Chapter 2
Chapter
Two
That was intense.
Flo had managed to get back to her safe place under the house. It’s where she always retreated to, somewhere the other spirits couldn’t follow and where she’d woken up the first time she opened her eyes. She didn’t have a memory of ever being aware before.
Or if she did, it was gone.
All she remembered was here and her name.
And him.
Fragmented memories that she wasn’t sure were real, yet they were there nonetheless.
The best part was that they also made her feel safe, which was why she had been so protective of him when he first bought the house.
She was bound to the property, and in the early days of her existence, she could recall him.
More clearly.
Except he wasn’t there, in those first few times she ventured from this room.
For years, no one was in the house except her and the other ghosts, who seemed to be wary of her.
They didn’t think she was a ghost, but Flo found that hard to believe because she could move through walls.
However, she could also touch things. The few books that remained helped her pass the time, and one of them was about the occult, so she was able to determine what she was.
Sort of.
Then, one day he showed up with his brother. She remembered trying to get his attention because she saw him when she dreamed, but it didn’t work. Then more books arrived in the house and she was able to figure out a bit more about her predicament.
The more she learned about it, the less she remembered.
And then Mercedes came. The witch who could see her.
Why?
She told me once, but why can’t I remember it? Flo curled up on her tangled old blankets in the corner of the dusty room she inhabited, hugging her knees as she buried her face into the soft fabric of the dress she’d been wearing for her entire existence.
Maybe this was hell?
Flo wallowed for a few moments, crying because it was a lot to process. And as she sat there pondering, a memory came flooding back to her.
“Run away with me,” Sven whispered against her ear, making her body heat. They were standing in the woods under a full moon, his arms around her waist.
“Are you certain you want me?” she asked, nervous because she wanted him.
“Yes. Only you. We can be together and I’ll protect you from your family. When we are married, everything will change and I’ll be free to leave here and so will you.”
She kissed him, her body trembling with desire. “Where will we go when your curse is broken?”
“Anywhere,” he said, smiling at her indulgently.
“How about Alaska?”
He laughed softly. “Why there?”
“We’ll be safe there. It’s remote. No one will find us, Sven.”
“If you want Alaska, then that’s where we’ll go.”
That memory calmed her. It’s why she was so drawn to him. She couldn’t even really remember where Alaska was and it didn’t matter. Something was telling her Sven was her safe haven, and yet here she was, hiding from him.
What am I doing?
Flo picked herself back up and then floated up from the safety of her little room. When she got back to the dining room, she remained hidden in the wall, watching before she decided to take a chance and safely venture out.
The guests that had been staying in the house were gone, which was good.
She didn’t like them. The other witch had departed too.
Flo also didn’t see the beautiful young unicorn shifter with the violet eyes.
The one who Sven and Magnus seemed to dote on, but she understood from watching for a while that they thought of her as a little sister.
The only ones left in the dining room were Mercedes, Magnus, and Sven. A few of the spirits lingered, but they couldn’t see her. Flo knew they were just loitering because someone else could see them.
“So, he can see ghosts now?” Magnus asked, crossing his arms.
“It would appear so,” Mercedes responded, wringing her hands. “Are you sure you’re okay, Sven?”
“I am. My head hurts a bit.” Sven rubbed his head. “I’m fine.”
“That was kind of a nasty jolt though,” Mercedes said, softly touching his arm.
“I’ll say,” Lottie sniffed.
Sven’s eyes snapped over to the spirit in question. “I don’t think we need spectators.”
Mercedes also glared at the other spirits. “Maybe it’s best if you all give us a moment?”
“Geez, doll. You don’t need to tell me twice,” Sal said. “Come on, Mario.”
“Right,” Mario the nude spirit stated. “Let’s amscray.”
“You’re so cliché,” Lottie droned. “Very well.”
“No!” Erickson shouted. “I have waited a millennium to speak to my shipmates again.”
“Erickson,” Sven stated. “There is a lot of time for that. I just need a few minutes to process what happened.”
Erickson grumbled and crossed his arms, much like Magnus. “Very well.”
“So, I’m the only one here who can’t see the spirits,” Magnus groused. “And Erickson, I mean, I can’t believe he’s here and I can’t see him. Does he look gnarly?”
“Gnarly?” Sven asked.
“Yeah, well, he was attacked by a big cat,” Magnus explained.
