I studied Annabelle’s heart-shaped face and was suddenly glad to be wrong.
“From all the movies I’ve seen,” Blue said, “when trauma occurs in death sometimes it curses the soul to stay behind until they figure out why they’re still tethered to whatever it is they’re tethered to.”
“Oh, you’ve seen that in movies, have you, sis?” I said with a heavy dose of sarcasm.
She just stuck her tongue out at me. I was about to apologize for my sister’s nonsense, when Annabelle said, “I have thought of that and think that maybe you’re right. Something is keeping both Jules and me here. And I think it could be whatever it was that attacked you upstairs, Dante.”
Her words were little more than a whisper by the end.
Blue sipped on her tea with a thoughtful expression.
“So you’ve felt that darkness before then?” I asked her.
She nodded. “All the time. But it’s always been outside of the house. It’s never come inside before.”
“So what’s changed?” Blue asked, peering over the rim of her large bright red and white polka dotted Minnie Mouse mug.
“I don’t know.” Annabelle held my gaze fast. “But whatever that is, you’re safe now,” the words were said for both of us, but somehow I felt like she meant them for me alone.
Any thoughts I might have had earlier of leaving Blue alone in Blue Moon Bay were long gone. There was no way I could leave my sister alone with whatever that thing was.
And maybe there was more to it than that, but that was the only reason I was ready to accept at the moment.
“For now.” Blue took a sip. “But what if it comes back?”
Annabelle looked at me for just a second longer, before turning her eyes almost reluctantly back toward my sister. “I...I think that maybe it’s time we talk to a witch.”
“A witch?” I lifted my brows. “What can they do?”
“A lot more than you might think. I know I’m the ghost here, but the truth is, I’m just as baffled by the afterlife as you guys. I have no idea what that darkness is and until now, it’s never been much of an issue for me or anyone who’s visited me before. I left it alone and it left me alone. But the other day...” she trailed off, “I dunno, something happened. I thought it was just me it wanted. But if you say—”
“My picture flew off the dresser,” I said in a rush. Blue frowned, and Annabelle blinked rapidly.
“What?” They both said at once.
“I...I thought it was just random. I tripped and I thought that maybe I made it happen, but it got cold then too.”
Blue leaned forward and smacked me on the back of my head so hard I accidentally bit down on my tongue.
“Blue!” I glowered, rubbing at my cheek. “What the—”
Her scowl was firmly set in place. “And you’re just telling me about this now?”
I rolled my eyes. “Look, I didn’t want to overreact.”
“Oh, I’ll give you overreact.” She shook her fist at me. But beneath all the bristles, I knew my sister was worried for me, and it was that worry that caused this reaction from her.
Annabelle sighed deeply before saying, “Was that all that happened?”
I nodded, still rubbing my cheek. I was pretty sure I tasted blood on my tongue now. “Yeah, that was it. But it didn’t linger long. And after you left...so did it.”
Her mouth turned down into a soft pout. “I’m so sorry, Dante. I just don’t understand what’s—”
“It’s obvious though, isn’t it?” Blue looked at us both. When neither one of us answered, she rolled her wrist. “Something has been triggered. But why? That’s the question. Nothing’s attacked me so far. Now that it’s alive...or awake, or whatever it is, will it come after me next?”
Annabelle frowned. “Whatever it is, it’s gone. Completely. And the sage will ward it off for a few hours at least. Long enough to get a witch and find out what we need to do to rid ourselves of it once and for all.”
Setting her mug down, Blue clapped her hands. “And then maybe you can finally move on too. I bet you’d love that, Annabelle.”
Annabelle blinked and her smile looked wan as she said, “Yeah, sure. Leave.”
For just a second her eyes met mine. I curled my fingers tight around the handle of my mug, biting down on my bruised tongue and saying nothing.
“Dan...Dante,” Annabelle stuttered, “perhaps you’d be so kind as to drop by the Three Aunts’ cottage and see if one of them is available to séance? I would go, but I’m sort of stuck here.”
