Ghast Me Gently (Wicked Good Witches Book 4) (9 page)

Once all were safely inside, William slipped through and allowed the door to slam shut. Upon doing so they found themselves plunged into darkness. Charlie’s light orbs had gone out.

The only sound was heavy breathing as no one dared speak, for fear that one side or the other was about to start a war. Clearly, putting the past behind them was not going to be as easy as a handshake.

Fingers wove into Melinda’s, gripping tight, needing to know she was okay and near. It was Riley, and she didn’t fight it. Whatever was happening with the weather, with the lights going out, this was neither due to the Howards or the Deanes. This was something else entirely. She inched closer to him, waiting, along with everyone.

Charlie decided to try the lighting orbs one more time. He lifted his hand to do so but caught his breath when a hazy glow began shimmering down over them.

Riley let go of Melinda, fearing someone might catch them holding hands. But stayed close.

Nervous breaths turned to gasps as a figure emerged from the haze, and although surrounded by a glimmering shadow, the figure was dressed in a black lace gown from her chin down to her toes. Her light brown hair floated around her head as if suspended by an invisible breeze.

She hung in the air staring into each of their eyes, in turn, and when finished, did an even more surprising thing.

“Finally. Howards and Deanes in the same place and agreeing to a truce. I trust you all enjoyed my little show. Neat trick, huh?”

“Did you just speak?” Michael stared, dumbfounded.

“Yeah, um, how’d you do that?” squeaked Emily. “I’m still me, right,” she whispered to Michael. He nodded, calming her fear, while never taking his eyes off the specter.

Charlie had not yet told his siblings or William about his and Eva’s encounter with the ghost girl, or that she had spoken. He had thought it odd, but had thought no more of it until now.

“And I’m to believe that you are the protectors of the Isle,” the ghost girl scoffed at the Howards. “You have no idea what I am, do you?” She sounded annoyed that she might have to explain.

William took the lead and got closer to the ghost girl. The Howards recognized the look on his face; he had figured out something vital.

“My dear lady, you are not a ghost at all, are you?”

Ghost girl lifted a brow in his direction. “At least one of you is showing signs of intelligence.”

Melinda wondered how this ghost, supposedly hundreds of years old, spoke as though she were familiar with the tongue of the day.

William spun around and addressed everyone standing in the lighthouse. “What we have here before us is not at all a ghost, but a ghast.”

“A what?” asked a mystified Charlie.

“I have never, in all my years, ever crossed paths with a ghast, and I admit until this moment, assumed their existence myth.”

“And?” prodded Michael impatiently.

“A ghost is the spirit of someone who has died and not yet moved on, willingly remaining in this plane of existence. Usually because they have unfinished business. A ghast however, is a human spirit forced out of its living form, cursed to wander this plane of existence,
the world of the living
, until such a time as it is returned to its body.”

“That’s possible?” muttered Riley, his voice horrified by the thought. Melinda agreed. By the looks on everyone’s faces, they all agreed. Melinda noticed Lucas step closer to his brother as if making himself a human barricade between the ghast and his brother.

The ghast girl let out an irritated sigh, putting her hands on her hips.

“Well, now that’s out of the way…”

“Um, wait. Hold up,” implored Charlie. “Let me get this straight. You’re not an actual ghost? You’re not even really dead?”

“What’s so hard to understand about that? And I heard you were the eldest…” She rolled her eyes and shook her head. “It’s really not that hard people. Do you need another minute to get your confused little brains around it all?”

“Why have you been haunting this lighthouse for like… two hundred years?” asked Michael.

“And why do you talk like you’re from now?” added Melinda.

“Oh. My. God. You don’t think I pick up things? As you said, been around for a while. And do you think I did this on purpose? Do you actually think I wanted to spend eternity haunting a freakin’ lighthouse?” her voice rose to a new level of caustic.

“Starting to understand why someone might have done it,” mumbled Michael under his breath.

Charlie was about to ask a question when William motioned him to stop.

“It is clear that you have somehow orchestrated this meeting. Why don’t you explain
why
we are all here?”

“Yes! About time. Let’s get down to business.” She paced in a floating circle over their heads, preparing for what appeared would be a long-winded speech.

Lucas leaned in past Riley and whispered to Melinda. “This commonplace on the Isle?” Although his voice was quite serious, she froze and could not answer; his intense stare made her catch her breath. She just nodded and shook her shoulders at the same time, giving him no definitive answer. Plus, though abnormal circumstances, talking to a Deane as if they were friends or allies, was not the smartest move.

The ghast girl cleared her throat. All eyes and ears put full attention to her.

“It all started just under two hundred years ago when my fiancé attracted the undesired attention of a young woman-
a witch
.”

The Howard’s eyes trailed to the Deane brothers, but the ghast girl made a tsk tsk sound followed by, “Naughty naughty! Blame them before you’ve even heard me out,” she accosted. “The witch in question had the last name of
Howard
.” She looked at them as if to say, ‘Take that!’

Charlie opened his mouth to reply but the ghast shouted, “No interrupting! And before you go getting any ideas,” she aimed at the Deanes, “I’m no fan of yours either.” She breathed out heavily. “Now, this Howard witch cursed me, turned me into
this,
so that my fiancé would believe me dead. And the real kicker, only she knew where my body was, and whoever controls the body, controls the spirit. She forced me to pretend that I had committed suicide by jumping off this damn cliff! And then forced my fiancé to watch my spirit jump! She, of course, hoped he would just forget all about me and fall in love with her. Like that would really happen, I mean… look at me.”

She made a face that shouted,
Duh...

