Penmort Castle (44 page)

At her words,
his fist tightened in her hair, his mouth crushed down on hers and
if she thought the first kiss was filled with ferocious triumph it
was nothing to this one.

He’d lifted his
head nary an inch when he was done and asked, “How long does your
period last?”

“Not long,”
she’d breathed, still recovering from the kiss and having some
difficulty in this endeavour.

“How long?” he
pushed.

“A couple of
days,” she answered.

He grinned
against her mouth and muttered, “I won’t make it.”

She couldn’t
help it, Abby laughed, straight-out, nothing hidden, nothing
buried, nothing held back, both hands clutching his shoulders and
her body shaking with hilarity.

When she’d
controlled her mirth she saw he was looking at her with a partially
startled expression, the rest held a warmth so intense, it was
breathtaking.

His hand went
out of her hair and both arms wrapped tight around her as he shoved
his face in her neck and he said something enormously strange.

“I’ve got
you.”

“Pardon?” she
asked.

His head came
up, his mouth touched hers and he murmured, “Nothing.” His eyes
scanned her face and his fingers came up, trailing her hairline,
tucking the fall of hair behind her ear. “Go back to bed, darling,
I’ll see you tonight.”

Then, after
another touch of his lips against hers, he was gone.

When she’d
called him that afternoon to tell him she had dinner plans with
Honor and Fenella, she’d given him the excuse she and Jenny cooked
up as to why he wasn’t invited.

Although Cash
seemed not to have any reservations about discussing Abby’s
menstrual cycle, she and Jenny were betting on the fact he wouldn’t
feel the same about his cousin.

So, Abby had
told him Fenella was having “female problems”.

This
surprisingly worked.

Cash, sounding
distracted, said only, “All right, love. Call me when you leave the
castle so I’ll know when to expect you safely home.”

He didn’t seem
curious to know why Abby all-of-a-sudden would be Fenella’s Female
Problems Confidante and he didn’t seem angry she wouldn’t be home
for dinner.

So now there
she was on her way to the castle and perhaps her catastrophic end
and she was thinking she didn’t want the last thing she said to
Cash to be a lie.

Therefore, when
she pulled into the pub where she was meeting Angus and Cassandra
to get instructions before going to the castle, she yanked out her
phone and dialled Cash.

He answered on
the second ring.

“Everything all
right?” he asked as greeting.

“Yes. Why?”
Abby queried in return.

“Shouldn’t you
be on your way to Penmort?”

“I am. I pulled
over to call you.” There she was, lying again (kind of).

“You pulled
over to call me,” he repeated.

“Yes,” she
replied.

Silence.

“Cash?” she
called.

“Yes?” he
answered.

“You were
silent,” she told him. “I thought maybe we were disconnected.”

“I’m here,” he
said.

More
silence.

“Cash!” she
snapped into the silence.

“Abby,” he
returned.

“You were
silent again,” she informed him and heard his chuckle, so she
asked, “What’s funny?”

“Darling,
you
called
me
.”

She felt like
an idiot. “Oh. Right.”

“Did you have
something to say?” he enquired.

She bit the
side of her lip then admitted, “Not really.”

This time she
heard his roar of laughter.

When he’d
stopped laughing, he asked, “Were you biting your lip?”

“Pardon?”

“Biting your
lip,” he repeated.

“Yes, why?” she
answered.

“No reason,” he
said, the warmth of his voice coming at her in delicious waves over
the phone. “Listen, love, I’m in a meeting.”

Abby felt the
blood drain from her face and definitely knew she was an idiot.

“You are?” she
breathed.

“Yes, I have to
go.”

“I’m an idiot,”
she muttered.

“You’re
exquisite,” he returned softly and Abby felt her world pitch
crazily as she listened to him say, “I’ll see you later
tonight.”

Then he
disconnected.

The minute she
slid her phone shut a sharp rap came on the window and she
jumped.

She turned to
the side and saw Angus’s red-cheeked face peering in at her.

“Lassie! No
time for love banter, we’ve got things
to do,
” he boomed
before he stepped back and opened her door.

Abby unbuckled
her seatbelt and got out to see Cassandra approaching and Angus was
again in full Scottish gear.

