Remembrance

by Avery Kloss

  “Bingo,” I murmured. “This is witch stuff, but where’s the spell information?” I remembered what Gabe told me, to look for a notepad or notebook or something to that effect.

  Opening the cabinet, I found an assortment of crystals and rocks, with essential oils and a broom. Clothing items hung from a hanger, with a pair of shoes at the bottom. Not seeing anything useful, I shut it. Voices reached me, but the women were supposed to be watching TV. It sounded as if heavy feet came up the stairs. I flipped the switch on the wall, which plunged the room into darkness.

  “Who’s there?” demanded Anna.

  Although invisible, I felt entirely vulnerable, fearful of being found snooping in someone’s house. This was supposed to be easier. The damn cat had seen me—somehow, now Anna and her mother knew I was there. I had nowhere to go, the only exit being the way I came. As the door swung inward, I scrambled to hide beneath the table, where I crouched between two chairs. With my heart pounding in my chest, I held my breath.

  Oh … man.

  35

  “I know the light was on,” said a voice I recognized as Anna’s. “It just went out. Stuff like that doesn’t happen on its own.”

  From where I hid, I saw her bare feet. The hem of the nightgown ended below her knees. Her face suddenly appeared before mine, because she glanced under the table.

  “Where are you?”

  “What’s happening?” asked another voice, which belonged to her mother.

  “I saw light under the door, then it went out.”

  “There’s no one here.”

  “It’s just weird.” The cabinet door creaked open. “I can’t shake the feeling someone’s here, Mom.”

  “You can do a ‘reveal yourself’ spell. That should do it.”

  “I guess.” She opened a closet door, and rummaged around from the sound of it. “Who are you? Where are you?”

  I held my breath, and prayed they would leave.

  “Snickers was upset about something. That cat has a sixth sense.”

  “You’re just paranoid, sweetheart.”

  “No, I’m not.” She went to the window, and peered out. “I could’ve sworn I saw a man standing there under the trees. I know I’m not hallucinating.”

  “Well, I’m paranoid. I hate dealing with vampires. They’re the worst, they really are. They always bring trouble. Your grandmother found that out the hard way.”

  “Then why did you agree to speak to him?”

  “I didn’t have much choice.”

  “Yes, you do. You could’ve told him to go away.”

  After a moment of silence, I peeked out from beneath the table to see what occurred, the older woman with a frown on her face.

  “He’ll have to be dealt with.” Her tone changed dramatically, heavy with anger and fear. “I won’t be bullied by him. He’s not going to tell me what to do.”

  “But you spoke to him voluntarily, Mom. He’s a scum-sucking vampire. Tell him to go to hell.”

  Who were they talking about? Did they have a conversation with Gabe? Is that the vampire they were upset with? The answer came a moment later.

  “He came back to town to bully us,” said Anna. “He thinks he can use us to do his dirty work, like what he did with grandma, but I won’t do it!”

  “No, me either. That’s why we have to find a way to get rid of him once and for all. I’ll not have him meddling in my life the way he did with Crystal. Someone has to take a stand.”

  I chewed on a nail, wondering whom they spoke about.

  “There are strange forces at play,” said Anna. “I can feel a shift. There’s something weird going on with Brie Thompson. I met her the other day. She’s in Suzie’s house. I felt better about that place when Mrs. Weintraub owned it. We didn’t have to worry about anything then, but with Brie … I don’t know. I don’t trust that ghost as far as I can throw her. She wants revenge. She blames us.”

  “This’s why I refuse to have anything to do with vampires. Time means nothing to them. They never forget or forgive. Crystal helped one destroy the other, and I’m sure he’s never forgiven her.”

  “Which is why I’m pissed you spoke to him, Mother. Don’t encourage the bastards.”

  “I told him I’d be of no help. I owe him nothing. He can’t harm us, Anna. He can’t come inside this house or the other. We made sure of that. As long as the vampires stay out, they have no power.”

