Jessie Delacroix_Fright Night at the Haunted Inn Read online

  “Did you hear that, Ginny?” he shouted into the back. Ginny already had her hairnet and apron on when she stuck her heard through the doorway.

  “Roger Dodger – 24 jumbo BCCs. Got it, boss – and I’ll bring ’em when I come on over, Jess.”

  “Thanks, Gin,” I hollered to her as I slid the cash to Wally.

  Wally looked tired. “Well, Molly’s had a bit of a headache today, so I might be coming alone if she’s asleep. We’ll just have to see.”

  “Sounds good. See you later, Ginny! Seems like Molly left you alone on another busy Ghost Walk night recently too, Wally. Anyway, tell her to feel better. Happy Fright Night! And we’ll see you later on.”

  “Ruff!”

  “Okay, okay! Here’s your Mutt Morsel, you little stinker.”

  Arthur and I headed back towards the Inn, and I was wondering what Anika had done with Leo and Kaya. I hadn’t seen them since we were all in the corner booth right before the Colonel checked in. I was still a little worried. I mean, they had come all this way because they were in fear for their lives, and now the man they believed was after them was right here.

  Then I noticed some children gathering and some work going on in front of the Inn.

  “What in the world…?” Arthur and I looked at each other.

  “What in God’s green earth is that thing?”

  I recognized the telepathic voice in my head. “Granny! You have to tell me when you sneak into Arthur. I was wondering why he was so quiet and well-behaved.”

  “What is that thing anyway?”

  It was a good question. Several members of the Colonel’s entourage were constructing a glass house of some kind on the grassy area in front of the Inn, inside the loop of the horseshoe driveway.

  “Ah, Miss Delacroix!” The Colonel outstretched his arms in greeting – and I made sure I didn’t get close enough for the greeting to become an embrace. “Lovely evening! I thought I would treat your guests and tourists to a small taste of some real circus entertainment! Your front desk manager assured me it would be no problem.”

  They were setting up an octagon of eight very thick, clear pieces of acrylic. Each piece was 5 or six feet wide with a pie-shaped wedge on top that tilted back towards the center of the structure, and they all fit together to look like a small see-through circus tent with a pointed top where the wedges all came together. It must have been about 15 feet across, and there was a small person inside wearing a toga and a mask (from the hair, I suspected it was Lilianna) – and there was a goat too, eating my grass.

  “Fifteen centimeters thick – about six inches to you – of bulletproof high-density polycarbonate space-age glass,” he said, sounding a lot like a carnival barker, “with titanium straps around the base, the middle, and the top to hold it together.”

  “In case that small person and the little goat try to break out of it?”

  “Exactly! Exactly! And it has a large spike at each seam, twelve feet into the ground to hold it in place as well.”

  Men were on a tall scaffolding, as we watched, driving the long stakes in with sledgehammers through heavy loops in the titanium straps.

  “The show begins at moonrise. It’s a bit of a late one tonight – 9:09 p.m., 40 minutes after sunset. Don’t miss it!”

  Whatever. “Come on, Granny…I mean, Arthur.”

  Chapter Five

  I spent most of the afternoon helping Carlo in the kitchen and visiting with Mom and Granny. Then I spent some time with Arthur, and took him for a walk to the ferry landing and back – without Granny. The glass tent in front of the Inn was getting a lot of attention and plenty of curiosity seekers, but I was more interested to find out how Leo and Kaya were doing. I still had to figure out where we were going to put them up for the night. It didn’t seem like a good idea to put them in one of the Inn’s rooms, so close to Colonel Tramador and his henchmen and henchwomen.

  I had let the couple use my carriage house to get some showers and some rest – and a change of clothes. Kaya was a little more petite than me, but my shorts and a T-shirt from Clemson that Kyle Carnigan had given me years ago looked a lot better on her than those torn rags she came with. Travis, my guy, kept a change of clothes there too, which worked well enough for Leo. It was his first time in blue jeans, and he seemed to like them.

  When I got back with Arthur, Leo and Kaya were in the corner booth with a young man I had never seen before. He bore a bit of a resemblance to Leo, though he was a little leaner and a few years younger.

