Read Online Witch Ball - BK 3 by Linda Joy Singleton - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Linda Joy Singleton
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predictions.
"Oh, my stars!" she exclaimed when I'd finished.
"And one of these predictions has already come
true?"
"Yes." I shivered. "I was there when it happened."
"So now you're afraid your prediction is real."
"I don't want to believe that, but I can't help
being scared."
"Of course you are. This is clearly the work of
a disturbed ghost."
"Opal, my spirit guide, said the same thing. But
she didn't know anything else, and though I can usually see ghosts, I couldn't see anything around the
ball."
"Not a good sign," she said, tapping her fingers against a glass counter. "That means the ghost
has unusual powers."
"Like what?" I bit my lip.
"My customers often share peculiar tales, and
this reminds me of a haunted, ornate hand mirror
in a New Orleans antique shop. No one would buy
the mirror because when they looked at it, their reflection distorted into something bloody awful.
One lady suffered a heart attack after peering into
the mirror."
"How terrible! So what happened to the
mirror?"
"The owner of the antique shop decided to
destroy it."
"Did it work?" I asked hopefully.
Velvet shook her head. "No. When he tried to
break the glass, he felt hands on his throat and
blacked out. So he gave up trying to destroy the
mirror. He considered calling an exorcist, then had
another idea."
"What?"
"He put the mirror and its ghost up on E-bay.
Made a bundle and shipped his problem off to
someone else."
"Tempting idea." I gave a grim smile. "But I
couldn't do that to someone else. Too bad the
postal service doesn't ship to the other side."
"More's the pity," she said half-seriously. "It
seems to me you have a two-fold problem. You need
to prevent the prediction from happening and also
get rid of the ghost."
"I can't reason with a ghost I can't see." This
haunting was totally different than that ghost I'd
encountered in Pine Peaks.
"You'll need to protect yourself." Velvet stared
around her room, then strode over to a shelf and
picked up a small bottle and handed it to me. "Next
time you're near the witch ball, dab on a small
amount of this."
I looked at the oblong green bottle with a label
that said Chamo-Skull. "What is it?"
"A fragrance used for relaxation."
"To calm the ghost?"
"No-you." She shook her head. "You'll need
to be calm so you can perform a cleansing ceremony with holy water and prayers. Be firm when
you speak, do not show any fear. Tell the ghost in
no uncertain terms to leave you alone."
"Will that keep me safe?" I asked hopefully.
"I can't promise that." Velvet seemed worried,
and her high heels click-clicked as she crossed to a
cabinet with shelves of bottles, boxes, and potted
plants. She pinched off a leaf from a blue-gray plant,
sprinkled on a thick dark liquid, then tucked it inside a small satchel, which she fastened with a ribbon around my neck.
"What's this?" I asked, fingering the soft satchel.
"Extra protection . . . just in case." Worry
creased in her forehead as she slipped her arm
around my shoulder. "Good luck, my dear. You'll
need it."
MONDAY
Mom showed up promptly at six to pick up Amy.
Her meeting with her old friend had gone well,
putting her in a good mood. Still, I didn't want to
set her off so I wore my satchel under my shirt. I'd
show it to Manny at school tomorrow, then deal
with the witch ball.
While I was waving good-bye to Mom and
Amy from the front porch, the phone rang. Fingers crossed, hopes leaping, I hurried inside and raced to
answer. I played my mental guessing game, wanting
so badly for it to be josh that I imagined I saw his
face. And I was right.
"How was the fishing trip?" I asked, curling
into a cushioned chair, almost giddy with relief that
he was still speaking to me.
"I had a great time! Caught this monster fish,
only the line snapped and it got away."
"Likely story," I teased.
"Truth! Then I fished for hours with only one
little bite that I had to toss back because the fish
was too
"Oh, my stars!" she exclaimed when I'd finished.
"And one of these predictions has already come
true?"
"Yes." I shivered. "I was there when it happened."
"So now you're afraid your prediction is real."
"I don't want to believe that, but I can't help
being scared."
"Of course you are. This is clearly the work of
a disturbed ghost."
"Opal, my spirit guide, said the same thing. But
she didn't know anything else, and though I can usually see ghosts, I couldn't see anything around the
ball."
"Not a good sign," she said, tapping her fingers against a glass counter. "That means the ghost
has unusual powers."
"Like what?" I bit my lip.
"My customers often share peculiar tales, and
this reminds me of a haunted, ornate hand mirror
in a New Orleans antique shop. No one would buy
the mirror because when they looked at it, their reflection distorted into something bloody awful.
One lady suffered a heart attack after peering into
the mirror."
"How terrible! So what happened to the
mirror?"
"The owner of the antique shop decided to
destroy it."
"Did it work?" I asked hopefully.
Velvet shook her head. "No. When he tried to
break the glass, he felt hands on his throat and
blacked out. So he gave up trying to destroy the
mirror. He considered calling an exorcist, then had
another idea."
"What?"
"He put the mirror and its ghost up on E-bay.
Made a bundle and shipped his problem off to
someone else."
"Tempting idea." I gave a grim smile. "But I
couldn't do that to someone else. Too bad the
postal service doesn't ship to the other side."
"More's the pity," she said half-seriously. "It
seems to me you have a two-fold problem. You need
to prevent the prediction from happening and also
get rid of the ghost."
"I can't reason with a ghost I can't see." This
haunting was totally different than that ghost I'd
encountered in Pine Peaks.
"You'll need to protect yourself." Velvet stared
around her room, then strode over to a shelf and
picked up a small bottle and handed it to me. "Next
time you're near the witch ball, dab on a small
amount of this."
I looked at the oblong green bottle with a label
that said Chamo-Skull. "What is it?"
"A fragrance used for relaxation."
"To calm the ghost?"
"No-you." She shook her head. "You'll need
to be calm so you can perform a cleansing ceremony with holy water and prayers. Be firm when
you speak, do not show any fear. Tell the ghost in
no uncertain terms to leave you alone."
"Will that keep me safe?" I asked hopefully.
"I can't promise that." Velvet seemed worried,
and her high heels click-clicked as she crossed to a
cabinet with shelves of bottles, boxes, and potted
plants. She pinched off a leaf from a blue-gray plant,
sprinkled on a thick dark liquid, then tucked it inside a small satchel, which she fastened with a ribbon around my neck.
"What's this?" I asked, fingering the soft satchel.
"Extra protection . . . just in case." Worry
creased in her forehead as she slipped her arm
around my shoulder. "Good luck, my dear. You'll
need it."
MONDAY
Mom showed up promptly at six to pick up Amy.
Her meeting with her old friend had gone well,
putting her in a good mood. Still, I didn't want to
set her off so I wore my satchel under my shirt. I'd
show it to Manny at school tomorrow, then deal
with the witch ball.
While I was waving good-bye to Mom and
Amy from the front porch, the phone rang. Fingers crossed, hopes leaping, I hurried inside and raced to
answer. I played my mental guessing game, wanting
so badly for it to be josh that I imagined I saw his
face. And I was right.
"How was the fishing trip?" I asked, curling
into a cushioned chair, almost giddy with relief that
he was still speaking to me.
"I had a great time! Caught this monster fish,
only the line snapped and it got away."
"Likely story," I teased.
"Truth! Then I fished for hours with only one
little bite that I had to toss back because the fish
was too
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