Chapter 10
Lia
WHEN WE REACHED THE LAST door in the northwest turret, we found it locked. No surprise, but I still wanted to kick the door. I had to get to my sister.
“I got this.” Coop lifted a foot and gave a monstrous kick to the door handle.
Above us, Mellie cried out my name. She was alive! I fought back a primal scream,needingto get through that door. Coop kicked the door again, harder. He continued to kick until the wooden door jamb broke. Hand in hand, we took the stairs two at a time.
At the top of the turret, the clear, dark sky seemed wide open after the closed rooms. The moonlight cast a ghostly glow on the scene before us. I swallowed a sob. On the opposite end of the tower, my little sister stood before a kneeling man. He bowed his head over his hands, and his shoulders shuddered.
Mellie didn’t leave him but sent me a pleading look.
“Sir Hugh?” I took a step closer.
“You can see him?” Coop whispered, squinting.
“Yes,” I whispered and took another step. “Sir Hugh, I think I have something you’ve been looking for.” I held up the necklace.
“Please don’t cry anymore, Mister.” Mellie tapped his shoulder. “Here’s Maire’s necklace. You can give it to her.”
The ghost raised his head at my sister’s words. When his eyes met mine, he seemed to fade out a little before coming back into focus. I held the necklace higher; his entire face lit up. He rose to his feet.
“They mixed up the stones when they put the citadel back together.” I held it out to him, wondering if the necklace might drop right through his hands. It didn’t.
“Thank you, my dear,” Sir Hugh said.
I glanced around. Wasn’t it time for the ghostly light show? He had his necklace. I sent Mellie a questioning look. Now what?
She smiled, looking behind me. “Come on, Phoebe.”
I spun around and saw her then, my dead little sister. Hazy and faded, but there. A knot in my throat choked me, and my lips trembled. How often had I dreamed of seeing her again? Coop must have seen her too because he sucked in his breath.
With a huge grin, Phoebe ducked her head a little as she walked by me. Just like she used to do when still alive, after she’d done something she shouldn’t. My eyes burned. I blinked them rapidly, afraid she might disappear. She paused and brushed her fingers along mine, making the hair on my arm stand up. I reached out to touch her, but it was like trying to touch a cloud.
She moved beside Mellie, who looked so much older now, even though it had only been two years since Phoebe’s death. Mellie acted like she could feel her twin’s hand as she placed it in Sir Hugh’s.
“Mister, Phoebe is going to take you to your little Maire.” Mellie said. “I’ll bet she’ll be glad to have you back.” She turned to Phoebe with a quivering chin. “You be good.”
Mellie stepped back and pressed against me. Her cold shoulders shook. I started to pull off my jacket, but Coop had already scooped her up. He slid her inside his jacket, against his warm chest. After wrapping her up, he put his other arm around me.
When I looked up again, a strange mist had developed. Phoebe and Sir Hugh now rose in the air above the tower. The roiling mist grew until it merged with incoming clouds, reminding me of the way the fog crept over the San Francisco hills.
“Thank you, sweetie,” I called. “I love you.”
The two shapes transformed into Sir Hugh’s signature blue mist, swirling and mixing, until they were gone.
“I’m going to miss her.” Mellie turned her face into Coop’s shoulder, her little shoulders shaking.
Phoebe’s leaving burned like it had when we’d lost her before. I kissed Mellie’s hair and cried with her. Coop simply held us.
In the distance came the sound of voices. The searchers must be returning from the woods.
“We have to let them know she’s safe.” Coop set Mellie down, handed me the flashlight, and took off his coat. He wrapped it around her.
“We found Mellie,” I shouted from the tower crenel, waving the flashlight toward the voices. It took a couple more tries, but they finally heard and started running toward the tower.
I typed in a quick text to my dad and clicked Send. “Phoebe’s been with us all this time?” I asked Mellie.
