Abby heard gasps around her but all she could do was stare.
“What on –” she breathed but she heard a whisper in her ear.
“Draw her to the circle,” Angus ordered and belatedly Abby’s brain kicked in.
She pulled out of Cash’s arm and took a step back. His eyes sliced to her, she gave him a short jerk of the head and watched his jaw grow tight.
She started edging toward the corner of the gallery where she knew the circle had been drawn, according to Cassandra not only magical but also invisible.
Unfortunately the room was huge and the circle was far away, a distance to Abby at that exact time that felt like a million miles.
Regardless Abby kept creeping and saw that Vivianna’s eyes were on Cash, not filled with malice but instead with pain and longing.
This was a problem considering she wasn’t paying a lick of attention to Abby.
Normally that would be a good thing. At that moment it was not.
Abby kept backing toward the corner, giving Vivianna’s floating form a wide berth and trying to be obvious but not too obvious.
Cash, eyes on Vivianna, started to move slowly toward Abby.
Vivianna’s head, just as slowly, turned to Abby.
When Vivianna’s malice-filled eyes hit her, Abby’s mind disengaged, fear shot through her and she stopped moving.
“Abby, come here,” Cash commanded, lifting his hand to her.
Abby’s gaze darted between Cash and Vivianna and she whispered, “Cash.”
“Darling, you’ll be all right. Come here,” Cash said softly, still advancing and Abby started backing up again.
Abby had no idea what he was on about because the only way she’d be all right was to get the damned ghost in the circle. He knew that. Hell, practically everyone in the room knew that.
“Cash, I have to –”
“Come here.”
“Cash –”
Then it happened.
Vivianna twirled toward Abby and advanced at the same time Cash bolted forward.
Abby started running to the circle. She chanced a glance over her shoulder to see if Vivianna was following and saw the spirit collide with Cash. Cash’s arm went around her waist and he hurled her bodily toward Abby then tore in their direction.
Abby stopped and ducked, Vivianna sailing over her as Cash caught Abby at the hips, whirled and threw Abby back from whence she came. She reeled and would have landed right on her ass if Kieran hadn’t caught her in his arms.
Cash wasted no time and shot forward in Vivianna’s direction.
Abby watched in shock as Cash caught Vivianna’s skirts in a fist and pulled her down into his arms. Subduing her wild struggles quickly, he carried her kicking and punching to where the circle was supposed to be. Once there, he let go and jogged out toward Abby, Vivianna zooming after him so fast she was nearly a blur.
When it looked like Vivianna would make it to Cash, Abby heard Fenella scream right before Vivianna slammed against an invisible barrier.
Bright sparks of white lights like sparkler dust exploded up and down, in and out, in a wide circle, so thick and riotous you could barely see through them.
Vivianna flew back into the circle.
Cash made it to Abby’s side and with an arm hooked around her waist, he pulled her out of Kieran’s arms and against his body.
Vivianna came tearing toward them again.
And she again slammed into the circle, more blazing lights burst and she sailed back.
They watched, everyone inching slightly nearer to the circle as she did this again.
And again.
And again.
Then she stopped, suspended in the air in the middle of the circle.
Eyes on Cash then on Abby, she opened her mouth and screamed.
This scream was different, still eerie but filled with frustration.
“That’s it, wee ghosty. Scream all you want. We’ve got you now,” Angus’s voice came from a now visible body. He was standing at the edge of the circle, in full kilt, hands on hips, grinning like the lunatic he was at Vivianna.
Vivianna stopped screaming and glared at Angus.
“Angus!” they heard shouted and everyone turned to see Cassandra at the door. She was in top-to-toe, full-on, Rock ‘n’ Roll Gypsy gear, wearing enough silver and scarves to outfit a five member rock band. She had a big, battered, brown leather case with her. She put it on the floor and gave it a hefty shove with the bottom of her booted foot. It went sailing across the room and Angus, also with his foot, stopped it.
Angus’s head turned to Vivianna. “You’re going on a road trip, lass.”
Vivianna’s eyes went from the case to Angus, her body still hovering.
Instead of looking worried however, she crossed her arms as if this all was a mild annoyance.
Abby had the feeling this was not a good sign.
Cassandra came to stand beside Angus. She now had what looked like a long, gnarled, stout twig in her hand about a foot long, maybe longer. She was pointing it at Vivianna and muttering under her breath. Abby couldn’t catch all that she was saying but she could tell that it rhymed.
“Who’s she?” Nicola breathed from the other side of Kieran.
“A witch,” Jenny answered.
With effort Nicola took in this new utterly inconceivable nugget of information and then asked, “What’s she doing?”
“Folding her up,” Honor, at her mother’s side, replied.
At that a stream of bright pink glitter dust poured forth from Cassandra’s wand and Nicola, eyes huge and trained on the wand, wisely decided to stop asking questions.
They watched as Vivianna did indeed look like she was folding in on herself from the bottom up.
Feet, skirts, knees and up.
Thighs, hips, waist and up.
Regardless of what would seem dire circumstances for the ghosty she-bitch, she kept her eyes on Angus, her arms crossed on her chest.
Her face, Abby saw with a queer curl of fear starting in her belly, now looked bored.
“Something’s wrong,” Abby whispered but Cash saw it too.
“Angus,” Cash’s voice cut through Cassandra’s muttering.
“Not long now, lad,” Angus replied, still grinning.
Cash pushed Abby behind him and demanded, “Angus, look at her.”
Peering around his body, Abby watched Vivianna’s arms uncross and lift toward the ceiling as her ribcage was folded up.
Then Abby watched as Vivianna’s eyes moved toward Cash and Abby.
Then she grinned.
Cash tensed, Abby took several steps back and then Cash shouted, “Angus!”
Before anyone could move Vivianna’s arms shot straight down. She hurtled herself toward the ceiling, her body coming out of the fold as she did. A firework of every colour purple you could imagine, from the palest lilac to the brightest violet to the deepest aubergine, detonated, bursting forth, filling the space and bouncing (thankfully harmlessly) off everyone standing at the circle.