* * *
Some time later, Blair, the alleged sound sleeper, began to toss and turn and smacked me across the face in the process. I glanced over at the digital clock. It was three a.m., and my temporary roommate had woken me up. We had a big test later that morning, and I desperately needed rest. I decided that if Blair kicked me once more, I would have to go sleep in her room.
I fluffed my pillow and rolled over on my side to try and get comfortable, but I was wide awake. It didn’t help that the sound of a guitar strummed its way into my ears.
I couldn’t repress a shiver, and doubt clouded my mind. Okay, that was odd. Did I imagine that? I knew I hadn’t fallen asleep, and I also knew Pam had left her guitar in my room. She’d left it there when Eric showed up to sweep her away, and she’d forgotten to come back and get it.
I inhaled sharply and waited for more noise, but it was eerily quiet. For several minutes, there was no sound at all, so I tried to ignore it and lay back down to close my eyes again.
Suddenly, it happened again: three strums across the strings. The breath froze in my throat, for I knew that my ears were not deceiving me. It wasn’t a dream, and I was fully awake. My gut told me that something was messing with me. Does it know I’m awake? I wondered. Should I pretend to be asleep? Can it hear my heart racing a million miles a minute?
As if to answer my thoughts, the mystery guitarist strummed the cords again, all the strings at once.
Fear and uncertainty consumed me. I almost couldn’t breathe, and every muscle in my body froze. When the strumming stopped, I listened intently, paralyzed by terror that some unseen force was in the same room with me.
No flippin’ way!
My heart raced wildly, as I had no desire to communicate with anything that was dead. I hated the special abilities I seemed to be cursed with. I closed my eyes tightly, hoping the maniacal musician would just go away. I considered waking Blair up, but she was already terrified enough, and I didn’t want to give her a heart attack.
Then, an even grimmer thought struck me, thanks to my conversation with Eric earlier: Is it here to…possess me? I gasped and gripped the covers tightly, wondering if I could muster up the courage to peer into the darkness for a closer look.
Heck, no!
I wasn’t sure what I’d see, but I didn’t want to catch even a glimpse of it. Whatever it was, I just wanted it to leave. Then again, as horrified as I was by the uninvited visitor, I wanted to know who or what it was.
The guitar lightly strummed again.
I was petrified, but I needed answers, and I had to know what was there. With trembling fingers, I reached for my cell phone on the bedside table. I used it for light and shakily aimed it over in the corner.
There, propped up against the wall, my friend’s guitar was in perfect view, and I saw nothing and no one else. Part of me was thankful some ugly creature didn’t jump into view, because I honestly wasn’t sure my heart could have taken that. Still, it was no fun hearing a guitar strum in the stillness of the night in a gothic castle, and it was a bit unsettling that I couldn’t see the player.
I let out a long breath, hoping I wouldn’t have to again come face to face with the unknown. I fought the urge to panic and flee, as I certainly didn’t want to abandon Blair. My heart was pounding something fierce, and my mind was racing every direction, almost unable to grasp a coherent thought. I put the phone back on the dresser. It was quiet again, and I was ready to tune the strumming guitar out of my head. Just as I pulled the covers over my head, though, I heard a distinctive jingle, followed by another. I suddenly realized what it was: I had left a handful of change on my desk, and they were dropping to the floor, one by one, with a ting. It was definitely a pulse-pounding attention-getter. I sucked in a deep breath, frozen in terror. I couldn’t even move to wake up Blair next to me. I wanted to grab my phone again to snap a picture or just give me some light, but I couldn’t. Seeing an apparition at that point would have thrown me into a full-fledged panic attack.
Then, just like that, it stopped.
I knew it was not a human being, playing a prank on us, because I’d never heard the squeaky door open, and I would have seen someone if they were hiding in the corner.
Suddenly, Blair sat straight up, but before I could tell her what was happening, she started mumbling in a tired, sinister voice that was not her own. “You see me, don’t you, Zoey? I know you do.”
