As I paced, I wondered again about the vision I’d had. None of it made any sense to me. I could only come up with three possibilities. Perhaps my mom wasn’t nuts after all, and I had the same gift as she did, but if that was the case, it didn’t make sense that it only started taking effect when I got to the castle. I thought the place might really be haunted. I had seen the orbs, the invisible horses, the visions, and the teacher with the red eyes. Or, if it wasn’t either of those things, I had to be losing my mind.
Suddenly, big, strong arms wrapped around my waist, and I glanced up. His touch was electrifying, and chills shot up my spine. “Hunter!” I said surprised.
“Sorry about all that drama back there,” he said. “She just got in my face and started flirting and—”
“Don’t even worry about it. I’ve practically forgotten about it already.”
“You look troubled. Are you still thinking about what happened?”
I touched his hands that were still wrapped around my waist and wondered if I really looked that pitiful. “Um, uh…” I spun around and met his gaze.
“The vision of the castle being attacked?”
I let the tension out in my shoulders. “Yeah. I’m just wondering who that little girl was. She was so darn cute.”
He sat down on the couch and pulled me onto his lap. My heart was beating a million miles a minute. If he affects me like this now, I can’t imagine what will happen if he actually kisses me, I thought. I’d never been so attracted to anyone before—not ever. I used to laugh at my friends for acting so girly over it, but I knew if I ever found that special someone who could throw my heart into overdrive, I’d never let him go. The sky was filled with millions of stars, and somehow, I’d found the glittering one that had my complete and utter attention.
“I’ve got an idea,” he said.
I cocked a brow.
“Let’s investigate this little girl. Maybe she really did exist.”
“I’ve haven’t seen her in any of the books we’ve looked at.” I bit my lip. “But I’d love some proof to know I’m not crazy, ya know?”
“I wasn’t talking about books.”
“What then?”
“There’s one place in this big ol’ fortress that we haven’t investigated.”
I cocked a brow again.
“The graveyard.”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah.”
“I’m game, but maybe we should wait. It’s pouring rain and pitch dark out.”
“We’ll go first thing after school tomorrow.”
I gave him a fist bump. “Sounds like a plan.”
He smiled, and I grinned back at him, and again I found myself lost in those periwinkle pools.
***
I woke up in the middle of the night and found myself playing the piano. Was I having a dream or was this real? When I tried to stop playing, I couldn’t. It was if some unseen force was controlling my fingers as I glided them effortlessly across the keys.
“You’re losing the connection,” a man with a Scottish accent said.
I recognized the voice immediately. It was the same man I’d met the first time I had this weird piano dream. His name was William Benard Montour, and he was Isabella’s brother. He didn’t officially introduce himself to me, but I’d seen his name and picture in the history books from the library downstairs. Suddenly, a cold chill burst through me as I gasped for breath. It felt like something had left my body.
I stared at William and his dark shaggy hair. I figured him to be about twenty one years old. He was dressed in that same cutaway tailored coat, over a waist length satin waistcoat and dark breeches. He wore a brocade vest covered with a robin’s egg blue coat, with tan knickers and white hose. He had the same outdated necktie that looked more like a scarf trimmed with lace.
“What’s going on?” I whispered.
“You woke up,” William said.
I looked up into his green eyes. “You’re dead, William.”
“You’ve been doing your homework, I see.”
“You’ve got the accent, but you don’t talk like the people from my vision.”
“First of all, that was hundreds of years ago. Secondly, I know three languages and dialect. And since you’re from the United States, I decided to speak in fluent English. I’ve been teaching Isabella and Elizabeth how to speak to you, too, without the thick dialect.”
“You know Elizabeth?”
“I’ve been stuck with her for over 500 years…just like this dreadful outfit I’m in.”
I glanced around confused. “Why am I in the piano room?”
“Sorry, but that question is off limits. It’s time for you to go back to your room and get some beauty sleep.”
“No!” I defiantly shouted.
He gazed into my eyes with a smirk. “You’re so adorable. As if you ever had a chance of defying me.”
“You’re nothing like your sister!” I yelled at him.
The next thing I knew it was six a.m. Jumping out of bed, I walked over to my window and watched the rain pour down over the beautiful landscape. I could remember my dream clear as day. Why was I so consumed with playing the piano in the middle of the night when I was supposed to be sleeping? What did Isabella’s brother want from me? None of it made any sense. Now that William had talked about Elizabeth, I really needed to know if she existed. I yawned. I felt so tired and drained, yet, I was excited. After school, we were going to go look for Elizabeth’s tombstone. I was hoping to find some clues in the cemetery so we could get some much needed answers.
Chapter 7
It rained all day, and by the time we met each other after school, it was raining even harder. I was entirely bummed. As morbid as it sounded, I really loved the prospect of snooping around for clues in the graveyard, and something about being with Hunter made me feel brave and safe. I stared out the window at the pouring rain. “It’s never gonna stop. We’re in Scotland, remember?”
He had an adventurous gleam in his eye as he stood to his feet. “Then why wait?”
I tried to force my mind to go blank, but the thoughts simply wouldn’t go away. “You’re right. I need answers, and I need them now.”