I chuckled and so did she. Though I felt she suddenly didn’t find it funny at all. I couldn’t believe I was even thinking this, but I didn’t want to leave her. Even if that meant staying in the house that had tried to attack me just minutes ago. When Annabelle was around I forgot to panic, forgot to stress out about money, or my current jobless status, or even that freaking ghost trying to eat me or kill me or whatever the heck it’d been doing. When I was with Annabelle, I felt calm and centered and more in control than I had since Mom’s passing. When she was with me, the world made sense again.
Which made no sense, since we didn’t know each other at all. But I wanted to know her. That was the most depressing part about all of this. I’d never even felt this alive and excited around Lili. I could see the monotony in a way I’d not seen it before.
“Yeah, he’ll go, and I’ll go with him. Gimme a second to shower,” Blue said before nodding at us and standing.
I didn’t know when she’d walked out and left us alone. All I knew was suddenly it was just Annabelle and me. Again.
She was frowning as she looked at me.
“I’m surprised you’re not ready to run away yet, Dante. I know I would be in your shoes.”
I grinned. “When that thing went through me I won’t say I didn’t consider it. But the truth is my life is pretty much in the can right now.”
Her rosebud lips turned down. “That’s not true.”
I snorted. “You’re just saying that because you’re nice. But I’ve officially become a bitter country song.”
She giggled, and the sound of it was light and airy. And though all of what I’d said was true, I couldn’t help but grin back. Being around Annabelle made me happy again. Made me see hope when I really had no right to.
“So you see, I’ve got nowhere else to be and no one to miss me.”
“I’ve been wondering, Dante.” She stopped talking as she started to fiddle around with her nails. The action was so incredibly alive and human that I found myself grinning as I leaned in toward her.
“Anything. You don’t have to be afraid to ask me whatever’s on your mind. I’m an open book. A boring one, but open.” I shrugged and she grinned.
“Well, the truth is, I was just wondering about your family. Your mother in particular. That picture you have upstairs, you and she seemed like carbon copies of each other.”
My brows lifted high, impressed that she’d so easily clued into that, liking the fact that she was so observant and clearly as intrigued by me as I was by her. “Mom... was... a single parent, and she died almost eight years after dad. Cancer.”
“Oh, that’s so sad.” Her brows lifted high. “What’s her name?”
I liked the fact that Annabelle spoke about Mom in the present and not past tense. But then again, dead didn’t necessarily mean gone either. I was coming to figure that out.
“Corrine Martin. First generation Sicilian, she came to America for a better life, met my dad at a renaissance faire some of her friends dragged her to, and as they say, the rest is history.”
She gasped. “You’re Italian? Oh, I love Italy!”
“I’m only half. My father was Irish and is probably why Blue’s got that flaming red hair. He was a lot like Blue. What little I remember of him, which sadly isn’t much anymore. All I remember was that he was a ball of fire, always on the go, always dreaming up his next business venture. Mom was his highest aspiration though, she was everything to
him. And the fact that she was Italian didn’t hurt. Italy is beautiful. I used to spend lots of summers there with my Nana and Papa, until they died a couple years ago too. I swear, if I think about it too much it feels like my family is cursed.” A frown tugged at the corners of my mouth. Realizing this was getting far deeper than I meant it to, I gave her a brief smile. “Anyway, enough about me. What parts of Italy did you see?”
“Oh, well,” she shrugged and blushed that rosy blush I was coming to enjoy seeing. “I’ve seen picture books and in cinema too. Roman holiday has always been one of my favorites.”
I chuckled. “You gotta get out more.”
“Yeah, it’s what they tell me. Kinda stuck here though.” She spread her arms, and though she smiled, her eyes had lost some of their shine.
“You know, Annabelle, maybe Blue’s actually right. Maybe getting to move on would be the best thing for you. I can’t imagine it’s been fun being trapped here all alone.”