“That’s gross.” Mercedes shuddered.
Magnus snorted. “It’s not gross. I want to know.”
“Tell him I do not look gnarly,” Erickson stated.
Flo tried not to chuckle from her hiding place in the wall.
She was well aware the ghosts didn’t particularly like her.
They always kept their distance, and she steered clear of them, but it was kind of funny now that they had yet another outlet to speak to.
Maybe they would stop harassing Mercedes.
“Erickson, please. I just…” Sven rubbed his temples. “Just a moment, please.”
“Fine.” Erickson groaned again. “We shall depart.”
One by one the spirits dissipated into balls of blue energy and took off in the various directions of places they liked to haunt, until it was just her hanging out in the wall while Mercedes, Magnus, and Sven were alone in the dining room. Now, she had to pluck up the courage to face him.
“Why did she run?” Sven asked, with a hint of sadness in his voice that tugged at her heart.
“I don’t know,” Mercedes responded. “I told you a week ago at Margaid and Finn’s wedding that she was worse off. It’s almost like the curse on her had a time limit, and I would hate to think what will happen when it runs out.”
“Is there a way you can find out?” Magnus asked.
Mercedes worried her bottom lip. “I would probably have to go back to Tallowfield and see if I can access the restricted library there, but it would mean my family would know that I was searching for that information.”
The moment Mercedes mentioned her family, Flo recalled a moment.
“Who are these people, Father?” Flo asked nervously as dark cloaked figures entered the room.
“Friends,” her father responded.
“Oh.” She didn’t like them one bit. Evil exuded from them. “I have somewhere I have to be, so I’m sorry I can’t entertain them.”
Her father stepped in front of her, stopping her from leaving. “No. You don’t have anywhere to be.”
Two of the robed figures grabbed her and she screamed. “Let me go!”
“This is for your own good, Florence,” her father warned.
No, there was no way that Mercedes could go back to Tallowfield and put herself in that situation. If her ancestors were evil, no doubt her family was just as bad. And if Mercedes went back there, there would be trouble.
Flo might not be able to recall much, but that she knew. Her gut was telling her that.
“I don’t want you to get into trouble,” Sven stated quickly.
“I don’t want that either,” Flo said, stepping out from her hiding space. She still kept her distance and it was nerve-wracking to be back in this room, but something deep inside told her to do this. To go back and try to remember why she was drawn to Sven.
Why she always had been.
Mercedes smiled at her softly. Sven spun around, took a half step forward, but then froze. His red eyes so full of tenderness and longing, she could see it, and in a way, feel it. Instinctively, she wanted to rush into his arms because she felt like she’d done that before, but she couldn’t move.
“Flo,” he finally whispered.
“I’m sorry I ran,” she explained. “It was…it was a lot to take in. Seeing you thrown back like that and…”
“Did you remember something?” Mercedes asked cautiously.
“A feeling,” Flo responded. “I could feel the shock. Like it happened to me.”
She placed a hand on her chest, feeling a sting. She often felt it, but didn’t know what it was or why it was there.
“I’m okay,” Sven said.
Flo opened her eyes and looked at him. Really looked at him again, like she’d done countless times through the five years he had owned this house and slowly brought life back into it.
It was like her eyes remembered what he looked like.
The short hair on top, but longer in the back and braided.
The funny runic tattoo inked into his scalp.
The ghostly white skin and red eyes didn’t scare her and something told her they never had.
And part of her body remembered the way his strong, muscular arms felt wrapped around her, protecting her.
Just like that memory from the woods, when they talked about running away together.
She wanted to feel that again. Something was telling her that she had been wanting to feel that for years.
“I’m glad you are okay and I’m sorry I ran away when you saw me,” she said.
“I’m glad you came back,” Sven said softly.
“Me too.” And she was glad, though part of her was panicking just a bit.
“I think it’s time we amscray too,” Mercedes mumbled out of the corner of her mouth, nudging Magnus in the side.
“Amscray?” Magnus questioned, startled. “Why are you talking like that? Also, I don’t know what that means.”
Sven sighed and turned to look at his twin, his eyes narrowed. “It means get lost.”
Magnus laughed. “Okay, very well.”
“Come on, you can make me a sandwich,” Mercedes said, hopeful.
“Or I can take you downstairs and—”
“Magnus, just go,” Sven snapped.