The Witch of the Western Gate: Dragon's Gift Read Free

loss. No way was Blue going to mention that Stella often had conversations with the "guests" that enabled her to help the living with real problems, like if there was a will, and where was the key to the safety deposit box. Stella would just act as though the deceased had mentioned it in conversation before they actually passed or she had found a note in their pocket. People thought it odd but accepted the explanation.
    "I don't see how anyone can actually live in a funeral home," insisted Ivy.
    "It works out fine," replied Blue. "They have a very comfortable home. The "beloved guests," are in the basement. The viewing rooms are on the ground floor. Then there is the family living area on the second and third floors and even a renovated attic that Stella has all to herself. It's a huge mansion with a finished basement, very comfortable, really.”
    Blue was not about to mention that Stella had inherited her family’s talent of talking to ghosts, and seeing if a dead person's soul was still there or not. Even the least psychic members of Stella's family could tell if a soul was still with the body. That's why they had gravitated toward the funerary business in the first place. On top of the ordinary family talents, Stella was also a necromancer. Necromancers could command the dead and could raise bodies that would follow her commands. Stella's grandmother had been a necromancer also, and a close friend of Grandma Lily's, but had died when Stella was eleven. Unfortunately, Stella's family could not help her with all the special problems that went along with being a necromancer. They just told Stella to keep her powers hidden or it would cause problems. Someone might kidnap her in order to make use of her gifts. They insisted that Stella wear the black onyx ring left by her Grandmother, since it would block out the ghosts who were always trying to contact her. Stella felt that her family, although meaning well, was trying to make her block out her gifts. Now that Stella was older, it was time for her to come into her full powers, and Grandma Lily was trying to find a necromancer to train her."
    “Well, at least Stella has cool hair," Ivy relented. "But you and your friends are so weird,” replied Ivy. “There’s nothing funny about those cute Mantooth boys is there?” she asked suspiciously.
    “Yeah, right Ivy, they’re all just werewolves,” Blue retorted sarcastically.
    "Time to go girls," Grandma Lily called. "Grandpa Lou will drop you two off back home on his way to the Hawley place."
    "What type of pest is he dealing with at the Hawley's?" asked Blue.
    "Emergency cockroach problem," replied Grandma Lily. "Mrs Hawley is hysterical. It won't take long, so Grandpa Lou can manage it alone." Blue did not object to missing the Hawley cockroach call, since this would give her time to settle the little dragon and look up information about him in the McChesney Bestiary. Besides, cockroaches were easy to exterminate. Blue glanced out the window and could see Grandpa Lou's herd of mechanical cockroaches marching for the buggymobile. Grandpa Lou loved making new gadgets for his pest control business. The robot roaches, as he called them, were made from a combination of dead cockroach parts and old timepiece gears. They were animated by a spell Grandma Lily put on them and followed simple directions. The cockroaches tramped up close to the trunk then hopped in. Once they were all inside, Grandpa Lou tossed an old blanket over them, and slammed the door shut. He could let them loose at a client's house, and since they also were silent, they'd run all through the house for a few days, spraying insectside on any insects that survived his initial attack. Then they'd simply fly home again. He'd spend about five minutes walking around and spraying insecticide, just for appearances. His mechanical cockroaches did all the work.
    "You need to go home and get some rest Blue. The 4-H girls are meeting at your house tomorrow. I'll stop over