It was a little hard to make out her shape in her ghastly form, other than thin; however, Lizzy had a perfectly proportioned face, pouty lips and penetrating eyes.

“Regardless of her attempts,” the ghast explained, “my fiancé never betrayed me, even after he thought me dead. He never once even considered loving that
witch
. And you want to guess how
he
died?” She paused as if waiting for someone to ask.

“So how did…” Charlie started but was cut off.

“He jumped. For real. Right here off Suicide Point. Thinking he’d follow me and be with me forever.”

“Why didn’t you just tell him the truth?” Michael shook his head. “Sorry, right, no interruptions.”

“Your question is valid,” she conceded. “I could not tell him. The
witch
controlled my ghastly form, at least until she died. And it took an infuriating amount of time to learn how to use my new spirit body. I’m not so different from a ghost; the main difference being I can talk, they cannot.
Ghosts
can move on from this wretched life, I cannot. By the time I had learned how to use my spirit body and to speak, it was far too late. Everyone I had ever known in this life was dead.”

The room silently waited for her to continue.

“Oh don’t look so sad!” she suddenly spat out. “I got over it on a long time ago. However, this brings me to the next part of my pathetic tale.”

The ghast sighed woefully. William imagined she had not truly gotten over her losses. How could she? Being trapped in this form. He pitied this female. Sympathized with her plight. The life she was forced out of. The choices taken away. The loneliness she must have felt all these years… these were things he could understand.

“After the witch finally kicked the bucket and her control over me died with her, I located my body.” The ghast stopped her circling to speak. “I was free for a little while. No one controlling where my spirit had to be. What it had to do. My body was perfectly preserved and ready for habitation. Unfortunately, I wasn’t sure how to get back into my body so I made the next biggest mistake of my life. I went to my family, seeking their help. Believing surely they’d want to see one of their own, a long thought dead cursed soul, returned to her body; allowed to live the life she should have lived before it was stolen away from her. But no… I wasn’t to be so lucky.”

She let out a berating breath. This was clearly a sore subject.

“You see, my name is Lisbeth. Eugenia. Deane. You can call me Lizzy,” she stated, as if this announcement were no big deal.

The Howards glanced toward the Deanes, gauging their reaction to this news.

Charlie didn’t like it. The timing was too perfect. Two Deanes returning was bad enough, but now finding out there’s actually a third. He looked at his brother and William, certain they had to be thinking the same thing.

Melinda had the same thought cross her mind, but when she looked into the faces of the Deane brothers, they appeared shocked. Honestly and frankly, shocked. Clearly their dealings in magic were lacking in comparison to the Howards. Or they were really good fakers.

“I sought out my family, the Deanes,” the ghast, Lizzy, continued. “At this point in the Isle’s history the relationship between the Howards and the Deanes was showing signs of strain, but more or less intact. But this was the beginning of the end. This is when the Deane’s path turned from aiding in protecting this Isle, to claiming it for themselves. For it was at this time that they began dabbling with the dark magic. But they were family and as
disgusted
as I was by their behavior, I went to them. Boy, were they surprised! Especially when I took them to my body.”

She stopped again, suddenly appearing deep in thought.

“Your family betrayed you, didn’t they?” stated William.

“How’d you guess? Oh, right, still a ghast…” she jested sorely, pointing at herself.

William released a dark chuckle.

For some reason, Melinda found this odd. Did he find this Lisbeth… Lizzy… funny? Pathetic maybe. Sad even. Crude definitely, but not without reason she supposed. And why did it matter? She had no right to get jealous over such a simple thing.

“As you so brilliantly deduced,
Vampire
, my family betrayed me,” Lizzy explained. The manner in which she said vampire indicated a personal familiarity with the term. William wondered what she was silently implying.

“My family told me they’d help me return to my body, but explained that the ceremony would take time to prepare, and I should come at midnight the next night. I arrived at the appointed time. And they did perform a ceremony, but it was not to return me to my body. You see, it just so happened that my family was seeking out a keeper. A keeper for a new secret. And I, being a ghast and all, was rather perfect. They hid my body,
again
, and performed a ceremony to take control of my spirit, forcing me to protect their new secret.”

Emily blurted out, “How terrible. Your own family?”

For a moment, everyone expected another lecture about interruptions but instead Lizzy flew down to Emily’s level and peered into her eyes. “You, I like. I can sense your honesty.”

Emily smiled compassionately in reply.

“What was their secret?” asked William.

“Yes, I’d like to know that as well.” Lucas’ tone melded into concern and curiosity.

“Ah yes, the big Deane secret. You see, as they began dabbling in the dark magic, the need for a private means off and onto the Isle became crucial.”

“This is something to do with the lighthouses, isn’t it?” guessed Charlie. “There’s some sort of magical doorway, right?”

Before Lizzy could answer, or Melinda could ask what he meant seeing as she hadn’t heard the lighthouse tale yet, Eva spoke out desperately. “Do you know where my father is? Have you seen him?”

Melinda had pieced together that the white-haired chick was Eva Jordan. They hadn’t been officially introduced, but the stark color was unique, unlike anything she’d ever seen before.

“Talk about jumping ahead in the story,” the ghast, Lizzy retorted. “I’m not saying whether I know anything about him or not. Not until the story is finished.”

Eva looked as though she might hit Lizzy if it would have made any difference.

Charlie touched Eva’s arm letting her know he’d get to the bottom of it, and she bit her lip to keep silent. She was certain this ghast had information about her missing father.

“Let’s go back to the lighthouses and these magical doorways,” Lizzy insisted. “It’s… so much more than that. Are you each aware that when you look at a map of the Isle from far overhead, that the five lighthouses create a…”