Familiar Spirits (Twilight Hollow Witchy Cozy Mysteries Book 1) Read online

  I crossed my arms to keep my hands from shaking, then took a deep breath. “Alright, detective. You might want to sit down for this.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  “Are you sure you don’t want some tea?” I asked again, curling my legs on my living room chair, teacup in hand.

  Logan sat on the couch stiff-backed, hands grasped on knees. “All I want right now is an explanation.” He had sent the officer scheduled to watch the house home, saying he would take the first shift himself. Apparently he intended to use that time to interrogate us.

  Callie leaned against the wall near the kitchen entryway. She had washed off her face mask, and changed back into jeans and a long-sleeved tee shirt. “Just tell him, Addy. We have more important things to discuss.” Her words were punctuated with Luna banging a hammer in the kitchen, putting boards left over from my new back fencing over the broken window.

  I set my tea on the coffee table, then leaned back. “What you saw was indeed a ghost, but it wasn’t a normal ghost. Normal ghosts can’t shatter windows. Something is making this ghost stronger than it should be.”

  Spooky hopped in my lap and curled up. I stroked him absentmindedly as I waited for Logan to reply.

  He rubbed his face with his hands and shook his head. “This doesn’t make any sense. I can believe that ghosts are real, but this sort of thing just doesn’t happen. Ghosts are supposed to be something you just see out of the corner of your eye, something that can’t hurt you.”

  I glanced at Callie, who shrugged. Having him already believe in ghosts was at least a good start.

  “I think you know what you saw,” I said to Logan. “Now you can either listen to my explanation, or you can forget about it and pretend it never happened. None of us will fault you for the latter.”

  He lifted his head from his hands. “I wish I could forget, but that’s not going to happen. Especially not since the ghost accused you of murdering him.”

  My mouth went dry. I was hoping he would forget that part. “I told you, I don’t know why he said that.”

  Luna came back into the room with her hammer in hand. “I can tell you why he said that. Someone is manipulating that ghost. They are making him believe that you killed him, and they are giving him the power to retaliate.” She gave me a meaningful look. “Someone or something wants you gone, Addy. Or they at least want you scared.”

  The wheels seemed to turn in Logan’s mind as he watched us. “If all of that is true, what about the break-in? Why would this . . . ghost snoop around your house if it already knew you murdered it?”

  It was my turn to bury my face in my hands. “I don’t know. Maybe he was looking for proof that I murdered him.” I lifted my head to meet Logan’s waiting gaze. “But there was nothing to find, because I did not murder him.”

  He watched me for a moment. “So say I believe all of this, what or who made the ghost think you murdered it?”

  I glanced to my sisters. “That’s what we need to find out.”

  “How?” Logan asked.

  Luna lowered her chin and gave me a knowing look. “It’s time to call mom, Addy. We can’t go down to that grave without her.”

  I flopped back against my chair. She was right.

  “Has Neil’s body even been buried yet?” Callie asked. “That could pose a problem if it hasn’t.”

  Logan watched with wide eyes as our world unfolded before him. “The body was buried yesterday after the medical examiner released it. The widow declined the opportunity to organize a funeral.”

  “Call mom,” I groaned. “I want to seal Neil in his grave before he gets the strength to come back.”

  Logan stood abruptly. “You’re telling me that thing can come back?”

  “We banished it temporarily,” Luna explained. “We still need to bind it to its grave. If we’re lucky, whoever is controlling it will show themselves then.” She pulled her cell phone from her pocket and went into the kitchen, presumably to call our mother.

  Spooky nudged my hand for more pets.

  Logan was looking back-and-forth between me and Callie. “How can you both be so calm? You’re talking about going to a graveyard to bind a ghost and draw out someone who wants Addy dead.”

  I leaned my head back to look up at him. “Glad to see you’re still care.”

  He rolled his eyes. “I know you’re not the murderer, Addy. I trust my gut, but I still don’t understand how you can be so calm about this, how this all seems so normal to you.”

