AllFreeNovel
Share Us
As they dove into Fiona’s ancient books and the internet, tears sprang into Layla’s eyes, her heart aching for the lost guardian that had once been a beacon of love and wisdom. The room seemed to fill with an overwhelming sadness, a testament to both the entity’s pain and Layla’s empathic nature.
“Maybe it’s time for us to channel to talk to my ghost-friends,” Fiona suggested. “They always seem to know more than we do.”
“But I’m thinking more along the lines of a peace ritual. Something to soothe the entity’s chaotic energy.”
“Do you think we’re dealing with the same entity as last time?” Layla asked. “Is this Fred?”
“I have no way of knowing that. Maybe Fred was one of a set of triplets!”
“That almost makes sense to me,” Layla said. “If one person watching over the world is a good idea, why not make three?”
“Interesting,” Layla mused, her eyes distant as if envisioning the ritual. “That could be true.”
“We’ll start from there,” Max said. “Another peace ritual?”
“Leave that to me,” Fiona declared, her inner drama queen resurfacing in full force. “Trust me, I’ve seen enough ghost movies to know my way around a séance.”
“Great,” Layla said with a chuckle. “Just don’t summon any more chaos while you’re at it.”
“Hey, no promises,” Fiona winked, already planning the layout for their paranormal peace offering.
As the four of them began preparing for the ritual, Fiona couldn’t help but notice how their shared belief in love and empathy seemed to unite them. It was as if they were drawing upon an ancient source of strength, tapping into a power far greater than any one of them alone.
Layla frowned. “I think we need to have Jake as part of it. I know he doesn’t know about our special gifts or anything, but it just feels like he needs to be with us.”
Max nodded. “I’ll call him and invite him here. Tell him we’re having pizza. Who could turn down pizza?” he asked.
Picking up his phone, he hit Jake’s number on his speed dial. He couldn’t say he and Jake were close friends, but he would say he admired and respected the other man. It would be good to get to know him better away from the work they both did. “Hey, Jake. Max Kelso. Are you busy?” He waited a moment for an answer. “Come to my place for pizza. There’s something I want to talk to you about.” After giving him the address, he hung up and ordered three pizzas. It was a lot of food for just five people, but he’d seen Jake eat before. Besides, one of Fiona’s ghost friends was always trying to eat whatever they had.
“All right. He’ll be here in a few, and I think we should clue him in on what’s going on.”
Layla nodded, smiling. Jake was sexy even in his firefighter’s uniform. She looked forward to seeing him without it.
Jake arrived before the pizza, and seemed surprised to find four people there and not just Max. “Hey, I kind of brought you here under false pretenses, but we feel like we need you.”
Jake stood for a second and finally nodded. “Is it about the fire?” he asked, looking at Layla. “You weren’t hurt, were you?”
Layla shook her head. “No, I wasn’t hurt. Here, sit down, and we’ll tell you a story.” After Jake was seated, the other four explained together what the women could do, and what that had led to with the Victorian mansion he lived next to. “Everyone just calls it the haunted mansion.”
“You’d think the real estate agent would have divulged that little piece of information when I was thinking about buying the place.” He shook his head. “And you all think you have powers?”
“I’ve seen it,” Max said softly. “Fiona was even able to give me the power to see spirits myself.”
“All right. Well, we’ll pretend I believe you for now. What do we do next?”
The doorbell rang at that moment. “We eat pizza,” Max said, walking to the door.
While they ate, Fiona explained what she believed needed to be done next. “Just a simple ritual that we can do here and now. Layla felt like you needed to be here for it, so Max called you.”
Jake frowned. “Why do I need to be here?”
Layla shrugged. “I have no idea. It’s just a feeling.”
“I’m not sure I’m buying all this.”
“We’re truly not trying to sell you anything,” Bella told him. “We’d just like help in doing a simple ritual. Shouldn’t take up a lot of your time.”
“I’ll do it. I won’t believe in it, but if you think you need me, I’ll be here for it.” Jake obviously thought they were all insane, which made Layla’s lips twitch a bit. They’d had it much too easy with Max, who had been ready to believe anything they told him.
