Chapter 7
HYSTERICAL, FRANNY WAS wringing her hands. Max headed for the stairs and I followed, feeling like everything was caving in around me. Sandy was right behind me, and by the time we reached Henry’s room, Max was already examining the prone man. Henry was struggling to speak.
“Henry, can you hear me?” I knelt beside Max, then motioned to Sandy. “Call the paramedics.”
She nodded, pulling out her phone. Meanwhile, I was trying to get Franny to move. While she wasn’t physically interfering, her hysterics weren’t helping the situation.
“Franny, back off. Go over there and wait so we can help Henry.” I shooed her out of the way. She gave me a tearful sniff and moved.
Max was taking Henry’s pulse. “He’s alive, but his pulse feels erratic. Get me a blanket.”
I grabbed a blanket and a pillow off Henry’s bed. I handed the pillow to Max, then arranged the blanket over him. At that moment, Aegis peeked through the door.
“What are you guys—” He stopped, staring at Henry. “What’s wrong with Henry?”
“I don’t know. Sandy’s called an ambulance. Franny said he just keeled over. He probably had a heart attack or a stroke or something like that.”
Franny let out a loud sob from the corner. “He said he felt odd, then stood up and fainted.”
Sandy headed for the door. “I’ll go downstairs and wait for the paramedics.”
Henry moaned, but he didn’t open his eyes. I gently removed his glasses, which were still hooked over his ears, and set them on the dresser. “Franny, I know you’re upset, but what happened? We need to know so we can tell the paramedics. The more information they have, the better they’ll be able to treat him.”
She blushed. “We were talking. He was telling me about his life back in the Civil War, and what Althea did to him. I finally told him that I loved him,” she said, her voice a whisper. “And he told me he can’t love me, because of the curse. I got upset… I accused him of trifling with my emotions. We argued…he stood up and fainted.”
I let out a slow breath. “So Henry didn’t know how you felt? I thought for sure he did.”
Franny stared at the floor. “I think he knew, but he never said anything. I guess I built the whole romance up in my head. He said he was fond of me, Maddy. Fond. He insisted that he never told me he loved me. I didn’t want to hear it, but he’s right. I deluded myself into thinking he was courting me, but he wasn’t.” She paused, then raised her head, a stricken look on her face. “Did I cause this?”
For a moment, I wasn’t sure what to say, but then I shook my head. “No, Franny, this isn’t your fault. Henry probably hasn’t been feeling well for a while. You know how men are, they don’t like to talk about their problems.”
Here I had been thinking that Henry had been toying with Franny’s affections. But fond didn’t mean love. Franny had led me to believe they were having a romance, but now I could see that it was all built up in her mind. Henry cared about her, but what he had told her was true. He was under a spell that prevented him from ever having a real relationship. In fact, fond was probably as close to love as he could ever get.
At that moment, we could hear Sandy on the stairs. She was talking to someone, and when she entered the room, two paramedics followed her. I recognize them as Summer Fae from the fire department. We all moved back, giving them room to work.
“What happened?” asked one of the paramedics as he knelt beside Henry.
“We’re not entirely sure, but Franny was with him when he fainted. They got in a debate over something, and Henry stood up and fainted dead away.” Technically, debates and arguments could be filed under the same category, at least in my mind.
They took his blood pressure, checked his heart, and his eyes.
“He’s human, right?”
“Yes, but he’s under a curse. He was born in 1840, and a witch cursed him to a long life. So he’s not exactly your typical human.” I didn’t like giving away Henry’s secret, but this was a medical necessity.
The medic looked up at me, then back at Henry. If he was startled, he didn’t show it.
“I’m not certain, but I think he’s had a stroke. We’ll take him into the hospital. Do you have the name of his next of kin? Or are they all dead?”
I hadn’t even thought of that. Anybody in Henry’s immediate family—his parents, his siblings—all had to be long dead. Whether he had any distant cousins, I didn’t know.
“I suppose we’re about the closest thing to family that he’s got right now. I’ll do what I can to find out if there are next of kin.” I glanced over at Sandy. “Do you mind going with Henry to the hospital? I’ll go through his room and see if I can find anything pointing to any relatives.” I didn’t want to say out loud that I wanted to have a talk with Franny, because I didn’t want to embarrass her. But Sandy seemed to sense where I was going with this.
