Ghostsnaps (Knead to Know Book 4) (18 page)
Read Ghostsnaps (Knead to Know Book 4) Online
Authors: Liz Schulte
I wiped the tears from my face as I drew in a shaky breath. “This better not be a joke,” I said, but I didn’t mean it. I would have taken any sort of cruel joke over the cold slap of reality.
Olivia’s blue-green eyes watched me carefully, filled with worry. “Have a seat,” she said, helping me onto a stool.
Numbness took hold. Phoenix wasn’t here and they didn’t know who he was. If it wasn’t a joke, there was only one explanation for it, but it was too awful to think about.
A moment later Holden appeared. “What happened?” he asked.
“I haven’t figured that out yet,” Olivia said softly. “She wants someone named Phoenix. Do you know him?”
Holden shook his head. “Maggie.” He snapped his fingers hard and loud in front of my face.
I glared up at him.
“Who’s Phoenix?”
I drew in a deep breath. “He’s a jinni. He works for you. He manages Xavier’s and runs Chicago for you so you can spend more time with Olivia and the kids.”
Holden’s eyebrows rose as a little smile curled the edges of his mouth. “I agree with her. We need to find this person.”
Olivia elbowed him. “It’s not funny, Holden.”
“You met him in 1923? Did you bring him through with the girl?”
I shook my head. “No. He’s here. He’s in this time.” I tried to run my fingers through my hair, but the pins and product necessary to hold the 20s style wouldn’t allow it. I dropped my hand uselessly back to the counter. “I’ve made a horrible mistake.”
“Tell us exactly what happened,” Olivia said.
And I did. I told them the whole story and all the ways he helped us along the way, but they both just watched me, without even a flicker of recognition. “What I don’t understand is why didn’t more change? How can one person disappear from this world and everything else basically stay the same?”
Olivia shook her head. “Destiny. The pieces of the puzzle might change, but the picture will always stay the same. I told you not to change anything in the past.”
“I didn’t. I erased Baker and Jeanette’s memories. They were the only ones who I really spoke to.”
“You didn’t do anything else?” Holden asked, eyes narrowed. “Are you sure Baker didn’t tell anyone about you before you left?”
“You set up the crime scene just the same?”
I nodded. Everything was exactly the same. Why was he gone?
The memory dropped on me like an anvil. I slapped a hand over my mouth. I hadn’t thought about it. “I got hungry,” I said. “I went into the mirror to get word to Phoenix and Boone on how to help me get back and the demon fed on me before I even knew he was there. When I got out I was weak and dizzy and the vampire was hungry.”
Holden closed his eyes. “You drained someone.”
“Three someones,” I said. “Three jinn. Baker took me to them.” I shook my head. “I have to go back. I have to stop it.”
I stood up, but Olivia laid her hand over mine. “Maggie, the mirror is broken. You can’t go back. Even if you could, it’s a bad idea. You have already changed the present. We don’t know what other damage happened. If you go back…”
She was right. I knew she was right, but it hurt so much. “But I love him.”
She pressed her lips together. “I’m really sorry, Maggie. If it’s meant to be, you have to trust you will find each other in this life too.”
My mouth snapped shut, like hell I had to
trust
. This was my mess and I’d clean it up. Phoenix wouldn’t have abandoned me. I was going to get him back and nothing was going to stop me. Not even an angel.
****
The next days went by in a blur of trying to get ready for the murder mystery event and spending every spare hour with Megan, Stephanie, and Josephine working out a way to send me back in time to stop myself from killing the jinn.
I was putting the final touches on the dessert table, complete with small round cookies painted with edible gold so they looked like coins. Josephine came breezing in, wearing one of her original dresses. “I think we’ve finally done it,” she announced. “We’ve found a way to send you back.”
Tears sprang to my eyes and I smiled genuinely for the first time since I got back. “Do you mean it?”
“Yes,” she said. “We can do it tonight, after the party.”
“Do what?” Izzy entered the room, clutching her clipboard and surveying the flurry of activity. “Wow, you guys look great.”
“As do you,” Josephine said. “Maggie is going to fix what she changed.”
Izzy looked worried, but didn’t say anything. “It’s almost time for guests. Where are Megan and Stephanie?”
“We’re here,” they said, coming inside. Stephanie positioned herself behind the bar, Josephine played hostess with Izzy, I manned the food table, and Megan took charge of the music. Soon enough the bakery was filled, music was blaring, and I was truly happy to be home, knowing that everything was going to go back to the way it was.
When the event was over, the girls went across the street to the candle shop to prepare and I went for a walk to unwind and clear my mind. I thought about Phoenix and what I would say to him when I finally got to see him again. I was going to make everything okay.