  Callie laughed as she pushed away from the wall. “Hasn’t anyone told you, detective? We’re witches.” She strolled into the kitchen, leaving me alone with Logan.

  He stared at me. “Was she joking?”

  I probably should have been worried about revealing our secret to Logan, but I was too tired and shaken up to care. “What do you think?”

  He sat back down and went quiet.

  I pet Spooky, giving Logan time to process. There wasn’t much else for me to say.

  For better or for worse, the cat was out of the bag.

  Forty-five minutes later the matriarch of our little clan walked through my front door. She was tall and wiry like Callie, but she had my ginger hair, and Luna’s chocolate brown eyes. She wore a flowy, patterned dress done in earth tones, with a deep green cardigan on top.

  Though I stood back with both my sisters, my mom’s attention went straight to me. “You should have called sooner, Addy.”

  I glowered. “I was handling it just fine until Neil’s ghost showed up.”

  My mother waved me off as Logan stood from the couch.

  “You must be the detective.” She walked across the room toward him. “Welcome to our world. I’m Imogene O’Shea.” She held his offered hand a little bit too long, and I wondered what sort of reading she was getting from Logan.

  My mom’s gifts weren’t as strong as Luna’s in that department, but she had been practicing them a lot longer. Any of us could have worked on the psychic side of our gifts if we wanted to, but we all had our own natural inclinations. My mom’s was working with the dead.

  Logan furrowed his brow as he took back his hand, and I once again wondered if he could sense a hint of magic. He’d had the same expression when he first shook Callie’s hand.

  As my mom turned away from Logan, Spooky came in from the kitchen, rubbing his body against the wall of the entryway.

  She crouched down in front of him. “Ah, the new familiar. It’s nice to see you again.”

  I stared at her back. “What do you mean again?”

  She stroked Spooky’s fur, then stood to face me. “This cat was once my sister’s familiar. She had him when we were kids.”

  I was so stunned, all I could do was just stand there like an idiot blinking at her. My mom’s sister had died when they were teenagers, so I’d never met her.

  Luna was the first to regain use of her words. “Mom, Ida died over forty years ago.”

  Logan had moved a little closer to me. He might be totally freaked out by all of us, but it seemed I was the safest option. He shook his head. “Cats don’t live that long.”

  My mom raised a thin brow at him. “Mundane cats don’t live that long.” She shifted her attention to me. “This cat has been waiting for you for a very long time, my dear. I wonder if you inherited some of my sister’s gifts.”

  “That’s not possible,” I argued, “I’ve never been able to channel.”

  Luna and Callie’s lips twisted with identical expressions of worry. None of us had to say what we were thinking. Ida had been able to channel. She could take in energies, either from the dead or other beings, and let them speak through her mouth. The ability had driven her mad, and had resulted in her death.

  Logan cleared his throat. “Sorry to interrupt, but maybe we should talk about Neil Howard’s ghost.”

  My mom gave him a brilliant smile. She was like that, her mood could either light up a room, or cast everyone in darkness. “My, how readily accepting you are of our world.
That will save us some time.” She stepped back near the couch so she could look at all of us. “We’ll need to go to Neil’s grave at the witching hour. The binding ritual is relatively simple, but we’ll need to be prepared if whatever is controlling the ghost shows up.” Her dark eyes fell on me. “This thing is after you, Addy. We need to find out why, because even if we get rid of Neil’s ghost, it could still send others.”

  I swallowed the lump in my throat. I might have had my issues with my mother, but I was glad she was here. “Just tell me what I need to do. I have a familiar now, I’m strong enough to help.”

  Her smile held too many secrets, things she kept from us all. “I imagine you are. Now let’s get to work. We have much to prepare.”

  Logan stepped close to me as my mom started discussing things with my sisters. “What is channeling?” he whispered. “You and your sisters seemed upset about it.”