“Of course. I’ll get my coat. Max, why don’t you stay here? I’ll be fine. You don’t mind if I take your car, do you?”
“Of course not,” the weretiger said. He gave her a quick kiss on the forehead. “Take care of yourself, and call me if you need anything.”
As they headed out the door to take Henry downstairs into the ambulance, I looked around the room. Henry kept it neat as a pin. I turned back to Aegis.
“I’m going to have a look through Henry’s things. I’ll see if he’s got an address book. I don’t know if I can get into his phone. He might have it password-protected, but I’ll check where I can.”
Aegis nodded. “I’ll go finish gathering that powder for Jordan.”
At that moment, the doorbell rang. It was probably Jordan.
“Max, can you go answer the door?” As Aegis and Max headed out for their respective tasks, I started looking through Henry’s drawers. I didn’t like snooping, but this was an emergency.
Franny had remained in the room. For a while, she didn’t say a word, just watched me as I searched through Henry’s things. Finally, she let out a choked sob.
“How could I have been so stupid? I truly thought he meant he loved me. When I was a girl, when a man told you he was fond of you, it usually meant he was in love.”
I glanced at her. She was sitting on the bed—or rather, partially through the bed—and she looked so distraught that I wished I could give her a hug. I stopped my search and walked over to sit down next to her. The temperature of the air distinctly cooled as I approached.
“Franny, please don’t feel bad. It’s easy to misunderstand people, especially when you’re from different worlds.”
“No, don’t you see? Henry and I grew up in the same time. Or close to it. He knows what it’s like to live back when I did. I may have been born fifty years before he was, but he understands it.”
“Franny, I’m older than both of you. I lived through that time period too. So did Aegis, and Sandy, and Max. We’re all older than you are. What made Henry seem so special?”
She shrugged, staring at the floor. “Maybe he just enjoyed talking about the past more.” She paused, then pressed on. “Maybe it was that he really seemed interested in what I had to say. He treated me like I was special. He treated me like I mattered.”
Right then, I realized that I had made a horrible mistake. I had been treating Franny like a wayward pet, not like a spirit who had needs and feelings. Oh, we chatted now and then, and I had done my best to make her happy with the computer. But I had never really taken a lot of time to get to know her, and we usually treated her like a wayward child. I closed my eyes for a moment, trying to figure out how to make things better.
“Franny, I want to apologize. You don’t have any choice about where you live. You’re stuck here, and sometimes I forget that. You’re part of our household, and even though I’m still looking for a way to break the curse that holds you here, I think maybe we need to talk more. Hang out a bit more.”
She slowly raised her gaze, giving me a hopeful look. “I’d like that. I admit, I get lonely. I do love to read, and I thank you very much for all you’ve done for me. But it gets lonely in my world. And you and Aegis and Bubba, you all have your lives. You’re all alive. I live in what feels like limbo. I guess Henry paying attention to me just made me feel alive again.”
“Can I ask you what the argument was about? I know you argued about feelings, but it might help for me to know when he gets back.”
She blushed again. “You’re going to think I’m horrible.”
“We’ve all done things that are horrible at some point in our lives. Tell me.”
“I don’t know what got into me. I would never think to say this to anybody, so I don’t know why I said it to him.” She was beginning to get frantic again.
Puzzled, I cocked my head. “What did you say?”
“Please believe me, I really don’t know what came over me.”
“All right. I believe you. Tell me what you said.”
She blushed a horrible crimson. “Before the argument, I got impatient. I suggested that since he was in love with me, if he were to…kill himself… We could be together.” She looked up, a fearful expression in her eyes.
“I wish I could take it back. I wish I’d never said it. That’s when he told me that he didn’t love me, and he said it was a horrible thing to suggest to anybody. When he said he didn’t love me, I accused him of trifling with my emotions. He insisted that he had never said the word love, and he’s right. And then it got nasty. It’s like a dark shadow filled the room and we were yelling at each other. And then he fainted.”
I wasn’t sure what to say. Franny had actually suggested that Henry kill himself to be with her? That didn’t sound anything like Franny. In fact, that was the last thing I’d ever expect to hear come out of her mouth.
“You say a dark shadow filled the room?”
She nodded. “And I’m talking an actual shadow. It felt like we weren’t alone. And it seemed to grow as our argument grew. It felt like it was feeding on the anger, Maddy.”