She looked at
Angus and asked with disbelief, “You hunt ghosts in a kilt?”

“I always wear
a kilt,” he informed her.

“Why?”

“I’m Scottish!”
he bellowed.

“Oh… kay,” she
said slowly, not wanting to get him wound up. He had serious
business to attend to that night, he needed to stay focused.

Cassandra got
close, gave Abby a cheek touch, stepped back and Angus began
talking.

“Wee Honor and
Fenella have been smart,” Angus said. “They’ve been well away from
the castle anytime they talk or call someone about the ghosty
she-bitch. Vivianna can be anywhere, hear anything and you won’t
see her. You go into the castle, you don’t talk about her or why
you’re there. Everything’s normal. Aye?”

“Aye,” Abby
repeated and he grinned.

Cassandra came
forward and held something out to Abby. Abby took it and saw it was
a glass amulet surrounded with ornate silver filigree and filled
with powder and what looked like flower petals, suspended from a
thin, leather thong.

“Wear that,”
Cassandra instructed, “protection. It should keep her from you. But
if it doesn’t and Angus doesn’t get to you in time and you’re in
danger, take it off and throw it to the ground. Smash it with your
heel. You’ll see a purple mist form. The mist should shroud you
enough to get away.”

Angus butted
in, “And you
run
away. She attacks, and I’m not there within
seconds, she gets through the protection charm, you smash it and
you
go
.”

Abby gulped
then she nodded.

Cassandra
continued. “You head out of the castle and off the grounds. She
can’t leave the grounds. Go into town. Keep your mobile in your
back pocket at all times. You call me or Angus when you hit town
and we’ll come and get you. Don’t go anywhere near the castle
unless one of us has come to get you.”

“What about
Honor and Fenella?” Abby asked.

Cassandra shook
her head but Angus spoke. “They’ll be safe. Me and this wee
lassie,” he jerked a thumb at Cassandra, “been doing some research
about our spirit-bitch-from-hell. She made one mistake.”

Finally,
Abby thought with some relief,
Vivianna made a mistake.

Cassandra took
up the thread. “She empowered herself with the ability to murder.
Ghosts, most of the time, can’t harm people in a physical way. They
can make noise. They can often move things but only after a good
deal of practice. This is mostly done to be annoying or frightening
but sometimes they’ll move something so it will be in someone’s
way, trip them up, say to fall down the stairs.” Cassandra paused
and when Abby nodded, she continued. “They can also appear and
drive people towards danger or scare them to death. But Vivianna
can actually touch the mortal flesh of her victims. She’s been able
to do so since the beginning. That’s rare.”

“But only those
she intends to kill,” Angus cut in. “Only those who she’s given
herself the power to kill. Only the true loves of a Penmort master.
Which means Honor and Fenella are safe.”

Abby knew she’d
made this point before but she felt it was still pertinent. “I
don’t mean to sound like a broken record but, seriously, honest to
goodness, I’m not Cash’s true love.”

Cassandra and
Angus looked at each other then back at Abby.

“If you aren’t,
then you have nothing to worry about,” Cassandra said.

“Well that’s a
relief,” Abby smiled.

“But if you
weren’t, she’d no’ have been able to touch you, lass,” Angus put in
gently.

Abby stared at
him then asked, “What?”

“Thought she’d
already harmed you, shoved you in the back?” Angus asked.

“Yes, but –”
Abby started.

Angus cut her
off by saying, “True love.”

Abby
blinked.

Then something
started to bud in the region of her heart, something that felt a
lot like hope.

“I still don’t
think –” Regardless of the hope in her heart, she continued to
resist but Cassandra interrupted this time.

“Okay, we get
it, you both are in the throes of a new relationship and you’re
worried it’s getting too heavy too fast so you’re in denial. You’ve
got to move passed that, mate. Whether he loves you, he doesn’t
love you, whatever, it’s been established you’re a target and
you’re vulnerable. Let’s move on.”

“He loves her,”
Angus muttered under his breath.

“Let’s move
on,” Cassandra said firmly.

“I’m saying he
loves her,” Angus repeated, louder this time.

“
Let’s move
on!
” Cassandra snapped, now firm and loud.

