Cassandra drew in a breath and looked at Abby. “As a mortal, you can’t fight a ghost. They’ve got paranormal powers, you don’t. Most ghosts just hang out and haunt. Some ghosts, the not-so-good variety, cause havoc. Others, like Vivianna, who was a witch and a pretty good one as far as I can tell, can be pretty powerful.”
“This is not sounding good,” Abby mumbled.
“If you want to defeat a ghost you have four options,” Cassandra continued.
“And those are?” Abby asked.
“The first, you find its mortal remains and burn them,” Cassandra replied.
“I’ve seen that on TV,” Abby told her, and she had. That show with two hot brothers, one sensitive, one wise-cracking, both running around fighting demons, burning bones and shooting spirits with shotguns loaded with salt.
That show was great!
Cassandra nodded. “It’s true.”
“Well, it’s gross to dig up a grave and burn bones but let’s do that,” Abby suggested brightly.
“Can’t,” Mrs. Truman put in.
“Why not?” Abby queried and Mrs. Truman looked at Fenella.
“I’ve done a little research over the years, seeing as I’ve lived with Vivianna for, what feels like, ever,” Fenella told them. “I found out the townspeople didn’t really like her much. They were into all that hocus pocus stuff back then and knew about the burning-the-bones-thing so, after she threw herself off the castle, they gathered together the pieces and burned her remains.”
Abby did a little shiver at the thought of gathering up Vivianna’s “pieces” then she enquired, “Then how can she still be around?”
“Either they didn’t salt it first, doesn’t work if you don’t salt it,” Cassandra explained, “or, if they did, which they likely did, because everyone knows you salt the body before burning it, then Vivianna probably knew she’d have to get around that. So, she left some earthy remains somewhere.”
“Okay then,” Abby said slowly, “we’ll find her remains and burn them.”
“In a week?” Mrs. Truman demanded then finished on a firm, “Impossible.”
Abby stared at Mrs. Truman thinking she was, unfortunately, right.
“Okay, what’s choice number two?” Abby asked on a sigh.
“Choice number two was what we were doing at your house Saturday night,” Cassandra answered. “A mortal can’t fight a ghost, but a ghost can fight a ghost. We were seeing if there were any of your relatives hanging around who could help out. Normally you can’t leave the place you haunt. And that place has to be either where you died, where you lived or somewhere you spent a lot of time. But I know a spell that can un-tether a ghost. Not for long, but for long enough for your relative either to take down Vivianna, or provide you with protection while you’re at the castle.”
“I’m guessing that didn’t work,” Abby remarked.
Cassandra shook her head. “Nope. Fortunately for them and you under normal circumstances, all your relatives have gone on to the next plane. Under these circumstances, it’s rather unfortunate.”
“What’s choice three?” Abby asked.
“Choice three is that you take a potion which would make you able to fight a ghost. It would give you keener senses so you’d see her, even if she wasn’t making herself visible. If done right, the potion would mean you could sense she was coming, giving you a warning. If done really right, the potion would allow you to combat her, physically or at least ethereally,” Cassandra explained.
Abby thought that sounded great. “Let’s do that.”
Cassandra shook her head and Abby’s shoulders fell.
“The potion needs three weeks to ferment. A month to work well. About six months to work well enough to fight back. It isn’t often you need to fight a ghost. I didn’t have any in my larder. I made a batch after Mrs. Truman called and explained what was going on but it won’t be ready in time,” Cassandra told Abby.
“What happens if I take it early?” Abby queried.
“You get sick. Very sick. Stomach cramps, nausea, vomiting, fever, delirium, cold sweats – you name it, you’ll get it. It only lasts a few days, a week at most, but you’ll look like death and not only will you want to die, those around you who don’t know you took the potion, like your boyfriend and, say, doctors, will think you are. Dying that is,” Cassandra said.
“Well, that’s out,” Abby muttered.
Cassandra leaned toward Abby, her eyes going soft, and said gently, “I’ve sent out feelers to see if any other witches have a usable potion, Abby. I know it doesn’t sound good but maybe we’ll catch some luck.”
Abby gave her a small smile before asking, “What’s option four?”
“Option four is your cat,” Cassandra told her.
Abby blinked. “Zee?”
Cassandra nodded. “Not all felines have the ability, but your cat does.”
“What ability?” Fenella asked.
Cassandra looked at Fenella. “Ghosts don’t like cats on the whole. But cats like Abby’s they’ll avoid like the plague. Cats like Abby’s can do what Abby could do if we had a usable potion. See the ghost, even when hidden, sense it before it comes and fight it.”
“Fight it?” Abby prompted.
Cassandra leaned forward and nabbed a scone and a knife. “Fight it, yes, but not destroy it. Fend it off. Say, if Vivianna was stalking you or even attacking you, your cat could do her damage. Weaken her. Make Vivianna disappear until her strength returns.”
“Let’s do that!” Fenella screeched.
Cassandra’s eyes went back to Fenella as she cut open her scone and started to slather it with cream. “Two problems with that.”
“Bloody hell,” Abby muttered and thought, Great, two more problems.
“One,” Cassandra continued, “when Vivianna came back, she’d be angry. Very angry. Abby would be gone but your family would be in targeting range.”
“That’s not good,” Mrs. Truman commented under her breath.
“Two, I said Abby’s cat could fight it, I didn’t say her cat would win,” Cassandra noted. “And Vivianna can’t die. But Zee can.”
“That’s out,” Abby stated instantly.
Everyone went silent.
Then Fenella cried, “So what are we going to do?”