Chapter 8

ChapterEight

Unlucky Valley Ghost Town

Jesse stood on the dirt street of the abandoned ghost town that time forgot. Once a thriving mining village, Old Lucky Valley had fallen prey to the infamous bad luck.

Lily had started to tell her the family history more than once, but Jesse had always cut her off. Standing in the middle of the empty town covered in dust and raw, sun-bleached wood, she wondered if she should have paid more attention.

Polly strolled over a boarded sidewalk in front of old businesses, talking to herself and pausing to stare into empty doorways. Only some of the place names could be read through the faded paint on the signs and storefronts.

Mal had jogged ahead to meet with someone at the bank. Jesse followed behind at a slower pace as she tried not to get too close to any of the buildings. The center of the street felt the safest as she’d at least see something coming at her.

“So, was this town the Goodes’ or the Crawfords’?” Jesse asked Lily. Her sister was several paces away, and she had to speak loudly to make her voice carry.

“Both.” Mara appeared from inside a building wearing sweatpants and a jacket. The bandana around her head gave off a Rosie the Riveter vibe. She ran her hand along the stone-and-wood siding of the saloon before hopping off the wooden sidewalk onto the dirt street. “What are you doing here? I thought you didn’t like any of this.”

“I’m here to make a bank withdrawal,” Jesse answered, not liking Mara’s aggressive tone. So, this was her baby sister Lily kept trying to tell her about—the half-demon baby with a penchant for lying.

“Mara,” Lily rushed forward, “I’m so happy you and Jesse can finally meet.”

Lily put herself between the two women like a human shield. Mara didn’t look like her siblings. Her hair was a darker shade, her eyes pure brown, and her face heart-shaped. Jesse thought maybe it was because Mara was technically a Crawford but not a Goode since they had different fathers.

Mara sighed. “Bank’s this way.”

“The Crawfords and the Goodes founded this town in the 1800s,” Lily said to answer Jesse’s question. “So, both sides.”

“It was a refugee camp,” Mara corrected, almost irate. “Don’t throw a dress on a pig and try to make it the belle of the ball. No one had anywhere to go, so they all landed here. Jedediah Crawford just happened to be the first to trip over a gold nugget. The Goodes already had money from who knows what. They looked at each other and said, well, you’re rich, we’re rich, let’s get richer together, and a pact was formed.”

“Refugees?” Jesse looked at Lily for an explanation.

“Supernaturals who had been run out of Europe,” Lily said.

Jesse nodded. “And when she says pact, she doesn’t mean—”

“She,” Mara interrupted, “means what she said. They formed a pact, a contract, a covenant. Some locals say the devil was there, but they might just be pissed about the whole mine-collapsing-and-killing-a-hundred-and-eighteen-workers thing.”

“The way I heard it,” Lily resumed in a softer tone. “The Goodes got greedy. The Crawfords weren’t careful with worker safety. The two families stopped getting along. Think Hatfields-and-McCoys type feuding, but with magic and more ego. It started small, magic was used, it escalated, and finally ended in crops dying of some disease, a church burning down, and the mine collapse, all within a three-day period.”

“Every family in town lost at least one member that day,” Mara said. “But the worst part is, they didn’t all have to die. The Goodes and Crawfords couldn’t get their act together long enough to agree on a rescue plan, and by not working together, bye-bye miners.”

“The locals blamed our ancestors, and thus the bad luck curse was born,” Lily said. “I don’t necessarily think it’s fair that our family is blamed for building fires, bad crops, and a mining accident during an era where safety standards consisted of carrying a caged bird into the tunnels to see if the air was clean.”

Jesse frowned. “I don’t know, Lily. It sounds like our ancestors should shoulder some of that blame.”

“And then came Marigold,” Mara drawled. “Dear ol’ Mom, marrying Joseph Goode and stirring ancient business that shouldn’t have been stirred. They gave the curse a whole new life. Then he died and left this place to Marigold. We all know how well Marigold handled responsibilities. But he neglected to leave her access to the trust funds to take care of it.”

Joseph Goode died in a car wreck when Lily, Dante, and Jesse were very young. Jesse didn’t know her father. Though she didn’t appreciate Mara speaking ill of him, she didn’t know enough to defend him either.