Angus’s hands
came up. “All right, all right, don’t get your knickers in a
twist.”

Cassandra
looked at Abby. “We have another piece of somewhat good news.”

Abby didn’t
like the “somewhat” part but she’d take any good news attached to
Vivianna.

“What’s
that?”

“She plays with
her victims,” Angus stated.

Abby felt her
stomach drop and whispered, “Pardon?”

“Plays with her
victims,” Angus reiterated. “She doesn’t go in for the kill right
away. She messes with ‘em, sometimes for years. At the very least
until they provide Penmort with an heir.”

“Oh my
God,
” Abby breathed.

“This is good
news,” Cassandra informed her and Abby turned to the witch.

“How can this
be good news?” she cried. “I don’t want her
playing
with
me!”

“A broken arm
is a lot better than dead,” Angus commented logically.

“Easy for you
to say!” Abby exploded. “I’ve got an evening gown to wear Saturday
night and the cuts on my arms she gave me last time are still
pink!”

Angus stared at
her like she might have a screw loose but Cassandra got close.

“What we’re
saying,” she started quietly, “is tonight’s not your night to die.
Even if this doesn’t work, you should leave the castle breathing,”
Abby turned wild eyes to Cassandra but she kept talking. “Just keep
your head, Abby. Angus knows what he’s doing. So do I. If Angus
doesn’t take her down, the only thing Vivianna might learn tonight
is that she’s got a worthy adversary. But we’ll outsmart her,” her
hand came up and gave Abby’s upper arm a squeeze before she said,
“I promise.”

Abby felt
slightly mollified by her promise, but not much.

“Now, get to
the castle,” Cassandra finished.

“Keep a clear
head. Eyes open. Stay vigilant. Anything that doesn’t feel right,
you reckon it isn’t and you move,” Angus coached her. “You feel any
cold draughts, a chill, she’s close.” Angus came near too and both
Cassandra and he crowded her but Abby didn’t move, Angus went on
gently, “Remember, lass, wherever you are, I’ll be watching.”

Abby nodded.
She gave them a shaky smile and got in her car. She put the amulet
around her neck, tucking it into her sweater so it couldn’t be
seen.

She looked to
the side and saw them both standing where she left them, close
together.

She gave them
an idiotic thumbs up, started her car and headed to her doom.

* * * * *

It was after a
glass of wine, after dinner, Abby, Fenella and Honor were sitting
the drawing room and they were drinking coffee.

Nothing had
happened, except they’d had a pleasant night (when they weren’t all
looking around thinking something was going to happen, that
was).

“Do you need to
go to the loo?” Fenella asked on a prompt, her voice overly-loud
and squeakily-high.

“No, she
doesn’t have to go to the loo,” Honor snapped.

“I thought
maybe she needed to use the loo,” Fenella repeated, bugging her
eyes out at Honor as if Honor hadn’t already caught on that Fenella
was quickly losing endurance for the wait for Vivianna to show.

“She doesn’t
need to use the loo,” Honor repeated right back, also bugging out
her eyes and if she could use the throat-slit gesture to shut her
sister up without Vivianna seeing it, she would.

Not that
clever, ghosty she-bitch Vivianna hadn’t already cottoned on to
their game.

Abby took in a
breath.

She had an
idea, it was a scary idea but Fenella was right, something had to
give.

So she shared,
“I thought maybe you girls could give me a tour of the castle.”

“I’d
love
that!” Fenella shrieked.

“
Great
idea,” Honor cried, jumping up from her chair.

Fenella got up
as well and clapped her hands together, appearing like she was
genuinely looking forward to this. “There’s so much to see, where
to start?”

Honor leaned
into Abby and confided, “She loves this old heap.”

“It isn’t an
old heap. It’s beautiful,” Fenella shot back then squealed, “The
armoury! Let’s start in the armoury!”

Considering the
circumstances, Abby would have picked a room that didn’t hold
ancient weapons but she followed Fenella anyway.

And Fenella was
right, it wasn’t an old heap.

It was
beautiful.

And it was
perfect, absolutely perfect, for Cash.

If she could
build something that represented his strength, his energy, his
beauty, it would have been Penmort.