I was.
I ended up outside the former church that had been turned into an apartment building where Phoenix lived.
I hadn’t even checked if he was still in the city. One foot in front of the other, I headed up to the door to scan the names listed at the buzzer. No Harbolt. I sighed. It didn’t matter. After tonight he’d be back.
“Don’t do it, Maggie,” Olivia said behind me. “I know what your plan is, but if you stop yourself from killing those jinn, you might not make it back or save Josephine. I won’t try to stop you, but you need to know what’s at stake. There are consequences to changing the future again.”
I turned around slowly. Izzy must have told her, but it wasn’t any of her business. This was what I wanted. “One has nothing to do with the other.”
“Of course it does,” she said. “You needed the strength they gave you to fight the demon. Without that, you might not have won. Would you sacrifice two lives just to make that man a jinni again?”
I stared hard at the concrete. “Is he still alive? Does he exist at all in this time?”
Her feet shifted. “Yes. I’ve found him. You must have killed the jinni he made the deal with, so his deal was never made. As far as I can tell, he’s content with his life.” I chewed on my thumbnail. “I want to see him.”
“I thought you might,” Olivia said. “He isn’t far.”
We walked a few blocks to the door of an active Catholic church. Olivia went up the steps without waiting for me and opened the door. I rushed to catch up. “He’s in here?” I whispered. “Is he robbing the place? I don’t think churches stay open this late.”
She laughed. “Right through that door.” She pointed at the first set of double doors leading into the sanctuary.
I went inside. The lights were all on, but there was no one else in cavernous room. The smell of incense filled the air and every row of pews was completely empty. I circled the entire place just to make sure I didn’t miss him, but he definitely wasn’t there. As I was headed back toward the exit, a woman exited a small wooden door tucked into the back corner of the room. My eyes immediately went to the other door of the confessional. It couldn’t be.
I approached slowly, holding my breath. The click of the door opening startled me, making me take a step back.
A priest of medium height and build with soft dark hair came out of the confessional. A scar ran over his upper lip and painfully familiar eyes met mine.
“Are you here for confession?” Phoenix asked me.
I sank down into the pew, ears roaring.
He came closer and rested a warm hand on my shoulder. Sparks flew down my spine and my head shot up as fast as his hand snapped back.
We stared at each other, neither of us speaking.
“Have we met?” he asked, voice a low and a little shaky.
I nodded, mouth suddenly dry. “In another life,” I whispered.
URBAN FANTASY/PARANORMAL ROMANCE
The Knead to Know Series
Knead to Know (A Knead to Know Short Story)
Fairytale Ambrosia
Psyche Souffle
Ghostsnaps
Black Magic Mousse (Coming Soon)
The Easy Bake Coven Series:
Easy Bake Coven
Hungry, Hungry Hoodoo
Pickup Styx
Tiddly Jinx
Ghosts in the Graveyard
Ollie, Ollie Hex ‘n Free
Frost’s Bite (An Easy Bake Coven Short Story)
If the Broom Fits
Stark Raven Mad (Coming Soon)
Moonlight Madness (Coming Soon)
The Sekhmet Bounty Series
Sweet Little Lies (A Sekhmet Short Story)
Catatonic (A Sekhmet Short Story)
Catastrophe
Catacombs
Catapult (Coming Soon)
The Guardian Trilogy:
Secrets
Choices
Consequences
Be Light (Guardian Trilogy Christmas Short Story)
Snow and Mistletoe (Guardian Trilogy Christmas Short Story)
Good Tidings (Guardian Trilogy Christmas Short Story)
The Jinn Trilogy
:
Ember
Inferno
Vestige
Without a Map (A Jinn Trilogy Short Story)
MYSTERY
Dark Corners
Dark Passing
Dark Obsession
The Ninth Floor
MANY AUTHORS CLAIM to have known their calling from a young age. Liz Schulte, however, didn't always want to be an author. In fact, she had no clue. Liz wanted to be a veterinarian, then she wanted to be a lawyer, then she wanted to be a criminal profiler. In a valiant effort to keep from becoming Walter Mitty, Liz put pen to paper and began writing her first novel. It was at that moment she realized this is what she was meant to do. As a scribe she could be all of those things and so much more.
When Liz isn’t writing or on social networks she is inflicting movie quotes and trivia on people, reading, traveling, and hanging out with friends and family. Liz is a Midwest girl through and through, though she would be perfectly happy never having to shovel her driveway again. She has a love for all things spooky, supernatural, and snarky. Her favorite authors range from Edgar Allen Poe to Joseph Heller to Jane Austen to Jim Butcher and everything in between.
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