by Rue Volley
The taller man cleared his throat and let his eyes float over me, but he recovered at breakneck speed. He extended his hand to my dad, and of course, my dad took it. He’s nothing if not polite.
The man stared at their hands in disbelief. Maybe he’s just awkward or eccentric. His reactions were confusing at best. Then he perked up.
Max nudged him. “I thought they were—” he muttered, but I heard him.
“Were what?” I asked, knowing what he meant. They thought I was leading him back to a compound where they would be able to take advantage of more people.
David shrugged his friend off.
“My name is David Dryer. I, well, the truth is we’re sort of lost. My assistant was supposed to have this tour all planned out, but my navigator is pretty bad.”
He pointed at his friend, who rolled his eyes. “I’m telling you; the GPS went out. All the electronics went—”
David ignored his friend and continued to talk to my dad. “Normally, things aren’t so disorganized, but I’m in the middle of, well,” he paused, and his friend leaned in and finished his sentence. “A divorce, a really messy one.”
I think his friend was trying to get him back for interrupting him.
My dad tilted his head while shaking his hand. I assumed he would ignore the personal admission that David had made, then he spoke, proving me right. “David Dryer, from that show on television?”
David smiled. “Yes.” He glanced at the man beside him. “And this is Max, my cameraman. The rest of my crew will be showing up tomorrow.” He pulled out his phone and shook it. “If we can get the phones to work.”
Max piped in. “I told you that all the electronics are out. Everything.”
My eyebrow cocked. “Not your camera.”
He cleared his throat and stared at it. Then he shook it. “The battery’s dead,” he added.
My dad eyed his phone and gave the nod. “Technology is mostly useless here.” He looked up at the sky. “It’s probably the trees and the storms.”
David paused to look at his friend. “So, you have no Wi-Fi here at all?”
My dad shook his head. “Nothing to speak of, but honestly, it’s fine. Peaceful, really.”
“What about a landline?” Max asked in a huff. Suddenly we weren’t so interesting to him.
My dad chuckled. “With these storms rolling in? It will probably be a few days.”
“Great,” Max muttered, but David ignored it.
“Well, we’d been investigating a disturbance in Salem, but it turned out to be nothing.”
“A disturbance.” I repeated, and David looked at me.
“Yes, we, well…” David tried to say, but my dad moved the conversation along as he’s known to do by looking at the sky and then back to him. He let go of his hand. “So, David, I take it that you and your friend need a place to stay tonight?”
David nodded. I stared at him for a second longer than I needed to. He noticed. A memory sparked, and I snapped my fingers. “You’re Arc Angel,” I said as I looked him over.
David grinned. “That’s just a stage name, but yes, that’s me, but most of my friends just call me Angel.”
The line between my eyebrows deepened. “You look different.”
Arc Angel was this very gothic guy from head to toe, and that’s not what was standing in front of me. David was wearing a white t-shirt, blue jeans, and black and white Vans tennis shoes. On the show, he had long black hair like Antonio Banderas in Interview with the Vampire and wore eyeliner. If anything, he reminded me of Chris Angel. I often thought about whether he straight-up ripped him off or just decided that Arc Angel was the catchiest thing he could dream up.
He scratched his nose then nearly sneezed. We waited until he waved a hand, indicating that it had passed. “Well, I cut my hair, and I don’t wear makeup anymore.”
Max leaned in. “Cancelled. The show’s been canceled for a few years.”
David glared at Max then snapped. “We’re on tour.”
“Self-funded,” Max muttered.
I pressed. “You look older.”
David narrowed his eyes. I think that Max and I could team up and have David down in under three minutes if we wanted to.
My dad spoke up. “Well, my name is Evan, Evan Ellis and this is my daughter, Harper, who you’ve already met, obviously, and the dragon was my son, Innis, the knight, Gunn, his twin, and my wife—”
My mom interrupted again, “Your wife is making dinner so wash your hands! All of you.”
