by Sonia Parin
Cat must have felt something too because it launched her into more chanting. “Come to us Mirabelle. Show yourself. No harm will come to you here.”
A light breeze swirled around Lexie. She braced herself. Would Mirabelle point the finger of accusation at her? Would she try to seek her vengeance from the great beyond?
“She’s here,” Cat murmured. “I can sense her bright spirit approaching. Mirabelle.” Cat’s voice hitched and rose. “Mirabelle.”
A glowing light bloomed above them. Lexie and Jonathan stared up, their eyes wide.
“Okay, this is actually very bad. I did not kill Mirabelle. And, if I did, I have no recollection. Surely that has to count for something.”
The light glowed brighter, hovered for a moment and then swept around the room.
“Mirabelle? Is that you?” Cat asked.
The light answered with a moan, which was followed by a distinct meow.
Lexie gulped.
“Venus?” Luna swung toward Lexie, her tone loaded with accusation. “Did you kill my sister too?”
Lexie had never met Venus or Mirabelle in person. However, if… and that was a big if, she’d killed Mirabelle then, it stood to reason, she might also have disposed of Venus—Mirabelle’s feline companion and Luna’s sister.
“Is she talking to you from the great beyond?” Lexie asked.
“Didn’t you hear the meow?”
“That could have been any cat,” Lexie reasoned. “I’ve never heard you meow.”
“No, but if that’s Mirabelle then chances are Venus is with her. She would never abandon a High Chair.”
“Really? What about her nine lives?”
“A powerful witch could figure out a way around that.” Luna gave her a pointed look.
“Mirabelle? Can you tell us what happened?” Cat asked.
The glowing light swept around the room and moaned.
“Mirabelle!” Cat exclaimed. “Talk to us. We need to get to the bottom of this.”
Lexie sunk into her chair. Had she really killed her cousin?
“Maybe it’s too soon for her to be able to communicate,” Cat said. “I imagine she must still be in shock, especially if she died a brutal death.” Cat slanted her gaze toward Lexie.
“Hey. This isn’t conclusive evidence. You said it yourself, you’ve never performed a séance.” Lexie pointed at the light. “You don’t know that’s Mirabelle. She hasn’t identified herself. That could be anyone. There must be countless spirits floating around waiting for someone to call them.”
The meowing grew louder. Luna’s eyes widened. “Venus? What did she do to you?”
Lexie narrowed her eyes. “Wait a minute.” She surged to her feet and took a swipe at the light.
Luna screeched. “Venus. Run Venus. Run. She’s trying to kill you all over again.”
Chapter Ten
When the light swooped away and out of her reach, Lexie clambered onto the table.
“Don’t hurt her,” Cat called out while Luna continued to urge her sister to run for her life, adding that while she no longer had a life, she quite possibly had some sort of ethereal, otherworldly existence to enjoy.
When Lexie continued her assault on the light, Luna took a giant leap and landed on her head and dug her claws into her.
“I know we haven’t always seen eye to eye but she is still my sister.”
“Let go, Luna. It’s not Venus.”
“Just because she’s no longer in physical form doesn’t mean we’ve stopped being sisters. Venus. Venus, run for your… spiritual life. I forgive you all your transgressions and horrible taunting. Yes, it would have been lovely to have a more caring sibling, but obviously what didn’t kill me made me stronger. Save yourself. Run… or fly.”
“Let go of me, Luna. Can’t you see it’s Rebel.”
Luna stilled.
“Look. Look closely. You can see her wings fluttering. She’s created some sort of glowing light to disguise herself.”
Luna growled and took a swipe at Rebel who danced away from her and somersaulted backwards out of her reach. “I told you the fairy would be trouble.”
“Fairy?” Cat screeched. “What fairy?” She shot to her feet. “Where’s my broomstick.”
Lexie hopped off the table and straightened her clothes. “Okay. Let’s all calm down.” She hadn’t killed Mirabelle. “Rebel, drop the disguise and come down.”
“Rebel?” Cat shrieked. “You’re on first name terms with a fairy?”
