Page 54 of Haunting the Deep

“Actually, speaking of spirits, I have a suggestion,” Alice says.

“Oh no.” Mary frowns. “Don’t ruin my happy moment.”

Alice looks at Mary. “You haven’t even heard it yet.”

“I don’t have to. If you were sure about it, you would just tell us we’re doing it. If you’re suggesting it, that means it’s either super uncomfortable or risky.”

“Hear, hear,” Susannah says.

“Everyone just untwist your panties for a second,” says Alice. “Nothing we’re doing right now isn’t risky. If we wanted to be safe, we would’ve locked ourselves up in my protected room all weekend. We’re at Sam’s house, which is clearly a hot spot for weird shit. And we need information.”

Alice swallows her last bite and wipes her hands on a napkin before continuing. “Tomorrow we’ll research Myra and the weird objects that have been showing up to see if we can connect the dots. But what if we go a step further than research and try to talk to her in person? Maybe she can tell us what the deal is with the hat and why all these objects are appearing.”

“Like try to summon her spirit?” Mary pulls her knees a little closer to her body.

“Yeah. With Sam’s abilities, it makes a lot of sense,” Alice says.

Susannah’s eyebrows push together. “We have no idea what side of this Myra’s on. Yes, we need information. But we could be walking straight into a huge problem. And Samantha can see spirits, but they can also hurt her. We’re specifically putting her at risk. Or maybe setting ourselves up for a trap.”

“It’s less risky than using that potion on the dress,” I say. “And Myra is the common denominator in most of these clues. Believe me, the last thing I want to do is see more spirits, but I’m fully with Alice on this one.”

Mary frowns. “But that spell’s in the gray area.”

“Gray area?”Do I want to know?

“It’s not good or bad magic, but somewhere in between,” Susannah says. “Gray spells leave lots of room for error. You can’t exactly control them, and you don’t know what you’re gonna get. Not everyone can do gray spells. Alice is banking on your natural ability, I think. And since you’reuntrained,a world of things could go wrong.”

“You are certainlynotdoing that spell. Is this the type of nonsense you have been discussing all day in that room where I cannot watch you?” Elijah stands by the door, his jaw set.

I jump. “You donotjust get to pop in here and criticize like that. If you wanted to be included, you should never have let me believe you left!” Even as the words leave my mouth, I’m surprised by how raw they sound.

For a split second Elijah seems unsure. “Samantha, this is not the time for that discussion.”

I slide off the bed. “Because you chose to blink in while my friends were here? Not my fault.”

“Um, what’s going on?” Mary’s eyes are wide, and her voice is high-pitched.

Elijah looks flustered. “This is not any more comfortable for me than it is for you.”

“Samantha?” Susannah says, and looks back and forth between me and the door I appear to be yelling at.

I lift my chin. “We’re doing the spell. And I don’t need your input.”

Alice’s mouth opens. “So, not the drowned man, then.”

Elijah’s stubborn expression intensifies. “You are not doing that spell and that is the end of it.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Indeed.” Elijah blinks out.

I’m left standing there with my hands clenched and my chest rising and falling emphatically. The girls stare at me.

“That”—I wave angrily at the door—“was Elijah. Alice, set up the spell,” I say with force.

Alice heads for her overnight bag and digs around in it for a moment. She pulls out a black cloth pouch. “Sam, I really think—” The cloth pouch disappears from her hand. Alice’s eyes widen. “What the hell?”

I shake my hands in the air. “Give that back!”