A/N: Thanks for joining me for this three part Halloween fic! Part one's up today, Friday, part two will be up tomorrow, Saturday, and the final part will be posted this Sunday on Halloween! I really hope you enjoy this holiday treat! I'll get back to my usual stories soon btw. School has just gotten totally crazy lately since I'm finishing up my final semester and doing an internship. Thanks for your understanding and support! Anyway … Happy Halloween, everyone! I hope you're up for something mysterious, smutty, and a little spooky!

Summary: Bella's a witch with her own shop in town, providing crystal healing and psychic readings to the public with her best friend and coven sister Alice. When a ghost shows up in their shop looking like something out of a gothic novel, Bella knew her life was in for a big change. She just didn't know that change would be so sexy and mysterious, sending her spiraling down a path of no return. Twi Halloween AU. Witch Bella / Vampire Edward.

The Midnight Hour

1: First Meeting

A ghost in the front lobby was a lot for a Tuesday night. What had earlier been a typical weekday was now a load of shit Bella didn't want to even touch. Sure, being a psychic meant dealing with spirits, but she just wished that spirits could respect her nine to five business hours. She was trying to have a normal life. If any life involving spirits and demons and the occult could be normal.

"Alice, there's another one," she murmured as she reached for her hot apple spice.

Her psychic and crystal shop, the Solstice Sisters, was covered head to toe in Halloween decorations and the apparition in front of her almost matched the Party City ghost images hanging near the front register. "God, those are so tacky," Alice had said, not knowing how accurate they could be. Of course, not all ghosts looked like this. Some were just orbs, floating around and looking for someone to take notice, and some, like this one, were full body apparitions. This guy looked like he had seen some shit in life, making him look like some sort of Don't Do Drugs, Kids, or You'll End Up Like Me poster in the afterlife.

"Holy fuck, Bella," Alice said, jaw dropped as she entered the room.

"Holy fuck is right. On a Tuesday, too. We were just getting ready to close."

All of this ghost seeing shit was making her jaded honestly. Like, there had been a time and place where this sort of shit had actually been shocking. Now, it was just so repetitive. How many ghosts could you see until they felt like The Office reruns?

"Are you going to try to do a reading?" Alice asked as she moved to sit behind the register. Unbothered, too, she pulled out her makeup bag from her purse and a compact mirror. Today's shade was Urban Decay 1993 and she applied it to her lips with an effortlessness that Bella envied. Here she was, fixing her makeup as if there wasn't a ghost like Christmas Past hovering a few feet away.

"Why? Do you have plans tonight?"

She peered over her compact mirror and responded, "Do you?"

Bella shrugged, always noncommittal when it came to having a social life. "Honestly, I was just going to go home and eat and read and—"

"You're going to read. your romance novels and hang out with your cat?"

"You say that like it's the worst thing you've ever heard."

"It's not the worst thing I've ever heard." Alice shrugged. "But what about Jacob. You two went on a date the other night and I haven't heard anything and you're not planning—"

"Alice!" Bella interrupted. "There's a fucking ghost in our lobby. How can you be worried about my sex life at a time like this?"

Alice put her compact mirror down and stared right at the ghost. It was looking at her with a sort of, "How am I not the most important thing in the room right now?" narrow-eyed stare. Alice rolled her eyes. "That thing's so extra. Seriously." Turning her attention back to her friend. "It's not like this is our first time."

"I can do a reading … hopefully it'll convey a message fast. I don't want to be here all night but we can't leave this thing hanging like this … it'll scare away customers."

"If they could even see it," Alice retorted.

"You know a lot of them are like us."

It was true. A lot of the people coming into shop were psychics, developed witches, baby witches, or those new to spirituality entirely who just always had something special about them. While some were the normies, they were few and far between. That was the best part of the job, constantly being around similar people. It had sucked growing up as the outsider. Now, they were both in a land of their own.