  “But now we can’t go out in the dark. We’re the prisoners.”

  “For a while, until this passes. There’s no one here. Let’s get back to our show.”

  “Then why did the cat go crazy?”

  “Who knows?”

  I watched two sets of feet move towards the door, and I breathed a sigh of relief. After they had gone, I waited a good moment before crawling out from beneath the table. My mind spun with all the things I had heard, wondering who they spoke about and praying it wasn’t Gabe. I had not found what I needed to rid my house of its spell yet. It had to be here … somewhere. I went to the window, and glanced out at the front lawn, where a nearby streetlight added some illumination, but not much. I had to hurry.

  Leaving the room, I took to the steps carefully, fearful of making them creak. The sound of conversation reached me, the women back to the first floor. Not having succeeded in my quest, I took a moment to snoop around the bedrooms, pulling open drawers on night tables and dressers, silently rummaging around. On a messy desktop in one room, I turned on a lamp to see better, finding a stack of bills, with a laptop computer, and a thick, old-looking journal beneath a magazine.

  The words, Book of Shadows caught my attention, the title written by hand in a thick, black font. Opening it, I sucked in a breath, excited that I might have found what I searched for.

  Oh, my God. This is it, but where’s the spell?

  Page after page of writing greeted my interested gaze. The edges worn and stained revealed the age of the book. This was a collection of magical workings including love spells, protection spells, success spells, and others. There were also recipes for ointments and lotions and candle making. Flipping through, I began to despair that I might not find what I needed, going back to where I saw a list of protection spells towards the beginning, those pages the most worn out. I skimmed over the writing, seeing a list of ingredients, and wishing I had one of those new, fancy phones so I could take pictures.

  A voice in the hallway made me jump. I quickly turned the lamp off. Terrified I had been caught again, I dropped to my knees and hid on the other side of the bed, as someone approached.

  “That’s it,” said a voice I recognized as Anna’s. “We’re doing a ‘reveal yourself’ spell, because something’s not right.”

  “I’ll grab the book.”

  “Thanks, Mom.”

  A light came on in the room, footfalls approaching. Anna’s mother took the journal off the desk, and left with it a moment later. I gritted my teeth, displeased that I had not been able to better read what the protection spell entailed, feeling irritated by my lack of success.

  They’re going to find me, if I don’t get outta here!

  I waited for them to go downstairs, where I heard them talking. I jumped to my feet and dashed out the door, careful on the steps to not make a noise. The women spoke in another room, and prepared to cast a spell to flush me out, but I would not be here for that. I opened the front door and slipped out into the cold of night, where I ran towards the trees in the yard, and hoped to find Gabe.

  He stepped out from behind a bush. “That took longer than expected.”

  “We gotta get outta here.” Despite being invisible, my footfalls were far from quiet. I twisted the ring around my finger, and wished to be seen again. As I walked, my booted feet materialized. “I didn’t get the damn spell!”

  “Great,” he uttered, guiding me through the yard towards the trees. “It’s okay. We’ll work on it in another way.”

  “They’re doing a spell right now to flush me out. They knew I was
there.”

  “Yeah, not surprising.”

  “The stupid cat knew I was there.”

  “You need to practice breaking and entering better.” A smile appeared.

  “I heard them talking about vampires. They want to keep you guys out of my house and their house for some reason.”

  “I know that.”

  We stopped walking, and stood amongst the tombstones in the cemetery on my property. I lifted my chin to speak to him, his face pale in the moonlight. “They said something about some vampire bugging them, bullying them. Is that you?”

  He frowned. “What?”

  “Someone’s annoying them. Someone they don’t like. He’s caused trouble before. They didn’t say his name.”

  “That’s not me. I generally stay far away from witches.”

  “It’s someone who knew Anna’s grandmother, Crystal. A vampire she dealt with.”

  He blanched, his face even whiter now, if that were possible. “No.”

  “That’s what I overheard. He’s back in town, I guess, whoever he is.”

