“It’s his favorite.” Faelan sighed. Raising her voice, she called to the coo. “Brilliant job, Clyde. You really got us this time!”
The ghost threw his head back and bellowed in delight before winking out of sight.
“I’m sorry, but what…what was all that?” I was torn between shock and amusement.
“That was Clyde. He’s the resident ghost coo at MacAlpine Castle, and his very favorite thing in the whole world is scaring people. He’s basically an overgrown toddler that we all have toclap for every time he successfully scares someone,” Faelan said, affection in her voice.
“But you saw him, didn’t you, Z? Before he even got close?”
“Aye,” Zara said, shrugging her shoulder, one hand clasped on Mitch’s handle on his harness. “He has a very particular aura. I can see him coming from quite a way away.”
“He’s not been able to surprise Z yet. No matter how much he keeps trying.” Faelan laughed.
“I might pretend to be scared one of these days just to keep his morale up,” Zara said and we all laughed.
I couldn’t believe what my morning had become. I’d gone from returning to Loren Brae, scared for my future, to newly employed and laughing about a ghost coo with a new friend. Och, and not to mention the whole magickal Order thing and the new fake boyfriend in my life.
Opening my mouth to bring up the dating situation to Z, I paused as a cacophony of barks met my ears as we rounded the edge of the hedges to the castle.
A chihuahua led the charge in a fuzzy fair isle jumper, his teeth bared as though he would rip our throats out. Behind him, a corgi mix of sorts with a big floppy bow at her neck followed at a more sedate pace, and behind her loped an aging brown lab with a tartan collar.
“Sir Buster, that’s enough,” Faelan said, and the chihuahua skidded to a stop, his little body vibrating with rage.
“He’s a tiny fierce beastie, isn’t he?” I tried to hold back a laugh, not wanting to insult the wee lad.
“He’s all bark, that one.” I looked up to see an older man with a shock of white hair tucked under a green knit hat, thick eyebrows, and kind eyes following the herd. “Thinks he’s king of the castle, isn’t that right, Sir Buster?”
Sir Buster lifted his nose in the air, as though agreeing with the man.
“That’s Lady Lola.” Faelan pointed to the corgi mix. “And this distinguished gentleman is Harris.”
Faelan bent to pet the brown lab who’d wandered over and pressed his nose to her thigh. “Harris belongs to Orla, the head builder on the Common Gin site, and he comes to work with her most days.”
“And I immediately take custody.” The man studied me over the rake he carried in one gloved hand. “I’m Archie, caretaker of MacAlpine Castle, along with my wife, Hilda.”
“Orla’s part of the Order, too.” Faelan glanced to me and my gaze darted between Archie and Faelan’s face. Did he know about the Order?
“Ah. You’ve found our next one, is that right?” Archie leaned on his rake, his eyebrows drawing together as he studied me. I hoped what he saw met with his approval. A flicker of movement caught my attention and I glanced to the right to see Gloam slip quietly into the row of hedges. The dogs all turned, scenting something, but stayed where they were. They must know Gloam.
Sir Buster bolted to me and pawed at my boot, his body trembling as he looked up at me and growled.
“You’re giving very mixed communications, sir,” I said, torn between picking him up and easing gently away from the vibrating mini rage beast.
“Go on, pick him up. He’ll settle down,” Archie advised, and I bent and scooped up Sir Buster. His growls increased, but once he was tucked in the crook of my arm, he relaxed. “So, lass. You’ve come to join the Order then?”
“Um.” I glanced down at Sir Buster who looked up at me with warm brown eyes. “I’m not sure? I’ve only just learned about it.”
Look at me, not jumping into things immediately.I gave myself a mental pat on the back. Zara couldn’t fault me for ignoring red flags on this one.
“If Loren Brae needs you, then you should join,” Zara said, admonishing me, and the bubble burst. Here I thought I was doing well to be cautious and now Z was all about me diving right in? I never seemed to be able to win with her.
“Let’s go bother Lia for a cuppa tea,” Archie interjected. “The restaurant’s closed on Mondays, but we often take our lunch there. I’ll round up a few of the others.”
The others? Why did that make it sound like a cult? Torn between amusement and suspicion, I followed Archie and the dogs around the corner of the castle, and past the entrance to a manicured walled garden. Though it was largely trimmed back and tucked down for the upcoming winter, the garden was still vast and beautiful, with tall trees and hills rising in the back to cradle it. I could imagine wandering through the paths, smelling each bloom, and setting my crystals out to soak in the energy of the full moon on a warm summer night.
“Kitchen’s through here,” Archie said, knocking smartly on two wooden arched doors with heavy iron hinges. They were propped just slightly open, and Irish rock music sounded from within. “I’ll go get Hilda.”
A woman with a pretty face, curls bound back by a bandanna, popped her head out of the door.