"Let's hear them out," Alice decided, as she stood up and moved to the front door. She flipped the sign to "Closed," before locking up the front door and walking around the single-story building for a final check. After finding no one besides themselves, Alice returned to the front—returned to the ghost—and grabbed her Pumpkin Spice. "Want to use one of the reading rooms or do you want to do it out here?"

"Um … here's fine …" Bella's voice trailed off as she looked at the shop windows. Right next to a K-mart, there were tons of people coming and going and she was certain that suburban families wouldn't be too keen on seeing deteriorating ghost bodies. "Actually, a reading room's a good idea." She looked at the ghost, now. "Follow us. If you want to talk, you'll have to do it where we're most comfortable."

The ghost shook its head. "No, I only have to say this."

Of course, he only had one thing to say. Bella rolled her eyes. After all the hovering around like a freak, he was a ghost of few words. "That is?"

"Find Felix … Find Felix … Find him. Find him!"

Then, as quickly as it had appeared, the ghost was gone, fading into nothingness.

"Who the fuck is Felix?" Alice asked, looking like she wanted to yank the ghost from the beyond and force it to answer her questions. "All that drama for that? He couldn't have said anything else?"

"I have no idea. Felix … I wonder if there are any Felix dudes on Facebook?"

"Facebook? Bella, that dude looked like he was from another time. A time when Facebook definitely didn't exist."

"Okay … the Yellow Pages then or whatever."

"Good luck with that. Maybe in a few years, you'll crack the case."

"Well, I have to start somewhere. Aren't you curious?"

"No," Alice said quickly before sighing. "I mean, I guess I'm curious a little but Bella, where do we even begin? All we know is a first name."

"At least it's not a super common one. It's not like he said 'John' or something like that."

"Still …" Alice sighed and changed the subject. "Want to get a drink with me?"

"I thought you had plans after this?"

"He can wait."

Late night dinners were always second homes—even when it wasn't late night and they were completely sober. Bella scanned the menu, seemingly mellow for someone who had practically seen what drove Scrooge over the edge.

"I don't know … things don't sound as good here when you're sober," Bella commented as she checked out the menu. "Eggs and French Toast make a lot more sense when I'm trashed."

"Come on, you like this stuff, don't you?"

"I mean, I cook eggs all the time because it's cheap and I'm broke."

Alice gave her a look, although she didn't argue with her. Since starting Solstice Sisters, they haven't taken much of a paycheck. Funding a small business between the two of them wasn't easy, but knowing they were making a difference in their community, one crystal, spell, or psychic reading at a time.

"Want to do a reading?" Alice asked, changing the subject as she pulled out a deck of cards.

"Here? Alice, we haven't, even ordered yet."

"I know. I'll be fast. Besides, every server's busy at the moment."

That wasn't entirely true, but Alice was acting too insistent for Bella to deny her of anything. Alice pulled out her favorite Tarot Deck of the moment, the Deviant Moon Tarot deck, and began to shuffle the cards. She tossed them in her skilled hands for a moment, stopping when the time felt right, and created a spread. It was a three card draw, something simple, which she quickly added more cards to for verification.

"Something new is on the horizon for you, Bella. Someone new, it seems."

Alice was silent then, contemplative as she continued to look at the cards.

"Someone like the ghost dude … someone like whoever Felix is."

"No … it's someone important to you. Well, if they aren't now, at least they will be."

"Alice … don't do this and get all vague with me."

Alice shrugged. "I'm only seeing what my guides allowing me to see."

"Well," Bella said, looking around at the air surrounding Alice's head, "do you have to be so vague? Really guys … can't you open up with me? Are you warning me about something?"

"It doesn't seem like a warning or a bad omen … whatever's coming seems good for you. That's all I'm picking up on."

"Not a bad omen … then—"

"Hey, did you all decide?" a waitress asked, cutting off Bella's train of thought.

The waitress then looked down at the cards spread across the table and her smile faltered. Her eyes moved then to the crystal rings on Alice's hand and the pentacle hanging around her neck and then looked to Bella, finding the same things. The small town wasn't exactly open-minded when it came to witches.

