Witch In Charge - Celia Kyle Page 0,22

up,” Kelly said, sarcasm dripping.

“The house…” Tiffany mused softly, then turned excited eyes on Kelly.

Kelly caught the look and understood immediately. It had never occurred to her! All the plates and tea things lifted just a little off the table and shivered before being gently placed back down again.

“My house is freaking texting me!”

Before she could react any further, the doorbell bonged, followed by hurrying footsteps.

The house groaned like it was releasing air that had been trapped in the wooden boards since the stone age. Kelly got up and headed to the foyer, pretty sure of who had arrived. She'd barely made it past the kitchen when she saw Louie walking toward her.

“Kelly.”

“Louie.” She copied his flat tone.

“Look, we need to finish our conversation about this whole roommate thing. I chose the candidates with the utmost care. The ones you selected were literally at the bottom of the list. I mean…a necromancer? In Hollow House? Totally inappropriate! And that other one?”

Kelly took a deep breath to lay into Louie and tell him in no uncertain terms that he had no say in the matter, but the house beat her to the punch. The air shifted and the faintest whisper of laughter filled the foyer.

With a surprised shriek, Louie was grabbed by the ankles and upended. The house lifted him until his upside-down face was right in front of hers, eyes wild with panic.

“We decide who lives here,” Kelly said firmly. “Not you.”

Panic turned to icy anger. “Kelly, put me down. Right now.”

“Oh, Louie, I think you know I’m not doing it. My best friend is.”

“The house is your fucking friend now?”

She shrugged. “I’m a Holloway. What did you expect?”

He started to protest again and Kelly heard the jangle of his belt. She had to cover her mouth to keep the laughter in as the house pantsed him. Not an easy feat, considering he was upside down.

“Let me down!” he screamed.

Kelly nodded and the house dropped him in the middle of the hallway with a loud thump.

“This isn’t over,” he growled as he got to his feet, one hand rubbing his head and the other holding his pants up.

He gave her one last glare before turning for the door. Every time he slowed down, the house gave him a little nudge.

Kelly snickered and headed back toward the garden, ready to stuff herself with more pancakes and scones. Turned out that Nathan was an extremely good cook and, since she had his service for as long as he could sun bake, she was going to take full advantage.

As she walked through the dark halls, her phone lit up again. It was a notification from the Find A Witch dating app she had installed a while back for fun. The guy seemed cute, so she accepted and sent a wink back. Why not? It was better than lusting after a stone statue that wouldn’t move from the damn porch.

Nine

It wasn’t until the sunlight started to get hot that the girls finally thought about moving. Even though the garden was overgrown and looked more like a neglected pet cemetery than a comfortable solarium, there was peace in it.

Kelly had spent most of the morning curled in the big wicker chair with both her hands wrapped around her teacup, basking in the company of her new friends. Well, her house’s new friends! It seemed like the house’s opinion was always going to come first and the longer she stayed, the more she liked the idea.

“Hey, Nathan?” Kelly called. “You got any of those butternut biscuits left?”

For the first few seconds there was no reply, so Kelly whispered, “Give him a nudge.”

A loud yelp erupted from the kitchen and Nathan hurried out the door, rubbing his butt.

“What the hell?” he snapped. “The house just pulled out a drawer and poked me.”

Kelly giggled. “I’m sorry. I wanted more biscuits.”

“You realize you’ve been at brunch”—he used air quotes—”for a few hours now.”

“I’ve got nowhere to be,” Kelly said, capping her statement with a lazy yawn.

“It’s getting warm out here, though.” Tiffany remarked, looking up and shading her eyes.

“Did the vines always cover the roof?” Aurora asked.

“Yeah, they sure did,” Nathan answered. “They used to be green and leafy and there was a lot more shade. I could come out here without a sun spell then. Even though the corners look really lush, it’s weeds taking over the original plants. The vines are being strangled. Every year, they let in a bit more light.” He looked up with some