MOONSPELL

by

PiperMerlyn

Chapter 6

The Chapters

INTRO

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER 5

CHAPTER 6

CHAPTER 7

CHAPTER 8

CHAPTER 9

CHAPTER 10

"I have the perfect idea for Halloween."  

Frank looked up from his breakfast surprised. Joe was rarely really awake in the mornings, preferring to sleepwalk through the day--at least until lunchtime. "You're alert this morning."  

"I can't get the idea out of my mind. Let's go up to Birch Road Cemetery this afternoon, check it out. Get the lay of the land."  

Frank narrowed his eyes. "What are you scheming?"  

"Everyone's walked through a cemetery at night, Frank, whether cutting through to take a shortcut or on a dare. As long as they don't see anything or hear anything, they're not scared, right?"  

Frank finished off his pancakes. "But if they see a ghost or two, hear a wolf howl...."  

"Exactly but not quite that lame. Something sophisticated, daring."  

"Lame?"  

Joe started in on his own breakfast, ignoring his brother. "We need awesome."  

Before Frank could agree or disagree, a huge rumble sounded outside sounding like a giant explosion. The brothers shared a startled glance and left the kitchen table to rush outside. The van sat innocently in the driveway, no sign of damage. The brothers scanned the area, puzzled. It had sounded like a huge explosion but the van—  

"Frank, look." Joe was standing in the middle of Elm Street , pointing.  

Frank started to yell at Joe to get out of the street, then saw what he was pointing at. The Lancaster estate looked spooky on a dark night but decrepit during the day, especially when bright winter sunlight highlighted every faded board, every cracked window glass. At the moment, neon green smoke billowed from open windows, even out of the chimney.  

Joe motioned to his brother. "Come on. That may be toxic or something."  

So we rush over to breathe it, thought Frank as he followed his brother. As he got closer, he saw people coming out of the house, waving at the neon green smoke and coughing. Frank caught an odd scent in the air and it took him a moment to recognize it. Candy corn. The smoke smelled like candy corn? He saw the twins come over to him, one her hair dripping wet. From the looks of it she'd been in the shower when the explosion occurred because her clothes had damp spots on them as she'd dressed without completely drying off. The other twin had half her hair in a braid, the other half still hanging loose. He saw Merlyn in purple pajamas, looking dazed.  

Dyllan walked over to him and Joe. "Everything's fine. Go home."  

Joe tried to see through the open door. "What happened?"  

"Nothing much. Stupid mistake," came another voice, this one female. A tall woman with gold-blond hair and hazel eyes came up to them. "My fault." She waved the smoke away and smiled at them. "You must be the two boys Lyn told me about. I'm her mother, Willow Slade."  

"Frank Hardy and my brother Joe. Should we phone the fire department?"  

"For goodness' sake, no."  

Joe recognized the voice as belonging to Archimedes Slade. The older man walked over to them, patted his wife's shoulder. "No need to trouble the fire department. Smoke will disappear in a bit." He coughed just then. "I think you used a little too much scent powder this time," he told his wife.  

"It's perfect, Arch. No candles I've ever found have a strong enough scent. I thought if I worked it as an incense, it would be stronger."  

Joe and Frank shared a puzzled look. "Scent?"  

Willow nodded. "I want the house to smell like Halloween--candy corn, that scent of warm pumpkin that comes from Jack-O-Lanterns..." She shrugged. "So I was working with scent powder as well as other things. Some things just don't combine together well."  

"That's an understatement," muttered Merlyn, rubbing her eyes. She saw Frank and Joe for the first time and blushed. "Oh, hey."  

Joe smiled at her. "You okay?"  

"Oh, yeah. Used to it, actually." Merlyn smiled. "Mum's a theoretical scientist."  

"No need to toot my horn, Lyn. Smoke's almost gone, so go get dressed for school."  

Several other people stumbled out of the house. "Willow, what the bloody hell is going on," came a man's voice. Sullivan Graves strode up to his sister. "I come up out of the basement and find green smoke everywhere." Then he lowered his voice. "I thought you didn't buy candy corn this year."  

