Holly, Curses, and Hauntings

by Jovee Winters

  “Maybe...” he said with a soft, sleepy slur, “mebbe you could just stay with me a while, Annabelle Lee,” he mumbled.

  I reached for the hand he had casually draped across his lap. My fingers phased right through him and he shivered, almost violently.

  I swallowed hard and yanked my hand back. “Rest now, mortal, I’ll keep you safe.”

  A ghost of a grin flitted over his face and then he was gone. This time claimed not by fear but by the sandman himself.

  Golden bits of dust floated over his head, before threading off into the breeze to claim yet more nighttime dreams.

  The hoot of an owl echoed through the night and the darkness that Dante had helped keep at bay while he’d talked with me began to slowly creep back in. Calling to me, claiming me. I took a trembling breath and sidled closer to his side as I sang a lullaby until Blue’s return.

  Only once she’d helped to safely see her brother into the house did I finally allow myself to let go and fade into the land of the dead.

  Chapter 5

  Annabelle Lee

  WHEN I FINALLY AWOKE from my trance, I knew that days and not just hours had passed.

  I sat up from where I’d passed out, phasing from the living to the land of the dead in the same area where I’d kept watch over Dante’s sleeping body.

  Frowning, I rubbed at my temple, feeling the debris of dead leaves and dirt raveled up in my hair.

  “What the devil?” I whispered as I cleaned myself up.

  I wasn’t even sure what had happened. The last thing I recalled was keeping watch and then nothing. It was like I’d been turned off just like Eerie sometimes was.

  Making my way to my shaky knees, I wet my lips and looked around for any sign of why I’d come here instead of returning to the house. Spotting the tree stump that Dante had been resting against, a flash of a memory came to me.

  The memory was amorphous, almost like shadow. But I recalled something dark, black, and unbelievably fast had suddenly punched right through me, ringing my bell.

  I touched my abdomen and hissed. It was tender. Really tender.

  “Well, that’s new,” I murmured. I was dead. Pain had stopped being an issue for me long ago.

  Gingerly I patted my side and winced again. “Yup, that hurts. Hm.”

  Maybe I’d been tossed into the dead lands the same way I’d been yanked out of it when I’d spoken with Time. Maybe he was behind this? Had he tried calling to me and I’d been incapacitated somehow?

  Rubbing a hand over my head, I sighed. I hadn’t a clue, and I didn’t want to be here any longer.

  I was going to pop on over to the other side and see if maybe Blue or even Dante was awake. My tummy trembled from the sudden flight of drunken butterflies within at the thought of getting to see him again.

  Blue’s twin. I grinned and without wasting another second, flashed into the living.

  It was day time. The sky was clear and birds wheeled in the air. I smelled the faint scent of shifter and knew that Jules must have been skulking about recently, but there was no trace of him now.

  The house was hushed, a sure sign that no one was home.

  Floating over to the kitchen window, I peered out to look for Blue’s strange vehicle, but the gravel lane was empty. She was gone. Dante’s small blue car was still there though.

  “Dante,” I called out. “Are you home?” I whirled around, flashing from floor to floor as I quickly searched for him.

  But when I reached the third floor, I knew he wasn’t here either. I frowned as I peeked inside the only room at the end of the hall. It was a converted attic space and very utilitarian in design.

  Light came in only through the one circular window about the size of my head, so the room was very dark and full of floating dust motes. But it was clean and smelled faintly of lemon now.

  There was only a bed and a dresser in here. The bed was made, the sheets fitted tightly to the mattress, and I grinned as I drifted my hand along the length of it.

  So Dante was different from his sister. Where her room was always messy and the floors covered in underthings with bras hanging from the bedside lamps, in his there wasn’t a single thing out of place.

  The room was tidy, and I might have thought that maybe he’d not moved in here at all save for the picture frame resting on the dresser that had not been there before.

  It held a picture of four smiling faces. I shouldn’t be here in his place without his permission. And yet I floated toward and not away from it, being drawn to the possibility of knowing more like iron shavings to a magnet.