  “Hi, guys! It looks like you got rested up and found some clean clothes. Where’s Anika? I didn’t see anyone in the pawn shop.”

  “Hi, Jessie,” the young man responded. I thought it was a little odd that he talked like he knew me, since I had never met him before. “She’s here.”

  He smiled mischievously and launched a chicken roll-up into his mouth along with a sip of lemonade.

  The situation hadn’t quite come into focus for me yet…

  He looked at me with a familiar twinkle in his eye. “Ahh, this is some great food, Jessie, especially after living on tuna fish and milk for a century or two.”

  Leo and Kaya began to chuckle, and I finally saw the light.

  “Moondance?!”

  “Shhh! People know that Moondance is the cat from the pawnshop. I’m Saffron.”

  I couldn’t help myself, and I had to give him a big hug. Then I sat down next to him. “You know, a name like Saffron isn’t exactly going to keep you under the radar either, pal.”

  “His middle name is Indigo,” Kaya said. “Let’s call him Indy, like Indiana Jones.”

  The two young men gave Kaya a strange look, since they had never heard of this modern-day hero.

  “Great idea, Kaya! Indy it is! What do you think, Moondance?” The young man nodded his agreement, and I looked back at Kaya. “But how do you know about Indiana Jones? I thought Leo said you came from some time in the past.”

  “Well, when I escaped from Tramador three years ago, an old man with shining golden eyes helped me find my way to a forest of tall pines, and I ended up in Seattle for two years. You may have heard of some strange Bigfoot sightings…” She lowered her eyes. “…and animal mutilations around there a while back. Then a year ago I decided I had to go back and get my sister. The old man appeared to me in a dream and showed me how. That’s when I met Leo.” She looked in his eyes. “We’ve been inseparable ever since.”

  It was an amazing story, but I couldn’t take my eyes off the handsome young man next to me. And I couldn’t keep from smiling. I rubbed his hair with my fingers and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Of course, he turned red as a beet.

  “Hey, careful there with my little brother, Miss Delacroix. He’s only 17. He’s never had the attention of a beautiful woman before.”

  This time I blushed. “Sorry, Indy.”

  “I didn’t mind at all, Jessie. I’d be purring if I could. And I’m actually more like two-hundred and 17. Actually, 220.”

  His brother and Kaya laughed, and we all began to feel like a close-knit group of friends.

  “So, how long has it been since you two boys have seen each other?” I was curious, and the two seemed really happy to be together again.

  “Actually, this is the 53rd anniversary of our…immortality,” Leo said.

  “Uh…make that the 203rd anniversary, Leo. It’s been a lot longer for me. And,” Indy continued, “it was only two years later when I decided I could no longer tolerate the life of a vampire…” He whispered the word so no one would hear. “…and, when I found that the form of a cat immunized me from the needs of vampirism, I have remained a little black fur ball ever since – until today. Well, except for one time about a hundred years ago now.” He looked at his brother, but Leo looked confused. “We’ve scarcely seen each other since then.”

  “Yes,” Leo continued. “It’s quite hard to keep a relationship going with a brother that you have no way to communicate with. He found friendly witches he could communi
cate with telepathically, and sent me messages through them from time to time. He went in his direction, and I took advantage of my royal blood to gain access to a community of aristocratic hangers-on…”

  “Sort of the Paris Hilton set of their day,” Kaya contributed, which actually did help me make better sense of what he was saying.

  Indy shook his head. “Yes, my brother’s royal blood. Go try claiming the Habsburg throne – or tell everyone that you’re the Holy Roman Emperor, Leo. You’ll end up in one of those insane asylums.”

  “Now, brother, no need for sour grapes just because your father was a chimney sweep from Bratislava, or perhaps that one-legged sailor from the shanty town on the Danube, or maybe…”

  “He was not!”

  Uh-oh.

  “He was a gentleman of fine upbringing from the palace guard. Mother wasn’t like that, Leo.”

  “She was on the 15th of every month when the royal army got paid and the merchants settled their contracts.”

