Lucky Stars (72 page)

“Tell me something I don’t know. My baby girl has disappeared. The dogs –”

Swiftly, ignoring the lightening in his head that caused him to sway slightly, Angus got to his feet.

“Let’s go,” he stated, moving toward the shadowed door.

“Dude, you need to –”

Angus whirled to him, his kilt twirling. “Jensen, let’s
go.
”

Then he turned back and ran to and through the door, not waiting to see if Jensen followed.

* * * * *

Belle

“Please turn that off,” Belle whispered, pressing into a corner of a room, her head foggy and killing her, blinking against the light from the torch being shined into her face, feeling thick moisture dribbling through the hair on the side of her head.

“Yes, you’re pretty. Very pretty,” she whispered back and it was so dark, her head muddled from the blow, the torchlight blinding her, Belle couldn’t see her. She couldn’t even see what room she was in.

“I need to –” she started.

“I knew, of course, I saw your pictures in the paper,
all of them.
But he told me. Again and again and again and
again
how pretty you were.
Prettier than me.
Better than me. Your eggs were the best in the world. Your hair was so soft, such a pretty colour.
Your eyes, so grey, so beautiful.
Your clothes so fashionable.
And you designed them.
You.
The Tiny Dynamo.
His beautiful Belle.
His beautiful, sweet,
perfect
Belle who could do… no…
wrong
.”

“Who are you?” Belle whispered, knowing, whoever she was, she was insane.

She shined the light in Belle’s face, Belle blinking at the light and the throbbing in her head and this went on for long moments before she finally whispered her answer.

“I’m nobody.”

* * * * *

Baron,
Gretl
and Shadow

Having beaten down his stall door, Shadow galloped through the stables and proceeded to hammer at the stable doors with his hooves as now both Baron and
Gretl
barked loud and howled louder.

The latch no match for Shadows powerful blows, it gave way and both doors swung open.

Without hesitation, all three animals burst into the dark, stormy night.

* * * * *

Jack/Joshua

Joshua raced up the turret taking the stone steps two at a time. He rounded the curving stairwell to the landing and both of his children’s eyes came to him.

But there was something wrong with them.

He could
see through them.

“
Jack, no!
” Lewis cried, his son’s eyes on him, wide and horrified.

But he didn’t falter as he charged to them. They floated, yes,
floated
away from him, across the landing, their young bodies slamming into what appeared to be an invisible barrier behind them so when he raced across the landing they were easy to catch.

And catch them he did. Dropping to his knees, he swung his long arms out to the sides and curled them around their wee bodies.

Bodies that solidified instantly at his touch, coming real, forming flesh, so when Joshua held his children to him, he felt their warmth against his frame and more,
they
felt the power of his.

“Oh my gracious, Lewis,” Myrtle breathed.

“You’re safe,” Joshua whispered, pulling them closer.

“Belle,” Lewis whispered back, Joshua’s head came up and he looked to his son.

“Lewis?” he questioned.

“Belle,” Lewis repeated in a whisper then louder, “Belle.” Then Joshua watched his son’s eyes dart over his shoulder and he shouted, “
Poppa!
”

Joshua released them, got to his feet and whirled just as Caleb Caldwell hit the landing, his arms swinging out, both his hands wrapped around a thick, heavy candlestick and he struck.

* * * * *

Belle

“Sick of it,” the madwoman whispered as Belle pulled herself together and it occurred to her hazy brain she should get the heck out of there.
“Sick of hearing it.
Sick of
feeling
it.
Sick of it!
”

“I –” Belle started just as she started to edge along the wall to escape but suddenly of its own accord, her body locked.

Then she blinked.

And when she opened her eyes, she was no longer Belle.

She was Brenna.

And her children and Joshua were in danger.

So without hesitation, her mind clear, the pain in her scalp dulled, her legs moved to start racing toward the door.

She only got two steps before she was
caught,
shoved back and she hit the wall.

She stared at the shadowy woman who stood before her.

“Let me pass,” she demanded and for her words she felt the sharp sting of a slap on her cheek and her head jerked violently to the side as the woman struck her.

“You’ve spoken enough over the years, Belle Abbot, and you weren’t even
there
. Now,
I
get to do the talking,” the woman said to her.

Brenna ignored this lunacy, one thing on her mind and started again toward the door but did not get very far before the woman again was upon her. She shoved, she pushed,
they
grappled and kicked.

“Why are you doing this!” she cried as she struggled. “Let me pass! My husband and children need me.”

“
I don’t care!
”
Came
the demented shriek in response as Brenna was viciously shoved away.

She lost control of her limbs and reeled back but, with effort, she remained standing only to see the woman had grabbed hold of something and was coming her way swiftly, arm
raised
.

She was close, there wasn’t time to escape so Brenna cowered and lifted her arms to deflect the blow.

The woman didn’t make it because Joshua’s two Alsatians came barking and snarling into the room. Baron leaped through the air and landed on the woman, knocking her sideways. Then the dog kept at her as
Gretl
came darting to Brenna then retreating quickly to the door, darting back to Brenna and to the door again, whining.

“You know where they are,” Brenna whispered.

Gretl
woofed softly.

“Take me,” Brenna urged,
Gretl
took off out the door with Brenna racing after her.

Racing to her husband and children.

* * * * *

Angus

With Jensen at his heels, Angus turned the corner to the stairwell of the eastern turret and he slammed full body into Jack Bennett.

He wheeled back two feet and stared at the shadowy figures.

No, not just Jack.