I nodded, listening. “I wonder if it’s part of the curse that’s come over this house. Keep an eye out, if you would. If you notice any strange presences, come tell us.”
“Do you want me to stand guard?” She sounded almost proud to offer her services.
While I didn’t think we needed to go that far, I realized it would give Franny something to do that would make her feel needed. And who knew, it might actually come in handy.
“That’s a good idea. If you get tired, take a break, but why don’t you make the rounds? I’d stay away from the attic area, obviously, but just keep an eye out.”
She flashed me a faint smile, the first I’d seen since Henry had fainted, and saluted me.
“Yes, ma’am! I’m on the job.” As she vanished into the wall, I shook my head. I had had some strange roommates over the years, but Franny had to be one of the oddest.
I resumed my search through Henry’s things, finally coming up with a Rolodex. As I thumbed through it, I saw that it was all libraries and universities, as well as a few names. I didn’t recognize any of them, and none of them had Henry’s last name. They were all out of the area, and I had my doubts that any of them were related to him.
Heading downstairs, I heard Jordan talking to Max in the living room.
“Jordan, has Aegis gotten the powder down for you?” I swung into the room.
Jordan shook his head. He was seated on the sofa, one knee crossed over the other.
“No, but that’s all right. I don’t mind the wait. Max was telling me that Henry took ill?”
“Yeah, the paramedics took him off to the hospital. Sandy went with him. We’re expecting a call when she finds out what’s wrong. The paramedics suspect a stroke.”
“Damn. Everything seems to be happening here lately.”
“It’s that goddamn room. The powder, whatever was released when that urn broke… You were right when you said there is a curse on the house. I need to call Garret, and see if he can think of anything. Tomorrow, a professor from Neverfall is coming out to take a look at the glyphs and see what he can figure out. We need to take care of this soon.” I sat down beside Jordan, and let out a long breath. “So, this allergy I’ve got. Do you think it’s permanent?”
“I don’t think we can know yet. Chances are it was brought on by the curse. Which means, if the curse can be broken, there is a good chance it will lift.” He stared at me, giving me a sorrowful smile. “I’m sorry I don’t have better news. I know this has got to be difficult.”
“I’m just afraid that if I don’t use my powers, they’ll back up and cause an overflow. You know how it is.”
He nodded.
When I had been with Craig, I had to secretly use my magic because he didn’t like it. He knew I was a witch when we got married, but apparently he changed his mind on just how well he could handle a Pretcom wife. And I wasn’t Samantha from Bewitched, I wasn’t willing to knuckle under and try to play the good little housewife to soothe my husband’s ego.
Aegis entered the room, a glass jar in hand. It was filled with black powder. “Hi, Jordan. Will this be enough? There is a bit more that I could gather if you like, but this is about eight ounces of it.”
Jordan gingerly accepted the jar. Aegis had taped it shut and now he produced a plastic bag, handing it to the doctor.
“I thought you might want to put it in here, just in case something happens and the glass breaks. That’s a mason jar, though, so it should be all right.”
“Thank you,” Jordan said. “I appreciate the thought. The last thing I need is to spill the stuff all over myself.”
My phone rang, and I glanced at the caller ID. Sandy.
“Hi. How’s Henry?” I asked, hoping that she’d say he was all right.
“He’s alive. They say he’s had a serious stroke. They want to keep him at the hospital for at least a few days. Right now, he’s conscious, but he can’t talk very well, and his left side appears to be paralyzed. The doctor says he thinks Henry will regain use of his arm and his leg, but to what degree, he can’t tell.”
I closed my eyes, taking in the bad news. “I couldn’t find any sign of any next of kin.”
“That’s no surprise. I’ll be there for another hour or two to see how he does. He’s not fully stable yet, but they’re making headway.”
As I hung up, I thought that this night couldn’t get any worse. Then, quickly, I canceled the thought, not wanting to invoke even more bad luck.
MORNING CAME, AND with it a splash of sunshine filtered through the windows. I opened the French doors to my balcony, walking out to take in a deep breath of fresh air. Aegis had screened it in a month or so ago so that Luna and Bubba could come out and enjoy the fresh air too, without chancing falling off the edge. Sandy had arrived home at about ten p.m., with news that Henry was stabilized, but in serious condition. The doctors expected him to pull through, but they weren’t sure just how much the stroke had damaged him. Aegis had sat up all night, watching over the rest of us as we slept.