  “That would be Thorn then.” He appeared less than pleased, his frown pronounced. “There are rumors he’s been seen. This is why you and I shouldn’t be around each other. He’s a vindictive bastard, that one. He can’t let anything go. If anyone should be upset, it’s me. He’s responsible for Suzie’s death, so is Crystal. They were in cahoots with one another.”

  “Then it’s not you,” I murmured, mulling over everything I had learned tonight. “I’m sorry I didn’t get the info about the stupid spell.”

  “Did you find a magic workbook at all?”

  “Yes, something called a Book of Shadows. It looked like an old notebook. There were tons of spells and things in there, but that’s when Anna came and interrupted me. I didn’t have time to do anything other than hide.”

  He shook his head. “That’s unfortunate.”

  “I can break in again when no one’s home. I never should’ve gone in there with them there. That was stupid.”

  “They won’t be reckless enough to leave the door unlocked again. They might put another spell on the place to keep everything out. They’ll cover their tracks better now.” He stared into the distance. “Do you remember anything about what you saw in that book? Anything?”

  I bit my lip, and searched my brain, trying to visualize the page I read. “Not much. Just a list of ingredients, stuff like four glass jars with lids—”

  “That’s it.” A smile appeared.

  I snorted. “How’s that it? How can that help?”

  “It’s worth a try. It’s pretty basic, from what I recall. The jars are filled with whatever they deem needed for the spell and placed at various locations around a structure. If you find the jars, you can weaken the spell.”

  “I don’t recall seeing any jars laying around, Gabe.” The wind blew hair into my face. I shivered, and wrapped my arms around my chest. “How am I gonna find the jars? They’re probably buried.”

  “Exactly.” The grin remained. “I’ll get you a metal detector. Glass jars have metal lids. It’s that easy.”

  “Really?”

  “I’ll help you find them. Now, let’s get you safely home. If Thorn’s around, I don’t want you outside at night, all right? You have to be very careful about that.”

  “Okay.” I fell into step with him, seeing the outlines of my house between the branches of the trees. “So, you really think this will work?”

  “It might. I’m glad you went over there. If Thorn’s in town, that’s information I need to know. He’s not going to pull his old tricks again. That won’t happen this time. I won’t let him.” His cold hand closed around mine. “I’m going to protect you, Brie. I failed Suzie, but … I’m not going to fail you.”

  36

  Safely in bed, I closed my eyes to sleep, although various thoughts kept me awake until I eventually drifted off. At some point near dawn, the dream came again, and it played out the same as before. I stood at the edge of a meadow, where I felt a rush of anticipation. The man across the way approached, his form a blur. He was the one I was meant to be with—the only one. Before his face came fully into view, I woke. I opened my eyes to streams of sunlight stealing around the edges of the curtains.

  Tossing back the blanket, I gazed at the room. I heard my mother’s hairdryer from down the hall. Yawning, I slipped from the bed and padded over to the door, where I smelled fresh coffee, my senses perking. In the kitchen, I thought about the protection spell, and what it might take to remove it.

  “Hello,” said mom, smiling. She poured herself a cup of coffee.

  “You got home kinda late, didn’t you?” I had already been in bed. “Isn’t that like breaking one of your rules? Not being out late on a work night?”

  She smiled mischievously. “It’s not my work night. I don’t have to worry about it. People aren’t showing up until ten. It’s Jack who has to work, but it didn’t seem to bother him.”

  “What does he do again?” I had asked him, but it slipped my mind.

  “Medical sales or something. He does a lot of work from home.”

  “And he lives here?”

  “Seems so. He’s been around a long time.”

  “How do you mean?”

  “He knows this town in and out. He knew who first owned the house. He actually spouted off a bunch of names of all the people who’ve lived here. He knew Mrs. Weintraub.”

  “Okay.” I sipped coffee, and mulled that over.

  “When are you going to come clean?”

  “What?”

