Page 21 of Wallflower Witch

“You did come around a few times but seemed tired and cold,” adds Josh. “We tucked you into bed and took turns checking on you throughout the night.”

“When I asked the other two what happened, they said it was your story to tell, not theirs,” Matt complains. “So now can I know what happened?”

I sit up, smiling gratefully at Patrick and Josh. Patrick shrugs while Josh nods at me.

“I guess…” I say.

Patrick cuts me off. “But first, how are you really feeling? You kept waking up and would say something and then go back to sleep.”

“I’m hungry, but I’m awake,” I answer.

Josh moves over to the table, grabbing a plate and adding a sample of breakfast items to it. He tosses a few pieces in Quoth’s mouth, who happily gulps them down. Matt clears his throat, drawing my attention back to him.

“And to answer your question, as nuts as I’m going to sound, I can see ghosts. And talk to them now.”

Matt blinks owlishly at me as Josh hands me the plate. “Since when?” Josh asks. “I thought it was only when you were experiencing their deaths that you heard anything. Or something like that.”

“The little boy from the tree showed up last night. He told me ‘Thank you,’ then he touched me. That’s the last thing I remember.” I grab a strip of bacon and bite it in half.

“Guess you can’t touch ghosts even if you can talk to them,” adds Patrick. “Wait, can anyone actually touch a ghost?”

Matt looks back and forth between all of us before busting out laughing. “That’s a good one,” he wheezes out between guffaws. “You almost had me.”

Josh walks over to the bed with a plate for himself and plops onto the bed, clapping Matt on his shoulder. “I wish we were joking, but no such luck, mate.”

Matt chokes off the laughter and scans each of our faces. “Shit. You’re serious?”

“I’d have voted to wait longer to tell you, since you’ve always been a skeptic,” Josh says. “But we are about to head to Spell’s Hollow, and well… Shit hit the fan when we were up there, so better safe than sorry.”

“That’s the first time I’ve passed out,” I grumble.

“Yeah, but that was much less dramatic than some of the other scenes you’ve lived…experienced…whatever word I’m looking for.” Josh smiles, sitting down with his own breakfast plate.

“Yeah, yeah,” I sass back. “But I’d rather take a nap than be burned at the stake again.” I shudder at the memory.

“How about we try not to do either,” Patrick inputs from his seat. “Matt, get some breakfast if you want it, so we can go to the house, and you can experience all there is to experience in Spells Hollow.”

* * *

Less than an hour later, we are bouncing up the dirt road on our way back to the land of my ancestors.

“Are you sure we should be here?” asks Matt. “Something just feels wrong. Like we are walking on a grave or something.”

“I mean, that’s not a horrible description.” Patrick shrugs. “And I’d say you get used to it, but you don’t. You just learn to ignore it the longer you are up here.”

“But I find it slightly lessens when I’m with Mor,” Josh adds. “Maybe hold her hand or something and see if it helps.”

I twist from my spot in the front seat, trying and failing to find a comfortable way to push my arm toward the back.

“Maybe when we get there?” I suggest. “It should only be about ten to fifteen more minutes.”

Matt grimaces but nods.

Patrick maneuvers his car closer to the O’Byrne house than last time. We pile out, looking around at the desolate landscape. They take a few steps away from the vehicle while I hang back to let Quoth out to stretch his wings. He immediately takes off for the treeline, enjoying the chance to explore the area.

“This is both cool and creepy,” Matt says, looking from one house to the next. “So what was this place again?”

He moves closer to me and holds out his hand as Patrick gives him a rundown of the town’s history as far as his family was able to track.

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