My dad laughed and shook me from the side. “Well, you heard her, and her name is—”
My mom entered the room, along with the sweet scent of lavender. “Lindy Ellis; why don’t you come on in and shut that door? You’re letting every bit of the heat out. We have plenty of room. The storms are coming and along with it the winds.”
David held his hand up. “Are you sure? We don’t want to inconvenience you and your family.”
My eyebrow cocked. “Why? You had no problem playing on my empathy when you thought I was just a simple little girl—” My dad gently pushed me inside and chuckled.
David leaned to the side and smiled at me. “I deserved that.”
I relaxed a little. He was nice, as nice as a stranger could be, but he wasn’t here to make friends, and I wasn’t looking for any. He wanted ghosts, and all I could think is that he came to the right town.
The dead outnumber us ten to one.
Chapter One
My mom ran the brush through my long hair and then cradled a thick chunk of it in her palm, before working the bristles through another section. This was somewhat ritualistic for us. What was once bedtime stories and kisses on the forehead had now become this. It was also an opportunity to gossip, or chat, whichever you prefer to call it. It gave me that much needed girlie outlet that I didn’t know I needed. But I love my mom. It’s us against them — two to three. The boys outnumber us in this house, so we have to stick together. I’m sure she didn’t know she’d be tipping the scales in their favor when she got pregnant with them.
“I can’t believe you both let them stay,” I muttered.
I could hear my mom let out a sigh. “Now, Harper, you know that we have a generous nature, especially when people have been fooled by you.”
My eyebrows rose. “Fooled by me? Seriously, Mom. They took one look at me and decided to take advantage of me because of what I was wearing. I mean, honestly, they deserved a lot more than what they got.”
“Well, about that. You can’t bring people home like stray cats. What if they were serial killers?”
I laughed. “Well, typically, serial killers don’t run in herds, and this only happened once before, so this isn’t a real issue—and besides, they have a car in town. A car. It’s against the rules. All the rules.”
She stopped brushing my hair and turned me to face her. She leaned in and smiled. “I’m serious, Harper. Juniper Hollow is not the world. This place is small, sheltered. You have no idea how dangerous it can be out there, and the car will be dealt with in the morning, I’m sure, but for tonight, they can sleep here and not out there where the storms could do them harm.”
She was right, but I didn’t want to hear it. Many times, the branches would break, and limbs would fall. People had been hurt in the past, but that was a long time ago. Like forever.
I rolled my eyes. “Mom, I’m not naïve. I saw the camera, and I knew they were here to hunt ghosts. They’re just jerks looking to annoy the dead, and we protect them here, don’t we?”
She turned me back around and began to brush my hair again. “Then perhaps you should have turned them away, but regardless, please stop tricking these people. They would’ve probably moved along if you hadn’t led them back here.”
“No—their car sounds like it’s dying. I just—”
She interrupted me. “Harper Jay Ellis.”
My full name stopped me in my tracks. The Jay stands for jaybird, otherwise known as a blue jay, my mom’s favo
rite.
I fidgeted with my hands. “Fine,” I muttered. Although I didn’t feel like I had tricked anyone.
She shifted the conversation. “So, tell me about school.”
I scanned the room and set my gaze on the long window encased in wrought iron. This house has many of those, and cathedral ceilings lined in tin. I also have a fireplace in my room, as do my parents and the twins. I love the way the fire plays off the metal on the ceiling. It’s pretty but keeps the house chilled no matter what season we’re in. We also have one in the main living room that’s big enough for my brothers and me to step inside, and a black wood-burning stove in the oversized kitchen. The house looks tall and thin from the front, but it runs back on the property with a decent sized atrium that is attached to the back of the kitchen. My mom grows fruits, vegetables, and herbs for both consumption and spell casting, along with an ever-growing pumpkin patch that is now in the backyard after it tried to take over the atrium. Pumpkins are like that, who knew.