Alice quickly put the cards back in her bag, giving the waitress a kind smile that eased some of her stress. Alice was good about smoothing things over—something Bella usually wasn't. She didn't want to soothe things over, though—she wanted the people around her to know who she was without cowering in fear.

Witchy Wednesday was busy like usual as the psychic readings booked up. Everyone was looking for a discounted reading, wanting to know their entire future for twenty dollars with tax. Of course, they didn't realize that readings didn't really work that way. They were a reflection of the future of the moment, but as decisions changed, the future could change too. Still, the same people came every week, looking for life updates as if they were shaking a Magic 8 ball.

It was nearing five when Bella yawned for the first time. It was a yawn easily disguised as a smile while she talked with a customer. This customer was the sort that treated readings like Magic 8 Ball prophecies as she complained about Alice's assessment of her love life.

"What did she mean, 'not this year'? The psychic I talked to on the phone said I should see something in my horizon soon. Now, I'm being told I won't find a new boyfriend until 2022? What am I supposed to do with that? I thought—"

"Ma'am, we only see the future according to the trajectory you're on right now. Maybe tomorrow, you'll make a different decision that'll lead you down a different path, but for now …" Bella's words trailed off as another customer popped in. She was about to nicely tell them to get lost as she was about to turn off the open sign as soon as this customer left, but as she saw him, she couldn't find the words.

This man, entering her shop in a black turtleneck, black blazer, and dark wash jeans, was something out of a dream. He had a sort of James Dean coolness about him that made him look more like a movie character than an everyday person. When he cocked his brow—his handsome, masculine face twisting into a smirk—she realized she was staring. With a flush, she turned her attention back to the customer, trying to still seem interested in her troubles.

"Didn't you hear me? I'd like a refund. That—that just can't be accurate."

"Um, we really don't give out refunds, ma'am," Bella said somewhat absentmindedly. Her thoughts were still wrapped around the stranger standing in the shop's entryway. "You signed something before the reading that said—"

"I don't care what that said. You all act like these are going to be accurate readings but really—"

"Ma'am, I'm sorry, but just because you didn't like the contents of your reading doesn't mean—"

"It's not about me not liking the contents, it's about your false advertising."

"You never had a problem with Alice's readings before … you're here almost every other week."

"Well, she must've been off her game or something today. This wasn't the normal reading."

Bella had a hard time not rolling her eyes. It was like this honestly. Whenever a reading wasn't what people wanted, they discounted the whole practice. The psychic wasn't good enough or they were "off their game." It was never the fact that the future wasn't what the person wanted. Whenever people would get all pressed about things, Bella wanted to know why they wanted to look into the future anyway. What was the point of possible outcomes if they didn't truly want to hear them?

"Listen, since you're here so much, why don't I just give you a free reading next time you come in? Would that make things better?"

The woman was silent for a moment and then nodded. "I suppose that would be all right."

Customer service was the same regardless of the type of shop. It always felt easier giving into the customer then dealing with a whole ass breakdown and a negative Yelp review. People probably knew that too and took advantage of small shops like that. Bella wasn't in the mood for dealing with Karens today—especially not with a hot guy needing attention.

"I'll see you next week, then," Bella said with her best customer service grin.

The woman gave a stiff nod and moved to leave, stopping to stare at the hot new customer in the process. The man didn't return her attention, though, leading her to bustle out of the shop louder than she needed to.

"Hey, we're closing soon, actually," Bella began as she stepped around the counter and moved to join him near the door. "We're open tomorrow at ten a.m. if you needed a reading or—"

"I was hoping you could help me tonight," the man said. "I believe you had a visitor."

"A visitor …"

"An apparition … Hasn't someone reached out to you?"

"The other day … We saw something the other day. Well, someone. A man."

"What did he look like?"

"Like a ghost."

The man smiled and rolled his eyes. "So he came to you in full human form?"

Bella's eyes widened. This guy sounds like he knows his shit. Maybe he's a ghost hunter … or a witch. "Who are you?"