Finally, I dressed in a warm turtleneck and a pair of jeans, zipped up my ankle boots, and swept my hair back into a long ponytail. I dashed on a quick base of makeup, and then headed downstairs. Kelson was making breakfast and Max and Sandy were already at the table.
“How did you sleep?”
Sandy yawned. “Like a log, though I could use another couple hours. I’ve already called about Henry. He made it through the night and they say he’s now in fairly stable condition. He’s awake, but he still can’t speak. They explained to him what happened, and asked if he had any next of kin. He indicated no, so we’re pretty much it.”
“That’s sad, really. But I’m glad we were here for him.” I was just accepting my quint shot latte from Kelson when Franny materialized in the center of the kitchen nook. Startled, I almost spilled my drink, but I didn’t chastise her this time. Come to think of it, outside of announcing her presence in a non-corporeal voice, there wasn’t really any way she could prepare us for her visitations.
“You’re awake!” She looked delighted to see us. “I have something to report. I know Aegis was up watching all night—in fact, we had a nice conversation at one point. For a vampire, he’s actually not too bad.”
“You have news?” I gently prodded her. Franny had a way of rambling off onto disconnected subjects and she was the queen of the non sequitur.
“Yes, actually I do. I was hanging out in the basement for a little bit, and I heard a voice down there. It wasn’t Aegis—he was upstairs watching the bedrooms. I heard someone growl, and then I heard somebody say ‘I’m coming for you’ in what sounded like a threatening voice.” Franny blinked, twisting her fingers around her handkerchief. “I don’t know who he was talking to, and I hope it wasn’t me, but it didn’t sound friendly.”
“You’re right. That doesn’t sound friendly at all. Did it feel like it was directed at you?”
“I’m not sure. I didn’t feel personally attacked, if that’s what you mean. But I didn’t stick around to chance it, either.” She paused, then glanced over at Sandy. “If I may ask, how’s Henry doing?”
“He’s in stable condition, but he had a serious stroke. He won’t be coming home for a few days.” Sandy shifted in her seat. I had told her about what happened between Franny and Henry.
“The next time anybody goes to the hospital to talk to him, can they please take my best wishes to him? And please tell him I’m sorry we argued. That I didn’t mean anything I said.”
“We’ll make sure he knows,” I said. I didn’t want Franny to have to revisit her unfortunate choice of suggestions. I had the feeling she had been prompted by something other than her own conscience. In fact, I had a feeling that the dark shadow she had talked about had instigated the entire argument.
“Thank you. I’m going to go read for a while, if you don’t mind. It calms me down.”
“Go ahead. I added a couple books to your library that you might find interesting,” I said.
“Thanks, Maddy. I appreciate it.” She vanished before I could tell her welcome.
I waited for a moment, until her presence was gone from the room.
“I think Franny was influenced by this curse, and by whatever it is that got loose from that jar. There’s no way in the world she would have ever suggested that to Henry without being prompted. So if this creature—or spirit—whatever it is, can influence both mortals and spirits alike, it must be extremely powerful. When did you say the professor from Neverfall is coming over?”
“Two o’clock. So we have some time to fill.” Sandy glanced at the clock.
I frowned, accepting the plate of eggs and bacon from Kelson. She set a platter of toast in the center of the table, then joined us for breakfast.
“I don’t dare take any bookings until we get this taken care of.” My phone went off and I glanced at my text messages. Jordan had texted me. “Trey died.”
“Did Jordan say what he died of?”
I quickly texted Jordan, asking him. He texted back.
it’s as though the life just bled out of his body. i couldn’t find a damn thing wrong, except his heart kept getting weaker, and his brain functions went flat. something ate his energy. i’m going to do an autopsy, see if i can find an answer. leonard asked me to tell you that he and his crew will be back tomorrow morning to finish the job on the roof.
I texted back a thank-you. “Whatever it was, it basically ate Trey’s essence.”
Max offered to help Kelson rearrange the pantry, a big job but it needed to be done before the holidays, while Sandy and I headed out back for a walk. Even though the sun was shining, it was chilly, so we wore our jackets, huddling against the breeze that gusted past. The air smelled clear and fresh, and I realized that I felt much better outside than I did in.
