Page 125 of Castings & Curses

Eventually, they learned Priya was a witch and not hallucinating. The local supernatural school had been reticent about enrolling her and suggested several tutors. Slowly, with the help of a cantankerous hex-witch, Priya learned how to control her magic.

“Either through talent or many years of hard training, they give magic direction and purpose with spell work and potions.” With a great deal of pride and a pinch of envy, Priya watched her college friends learn new and more complicated spells each year.

“Ice. Come this way.” Miles gently pulled her towards himself, steering her around the slick patch. “I imagine seeing ghosts isn’t something every witch can do.”

“No,” she admitted.

“You can speak to them. That’s no small thing.”

“I didn’t mean to make it sound like sour grapes. I’m happy with my magic. Would I like to be able to do more? Absolutely.” Feeling a gentle pressure on her arm, she followed his side pass around another icy spot. “It frustrates me that little kids are better practitioners than me, but I wouldn’t trade my ability for anything else.” Priya squeezed his arm. “Now it’s my turn. If you could go anywhere in the world, where would it be?”

“Japan. New Zealand. Egypt. They are all on my bucket list. How about you?”

“If I could go back in time I would love to see the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.”

“Don’t get me started on time travel,” he said wistfully. “Since we can’t, where else would you like to visit?”

“Barcelona. Versailles. New Zealand.” Hearing his quick inhale, she gave his arm another squeeze. “Don’t say it. We are not going to New Zealand on our third date.”

He let out a gusty breath. “You’re right. We should wait until our sixth date before tackling a twenty-some-hour flight together.”

A large black cat leaped out of an open dumpster. It hissed at them and dashed away.

“What’s the plan when we get to the building?” Miles asked.

“We need to get that basement window open. There’s something down there she wants me to see.” Priya prayed the little girl would appear again. She didn’t relish the idea of bumbling around in a basement not knowing what she was looking for, or worse, finding something that might give her nightmares for years.

“Your plan is highly illegal. Are you sure you don’t want to call the police?”

“They’ll laugh it off as a prank. If you can get the window open, I’ll go in, look around, and hopefully find some concrete evidence. You can keep a watch outside for our not-so-friendly Santa. It won’t take long.” She hoped.

“I can get the window open, however, I’m going in with you. No argument.”

The gray stone building came into view. The front side looked identical to the back, except there were no lights on in the windows. Priya scanned the area. Snow drifted into curving banks alongside the two-storied structure. A few cars were parked on the street. The low hum of distant traffic filtered through the cold air. She wondered how sensitive a vampire’s ears were. It would be handy if Miles could hear someone skulking nearby.

“Can you hear heartbeats or anyone breathing besides us?” she whispered.

His dark eyebrows knit together. “What?”

“Do you have super hearing?”

“I’m a vampire, not a shapeshifter.”

“Sorry. I thought vampires had keen senses.”

A lift of his shoulder jostled her arm. “Scent and sight are enhanced but I’d say my hearing is the same as before. The only thing I smell besides your delicate floral perfume is motor oil from that dumpster back there and unfortunately, I don’t have x-ray vision. Any chance your ghost is here?”

“No.” Disappointed, Priya unwrapped her arm from Miles.

Doubt and worry took up residence in her mind. What if the ghost was attached to the old bearded man? What if he took whatever the child thought was valuable down in the basement and fled?

“Maybe she’s waiting by the window.” If she wasn’t, contacting her without a name would be tricky, especially if the ghost wasn’t anchored to this site. Priya’s worry morphed into guilt. Even though she had no choice but to leave earlier, it felt like she’d abandoned the little girl.

“I’ll do a walk around and make sure Santa isn’t hanging around on the other side,” Miles said. “You wait here.”

Guilt pressed hard on Priya. “It would be faster to just go straight back.” She had to know if the ghost was still there.

“Faster, but I don’t want any surprises.”

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