My stomach dropped. My first instinct was to run, but even if Blair was possessed, I couldn’t bear to leave her there. “Blair!” I shouted as I shook her. “Wake up!”
She snapped out of the trance and blinked, rubbing her sleepy eyes. “Wh-what’s wrong?”
I jumped out of bed, turned on the lights, and stared at her. The last thing I needed was her head spinning in circles. “Is it you?” I shouted. “Is it actually you? Don’t go puking up pea soup on me now.”
She looked at me like I was crazy. “Yes, it’s me. What’s wrong with you? Calm down before you wake everyone up.”
A droplet of sweat rolled down my face. I went to the window and opened it to let the cool air blow over my face.
“What happened?” she asked. “You look like you saw a ghost.”
“Maybe I did.”
“Huh?”
“Something or someone was in here with us,” I slowly said. “The guitar started playing, and something threw my change off the desk.”
“Are you sure you weren’t just dreaming?”
I spun to meet her gaze. “No! I was wide awake. Did I ask you if you were dreaming when you heard something whisper your name?”
“Well, yeah, I see your point.” She glanced around, looking for any evidence that we were not alone in the room.
I ran a hand through my hair. “I know you don’t see anything here, but I know what I heard. The scariest part was when you started talking in your sleep.”
“What? I don’t talk in my sleep,” she insisted.
“You did a minute ago, and it creeped me out. It was like whatever was in the room with me jumped into you and stole your mouth. It was coming from you, but it wasn’t your voice.”
“That’s crazy!” she said in a horrified voice. “What did I…er, uh…it say?”
“‘You see me, don’t you, Zoey? I know you do.’ That was right after the guitar strummed and the coins dropped.”
“I don’t remember saying that.”
I wrung my hands. “Probably because it wasn’t you. It was more like…something inside you.”
Her eyes widened. “Stop, Zoey. You’re scaring the crap out of me.”
“Then go back to your own room.”
She crossed her arms. “Humph. I think I will.”
“Wait!” I said as she headed to the door. “Please don’t leave me in here by myself,” I begged. The thought of being alone in there freaked me out.
She pondered, then looked at me. “I’ll stay, on one condition.”
“What?”
“No more ghost stories.”
“Deal,” I said.
I had a hard time trying to fall back to sleep, and I wondered if the thing would come back for Round Two or, worse, speak through Blair again. Fortunately, no more coins dropped, and there were no more impromptu guitar solos. The rest of the night was uneventful, and I was thankful for that.
***
The next morning, Blair went back to her room and made me swear not to tell anyone outside of our little group about her spending the night in mine.
As I brushed my teeth and got dressed for school, Pam knocked. “Come in!” I said through a mouthful of Colgate.
She set her books down on my desk. “Oh my gosh! Blair told me what happened.”
“Just imagine trying to sleep in here with someone playing guitar in the corner.”
She clutched her chest. “I don’t even wanna think about it.”
“Then, when it finally got all quiet again, the coin toss happened.”
“I woulda freaked out. How’d you even stay i
n here after that? You two are braver than I am.”
“Well, it only got worse after that.”
“Yeah?”
“It started talking to me, using Blair.”
She shuddered. “That’s crazy! My heart’s racing just hearing about it,” she said, clutching her chest.
“I don’t think Blair believes me,” I said. “I told her the story in complete detail this morning, and she laughed.”
“I know. She even thinks that whispering was just her imagination, and she said she’s sure you were only dreaming.”
I shook my head. “Nope. Unfortunately, I was wide awake.”
“You don’t have to convince me,” she said. “I completely believe you. Blair’s just in denial. It’s hard for her to accept anything that’s not…normal.”
I ran a brush through my hair one last time. “We’d better go.”
She glanced down at the books. “Ha-ha. Very funny.”
“What?”
“Where are my books?” she asked.
I glanced around. “Oh, over there, on the bed.”
“But I left them on the desk.”
“You must’ve moved them.”
She shot me a hard look. “I didn’t. Why would I put them there anyway?”