  Blue, looking to be no older than ten or so with her hair as wild as ever, was sitting on the lap of a man who looked almost identical to her. He held her tight and was beaming proudly into the camera. His hair was as fiery orange as hers and his skin smooth as alabaster ivory. Blue was in a gown of vibrant clashing greens and yellows and he wore the ugliest sweater I’d ever seen with the image of a walrus donning a Christmas hat.

  Beside him was a woman, tall and slender looking, with dark eyes and hair the same shade as Dante’s. Dressed in white silk and wearing a small string of pearls around her delicate neck. She seemed less gregarious and outgoing than Blue or the man—who I could only assume was their father—but there was a silent regality to her that enchanted me. Not dissimilar to Dante’s own. Her hand rested casually on their father’s knee.

  Not sitting on her lap, but standing just beside her with his small hand on her trim shoulder was Dante, smiling as calmly as his mother, and my heart beat like galloping hooves in my chest.

  I reached out a finger to trace the young lines of his face, comparing the smooth boyish features to the far more masculine ones of today, and I couldn’t fight my small grin, imagining what he must have been like growing up.

  It was evident that as different as they all were, this had been a happy family.

  A clearing throat behind me caused me to jump into the air, twirling guiltily as I clutched at my chest with wide, terrified eyes.

  “Dante!” I startled and shook my head. “Oh, I shouldn’t have been prying, I’m so sor—”

  My words trailed off as I finally registered the fact that he was half naked and drenched in sweat.

  I clamped my mouth shut and swallowed hard, telling myself to look away. Though I didn’t. Not even a little. I drank in the sight of his firm, toned abdominals and the light smattering of dark hairs on his powerful and beautifully shaped chest.

  In one hand he held a half-empty bottle of water and in the other a running shoe. Gray sweatpants rested casually against his hips, highlighting a dark trail of hair that traced down the flat of his stomach, until it hid behind his running pants.

  “My eyes are up here, Casper.”

  I frowned, and then blushed scarlet as I shook my head. Gods, how embarrassing.

  “I...I know,” I said, patting my less than manicured hair back into place. I was pretty sure there were still twigs trapped in it. “I...came looking for you.”

  A grin curved one side of his mouth. He nodded. “You came to my room? My empty room?”

  Blue eyes danced.

  I scowled. “Well, I didn’t know it was empty when I came here.”

  “And yet you stayed.”

  I crossed my arms. “You’re right, I should go.”

  But he crossed the threshold and held out the hand with the water bottle in it, limping just a little as he did. “No. I was teasing. Don’t go. I...” he dropped his voice to a whisper, “I’m happy to see you here.”

  “Oh,” I said, fighting a grin and hopelessly losing the battle. “I just wanted to make sure you were okay now.”

  Snorting, he moved gingerly over toward the edge of the bed before sitting. He tried to hide a wince, but I saw the crease of his eyes. Leaning over, causing his abdomen to flex as he did so, he set his shoe just so beneath the bed. When he sat back up, I really hoped I had the drool wiped off.

  Men in this century were certainly impressive looking
. Good to know that death hadn’t stolen everything from me.

  “I’m okay now. I was starting to think you were a ghost.”

  “Well, probably because I am one.”

  He chuckled. “Touché.”

  I laughed, watching with rapt attention as he bent his other leg and slipped that shoe off too. He did the same as he had with his other and I couldn’t fight the sigh. He really was pretty to look at.

  When he glanced at me, I didn’t fail to note the shade of amusement glinting in his eyes.

  I lifted my chin and pretended as though he hadn’t seen what he so clearly had, a ghost finding it very difficult to breathe right of a sudden.

  “You’ve been gone three days,” he said it almost like an accusation.

  “Yes, I’m not quite sure what that was all about. Seems meeting you was very draining on me.”

  “You gonna always disappear on me then, Casper?” he asked with a touch of laughter in his words, and I wished he really meant it.

  But Dante and I were night and day and would always remain so. This was nothing more than simple flirting, which could also be nice in its own way.