  I knelt and lifted Spooky off the floor, standing with him cradled in my arms. Could he really be the same cat Ida had? “It’s a dangerous gift, probably more of a curse. When you can channel spirits, they tend to haunt you, wanting another chance at life.”

  “Do you think that’s why this,” he hesitated, lifting a hand as he grasped for the right word, “thing is after you?”

  I shivered at the thought. “I don’t think so. I’ve never actually been able to channel. The only thing me and my mom’s sister have in common is this cat.”

  He looked down at the cat in my arms. “I am taking a lot on faith here, but I can’t quite bring myself to believe that this cat is over forty years old.”

  I gave Spooky a light squeeze. “There are a lot of strange things in this world, detective. Just because you don’t believe in them, doesn’t mean they’re not real.”

  “Are you trying to tell me the truth is out there?”

  I wrinkled my nose. “I take it I’m Mulder in this situation?”

  “Something like that.”

  We both watched my mom and sisters huddled together. It was always like this, I was the odd woman out. “You’re a strange man, detective.”

  “You should probably start calling me Logan. I think we’ve gone way beyond regular police work.”

  I lifted a brow. “Don’t tell me you’re planning on coming to Neil’s grave with us.”

  His expression went serious as he turned to me. “You’re in danger, Addy, and I swore an oath to protect the innocent. What kind of cop would I be if I let you and your family go to that gravesite alone?”

  “A smart one. You’re a mundane, Logan. You don’t understand what we’re dealing with.”

  “Well you have a few hours to explain it to me.” When I looked a question at him, he clarified, “Your mom said the witching hour. Some believe that means midnight, while others dispute that it would be 3 AM. Either way, we have a few hours to kill.”

  My eyes went wide. “Have you been reading up on witches?”

  He shrugged. “You started out a suspect, and a lot of people in town claimed you were a witch.” The corner of his mouth ticked up. “Not that I believed it at the time, but I did my research just in case you thought you were a witch.”

  “And what do you believe now?”

  His back straightened as my mom and sisters broke their huddle and turned toward us. “I think I’d just like to get through this night,” he muttered, “and figure it all out come morning.”

  It was a sound plan, and exactly what I had been thinking. “Well then here’s hoping we all live to see the sunrise.”

  He looked to my family, then to me. “Was that supposed to be comforting?”

  “No,” we all said in unison.

  Logan sighed. “I didn’t think so.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  We arrived at Neil’s grave shortly before midnight. I had explained to Logan that the witching hour wasn’t so much an hour as a window of time. Any time between midnight and 3 AM would do. That was when the veil was thinnest, and our powers were at their peak.

  Spooky trotted near my feet as my boots slid through the damp grass. I could sense dark energy all around, concentrated at a single spot not far off. That had to be the location of Neil’s fresh grave.

  Luna carried a satchel with the candles, herbs, and sea salt needed for the ritual. She had picked up her familiar, a raven named Ollie, from her house. It had provided me a bit of amusement watching Logan pretending not to glance at the raven perched on her shoulder.

  Callie’s familiar, a gecko named Sir Vincent, was less obvious riding in her little fanny pack.

  My mom had never possessed a familiar as long as I’d been alive, and she never shared why that was. She was a powerful witch, powerful enough to attract a magical animal companion to enhance her magic, but she never tried. It was just one of many mysteries about my mother.

  We reached the grave. The marker was a simple rectangular plaque in the grass. Passing through the dark magic surrounding the grave was like passing through quicksand.

  I glanced over my shoulder at Logan. “You may want to step back for this part.”

  He took a few steps away toward an older gravestone. “Is this good?”

  “Sure.” I wondered if he would sense a bit of the ritual standing as close as he was. It might spook him a little, but it wouldn’t harm him since he was among the living.

  Luna walked around the grave with the sea salt, forming a white oval. The salt was meant to keep the spirit contained while the binding ritual took place. She dusted her hands, then started placing white pillar candles around the outer edge of the oval.

