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Once Upon a Charmed Time Page 19


  “No, I was rather enjoying myself at the place I was at and, well, frankly, this world can be a little difficult at times.”

  He had that right. “So now that he’s back does this mean that you don’t own the house anymore?” my mother asked.

  I looked at her. Why would she mention something like that? Oh, because then I wouldn’t be the leader of the Underworld. I had to have the house with the book in order to do that. Which meant Edwin would be the leader. I didn’t know how that worked. Technically he had built this house so would it still be his and no longer mine? Would he request it back from me? He looked around the room.

  “Yes, it’s true, I built this house. I had a little bit of help from some people who were kind enough to help me, but it took a long time. It still looks mostly like I remembered it back then. The furniture is a bit different.”

  We all watched as he walked across the room, inspecting everything. We were waiting to see what he would say. I was definitely on edge.

  Addie came down the steps. She stared at the man standing beside Dalton. “That’s him.”

  “That’s who?” I asked.

  “The man I saw in the house on the first day. The one who disappeared and we couldn’t find him.”

  “Well, that explains a lot then,” I said. “He was reanimated.”

  “He was what?” she said with wide eyes.

  “Yes, well, I have this thing where I sometimes reanimate the dead.”

  She just looked at me, confused and a little terrified, as if she wanted to run out of the house.

  “But it’s okay,” I said. “There’s nothing to worry about. I’ve got everything under control.” Of course I didn’t have anything under control, but I always liked to act as if I did. It was a nice boost of confidence when I got it.

  I turned to him and asked, “So why didn’t you say something sooner?”

  “I felt it was better if you didn’t know you had reanimated me.”

  How did I keep picking up all of the spirits and bringing them back to life? I really needed to figure out what spell caused everything to go wrong. If I hadn’t figured it out yet it was unlikely that I would.

  “Hallie, it’s true, I am your great-great-grandfather,” he said. “I suppose the house will be mine now.”

  It felt as if the room was spinning.

  “Hallie, are you all right?” Nicolas asked.

  His voice was distant as if he was far, far away. I was spinning and I knew that I hit the ground and everything went black after that.

  “Hallie, snap out of it. Can you hear me?” The voice was faint, but I knew that Nicolas was talking to me. Finally I opened my eyes and looked at him.

  “Thank goodness you’re back. Are you all right? Can you sit up?” he asked.

  I was still confused as to what was going on as I looked over and saw my great-great-grandfather peering down at me. That was right. I had reanimated my great-great-grandfather. Now he wanted the house and I wouldn’t be the leader any longer.

  The end

  About the Author

  Rose Pressey is a USA Today bestselling author. She enjoys writing quirky and fun novels with a paranormal twist. The paranormal has always captured her interest. The thought of finding answers to the unexplained fascinates her.

  When she’s not writing about werewolves, vampires and every other supernatural creature, she loves eating cupcakes with sprinkles, reading, spending time with family, and listening to oldies from the fifties.

  Rose suffers from Psoriatic Arthritis and has knee replacements. She might just set the world record for joint replacements. She’s soon having her hips replaced, elbows, and at least one shoulder.

  Rose lives in the beautiful commonwealth of Kentucky with her husband, son, and two sassy Chihuahuas.

  Visit her online at:

  http://www.rosepressey.com

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  Rose loves to hear from readers. You can email her at: rose@rosepressey.com