Jack holding Myrtle firm to his hip with one arm, his other hand engulfing in a strong grip the hand of Lewis.

Both the children were real. Not phantoms.

Real.

“Now this is one in all my years I’ve never seen,” he muttered, eyeing the apparently alive and breathing children.

“Holy fuck,” Jensen muttered behind him.

“Caldwell’s on the stairwell,” Jack informed them and Angus shook off his surprise as Jack strode forward, through and beyond the two men. “I need to get my children to safety and find my wife.”

“Your children?”
Angus asked, following him and looking at him closely, or, more accurately, looking at his broad, soaking wet, dinner-suit-jacketed back.

“Your wife?”
Jensen asked, following Angus.

Jack stopped and turned with the children.

“I need a safe place for the children so I can find
my wife
,” he clipped.

“Uh, right, lad,” Angus muttered.

Wife, children, they were not dealing with Jack.

They had Joshua.

Well, at least he’d seen
this
before.

Angus turned to Jensen. “Where’s Lila?”

“Drawing room,” Jenson answered.

Angus looked back to Jack or, he was guessing, Joshua. “Lila will keep them safe.”

“Drawing room,” Jack murmured, turned and strode swiftly through the house to the drawing room, taking the children with him.

He opened the doors and Angus had the chance to see the women had lit candles so there was dim light. He also had the chance to see the faces pale and hear the gasps.

But this was all he had the chance to see.

They all turned when they heard a dog woofing and saw Belle racing behind the dog on her high-heeled shoes, her hands in her skirt holding it up.

“My love,” Angus heard Jack murmur.

“My sweet!”
Angus then heard Belle cry.

Then Angus and the rest watched Belle race directly into Jack, throwing her arms around him, Myrtle and catching Lewis up in her embrace.

Well, it seemed Belle was Brenna if the presence of living, breathing Myrtle and Lewis didn’t faze her.

This also didn’t faze Angus but it fazed Jensen.

“Holy fuck,” Jensen muttered.

Still holding on, Belle arched her upper body back and caught Jack’s eyes.

“Something’s amiss,” she declared at the same time Jack announced, “There is danger.”

“Am I seeing what I think I’m seeing?” Rachel whispered.

“If it’s what I’m seeing, you’re seeing what I think I’m seeing,” Lila whispered in answer.

“I think I’m seeing the same thing too.” Joy was also whispering.

The entire room stilled and braced as a commotion came from the hall, there were running footsteps and then a dripping wet, formally clad, shoeless Yasmin and an equally dripping wet somewhat formally but definitely eccentrically clad Cassandra skidded to the halt at the doors.

“
Caleb Caldwell had a partner and she was a witch!
” Yasmin shrieked.

“You stole my thunder, mate,” Cassandra muttered.

But Yasmin’s eyes rounded, her torso swayed back and she cried, “Oh my
God!
Myrtle and Lewis are
real!
”

Cassandra took in this fact and her eyes cut to Angus. “Have you ever seen this?”

“No’ ever,” Angus replied, shaking his head then concluded, “Best part of the job. Can have years in it and still be surprised.”

Cassandra looked back at Jack, Belle and the children, murmuring, “This is going to be the talk of the
winterfest
coven meeting, seriously.”

Jack cut in at this point and Angus’s eyes moved to him to see his on Angus.

“I know you but I do not. I do not understand this. I also do not care. Caleb Caldwell is in my home. I was able to incapacitate him to get my children to safety although I doubt he will be unconscious for long. I also doubt he has left this house. He is still here. He is, as usual, intent to do mischief. And we cannot delay in finding him and dealing with him.”

“There is a woman,” Belle put in quickly, she was now at Jack’s side, one of her arms curling Lewis close, the other arm holding Jack and Myrtle. “She’s in the west wing.
One of the bedrooms.”
Her head tipped back and she looked at Jack. “My beloved, I fear she’s demented.”

“Caldwell and his partner,” Cassandra said and moved into the room, pulling Yasmin with her and closing the doors behind her. Then she turned to face the congregation that automatically gathered together. “Right, I had a vision,” she announced.
“Past and future.
Caldwell allied with a local witch. He did this on the hush-hush. No one knew about it. Unfortunately, he did this in the only way he knew how. He beat her into submission, forcing her to help him. From what I gather, she’s been reincarnated too. And to make unhappy matters unhappier, she’s been reincarnated into Calvin Cole’s wife.”

“Oh
lordy
,” Rachel whispered.

“Shit,” Jensen muttered.

“Great, just great,” Lila snapped.

“She’s also here,” Cassandra added. “Both of them are. The spell Caldwell forced her to cast was that Brenna and Joshua would never be together, never happy, never living their lives to their fullest. In order to do this, if they were to be reincarnated, it would happen at a time where Caldwell and his partner were also reincarnated so that they could stop Brenna and Joshua or, in our time, Jack and Belle from living happily ever after.”

“So how do we stop them?” Joy asked.

“They both have to be destroyed,” Cassandra answered. “If he’s taken out, he won’t come back. And if she’s banished to hell, that’s it for her. But there’s a complication just because Caleb Caldwell was a full blown ass. As we know, the children are ghosts, or um,” she eyed the wee ones before she went on, “they
were.
And this was at Caldwell’s behest because, seriously, this guy was one major dick. He forced the witch to put a spell on the children to tether their spirits here after she smothered them. They could appear before anyone
except
their father or any master of this house. If they did, Caldwell would return to this earth, alive and breathing, so he could have fun.” She eyed Jack and the kids and finished, “I’m guessing this happened.”