  “You’ve a boyfriend.”

  “I do not.”

  “You do. I heard you on the phone the other day. You were teasing him about something. It sounded super flirty.”

  “I’m sure it was me talking to Maven.”

  “I don’t think so.”

  I had wanted Gabe to meet my mother, but how would that work with him being a vampire? “I … do kinda like somebody.”

  “I knew it. There’s a certain sparkle to your eye. You’re so happy, Brie. It makes me really happy to see it.”

  “I guess things are looking up for both of us.”

  “What’s his name?”

  I debated whether or not I should tell her. “You have to keep it to yourself, okay?”

  “Who am I gonna tell?”

  “I don’t know, but you can’t tell anyone.”

  “Fine.” She smiled coyly. “My lips are sealed.”

  “Great.” I grinned. “His name’s Gabe. He’s a little older than me.”

  “How old?”

  “I think he’s like twenty-three or something.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes. I’m almost twenty. I’m the oldest damn senior in school, Mom.”

  “I'm aware of that.”

  “Anyway, he’s … nice. I want you to meet him, but not yet.”

  She assessed me thoroughly, a keen look in her eye. “You’re a smart young woman. I have to trust you know what’s best for you. After everything you’ve been through for the last couple of years, I hope you find a nice guy. You deserve it.”

  “Ditto. The same for you.”

  “I’m not having a ton of luck with men lately. I’ll keep my options open. I’m just dating here and there. It would take an amazing man to even make me think about marriage again. I’m so far off that; believe me.”

  I got up. “You do you, and I’ll do me, and it’ll be awesome.”

  She giggled, “It will be. I don’t need a man to complete me. I’ve everything I could want now. I hate to say this, but if your dad was still alive, I never would’ve moved here. You would’ve continued to be depressed, and … nothing would have changed.”

  “I’d rather dad be here.”

  “Me too. I don’t want that to sound like he’s to blame or anything. I don’t blame him. It’s just everything’s different now. His passing opened up some possibilities I never thought to consider. I’m just trying to make the
best of it. I don’t want to grow into the old widow, you know? I do want a significant other, but I’ll be patient. I can wait for the right guy.”

  Something struck me then, this feeling that I had always known who my right guy was, but the timing was off. Lately, the meadow dream came with increasing frequency, at least twice a week, but what did that mean?

  “You didn’t have a fight with Maven, did you?”

  “No, not at all.”

  “You look a little distracted.”

  “Just thinking about stuff. I gotta get ready for school.”

  She nodded over the brim of a pink mug. “Have a nice day, honey.”

  “I hope so.”

  I had not been home five minutes when UPS delivered a package, mom carrying it into the kitchen. “You know, I don’t think I ordered anything. They must have the wrong house.” She glanced at the mailing label. “No, it’s for us. Did you buy something?”

  I had just finished doing several equations, a math book open. “Huh?”

  “It’s from Amazon.”

  “What is it?”

  “It’s addressed to you.”

  “I didn’t buy anything.”

  “Well, this is yours, whatever it is.” A loud crash distracted her. “Good Lord, what was that?” The electrician arrived earlier to change several lights. “I gotta take care of it. I hope nothing broke.” She left the room, and the package on the table.

  I glanced at the box, seeing the name of the person who sent it. “Gabe. What is this?” Using a knife, I cut through the plastic tape, and opened the lid to find a metal detector. “Oh, that’s what it is.”

  Mom appeared. “He dropped a screwdriver from the second floor. That sure was loud.” She eyed the box. “What did you get?”

  “Um … something silly. My friend sent it to me. It’s a metal detector.” I quickly made up a lie. “I told him how old the house was. He thinks I … might find some coins outside and stuff. Maybe there’s a box with money buried.”

  “Really? He sent you a metal detector?”

  “Yeah, he’s … an unusual kinda guy. We … kinda roll like that.” I pulled it out, with a small booklet for instructions. “Do we have a 9V battery?”