Sighing, Lexie told her about going out into the forest and the fairies presenting her with a fairy of her own. “I tried to be diplomatic and turn them down, but they wouldn’t hear of it. Now she has nowhere to go. What do you want me to do?”
Huffing, Cat slammed her hands on the table. “Just keep her away from my blueberries.”
Lexie nodded. “I’ll make sure she doesn’t go anywhere near them. However, she has to eat…”
“Another mouth to feed,” Luna grumbled. “If that has a negative impact on my supply of Game Indulgence, I will eat her.”
“Is the séance over?” Jonathan asked. “I need to get back to my drawings.”
* * *
As she strode along the hallway, Lexie caught sight of her reflection in a mirror. Rebel hovered at a safe distance with Luna prowling behind her. She’d give them twenty-four hours to get used to each other. If they didn’t kill each other by then, all would be well. Lexie actually trusted Luna to behave herself. She knew she’d eventually come around…
At least she could never complain of being alone.
Strangely, this had been the quietest ten minutes she’d experienced in a long while. She could see Luna eyeing Rebel who’d shrugged off her charade saying she’d only been trying to help. She guessed Luna would bide her time and wait for Rebel to make a mess of things.
Luna finally broke the silence. “Are you wandering around the cottage aimlessly or do you have a destination in mind?”
“I’m trying to blow off some steam. Also, I need to focus. We haven’t made any progress and we can’t stay here forever.”
“So what’s on your mind?”
“Why do you ask?” Luna didn’t have to ask because she could actually hear her thoughts. Was she trying to include Rebel in the conversation?
“I can read your thoughts but my mind is otherwise engaged.”
Doing what? Lexie wondered. Plotting Rebel’s downfall? “Okay, here goes. Being dead wouldn’t stop Mirabelle from contacting us. In fact, she’d use it to her advantage to haunt me. Something’s happened to Mirabelle and we’re stuck here. She’s probably waiting for us to come to her rescue.” As she walked, Lexie looked out the windows. She saw flowers blooming in the blink of an eye and trees losing all their leaves only to sprout new ones.
“This could all be a ruse to get you out of the way,” Luna suggested. “Did you already reach that conclusion? I can’t tell the difference between a real memory and a fake one.”
Neither could Lexie. Who would want her out of the way?
Half an hour later, they were still walking along the hallway. Cat had said the cottage expanded according to her needs. Maybe she could do the same with her small apartment. That would please Luna no end.
“… It’s a case of out of the frying pan and into the fire,” she heard Luna say. “Don’t let her nonchalance fool you. Lexie is a hard taskmaster. She might not look it. Remember, looks can be deceiving. Sure, she’s been dragging her feet and grumbling about her responsibilities, but we are run off our feet solving one murder case after another and we don’t get hazard pay…”
Amused by her traveling companion’s one-sided conversation, Lexie glanced over her shoulder. She expected to see Rebel sneering at Luna. Instead, the fairy listened with obvious interest.
“Luna.”
Luna leaped forward. “Yes?”
“You know I can hear everything you’re saying.”
“Oh, good. I wondered if you were paying attention. It might help to know h
ow others perceive you.”
“Yes, but it might be too much information for Rebel.”
Luna purred. “She hasn’t complained yet.”
Lexie actually felt a pang of jealousy. She was used to chatting with Luna. Left alone with her thoughts, she struggled with the rising guilt inside her.
Despite all her disagreements with Mirabelle, and even if Mirabelle had gone too far, she would never have it in her to kill her. She simply couldn’t accept it.
She’d never be able to live with herself.
Lexie pressed her hand against her chest.
Luna resumed her conversation with Rebel. “Where was I? Oh, yes. Hazard pay. You’ll be lucky if you get something to eat. I hope you like pizza. That’s Lexie’s staple food. It took a great deal of fierce negotiating to secure a steady supply of Game Indulgence, and I have Mirabelle to thank for introducing Lexie to the gourmet cat food. You’ll have to figure something out for yourself, especially if you want blueberries.” Luna stopped and pricked her ears. “I sense something about to happen. We’ll continue our chat later. Oh, and remind me to tackle the subject of rank. I arrived first. That puts you second in line for her attention and you should really try to hover a couple of steps behind me.”
