It Happened One Bite Read Free Page A

handed her the key anyway.
    Blaire looked at the key, which seemed much too small for the lock. It clearly wasn’t for the front door. “Where did ye get this thing? It doesna fit.”
    “Mr. MacDonald.”
    Blaire pocketed the key and then brushed past Aiden. She bent down to peer into the keyhole, which was rusted from non-use. “ Fosgail ,” she whispered. Then she tapped the door handle and turned it.
    “Cheater,” Aiden muttered under his breath.
    Blaire winked at Brannock, and the two of them giggled as their older brother pressed his way through the door. They quickly followed. As soon as Blaire’s foot landed inside the castle, she reared backward. One moment she was fine, and the next, she felt as though the breath had been sucked from her lungs. The ring she wore around her neck seemed to suddenly weigh ten times more, and it grew warm against her skin.
    “Perhaps we shouldna go any further,” she warned. “This place feels…” She let her voice trail off. Voicing her own fears would serve no one.
    Aiden scoffed. “Doona tell me the great warrior witch is frightened.”
    Blasted brother. She shouldn’t let him goad her into doing anything she didn’t want to, but after two decades together, he knew exactly what to say to spur her forward. Blaire took a deep breath and pressed into the darkness, her senses on high alert. Something was far from right.
    Whatever charm the castle had seemed to possess from the outside was long forgotten. Cobwebs stretched from one end of the long corridor to the other, filling every bit of open space. Brannock sneezed, and a plethora of dust motes scattered about.
    “ Havers! ” Blaire turned her palm heavenward and a fireball sparked to life, lighting the way. Medieval wall sconces lined the corridor, and she threw her spark at each one, bringing a warm glow to the dismal atmosphere.
    She first looked inside what must have once been the great hall. Old sheets covered settees, tables, and chairs. And layers of dust and grime covered the sheets.
    “It looks haunted,” Brannock mumbled behind her, grasping her skirts with one hand.
    Haunted . The very idea sent a chill straight to Blaire’s soul. Then she shook her head at the thought of such foolishness. “There are no such things as ghosts, Bran.”
    “A lot of people doona believe there are such things as witches either,” her little brother countered.
    She supposed he had a point, not that she was about to admit that to the lad. Blaire tugged Brannock to her side and entered the great hall. “It’s just a bunch of old sheets.” She pulled the cloth from an old chair, scattering years’ worth of dust around the room and causing both of them to clutch their stomachs as coughs wracked their bodies.
    Aiden entered the great hall, frowning. “Are ye all right?”
    Blaire caught her breath and shook her head, wiping the tears from her eyes. “This place is awful.”
    He waved his arm negligently in her direction. “Well, say a few magic words and clean it up.”
    She scowled at him. “It doesna work that way, and ye ken it.” Though the truth was, being magical, she could make lighter work of the cleaning than her brothers would be able to do, not that she was about to admit it when Aiden was so haughty. “I’m ta use my powers for the purpose for which they were given ta me. So if ye have a dragon or a demon hidden away in this godforsaken place, I’ll be happy ta fight it for ye.”
    The wind whipped through the hall and slammed the door shut loudly behind them. Brannock nearly knocked her over in his quest to hide in her skirts. “Bran,” she groaned, throwing her head back in defeat. “It’s just a little wind.”
    He stuttered as he began. “I—I’ve never felt the wind move like that.”
    She hadn’t either, but she’d be loathe to admit that. Aiden looked nearly as fearful as Brannock, and she didn’t want to make the situation worse.
    Aiden crossed to the door and gave a hard tug. It