The man breezed past her, beginning to look around the shop appreciatively. "Can you give me a reading …"

"Bella," she supplied, turning off the open sign and locking the front door before anyone got any ideas about entering past close.

"Can you give me a reading, Bella?"

"Do you want to contact the man I saw. I don't know if I can … I've never directly called on a spirit."

"If he showed himself to you, willingly, and you were able to see him, I think you can reach him now."

"I've—I've never done it before. I'm not sure if it can work."

"It's worth a shot, isn't it? You're more powerful than you think."

The man said this with such certainty, it sent a chill up Bella's spine. It was almost as if he somehow knew her. Like they had met before this moment in this time and space. She wasn't one to believe in fate and all that sort of crap but in instances like this, it felt like her soul had known his. If she hadn't felt that pull (and he hadn't been so amazingly hot … like seriously, what the fuck?) she would've kicked him out and told him to come back tomorrow. She only kept the shops open for emergencies like house hauntings that were about to go totally sour. This, didn't really seem like much of an emergency … unless there was some weird rush to find this Felix dude that probably also looked as if he had died decades ago if his dead friend was any indication.

"I know I'm powerful," Bella said with a little more confidence than usual. "it's just … I've never demanded someone's presence before."

"Well, it's always good to try new things," the man said with a "that's that" sort of tone.

"What? So, it's all sorted out, then? I'll give you a reading and it'll go splendidly and you'll leave with all the information you need?"

"Something like that." The man smirked.

"Bella!" Alice called out from the back. Bella heard her getting her things together as she moved toward the front. "You ready to get going?"

Alice came out of the back psychic room with her phone in hand. She was scrolling through text messages and stopped in her tracks as she looked up and found a man in their entryway. "Hey … Bella, who's this?"

"Sorry, I guess I've been rude. I haven't introduced myself. I'm Edward Cullen. I'm here looking for your help."

Alice, not as taken aback by his handsomeness, said, "Well, we're closed now … like the sign says … We'll be open tomorrow morning if you want to pop in and—"

"He wants us to summon that spirit that came the other day."

"Summon a spirit?" Alice saw the future, but she didn't work with the dead like Bella. "I mean, we don't really do that here. If a spirit comes, we'll talk to them, but we don't exactly summon spirits."

She left out the part where she said that neither of them really knew how that all worked. They knew the theory but theory wasn't exactly practice. As much as Bella wanted to sit around and chat with the dead all day, she didn't. She had tried before and failed—utterly failed—and after a few months of that, she didn't have the courage to keep trying. Something about failure was always difficult to deal with. No one wanted to admit defeat, but sometimes if felt as if you could stop trying and no one would even notice.

"I'm sure he'll come."

"You act like you know him," Bella interjected, stepping forward to stand next to him. "He looked like he died forever ago … how's that even possible?"

"How do you know I haven't been around a while, too?" the beautiful man said, cocking his brow.

"Um … we can—we can go sit down in the back," Bella said, momentarily dazed. She turned her focus to Alice. "You don't have to stay, Ali. I know you have a date and—I've got this."

Alice raised her brows, looking between the two of them. "Are you sure … Bella, I don't mind staying."

Bella's heart was beating fast, causing her entire body to flush pink. Maybe it was a bad idea to stay past close alone with a stranger. Maybe it was a bad idea to invite spirits to talk. Maybe she just had a lot of bad ideas and not a lot of good ones. Oh, well. We've all got to die someday, Bella thought with a pessimistic smile. "I'll be fine." While this man was a stranger, something about his energy set her at ease. While he seemed like many things, he didn't seem like the type to hurt her. At least … not yet.

"Bella, I can—"

"Alice, we shouldn't be long," Bella said, cutting her off. "I'll call you when I'm locking up."

Alice looked hesitant, rethinking her entire evening as she watched her friend. "Well … I won't be far … if that's what you want. Again, I don't mind staying …" She turned her attention to the mystery man, asking, "What's your name again?"

"Edward Cullen."