  “Casper, huh? Should I be offended?”

  “Well, you are awful friendly and maybe a touch nosy.”

  I gasped. “I never. I’ll show you nosy, you big oaf.”

  When he titled his head back and laughed, exposing the long lean lines of his strong neck I knew I was in big, big trouble. The song of the other night echoed faintly in my ears. I clutched at my robe, wishing I could feel it. Wishing I could touch it. Touch anything.

  Dante knuckled tears from his eyes. “God, it’s been so long since I’ve laughed like that. Thank you, Annabelle. For that night. And for right now.”

  His words trailed off, sounding a teeny bit sad and winsome by the end. I found myself floating slightly closer to him, dizzied by the masculine scent of his sweat and soap. It’d been so, so long since I’d felt this alive.

  “Rough life?” I asked.

  He snorted softly as he shoved twin fingers through his hair before leaning back on the bed with his hands braced behind him. I swallowed.

  “You could say that again, although,” he eyed me swiftly, “maybe not all that rough. I don’t imagine it’s any different than anyone else’s.”

  I shrugged, knowing that most people feared others might think the worst of them if they admitted to having a bad day and so they hid pain behind light and airy conversations.

  “Wanna talk about it? I’m really good at listening, or so they say.”

  His look was intense and made me shiver with curls of heat from the soles of my feet to the crown of my head.

  “Who’s they?” he asked, voice grown a little husky. And it felt suddenly, stiflingly hot beneath the collar.

  But before I could answer, he gave a soft snorting laugh. “Truth is, Annabelle, I’m kind of in the loser’s club right now.”

  My brows rose high on my forehead. “I find that hard to believe. You seem perfectly capable.”

  He snorted. “That’s just cuz you don’t know me. In two weeks’ time, I lost my job, my girl of seven years dumped me, and I’m practically homeless. Would be if it wasn’t for you.”

  “Oh,” I said, feeling as if I’d swallowed a bucket full of sawdust. Of course he’d had a girl, why wouldn’t he? Dante seemed smart, and for sure he was gorgeous, and he was right, I knew next to nothing about him but I was moved to cheer him up.

  “Yeah, oh’s right. Not exactly winning at life right now. Been eating way too much garbage and tried to run today, but whatever I did to my ankle the other night tweaked my ankle so bad I wasn’t able to make it further than the mailbox down the lane. So go ahead, feel free to laugh and mock all you want.” He gestured with his arm, sighing heavily.

  And though his words were self-effacing and an attempt at being gently mocking, I heard the real pain behind them. I floated closer to him, until I hovered just inches from his knees and said, “Well, you’re not homeless. And never will be, so far as I’m concerned. And I’m sorry your girl dumped you—”

  He rolled his eyes. “Well, then that makes one of us.”

  Shocked to hear him say so, I cocked my head, looking for the familiar sting of rejection we all felt when those we loved didn’t return the feeling. But all I saw was irritation and annoyance.

  “You...you don’t seem upset by that.” I said it slowly, hoping I wouldn’t step on any toes.

  He shrugged. “I’m sure this makes me sound like a really terrible human being, but I’m not. Lili and me we weren’t right for each other. We got in a rut, both of us, but I should at least feel something about it, right?”

  He genuinely seemed to want an answer, one which I wasn’t sure I had to give. I grimaced.

  He sighed and shook his head. “I’m sorry. I don’t know why I’m even telling you all this. God, I’m pathetic. Maybe you should save yourself, Casper. I’m depressing myself right now.”

  I laughed, and was pleasantly surprised to see him join in with me.

  “You’re really easy to talk to. Anyone ever tell you that?”

  I clenched my jaw, remembering when Billy had told me practically the same thing. “A time or two.”

  My smile was stiff, which he immediately noticed. Sitting up straight, he dusted his hands together. “I’m sorry. I really shouldn’t be bothering you with—”

  “I don’t mind,” I said, and I meant it. “Nice having someone to talk too after so many years of silence. And I can say this with all sincerity, mortal, but...the pain won’t last. Eventually, it all works itself out.”

