Chapter Seventeen
Town
Late
Afternoon
After the call with Elizabeth, Graham and Ian had finished up their late lunch, and were ready to go. They had to meet Finn and Gabby at the psychic’s, and then get back to the castle with her.
They hoped.
Only, as they were walking to the address that Finn had texted them, another text had come in, and that had caught them off guard.
‘Something came up at the doctor’s office. We’ll meet you back at the castle later. I hope you don’t mind us skipping out. Finn.’
When Gryphen showed Ian, he was just as confused as he was, and that was saying a lot. Only, it wasn’t like they were going into battle.
They absolutely could do this part of the job alone. It wasn’t a band of armed militants.
It was a psychic.
And honestly, Gryphen didn’t buy into it anyway. To him, this kind of shit was made up, and for as long as he lived, he’d believe that.
There wasn’t anything a psychic could tell him that he didn’t already know.
Mostly, that shit happened all the time, and no one could predict it.
NO.
ONE.
As they reached the cottage that had the same address on it, they both looked around. It looked like any ordinary home, and nothing screamed ‘psychic’.
Going to the door, Ian knocked, and Gryphen stood sentry right behind his man.
Just.
In.
Case.
He wasn’t sure what they were going to be dealing with, but he wanted to make sure he was prepared for anything.
When the door opened, a pretty redheaded woman opened the door. She had freckles, big curls, and pretty green eyes.
“Ian and Gryphen?” she asked, in a whimsical Scottish voice.
It was sing-song-y, and caught them both off guard. This was not who they expected.
She looked like a normal woman, and not who they thought would believe they were psychic.
“We are,” Ian said, holding out his hand and shaking it.
Then, Gryphen did the same.
“Come in,” she offered. “I’m Sarah. I’m also going to say something came up with Finn, and he was unable to make it?”
Gryphen laughed.
“Shouldn’t you know that?” he asked. “You know, since you’re psychic?”
Ian stared at him in horror.
Had he lost his damn mind?
What was this?
“Well, no, I don’t know everything. If I did, I guess that would make me…God.”
Gryphen said nothing as they were led into her home. On one wall, there were little bottles of herbs and stones, and on another, there were books.
They ranged from herbalism to witchcraft. Uh, yeah, this was more than a psychic.
This was a witch.
Ian would bet on it. He spent enough time with the Blackhawks and around Janet Leonard to know the witches tools when he saw them.
“You have a really adorable home,” Ian admitted. “It’s cozy.”
She smiled.
“Thank you, Ian. I appreciate that. I bought it not long ago, and I have been trying to make it my home,” she said, sitting on a couch as the two men sat across from her. “It’s a work in progress, like most people, but one day, it’ll be perfectly imperfect,” she admitted.
Well, it was witchy and mystical in there, and Ian liked it. Oh, it wasn’t his style, but he managed Elizabeth’s office. He wasn’t a psychic.
“So, Maisie told me very little. What she wanted to know was if I can banish a curse, and maybe answer a few questions for you.”
That was about right.
“We work for the people who bought Ravensmire,” he said. “It’s haunted, and there’s a curse. We’re trying to communicate with the dead, and they are not exactly being helpful. We get a lot of pointing, and nothing more. As for the curse, we need help lifting it.”
She listened but said nothing while he talked.
“The owner isn’t ghost-friendly, and we have come to learn that long ago, bad things happened there. We need help settling the place down.”
She picked up a pile of tarot cards, and handed them to Ian.
“Shuffle them, and then give them to your skeptic fiancé,” she said.
Gryphen lifted a brow.
How did she know that? Maisie was the one who talked to her, and not Finn.
Or did he call too?
Now, he had that feeling in his belly that this was not going to be entertaining like he thought.
It was going to be freaky.
Like Elizabeth, he didn’t like the woo-woo—especially since he’d encountered Ceit, and what wandered the grounds of Ravensmire.
Ian did as she asked, and then handed them to Gryphen. He literally put the top card on the bottom, and then handed them back.
Sarah smiled.
“You’re a tough one, aren’t you?” she asked.
He shrugged.
“You tell me. You’re the psychic.”
She didn’t get offended by it. If she had a dollar for every single time someone doubted her gift, she’d be very rich indeed. Only, she had been born with a spirit guide, and when she got out of school, she had been tired of pretending she was normal.
She wasn’t.
Laying the cards out, she looked over them.
“Okay, so the castle has lost love, pain, betrayal, and anger. There’s a lot of anger.”
Gryphen rolled his eyes.
Anyone could know that.
It was Ravensmire, and it was notorious in this village. He wasn’t buying this.
