With You In Spirit (The Bassinville Witches Series) Read Free Page A

more used to the cool air of the North Yorkshire countryside in England, and had continuous air-conditioning on.
    Catherine padded through the kitchen, into the main passageway, and across to her room. It wasn’t as though she still had a bedroom at home with her mother. Rather, it was such a large house, it seemed pointless both of them living in separate houses. Catherine had her own living room, with a connected bathroom and bedroom, all separate from most of the rest of the house. As she walked in, she breathed in deeply, the lilies in her room bursting with scent. One of their three cats sat upon the back of her coffee-coloured sofa, purring happily as she entered the room. Grinning, she slumped onto the sofa, and tickled his chin, Whisker’s green eyes closing in pleasure. Standing up again, she glanced around at the few clothes strewn across the floor, and bent to pick them up, turning to throw them into her basket in the bathroom.
    Suddenly, something caught her eye, as she passed the doorway. On the floor, in the dim light of her bedroom, something had glinted at her. Narrowing her eyes, she slowly walked in, her eyes scanning for any strange object. The same glint caught her eye, and she followed it. There was something just peeping out from under her bed. Catherine crouched down, and reached out for it gingerly.
    A dagger!
    With a small yell, she dropped it, jumping away as if she had been shot. Then she remembered her mother, and listened for any sounds. Knowing how panicky her mother could get, she didn’t want to alarm her unnecessarily. Taking a deep breath, she bent down again, and reached for the dagger, her hands closing around the cold metal. Bringing it out into the light of the hallway, she noticed that there was a strip of paper tied around the hilt of the dagger.
    With trembling fingers, Catherine fumbled with the piece of string holding it on, cursing herself as she struggled to get it off. Finally she removed it, and carefully unrolled the paper, swallowing nervously as she reads the handwritten words that were printed there.
    We got your father. Now it’s your turn, little witch.
    A sudden banging from the front door snapped her from her shock. Shoving the note clumsily into her shorts pocket, she spun around looking for somewhere to put the dagger. Seeing nowhere else to hide it, she lifted her bed-sheets, and flung it underneath. She smoothed her hair back, trying to appear as calm as possible before she paced through the house. Coming into the kitchen, she saw that Shawna was already in the fridge, nosing around for snacks. She grinned.
    “Shawna! Don’t you know it’s bad manners to walk into someone’s house and take their food without asking?”
    Shawna looked up, holding a bowl of chips. Her mouth already full with food, she retorted with a cheeky grin, “It don’t count in your house, Cath, you know that! I’m like the sister you never had.”
    Catherine laughed at that, and grabbed the chips off her, running through to her bedroom. Shawna followed pursuit, protesting loudly. In Catherine’s room, they both fell on her sofa, laughing and throwing chips at one another. Shawna sat up and coughed, trying to catch her breath.
    “Girl, don’t ever make me run when I have food in my mouth again!”
    Catherine just smiled, putting the chips aside, wondering if she should tell Shawna about the dagger. Deciding she should, she turned to face her, her expression turning serious. “Shawna…I want to show you something, but you mustn’t get worried…promise?”
    Shawna shook her head. “You know I’m not going to promise that. But if you mean you don’t want your mom to hear, I’ll be quiet?”
    Catherine nodded, and rose from the sofa, disappearing into her bedroom. Shawna reached around for the remote, and clicked the LCD television on, letting the room flood with light and sounds. Catherine appeared two seconds later, holding something behind her back. Sitting down heavily, she