Chapter Three #2
I trace an amplification sigil across my forehead to activate my third eye and increase my ability to see energy.
My system floods with magic, and the room glows with a gentle bluish light.
Next, I trace a revelation sigil in the air around me.
It’s a risky technique, since it will also strengthen any lingering energy in the room, but it’s the best way to uncover hidden spirits.
It’s a calculated risk, but it’s what sets me apart from other witches. It’s why what I do is more powerful than the DIY shit that Coffee, Charms, and Crystals peddles to their customers.
When I turn around, Elle sucks in a sharp breath. “Are your eyes supposed to glow like that? The other guy didn’t glow.”
I take in the blend of shock and wariness on her face, and a smirk pulls at my lips. “Xander wanted the best. No one does this like me.”
Elle echoes my cocky smile. The expression sends a thrill of excitement from my head all the way to my toes. “You’re sure you’re the best?”
“Positive.” The certainty in my voice brightens her smile, but there’s a gleam of challenge in her eyes. I don’t bother arguing my point. Actions speak louder than words, after all.
I follow the baker through the B I’d recognize his summery scent and closet full of cashmere sweaters anywhere.
The other, though…does Elle live here? Or is this Louie’s room?
Whoever cleansed the home initially removed any active ghosts—if there were any—but they left a stagnant energy that could give any sensitive B&B guests a feeling that things are off.
Xander deserves a truly clean slate. From room to room, I gather up remnants of stale energy, folding it into my hands and carrying the load until we finally get back to the foyer.
“Could you get the door?” I do my best to hide the strain in my voice. My arms are full of old, sticky energy, and I’m eager to get it off me. I’m going to need a thorough self-cleansing after this.
Elle opens the door, and I nearly crash into Xander in my haste to get out.
“Done already?” He sounds disappointed, but the promise of being free of this energy keeps me from caring. I skirt around him, hurry down the front steps, and sink to my knees in the grass. With my hands pressed firmly to the earth, I release everything that isn’t mine.
“Is she okay?” Elle asks from the porch.
“She’s great. Pip does this all the time.” Xander’s certainty fills me with a warmth that drives out the cold ick of stagnant energy. There’s work to do before I can deal with either of them, though.
As the last of the ghostly residue bleeds from me into the earth, I pull in more magic, funneling it through me for a final deep clean. I press magic into the ground, supporting the earth’s natural ability to neutralize spiritual waste.
With that handled, I stand and brush the dirt from my jeans. With a few quick flourishes of my fingers to undo the sigils I cast at the beginning of my work, I settle back into my body before turning to face Xander and Elle.
“Brilliant,” Xander says, beaming at me. He wraps an arm around Elle’s shoulders and draws her in for a tight side hug. “What’d I tell you, Louie? Pip’s the best.”
Louie? The world seems to tilt beneath me. “I thought your name was Elle?”
“It is.” She pulls away from Xander and smacks his side. “Alex refuses to accept that I’ve outgrown my childhood nickname.”
“You’re Louie,” I say as the realization washes over me. The stories Xander told in college shift and rearrange themselves. “The ‘best friend since kindergarten, used to steal Mr. Owens’s liqueur in high school together, and once broke into the neighbor’s yard to skinny-dip’ Louie?”
Elle smacks Xander again. “What’d you do? Tell her all the worst stories about me?” She offers me an embarrassed smile. “I’ve matured a lot since our high school antics.”
Xander laughs. “Come on, Lou, they’re not bad stories. And it’s not like I told them all last night. Half of those I told while tipsy in college.”
The ground sways beneath my feet as they continue to bicker in that sibling-like way of lifetime friends.
I knew Xander opened this business with his childhood bestie, but actually seeing her tugs at a worry I didn’t know I had.
It feels a lot like loss, especially when I remember the second lived-in room upstairs.
Xander moved in with his original best friend.
My heart clenches painfully, and even though I know it’s ridiculous, I can’t stop myself from feeling like I’ve been replaced.
And I absolutely cannot think Elle is hot.
Not when I know who she is to Xander. Especially not when he’s reeling from a broken engagement.
I swallow the confusing, painful blend of emotions.
Professional Pippa. That’s who I need right now. That’s who I can be.
I cut into their continued bickering. “Whoever cleared the house for you the first time did a passable job. The house was already free from any active ghosts. I removed all the lingering energetic trails. As far as spiritual activity is concerned, your B&B is ready for living guests.”
Xander and Elle share a look that isn’t at all the congratulations or relief that I expected.
Something silent passes between them, a full conversation in the tiniest of facial expressions, a connection so deep words are unnecessary.
A sudden ache throbs under my ribs as painfully as my lower back often does after too many hours spent bent over my personal grimoire.
Frustrated, I shove the wayward emotion into the black box of my heart.
Finally, Xander nods. “You tell her, Lou. It was your brilliant idea.”
Elle stares down at me from her place on the porch. “First, for the record, my full name is Eloise Thompson. I go by Elle. Not Ellie. Not Eloise. And for anyone who isn’t Alex, not Lou, either.”
I nod, the feeling of outsider pulsing painfully in my chest. “Elle only. Noted.”
“And secondly…” She hesitates a moment, bracing her hands on her hips, drawing my attention to the flex of her forearms. “We want you to haunt our business.”