thing that made me go back was the thought that my Mom had done this job, and had kept it from us. Maybe she would have told us one day, maybe she was waiting for the right moment. But maybe not. Either way it was this whole weird world that she had been a part of and had kept from us, and now I was a part of it too. Trying to forget it wouldn't change that. So I went back to get answers, to try to see if I could find out what happened to my Mom four years ago. One last time.
I pulled up in front of the derelict warehouse and took my time walking over to the door, trying to think about what exactly I was going to say, how I was going to break the news that I had lied about pretty much everything, but now I would really like to know what the hell was going on. Quick like a bandaid always worked well.
I opened the door and hadn't even stepped through when, "Layla!" Henrietta spied me and came charging across the warehouse floor at a surprising pace for such an old woman. "Oh finally dear, you're back."
Shit, had the Barlow's squealed on me? "What's up?" I said.
"We're being audited," Henrietta said, coming to a stop in front of me, her breathing wheezy from her short waddle across the room.
That hardly seemed like the kind of thing to come charging across a room for all excited and out of breath. "Well... do you pay your taxes?"
"No dear, not that kind of audit, the other kind of audit."
What other kind of audit was there? I needed to come clean before I got in any deeper with my lies. "Henrietta there's something I need to tell you."
"Oh I knew it," Henrietta wailed, "something happened didn't it?"
"Well of course it did," Thomas barked from his desk, "you don't think the big man himself comes unless something seriously went wrong do you?" He took a quick shot of liquor and poured himself another from a half empty bottle.
"Oh dear," Henrietta was shaking her hands, "what happened Layla?"
"I'm not a witch," I blurted out, "at least, I wasn't before today." That got their attention.
"What do you mean dear?" Henrietta said.
"The girl's lost her senses," Thomas said, "here, give her a shot of this," and he held out his glass with an inch of brown liquid in it.
"My Mom doesn't work at a hotel, she went missing four years ago. She never told me about any of this witch stuff. And when I got your call I was curious about why my Mom had worked here, and even more than that I really needed the job. When you told me that we're witches and all the other stuff I just played along. I figured you were making it all up. And then I went to the house..."
Henrietta grasped both my arms, "what happened at the house?" She didn't even seem phased by everything I had just confessed.
"I... I don't know. What's all this stuff about an audit anyway?" I looked around for the first time. Really looked. There had been two other employees when I first came that morning, old women, toiling away at their own desks behind massive stacks of paper, but it was just Thomas and Henrietta now. "Where are the other employees?"
"Ran like the cowards they are," Thomas said, "and good riddance, not a spine between them. Don't know why they bothered, not like they'll get far anyway." He took another swig.
"It's very important that you start at the beginning dear," Henrietta said. "Tell me everything that happened."
"Okay," I said, focusing. I was beginning to get the feeling that something was very wrong here. "I showed up, told them who I was. The wife showed me to where the ghost stuff was happening. There was a husband and a little kid too. I was getting ready to do the spell and then there was this man. A ghost I guess, the other three couldn't see him. I didn't think ghosts were a real thing but then I tried to touch him and that didn't work out so well, so I tried to do the spell, the dispersion spell, but I couldn't remember it. But the ghost told me what the spell was."
"He told you the dispersion spell?" Henrietta said.
"Yea..." I
I pulled up in front of the derelict warehouse and took my time walking over to the door, trying to think about what exactly I was going to say, how I was going to break the news that I had lied about pretty much everything, but now I would really like to know what the hell was going on. Quick like a bandaid always worked well.
I opened the door and hadn't even stepped through when, "Layla!" Henrietta spied me and came charging across the warehouse floor at a surprising pace for such an old woman. "Oh finally dear, you're back."
Shit, had the Barlow's squealed on me? "What's up?" I said.
"We're being audited," Henrietta said, coming to a stop in front of me, her breathing wheezy from her short waddle across the room.
That hardly seemed like the kind of thing to come charging across a room for all excited and out of breath. "Well... do you pay your taxes?"
"No dear, not that kind of audit, the other kind of audit."
What other kind of audit was there? I needed to come clean before I got in any deeper with my lies. "Henrietta there's something I need to tell you."
"Oh I knew it," Henrietta wailed, "something happened didn't it?"
"Well of course it did," Thomas barked from his desk, "you don't think the big man himself comes unless something seriously went wrong do you?" He took a quick shot of liquor and poured himself another from a half empty bottle.
"Oh dear," Henrietta was shaking her hands, "what happened Layla?"
"I'm not a witch," I blurted out, "at least, I wasn't before today." That got their attention.
"What do you mean dear?" Henrietta said.
"The girl's lost her senses," Thomas said, "here, give her a shot of this," and he held out his glass with an inch of brown liquid in it.
"My Mom doesn't work at a hotel, she went missing four years ago. She never told me about any of this witch stuff. And when I got your call I was curious about why my Mom had worked here, and even more than that I really needed the job. When you told me that we're witches and all the other stuff I just played along. I figured you were making it all up. And then I went to the house..."
Henrietta grasped both my arms, "what happened at the house?" She didn't even seem phased by everything I had just confessed.
"I... I don't know. What's all this stuff about an audit anyway?" I looked around for the first time. Really looked. There had been two other employees when I first came that morning, old women, toiling away at their own desks behind massive stacks of paper, but it was just Thomas and Henrietta now. "Where are the other employees?"
"Ran like the cowards they are," Thomas said, "and good riddance, not a spine between them. Don't know why they bothered, not like they'll get far anyway." He took another swig.
"It's very important that you start at the beginning dear," Henrietta said. "Tell me everything that happened."
"Okay," I said, focusing. I was beginning to get the feeling that something was very wrong here. "I showed up, told them who I was. The wife showed me to where the ghost stuff was happening. There was a husband and a little kid too. I was getting ready to do the spell and then there was this man. A ghost I guess, the other three couldn't see him. I didn't think ghosts were a real thing but then I tried to touch him and that didn't work out so well, so I tried to do the spell, the dispersion spell, but I couldn't remember it. But the ghost told me what the spell was."
"He told you the dispersion spell?" Henrietta said.
"Yea..." I
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