Katie Rose (44 page)

Gabriel ruffled through the book. Immediately, a hush seemed to fall over the house, as if the spirits were listening. As soon as he put the book down, the noise started again. He turned to the last page and as he read the spell, the cloud of doubt lifted from his brow. He turned to her in excitement.

“Jennifer, that’s it. It has to be! Your chant is what brought the spirits here, and if so, this one could send them back!”

She gestured to the page. “Yes. This is a reversal spell, designed to undo whatever you have done. I discovered it last night while trying to figure out what went wrong. Strangely, the book was on the table—as if it were waiting for me, even though I swore I had locked it up with the other props. That spell isn’t for the faint of heart, though. It requires black candles, hogwart, a dagger, and urine of a toad.”

“Also hair of a cat, water from a stagnant pond, and bones of a black chicken.” Penelope shuddered.

“And seed of a thistle, and teeth from a mouse.” Gabriel continued, reading the ingredients.

“Ick!” Penelope cried. “This sounds really spooky. I’m getting nervous just talking about this.”

Gabriel nodded, thumbing through the book. There were spells to gain money, spells to bind troublemakers. There were healing chants, chants to gain the gift of prophesy, and spells to raise the dead. As he stopped on
the last page, he noticed that the energy of the house changed, and the spirits seemed to grow louder. He closed the book firmly. “I don’t think we have much of a choice. What’s spookier than a house full of phantoms?”

“You have a point,” Jennifer conceded. “But you don’t have to be involved in this. I know how you feel.”

Gabriel looked at her incredulously. “Jennifer, if you think I’m letting you do this alone, you’re mad. Besides, I have to be here. Look at this.” He opened to the last page again and pointed to the spell.

Jennifer nodded and turned to him, smiling, knowing exactly what it said. The spell indicated that it had to be performed on the night of a full moon. And that there had to be true love present, for only love could cross between the worlds.

It was, after all, an irresistible force.

“Is everyone ready?”

Jennifer glanced around the room and saw Aunt Eve light the candles. It had taken the girls all afternoon to gather the implements needed to perform the spell. The toad urine was the hardest, but unbelievably, Gabriel discovered a toad wintering in the basement. The little frog complied with his share of the ingredients as soon as Gabriel picked him up, and Jennifer had rushed with an eyedropper to gather up the liquid.

Penelope held Winifred’s hand, and she, in turn, held Gabriel’s. Jennifer took his other hand, surprised to find that it was warm and calm, unlike her own shaking nerves.

“Now we are.” Eve took her seat and clasped Penelope’s right hand. Penelope wrinkled her nose at the ghastly assortment of ingredients in the center of the table.

“I can’t believe we had to get all these awful things! I sure hope this works.”

“Hush,” Winifred said impatiently. “Let’s get on with it.”

Gabriel nodded in agreement, obviously just as eager to be done with the bizarre ritual. Jennifer closed her eyes, ignoring the sounds of the ghosts in the house, the wailing, laughter, and eerie whispers that mingled with them. Concentrating, she allowed her mind to focus on the chant that she’d spent all afternoon memorizing.

Jennifer took up the cup that Eve had poured and drank of the wine inside, then passed it to Gabriel. He did likewise, then passed the cup to Winifred. A trembling began somewhere in the house, as if a strong wind was building and threatening to blow the mansion from its foundation. The chandelier danced overhead, and the phantom portraits swerved back and forth on their own. Ghosts appeared, dancing and singing, teasing and taunting, opening drawers and throwing the silver. Laughter and loud music resounded, and the four women held onto each other’s hands in terror.

Suddenly, the room was filled with a strange light. Jennifer gasped, trying to keep her eyes closed, but the glowing luminescence penetrated beneath her lashes and she couldn’t resist a peep.

