Heather shrugged. “No one asked.”
“Seriously, Heather,” William insisted, taking a slow step back as Julia kept inching closer to him. “I think there is something wrong with Grandma.”
“Hard-boiled means you’re a manly man,” Heather said. “Don’t you ever watch historical dramas?”
“No. I watch football,” William stated.
“Wow, Julia, I was expecting you to look…” Vivien couldn’t take her eyes away from Julia. This was a ghost. An honest-to-goodness, not-trying-to-kill-her, interactive spirit. She’d been expecting a much older woman.
“Older? Sorry, doll, my last chapter was not as fun as this one,” Julia answered, her voice sounding surprisingly clear. “This is the era that defined my life. Oh, the sneaking around, the dancing, the parties, slinging hooch. William, be a good boy and butt me.”
“No.” William recoiled.
“Fine. I’ll do it myself.” Julia lifted her hand, and a lit cigarette appeared between her fingers. “That mother of yours did not raise much of a gentleman. Can’t even get a lady a cigarette.”
“Hi, Mrs. Warrick, I’m Lorna. I found one of your rings.” Lorna lifted her hand to show the ring to the spirit. Her voice trembled a little, and Vivien knew her friend was nervous.
“I know. I led you to it,” Julia answered, her tone slightly dismissing. To Heather, she said, “Took you long enough to summon me. What’s a lady got to do to get attention around here? Dance a hoochie-coochie?”
“No. Definitely not,” William muttered.
“I haven’t been ignoring you. In fact, I have been trying to get your attention. You kept disappearing on me. The last thing you told me was we’d all been brought together for a reason, that we are meant to help each other heal from our individual pains.” Heather moved closer to Julia, clearly not as stunned as the others when being faced with the otherworldly being. “We found the book. We found the altar. As far as I know it is still underneath the stage. I haven’t been able to get back down there again to check.”
“Yeah, I locked it. You don’t need that old thing. It’s just a prop,” Julia injected.
“We found the rings,” Heather continued. “We found each other. I thought I understood what we were supposed to do with that, but now I’m not so sure.”
“You have the book,” Julia dismissed, taking a long drag off her cigarette. Smoke filtered from between her lips, but there was no smell as it dissipated into the air. “It’s all spelled out in there. I don’t think I can make it any clearer. Though the demon? What was the reason for that? Playing with those creatures is a little advanced. It was very careless of you to let it run loose in here. I would suggest you figure out the basics first.”
“We didn’t mean to summon a demon,” Vivien said.
“Oh, then you must be much more careful, doll,” Julia quipped. She waved her hand in the air, and the cigarette disappeared. The spirit slowly walked toward Lorna as if to study her face. “I’m glad you got to see that ex of yours for what he was. When I heard the whispers of your story, I knew you needed my Heather as much as she needs you and Vivien. It looks like you found peace. Have you found peace?”
“Yes.” Lorna nodded. “I have, thank you.”
Julia poked a transparent finger at Lorna’s arm. Lorna gave a small jump of surprise at the contact, much to Julia’s amusement. The spirit began to laugh, tossing back her head in her merriment.
“She’s found a new boyfriend too,” Vivien added. “I wouldn’t be surprised if you’re looking at your new granddaughter by marriage.”
“You were always a bit of a gossip,” Julia told Vivien with a wink. “I like it.”
“Hey, at least let me ask her before you all assume,” William said.
Lorna actually turned a little red at the conversation.
“Sorry.” Vivien gave them a look of contrition. “Sometimes my psychic senses get the best of me.”
“Can we get this conversation back on track?” Heather interrupted the banter. “Grandma, is the demon gone?”
“What a silly question.” Julia arched a brow. “Is it out of the realm of existence? No, of course not. What is death for a demon? But if you want to know if it’s off this plane of existence, then yes. You exorcised it.”
“Okay, good.” Heather nodded. “And when we called Sam, did we bring over a new kind of demon?”
“Sam didn’t come. Glenn did,” Julia said. “You sent him packing as well. Good riddance.”
“I’m talking about last night. We were at Vivien’s house, and we called Sam.” Heather moved to the side to stay within Julia’s eyeline when her grandmother would turn her attention to someone else.
“I wasn’t invited.” Julia waved a hand in dismissal. To Lorna, she said, “Glenn is where he’s supposed to be.”
“Where is that?” Lorna asked. Vivien felt her friend’s concern. Glenn was a top-notch asshat, but he was still the father of Lorna’s three children, and that bond would never completely go away.
“Oh, no, doll, nice try.” Julia shook her finger at Lorna. “I’m not telling you about the afterlife. Some secrets you get after you die.”
“Julia.” Vivien moved to get the ghost’s attention. “We need your help. I tried to bring Sam back.”
“If it didn’t work, try again. It’s not like he’s going anywhere.” Julia pointed at the book. “I gave you everything you need.”
“Grandma, please,” Heather pleaded. “We need you to listen to what we’re asking.”
At the tone of her voice, Julia’s form shivered and she disappeared, only to rematerialize moments later as an older version of herself. This was closer to how Vivien remembered her. Her hair had streaks of gray but was still bobbed. Her body had widened, as bodies do with age, and she wore a dark skirt with a floral blouse. She had chunky jewelry, bold like her personality.
The sassiness left Julia’s tone as she said, “Why do you look so worried, love?”
“We tried to bring back Sam, Vivien’s first husband, who died over twenty years ago,” Heather said. “He came back, but he escaped the circle on the book and shot through Vivien’s living room, breaking things.”
“You should draw the circle on the floor instead. It gives more room for the spirit to move around and not build too much energy,” Julia said. “The illustrations are just guides. You have to take them and make them your own. You’ll know what to do. Trust your instincts. What is meant to be will come to pass.”
“Julia, that’s not everything. I messed up,” Vivien inserted. “When Lorna and Heather intended to do the séance so I could see Sam again and find closure, I secretly wanted him to come back.”
She looked at her feet and touched the ring. Her statement wasn’t clear, and she knew that.
“I…” Vivien took a deep breath. “I wanted him to come back from the dead. I thought the magic you gave us might help me do that.”
Saying it out loud made her feel foolish.