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"I will," I promised.

"And good luck with the curse!" she added, giving me a knowing smile. "I'm sure you'll have our handsome Gryphon up and about again in no time."

"Well, I hope so," I said, feeling a little nervous at the thought.

Because now that I had the Whisper Dust and all the other ingredients for the spell, there was really nothing stopping me from trying to break Garrik's curse…except, of course, the fact that I had absolutely no idea how to do magic.

And the fact that I was going to have to kiss his sleeping body, which was going to be awkward, to say the least.

"Come on," Bartleby said, rubbing against my ankles. "Let's get back to the manor. I want to see Garrik's face when you tell him what kind of spell you're going to do."

I looked down at him.

"Why? What's so funny about it?" I demanded. Because he was definitely smirking—if cats can be said to smirk, that is.

"Oh, nothing," he purred, his golden eyes gleaming with mischief. "Nothing at all. I’m just excited to see his reaction."

But I could tell from the way his tail was twitching that he thought the whole thing was absolutely hilarious…which made me nervous. Very nervous.

Still, there was nothing to do but go back to Blackthorn Manor and face the music. I had my spell, I had my ingredients, and now I had the Whisper Dust that Goody Albright had recommended.

All I needed now was Garrik's cooperation. But considering how stubborn and argumentative he could be, I wasn't entirely sure I was going to get it.

I sighed and followed Bartleby out of the store, carrying my magical shopping bag and wondering how I had gotten myself into such a ridiculous situation.

Yesterday morning, I'd been an ordinary middle-aged woman living in Tampa, worrying about work and paying my bills. Today, I was a newly discovered Veil Witch in an enchanted town, carrying a bag full of magical groceries and preparing to kiss a hundred-year-old sleeping ghost in order to break a curse.

Honestly, you couldn't make this stuff up. Well, maybe you could if you wrote paranormal romance novels—but I certainly hadn't expected to find myself living in one!

And as we started back towards Blackthorn Manor, I couldn't help wondering what Garrik would say when I told him what I had to do. Knowing him, he'd probably have a fit.

But maybe, just maybe, once he got over being offended, he'd let me try.

After all, what did we have to lose?

14

GARRIK

I had been waiting for Celeste to return for what seemed like hours. Which was ridiculous, of course, because she'd only been gone a little over two hours, and considering how many years I'd spent alone in Blackthorn Manor, that was hardly any time at all.

Still, I found myself drifting back to the front windows again and again, looking down the long drive to see if there was any sign of her. I told myself that I was simply making certain she hadn't wandered off the road again, and gotten herself eaten by a troll. After all, the woman had already demonstrated a remarkable talent for getting into trouble, and I had no wish to go roaring around the Northern Woods again, trying to frighten away hungry Creatures.

But the truth was, the house seemed strangely empty without her.

I'd grown accustomed to the silence over the past hundred years. In fact, there had been times when I'd almost convinced myself that I preferred it. But after only one evening of having Celeste Kinderson arguing with me, questioning everything I said, and generally disrupting my peaceful existence, the silence seemed considerably less pleasant than it once had.

I was beginning to think that the woman was driving me mad.

Finally, I saw her coming up the drive with Bartleby trotting along beside her. She was still wearing Lucinda's green dress, and the mink stole I'd given her, and her long brown hair was blowing in the chilly autumn breeze. She had a small green shopping bag in one hand and a covered basket in the other, and she was talking animatedly to that infernal cat.

I wondered what the two of them were discussing. Probably me, I thought sourly. Bartleby had always enjoyed gossiping about other people, and Celeste seemed to find him endlessly amusing.

Well, at least she was back safely. That was something.

I drifted down to the front hall to greet her, though I made certain to look as though I'd just happened to be passing through when she opened the door.

"Oh, there you are!" she exclaimed when she saw me. "Good—we need to talk."