Larue Donavon 3 - The Ghoul Next Door Read Online Free Page B

colors. The
spirit would go into the ball and the strands inside would capture
it, stopping it from escaping. Some rumors claimed that when a
witch was killed by a curse, a witch’s ball was always found nearby
and believed to be somehow responsible. That thought sent a chill
down my spine. But how could something used to guard against evil
spirits be involved with something so sinister? Regardless, I
didn’t believe any of those tall tales. Or did I? No, no. It was
all just silly talk.
    “ What is it?” Mr. Fine asked
from over my shoulder.
    When I turned around to glare at him,
the cigarette disappeared from his fingers. I had to admit, that
was a pretty nifty trick. Nevertheless, I didn’t feel like
explaining the whole story to him, so I gave the short answer
instead.
    “ It’s just something pretty
to hang in the window. Like a prism.” I studied the
ball.
    “ It looked weird if you ask
me.” A scowl spread across his face as he stared at the
ball.
    “ Well, I didn’t ask you, now
did I?” I snapped.
    Wow, I was grouchy. What had gotten
into me? The stress had finally gotten the better of me this time.
However, my icy demeanor had no effect on Mr. Fine. He didn’t bat
an eyelash at my harsh words.
    The thing was pretty, but I had to
find out who had sent it. The ball twisted as I twirled the string.
The thing had to have a meaning. Why would someone send me a
witch’s ball? Something that would capture spirits. Hmm. Maybe it
was to help me with all the unwanted spirits. That would be a good
thing, but I highly doubted that it would work. It was just an old
legend.
    Mr. Fine stepped closer to the ball,
almost as if hypnotized. Perhaps I should tell him about the
mesmerizing quality that the ball was purported to possess. Or I
could tell him to look right at it, and then, poof, he’d be gone.
Okay, just in case the stories were true, I knew I needed to tell
him not to look at it. Damn it.
    Mr. Fine had moved beside me now. A
little too close actually.
    “ Personal space, Mr. Fine,
personal space.” I motioned for him to back up a few steps. When he
moved back a couple inches, I continued, “It’s called a witch’s
ball, okay? Some people say it traps spirits, so don’t look at the
thing if you don’t want to spend the rest of your days stuck inside
a little ball. Understand?”
    He cackled, holding his stomach to
keep from splitting in half, I supposed. What an annoying laugh. He
sounded like a braying donkey that had smoked ten packs a
day.
    “ You actually believe that?”
he asked, fending off more laughter.
    “ Go ahead, if you don’t
believe me. Give it a shot.” I stuck the ball in front of his
face.
    He didn’t laugh this time as he
watched the ball moving back and forth in a hypnotic rhythm.
Finally, he looked up at me, then back to the ball.
    “ No comment, huh? Who’s
laughing now, Mr. Hotshot Ghost?” I taunted him.
    Mr. Fine disappeared. Just like that
he was gone. I knew he’d be back soon enough.

Chapter Six
    Now that I thought of it, I’d seen a
witch’s ball at Karyn Bentley’s home. She was the former coven
leader who had moved away after another witch had attacked her with
a nasty black magic spell. Karyn had wanted me to take her place as
coven leader. I still hadn’t agreed to it—but I hadn’t flat-out
told her no either. Just because I’d successfully cast a few spells
didn’t mean I was a witch. She claimed I had natural talent. I had
talent at baking cakes too—that didn’t make me a baker. I should
officially turn down the offer soon. It wasn’t fair to lead them on
and have the coven believe I might take the position.
    No doubt about it, the witch’s ball
was very pretty, but I had no idea who had sent it. And that little
detail would drive me bonkers. I’d go over and over the matter in
my mind ad nauseam. Yes, I was a tad obsessive-compulsive, but hey,
we all had our issues. I picked up the box again. The package had
no a return address and no