nancy werlock's diary s01 - episodes 10 Read Online Free Page B

said she wants to meet her when this is all done. What psion wouldn’t want to meet the Grand Madame Vivika, right?” Houston sits down at the table and rubs his face. “It was so weird. Having a…normal?...conversation with her. All of those years she was never around to talk to. All those times when I needed her, and she wasn’t there. Now I’m talking about my girlfriend with my dead mother and she has this expectation that she has the right to be involved in these things.”
    I squint at him. I’m not sure if he realizes she is still listening. Then he sets his jaw and glowers. He knows. He wants her to hear.
    “She talks about how she’s always been there for me, but floating around watching isn’t the same as being there . Where was she when April died? Where was she then when I really needed her? Where was she when Aunt Ruth was blaming me for April being sick? Where was she when I was crying myself to sleep as a kid because I thought nobody wanted me around? Just watching .” And then to drive the dagger in a little deeper, he adds, “I wish she was more like your mom.”
    Houston’s hair moves as if a hand brushed his head. He twitches from Vivika’s touch. Her disembodied voice vocalizes, “I’m sorry” before she finally leaves us alone.
     
     

In a Bind

     
    October 10 th ,
     
    The first time I saw the young woman drop one of the books in her arms, I had Eric give her a hand basket to carry them in. The second time she dropped something, I had Houston find her an actual cart. The third time, I noticed she was shaking.
    “Are you all right?” I ask.
    “What? No…I mean, I’m fine.” She’s pale from lack of sleep and she takes several quick breathes to try to gain some semblance of composure. I glance at the books and items in her cart. She has three books on ghosts, two books on poltergeists, a book on wraiths, a how-to guide on house cleansings (along with the associated house cleansing materials), and the latest edition of Jack Darren’s Living with the Dead , a popular series about people who willing live in haunted houses. All of it is really watered-down for mundane consumption and usually only bought for the entertainment value. But when someone buys them all at once…
    “When did you buy the house?” I ask.
    “What? I didn’t buy a house.” She looks at the cart and flushes red from embarrassment. “I need to sell a house. And…I don’t think I can sell it as it is.”
    “You boys got the registers?” I ask. Houston waves an affirmation. “Why don’t you come into my office.”
    “Oh, no. I’m…I’m just browsing.”
    “I’m a professional. And talking is free.” I put my hand on her cart and gently coax her over to the office. She sits down on the sofa against the wall instead of the chair in front of my desk. I close the door and offer her something to drink.
    “I’m not crazy,” she says in that voice people use when they are trying to convince themselves more than you. “I don’t want you to think I’m crazy.”
    “I operate a new age shop. It is highly unlikely there is anything you can say that would make me think you were crazy.” I pour her a glass of water and hand it to her. “My name is Nancy.”
    “Amber. Amber Courtland. I inherited my grandmother’s house. She died last month.”
    “My condolences. Do you think your grandmother is still in the house?”
    “No, they buried her. Oh, you mean…ghost. No, I don’t think it is her. I think it is something she left behind. Does…does that make sense?”
    “Yes. It wouldn’t be the first time something like that happened.”
    “Really? I mean, I suppose that should make me feel better. But…I don’t know what is happening.”
    I sit down at my desk and log in to WitchNet and perform a search for Courtlands. “Why don’t you just start at the beginning? What was your grandmother’s name?”
    “Candice. Candice Courtland.”
    “Paternal grandparent then?”
    “Yeah, is that