"Edward Cullen," Alice repeated, as if making a mental note. She grabbed her purse, gave Bella one more look that screamed, "Are you sure?" before moving toward the door. "Well, I'll lock up behind me. I'll meet Jasper at a bar nearby … if you need anything, just call and we'll come, okay?"

Bella rolled her eyes but was thankful for her friend. It was nice to have someone care about you. "I'll call if something comes up."

"Nothing should come up, though," Edward said with a reassuring smile. "I doubt this spirit's a very powerful one. He's taking up most of his energy by just visiting in the first place, I'm sure."

This was true—it took a tremendous amount of energy to appear to the living. Most of the time, it wasn't the sort of Patrick Swayze Ghost sort of thing. Light doesn't usually appear, revealing a full body apparition of the dead. Instead, it was typically orbs—just balls of light and energy moving around, hoping to send messages to the living. If the dead was appearing as their human form, they were using all the energy they had. This one had to be desperate to be heard. Whoever Felix was, was important—so important that it was worth all that the spirit had.

"Do you think he can appear again, after just appearing for us the other day?" Bella asked as she waved Alice goodbye. Her friend slipped out, mouthing call me before shutting and locking the front door.

"I hope so. If he's serious, he'll find a way. Besides, how long was he here for? Just a few moments?"

Bella felt like her brain had slowed down. He's too hot for his own good … With his posh British accent and stubble along his sharp jawline, Bella wanted to do more than just give the man a reading. It's been too long since I last fucked … I knew I should've just masturbated this morning. I'm going to be wet and horny until he leaves. It wasn't as if Bella always thought about sex—but she thought about it a lot. Especially with such a hot guy all up close and personal. My karma must be really good right now. Even if we don't fuck, at least I get to look at him. Some eye candy can make me want to summon any ghost.

"Sorry," she said with a blush, realizing that she was just blatantly staring like a total horndog. "He was only here for like a few seconds. Nothing major. He was just looking for Felix. It seemed like that was all he wanted to say. Then, he just left."

"Let's hope he appears tonight, then," Edward said before peering down the hallway toward the reading rooms. "After you?"

Every reading room was decorated with a woodsy, movie like aesthetic. On the middle of a medium sized circular table was a wooden log fashioned into a candle holder. It held three purple candles, meant to open the third eye and crown chakra to improve psychic ability. Surrounding this was a plethora of crystals—amethyst, labradorite, blue kyanite, quartz, malachite, and tourmaline. Every crystal was used to enhance the experience. Lastly, a pentacle rested near the center of the table, representing all the elements Bella used to call forward.

There was a window in the room and Bella opened it, letting the autumn air trickle in, chilling the room and filling it with the Earth's energy. Tonight felt different. With the full moon approaching the following day, tonight had all the energy of chaos. It moved through the air as if it were searching for a home.

Bella took a set in her usual spot, anointing herself with oil before instructing Edward to take a seat across from her. She was playing as if she knew how to begin, as if summoning demons was just a typical night from her. Edward looked at her, cocking his brow as he waited for her, playing along too. With the silence in the room growing uncomfortable, she pressed play on her CD player, letting the typical soft, intoxicating music fill the air.

Okay summoning a spirit … where the hell do I start? Quietly, she went over every text she could remember, trying to figure out what was the most reliable and effective. There were hundreds of books on the subject, and everyone had their own way of doing it. Now, which one's the right way? Which one's going to actually work and not make me look completely stupid? As Edward stared at her, just as quiet and thoughtful, she wished she had practiced magical evocation. Reading and practicing were two totally different things. With her nose always stuck in a book, she hadn't focused enough on actual spell work.

Bella took a deep breath and pulled out a wooden box from beneath the table. In it contained basic herbs and salts for common spells. She had a long list of oils in their vials and a candles and incense. Basically, it was her travel witch kit, something that she could use to mix up a spell or two. As she pulled out some herbs and oils, she tried to remember certain chapters of The Practice of Magical Evocation, an old text from decades ago that Alice bought her from a used bookstore. After she was done grabbing what she thought she would need, she pulled out the small cauldron she kept for the few situations when she would actually need it for instore use.