As she kept going, she paused.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “You nearly died,” she added, not looking up.
“Which one of us?” Gryphen asked, trying to trick her. Only, it bit him in the ass.
She pointed at Ian.
“I’m so sorry what happened to you. You did the right thing,” she added. “Your pain is still there, and you still dream about it.”
He said nothing.
Then, she looked at Gryphen.
“You’re the one who nearly died, protecting the man you love. You almost didn’t cross back over. Instead, you were in the middle realm, waiting to go home. The beach nearly took you from him.”
Gryphen sat there quietly.
He was getting freaked out.
No one knew what he’d experienced. When he’d been in the coma, hanging on by a thread, he’d been marooned on a beach until somehow, Ian found him in his subconscious.
She tapped the card.
“He saved you,” she said, staring at Ian. “In your heart, you were giving up, and he saved you.”
He nodded.
“You’re getting married soon. Oh, you need to do it on the holiest night of the year for those of us who worship the goddess. Halloween.”
Well, fuck.
Now, Gryphen was getting twitchy.
They LITERALLY just decided on this not an hour ago. There was no way she could know that.
Right?
“Is it the right move?” Ian asked.
She smiled.
“You aren’t a huge fan of Christmas, so yes, Ian, it’s a good move. You’re doing it here, and you’re doing it at the castle. Good for you. The old lady needs some joy.”
Yep.
Commence freakout.
“How do you know that?” Gryphen asked. “What did Finn tell you?”
She stared up at him.
“He didn’t tell me anything. I didn’t speak to him. I spoke to his sister. We grew up together. She mentioned a curse and that the place is filthy with ghosties.”
Yeah, Gryphen didn’t like this.
“You both shuffled the cards. So your energy is in the deck. I was just curious with who I’m working with,” she said. “Some people are cruel and dangerous to people like me. So, I like to make sure.”
They were both a little caught off guard.
“So you want me to come to the castle and see what I can do to help you. I’m game. I love a good rousing game of communicating with the dead. I advise against a séance or using any Ouija boards. They are dangerous.”
Well, shit.
“When can you do it?” Ian asked.
She looked at her watch.
“I have a client coming in after you,” she said, as someone knocked on the door just as she said it.
“I’ll head to the castle right afterward.
I’m looking forward to walking through it, and seeing what I can do to help you.
As for removing a curse, I need to feel the magick there, and see if it's removable. I won’t know until I am in the thick of it, Lads. ”
This was wild.
When she got up, she headed to the door, and they both heard talking. It didn’t take long for her to come back, and she was alone.
“I asked her to come back in a few minutes. I can see that you both need more time with me. Is there anything you want to ask me?”
Ian did.
“Is he going to be safe?” he asked, pointing at Gryphen. “I worry about his job.”
She smiled.
Then, she held up a card.
“He’ll be safe, but the person he guards is always in danger. In the coming months, something will stalk her. Something is coming for her. Beware.”
That didn’t sound good.
Ivan would lose his nut.
“What is coming for her?”
She put her hand on one of the cards, and stared at them.
“It’s weird, but my spirit guide is talking in Russian. I don’t know what that means.”
Oh, they did.
Shit.
Shit.
Shit.
Elizabeth had Russian spies after her, since she took down their boss.
“Other than that, please give my condolences to Finn and his woman.”
Ian lifted a brow.
“What about?”
She stared into the cards.
“Just tell him the words. He’ll explain,” she said, not giving them anything more. “I’ll meet you at the castle in a little over an hour. See you there.”
That was…dismissive and disturbing all at once. Only, what were they supposed to say?
Getting up, they walked out, and not far from the woman’s cottage was a woman. She raced at the psychic witch, and pushed money into Sarah’s hands.
“I need him to love me. Can you help me?”
She sighed.
“You know I can’t do that, Lilly. I can’t help you spell someone. If you want a card reading, palm, tealeaf, or runes, I can help you. If not, I’m sorry. I don’t cast spells or curses.”
That was all Gryphen had to hear.
He pulled his man down the street and didn’t stop until they were far enough away.
“I don’t like this.”
Ian laughed.
“You don’t like her because you decided she was faking it before you met her, and she scared you senseless.”
Yeah.
That.
“She knew too much. I have to ask Finn what he told her.”
Ian just shook his head.
“We don’t understand everything in the world, Gryphen. Maybe just write this off as one of those things,” he suggested. “I can’t wait for her to tell us what’s going on in the castle.”
Why did that sound like a terrible idea to him?
Let a witchy psychic into a haunted castle?
Good God.