Totally invasive, sort of like the twins. It seems fitting since they stole Halloween.
I adjusted on my bed. “Same stuff, different year.”
“Whatever happened to Court? She was such a nice girl.”
“Boyfriend,” I grumbled.
She adjusted on the bed behind me. “And GG?” she asked.
“Another boy.” I begrudgingly admitted.
She snapped her fingers. “Oliver?”
“Same.”
She stopped brushing my hair and leaned around to look at me. “Boyfriend?”
I nodded; she smiled and began brushing my hair again. “I guessed that, you know?”
I grinned. “I know.”
“That boy was five years old, and I said—he’s such a gentle thing.”
I laughed. “Gentle doesn’t necessarily mean anything, Mom.”
She pulled my hair back and toyed with my soft ponytail, raking her fingernails through the length of it. “I was trying to be polite since his mother seemed a bit awkward about it.” She leaned to the side. “Does she know?”
I bit my lip. “I don’t think he’s ever told her.”
She straightened up. “Ah, the poor thing. Well, if he needs anyone to talk to, you make sure he comes here. I’ll gladly be his boy mom. I’m certain we can survive one more male in the house, don’t you?”
I sighed. She meant it. I hoped that Oliver had told his parents, but who knows? It had been a little while since we had spoken. Boys had taken all three away from me and made me kinda bitter. I had always been a reader, but I dove into my books when that happened. I felt betrayed, although I guess they can’t help it.
Puberty is the devil.
My mom pulled back the comforter. I slid underneath and rested my head on the pillow filled with goose feathers. The back of my skull sank into it as my eyes drooped. She sat down next to me and reached in, cupping the side of my face. I have her eyes, almond-shaped and bright green. My dad has brown eyes, nearly black. The twins got one of each. Innis got brown, and Gunn got green. Funny how that works. At least it makes it easier to tell them apart.
“You should reach out to them. All of them. Will you do that for me now that Fall break has ended?”
“Mom, I’m okay.” I spoke through a yawn.
Her eyebrow cocked. “Books are wonderful things, but they don’t take the place of your friends.”
My nose wrinkled. I didn’t agree, but I wasn’t going to argue. She’s stubborn, just like me. The battle would never be won, and besides, the longer I laid here, the more I wanted to sleep. I felt like I hadn’t in years.
I admitted defeat with a nod, “Okay, fine. I’ll say hi tomorrow.”
She leaned in and kissed my forehead. “Please do more than that, Harper.”
“Okay, pinkie promise,” I whispered. She reached in and wrapped her pinkie around mine.
“Yes.”
We both looked up at the ceiling when we heard footsteps. They were too loud to be spirits. My dad must’ve put those two men in the attic. It’s a beautiful place up there, full of books. I had claimed it as my own, so they better behave and leave my things alone. I crossed my arms over my chest and pursed my lips. My mom smiled at me. “Oh, honey. They won’t disturb your books.”
“How do you know?” I chided.
She leaned in and winked at me. “Because I’ll curse them both if they do.”
I half grinned. She would.
My mom stood up and glanced around the room. “It’s getting chilly in here. Would you like for your dad to start a fire?”
I nodded. It would be nice to have one. I’m perfectly capable of starting one myself, but just like the brushing of my hair, this had also become ritualistic for me. I fall asleep as he makes the fire. He enjoys doing it, and I feel safer because of it.
Sometimes habits are good. It’s soothing to do the same things over and over again. Gives things structure and purpose. Without my friends, I felt lost and lonely. I didn’t hold out hope that things would go back to normal, but I would say hi to them as had I promised my mom I would do. She’s all about forgiveness and moving on. She treasures our family and what friends we do have, as well as this town and so does my dad. It soothed me to think about those things as my eyes grew heavier.
My mom stepped up to the door and paused while looking back at me with that smile that only she could produce. “Make sure you talk to your friends, maybe invite them over soon, okay?”
I nodded. Again, I didn’t want to disappoint her. “I don’t know what we’d do here.”