"What are you planning?" Edward asked as he watched her begin to add herbs to the cauldron. "This seems very … old fashioned, don't you think?"

Bella cocked her brow, giving him an inquisitive stare. "What do you mean 'old fashioned'? I always love spells."

Edward shrugged. "Well, I don't know. I usually just call things forth with my mind."

Well, why aren't you summoning the spirit, then? Why do you need my help? Bella didn't let her irritation show. Truthfully, she was only minorly irritated with the man in front of her. She was more irritated with herself for not knowing. She hated feeling weak or out of the loop when it came to magic and witchcraft. This was her life—what she prided herself on—and feeling incapable made her question her whole ass identity. She was a psychic and a witch and right now, she felt like a total amateur.

Anyway, it seemed that Edward didn't know what he was talking about. Things like this aided the witch. It didn't mean the witch was untalented or not powerful enough to do it on her own. Some witches used spells and herbs in their work, and some didn't. It was a matter of preference and a matter of energy. There were witches who could energetically work with their own mind while others used other elements to help them reach the same conclusion. As long as the conclusion was reached, the journey didn't really matter much. As every witch had their own path, every witch had their own journey too.

"I love working with the earth," Bella remarked as she began to burn the herbs over sand, charcoal, and incense. "I think that it just enhances the entire practice."

Edward didn't say anything now, merely watched her as she began to try to summon a spirit. It was hard to focus as she worried so much about how she looked. It would've been easier if someone wasn't watching her—judging her every move. As she closed her eyes, focusing on the ambiance and the energy in the air around her, she made her mind clear. It's something she picked up from years of meditation. A quiet mind is, for some reason, harder than anything else. At least, it was for a woman. It seemed like theirs minds were constantly filled with different thoughts while men's, on the other hand, could be filled entirely of white noise. Alice had talked about this once, bring up the fact that whenever she asked exes in the past what they were thinking about, they would say, "literally nothing," and when she would look into their minds, she would find just that, literally nothing. Bella wished, especially during times like this, she could think about literally nothing too so a spirit could have a chance and reach out and actually talk to her.

Thankfully, Edward continued to remain silent, never breaking her concentration. Her mind was quiet now like a muscle that had finally been numbed. She wasn't just Bella anymore-she was the room; she was the air surrounding them; she was the crystals on the table and the images on the tarot cards. The universe flowed into her as she flowed right back into the universe. With her eyes still closed, she watched herself from above her body, taking in everything before, finally, she saw something that hadn't been there before.

It was a spirit—not the spirit from before, but a spirit, nonetheless. She hadn't been able to call out a name, imploring her previous visitor to return. It seemed that Edward's presence hadn't had the effect she thought it would. If he knew the spirit, she thought that his energy could draw it forward. There was still time—the portal was still open, especially now that it grew closer and closer to the end of October.

Tonight's ghost was a woman, appearing to be from some time in this century. Her hair was styled in a heavy, side part, suggesting that she had been living in the 2000s when scene hairstyles were cool. It must be the veil between the living and the dead becoming more and more thin … I've never seen ghosts like this … never seen spirits with crazy, intense detail … It's unreal … it's like something from a movie … Edward noticed the spirit too, looking over his shoulder at the woman, who may have not really been a woman yet at all. She looked young. Maybe an early teen. She was way too young to be dead, that's for sure.

Bella used her energy to try to get the ghost to speak. The teen ghost seemed shy, keeping her mouth closed as she stared at Bella as if she could see straight into her soul. After a few unproductive moments of nothing, Bella finally spoke.

"What's your name?" she asked as she stared at the girl as if she would disappear in a blink of an eye.

The girl didn't answer her question, responding instead with, "Where is he? Where is he? Where is he!?"

The ghost's voice was hysterical, filled with all the pain that had come with being alive.

"Who?" Bella asked in the calmest voice she could manage.

