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“Fine! Do you wish to see why you need to leave? Come with me!” Lucian finally growled. He put a hand out, and Maggie eyed it dubiously.
“What trick is this?” Maggie demanded as she twisted her head.
“No trick, stupid girl. You demand the truth of the Two Moons; you can have it. I hope it keeps your bed warm at night when you understand I was not joking about evil!”
“You just want to get rid of me. You’ve had the inn to yourself for three hundred years and won’t go into the light!” Maggie fired back.
“Into the light? What on earth have you been reading? And I thought today’s society was better educated,” Lucian drawled, pressing Maggie’s buttons.
“I’ll educate you, you misbegotten lump! You’re dead, as in, no body, flesh and blood turned to dust! You are a ghost who’s the worse pain in my ass I’ve ever come across. Lucian, you died three hundred years ago and don’t seem to realise that! Go away, scat, flee, find the light, or travel to the bowels of hell. Haunt somewhere else! But not my damn inn!” Maggie exclaimed.
“You don’t think I’m aware I’m dead? I was six and twenty when struck down. In my prime of life! I had a title, a home, land, businesses, and a family! I had a full life and sacrificed it to stop the evil from spreading through England and our sister countries. Maggie, you stand there and mock me and appreciate nothing about this inn or its history; that makes you an immature peahen!”
“I read the reports on the supposed haunting and how it’s linked to Margery Cross. I don’t believe in witches and magic!”
“Do not believe in ghosts either, do you!” Lucian retorted.
“No, I damn well don’t!” Maggie cried.
“So, what in damnation are you conversing with Miss Maggie?” Lucian slid home with his win and waited. Maggie slumped into her chair and gazed at him. Her mouth worked silently as she tried to find an answer. Finally, Maggie leaned into her hands and shook her head.
“Truthfully? I don’t know. None of this makes sense. The paranormal is what you watch on tv or read in a book. It’s not supposed to exist in real life! But I can’t deny you’re here or what you’ve been doing. It goes against science!” Maggie whispered.
“Science can not explain everything, Maggie. There’s something stronger than science, faith. Where science may fail, faith won’t,” Lucian said gently as the battle left Maggie.
“I know I’m not crazy. Mariah has seen you. Mr Evans and Melisandre heard you. But what makes little sense…” Maggie broke off into a sob.
“What, Maggie?” Lucian asked.
“If ghosts can exist, why didn’t my mum return?” Maggie cried. She lifted her head from her hands and gazed at Lucian like he had all the answers. Lucian must have suddenly realised why Maggie was so resistant to him being a ghost and why she battled against him so hard. His tone shifted.
“Maggie, your mother, she died recently?” Lucian asked softly.
Maggie nodded.
“Yes.”
“She must have said everything that was needed, Maggie. There is no need for her to return. She’ll be waiting for you to join her. I’m here because I have a mission. Other ghosts haunt because they have unresolved business. But I chose to be here and ensure the evil doesn’t escape from the trap I set three hundred years ago. And it is nearly three. You must come with me, and I will extract a promise from you,” Lucian replied and lifted his hand to her again. Maggie stared at it before taking it and getting up.
“Whatever happens, you can not make a sound. Do not move. This is imperative. Should she sense you are here, she will do everything to tear the living flesh from your bones. Her evil is beyond malignant, and you’ll feel emotions such as terror and numbness. I can contain her; I’ve succeeded for three hundred years. She only walks for a few minutes. But as I will be protecting you and keeping her here, you can’t attract her attention. I’ll be weakened, shielding you. Should she realise that she will challenge me, and I’ll have to sacrifice you to protect the world outside.”
“Ouch!” Maggie muttered as the bluntness of Lucian’s words sank in.
“Do not force my hand, Maggie, I beg of you. Stay still and quiet. Not even a squeak,” Lucian ordered vehemently. “You’ll not spot me, but I’ll be here, Maggie. I swear to defend you as best as I can. It is time. Curl up in that armchair and hold a pillow because you will need it. Do not leave until I come for you,” Lucian warned, and then he disappeared. An invisible hand touched Maggie’s face in reassurance, and then she sensed Lucian around her. The clock hit three and began chiming.
Chapter Four.
To Maggie’s surprised eyes, a bedroom appeared at the end of the hall. Maggie pulled her head back in surprise because she had walked this twice and never noticed a hidden room. A green mist began billowing from the gaps around the entrance, not a delicate green but a green mixed with grey. It was dark and eerie, and Maggie yanked the pillow up to her face. The entire hallway was lit with a fearful dull light. She wondered if she was trapped in a nightmare. The door swung slowly open, and the fog rolled out in waves.
A woman stepped out of the room. She wore a floor-length blue dress cut in the Georgian design, but for a poorer woman. Not one of nobility, although Maggie noted as the figure turned to face her, she rivalled the beauty of the aristocrats. Long brown hair tumbled down her back in wild curls and gleamed healthily in the light. Her nose was pert and straight, and her eyes were a cold amber. Plump lips and high cheekbones were accompanied by alabaster skin. Maggie recognised the lady, Margery Cross.
The sense of evil accompanying her was unsurpassed. It bled from Margery’s pores, seeping into the walls and floor of the inn. Margery stared directly in front of her, and Maggie wondered in her fear if the woman could see her. But as Margery paced closer, her eyes focused on the stairs, not Maggie cowering. Maggie made a slight noise, which the pillow hid as Margery passed and swept down the steps.
Quietly, Maggie rose to her knees and saw Margery pause to glare at Lucian’s portrait before gliding to the middle of the bar. Something there caught her eye, and Margery paused. When Margery’s cold voice cut across the area, Maggie wondered what she’d seen.
“Lucifer, I know you’re here. Are you going to release me tonight, lover?”
“Go to hell, Margery,” Lucian replied. Maggie searched for him but couldn’t see him anywhere.
