“What?” I glance around in surprise. “Why?”
“Because the boys are nosier than a henhouse full of hens,” Charly replies with a laugh. “And they want the scoop.”
“I think I’d like the scoop too.”
Van tilts her head, watching me. “You know the scoop. My brother’s in love with you.”
“He’s never said that.”
The women all look at each other, then start laughing.
“Oh, darlin’, it’s written all over his handsome face,” Callie says and pats my shoulder. “Trust us. He’s smitten.”
“Well.” I don’t know what to say, so I just don’t say anything at all. Suddenly, Ben walks in through the back door, and stops short when all of us are staring at him.
“What did I do?”
“Nothing. Are you guys talking about Mallory?” Gabby asks.
“Psshh,” he says, completely lying. “No. We have other things to talk about than women.”
“Right.” Charly rolls her eyes. “Tell Simon that I’ll fill him in later.”
Ben grabs a few beers from the fridge, glances at Van with the same lovesick eyes he had as a teenager, and walks back out of the house.
“Speaking of someone being smitten,” Gabby says, but Van pins her with a glare.
“I’m not discussing this again. Stop it.”
“Sorry,” Gabby says, holding her hands up in surrender.
Mrs. Boudreaux passes the baby back to Gabby. “I should get the bread in the oven.”
“Do you have a moment to talk privately?” I ask her.
“Of course, darlin’,” she says and nods at Callie. “Can you put the bread in the oven?”
“Sure thing.” Callie winks at me as I lead Mrs. Boudreaux to the living room, and turn to see her eyebrow cocked.
“Have you been here before?”
I bite my lip and curse myself. I shouldn’t be walking around in here like I own the place.
“Of course not, I’m sorry.” I clasp my hands at my waist, wondering if this is a huge mistake.
“You can say whatever is on your mind.”
I nod and take a deep breath.
“I don’t know if anyone has told you that I have some abilities that are, well, different.”
“Yes, I heard all about the séance,” she says with a smile. “Sounds like it was mighty interesting.”
I nod, relieved that she doesn’t seem to think I’m a basket case.
“Well, I would like to pass along a message. I spoke with your husband the other night.”
I expect her to go pale, to sink into the nearest chair, to act shocked. But instead, she just smiles at me, so I keep going.
“He’s with you quite often.”
“Oh, I know that, dear.”
“You can see him?”
“No, but I feel him. I smell him. I talk to him all of the time.”
I relax more, relieved that I’m not going to be thrown out on my ass.
“Well, it seems my message isn’t needed, but he loves you very much.”
She nods and reaches out to hug me tightly. “This may not be news to me, but it sure is wonderful to hear. Thank you, sweet girl. Now, let’s go eat.”
Chapter Fourteen
~Mallory~
I’m standing in an unusually chilly rainstorm with Lena and Miss Sophia, next to my Grandmamma’s grave two weeks later. Today is the worst day of the year for me. I grieve, just as if it happened last week.
“I can’t believe it’s been ten years,” Lena whispers and loops her arm around my shoulders. I lean my head on hers as Miss Sophia steps up to my other side and gently takes my hand in hers.
“It’s been a blink of an eye,” Miss Sophia says and gives my hand a squeeze. “Do you see her?”
My head whips around. “No. I can never see her. Can you see her?”
She looks over at me with sad eyes. “I can always see her.”
“So unfair,” I mutter and let all of my psychic walls down, opening myself up completely, hoping with everything in me that I might catch just a glimpse of her. “Can you see her, Lena?”
“Only in dreams,” Lena says. “Seeing the dead isn’t one of my gifts, and I’m perfectly okay with that.”
“You should be, especially when we’re in a cemetery,” I reply and look around us, at all of the spirits that seem to drift between the headstones. It looks like something out of a movie.
But it’s not. It’s real. And I don’t like cemeteries in the least. It’s the one place that creeps me the fuck out, because I can see hundreds of spirits all at once.
But never Grandmamma.
“You can close it up,” Lena says softly. “I can feel the tension, Mal. You don’t have to keep yourself open here.”
“I might see her,” I reply and tighten my hold on Miss Sophia’s hand. “So, on this day, I’ll keep myself open.”
“Well, then we’ll stay with you,” Miss Sophia says with a nod. “She loved you fiercely.”
“Not fiercely enough to stay.”
Her gaze whips over to mine. “Do you think she chose death over you?”
“She chose to continue to use her gifts, knowing that it could one day be too much and take her away.” I shrug, surprised that I’m still harboring so much bitterness. “And it did finally do just that.”
“Children,” Miss Sophia mutters with a deep sigh. “Mallory—”
But before she can continue, I’m suddenly drowned by darkness. I can feel Miss Sophia and Lena, but I can’t see them.
I can’t see anything. But I can feel the evil that has washed over me. It’s absolute and painful. A bright red light rises into the sky, casting everything in the deep, blood red.
Menacing red.
Fucking horrible red.
The other spirits have fled, and I’m trapped where I stand as a dark mass begins to take form.