“Quit messing with me,” I said.
She laughed. “I’m not.”
I really didn’t want to deal with the fact that my little poltergeist might’ve stayed the night. “We’re gonna be late,” I said. “Let’s just go.”
She picked up her books, and we headed downstairs to class.
Chapter 4
A few days later, the five of us sat at the breakfast table: Shantal, Hunter, Eric, Pam, and me.
I sipped my orange juice and took a bite of my scrambled eggs. Rita cooked them, and they were hot and fluffy, the best ever. She was quite the genius in the kitchen. “We need to figure out how to use the medallion and the stone to free the castle spirits,” I said.
“But how, Zoey?” Hunter asked, biting into a fluffy, buttery biscuit. “I’ve searched through the books, and I can’t find the answers we need.”
“We need to search deeper,” Shantal said. “We have what it takes to free them, right? We just have to figure out what to do with it.”
Hunter looked at me. “You need to talk to Isabella.”
“She won’t tell me anything. They’re not allowed to talk about how to break the curse, or they’ll be bound to this plane forever.”
“Maybe we should press Mr. Geo for answers,” Pam said. “He’s gotta know something. He was looking for the stone and medallion too.”
I shook my head. “No, we can’t let on that we know anything. If he suspects we have anything to do with any of it, he’ll search our rooms and confiscate everything. What chance will the spirits have then? We’ve got to help them ourselves. For all I know, Isabella could be one of my relatives.”
“I know we need to help them break the curse,” Pam said, “but it kinda scares me. If we free them, only the bad ones will be left. The haunting will only get worse.”
Eric set his milk down. “It’s already bad enough.”
“Well, for the most part,” Shantal chimed in, “they haven’t been too hostile. I mean, Zoey had a bad encounter, but the others just seem curious. Maybe it’s their way of communicating with us.”
“It’s more than that,” I insisted. “They want to instill fear into me. It strummed that guitar, knocked the coins off my dresser, and spoke through Blair in some voice that sounded like Freddy Krueger with strep throat. Then, just before we came down here, when Pam came to get me for school, it moved her books.”
Miss Shila approached our table. “Good morning, everyone,” she said.
Hunter pushed out a chair. “Would you like to join us for breakfast?”
She pasted on a fake smile and looked at him. “No thank you. Mrs. Josh said you fell asleep in her math class again.”
Hunter ran a hand through his hair. “Um, I’ve been having a little trouble sleeping. I guess all of us have. Maybe it’s something…contagious.”
“Well, that’s why I’ve arranged for you to take two days off. Go back upstairs and get some sleep. You all need to rest, and there’ll be no hanging out and milling about today.”
“Wow,” I said. “Thank you. I can sure use it.”
Mr. Rowens suddenly stepped up beside Miss Shila and touched her arm. “Did I hear you correctly? Are you giving these students the day off?”
“Yes, you heard correctly. And two days off actually.”
“May I have a word with you, Miss Shila?” he asked.
As he led her away, she muttered something under her breath, but I caught some of it.
“Did you hear what she said?” I asked.
“No,” Pam said. “I hope she told him that students need their beauty rest.” She glanced up at Eric. “I need to look good for my baby.”
He smiled.
“Gross,” Shantal said. “You two are so sickeningly cute that you’ve got me practically puking rainbows.”
I laughed at the visual of that, then said, “She told him she needs us to be well rested for tonight, whatever that means.”
Hunter arched a brow. “Are you sure she said that?”
“She was muttering, and I couldn’t make out all of it, but I heard that part for sure.”
“Hmm,” Shantal said. “That’s odd. What do you think she meant by it?”
Hunter stood. “Well, let’s not question it. Let’s just enjoy it. I can hardly keep my eyes open, so if y’all don’t mind, I’m gonna walk Zoey to her room and go hit the hay.”
“I’ll see you guys later, all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed,” I said.
“No offense,” Eric said, “but I’m much more interested in Pam’s tail.”
