Free HauntedPassion by Tianna Xander Page A

father has never found peace. He haunts the study. It is said, the two young gentlemen also haunt the castle to this day.”
    She turned to an inscription on the wall and pointed. “They say that they were killed by a witch’s spell and will never find rest until the right witch recites the spell on the wall at midnight on the day of the dead. The paint has been refreshed every five years since the year ten sixty-six to preserve the spell in the event that one day they may possibly find rest.”
    The group filed into the room, all of them looking at the Old English writing.
    Jeni stared up at the spell on the wall. It wasn’t written in modern English, but somehow, she knew what it said.
    Pulling her phone from her pocket, she typed the translation into an email and sent it to herself. For reasons she couldn’t fathom, she knew she had to stay here overnight, no matter the cost.
    One of the other tourists asked the distasteful question, leaving Jeni to breathe a sigh of relief that she didn’t have to be the one to ask.
    “How much will it cost us to stay the night?” an older gentleman asked when his wife elbowed him in the side.
    “Nothing,” the tour guide said with a smile. “As I said, the current Earl has extended an invitation to anyone who wishes to stay. There is no fee for this. You will be the Earl’s guest.”
    About that time a tall, dark gentleman entered the study from a door on the right. He stood in front of the group, his hands behind his back as he appeared to examine them all.
    “Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I wish to extend my invitation to spend one night here in the castle to prove to you all that this is, indeed, one of the most haunted castles in Ireland.”
    Jeni didn’t know what it was, but she didn’t really like the man. He didn’t look the type to own a castle and he definitely didn’t look like an Earl. She frowned at the lack of resemblance to the man in the portrait. There was something about his eyes she just didn’t like.
    Needing to know if what she thought was indeed true, Jeni stepped forward and cleared her throat. “I would like to stay, if you’ll have me.”
    After that, the entire group stepped forward, each of them wanting to accept the invite. That is, all except one.
    A short woman of advanced years looked up at the Earl and shook her head. “No thank you, sir. I know what this night is and I’ll not be staying in a haunted castle. Tonight the veil is thin. Tomorrow is the day of the dead and I will not be a part of helping any ghost, good or bad, back into this world. Let them rest, I say.”
    Jeni bit her lip wondering if she should listen to the old woman’s advice and stay away from the castle. As much as she felt as though she should take the old woman’s warning to heart, she couldn’t. There was just something about the offer that she simply couldn’t refuse.
    After a huge, seven course meal, Jeni made her way to the room where she would spend the night. It was a huge room, with large windows overlooking the garden. Earlier, she had watched as the darkness crept over the lawn and cast the castle in shadow before she’d showered and changed for dinner.
    For a moment, she stared out into the darkness. The scent of roses and lavender wafted up to the room and she inhaled deeply. Even the smell here was familiar. If she didn’t know better, she would have insisted that she’d been here before.
    Sitting on the bed, she picked up her cell phone from the nightstand and checked her email, looking for the spell she’d sent herself. It didn’t surprise her to see that was the only email in her inbox.
    What did surprise her though, was the filmy-looking apparition to her left. It was them! They stood looking at her as though she were a figment of their imagination. With a swallow, she glanced at the spell, wondering if she should recite it aloud.
    After all, this was Halloween and at precisely midnight, the veil would thin. She could communicate with those