Even as Lexie tried to keep up with Luna’s chatter, a feeling of heaviness grew inside her. Stress could be a killer. Could guilt kill too? If she kept this up, she’d end up getting premature gray hairs.
She needed answers. Right now.
As Lexie reached the end of the hallway, she was about to turn back when she noticed the wall shimmering.
Luna sauntered past her. “Allow me.” She lowered her head and approached the wall with the wariness and caution of a seasoned soldier on a reconnaissance mission.
Prisms of light danced across the surface, scattering, coming together and spreading out again.
Luna looked over her shoulder at Rebel. “You stand back. Watch and learn.” Stepping forward, Luna studied the play of lights. “It’s organizing itself. Look. It’s forming a line, and another and… another.” Taking a small step back, her tail swaying in the air, she mused, “It’s forming the outline of a doorway.”
Lexie had to agree. Growing in intensity, the lights turned into flames and outlined the shape of a door. What if something wanted to come through?
“This might be a good time to arm yourself with a fireball,” Luna suggested.
Lexie shook her head. “That’s a bit premature. I don’t feel comfortable being the aggressor.”
“Do you wish those to be your famous last words?” Luna asked.
A tingling of bells rang throughout the cottage. Within seconds they heard hurried footsteps followed by a panicked announcement.
“Fire. Fire.”
Luna crinkled her little nose. “Cat must have a sophisticated fire detection system. I don’t smell any smoke.”
The steps headed toward them; Cat’s dainty steps joined by the firm thump of boots. Lexie guessed Jonathan had joined Cat in her fire warden duties.
He ran toward her, his arms waving. “Lexie. Step away from the door.” He waved a drawing at her. “Step away.”
With the outline of the door complete, the rest shimmered and disappeared leaving an opening. It looked like a mirror image of the hallway they stood on.
Rebel hovered over to Lexie and sat on her shoulder prompting Luna to hiss at her.
“What did I tell you about rank?”
“Luna, this isn’t the time,” Lexie warned.
Rebel jumped to her feet and planted her hands on her hips. “If you go through the doorway, I go through too.”
“You heard Luna. There’s no hazard pay. In fact, there is no pay,” Lexie warned.
Jonathan reached them and, grabbing Lexie’s arm, pulled her back.
“Hey.”
“Look at the drawing.”
“What about it? You drew us.” Twice.
He tapped the page. “That’s you and… That’s you too.”
“What am I doing on both sides?”
Cat’s voice cracked as she yelled, “Step back. I’ve got this.” Pushing past them, she aimed a fire extinguisher at the doorway. Foam shot out and splashed against the opening. While they could see right through it, the space actually appeared to be solid.
Cat stopped. “Oh… it’s not a fire. What is it? I mean, clearly it’s a doorway, but how did I not know this could happen in my cottage?” She swung toward Lexie. “Did you do this?”
“No. At least not intentionally. It just appeared.”
“Someone is approaching,” Luna said.
Lexie’s eyes widened. “I’m approaching and you’re right there with me.”
“I don’t see Rebel,” Luna said.
That had to mean something.
Luna looked over her shoulder at Rebel. “Perhaps she’s responsible for this.”
Right on cue, Rebel blew her a raspberry. “Why and how would I do that?”
The other version of them approached the doorway. “They don’t seem to be aware of us.” Lexie took a step but Jonathan’s hold on her tightened.
“It could be a trap,” he warned.
True. Lexie bit back the urge to tell Jonathan about the dark shadow she’d seen while meditating but then thought better of it. “Or maybe I came here to warn myself.”
“You shouldn’t be so quick to dismiss Rebel as a person of interest.” Luna leaped up onto Lexie’s shoulder and sneered at Rebel. “You planned this all along. Admit it.” When Rebel didn’t answer, Luna added, “We have ways of making you talk.” She drew her claws out.