Phantoms, different from those who’d been haunting the house, appeared one by one. They swirled about, dashing between Penelope and Winifred, hovering around the ghosts who were suddenly quiet, then wreathing above Aunt Eve who closed her eyes determinedly. One by one they paused, hovering overhead, until the room was a swirling mass of dissipated energy. It was beautiful, wonderful,
and frightening, a glimpse into a valley of souls unfettered by beliefs or doctrine.

“My God!” Gabriel whispered as the spirits came into form. The faces that looked down at them were loving, and Jennifer knew that these were angels or spirit guides who would take the mischievous apparitions back to their own time and place. Some were male, others female. The visages that peered down at the humans were breathtakingly beautiful, wise and wonderful, and their presence made Jennifer want to cry.

“Read the next part,” Penelope whispered, frightened. “Send them all back!”

Jennifer nodded, then flipped the book to the next page. When she looked up once more, she was astonished to see her parents, smiling at a distance. A childhood friend, cruelly drowned at a tender age, waved to them, as did other relatives long since dead. Eve opened her eyes and they filled with tears as she saw friends from her youth and relatives long departed.

“They’ve come to help,” Winifred said, her voice rough with emotion. “I can feel their love.”

Gabriel squeezed Jennifer’s hand as he stared around the room and saw a face he’d never thought to see again. He rose, pointing, unable to speak. It was a long moment before he could force the words from his throat, and even then his voice was more of a croak. “My … father. He’s here!”

Jennifer and her sisters turned quickly to the vision that seemed to grow stronger right before them. Jack Forester smiled, and his face was glowing with warmth and love. Dressed in a gentleman’s suit, complete with hat and walking stick, he looked exactly as he must have in life. Jennifer saw the kindness in his eyes, the love that seemed to radiate from him. He reached out and touched his son, and Gabriel’s face was streaked with tears.

“Father?”

“Yes, Gabriel, it is me. I want you to know something, son. I’m proud of you, proud of what you’ve done. Remember that always, and know that even in eternity, I love you.”

“Father!” Gabriel reached toward the phantom, his voice overcome with emotion. “Please, don’t go!”

But he was already disappearing. Jack Forester smiled once more, then slowly faded away. Jennifer felt Gabriel’s hand clasp hers tightly as he slipped back into his chair, struggling with the torrent of feelings inside of him. Remembering the disagreements they’d had in life, Jennifer knew what it meant to Gabriel to see this man once more, and to realize, in one simple gesture, that all was forgiven. A moment later, Gabriel composed himself and nodded, then Jennifer continued with the chant.

The room slowly grew quiet. Penelope sobbed, Aunt Eve wept, and Gabriel sat still as a statue. The sound of the wind penetrated the séance chamber, and even the parrot stopped its dreadful squawking as a welcome silence filled the house.

“Is it over?” Penelope asked.

Jennifer slowly opened her eyes, almost afraid to believe that it had worked. Glancing around, she saw that the ghosts were gone. The wondrous guides had disappeared, and their bawdy guests along with them. The chandelier overhead was still, the birds watchful, and for the first time in days, the tiger cat settled down to sleep. Not a sound issued from the upstairs or the basement, and even the parlor was quiet.

“Yes,” Jennifer said in awe. “It is over.”

The fire crackled in the hearth, and Jennifer sat with Gabriel, sipping Aunt Eve’s tea, which was liberally laced with brandy. Snow fell softly outside, the white wispy flakes sifting through the trees like a cloudburst of feathers. The tiger cat slept peacefully, and even the parrot and the mynah had stopped squawking and had settled down for a night’s rest. To all outward appearances, it was a quiet domestic scene. No one would have guessed that a battle with the occult had taken place less than an hour before.

“Gabriel, thank you so much for your help,” Jennifer whispered, her voice rich with emotion. “I never could have done it without you. Listen to that.” She gestured upstairs, to where her sisters slept.

“What?” Gabriel looked upward.

“Nothing. Silence. The most blessed sound in the world.” Jennifer sighed in relief, leaning back against the parlor sofa. “After the last few days here, I never thought to hear it again.”

