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“Oooh, is it surprise time?” George runs in from the ballroom, her earbuds still dangling from her ears. Eli, Yara, and Madeline trail after her. Gabriel leads me to the sitting room and throws the doors open. I’m lost for words as I take in the scene. Candles flicker on every surface, throwing eerie shadows across the high ceiling, so the painted fresco bordering the plasterwork appears to come alive. Creepy new-age music pipes from the built-in speakers. The furniture has been pushed aside and covered with white sheets, adding another layer of funhouse horror vibes. In the middle of the room stands a round table covered in a purple cloth dotted with occult symbols and even more candles. There’s a bucket of Champagne and a bowl of Halloween candy in the center.
Behind the table stands a woman wearing purple shawls and peasant skirts that match the table. Her eyes are closed as she raises her arms to the heavens.
“Who the fuck is this?” I jab my finger at the woman. My voice breaks the mood of the room, and the woman’s hand trembles as she fights to hold her composure. “We can’t invite random strangers in the house. What the hell were you thinking—”
“Relax, Claws.” Gabriel’s grinning like a Cheshire cat, which I’m beginning to learn is a sign I need to be worried. “This is Odette. We’re old friends. She’s done guest vocals on two of our albums, and her band opened for us on our last US tour. She also happens to be one of the most esteemed mediums on the West Coast.”
“My question stands. What the fuck is she doing in my house?”
Gabriel sweeps his arm around the room. “I thought it was obvious. This house is built on secrets and lies. We’re going to call on the ghosts of Malloy Manor to reveal themselves.”
“Oh, cool!” George bounds across the room to sit at the table, where this Odette person has laid out all manner of crystals and tarot cards. She holds up the pointer thingie for the spirit board. “Claws, come look at this.”
I grab Gabriel’s shoulders and shake him. “I can’t believe you did this. It’s the most irresponsible, ridiculous—”
“Relax, Claws. We used to do this all the time on the road. Once, we had an Ouija board backstage in New Orleans and all the lights in the building went out and this creepy voice said, ‘leave this place’,” Gabriel grins. “Come to think of it, the voice sounded an awful lot like Dylan, but it was still a lark.”
“Don’t you wonder what happened to the Malloys?” George asks.
I cannot believe this. I am not into this idea. At all. I didn’t want to poke and prod the ghosts of this house. I’d already found more than enough secrets and lies in my life to last a lifetime. I’ve lost the only family I thought I had and I’ve gained so much more. The last thing I need is a visit from my spectral parents to confirm all the niggling, wretched things I already believe about myself.
Never forget that only those you love can truly betray you.
But Gabriel looks so excited, and even Noah seems mildly interested (although that might’ve been Odette’s tits spilling out of her purple velvet dress). “Fine. I’ll indulge this nonsense. Even though there’s no such thing as ghosts and she’s probably rigged a device to make the table move. What do we do first?”
“First, a little ghost fuel.” We crowd around the table and Gabriel hands around glasses. I stuff a handful of Halloween candy in my mouth, hoping the sugar rush will stop my eyes rolling so far back in my head they get stuck in my brain.
It’s only when Gabriel carefully pours measures of a green liquid into fluted glasses and sets down a large crystal vessel filled with ice cubes do I realize we’re not having Champagne. He holds out the bottle for my inspection – absinthe, of course.
“I found this in Howard Malloy’s drinking cabinet.” Gabriel grins, patting the device lovingly. It has four little silver taps set into the base, at the height of our glasses. “Apparently, it’s an original nineteenth-century Parisian absinthe fountain. I had to Google a tutorial to figure out how it works.”
He dumps a jug of water into the ice-filled glass vessel at the top of the fountain, sending up a frigid cloud. Next, he shows me how to position a silver slotted spoon on the rim of my glass, place a sugar cube on top, then turn on the fountain’s tap so the ice water drip-drip-drips onto the cube, melting it into the glass below and turning the absinthe a cloudy color.
“Aren’t we supposed to set our drinks on fire?” Noah asks, frowning at the strange concoction in front of him.
“Apparently, that’s only to impress tourists in Prague.” Gabriel lifts his glass. “We are doing things classy for Claws’ birthday. Cheers, everyone.”
Fine. Gabriel’s running this show, so absinthe it is. He sips his drink with his pinkie finger sticking out the side, like the posh bastard he is. I knock mine back in one hit. It tastes like licorice and lighter fluid.
Odette’s bracelets jangle as she arranges the pointer on top of the board. “This is the planchette,” she explains. “If we make contact with the spirits, it will move around the board to spell out a message. Place one index finger on the planchette, and your other hand on the table, like this.” She demonstrates and we all follow her like little absinthe-fueled sheep.
“Must I keep my hand on the table?” Gabriel asks. “How will I drink?”
Odette rolls her eyes. “Luckily, I know you, Gabe. I bought something to help.” She reaches into her large carpetbag and pulls out a long metal straw, which she plonks into Gabriel’s glass. He bends down and slurps happily.
“Got any more of those?” If we’re doing this seance, no way am I going to be sober. Odette drops a straw into my glass, and I take a tentative sip. Yup, I didn’t think it possible, but absinthe actually tastes worse through a straw.
“Okay, I want everyone in the room to focus on the questions you want to ask the spirit world. Feel the presence of the house, of its history, of the spirits that may still dwell within.” Odette hums and sways. “Oh, spirits of Malloy Manor, commune with us, and unburden yourselves of your secrets.”
I think about Mackenzie shuffling into the room with a sheet over her head, pulling it back, and yelling ‘boo!’ I twist my lip to stop myself laughing. Noah sits across the table, and he stares at the planchette with such a serious expression I have to choke back my mirth. Of course, it doesn’t matter how ridiculous and pointless something is, Noah Marlowe has to get a perfect score.
“Are there any spirits in this house who wish to speak to us?” Odette intones. I snort, and she shoots me a filthy look. I suck in a deep breath and try to be serious, since everyone else seems to have lost their heads tonight.
“We call to us the departed spirits of Howard and Ainsley Malloy. Are you with us?”
The curtains flutter. Gabriel’s left the windows open even though it’s freezing outside. Typical.
“Howard Malloy. Ainsley Malloy. Do you still haunt these walls? Tell us, who hurt you? We want to help you. We want to hear your story. Please, speak through us. Commune with us.”
