Witch In Charge - Celia Kyle Page 0,59

my major.

Twenty-Two

Hollow House was quiet, eerily so. Considering that it now had four tenants, including its resident vampire, Kelly found it surprising that she, Owyn, and Ronun had managed to enter the lounge room and set up a circle without any interference whatsoever.

She didn’t know if it was because the house was starting to obey her or if it had its own ulterior motives. Either could be true. The house was fickle, and Kelly knew in her bones that it always would be. That was only one reason she loved it so.

Ronun stood in the middle of the circle, looking very self-conscious. He still wore his security guard uniform and, even though he was dressed to stand at attention, he looked like he was on a firing line instead.

“Okay.” Owyn held up his grimoire as he inspected the circle. “That’s good. Where’s your cauldron, Kelly?”

“Right here!” She handed her Instant Pot over to Owyn, who didn't even blink at it. He simply set about his work. He really was a badass.

As she watched him, she wondered again that she'd been able to run through the foyer, to the kitchen, and back to the lounge without seeing a single roommate. But her curiosity only lasted a minute because she had bigger fish to fry—or slow cook. Or maybe pressure cook, depending on the spell and which buttons she pressed.

Owyn sprinkled a variety of herbs into the pot. He carried some in little envelopes in his pockets and others he'd selected from the now-flowering solarium. The house had practically invited him in by banging the open doors when he said in a mournful tone that he should really be using fresh rosemary, not dried.

Either the house really likes Owyn or it actually wants to help Ronun. Either way, she was just glad it was behaving itself.

Owyn spoke a few words and the pot made a large bang. A thick cloud of smoke poured from it. Kelly and Owyn coughed and choked, trying to clear the air so they could see the center of the circle. When the smoke finally cleared, Ronun was standing bewildered in the center, looking around curiously. Kelly peered back at him in much the same way.

“Did it work?” she asked.

Ronun shrugged.

“No,” Owyn stated. “I can tell.”

He flipped through his book, muttering as he ran a finger down the yellowed pages.

“It’s my grimoire,” he said, with some defeat. “It just doesn't contain the right spells for such a personal curse.”

“So what now?” Ronun asked.

Owyn sighed in complete regret. “I’m sorry, Ronun. We can’t cure you. We would need to find the grimoire of the family that cursed you. We don’t even know where to start looking. Are you sure you don’t know who cursed your ancestor?”

Ronun shook his head, the pain in his eyes breaking Kelly's heart.

“No idea. Sorry.”

Owyn shook his head. “Then we’re lost.”

The house groaned, a deep sound of torment that made Kelly jump. She wondered exactly how they'd pissed it off and what it would do to show its temper. She didn't have to wait long.

The walls began to shudder and creak loudly. Then there was a heavy crash as several large stones fell to the floor and shattered, filling the room with a huge cloud of dust. Kelly almost rushed Ronun and Owyn to safety, worried the walls were coming down around them, but then she spotted tiny footprints appearing in the dust. It had to be the brownies, so she followed them toward a great crack in the wall.

A huge section of a structural column had fallen away. Only now did Kelly realize that this wall support was a different shape to the others. Feeling like she was definitely onto something, she moved closer and felt around in the dust-filled cavity behind the pillar.

Her fingers brushed against something smooth and hard, like wood. The dust cleared a little, revealing a small door of dark mahogany, locked with a jeweled clasp. Before she could even wonder where to start looking for the key, the cupboard sprang open at her touch.

Inside, there was a book.

“House?” she asked, cautiously.

There was nothing but a soft rustling from one end of the room to the other. It was the closest thing to a smile that the house had ever expressed. She struggled to lift the heavy tome and hurried back to Owyn and Ronun to show them. Owyn’s eyes grew so wide it looked like they might fall right out of his head.

He reached out a reverent hand to