Luckily, he stopped and opened the trunk of some fancy black vehicle. I never paid much attention to makes and models of cars, but even I could tell it was a significantly better vehicle than I’d ever ridden in.
He looked up, realized I wasn’t behind him, and began looking around until his gaze landed on me. He nodded and waited patiently as I rushed to catch up.
“You walk a lot faster than me,” I said, forcing myself not to apologize. I’d done way too much fucking apologizing for things that weren’t my fault. Andy’s face came to mind. I thought Cary should’ve been the one apologizing in this situation. However, he didn’t. He simply nodded to acknowledge my statement, opened the fancy car’s back door, and gestured for me to get inside.
I felt a bit put off by him opening my door, but I climbed in, nonetheless. “When in Rome,” I muttered after he shut the door behind me.
He ignored me as we drove through the busy streets. I played on my phone, although I didn’t really have much to look at. I’d gotten rid of most of my social media accounts after I’d been hitby thousands of people wanting me to buy them shit like I’d won the lottery or something.
It wasn’t like I knew that many people. I’d always been a loner, and my friends, the ones I really did connect with, were odd ducks with a million conspiracy theories about social media. So, as I’d done on the train, I opened the Sudoku app, which Andy had referred to as my old man geek app, and played as we drove along the backroads of Oregon toward our destination.
Several hours later, we turned into a secluded drive.
I watched as we entered a beautiful clearing with a small lake with swans, of all things, swimming around in it. I noticed several beautiful pergola-like buildings around the lake. There was a nice-sized cottage on the other side of the water, and when I saw it, I was pleased. It wasn’t the humongous house I’d seen when I’d done a Google search of the place, or visited the official Cordelia Manor website run by the town.
As we drew closer, Cary drove past it.So, not the cottage, I thought. Just as we passed the smaller home, a vast mansion burst into view. This one was very different from the building we’d just passed. Instead of a pretty lake with swans, there seemed to be miles of formal, heavy-on-the-concrete, hardscape gardens.
The drive circled to the front of the home, along the side gardens, and stopped at what looked like an old English manor. I even looked to see if a line of servants was waiting for me to get out of the car.
Luckily, there wasn’t. I opened my own door, although Cary looked like he was about to do that for me. But it was time to stand on my own feet, and opening the car door was certainly a first step.
I waited as he brought my suitcase up to the enormous entrance. “So, do you have keys or something?” I asked.
The man shook his head. “No, but the door should be open. Mr. James said he wasn’t sure how long he’d be in court, so it sounds like it may be tomorrow before he’s able to come by to discuss the particulars of your arrival.”
I nodded and approached the door to see if it was indeed open. The moment I touched the handle, my hand began to feel numb. Ignoring the weird sensation, I opened the door and stepped inside just as someone or something hit me square in the face, knocking me back out the door and onto the concrete steps. “Ouch,” I said as I hit my head.
I remember looking up as a worried Cary leaned over me. Then I saw him stand, do something with his hands, and say something about casting back.
“What the hell was that?” I managed to ask before the world turned fuzzy.
2
Cary Beacroft
Damn, and damn again, I thought as I rushed the cute twink to the emergency room. I probably shouldn’t have moved him, but damn, I knew his likely concussion would need to be seen to quickly, and waiting for an ambulance this time of day wasn’t a good option. Besides, I could get him to the hospital faster. At least he was conscious enough to get back into the car without my having to carry him. Although, he didn’t look like he weighed much.
I should’ve been prepared. It wasn’t like I didn’t know Cordelia Manor was haunted, or that the main spirit was a hateful son of a bitch, but damn, it’d been a hotel for decades. Who’d have thought the damned spirit was still a vengeful twat when so many people had come and gone.
I hadn’t anticipated a lot of things. I hadn’t anticipated the new owner would take my breath away, or make my feel so… weird inside. I was on the verge of inviting myself in and pouring us both a drink when the attack occurred.
I guessed I should have considered the circumstances.Fuck!I thought to myself as I rushed toward the little hospital. I’d calledahead to let them know I was coming, so luckily, a couple of nurses were waiting for me as I pulled the car around the circle drive. “He’s in the back,” I said as I jumped out of the car.
“Cary, what happened?” Amelia asked.
I told her as she and some guy I didn’t know lifted him out of the car. Amelia knew me, knew my real job, but this other guy, well, I had to be careful how I explained things in front of him. “I’m not sure. He was going into Cordelia Manor’s front entrance one minute and got thrown back the next.”
Amelia’s eyes grew wide. “This is—” I nodded before she finished. “And they threw him out of the house?”
I nodded again. “Shit, that’s fucked-up,” she said as she and the guy placed him on a gurney. As soon as they secured the straps, she said, “Kevin, take him in and get started on vitals. I’ll be in with Mr. Beacroft in just one moment.”
The guy nodded and did as he was told. “New guy?” I asked after he’d disappeared through the doorway.
“No, not really, but he usually works nights. So, for real, this was a ghost attack?” Amelia’s eyes shone brightly at the thought. She’d joined our coven a few years ago, and although she had absolutely no natural magic, she was eager and always dependable.
“Yes, it was the evil entity. I had to banish him before he could do more damage.”
“Damn, so this is because of the inheritance?”