“I’ve got to get rid of this curse. I didn’t realize it was hanging over the Bewitching Bedlam like a cloud. Franny talked about a dark shadow in the basement. I’d love to do a Divining spell, but I don’t dare. I can’t even be in the same room when it’s being done.” I glanced over at Sandy, finally expressing my fear. “What do I do if this allergy doesn’t go away? How can I be a witch if I can’t perform magic? And it’s not like the magical energy is gone. I can feel it inside me, pressing. But I don’t dare let it out.”
“We’ll get you through this. You know Jordan is brilliant, and he’ll find an antidote to the curse. Have you called Garret yet?”
I shook my head, scuffing through the leaves on the grass. The scent of wood smoke drifted past from a neighbor’s house. The thought crossed my mind that we should plant apple trees out here, and make our own apple cider in the autumn.
“I want to wait to see what the professor from Neverfall has to say. Garret may or may not be able to do anything, but if he can, the more information he has, the better.” I shivered as a strong gust blew past, swirling the leaves into the air like a whirlwind in bronze and copper.
“Max and I have decided on a wedding date,” Sandy said.
Delighted at the change in conversation, I clapped my hands, then thrust them under my arms again to keep them warm. “When?”
“We’ve decided to get married on Ostara. Well, not on the actual holiday, since our coven has to lead the town in the celebration, but we thought maybe the day before? And of course, we want you to be the priestess.”
I slipped my arm through her elbow, pulling her close. “Of course I will. You know that. I’ll do anything for you guys. Have you decided where?”
“What about the grove at the temple of Arianrhod? Has anybody booked it yet?”
Our temple—dedicated to the goddess Arianrhod, whom we all served—rented out one of the groves on our land for community events or for private parties, although they had to be spiritually oriented.
“I don’t think so. If we haven’t, you know that it’s yours.”
“I’d ask you to be my maid of honor, except you’re going to be the priestess. So I thought I’d ask Jenna to walk with me up the aisle.”
“I think that’s a wonderful idea,” I said. I paused, then added, “What about Fata Morgana? Do you think she’ll be coming in for it?”
Sandy shivered—I could feel it through her arm.
“Isn’t the question really, Do I want her to come in for it? On one hand, it wouldn’t feel right without her. But given the way she is… I’m a little scared to have her here for my wedding.”
I knew exactly what Sandy was talking about. It’d been both lovely and tragic to see Fata again. She was growing into something neither Sandy nor I could understand. She was becoming a goddess, and in so doing, she had already lost so much of her humanity. It wasn’t that she was malignant or evil—although she could be cruel and vicious—but she had evolved beyond the life we were living. And she was confused and afraid of what she was becoming, even as she reveled in it.
“I guess we’ll have to wait and see. She’ll do as she will. I don’t know that we can stop her. Anyway, let’s talk about more pleasant things. What about your dress? Have you any ideas yet?”
Sandy shrugged. “You know, I always thought I might want a designer dress if I got married again. But the more I think about it, the more I’m thinking I might go simple. When Brad and I started out, we had a big wedding but look how it turned out. Max has been married before, and so have I—several times. I thought you might go shopping with me to see what we could find. I don’t want to wear white. For one thing, it’s not our tradition, and for another, I think for a spring wedding I want something in pale pink or a sage green.”
We chatted a bit more about the decor and themes until we came to the edge of the forest.
“How goes plans for your campground?” she asked.
“Fairly well. Aegis is clearing out a lot of land. He comes out and works during the early morning while there’s enough light to see, but the sun hasn’t risen yet. We have time. He could afford to have it done all at once, but we decided we wanted to take it at a slower pace—to figure out exactly the way we want it.”
“How are you two doing?” Sandy asked. “He hasn’t proposed yet, has he?”
I laughed. “You have weddings on the brain, woman. No, Aegis has not proposed and I haven’t asked him to. And I haven’t encouraged him either. Just like this campground, we’re taking things at our own pace. I know he loves me, and he knows I love him. And right now, that’s all that matters.”
The sky overhead darkened slightly, and we could see an army of clouds rolling in from the northwest. Moisture hung heavy in the air, and it would be raining by noon. But the brief sojourn into sunshine had been welcome. As we turned and headed back to the house, I realized that I almost dreaded going inside. And that wasn’t like me at all. I loved my home, I loved my bed-and-breakfast. Yes, a pall had been cast over my house, and I wanted it gone.