
They still don’t know what I’ve done with him…
she shuddered at the thought of them finding out.

Charlie threw his gaze back and forth between his brother and sister, trying to understand what was going on, but William tossed Michael a bleak look that said,
Not now. Let it be.

Michael shrugged and told Charlie, “Later. Let’s get going.”

Eva joined them and they departed.

The vampire prompted Emily gently to head to her car. Emily cast Melinda another compassionate smile, but William refused eye contact, his passing silent. His brows bent in… Melinda didn’t know what. But it left her feeling numb and empty.

The way he’d reacted to Riley…

The wedge cutting into her and William’s friendship had just been hit with a sledgehammer and been driven down even deeper. It was hanging by a thread. 

Loss.

That’s what William was hiding as he passed by her.

They were losing each other more and more every day. Soon, they’d just be people that happened to live in the same house and work together. Her mistakes in the last week had assured William would never be her best friend again.

##

William and Emily arrived at the graveyard. Not a very unique place to hide a body, but it would certainly blend in with the surroundings.

“Wait here,” advised William. He dashed off to make sure the graveyard was empty of late night visitors and scouted for the location of the mausoleum they needed to access. He appeared at Emily’s side just seconds later.

She let out a start. “It still amazes me to see you do that. Not that I can really
see
you do that… you know what I mean.”

William bowed his head, taking it as a compliment. “The graveyard is clear, and the mausoleum is this way.” He walked at normal human speed allowing Emily to walk alongside him.

“William, can I ask you something?”

“Of course.”

“I’m assuming you’ve figured out at this point that Melinda is dating someone and that someone is Riley Deane?”

“Yes.” His voice dropped. “I have gathered as much.”

“I think that’s why she’s been so upset. I knew she was dating someone. I feel terrible I didn’t tell anyone, but she asked me not to. And I thought it was all going great anyway. I should have known it was guy trouble. But I would have never guessed it was
this
type of guy trouble.”

“Nor I. And knowing Melinda, she’s overwrought with guilt.”

“The type of guilt she should be asking forgiveness for?” asked Emily apprehensively. “It’s clear what you all think of the Deanes... you especially,” she added cautiously.

William stopped. His gaze intense.

“My actions were…” he shook his head, unsure what to say. When he’d found a man, this Riley, with Melinda, and smelled his blood, marking him as a Deane, his normally controlled defenses had shattered yet again. His emotions raging out of him like a pathetic lovesick schoolboy. One with super strength and a set of fangs.

The thought of a Deane so close to her… touching her… defiling her… he let the picture ravaging his mind go with a low rumble in his chest.

“Melinda did nothing wrong. I do have a sneaking suspicion she was not aware, and once she discovered he was a Deane…”

“That’s when she locked herself in her room,” finished Emily, putting together the final piece of the puzzle. “Poor Melinda. It’s so hard for her to put herself out there. And she gave it a try and look what happened. I wish there was a way to make it easier for her to tell people how she feels. To not be so afraid. It’s like she thinks everyone is just going to hate her, or abandon her if she makes a mistake.”

William’s thoughts stalled for a moment. It’s what he had just done. He hadn’t known what to say to her. How to act. So he’d just ignored her.
I’m not angry with her, so why did I do that?

William knew Melinda feared abandonment, she had ever since her parent’s deaths.
She used to talk to me,
his thoughts droned.
But she doesn’t any longer. She’s not comfortable doing so…
he had hoped, seriously hoped, they could put the awkwardness behind them. Forget the dreams. The shared moments. Move forward as if none of it had happened.

It appeared he was wrong.

It also appeared he was… dare he admit
jealous…

And I abandoned her, when what she needed from me was acceptance and understanding.
It was such a human thing to do.

“
Hearts
are such a fickle thing.” William realized he said it aloud and his face contorted into a tight frown.

Emily looked up at him, her gaze understanding.

“Even with all my years on this earth I still do not understand them.” He continued toward the mausoleum. The way he spoke made Emily believe he was speaking of his own heart, more than just
hearts
in general.

“It’s because hearts can’t be controlled.”

William stopped, listening to her intently.

“After spending years waiting for Michael to come around, telling myself daily, sometimes hourly, that he might never come around and that I needed to move on and forget about him… my heart just refused to listen.
Love
is not something any of us can control. Even vampires I’d wager… we can control a lot of things, William.” She let out a huff and shook her head. “But we cannot control who we love.”

Emily pitched him an inquisitive side-glance, but he said nothing and wore a blank stare. She didn’t know why she thought he would admit anything to her. But she couldn’t help the curiosity on the subject of whether he did have feelings for Melinda.

If she had to bet, she’d put her money on yes.

It seemed like a hopeless situation, even to Emily.

They continued in silence to the mausoleum, and Lizzy Deane’s body.

Gaining entrance was easy.

Lizzy had explained to Emily that the key for opening the gate was hidden nearby, inside a hollowed out section of a tree. It was overgrown now, and Emily could not get her hand inside the tree, so William shoved his strong hand inside and a second later removed a long iron key.

They opened the gate and stepped inside. In the center of the room was a stone coffin. William gently pushed the heavy lid, which moved easily with his vampire strength.

“I definitely could not have done this myself!” Emily watched him move the cumbersome stone as if it were mere paper. “Thank God you’re super strong.”

“Even with my
super
strength,” noted William, “we will not be able to bring the entire coffin.”

“I hadn’t thought about that. Definitely won’t fit in my car… so we’ll just be bringing her body?” she realized.

“Yes. Are you ready?”

“Think so,” said Emily. What was waiting inside? A rotting corpse? Bones? Dust? Worms or other creepy crawlies? She gasped as William removed the stone lid.

Lizzy’s body lay inside and as she had stated, perfectly preserved. Her skin was porcelain with a hint of pink, her long light brown locks perfectly in place, flowing around her body. She looked as though she were simply sleeping. She wore a full-length black dress, with lace that ran down her arms and rose high around her neck.