The Dark Portal (The Gryphon Chronicles, Book 3) (16 page)

“We’ve met some charming new guests to add to your birthday party…
darling,
” she added through gritted teeth. “It’s the new Earl!”

At that, Petunia
finally stopped.

Ha,
thought Jake with another roguish grin.

Now
she was interested. She slowly pivoted and narrowed her eyes at the boys before warily returning.

Thankfully, Miss
Helena appeared beside them to smooth the way for proper introductions. Meanwhile, Derek had jumped down from his seat beside Nimbus Fingle and started loading their packages into the boot of the coach.

“I a
m Mrs. Harris,” the woman was telling Miss Helena, “and this is my daughter, Petunia.”

“Harris?” Archie echoed. “As in
the Harris Mine?”

“Yes, dear,” she answered, though she had no interest whatsoever in Archie.

Apparently, she was unaware that he would be a lord, too, one day, when he grew up. Maybe a baron wasn’t high-ranking enough for her precious Petunia.

Then Jake studied them discreetly; after all,
these were the people who owned half the town.

With Miss Helena’s assistance, all the expected pleasantries were exchanged. All the while, Dani O’Dell eyed Mrs. Harris’s hat like she worried that some small animal might be lost up there, living among the feathers.

As for Petunia, her midnight eyes narrowed with calculation, she scanned each member of their party one by one, taking their measure. She seemed mildly impressed by Miss Helena for her slight French accent, but only Isabelle apparently lived up to her standards.

Here, at least, was a highborn young lady on her own
level of wealth and beauty, she seemed to conclude. She gave her a queenly nod. “Miss Bradford.”

“Miss Harris.”

Poor Archie and Dani might as well have been clods of horse dung in the street, in Petunia’s eyes. Scruffy Derek Stone only warranted a slight, sneering curl of her rosy lips.

As for Jake, Miss Petunia Harris stared straight at him in cold, skeptical s
uspicion.

Jake was bemused. Usually
girls like the aristocratic misses Uncle Waldrick had introduced him to in London fell all over themselves trying to get on his good side. This reaction generally annoyed Jake until he was ready to scream. But no girl had ever dared to look at him like he was a rotten fish-head that some alley cat had dragged out of a trash bin.

He was fascinated.

“I
so
hope you children will be able to come to Petunia’s birthday party on Saturday,” Mrs. Harris gushed. “It will be held at our estate at two o’clock. It’ll be great fun! Good food, games indoors and out, fireworks after dark. I can’t believe my little girl is turning thirteen!”

Jake was already nodding eagerly.
“We’d love to come,” he blurted out, unaware of Miss Helena’s faint wince.

“
Excellent! Oh, we’re so truly honored! This will be a fine chance for you to meet the
better
sort of neighbors. I will send an invitation up to the cottage at once,” the grateful matron gushed. “Now I’m even more excited! Aren’t you, Petunia?”

Petunia rolled her eyes.

Mrs. Harris cupped her mouth with one hand to offer a loud stage whisper: “She doesn’t know the theme of her party yet. It’s going to be a surprise!”

“Thank you for inviting us,” Miss Helena said with a gracious nod as
the female Harrises went on their way.

“Little monster, that one,” Derek muttered as he put the last
of the bags into the carriage.

“Hey, that’s my future wife you’re talking about,” Jake taunted.

Derek snorted. “You do know you’re twelve?”

Jake laughed.
“Well! Our social calendar is filling up nicely,” he drawled, feeling terribly popular as they all gathered around to file back into the carriage. “Now we’ve got
two
parties to go to on this trip. Waterfall Village with the dwarves tonight, and Miss Harris’s party this weekend.”

Archie shook his head with a troubled look. “I’m not sure we should’ve agreed to go.”

“Why not?” Jake asked in surprise.

“It’s ghastly bad manners.”

“Huh?”

“They shouldn’t be having a party just days after four men got killed in their mine
! It’s not decent,” he huffed.

“
Aw, come on, that wasn’t Petunia’s fault,” Jake said. “Besides, I’m sure her parents were planning the party for months before the mine thing happened. Were they supposed to call it off and disappoint their daughter?”

“As if she’d let them,” Dani said under her breath, but
Archie just shrugged.

“He’s right about one thing,” said Isabelle. “This is going to look terrible in the eyes of the townspeople.”

Jake furrowed his brow, then glanced at the governess. “Should we cancel?”

“You can’t now,” Miss Helena said with a shrug. “You’ve already accepted. They’d take it
as a snub, and we can’t have you offending the great merchant family who owns half the town.”

