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“Wow, another country. That’s so cool. I’ve always wanted to travel. Where’d you live?”
“London, most recently.”
“Guess you didn’t like it much.”
Perceptive girl. “What makes you say that?”
“Because you moved here. I don’t know why anybody would choose Fairhaven over a city as cool as London though.”
“London has its charms.”
“Well, your town doesn’t have any. Neither does mine.” She seemed to notice our location. “Here’s good,” she said.
I pulled to the shoulder of the road and let the engine idle. “Take care of yourself, Lyra.”
“I will, thanks.” She jumped to the ground and hobbled away.
I put the truck in reverse and drove home. That was my good deed for the day. I hoped I wouldn’t encounter any more bloody girls on the route home because they’d be shit out of luck.
I spent the remainder of the day painting the front room and trying not to dwell on my evening plans. A text from Steven confirmed he’d arrive at the Castle at eleven-thirty, which dragged my mind back to the mystery meetup.
By the time I finished painting, my arms were sore, and my clothes were splattered with eggshell paint. I ate an apple with almond butter for dinner, still full from Otto’s spread, and went upstairs to my bedroom to change.
I opted for a dark green top and black shorts.
“I don’t like the idea of my Steven confronting a bunch of thugs,” Nana Pratt said, pacing the area at the foot of my bed.
“And I don’t like the idea of ghosts violating the boundaries I’ve clearly set.” I tossed her an annoyed look as I placed my dirty clothes in the hamper.
“You weren’t doing anything interesting,” Nana said.
“I changed my clothes.”
“Nothing I haven’t seen before. I have all the same parts.”
I swiveled to face her. “It doesn’t matter. What matters is this is my sanctuary, and you’ve entered it without permission. It can’t happen again.” I gave her a pointed look. “Do you understand?”
She pointed at my phone on the bed. “That’s my grandson…”
“I don’t care if it’s the leader of an alien race giving me a heads-up that they’re about to take over the planet. It’s not your business. How would you feel if some stranger was watching Ashley get undressed?”
“When you put it that way…” Nana lowered her head, presumably in shame. It was hard to tell. “I apologize, Lorelei. I was only thinking about myself. You have to understand, though. Steven and Ashley only have each other. I can’t bear the thought of something bad happening to either one of them.”
“I do understand,” I said, “and I’m doing my best to help them, but that doesn’t give you the right to repeatedly violate my boundaries. Right now, I only intend to ward the property line, but that plan can change at any time.” It would mean a return visit to the witches, which I didn’t love, but I was willing to do whatever it took to preserve my peace. I didn’t move all this way and uproot my life again to be nothing more than a ghost magnet. I should’ve forced Nana Pratt and Ray to cross over with the rest of the spirits.
Nana Pratt seemed to get the hint. Without another word, she disappeared.
At quarter past eleven, I went to the outbuilding I used to house Betsy, my motorcycle. She wasn’t a new model by any stretch of the imagination, but she’d get the job done. I bought her years ago and left her in a storage unit with my other belongings when I left for England. She only needed a little love and care when I finally reclaimed her. My grandfather would often grumble about the quality of modern machines, and I’d mock his longing for ‘the good, old days,’ but I’d finally reached the point in life where I agreed with him.
I rifled through a cardboard box to find a second helmet for Steven. No sense risking a head injury. Ashley wouldn’t want to be reunited with her brother in a hospital.
Steven arrived ten minutes later, and we set off for the Knob. I’d done my due diligence before we left so I knew where to go. The trail was only a mile and a half long. Halfway to the Knob, I killed the lights and the engine.
“What are you doing?” Steven whispered, unwrapping his arms from my waist.
“We’re going the rest of the way on foot. I’ll leave this hidden behind a tree.” I scanned the silhouettes for the largest tree and rolled the bike over to it.
“Why?” Steven asked.
