Bones of a Witch (30 page)

After about a minute, I began to
think that it was all in my head. Nothing happened since I
thought
I saw the chair
move. I sat up straight, my back against the headboard; my knees up
to my chest. I could feel my heart settling down again, and the
chill that had found its way up my spine was now gone.
See
, I thought, I didn’t
need Tony after all. I took a deep breath and let it out with a
pucker, feeling just a little bit silly for letting myself get
spooked in broad daylight. But just as I was ready to get out of
bed, I felt a pair of hands seize my ankles and jerk my legs out
from under me. I grabbed hold of the headboard and let out a scream
loud enough for Tony to hear from a mile away.

The phantom force continuing pulling at my
ankles till my body was stretched out straight and levitating over
the mattress. Again I screamed, but still Tony did not come to my
rescue. I remember thinking, I know what this is. It’s Hilton’s
ghost seeking his revenge. His hands, stronger in death than in
life, were going to work their way up to my neck and then choke the
life out of me.

“TONY!” I screamed, my voice cracking in
high-pitched syllables. “HELP ME!”

But he did not come. I imagined it was because
Hilton’s ghost had already laid waste to Tony’s bones out in the
kitchen—probably took him by surprise as he took me. Poor Tony, he
never had a chance. That sneaky bastard, Hilton; I wanted to kill
him all over again. I thought I might, too. There’s a spell in the
grimoire for such a thing. It requires a dash of pebble dust from
Wraith Mountain, a hilltop accessible only at night on a witch’s
moon. And it just so happens I keep a stash of it handy in the
nightstand. Coincidence, you might think, but I like to be
prepared.

I let go of the headboard with one hand and
started reaching for the top drawer of the nightstand. That’s when
I felt the grip around my ankles loosen. I froze, thinking he had
given up, but then I felt the full weight of a man on top of me,
weighing my naked body down on the mattress with absolutely no
wiggle room. He grabbed my wrists and forced them back over my
head; and the worst of it—he was naked, too. I could feel his…you
know what probing about most rudely. I know. You wouldn’t expect
that from a ghost. But you know the funny thing is…well, it wasn’t
that bad. He felt warm and soft all over, except for that one
special area, of course, which felt warm and hard. And even though
he was pinning my arms up over my head, he seemed unusually gentle
otherwise. I found myself relaxing, suspecting now that it wasn’t
Hilton’s ghost on top of me, but someone very familiar. I closed my
eyes and let him in, and when he let go of my hands I wrapped my
arms and legs around his body and squeezed him tightly.

“Mmm, I know it’s you,” I said softly in his
ear. “That’s a pretty good trick: A level three, isn’t
it?”

“Yes. Didn’t expect it, did you?” he
said.

I ran my nails down his back and dragged them
backwards along his behind. “No, I didn’t,” I said, and then I
squeezed his cheeks hard enough to leave a mark, which, of course,
I couldn’t see, but I know I did. “We better hurry, though,” I
cooed.

He laid a phantom kiss upon the side of my
neck. “Why’s that?”

“Because,” I felt for his ear and nibbled it
lightly. “I fear Lilith might walk in on us at any
moment.”

“What the….” I felt him pull away, and no
longer was he invisible. His brows gathered quizzically, the way
they do sometimes when I pull at his nose hairs while he sleeps.
“Ursula? I thought you went out.”

I locked my fingers together behind his back
and pulled him in tightly. “Be calm, Master. Lilith hath gone for
the bath this moment hence.”

“The bath?”

“Aye, behind thee when you went for coffee.
Hath thou not noticed?”

“No. Thou hadn’t noticed,” he said, and when he
tried to get off me, I locked my legs around him
tighter.

“Please, Master Tony, I beg thee. What
pleasures doth thy bring if not for thy own sake? Oh, and it has
been so, so long.”

“Look, Ursula, I’m sorry, I thought you were
Lilith. You sounded just like her. You look…. Oh, Jesus. I gotta
get out of here.”

“Indeed, she hath taught me well the tongue of
modern day. But spare thy scorn, kind sir. Am I not desirable to
thee, Master Tony?”

“What? No…no, you can’t do this. Lilith will
kill us both. Look, I have to go.” He pried himself off me in a not
so gentleman-like haste and backed out of the room covering his
privates with a pillow. As he turned and scurried off down the hall
bare ass, I wondered how I might explain to Ursula the trick I
played on him. But then again, maybe it’ll be more fun watching
them both if I say nothing to either. Ooh, what impish spite doth
lie deep in the wicked bones of a witch.