“Good point,” Derek said. “You don’t need to be making enemies of the neighbors around Plas-y-Fforest before you’ve even met them.”

Miss Helena nodded. “We’ll have to attend now.”

Jake smiled wryly. “If we must.” Then he cast Derek a roguish glance. “You see that? It would be rude not to go.”

Derek arched a knowing eyebrow. “And that’s the only reason you want to be there?”

“Hardly,” Jake shot back with a grin. “I’m in love.”

“If I thought you really meant that, I would kick you in the shins,” Dani said.

Jake laughed. “Just get in the carriage, you lot. Let’s go deliver these gifts and get back to the cottage for supper. I’m already half starved.”

They all agreed it was time to go.

Derek handed Miss Helena back up onto the driver’s seat to ride beside Nimbus Fingle, then swung up onto his horse, while the kids filed back into the carriage.

As Jake took his seat, he leaned his head on the window, rather worn out from shopping.

It was then that a peculiar shop captured his attention—one they had missed before.

On the pavement in front of it sat a wooden folding sign, painted dark blue with small stars. In dramatic gold letters, it advertised:

MESSAGES FROM BEYOND!

ATTEND A SÉANCE
with Madam Sylvia

psychic Medium and Spiritualist

He squinted and read it again, drawing in his breath. Suddenly, he shot up out of his seat. “Don’t go yet! I have to see something.” He stepped over the others’ feet and, without warning, leaped out of the carriage.

His greatcoat flapping behind him in the wind, Jake ran across the street to find out if there really was somebody else in this town besides him who could talk to the dead.

The possibility of meeting a fellow psychic took his breath away far more than P
etunia Harris’s midnight eyes. Having only received his magical abilities about six months ago on his twelfth birthday, Jake had not yet met a single soul who could also see ghosts.

Not even Great-
Great Aunt Ramona could do that.

Oh, it would be wonderful to have the chance to
talk to a seasoned psychic! Somebody who knew what he went through and how it was, feeling like a supernatural freak all the time.

Maybe this Madam Sylvia lady could even tell him something about the black fog that had killed the goblins, or what sort of creature had eaten the men in the mine.

Unless, of course, she was a fraud.

Unfortunately, he’d have to find out later. The shop was closed.

“What are you doing?” Dani hollered out the open carriage door while Jake stepped up to Madam Sylvia’s shop window and cupped his hands around his eyes, staring inside.

The shelves were stocked with crystals and candles, charms, tarot cards
, and herbal potions, and the doorway to the backroom of the shop was veiled with red curtains and long strings of beads.
I’ll bet that’s where she holds the séance.

Abandoning the window, he strode back over to the sign for more details and learned that the weekly séance would be held tomorrow night at nine o’clock.

Perfect.
He was definitely going to this.

It could be a first-rate opportunity to get some guidance from somebody who, unlike him, actually knew what they were doing when it came to ghosts. Usually, he just made it up as
he went along.

Meanwhile, everyone was calling him.

“Jake! Let’s go!”

“Coming!” He jogged back to the carriage, then they went on their way.

“There you are! Late as usual,” Garnock said as Mischief came bounding out of the woods.

The little imp-gargoyle scampered over to the narrow, cave-like opening in the rocky hillside where he and Mayhem had been waiting. “Where have you been?”

Mischief chirped out some typical excuse; the larger, muscled Mayhem snarled in disapproval, baring his fangs.

“Ah, scrounging up some food in town, eh? Find anything good
there?” Garnock asked indulgently.

“Meow!” Mischief imitated.

“You ate somebody’s cat? Well, I see at least
you
haven’t changed after all this time.”

Mischief snicker
ed and rubbed his belly as his way of saying it had been a good meal.

Mayhem
—a more serious sort of gargoyle—let out a snuffle and hung his horned head in exasperation.

Garnock leaned closer to Mischief. “You
had better not have let any of the townsfolk see you.”

Mischief shook his head and turned himself to stone for a second to demonstrate how he had blended in. Then he came back to normal.

“Just be careful with that trick. We don’t want any undue attention, at least until I’ve got my body back. Now then.” Garnock began floating back and forth as he prepared to address his two troops.

In truth, he was doing mu
ch better now that he’d fed on dozens of the Harris School’s students. Rather than simply a black fog, he had more of a shape developing.

He was very excited about his progress.
Of course, he did not look quite human yet, more Grim Reaper-ish, which rather amused him. But at least it was a start.