She tapped her chin. Then her eyes sparked with an idea. “What about a club?”
I pushed myself up on my elbows and stared at her. “A club?”
She nodded. “You know, like a book club.”
I paused. It wasn’t a bad idea.
She grabbed the handle and smiled again. “Anyway, I’ll send in your dad to get a fire started for you.”
I sunk into my pillow and pulled the comforter up to my chin. “Thank you.”
“I love you most,” she said as she slipped out the door and into the dimly lit hallway. I loved it when she said that. It started after Innis and Gunn were born. I don’t know; maybe she wanted me to know that she would never forget about me even though they demand so much attention. Regardless, it worked.
I tapped the top of the comforter and ran my hands across it. “A club,” I whispered. “Mmm.”
I turned on my side, determined to stay awake until my dad arrived, but my throat hurt and my eyes felt heavy. So, sleep came and with it, dreams.
Chapter Two
I woke up on the cold stone, staring at the ceiling of an unfamiliar place. I sat up, narrowing my eyes, trying to understand my surroundings, but soon it became clear. I slipped from the side, placing my naked feet to the stone floor, and stared down at my white nightgown. I noticed a door, so I approached it with caution and placed my palm against it, pressing as hard as I could. I became discouraged and took two steps back only to spot a butterfly. It floated by my face. Its bright orange wings stuck out against the gray blocks. It landed and then disappeared through a crack in the side. I took a short breath and leaned in to look through the hole. I narrowed my eyes and placed my hand against the stone. Then I started to see where I was.
Inside the mausoleum that I so loved to read against.
The door began to move, dropping dust and small chunks of rock at my feet. Finally, it opened up, and I had to cover my eyes from the blinding light, but before me a shadow emerged with an outstretched hand. I lifted my hand just as the shadow came into view and our fingers touched with sparks of light. Butterflies filled the room, and the nameless boy who had so rudely interrupted my reading pulled me forward and out into the light. I stared up at the blue sky, so beautiful, so perfect, so calm. Then he leaned in behind me and whispered in my ear.
I knew everything in an instant. Every little detail. Everything that had happened or would happen. A whole life’s worth of memories re
stored. A gift. His gift to me.
I gasped and then woke up to embers and ash. It was all gone. Every piece of knowledge that I had and my heart ached, but I didn’t know why.
The room was filled with a soothing, woodsy scent that I loved. The ache receded. The odd dream dissipated, leaving me ignorant but happy. I rolled over and stretched my arms, adding a yawn. I slid under the covers and battled against the heavy goose feather comforter for a few seconds. Bliss made way for anger. I jerked it down and glared at the ceiling.
Oh. No! Those men are here. Ugh!
I rolled out of bed, slid across the wood floor in one thick white sock and one black. I grabbed the doorknob and opened it, careful to be as quiet as I could. The twins sleep in the room next to mine, and it was too quiet for them to be awake yet. I stepped out, clenching my teeth as I navigated the wood planks, careful to avoid the ones that made all the noise.
I successfully reached the door to the attic and opened it with the same sense of caution. Then I crept up the stairs, ignoring how invasive or odd it may be. I reached the top and peered through the wooden railings and saw nothing. Nothing at all except for my books.
The men were gone as if they never existed.
Part of me was so relieved, and the other part was cautiously optimistic that they had been told to leave, taking with them that old broken-down car and their camera.
We didn’t need them here; no one did.
I ran back to my room and got dressed as quickly as I could. I approached the window and then noticed the time.
“Oh, no,” I grumbled. The clock hand sat at half-past seven. School starts at eight. I still needed to get dressed, navigate the halls, get to my locker, fight with my lock and then get to class before the first bell rang.
I got dressed as quickly as I could and rushed downstairs. My mom handed me a buttered piece of toast as I rushed by her. I didn’t even have time to ask about David and Max. Maybe it was best that I didn’t. I just wanted them gone.