To anyone watching, it would seem as if Bella had handled ghosts thousands upon thousands of times. With her strong energy and connection to the dead, she barely seemed like an amateur. But then another ghost came forward. And another. And another. Until the room was filled with different ghosts, all in various forms, crying out to her in a cacophony of horror. Now, the fact that she had never done this before was obvious. Usually, trained psychic mediums can call one spirit forward and speak to them alone. They could choose who they did and didn't want to listen to. Here, Bella was wading in dark waters, trying not to drown.

Her heart began to race as the anxiety set in. This wasn't good. This many spirits could overpower her, sending her spiraling into a state of mind she didn't even want to dream of. Before she could fall into a full-blown panic attack, she felt Edward's hand come forward and cover hers.

"Enough for tonight. End your spell."

Tears pricked Bella's eyes. I wish I knew how. I barely knew how to begin … Now I'm riding without training wheels, feeling myself breezing down a hill without knowing how to break.

"Bella!" Edward said forcefully. "End it."

There were at least thirty ghosts in the small room, filling up every bit of air. Not knowing what else to do, Bella grabbed her athame from the table next to her and began to cast a circle of protection around them. I should've done this first. Hindsight was always 20/20—especially when it came to the dead. After she casts the circle, she worked on a spell, grabbing her black salt and candle to cast the spirits from the room. After saying a few words from a spell book she had studied, she reached for the blue sage nearby. She hated doing this—this was a place for spirits, after all. However, her mistake had given her no choice. She had to cleanse the air, sending them away until she invited them back in.

Bella lit the sage, letting it cleanse every square foot of air until the spirits started to fade away. Edward watched her thoughtfully, not saying anything or stepping in to "save the day." That made Bella smile. She hated when people felt like they could save her. It was 2018 now and she could save herself. Edward sitting back and watching made it seem like he had confidence in her. While it was obvious that he knew she was a novice compared to him, he didn't make her feel bad about it.

"I'm sorry," Bella murmured as soon as the last spirit faded away. "I didn't know … Well, I just didn't know … I don't know what else to say."

"It's fine. I didn't realize that you hadn't …"

"Done this before?" Bella supplied helpfully, feeling as if she was ready for a twenty-four-hour nap.

"Have you done anything like this?"

"I don't work with spirits. At least, I hadn't until the other day."

"You're a baby witch, then?"

"No. Not a baby. I've been practicing for years. My focus just hasn't been …" Bella trailed off, shaking her head. Why am I so embarrassed? What do I have to be embarrassed about?

"Your focus should be there. You're good at this."

Bella made a face. There was no way she could believe him after what had just happened. He had to be blowing smoke up her ass. It wasn't possible that she could be good at something she had done so gracelessly. If she was being honest with herself—which she felt like she rarely was—she didn't practice this sort of magic because it scared her. The dead always felt like something they lived on the other side of a line she could never cross. The idea alone made her clammy.

"How can you judge a total novice?"

"Well, I think you can tell the potential someone has for something. You have a lot of potential when it comes to this. You're a powerful witch, Bella."

She smiled, softly to herself as if she didn't want the man to see it. "Thanks. But I still have so much to do."

"Everyone has so much to do. That's human nature. All of you humans run around constantly, trying to fit everything in before you die."

"We do not. We enjoy life too." She paused for a moment before adding, "You talk like you're not even one of us. Like you're above it all. When, really, you're flesh and blood just like everyone else."

Edward raised his brow as if he were challenging her. "How do you know whether or not I'm like everyone else. I could be another monster just wandering in here."

"You could be … but you're not."

He laughed, leaning back in his chair and exposing his neck. "You're a witch who doesn't believe in monsters? How impressive."

Bella rolled her eyes. "I do believe in monsters—well, types of monsters, I guess. Hell, there's monsters in the 'real' world everywhere. Pedophiles, rapists, murderers … they may not look like Universal Movie monsters but they're monsters, nonetheless. What I don't believe is random strangers trying to tell me who they are."

Edward smirked before letting his tongue dart out to run along his full bottom lip. "What if that stranger is trying to warn you? You wouldn't take that seriously?"

"Are you trying to warn me?"