“Nolan said our mom used to wander around town looking like death warmed over, scaring children.” Lily tried to lead Jesse toward the shaded sidewalk, but Jesse refused to leave the dirt road. “They used to say, ‘Stay away from Marigold Crawford Goode, or she’ll steal your soul and leave you wandering.’”

“Lovely,” Jesse muttered wryly.

“Right?” Mara said with a nod of agreement.

“Great. Trust that you two would bond over sarcasm,” Lily sighed in exasperation.

Jesse shrugged. “I learned it from you.”

Mara laughed.

The sound of the sidewalk creaking caught her attention, and Jesse watched Polly skip along the wooden planks. A garden gnome with a blue hat and a sheriff’s star badge stood with hands hovered over pistols in front of what could have been a police station.

“What is with Polly leaving these gnomes everywhere?” Jesse asked.

“They’re her friends. And she doesn’t leave them. They get themselves where they’re going,” Lily answered. Her sister again tried to lure her toward the buildings. “I thought you’d like exploring a ghost town.”

Jesse eyed the area where Mal had disappeared. She didn’t want to spend more time than necessary inside. “Sure, if they didn’t actually come with reports of ghosts who hate every relative on our family tree.”

With each step, the feeling of dread increased inside of her.

“Don’t be a baby,” Mara said. “I camp out here all the time. I slept here last night. Between the miners and the townsfolk currently calling Unlucky Valley’s spectral plane home, if someone wants to hurt you, they’ll find a way to hurt you.”

“It’s true. She does spend the night here.” Lily pointed toward the sheriff gnome. “When I first met her, she was camping in a jail cell.”

“I thought you said she was camping with friends. Where are the other people?” Jesse asked.

“Ghosts are my friends,” Mara said. “My dad is from here. Well, ghost dad, anyway. The traveler he possessed to seduce Mom. I have no clue where that guy is from.”

Mara stared at her as if she expected Jesse to judge her. No, she was daring Jesse to judge her.

“Sounds rough,” Jesse said instead, not saying any of the thoughts in her head.

“Thanks.” Mara nodded as if Jesse had passed some test. “It was.”

“So are the ghosts here now, or do they go out adventuring?” Jesse looked around, trying to see anything that appeared out of the ordinary.

“Dante and Polly put a binding spell on this town to keep the ghosts inside,” Lily said.

“They possessed me and tried to get me to lead them on an attack of the bed-and-breakfast,” Mara added.

“Was a little more than tried, pickle,” Polly yelled, clearly eavesdropping though she skipped quite a bit away from them.

Mal appeared from within the bank and waved at her to join him. The building had a weathered stone front and seemed more secure than most of the others.

An older gentleman in a three-piece suit stood beside him, clutching a worn manilla folder.

“Is that a…?” Jesse stared at the old-fashioned suit.

“Uptight banker,” Mara answered. “Much scarier than ghosts.”

The banker looked at Jesse, Lily, and Mara as they approached. “Miss Jessamine Rosemary Goode?”

“Jesse,” Jesse corrected. “That’s me.”

“This is Alexander Pulsipher,” Mal introduced. “He’s been in charge of the bank annex here for nearly sixty years.”

“Come inside, please,” Alexander instructed.

“Why would a bank keep anything of value out here?” Jesse asked, glancing around for signs of trouble before stepping into the old bank. “Why not move it into town?”

Alexander cleared his throat and ducked his head. He and Mal walked around teller cages toward a back office where a giant vault door dominated a wall. Dust coated everything but a path where feet had recently traveled. Jesse covered her mouth and nose while suppressing a sneeze.

“This is the last item remaining at the annex,” Alexander said. “I can tell you that the bank will be happy to have it off the books and to revert the office property back into your family trust.”

Wires came from the ceiling and coiled on the floor before feeding into a series of cameras around the room, all pointing at the vault. They also powered a floodlight pointed at the door.

“What the…?” Lily looked up.

“I haven’t been in this room before,” Mara said.

Mal gestured at the wires. “Solar power.”

“Yes, we found it necessary to install a security system,” Alexander said. “When, um, other measures began showing signs of failure. But I think you can agree that we upheld our end of the bargain. Now, if you wouldn’t mind signing some papers, Miss Jessamine—ugh, Jesse—I’ll get out of here and give you your privacy.”

