I said quickly, not wanting her to get so ticked off she left without taking care of my ghost. “I’m almost absolutely positive that I believe.”
She shot me a look that was just like the one Bess was giving me (part eye-roll, part disgusted curled-lip sneer), and went to each of the windows to sprinkle salt.
“Um...why salt?” I ask as she moved over to the door. “I thought it was supposed to be bad luck to spill salt? Are you trying to annoy the ghost so it leaves?”
“If that’s all it took to get it to leave, you’d certainly have done it long ago,” Bess said snottily. And now you know why I have petitioned Mom and Brother three times now to formally disavow Bess.
“Salt provides protection against evil spirits entering your room,” Aurora said.
“That’s nice and all, but the ghost is already here,” I pointed out.
She didn’t say anything to that, just took a big blue stone bowl and started putting stuff into it. I peered over her shoulder to see what she was doing.
“This is garlic, dried thistle, clove, sage, and peppermint,” she said. “I will light it, and it will drive out the spirit. Bess?”
Bess came forward with a lighter and lit a small stick. Aurora wedged the stick into the dried herbs, stirring it around until they started to smoke. Then she walked all the room, stopping at the dresser to wave the smoke into each of the opened drawers. “We come here in peace and understanding. By the name of the Eternal Lord and the Eternal Lady, we bid thee to part. By the name of the Eternal Lady and Eternal Lord, we consecrate this space. By the spirit within us, let nothing but joy linger here.”
“Amen,” I said, feeling like I should say something, except I don’t know any Wiccan stuff to say. “Is this it? When will I know if the ghost is gone?”
She set the bowl down in the open top drawer, right between my Wonder Bra and that jogging bra I never wear because it makes my boobs flop around. The herbs were smoking something awful, filling up the room with herb smoke, so I went to open up a window.
“No, you must keep the windows closed, or it won’t work,” Aurora said quickly. “We must wait until the herbs have finished burning, then we will take them outside and bury the ashes.”
I waved my hand in the air, trying to flag the smoke out of my face. Bess started coughing deep, her icky-sounding asthma cough. My eyes stung as I started to cough, too. The smoke was really nasty. No wonder it would drive a ghost out. “Bury...cough, cough...the ashes? Why...hack, wheeze...bury them?”
“Can’t stay, need my inhaler,” Bess gasped as she ran for the door.
Even Aurora started wheezing a bit. “We bury the ashes to return them to the Earth Mother. I will admit, this is a bit strong—” She bolted for the door.
I followed right on her heels, stopping just long enough to grab Jack before escaping. After Aurora caught her breath, she told me that when I went back into the room, I should feel a difference.
“Yeah, but what’s going to happen to all my undies and other stuff in the dresser? They’ll all smell like smoke. I hate smoky clothes! I’ll have to wash everything, and I’ve got two tests tomorrow, and I’m supposed to fly to Paris tomorrow night. I don’t have time to be washing clothes.”
Bess dragged Aurora off to her room. Isn’t that just like her?
“The smoke should clear soon,” Aurora said over her shoulder.
“Great,” I told Jack, who was being quiet (did I tell you he has blue eyes just like Devon? Isn’t that too fabu?). “It should clear soon. Do you see what happens when you have a sister? This is why you’re an only child.”
I went down to the library to do some homework until Devon picked me up, which meant I had to sit in the same room as Brother when he was writing up a paper on garderobes or peons or whatever it is a medieval scholar does. And you know how he grunts when he writes. He also mutters Latin under his breath, and I defy anyone to study while someone grunts and speaks Latin in the same room. Martyr that I am, I went in and braved the Stare of the Unibrowed (still no luck with leaving pairs of tweezers lying conveniently around).
“You can lower your Unibrow,