We grabbed our coats and rushed out the side door, the easiest place to slip out without being caught by a teacher and having to go through an inquisition, only to be sent back to our rooms. Hunter opened up a black umbrella, and we both huddled together underneath it to stay dry.
I gazed up at him, admiring everything about him, from his long lashes to his dimpled chin. I couldn’t believe he’d brave the rain just to help me solve my personal mysteries. Hunter was willing to go all out for me, and that made me feel special.
He gave my hand a reassuring squeeze.
“Thanks for doing this,” I said.
“Rain or shine, I promise to be there when you need me.” He smiled. “That’s the kind of guy you’ve got.”
The guy I’ve got? Do I really “got” him? I wondered, blushing. “Thanks, Hunter.”
The harder the rain poured, the faster we walked, drops crashing into the ground like wet missiles around us. I felt the cold water soak through my socks and shoes as we walked across the field and followed a stony trail.
“You never asked me about the teacher,” I said.
“What?” he asked through the downpour.
“Miss Silva and her red eyes.”
“Right. What was up with that? Pam tried to tell me, but it didn’t make sense.”
“Just more paranormal activity, I guess,” I said, touching his arm.
His interest was piqued; then again, he always seemed to take an interest in everything I had to say. “Can you tell me more about the vision you saw when the castle was attacked?”
I explained the entire story, and he listened intently without cracking one smile.
“Hmm. I believe you,” he said, “every single word.”
“The teacher thought I was nuts.”
“Well, she didn�
�t see the orbs, did she?”
“I feel so much better knowing that someone actually believes me.”
“Zoey, if I didn’t believe you, I wouldn’t be getting soaked to the bone just to find a graveyard in the woods. I’m not a glutton for punishment, you know. I am, however, a glutton for you.”
“Thanks, Hunter.”
A gust of wind blew the umbrella, and he steadied it back over us as we made our way down the trail.
“Over here!” Hunter said, pointing through the thick and dripping vegetation.
I moved a wet branch out of my face, and my eyes took in the ancient graveyard. Brown, weathered stones, all covered in green lichen, dotted the field in front of us. “This must be it,” I said. Just above me, another crack of thunder exploded, and goosebumps pimpled my skin. There was more blindingly white light before the single streak of lightning broke into several branches. I breathed in and out deeply, remembering every scary movie I’d ever seen about burial grounds and wondering why we’d decided to go walking around on sacred ground. “Um…maybe we shouldn’t be here,” I said.
“It’s fine, as long as we’re respectful,” he reassured me.
I swallowed past the lump in my throat and nodded.
“Why don’t we start with the first one and work our way down?”
I nodded again, then began pulling away the ivy and weeds to read “Edward Taliper.”
“Ring any bells?” Hunter asked.
“Uh-uh.”
I moved to the next one and the one after that. After thirty minutes of searching, one suddenly caught my attention, and my fingers traced the lettering carved deep into the stone: “Elizabeth Haren. August 9, 1290 – October, 1296.” My breath came fast and shallow.
Hunter stepped behind me and rubbed an encouraging hand over my back. “This is a grave of a little girl.”
“It’s her!” I was positive; as if by some sixth sense, I just knew. “The girl in my vision was named Elizabeth.”
I slowly spun around to stare into Hunter’s sad eyes. He just hugged me and used his palm to rub away the hard knots of tension in my shoulders.
Biting my lip, I tore away from him. My mind drifted back to that horrible moment when everyone was running for their lives. I saw what those poor people had gone through; I felt their terror and helplessness. Everything began to spin, and I couldn’t breathe. Emotions stirred up in me, and I could no longer feel the raindrops or hear the thunder or see the lightning. All I could feel was a deep, unrelenting pain, one like I’d never felt before. Images flooded my brain of people running, crying, and screaming for their lives. “Stop it!” I screamed, holding my head.
“What’s wrong?” Hunter asked, holding the umbrella over me.
“Tell them to stop it!” I shouted over the roaring rain.
“Who?”
“The voices, the visions…Hunter, make it stop!”
“Help us, Zoey!” a million voices echoed in unity all around me.
I dropped to my knees, and Hunter dropped with me, holding me. The back of my throat felt dry, and a rush of heat swept over me, in spite of the cold water soaking my jeans. More images played through my mind, all too vivid, like a 3D movie in fast forward. I couldn’t take it another second and had to break the paranormal connection. I somehow knew that getting out of the graveyard was key, so I charged through the sheets of rain, thunder crashing overhead. A bolt of electricity branched across the clouds like a neon spider web.
“Zoey!”
I glanced over my shoulder. “I have to get away!” A strong breeze swept over me, and I wondered whether he’d heard me.
I took off as fast as my legs would carry me, past tree limbs that hit my tired muscles and cut into my burning skin like a whip. My body ached from the thrashing, but my mind stayed surprisingly clear. My panting was almost as loud as the crashing thunder above my head.
