“I didn’t come crawling back to you,” Sean retorted. “I was here to make sure Ms. Howell didn’t end up getting hurt. And it’s a good thing I did considering you showed up early. I thought you were at work.”
“I was, but Ash here let me know there were intruders in my house, so I came home.”
She gestured to her cat, who looked up at her in admiration. Kenzie was reminded of how Sage sometimes looked at her like that. But she dismissed that unwelcome thought with a shake of her head.
“I have to admit, I don’t appreciate the mess you made of my housekeeper downstairs,” Audra continued snidely.
“Housekeeper?” Kenzie asked quizzically. “You mean that skeleton?”
Audra just rolled her eyes arrogantly. “Didn’t the maid outfit tip you off? And I’m guessing that mutt of yours is responsible for literally tearing her apart.”
“How did you even know we were here?” Sean inquired.
“Like I said, Ash let me know. It’s obvious you guys know all about me, so I might as well come right out and tell you that Ash is my familiar. I can see what he sees, which is how I knew someone was in the house. But not before I made a call.”
“What call?” Kenzie prodded.
Audra just smiled a snarky grin. “I didn’t just see intruders in here; I saw that one of them was a ghost. And that ghost happened to be one I’ve been wanting to see.”
“Go to hell,” Sean snarled. “I already told you, I didn’t come here to see you.”
“Well, you won’t have a choice but to come back to me after what I’m going to do for you.”
“What do you possibly plan to do for me? Let me rest in peace? That would be nice.”
Audra’s grin broadened as a shiver vibrated through Kenzie’s body. She answered with a sarcastic, “I’m going to give you back what you really want. I’m going to bring you back to life.”
Sean’s eyebrows mirrored Kenzie’s as they lifted up. “How?” he managed to ask.
“It’s simple. Why do you think I called the ghost hunter here?”
“You called Rafe?!” Kenzie interjected. “How will that possibly bring Sean back to life? It’ll end him!”
“On the contrary. I need a human sacrifice to bring a ghost back to life. And that ghost hunter will do just fine. Although, I guess I could have used you, Ms. Howell, but I don’t fancy women.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Isn't it obvious? A human sacrifice is not only needed for its physical body, but also for its appearance. I must admit, Rafe is pretty handsome for having such an eccentric career. Sean's spirit will be transferred to his body. And as for poor little Morgan, she'll think I'm with him rather than Sean.”
“No way,” Sean replied hotly. “I’d rather be stuck here in purgatory the rest of my life, or whatever it is, than be a part of one of your damn magic tricks. Even if that meant Morgan wouldn’t be able to see me. There’s no way in hell I’m going to let you kill some innocent human, ass that he may be, to make you happy. Because let’s face it, the only reason you want me brought back to life is so you can have me. You think I’ll owe you for that, but the reality is that I’ll hate you even more.”
“Hate me?” Audra seemed genuinely appalled. “You didn’t hate me when you slept with me behind your fiancé’s back!”
“That was probably your magic! I doubt I even had control over my own body!”
“Get your facts straight, Sean! Witches can’t force emotions on other people; they can make others think about them, but that’s it. So everything you did with me, everything you felt, was real.”
Sean put his hand to his face with a grimace. Just then, Kenzie’s heart skipped a beat when she saw Rafe himself strolling upstairs carrying some sort of ghost-catching contraption (though surprisingly, he wasn’t in uniform).
“So there’s the bastard that’s been bothering Morgan,” he scowled. “You’re history, buddy.”
“Rafe, don’t,” Kenzie cut in. “This is Sean, just like you said, but he isn’t trying to hurt Morgan. It’s Audra that’s behind all this.”
“Why should I believe that?”
“Why should you believe a ghost would try to hurt his fiancé that he left behind?”
Rafe just shook his head stubbornly. “You haven’t believed in any of this since you got here, and now suddenly you’re defending a ghost that’s been torturing an innocent girl? You’re crazy.”