“Hey!” she said laughing, swatting him with her fork.
“Yeah, Eric. Chill, would you? Some of us are trying to finish eating,” Shantal complained, rolling her eyes at the flirty couple.
We all said goodbye, and Hunter walked me to my room as promised.
“So…do I get one of your mind-blowing kisses to send me off into Dreamland?” I asked.
He took my face in his hands. I had never felt more wanted as his lips pressed against mine lightly, like butterfly wings. I trailed my fingertips down his strong jaw, then to the hollow at the base of his neck. He rolled the tip of his tongue all the way around the tip of mine in a seductive, swirling motion, then transitioned between darting and swirling. Hunter had Frenching down to an art, and he knew a number of slow, sensual movements that simply melted me.
“Have a good sleep,” he said when we finally pulled our mouths apart.
“You too.”
He kissed my forehead and left. It was the most amazing feeling in the whole world, like I was walking on clouds. I slipped into a long, oversized t-shirt, then jumped under the covers. We would not have to sit through any boring classes and lectures, and even though my room still gave me a bit of the creeps, I was excited to have the day off.
I drifted off to sleep almost immediately. When I finally woke up at dinnertime, I couldn’t believe I’d practically slept the day away.
Chapter 5
After dinner, Pam dragged me off to help her decorate the Christmas tree.
“Slow down,” I said with a laugh.
“See what happens when I get lots of sleep?”
“Right. You turn into the Energizer Bunny.”
She chuckled as we walked into the storeroom and grabbed all of the trim-a-tree stuff. We carried the decorations to the room Mr. Rowens had chosen to display our Christmas tree. I set the heavy box of ornaments and tinsel down on the table.
“Well? What do ya think?” Pam asked.
I stared at the huge, naked, artificial Christmas tree. “It needs work…and lots of it.”
“Then let’s get to it. This room is gonna be amazing when we’re all done with it, like a winter wonderland.”
&nb
sp; “It’s not even December yet,” Blair said.
Pam started to fluff the branches. “It’s close enough, and I’ve been dying to decorate this room.”
“It’s huge,” I said, staring at all the art, antiques, tapestries, and furniture. “How can we possibly decorate the whole thing?”
Pam grinned. “That’s why we’re starting now.”
Hunter came in, carrying a ladder, and Eric had an oversized wreath adorned with ribbons, colored bulbs, and pine cones.
“Whoa,” I said. “Where’s that going?” The wreath was beautiful but was quite big and bulky. I knew wherever we put it, it would be an eye-catching focal point.
Eric chuckled. “On the wall. Where else?”
“Isn’t she a beauty?” Hunter said.
“And heavy too,” Eric whined, readjusting the wreath.
He winked at me. “I meant Zoey. She’s the most beautiful thing in the room.”
I grinned. His little compliments and remarks always made me feel special, and he had no qualms about saying them in front of people.
Hunter leaned the ladder against the wall. He and Eric discussed how to hang the wreath, then draped garland along the walls in a grand display. I helped Shantal and Pam fluff the tree, and when Jenny came in and put the Christmas music on, I couldn’t help but feel in the spirit.
Hunter glanced at me from across the room, and a grin curled up on my lips. I truly enjoyed hanging out with him and his friends, and for the first time in a long time, I felt genuinely happy. When the tree was finally bent and fluffed out to our satisfaction, I set the box of ornaments next to me and started picking out some to hang. They were all beautiful, but the small replica of our castle totally caught my eye. I picked it up and dangled it in front of me to admire it a minute before hanging it on a bough of the tree. Perfect, I thought. When I reached for the next ornament, though, the box was gone. I glanced around and saw Hunter and Eric still fussing with the wreath. Pam was busy untangling garland, and Jenny and Blair were wrestling with a long string of lights.
“Okay, guys,” I said. “Where’s the box?”
“What box?” Shantal called over.
“The decorations,” I answered. “Where are they?”
Enchanted Dreams - Book 3 (The Enchanted Castle Series) Page 3