  Indy slapped one hand on the table and rose just slightly as he struggled to get control of his temper. I saw a glimmer of light reflect off one of his fangs as he looked across the table at his brother. The tension built.

  I was frightened and mortified; I couldn’t speak or move. I looked at Kaya with my jaw practically on my chest, and she came to my rescue – and Indy’s.

  “Stop it, Leo! She’s your mother too! Now apologize to your brother.” She punched him in the arm a lot harder than a normal girl punch, and he seemed to get the idea. She put her face close to his. “I can still rip your heart out with one swipe of a claw before you’d have a chance to rip me in half, Leo.”

  Yipes. I’ll have to try that line on Travis sometime.

  “Sorry, Saffron. Just trying to have some good sibling fun, you know.”

  Indy settled down, and the mood felt a lot better. “Well, brother, your cruel jests were never good fun when we were kids, and they’re not good fun now. But let’s just move on. I’ve got to get back to being Moondance before dark, or two centuries without a sip of the red nectar are going to cause one of our neighbors to have a very bad day. I can already feel its vile and seductive call.”

  “Don’t worry, Indy. It’s June.” I told him. “The sun’s not going to set until 8:30.” Then I saw Kaya get a worried look. “And the moon isn’t going to rise until 9:09,” I told her. She took a relieved breath.

  There was still some tension in the air that I wanted to get rid of, so I tried to cover it up with empty conversation. “Well, I was half expecting Anika to come bursting out to replace you when you were fighting with your brother, Indy,” I said with a big smile.

  He shook his head. “No…she can’t morph in unless I’m the cat. I went in as a cat, and that’s the only form she or Gus can transform with. Huh…As long as I stay in my human form, Anika and Gus will remain locked inside. Maybe I’ll just stay this way!”

  I knew he was teasing, but a second later his eyes got very big and he hunched over onto the table.

  “Just kidding, Anika. Geez!” he said. Then he seemed to relax and whispered to me, “Somebody was pressing on my bladder really hard. I guess Anika can’t take a joke.”

  This seemed like it might be the perfect moment to find out how he, Anika, Gus, and Eddy all ended up together as one shape-shifting entity.

  “Say, Moondance…Indy…how…?”

  “I hope you guys didn’t eat without me!” Ginny walked in with two snorts and set the bag of banana chocolate-chip muffins on the counter. Then she came and joined us. “Skooch on over there a little, Kaya. I don’t need a lot of room, but I need a little.” More snorts.

  “Nope, we didn’t eat yet, Gin. We were waiting for you,” I said. “And where are the ghost cookies I asked you to bring for me?”

  “I brought you two, Jess. Ate ’em on the way. And who’s this handsome young man, next to you, Jessie?”

  He extended his hand to her across the table. “Hi, Ginny. It’s me – Moondance.”

  “Well, I’ll be hornswoggled! I might just have to become a cat lover! What are we gonna eat?”

  She took that pretty well.

  Chapter Six

  Carlo had gotten wind of the fact that we had visitors from Eastern Europe, and Ashley brought out two heaping platters of pierogies. One platter was stacked with savory pierogies filled with potato and pork, and the other was filled with fruit compote and surrounded by a ring of large strawberries on a bed of whipped cream.

  “Ah! Varenyky!” Kaya exclaimed happily. “My father is from Poland and my mother from Ukraine, so this is a very special dish for me.”

  That was nice…and the finger-sized stuffed dumplings fit in nicely with the Tea Room motif. Maybe it could be a new menu item.

  Time flew by as we ate, and I could see that Kaya was starting to get nervous as the sun made its way to the tops of the pine trees behind the Inn.

  “Well, that was mighty fine,” Ginny said as she leaned back and put her hands on her flat tummy. “I feel like a blimp.”

  Uh…no. She was skinny as a rail. Then she held out her palm to me.

  “I could use a stick of gum, Jess.”

  “I…I don’t have any gum, Ginny, Sorry.”

  She waggled a couple of fingers. “Hand it over, girl.”

  “But…”

  “But nothin’. You like me don’t you?”

  “Of course, Ginny. You’re a dear friend.”

  “And you want me to have a piece of gum, right?”