“Luna. Put your claws away. Rebel is not there because… because…”
“Aha. You can’t think of a reason.”
Lexie turned to Jonathan. “Any ideas?”
“I’m thinking that could be an alternative space but if it is, it shouldn’t exist within this one. Also, why would a doorway open?”
And who had opened it? “It could be a bubble in space.”
“It’s a mirror image of my hallway,” Cat said. “I wonder if I’m on the other side too?”
Rebel fluttered her wings. Rising off Lexie’s shoulder, she hovered toward the doorway.
“Where are you going?” Lexie tried to free herself, but Jonathan wouldn’t let her go. She watched Rebel stretch her little hand out. “Careful.”
A spark shot out. Rebel snatched her hand back. “We can see through the wall but it’s quite solid.”
So they were meant to see it but not go through it. “What am I doing?” Lexie watched as her other version approached the end of the hallway. Instead of turning, she stopped and stared straight at the wall.
“Try waving,” Luna suggested.
Lexie lifted her hand and saw her other self raise her hand. “Okay. This just got weird.”
“I think I see someone else coming.” Luna pointed with her paw.
A faint shape approached the other Lexie.
“Your other self is talking. Can anyone read lips?” Luna asked.
“I don’t seem to be happy. I mean… my other self.” Her eyebrows had drawn down and her hands had clenched.
“Now there’s someone else approaching.” Luna took a step forward. “Oh… Oh, dear. It’s an O’Rourke detective and look at you flinging your arms up in the air. It seems your other version is just as cranky as you.”
Lexie stabbed her finger at the wall. “Hey. That’s Whip O’Rourke.”
“How can you tell?” Cat asked. “All the O’Rourke detectives look the same.”
Jonathan’s hold on her loosened. “Yeah, I think you’re right. That’s Whip.”
The other form became more defined.
Cat gasped.
Lexie whipped around. “What?”
“It’s… It’s Mirabelle.”
Lexie’s fingers curled into the palm of her hand.
Cat screeched, “No. You can’t kill her all over again.”
Facing the wall, Lexie gritted her
teeth and launched herself against the opening. As her fist made contact, the doorway shimmered and disappeared.
Chapter Eleven
“Can you remember what you were thinking just before the doorway appeared?” Jonathan asked as he inspected the wall.
“We were walking along. I’d been thinking about…” Guilt. Lexie silently groaned. She couldn’t afford to be burdened with guilt. “What’s that got to do with it?”
“You might have triggered it.” Jonathan tapped the wall and felt around for any gaps that would make sense of what had happened. Stepping back, he brushed his hand across his chin.
I’m going to get you Mirabelle. So help me, I will get you, if it’s the last thing I do. This time, you’ve gone too far.
“What?” Jonathan asked. “You just remembered something.”
“How can you tell?”
Jonathan looked at her and nodded. “Your eyes stopped blinking and your lips parted slightly.”
“Am I that transparent?”
They all nodded, then Cat said, “Although, sometimes you get that look when you’re craving pizza.”
Lexie scooped in a breath. “This time you’ve gone too far. That’s what I told Mirabelle in my dream.”
“What dream?” Cat asked.
“The one I was having when you all wrenched me out of my sleep,” Lexie said.
“And you wait until now to tell us?” Cat wailed.
“I told you. Didn’t I? I’m sure I did.” She must have.
“So what do you think Mirabelle did to get you all worked up?” Jonathan asked.
They all followed her gaze and looked at the wall. A stray thought slipped into her mind. Lexie gasped.
Everyone leaned in and said, “Yes?”
“I get the feeling she forced me to do something I obviously didn’t want to do. And she didn’t give me a choice.”
Jonathan snorted. “She’s always doing that.”
True, but this time she’d gone too far. Lexie pressed her hands against the wall and instantly jumped back. “Whoa.” She rubbed her hands against her thighs.
Rebel flew toward her and sat on her shoulder. “You should seek energy from the old Oak tree.”