“Darkness be gone, this child I protect.” It’s Miss Sophia chanting. “Touch her no more, as I command it, so mote it be!”
She repeats the words, getting fiercer each time, until the black mass retreats, and suddenly we are standing in the cold, wet cemetery again, just as we were before.
“It’s gotten stronger,” Lena says, holding on to me like her life depends on it.
“Thank you,” I say to Miss Sophia, still clutching her hand. What in the actual fuck was that? I’ve never felt anything so strong, never experienced anything like it in my life except when we were at the inn for the séance. But this is a hundred times stronger.
“Are you going to finally talk to me about this?” Miss Sophia asks, her eyes fully dilated, her blonde hair still swirling in the breeze that the spell conjured.
My mouth opens and closes, as I’m completely dumbfounded. I turn to Lena. “Did you tell her about before?”
“Oh, I should have,” she replies and rolls her eyes. “I sure should have.”
“How did you know?” I demand.
“Darling, that’s what I do. I cook and I know things.”
“Wasn’t that a Game of Thrones line?” I ask my grandmother’s headstone, trying to lighten the mood while I also try to figure out what in the hell I’m going to say.
“Why didn’t you bring this to me immediately?” Miss Sophia demands.
“Because it wasn’t important enough to tell you,” I reply and wither under her glare. Miss Sophia is the gentlest soul I know.
And the most powerful witch in the south.
She’s kind of a big deal.
I’m prepared for her to let loose with a rare moment of yelling, so I’m shocked when she simply takes a deep breath, closes her eyes to let it out, and says softly, “I should have told you this long ago.”
“Told me what?”
“Yeah, told her what?” Lena adds.
“First, tell me exactly what happened the first time you encountered this being.”
I frown and glance at Lena. “We were at the séance.”
I pause and st
are up into the sky. It’s still raining, soaking us, but we don’t run for cover. We hardly feel it at all as I keep talking.
“I had just finished talking with the spirits who had something to say, and I hadn’t put my guard back up yet.” I glance over at Lena. “She was holding my hand to ground me, since I hadn’t done anything like that in years.”
“At least you thought to do that,” Miss Sophia replies.
“It had gone well,” I continue, “and the girls seemed happy with what they heard. And then suddenly there was a…a darkness. That’s the best way to describe it.”
“Did it speak?” she asks.
“No, I slammed the door and it was gone. It happened in less than two seconds.”
“That’s plenty of time.” She sighs and shakes her head, paces away to stare off for a moment, then nods and returns to me. “I should have talked to you about the circumstances of your grandmother’s death years ago. But, I was trying to spare you any fear and pain that would come with the knowledge.”
“I know how she died,” I reply with a frown.
“You know some of it,” she says and turns to walk back to the car. “I’m cold and wet, and so are you. Let’s go back to the house where it’s warm, and I have my things around us to keep us safe, and I’ll explain it all.”
“I don’t think I’m going to like this,” I mutter to Lena.
“I can guarantee you won’t. I don’t know what she’s going to say, but she’s got her stern look on, and that always scares me.”
***
“Have a seat,” Miss Sophia says when we’re settled in her kitchen with hot tea. We take our places and sit, waiting anxiously to hear what is going through her head.
“First of all, I want to tell you that I’m very disappointed that you didn’t come to me sooner with this.”
“I truly didn’t think it was important,” I say again. “It was so fast, and after I shut it out, it hasn’t come back until now.”
“It is important,” she replies adamantly. “Did you feel it too?” she asks Lena.
“Oh, yes,” Lena says, nodding. “And she’s right, it was fast, and then it was gone. Otherwise, I would have told you myself.”
“If this ever happens again, you come to me right away. Do you understand?”
We’re both flabbergasted as we nod in agreement. I’ve never seen her like this. She looks scared, and that makes me shiver to the bone.
“What is going on?” I ask. “And how does this have anything to do with my grandmother?”
“You know that she died because an evil presence embedded itself inside her head so deeply that she couldn’t defend herself.”
Lena and I both nod.
“But you don’t know how or why that happened.”
“It happened because she chose to help the police find missing children,” I reply. “And she did. Hundreds of them. I may not love that it eventually took her away from me, but she helped families and she was proud of that.”
“Yes. And she chose to do that because her own daughter had been kidnapped and killed when she was a little girl, and she couldn’t find her.”
I gasp and sit back, my jaw dropped, and feel the world fall out from under me.
“That’s not true.”
“I’m so sorry, sugar, but it is true.” She reaches over to pat my hand, but I sit back out of her way.
I can’t be touched right now. I don’t want to feel the pain or see the memories going through her head.
“She never mentioned it.”
“No, she never spoke of it. And your parents died when you were so young, there was no one else to tell you.”
“Except you.”
Lena hasn’t said anything. Her eyes are glassy with unshed tears, and she’s staring across the room, as if she’s trying to process it all.
“It wasn’t my place to tell you when your grandmamma was still alive,” Miss Sophia replies gently. “And then when she was gone… Well, how does one bring up that conversation?”
My mouth is suddenly dry. I take a sip of tea. “Why are you telling me now?”