  “Well, sure, I guess.”

  “So just reach into your pocket and hand me a piece of gum.”

  The others were smiling now.

  “Go ahead, Jessie,” Indy said with a big grin. “From what Anika has told me about you, it should be no problem.”

  I reached into the little empty pocket on my shirt and pulled out a foil wrapped stick of gum. Ginny quickly took it, unwrapped it, and popped it in her mouth.

  “I don’t even know what flavor it is, Ginny. It might be horrible.”

  “It’s my flavor, of course. Mmm! You know me well, Jessie…peppermint barbeque!”

  Indy had never had chewing gum and wanted to try a piece too, but he quickly spit it out when I gave it to him.

  “Tuna? Really?”

  Leo laughed, and Kaya smiled, but I could see she was sweating slightly and fidgeting uncomfortably now. She kept looking at her fingernails, but hiding them from the rest of us in her tight little fists.

  “Indy,” I said, putting my hand on his arm, “I think we should get Anika.”

  He nodded in agreement, and I let him out of the booth. He walked past the front desk, and as soon as he got behind Maddy I saw him melt away, presumably into Moondance, the black cat. Maddy did a double take as Anika seemed to come out of nowhere with a chipper greeting.

  “Hidee ho, Maddy! Looks like a lot of people have gathered around that glass gazebo out front! Another hour and we’ll find out what all the hullabaloo is about!”

  Maddy just nodded as Anika continued on to our booth and stood there.

  “Come with me, Kaya. We’ll find a place in the basement to restrain you before the full moon rises.”

  “No!” Leo protested a bit too loudly, and everyone in the Tea Room turned towards us.

  “Felejtsd el.” Anika waggled her fingers, and everyone seemed to forget about us and went back to their meals and conversations.

  “No!” Leo whispered emphatically. “She will injure herself – and you’ll never be able to find anything that will hold her. Not on such short notice, anyway.”

  “Anika…” I had an idea. “Can we just send them to the other side of the world through the door in the basement? The full moon has passed, and it will be morning there.”

  “I’m afraid that with this super moon it will just postpone the inevitable. The moon is 30,000 miles closer this month, so she will probably have an episode tomorrow too, as she did last night in Europe. But perhaps another door…”

&n
bsp; There are three doors in the basement of the Inn. One is kind of a wormhole that can take you any where in the universe. It works with our stand of tall pines somehow to create a network for teleportation here on earth and elsewhere. But things have to be lined up just right, and I don’t really know how we would get back from such a journey. But there is also a doorway to various times in the past and one for the future.

  “We don’t know what the future holds, or if the earth will even still be here.” Anika looked thoughtful. “We’ll send them to the past. There’s only one chance in 28 that there will be a full moon where we send them.”

  Ginny and I had been to the Sanctum of Shadows through that door one time, but there were many other chambers along the pathway beyond the main door to the past as well. We all went through the lobby and down to the basement.

  “We’ll all walk you there, and then we can pick you up in a couple of days, once the moon gets smaller and further away.” I grabbed a flashlight for each of us from the metal shelves outside of Lionel’s door. He had a little apartment in the basement next to the stairway to the backyard.

  The knob on the door to the past was rusty, and the latch didn’t engage so I just pushed it open, and the five of us went through the eerie portal in the corner of the Inn’s basement.

  It opened to a long, dark, seemingly endless hallway that smelled musty and felt damp and dank. I got goose bumps and felt a little sick to my stomach as we took our first few steps, but that didn’t last long. The hallway extended far beyond the limits of the Inn’s foundation, and we all knew we had entered another realm. Ginny and I looked at each other as we passed the long corridor to our left that led to the Sanctum of Shadows.

  “I’m feeling much better already,” Kaya told us. “Maybe it’s just that the moon’s pull and light can’t find us here, or maybe we’re already in a different time.”

  “This way,” Anika said, shining her flashlight down a short corridor to our right.

  There was a very old wooden door with metal strappings just a few steps ahead. It had two levers on it – one vertical and one horizontal. Above them is said “Place.” Below those were two dials like you might find on a combination safe. They were labeled “Year” and “Date.”