“It’s your funeral. Do you seriously think Audra called you here to extinguish a ghost? Why would she be so calm if that was the case? You know she’s a witch, just like Morgan knew. But what you might not know is that she called you here to sacrifice you in order to bring Sean back to life.”
“I wish I had a tape recorder so you could hear how stupid you sound.”
“Okay, fine. You’re such a pompous dick that I really don’t give a shit what she does to you. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
Audra let out a low chortle as she took the scene in. Everything was going as she’d hoped. And now Kenzie was literally powerless to stop her.
“You should have listened,” she said to Rafe. “Our visiting detective is right. I don’t need you to get rid of this ghost. I need you to die so the ghost can be alive again. And once he’s alive, he’ll be so grateful to me that he’ll choose me over that whore that he stupidly proposed to.”
“Screw you, bitch!” Sean lunged at Audra, but his efforts were in vain. With a swift wave of her hand, a prism of color exploded from her palm and directly into Sean’s torso. Despite the fact that he was transparent, the orb made direct contact with his chest, hurling him backward into the wall.
“Seriously?” Kenzie quipped. “That’s how you treat the man you supposedly love? Like a rag doll? You’re completely insane. And now I know the truth. You’re not only guilty of being a witch, but you’re guilty for murder. You murdered Sean because he wouldn’t leave Morgan for you. And now, even in death, he still wants her instead of you. So you’re doing everything in your power, literally, to make him want you instead. But guess what? You said it yourself – no one can play with the emotions of other people. You can’t control the feelings and desires of others. It doesn’t matter what you do to Sean or how you may try to help him. He won’t care for you any more than he does now, which isn’t very much.”
“And how do you plan to prove all this? Just because Barnacle Bay is notorious for things besides pirates doesn’t mean you can get a conviction for suspected witchcraft. Where’s your evidence?”
“I’m not worried about that. All I’m worried about right now is putting you away for good, one way or the other. You’re a murderer and somehow you should be punished.”
At that instant, Audra stalked over to Kenzie and the back of her hand sharply made contact with Kenzie’s cheek. She felt like an errant child being slapped like that.
Kenzie rubbed her cheek gingerly as she glared at Audra. But before she could retaliate, Audra’s eyes blazed with fury as she said, “Don’t threaten me. You don’t know who you’re dealing with. I’ll do what I want, and I can get away with it because there’s no way you can prove witchcraft was involved.”
“I wouldn’t bet on that,” a familiar voice said from behind Audra. Everyone turned to see the angry and determined face of Morgan glaring at them. “All we’d have to do,” she continued, “is show the cops what’s up here and it’s a done deal. Not to mention what you did to me.”
“Yeah, I see you managed to break that spell.” Audra replied tartly. “I never thought Sean would still actually care for you when you were so hideous.”
“I don’t give a damn about her looks,” Sean barked. “I fell in love with her personality, not her appearance. Even if she had to live the rest of her life as a giant frog, I wouldn’t love her any less.”
Morgan’s tears finally spilled over as she felt Sean embrace her and she hugged him back even tighter. Even though she couldn’t hear or see him, she was aware of his presence. Kenzie was struggling to fight back tears of her own. Rafe had finally given up his quest and was hunched against the wall, unsure of what to do.
“Well, isn’t that sweet?” Audra crooned. “Little Morgan Malloy got what she wanted, as usual. Once again she got the guy.”
“It’s not a contest, Audra,” Morgan retorted. “Do you think I intentionally make guys fall over me? I don’t resort to voodoo dolls like you do and make guys think about me. Maybe what they really want is a nice person rather than a manipulative bitch.”
This obviously was the wrong thing to say, if Audra’s reaction was any indication. She didn’t reply verbally. Instead, she took a defensive stance and began to conjure up another orb of power. Morgan, realizing her intent, began an incantation. And right before Kenzie’s eyes, a witch’s brawl unfolded.
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