A brilliant flash of lightning illuminated the sky, followed by a loud clap of thunder. I shielded my eyes as torrents of rain showered down upon me. With my shirt glued to my back from rain and nervous perspiration, I sprang into the overgrowth and sped deeper into the forest, leaping over giant logs and slippery rocks along the way. My frantic mind forced my feet into action, allowing me to ignore the burning sensation in my legs. Darting forward, I jumped over logs and zigzagged through the thinning trees, only stopping when I was sure the connection had been broken. I slowly spun around.
The wind must’ve blown the umbrella out of Hunter’s hands, because he didn’t have it as he rushed to catch up with me. He grabbed my shoulders as a booming noise cracked through the air. “Talk to me, Zoey!”
“You probably think I’m a freak,” I screamed.
He stared into my eyes as rain sheeted down, his drenched clothes clinging to his perfect physique. “I’d never think that—not ever.”
Thunder roared, and lightning flashed as the stinging rain pounded down harder.
“Wh-what’s happening to me?” My voice thundered through the storm, shaky as it was.
Water drizzled from his nose, chin, and hair. “I dunno, but whatever it is, we’ll figure it out together.”
“I need answers,” I pleaded.
“Maybe the spirits of this place are reaching out to you,” he ventured.
Pushing back wet strands of tangled hair, I wiped my eyes. “Why me?”
“Maybe they’re attracted to you because you look so much like their princess.”
My voice broke, but I forced myself to speak. “These people are dead. What can I possibly do to help them?”
“I don’t know, but they’re obviously trying to get your attention. Maybe their trapped and you can free them.”
“But I’m not anybody special. I’m just ordinary, and my life back home is a mess.” I ran a hand through my wet hair. “I came here to escape all that survivor’s guilt, not to be thrown into some paranormal nightmare. I never asked for this, Hunter.”
“I don’t think they’re trying to hurt you. They are just trying to communicate with you the only way they know how.”
“Communicate? With orbs and visions and red-eyed teachers and flying books? It doesn’t make sense!” Water streamed off my hair and down my cheeks. “I’m scared, Hunter. What if they try to hurt me?”
“Zoey, if they wanted to kill either of us, we’d already be dead.”
“But you don’t understand. I couldn’t help them in my vision,” I said. “There wasn’t a thing I could do, not even for that poor little girl. I was just…stuck.” I sucked in a trembling breath. “I told her everything was going to be okay,” I said, “and it wasn’t! She was murdered, along with all the others.”
“Zoey, that isn’t your fault. She was dead before you were even born.”
“You don’t get it,” I said, throwing my arms up in the air in frustration. “I saw her! I saw the fear in her big brown eyes. It was horrible!”
“There was nothing you could have done to save her,” he said softly.
“She was so innocent,” I yelled over the howling wind. “Who would kill a little girl?”
“Ruthless people—no…monsters!”
“Everybody was so scared, just running everywhere. It was worse than…”
He embraced me in a tight hug and held me as the rain poured over us. I was positive I’d somehow seen a glimpse of the fateful day when everyone in the castle met their demise. Emotion poured through me because I’d somehow experienced their pain, felt their fear, and those grim aches were seared into my soul forever. Closing my eyes, I took a deep, steadying breath, trying to clear my mind and figure out what the heck was going on.
“You’re trembling,” Hunter said.
I realized in that moment that I needed to confess everything to Hunter. I didn’t want there to be any secrets between us. If we were going to figure it all out together, he needed my complete honesty. “I never told you about my first vision,” I reminded him, ready to tell him the truth.
“No, and you change
d the subject real quick when I asked.”
“It happened when I first entered the castle, while we were talking in my room.” I looked up at him as he cocked a brow. “Remember when I spaced out for a second?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, it was because this quick vision flooded my mind, a scene from the future.”
He gripped my shoulders. “Zoey, what did you see?”
My lips trembled as I remember the horror I felt at seeing Hunter killed. “Somebody shot you. I couldn’t see who did it, but I was screaming.”
He sucked in a breath; I could tell it troubled him. Hugging me, he put on a brave face, then held me at arm’s length. “Nothing is set in stone. We’ll fix it.”
I was flabbergasted. Not only did he listen to me, but he didn’t think I was crazy, and he promised we’d fix it together. I didn’t know how he was managing to stay so calm, but it was a relief for me that he didn’t freak out. I could never have been so composed if the murder victim was me.
“Maybe you have your mom’s gifts after all.”
“Yeah, I wondered about that, but why didn’t it start till I came here? I’m sure the castle’s doing this to me, but I have no idea why.”
“Maybe the spirits wanted you to feel their pain so you’ll be more inclined to help them.”
“I’m leaning in that direction.” As the rain poured harder, I really hoped I wasn’t losing my mind. “Do you think I’m crazy?” I asked.
“No way. People are always asking me if I’m losing my mind.”
“You’re not crazy,” I said, cupping his face.
“I am,” he said, looking into my eyes. “I’m completely crazy about you, Zoey. I know we haven’t known each other long, but I’m drawn to you for some reason. I just can’t stop thinking about you. I just…I can’t even eat or sleep or think. I can’t breathe when I’m not with you. I’m crazy about you, crazy enough to stand here in the rain and tell you that I’m head over heels for you. You deserve to know that.”
My Haunted Fairytale - Book 2 (The Enchanted Castle Series) Page 7