“Because it’s what put everything into motion. That sweet little angel Melissa—”
“Melissa was my aunt’s name?” I ask.
“Yes. She was only five when she was taken. And your poor grandmamma tried so hard to be able to see where she was. But it was no use. She couldn’t see it, and a week later, Melissa was found. She didn’t survive.
“And then your grandmamma was a woman on a mission. She wasn’t going to let other families go through what she and your grandpapa did. Her only goal in life was to help children come home safely, and later, to take care of you.”
“But how could it kill her?” I demand, still not fully understanding. “She would never tell me, she just said that it was dangerous, and she was willing to do it if it meant she helped even one child be reunited with their family.”
“Evil is strong,” Miss Sophia replies. Her voice is strong again, almost emotionless as if she doesn’t want to give the word any power at all. “My sweet friend was the strongest psychic I knew. Well, until you.”
I stare at her in horror. “Me?”
“Oh, yes. You.” She nods sadly, then continues. “She was powerful, and she was just so good. She had trained herself to translate symbols, to listen, to know. It was years in the making, but she was the best there was. She didn’t even need to hold a piece of the victim’s clothing, or go to where they lived. She could reach out and search from her living room.”
“I can travel that way.” I think of the dream a couple of weeks ago, and how I often travel to different places in my dreams.
“Yes, you have many of the same gifts,” she replies with a smile. “And many other different ones. The dangerous part of opening your mind to find evil is that you’re essentially giving that evil a door to walk into if you’re not careful.”
“So, a living person, also psychic, walked into her head and killed her?”
“I know it sounds impossible, but essentially yes. Another powerful, evil psychic living man did just that.”
“And what does that have to do with what happened today?”
“I believe it’s the same man,” she replies, completely throwing me.
“What? No. That man went to jail.”
“He was admitted to a hospital for the criminally insane because he was given an insanity sentence,” she replies and everything in me goes dead cold.
“He’s out?”
She nods.
“And how do you know it was him?”
“Because I can see him,” she replies and that’s it. That’s all I can handle.
I stand and begin pacing, tears streaming down my face.
“I don’t psychically see living people,” I say, feeling everything in me begin to break. “I see them once they’re dead.”
“Yes, and that’s one of your differences.”
“So why is this happening?”
I’m just lost. I don’t understand, and I don’t want it.
“That detective called you,” Lena says, as if she’s just woken up and joined us.
“What detective?”
“I think her name was Detective Williams? Wait, she’s a lieutenant now.”
“In New York?” Miss Sophia asks, her eyes wide and not a little frightened.
“Yes,” Lena replies. “Remember, Mal?”
“Of course I remember,” I snap.
“He’s back at it,” Miss Sophia says and closes her eyes, letting out a long breath. “He’s hurting people again.”
“I can’t help,” I reply. “And yes, that makes me feel like an asshole, but I don’t have the same abilities that Grandmamma had, and I can’t help!”
“I’m not telling you to help,” Miss Sophia says. “But he’s worried that you will try to help, and he’s targeted you.”
“How does he even know about me?”
“He might have read the obituary,” Lena says. �
��You were mentioned in it.”
I shake my head and continue to pace back and forth, too wound up to sit down. “I didn’t ask for any of this.”
“None of us ask for it,” Miss Sophia replies.
“Some do. Some search it out. I never wanted it. I just want to be a normal woman, who owns a store and has an awesome boyfriend.”
“But that’s not all you are,” Lena says and shrugs. “I’m sorry, but it’s the truth. You’ve always had a hard time admitting it, accepting it, but it’s who you are, Mal. You need to start seeing the glass as half full.”
“Really?” I demand and snort out a laugh. “The glass is half full because I can see dead people and a crazy psycho psychic is trying to kill me? Seems like the glass is half empty to me.”
“You’re missing the point,” Miss Sophia interrupts. “The point is, the glass is refillable. Fill your glass with the love of your man, and your successful shop, and your family and friends. And when the glass empties because of the unpleasantness of your gifts, go back to those places to fill it up again.”
“Stop being smart,” I pout and swipe the tears from my cheeks. “Why didn’t Grandmamma tell me all of this when she was still here?”
“Because you already didn’t want it,” Miss Sophia responds with a resigned shrug. “She knew you were resistant to it. She didn’t want to push you into embracing something that you didn’t want.”
“But I don’t have a choice,” I reply.
“She loved you,” Lena adds and pats my shoulder. “She was also being a parent. She wanted the best for you. Maybe if you embrace some of your abilities, it will enhance your life.”
I smirk. “Right.”
“Something to think about,” Lena says with a shrug.
“In the meantime, what do I do about the asshole trying to get inside my head?”
Miss Sophia’s eyes narrow. “I have to do some research, make some calls, and think. You keep your door shut and your walls up, at all times. I’m sending home some fennel, agrimony, and osha root.”
“I hate the taste of that stuff.”
“You’re not going to drink it, you’re going to bathe in it,” she replies as she fills bags. “This should protect and repel. Stay guarded.”
“Okay, I get it. I’ll protect myself.”