"I was making incense that smelled like it."  

"Oh." Sullivan glanced at Frank and Joe and his frown faded. "Ah, you came for a visit. Most inopportune time unless you don't mind the smoke."  

"No, that's okay. We'll be late for school," answered Joe.  

A petite woman came up to Sullivan, her black hair and eyes contrasting with her pale skin. Even though it was morning, she was clad in a long black dress with flowing sleeves. She looked out of place in the morning sun. "Sully, why's smoke everywhere?"  

Willow heaved a sigh. "Yes, it was my fault. Yes, another idea gone up in smoke--literally. I have to go clean up the mess." She shook her head and left them to go back inside.  Joe glanced at the petite woman. "You're Rowan Trance, aren't you."  

The woman blinked and looked up at Joe. "You're a little young to know me, aren't you?"  

"I've seen your videos around Halloween."  

She smiled ruefully. "Yes, well, no surprise there." She held out a hand and shook Joe's. "It's nice to meet you."  

Frank covered for his brother. "I'm Frank Hardy, this is Joe. We live down the street."  

"Oh."  

"So your goth thing, is it just for the music, the videos?" asked Joe.  

Frank wished at that moment, the ground would open up. Joe had no tact. The twin with one braid patted his arm. "It's okay, she doesn't mind. I'm Leigh."  

"Frank."  

Rowan sighed. "Just for the appearance. I know some actually drink blood and sleep in coffins. Personally, I think they're crazy. How can one sleep in such a small space?"  

Sullivan patted his wife's arm. "Rowan is claustrophobic. We had to take the biggest bedroom upstairs and she refuses to enter the walk-in closet."  

Rowan shuddered at the thought. "Horrid."  

Sullivan gave Frank and Joe a dismissive smile. "Come along, dear. Willow may need help. Last time she had the entire lab covered in frothy pink icing, if I remember correctly."  

Rowan laughed as they headed back inside. "She gave up on that invention at least."  

"Your brother was very nice yesterday," said Leigh, nodding to Joe.  

Joe blinked. "I was?"  

Leigh nodded. "You wanted to rescue me, like a knight in shining armor." She ran her fingers through her loose hair. "I'd better finish getting ready. Bye."  

Frank watched the rest of the family go back inside, and then noted the odd expression on Joe's face. "What?"  

"I thought about it, Frank. I went to the library and saw her sister and cousins ganging up on her," Joe explained in a low voice. "So I thought I'd see what was going on and if they were just ganging up on her, I'd rescue her. I never said it out loud." Joe glanced over his shoulder but Leigh was already inside. "She came up to me a few minutes later and thanked me."  

Frank frowned. "You make it sound like she read your mind."  

Joe sighed, looking unsettled. "What if she did?"  

***  

Birch Road was a long, lonely road branching off the highway. At the very end was the cemetery, the wrought iron gate was open, covered in vines and dead leaves. A narrow gravel path twisted its way among headstones and grave markers, finally reaching a large two-story house. With broken shutters and blank windows, it looked like the perfect haunted house.  

Joe got out of the van and stared up at the house. Then he turned around and stared down the gravel path. "Tombstones up close; overhanging branches--it's perfect."  

Still seated behind the steering wheel, Frank rolled his eyes. "You still haven't told me your plan."  

Joe started for the steps to the   house. "I told you--awesome."  

"I meant details." Seeing Joe wasn't ready to leave, Frank sighed and got out of the van.  

Joe stepped up onto the porch. The boards creaked but held. "Remember Barbados?"  

"It's not like I could forget," said Frank dryly.  

"And the haunted zoot suit?"  

"Yeah."  

"That'll be for starters." Joe walked to the front door and tried the knob. He gave Frank a surprised look when it turned easily. "It's unlocked."  

Frank joined his brother on the porch. "Let's check inside, see what we have to work with."  

Joe nodded and pushed the door in. It was cold and dim inside as the brothers walked in. Thick dust covered every exposed surface. An old couch sat haphazardly in the middle of the floor with springs sticking out. Joe point to it. "Flopping there would definitely hurt."  

