Silver Moon (Colors of the Moon #3)

Chapter 26

"What is this about?" I asked the moment Vivian, Rob and Zara left the house.

Because of Darlene's insistence, only us witches were now present inside the living room. Us and Theo, of course, who refused to leave my side while Darlene was in my proximity.

"I want everything between us cleared up." Despite the confidence coating her words she couldn't quite meet my eyes. "And to do that I'm going to conjure up my grandmother's ghost."

For a second I couldn't understand how this would help her to convince me that she had no connection to my mother's murder. Then it dawned on me that she wasn't even talking about that.

"I'm tired of us arguing about who the rightful High Priestess is. This is why I want us to solve this once and for all." She raised her eyes and finally met mine.

I stared at her while wondering what she was up to. Every witch and wizard out there knew no one could conjure the ghost of a former High Priestess. So, while her inability to bring forward Beatriz's ghost would prove that she had once been the High Priestess, it still wouldn't explain why she stepped down.

My best guess was that Darlene had become desperate. Especially now when she knew that I knew of her involvement in my mother's death. She was trying to grasp at any life-line, no matter how small of a shot it would give her.

"Gabriela?" Effie waited for my decision.

I continued to look into Darlene's eyes for another moment and then nodded. "Okay." I wanted to see what her next step would be when she wouldn't be able to conjure up her grandmother's ghost.

Kasey, Effie and I made a wide semi-circle around Darlene while leaving the middle empty. Theo, in the meantime, positioned himself at the closest edge of the room to me. He was casually leaning against the wall, but I could feel his tension rolling through the mate bond.

The only sound inside the house was the chant Darlene began as soon as I agreed to her suggestion. With every word she spoke, the surrounding atmosphere sizzled with a little more life and my adrenal glands pushed a little more adrenalin through my body.

The moment the last syllable passed her lips, a translucent form materialized in the middle of our circle. First, it was nothing but a whitish speck. Then it slowly began to form limbs and add color, until an old woman opened her eyes.

I blinked a couple of times, not believing my eyes. This couldn't be real. It was impossible to conjure up the ghost of a past High Priestess. Not unless... No, it was impossible.

This left me with only one possible conclusion. Beatriz Castillo had never been the High Priestess.

Despite only learning about her existence a few days ago, a part of me expected her to look a little like my own grandmother. They had been sisters, after all. The woman in front of us, however, looked nothing like her.

Opposite to my grandmother's plump posture, the ghost had a sickly thin body. Even through the old-fashioned clothes she was wearing I could tell she was mostly bones and skin. The only thing connecting her to Darlene and Kasey was her thin white hair, which looked like it had once been blonde.

Despite her sick complexion, hardness lingered in her every feature. This woman had definitely not been easy to live with back when she had been still alive.

"Who dared to summon me?" She had a screeching high voice that felt like someone was poking a sharp pencil against my eardrums.

"I'm sorry to bother you, grandmother. But I need your help," Darlene said.

"What did I tell you about calling me that?" The ghost whirled around to face her. "I don't care if I'm your grandmother. Everyone calls me Lady Beatriz."