She breathed deeply. “I’m not always alone. And...and it hasn’t been all that bad.” Her gaze flicked briefly to mine, before glancing away and staring vacantly at the wall behind the fridge. “Even death has a way of surprising me every now and then.”
She and I shared a private smile.
And in the silence that followed I found myself thinking again the one question that had been hounding me ever since I’d met her.
“Why do you think you’re stuck here, Casper?”
The soft smile that’d graced her full lips just a moment ago slipped, and she looked at me with a sudden sheen of tears burning in her eyes. I regretted the question the moment I asked it.
“I’m...I’m...”
She held up her hand. “It’s okay, don’t apologize. Like Blue said, maybe you deserve to know. The truth is I did something...terrible.”
I held my breath, unable to fathom that Annabelle could ever do anything bad.
“Alright, I’m ready.” Blue breezed in. “Let’s go, Dany.”
We both startled, and the breath I’d been holding was forced out of me in an audible rush. Annabelle had jumped back several feet, and was now looking down at the floor as she rubbed her upper arms with a worried frown on her face.
Blue never one to leave well enough alone said, “What’d I say?”
Clenching my jaw and more than just a little reluctant to leave, but knowing I had no justifiable reason to stay either, I slowly stood and pushed my chair back in. This conversation wasn’t over between Annabelle and I. There was a story there, something I hadn’t learned in my Google search of her. And I aimed to dig deeper. No, I didn’t want Annabelle to leave, but I did want her to finally find some peace.
I looked at Annabelle and she immediately turned to me.
“I’ll be here,” she said softly.
“We’ll be fast,” I said back.
She nodded stiffly and then vanished, and the empty feeling washed through me all over again.
What if I didn’t see her again for another two days? Or even longer this time?
“You coming or what?” Blue peeked her head through the kitchen door. “You guys are both acting so weird, I swear. Almost like you did when you were ten years old and crushing hard on...what was that silly girl’s name?”
I glowered. “Alicia Maddow. And stop it, Blue. Don’t be ridiculous.”
“Hey, she might be dead, but she’s just your type.”
“Blue!” I growled.
She just laughed.
Chapter 8
Annabelle Lee
I RETURNED TO THE LAND of the dead and called to Jules for a while. I needed to talk to someone who got me. Maybe Julian could no longer talk back to me, but he knew me. Inside and out. He could help me make sense of what was happening inside of me.
This strange feeling of needing and wanting and panic and fear that was infecting me all at once. I paced the riverbank littered with dead weeds and discarded heaps of rotting trash.
Thank God the dead lands didn’t smell. I imagined if they did I’d not be able to stomach it. Blue light radiated across the scummy river water looking slick with oil and floating fish heads.
Life literally couldn’t flourish in this place, but for some reason the quiet of purgatory helped me to clear my head.
And right now the thoughts filling them were confusing and scary.
What if Blue and Dante were right? What if solving my murder could untether me from my haunted home? What if I could finally leave? What if Jules could too?
I bit my bottom lip and growled as I paced faster. Whipping back and forth, to and fro with the manic frenzy of a whirling dervish. Shouldn’t the thought of being free make me feel something other than dread?
All my living life I’d been a nomad, never content to settle down in one place for too long, filled by a desire to go and see the world. Being trapped in Blue Moon Bay for almost a century though had fundamentally altered me. Where once the home had been my prison, now it had become my refuge and solace. It was the comfortable known in a world that so often made little sense to me anymore. Inside the doors of that house I could shut it all out. The noise. The confusion of time moving too fast and yet not fast enough. The ever-present changes in technology. And even the morality of the modern day that would have easily embraced my laissez faire attitude of the 1920s. In that house I was in a world that still made sense.
Suddenly the roll of the waters moving caught my attention, and I frowned. Squinting, I watched as the concentric rings grew bigger and spread wider.
Was something down there?
I cocked my head and then gasped when I spotted a bump pop up, quickly taking form and shape.