  Callie and my mom stood close together, watching on silently. We all knew what to do, but my mom would be the guide to bind our magic together.

  Spooky pressed against my leg. Danger. The word echoed through my mind.

  “Something’s wrong,” I blurted.

  My sisters glanced around, but my mom’s attention remained on the grave. A small green light formed near the headstone, pulsing and growing larger.

  My mom’s eyes darted to Luna. “Light the candles, now.” She took Callie’s hand. “Start chanting.”

  I hurried over, taking Callie’s other hand. We started chanting old words taught to us as soon as we could talk, mostly Latin with a few other near-dead languages thrown in. I forced my words through my tightened throat.

  Luna finished lighting the candles, then tossed herbs over the flames before running to take my mom’s other hand.

  The green light grew, and with it the presence of dark magic. I didn’t dare take my eyes off the grave to look for Logan.

  Spooky pressed against my calf. The moment he touched me, my magic seemed to flow more freely.

  Callie’s voice came out high and strained, “It’s not working!”

  “That’s because that isn’t Neil’s ghost,” my mom snapped.

  As if he’d heard his name, Neil’s ghost formed beyond the green light. He was hardly visible, still weakened by what we’d done to him at my house.

  He hovered over his grave, pointing a finger at me, through the light. “Murderer!” he howled.

  I squeezed Callie’s sweaty palm. “Who told you that!”

  “Murderer!” His spectral form expanded, growing until it pushed against the salt circle.

  The green light swirled large enough to look like a star brought down to earth, then shot into Neil’s chest.

  “It’s giving him power,” my mom’s words cut through my sisters’ chants. “He’s going to break the circle.”

  Neil became more solid, but impossibly large, filled with a pulsing green glow. He pressed his hands against the invisible barrier of the salt circle. The magic stretched like a rubber band in my mind.

  Channel him, a voice went through my thoughts.

  I glanced down at Spooky to find him staring up at me.

  Channel him, the voice said again.

  “I don’t know how,” I gasped.

  The magic of the salt circle broke with an audible pop. Neil's ghost r
adiated with green light, growing ever larger to loom before us.

  Do it! The voice echoed in my ears, though I knew it was just in my mind.

  “Curse it all,” I growled, pulling my hand free from Callie’s.

  I ignored my sisters’ shouts and jumped directly into the ghost. My body went ice cold. I collapsed to the ground, and it took every ounce of effort just to roll myself over. The green light and the dark magic presence were gone. I couldn’t sense it anymore.

  But I could still sense Neil’s ghost. I could sense it because it was inside of me.

  My body sat up of its own volition, looking at my sisters and mom with seething rage. Logan was just a few steps behind them. He had his gun out, but didn’t seem to know where to point it.

  Words spilled out of my mouth, directed at me. “Let me go, witch.”

  Callie gasped. “What’s happening?”

  Luna stared at me, but it was my mom who answered, “She channeled the ghost. All we can do is wait and find out who is stronger.”

  I staggered to my feet, or I guess Neil staggered to my feet. I wasn’t in charge anymore. “Let me go!” My head whipped toward Logan, noticing his gun. “Shoot me.” My body shuffled toward him. Neil was controlling my steps, but he was having difficulty. “Shoot me!”

  Wide-eyed, Logan stumbled back, pointing his gun skyward.

  My mom stepped between me and him. Her dark eyes seemed to bore into my skull. “You have to fight it, Addy.”

  “I can’t,” I gasped, regaining control for just a heartbeat.

  I fell to my knees, hunching over. I couldn’t feel anything beyond Neil’s hatred. He didn’t actually know who killed him, he couldn’t remember, and he wasn’t sure why he thought it was me. He didn’t know where the idea had come from, so imbued with dark magic, he’d broken into my house to search it.

  I warred with his thoughts, wishing I could communicate, but nothing could cut through his anger and confusion. I was losing my hold on my own mind.