Alexander grabbed a pen from his front suit pocket and flipped open his folder. He tried to hand the pen to Jesse.

She didn’t take it as she went to touch the vault door. “How old is this thing?”

“Late 1800s, miss, I believe.” Alexander again tried to hand her the pen.

Jesse took it but then pressed her hands against the door. “Can you open it?”

“As soon as you sign.” He thrust the paperwork at her.

“Don’t you need my driver’s license or something?” Jesse asked. “So, you know I am who I say I am?”

“Mr. Rhodes has assured me you are who you say you are.” Alexander tapped his folder. “I just need one signature. Right here.”

“Jesse.” Mal nodded toward the banker.

“Oh, yeah, sure.” Jesse glanced at the form before signing it. It basically said she was claiming the box from the bank and releasing them of their duty to safeguard it.

“I can still turn down the will, though, right?” she asked Mal.

He nodded.

“Okay, good.” Jesse signed the man’s paper.

Before her pen was even lifted, Alexander jerked the file back and sighed as if a giant weight had been lifted off him. He gave a small laugh and fumbled inside his vest pocket to procure an antique key and a weathered paper.

“The code.” Alexander handed both items to her. “Pleasure doing business with you. I officially resign as the caretaker. I will now vacate the property.”

“Hey, what about your cameras?” Mara asked.

“Keep them,” Alexander said. “The bank no longer requires them.”

“Sweet.” Mara went to check out one of the cameras. “I call dibs.”

“Is it time?” Polly’s voice came from the bank lobby.

Alexander mumbled something, but the words were lost in the sound of his running footsteps.

“Should we wait for Dante?” Lily asked.

Jesse had yet to see her brother.

Polly tilted her head and looked around the bank office. “No.”

Jesse waited for her aunt to follow the answer with a little dance or line of gibberish, but her tone was flat, and she didn’t embellish. That in itself didn’t make her feel at ease.

Jesse took the large key and shoved it into a matching hole. She turned it and heard a series of mechanical clicks. When she touched the large handle and tried to thrust it up and to the side to open the vault, she felt the same tingling from when she’d touched Lily’s doorframes. She jerked her hand back and shook it.

“Entering new rooms is always tricky,” Polly said. “But it has to be done, or you’ll never escape the one you’re in.”

“Do you want me to do it?” Mal offered.

“I…” Jesse nodded. She leaned to watch the seam of the vault door for when he pulled it open.

Mal reached for the handle. A yellow flash of light erupted at the contact, and he was thrust back into one of the cameras. The device crashed to the floor as he managed to right himself.

“Hey! I called dibs. Those are mine. Be careful,” Mara protested. “Do you know how much this stuff is worth?”

“Mara,” Polly scolded. “Not now.”

“Mal, are you all right?” Jesse rushed to him. He trembled as she held his arms.

Mal nodded. “Sorry, I don’t think it’ll let me open it for you.”

“What if I wanted to start a ghost-hunting business with them?” Mara said to Polly.

“Oh!” Polly instantly brightened. “Polly and Mara’s Positively Hauntingly Mystical Magical Ghost-Hunting Experience.”

“Never mind.” Mara shook her head.

Jesse made sure Mal was on his feet before she went back to the door. Taking the handle, she ignored the buzzing in her fingertips as she pushed the handle up. Another mechanical sound reverberated from inside. Jesse pulled, but it didn’t budge.

“It’s stuck.” Jesse tried harder.

“Read the passcode,” Polly said.

Jesse looked at the paper Alexander had given her. “Seriously? The passcode is open.”

Yellow erupted over the metal door as the vault began to creak. The door moved on its own, swinging open to allow her entrance. The floodlight pierced into the darkness, casting thick shadows.

“What did you expect it to say?” Polly asked. “Open sesame?”

“I think it’s open says me,” Mal said.

“Neither. I figured it’d be in Latin or a dead language,” Jesse countered.

“Why? Do you speak Latin or a dead language?” Polly asked.

“No.” Jesse peeked inside what appeared to be an old empty vault. The dust had not made it into the safe. The only light was from the bank office.

“Then why would someone leave you a note in those languages?” Polly shook her head. “You’re such a silly dilly.”