  His eyes searched mine, and my body tingled at the way he looked at me. Not like a cursory glance, but a soul-deep, penetrating look. Like he didn’t just see me, but he saw me.

  Not wanting to leave but not sure what else to say, I glanced around the room, my gaze landing on his picture.

  “That your family?” I pointed.

  He looked at me for another long moment before reluctantly seeming to look away and toward the picture. The second he spotted it a smile lit up his face, and I sucked in a trembling breath.

  Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, he blazed with sudden life, and my soul yearned to dip my hand in his flame. I missed life. Sometimes so keenly that it felt like a blade to my heart.

  “Yeah, that’s my mom and dad and me and Blue on Christmas...” His words trailed off and the smile that’d been blazing just a second ago vanished like fog over still waters. “My Dad’s last Christmas,” he said after a quick swallow. “He was killed in a motorcycle accident a month after that picture was taken.”

  “Oh,” I blinked and shook my head. “I’m...I’m so sorry.”

  He smiled, but the light didn’t reach his eyes. “It’s just me and Blue now, and has been for a few years.”

  “I’m glad you guys have each other.”

  “Yeah, me too.”

  The easy warmth between us just seconds ago was slowly becoming strained and uncomfortable.

  “I should probably”—I hooked my thumb over my shoulder—“go and leave you to your shower. I’m sorry I intru—”

  He frowned. “Don’t go. This house is huge and Blue’s been gone all morning, and I could use the company. But I do stink.”

  I giggled. “I think you smell fine, mortal.”

  He snorted. “A guy and a ghost walk into a bar...” he said softly.

  “What?” I asked, smile playing around my lips.

  “Nothing,” he shook his head. “Just feeling silly. But you really are easy to talk to, Annabelle. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I came to this weird place, and I was starting to regret my decision about halfway between Nashville and here, but—”

  “But?” I prompted.

  “But, it doesn’t feel so dumb anymore.” He leaned forward, flexing his stomach muscles and making me feel all fluttery inside. “You’re the first ghost I’ve ever met.”

  I shook my head. “No, you met Jules fir
st.”

  He snorted. “That beast doesn’t count. Nothing does that tries to eat me.”

  I laughed, the sound effervescent and stupidly happy. “Jules is nothing but a big fat slobbering cream puff. He couldn’t hurt a flea.”

  Dante looked doubtful. “If you say so. Agree to disagree.”

  I glanced around, I really had nothing left to say and neither did he. If I were alive I might have more to say, or do...

  “I...I should leave you. Let you shower.”

  He propped his elbows on his knees. “Don’t leave though, okay? I won’t take long.”

  I blushed and fought a grin. “I...I won’t go.”

  I turned to give him his privacy, but he stopped me.

  “Annabelle.”

  I glanced at him, a small frown puckered his forehead.

  “Yes?”

  “Can you touch anything?”

  Shock lifted the fine hairs on the nape of my neck. “Excuse me?”

  He laughed. “Oh God, no. No.” He patted his chest. “God, I hope you didn’t think I was being a pig—”

  I shook my head, curling a short strand of hair around my finger as I joined him in his laughter. “No, but it surprised me was all. Not really sure why you’re asking, but no, not really. Why?”

  Running a hand over the back of his head he said, “Too much time on my hands. I just couldn’t stop thinking in bed last night about what a ghost can and can’t do. Not every day that I can talk to someone who’s already dead. Made me wonder about Mom and Dad, and well... this is weird, right? I’m officially being weird.”

  He groaned and palmed his face.

  I should have realized he’d been thinking about his family. I floated so close to him that the edge of my robe grazed his knee. He shivered and quickly looked up.

  “No, Dante. We can’t touch in the physical sense. But you can feel us. Here. Hold up your hand.”

  He did without question, and I rested my palm to his.

  Immediately a rush of power and ice swept through me and I shivered from the cold but also the delicious brush of heat.