“You were very brave, performing that spell,” Gabriel commented, thinking back to the dreadful moment when the room had filled with specters. “Thank God it worked.”
He glanced toward the table, then a puzzled frown creased his forehead. “Jenny, what happened to the book? I could have sworn it was right there.”

Jennifer looked over at the table, then glanced beneath it. The book had been there—she was positive. Now it was gone, just as suddenly as it had appeared the day she’d bought it.

“That’s strange. Maybe Aunt Eve or one of my sisters has it. In any case, I fully plan to retire. I’ve had enough of ghosts and phantoms and things that go bump in the night. Go ahead and say it, Gabriel, I deserve it. An ‘I told you so’ is the least I should get.”

When Gabriel didn’t respond, Jennifer sighed. Glancing at him, she saw that his face was troubled, as if he were struggling with something he didn’t want to say. Her heart lurched painfully. Looking down at the rug so that he wouldn’t see the tears in her eyes, she spoke softly, her voice nearly breaking.

“Gabriel, I know that after what happened tonight you probably want to run as far away from here as possible. Everything that you predicted came true, which is funny, as I’m supposed to be the fortune-teller. But you were right. The occult is something we never should have gotten involved with, and we’ve paid a terrible price. I endangered my sisters, myself, Aunt Eve …” Jennifer lifted her eyes and faced him, choking back tears. “It was thoughtless and dangerous. I’ll understand if you want nothing else to do with me, and can only thank you for being, really and truly, a friend.”

But Gabriel simply shook his head. Turning toward her, he took the teacup from her and firmly placed it aside, then took her hands in his own. His blue eyes burned with a deep intensity, and Jennifer’s breath caught in fright. Surely he would tell her now he was through with her. In truth, she couldn’t blame him.

Prepared for the worst, she was doubly shocked when
he spoke, his voice deep and compelling. “Jennifer, I want you to know how much I love you. If anything, this experience has made me a more complete, more spiritual man. Don’t you understand? To see that we don’t just die at the end of our existence, that we go on, that there is some purpose, some meaning to it all …”

He glanced away from her, as if the emotion were too much for him to control. Jennifer wanted to reach out to him, but knew he needed this moment to make sense of the incredible evening. When he looked back, his eyes were softer, filled with warmth and love. “And to see my own father, after fearing for so many years that he despised me, that I had been a disappointment to him. That was an ache I’ve carried with me, a painful wound that never completely healed. When he spoke to me, let me know that he understood and loved me … My God, do you know what that has done for me?”

Jennifer felt the tears welling in her eyes, but she quickly brushed them away, almost afraid to believe what she was hearing.

“I have lived my life very much in the moment,” he continued softly. “I have collected payments from men who couldn’t afford to pay, and have had little remorse about it. I have run a tight business, made a lot of money, and held my place in society. Yet, I realize now, it all means nothing.”

“But, Gabriel, you aren’t wrong to be successful,” Jennifer protested.

“No, I know. But what have I done to make a lasting difference? I never gave a damn about my fellow man, never thought about helping anyone else until I met you. Strange as it may seem, in some ways I am the charlatan, for I’ve pretended that what I’ve done is important, and it really isn’t. I’ve made money, but I’ve very seldom eased a burden from someone’s shoulders, nor taken away
their pain even for a brief moment. That’s what you do all the time, dear, although it took me a long time to see it.”

Jennifer smiled tremulously. “Are you sure? I don’t embarrass you? You don’t think I would cause you to lose business? I know what people think of me, and I know that we Appletons will never be entirely accepted. I would never want to hurt you, or cause you regret.”

“Jenny.” Gabriel smiled, and touched her cheek with his finger. “How could I ever regret any of this? As for society, remember that I am a merchant, and barely accepted myself. And as far as business goes, you’ve actually brought me more. The mayor came to see me after meeting you the other night. Apparently, he heard that you and I were … involved, and his curiosity got the better of him. In any case, it resulted in a nice deal. I won the city contract.”