Jesse touched the vault doorframe as she inched inside the room. The energy had lessened. Another camera was on the vault floor. Its broken pieces were pushed into a corner as if swept there with a foot and then abandoned.

On a table in the middle sat an iron box with a thick bolt slid into a barrel lock. When she stepped closer, she felt as if waves of energy pulsed from within.

“I don’t want to do this,” she whispered.

Mal appeared beside her.

“You shouldn’t be here,” she said. “What if it throws you again?”

He took her hand in his. “I’m with you. Whatever you decide. If you stay, I stay. If you go, I’ll drive.”

Jesse found comfort in him. She remembered having that same sense each time he called to talk about the will. Most of the time, they’d never really ended up talking about it.

“We’re right here,” Lily said from the door.

Jesse reached forward to pull the bolt. The shock of electricity became almost painful. She bit the inside of her lip, forcing her hand to remain where it was. Every logical part of her brain screamed at her to run. She’d been resisting this moment for a very long time.

Metal scraped on metal as she pulled the bolt. The noise seemed loud in the silence.

Jesse glanced at Mal. He nodded. She felt more than saw his worry, but he didn’t leave her side. No one spoke.

Ding. Ding-ding. Da-ding-da-ding-ding.

Jesse gasped at the sudden noise and jerked her hand back. The bolt fell on the floor.

“Sorry, that’s Dante’s ringtone,” Lily said, pulling her phone from her pocket. She stepped away from the door into the office, “Hey, Dante? Where the hell have you been? I’ve been trying to call you. Jesse’s here.”

“Oh, I need to talk to him,” Polly said, chasing after Lily. “Ask him if he’s seen Mr. Wiggle Wabbles.”

The sound of a light scuffle came from the office as Polly and Lily fought over the phone.

“Hold on. Talk to Polly. I have to get back—” Lily said.

“What’s in there?” Mara prompted.

Jesse flicked the latch forward and flung the lid back. A soft yellowy reflection caught the light from the floods behind her. She slowly leaned forward to look inside.

“What is that?” Mal whispered next to her.

A piece of rock with thick yellow veins sat on a cushion. It was the size of a baseball.

“Gold nugget?” Jesse reasoned with a small laugh of surprise. “Gah, I thought it was going to be some kind of gremlin egg or something.”

“Gold? Seriously?” Mara sounded disappointed.

“Well, this was a mining town,” Mal said.

“It’s just a stupid gold rock,” Mara announced to Lily. “False alarm.”

“Lily, Dante needs to talk to you,” Polly said. “It’s urgent.”

Jesse reached inside to lift the nugget. “All this hype over—”

The second she made contact, yellow light shot out of the rock and zapped up her arm like lightning. She tried to scream, but her voice locked in her throat.

“Don’t touch whatever’s inside,” Polly said belatedly, sounding closer as if she’d walked into the room. “Oh, well, that’s a mippity-mess.”

“Jesse?” Mal grabbed hold of her arm. When he touched her, the awareness of him filled her. The energy rush changed directions to flow toward him and launched him away from her body with a bright spark.

Her vision yellowed, and for a moment, she saw into everyone around her. Their emotions, fears, and thoughts all overwhelmed her.

Mara had lived a life of humiliation and fear, locked in a barn like a dirty family secret with only ghosts to play with. But spirits made for bad babysitters, and they’d possessed her body to walk around as human.

Polly’s thoughts were much like her speech—a mishmash of disorganization. The vastness of her magical knowledge would take decades to sift through, like a card catalog filed out of order and written in gibberish.

Lily loved Nolan, and that love scared her. She tried to hide it, but the constant fear was there of Nolan leaving. Because to Lily, everyone she loved left her. First, their father. Then their mother. Then Jesse.

Jesse had not realized how her refusal to come to Lucky Valley had hurt her sister. She hadn’t meant for it to. Lily never guilted her over it, but she had hurt her deeply.

Most surprising was Mal. His intentions were honorable. He worried for the town about what this box meant. He’d seen video footage of the contents leaking out like dark shadows. He believed that it could be the destruction of New Lucky Valley or a triggering of the old mining town curse. At the same time, he hadn’t wanted her to risk herself to open it.

Behind all this, she felt a warmth. It radiated from him into her. There was love there. She saw him staring at her picture. She heard the memory of someone telling him to be careful. That he could lose his heart and never get it back, so he better choose well.