“Eerie!” I squeaked the second I spotted the white-blond hair of my friend.
“Ugh, that was so gross.” She gulped as she sputtered water off her mouth and swiped the hair out of her eyes.
“What in the devil are you doing in deadman’s pool?” I asked as she paddled awkwardly toward shore.
Her limbs contorted in the oddest fashion as she cut through the waters, and I knew she must not have been much of a swimmer in life because she reminded me of an uncoordinated orangutan. By the time she reached the river’s edge, she flopped over onto a withered patch of black grass and gasped.
“I swear I must have swallowed fifty tons of bilge.” She burped, groaned, and shuddered.
Forgetting about my own problems for a second, I patted Eerie’s back as she coughed up more brackish water. She’d never looked more like a horror movie zombie than she did right now with her pruny skin and coated in muck and mud. I curled my lips, but said nothing. She’d hate knowing I’d even thought it. Eerie’s zombieness was a source of vexation for her.
“What were you—”
Blinking bloodshot eyes up at me, she shook her head. “Don’t ask. Just don’t ask. And what are you doing here anyway, Annabelle? Why aren’t you with your human?”
“Huh?” I twitched, pulling my hand back as if scalded and cupped it in my lap. “He’s not my human.”
For a moment she looked completely confused, but then a slow smile tugged at her pale lips and her colorless eyes sparkled. “Oh, really. He, you say. I was talking about Blue, but I’m assuming you were talking about her very hot and sexy twin.”
My jaw dropped as mortification burned up my neck. “What? No. I uh...I misunderstood you,” I ended lamely.
She snorted and finally worked her weary way up onto the bank, her arms trembling like soggy noodles. Whatever she’d been doing, it’d spent her completely, and I couldn’t help but be curious.
For anyone but the dead to touch the waters of deadman’s pool would spell instant disaster, but even for us dead it wasn’t pleasant. I’d once dared to dip my toe into its calm surface and hadn’t been able to stop shivering for hours afterwards. Eerie had completely submerged herself.
But why?
I studied her, noticing she wasn’t wearing her typical attire of carney clothes, but instead was merely in silky black u
nderthings. Why had she gone for a dip in the pool? And so scantily dressed at that? What could possibly be so important that she’d brave such a trial?
She looked at me, her pretty face giving nothing away. Her white-blond hair hung limp around her shoulders.
“There’s nothing for you here, Annabelle,” she said softly. “Stop being afraid and face whatever it is that plagues you.”
My brows twitched and I shook my head. “Who says anything plagues me? I’m fine. I’m—”
She grabbed my hand and squeezed gently. Her touch burned like winter frost and made me shiver.
“Do you honestly think I sent out that advertisement for nothing, Annabelle? It’s time my friend. Time to face your monsters. Time to face your past if you have any hope of moving on.”
My stomach sank like a rock to my knees. “Why is everyone in such an all-fired rush to have me move on? What if I like it here? What if I’m happy here? What if I don’t want to go anywhere?”
Pale lips twitched as she gave me a sad sort of smile. “But shouldn’t the choice be yours? Shouldn’t you always be able to choose what you want?”
Her voice wavered, and I sensed her words were not for me alone. There was a thread of something there, pain maybe, fear too. I wasn’t sure. But then she smiled and I knew it wasn’t a real one. She was hiding her own secrets, and it made me unaccountably sad.
“Why now?” I asked into the heavy cloak of silence that’d fallen over us.
She looked contemplative for several long seconds before she finally said, “I’ve known you a great many years my friend, even before I too died. And if I’d been in your shoes, I’d have wanted someone to do it for me too. Don’t be afraid of the unknown, Annabelle. Meet your destiny with your head held high, no matter what comes in the end. Too long you’ve been bound by the mystery of your death. You have the chance to do something about it now, so do something about it, Annabelle. That’s all I ask. Do it deliberately and don’t look back.”
“And you?” I asked her with a lump in my throat. “I could give you the same advice.”