Frank walked further into the room. The large foyer stretched up to the second floor. "We might ought to stay off the stairs. They may be unsafe." When his brother didn't answer, Frank looked around the room. Joe was nowhere to be seen.  

Frank heaved a sigh. He walked toward the nearest archway, to his left, and found himself in a dining room. The long table had been shoved to the back wall with chairs stacked on its surface. "Joe?"  

"In here," came a muffled reply. Frank followed the sound to a long narrow kitchen. "Joe?"  

"Back--what the--?"  

"Joe?" Frank headed deeper into the darker kitchen but didn't see his brother. He pulled out the penlight he always carried and flashed it around. There was no sign of his brother. "Joe!"  

He heard a muffled shout but it came from behind him. Puzzled and a little worried, Frank bolted out of the kitchen, through the dining room and into the foyer. "Joe, where are you?"  

"In here." His brother's voice sounded decidedly cheerful--and louder. Frank saw another archway and started forward just as his brother came out of the dimness, coated with dust and cobwebs. Joe slapped at his sweater and jeans, sending up clouds of more dust. He sneezed. "I've changed my mind."

Frank frowned. "What happened to you?"  

"Clue™."  

Frank looked around, then at his brother. "What clue?"  

"No, the game. It'll be a murder mystery game."  

Frank thought about it. "Not bad. But we'll have to scrap costumes," he said, sounding hopeful.  

Joe shook his head. "No, not really. Van's going as a lethal prom queen and I’ll still be Freddy Krueger--we'll be behind the scenes. Someone has to be each of the characters and they can't play the game--they're the cast. That way everyone else can play."  

It didn't sound like a bad idea. "Why not mail a card from the game to random guests," suggested Frank.  

"Maybe. One card shouldn't give an unfair advantage. We could give others clues about who their team leader--the one with the card--would be."  

Frank snapped his fingers. "This is sounding really good." He gave his brother another look. "But what happened to you."  

Joe's grin widened. "I found a secret passage. Come on, let's explore."  

"Right behind you."  

They spent the next hour exploring the house, then the cemetery, careful not to trample anything. Joe gazed around at the headstones. "I've got to ask. Why build a house in the middle of a cemetery?"

"Originally, it wasn't." Frank pointed to the old wooden fence in back of the house. "That was the original part of the cemetery. At the turn of the last century, it was expanded."  

Joe joined him on the porch and gazed around. "I should have known you'd know the answer."  

Frank grunted. "Then why'd you ask?"  

"I didn't know the answer. You have so much trivia stored in that brain, I keep expecting it to leak from your ears." Joe headed for the van. "I'll drive. You call Callie and tell her about the new plan."  

Frank nodded as they got into the van. "I have to say I'm pleasantly surprised you thought of it."  

"Ha, ha, very funny," said Joe, sarcastically.  

Frank grinned and called Callie. He explained how the house was laid out almost like the Clue™ game-board, complete with secret passages. "You really want to know?....Actually, it was....Yeah, surprised me too."  

"How about you talk about me when I'm not here," muttered Joe, as he headed home.  

"Yeah, he does, doesn't he....All right, I'll tell him." Frank hung up the car phone. "Callie says she's pleasantly surprised too."  

Joe snorted and suddenly took a left turn. Frank frowned. "Where are you going?"  

"A different way." Joe took successive right turns. Frank realized he'd brought them instead of straight to their house at the corner of Elm and High, to the other end of Elm Street. Halfway along Elm, Joe slowed to a crawl. Glancing out his brother’s window, Frank saw why. The Lancaster estate still looked decrepit but there was no more green smoke.  

Frank narrowed his eyes. "I wonder how incense is made."  

Joe sighed as he continued down the street to their house. "It's Friday night, Frank, don't tell me you're going to spend it surfing the 'Net."  

"If it helps figure this out, I will."  

Joe pulled into the driveway. "Always knew you were a nerd, Frank."  

Let the author know what you think of this story

Home   Library   Authors   Rogue's Gallery   Vehicles   Chums   Message Board  Rap Sheet  Links  Contact

Disclaimer