He loved her.

Jesse held onto that feeling, letting it draw her back to reality. The yellow faded, and she found herself kneeling on the bank vault floor.

“Jesse?” Lily asked, kneeling beside her. “Talk to me.”

“Lily!” Dante’s voice sounded far away as it came from the phone. “Lily!”

“Mal?” Jesse dropped the gold and turned to look for him. He sat propped up against the vault wall holding the back of his head.

“Are you all right?” Mal reached for her, blinking heavily.

The lingering of his emotions stirred within her. Without thinking, she took hold of his face and kissed him. Jesse realized the feelings were not just one-sided. Those few moments she’d been magically linked to him were like a lifetime of knowledge.

“Whoa, Jesse,” Lily teased, sounding a little surprised.

“Get a room,” Mara added.

“Lily!” Dante’s voice insisted, panicked. “Pick up!”

Jesse turned to see what was happening.

Lily chuckled and lifted the phone. “Everything’s fine. Your little sister is making out with…” Her expression fell. “Slow down. I can barely hear you. Let me go outside for better reception.”

Polly crossed to the box and pulled out a rolled piece of paper tucked along the cushioned padding. “You always read the card before you open the gift.”

Polly tossed it at her.

Jesse caught the paper and unrolled it. She looked at the strange words. “This looks like Latin.”

“Well, you don’t expect an ancient spell to be in English, do you?” Polly clucked her tongue.

“I don’t speak Latin,” Jesse insisted.

“Won’t do you any good now to read it after you opened your present.” Polly sighed. “You kids are always in a hurry.”

“What happened?” Mara asked Polly. “Did Jesse get her magic?”

“Jesse already had magic,” Polly said. “She hasn’t been using it, but she has it.”

“I feel…” Jesse rubbed her temple. Her skin crawled as if everyone touched her at the same time, but no one did.

“Hungry?” Polly asked. “I could use a cheeseburger.”

“Same,” Mara said.

Jesse shook her head and took a deep breath. “I feel…”

“Oh, a game!” Polly clapped her hands and began shooting off answers. “Happy? Tacky? Slimy? Motion sick?”

Jesse shook her head.

“Invaded?” Polly suggested.

Jesse nodded. That was the closest word so far.

Polly frowned. “Well, that wasn’t a very good game. Too easy. Anyone up for Clue?”

Mal pushed to his feet. He reached to touch her face but let his hand fall before making contact. He looked at the gold nugget on the floor. “What happened? What is in that nugget? How is this compared to Pandora’s box?”

Polly furrowed her brow at him.

“It’s a gold nugget? Money ruins people?” Mal questioned. “Is that what you meant? By giving Jesse gold, it’s some kind of spell or lesson? Greed is the ruination of—”

“Knowledge is a great power,” Polly interrupted with a wave of her hand to stop his guessing. “Plus, this particular gift can cause one heck of a headache.”

Jesse nodded. Her temple was throbbing. “Yes, headache.”

“So what is with the nugget?” Mal insisted.

“Her inheritance,” Polly answered.

“Which is…?” Mal prompted.

“We don’t like to let this knowledge magic out too much,” Polly explained, “but every so often, it grows too strong to be contained, and someone is chosen who needs to carry it around and fizzle it out before we can cram it back into its box. Jesse’s magic is a perfect fit. People are already comfortable talking to her and—”

Lily charged into the vault. “Gremlins are in town. We have to go. Dante is holed up with others in the diner, and things are turning nasty. No one can get ahold of Sheriff Tillens.”

“Jesse, you’re up, pumpkin doodle,” Polly said. “You didn’t read the note and reverse the damage before taking on your inheritance from that box. This is your battle.”

“What?” Jesse shook her head. “No.”

“Then they eat your brother,” Polly said. “We all have choices, some we choose, and some choose us, but they all have to be made in the end.”

“Jess, please,” Lily begged. “It’s Dante.”

Jesse nodded and chose to follow her sister. No matter how scary the threat looked, she couldn’t abandon her brother.

“What about the gold?” Mara asked.

“I’ll clean up,” Polly said. “You kids have fun!”

“Don’t touch my cameras,” Mara warned. “They’re mine.”