Witch In Charge - Celia Kyle Page 0,20
room was still spinning when he left it and Kelly nabbed the back of a chair to steady herself.
What the hell is up with this guy?
Eight
Sunlight filtered through the intricate scrollwork of the screen surrounding the garden at the back of the house, lighting the table where the new roommates sat, getting to know each other better. The area was fully enclosed with screens, vines and creeping flowers all over them. The overall effect was like being gently embraced by bushes and trees.
When the vines above her head creaked, Kelly looked up to see them twisting against the metal frames. Putting in wrought iron scaffolding like this would have cost a fortune back in the day. The original builders had spared no expense in setting up Hollow House and, as Kelly took in the view from her big wicker chair, she couldn’t thank them enough.
She leaned back, acknowledging that the house was being slightly noisy but trying not to pay too much attention to it. It was almost like the house wanted to be part of the conversation.
A gossiping house. Now I’ve seen everything.
“Oh. My. God. You used imitation Dragon’s Blood on a resurrection and it worked?” Tiffany exclaimed.
Aurora ducked her head shyly, reacting a little to Tiffany’s enthusiasm. It had become obvious pretty quickly that their personalities should have clashed horribly, yet the two women were getting on like their friendship was meant to be.
“Honestly, there isn’t anything wrong with imitation stuff, if you’re in a bind. I will say, though, it didn’t fully do the job. The horse was resurrected, but not all of him was alive. He was part-zombie.”
“No way!” Tiffany cried. “A zombie horse?”
“Oh yeah. Since then, I go for the good stuff, but it’s hard to find.”
“I’ve never used it,” Kelly said absently.
“Really?” Tiffany asked in surprise. “I thought it was mandatory for all witches.”
“Apparently not,” Kelly laughed. “I was told it’s a power enhancer. I’ve never needed it.”
“You might one day,” Aurora said. “It’s a mark of how powerful you are that you’ve never needed it.”
Kelly shrugged. “Maybe I’ve just never flexed my muscles properly.”
“That I would like to see,” Tiffany said with a dark grin. “Kelly unleashed!”
The creaking sound above their heads grew louder. The thick vines twisted and crept across the scaffolding, the house squeezing noise out of the old frames to draw attention to itself. Kelly smiled and shook her head. She was beginning to feel its moods. Weird.
“I can show you other herb lore that might improve your work,” Aurora said to Tiffany. She leaned forward eagerly, obviously opening up to her new friends. “There are lots of cross combinations that will work in other spells. I promise, we won’t bring back a hell beast or anything.”
Even though she giggled, Kelly frowned at the mischievous tone. Was summoning a dead hell beast even possible?
Aurora’s smile grew as she gained confidence. It was almost as if she wasn’t used to people complimenting her on her spell work, even though she was clearly talented. She looked even more demure than usual today in a flowing, filmy white dress. Her long coppery hair framed her face in a glittering aura and her soft brown eyes shone soulfully in a way that would shame a saint.
Tiffany was her exact opposite in every way. She was slender and short with delicate features that gave her an elfin look. The mop of black hair with a couple of purple streaks only enhanced this image, the handful of piercings and thick steel jewelry sealing the deal on her punk-goth fashion statement. Her grey, dark-rimmed eyes looked so startling they could have been contacts—but they weren’t.
So far over brunch, Aurora had accidentally revived quite a few spiders, a snake, and a squirrel. Butterflies kept bursting out randomly from Tiffany and it was difficult to have a conversation at all when the air was full of soft, fluttering wings. Kelly was impressed by their powers but also perplexed at how they lacked control over them. What if they hurt the house?
The house invited them, she reminded herself
“Do something really cool,” Aurora insisted. “You make people happy, right?”
“That's my jam,” Tiffany said. “I’m all about grounding, healing trauma, understanding, though part of me thinks I should have been born a necromancer like you.”
A pink butterfly landed on her hair, lightly fanning its wings. Tiffany tried not to notice it. They had been floating around her all day and no one knew where they were coming from.
Aurora sniffed and shook her