Edward smirked again. She felt herself growing strangely fond of those smirks. "What do you think? You're a smart girl."

"I think you're trying to get a rise out of me."

"Smh. I'm not the type. I don't have time for games."

"What do you have time for?"

"Ghost hunting. I know my friend has visited you—"

"Your friend?" He looks like he died literally forever ago. What are you smoking, hottie?

"—and I want to know what he said. He's not coming to me anymore, the stupid bloke. Maybe he lost his way. He was pretty out there in real life if you get my drift. I wouldn't put it past him."

"You knew him in real life?"

"Sure did."

Bella gave him a blank stare, wondering if all of this was some sort of royal prank. There was no way in hell a man like Edward knew some Christmas Carol looking shit in real life. Unless, maybe this ghost was a stage actor and all of his garb was just a costume for his latest role … That didn't seem likely though. It didn't look like some clever period piece costume design—it looked real.

"What are you?" Bella finally asked as she moved to open the door of the reading room. Just in case the dude said something weird, she wanted a quick exit.

"You don't know?"

She looked back and became almost annoyed with how perfect the man was. He looked like sin, if sin could look like something. It was a cheesy description, but it was true—Edward looked like the type of guy you'd throw anything away for. Even your sanity. With his bone structure, muscle tone, height, handsome copper hair, and perfectly strange eyes, he looked like a mysterious actor from an old Hollywood movie. There was a charm about him that seemed supernatural in itself. He was almost too perfect to be human.

"Why would I know? We just met. I mean, we established that you study witchcraft but … I don't know. How am I supposed to know about anything else?"

Edward shrugged. "If you ask me something about myself, I'll tell you."

"Okay, then. Enlighten me. What the hell are you talking about? Where are you going with all of this?"

"Can I take you to dinner? Are you hungry, Bella?"

She rolled her eyes, nodding at him to follow her out of the room. Closing up shop was long overdue. This place was her life, but it didn't have to be her whole life. She had a stack of books waiting for her at home along with spells to do. With the end of October quickly approaching, she had her rituals before the veil between the living and the dead became nearly transparent. What was she going to do? Invite Edward, a man she had known for only a matter of a half hour, back to her place to work on different spells with her? That felt like nonsense. All of this felt like nonsense truly—like something from a strange fever dream. You'll wake up soon, Bella. Soon before you fall down the rabbit hole.

"I was planning on cooking at home," she said as she guided them toward the front. She grabbed her jacket, quickly throwing it on before reaching for her purse. "Maybe another time."

"There's no time like the present," Edward persisted, giving her a once over. "Especially now that we have a ghost to find."

"We don't have anything to find. That's all you, buddy."

"Oh, come now, Bella," Edward said, stepping forward to put an arm around her shoulder. He pulled her close as if they were old friends and not brand new acquittances. For a moment, Bella forgot to breathe, leading her to scold herself—don't let your horniness cloud your judgment, Bells. It's not like he has a magical cock or something. He's just a man who needs a favor from a witch. "I have a feeling that you're the one to help me with this."

"How do you figure that?"

He shrugged. "I don't know … I just feel like we've met before." Without letting her go, he asked again, "So, how does dinner sound? I think it's time for us to talk."

Her stomach grumbled, answering the question for her. It's just one dinner. It's not going to kill me. Plus, he'll probably pay for it. That's always a plus. Definitely better than eating ramen for the fifth night in a row. "Fine. But only if you pay."

"Naturally. You're doing me a favor, after all."

Against her better judgment and her conscious, which sounded a lot like Alice, in her head screaming, "Abort! Abort! Have some self-preservation! What are you doing," she agreed to dinner. The cocky expression on his face that followed made part of her instantly regret it. However, curiosity got to her and won. She wanted to know who and what Edward was, even if that meant risking things she probably shouldn't.

A/N: I hope you're enjoying this Halloween fic! This fic will have three parts—one posted today, Friday, one posted on Saturday, and one posted on Halloween. So, please enjoy reading them as they're posted or wait for the big day and binge the whole story on Halloween. Halloween is my all-time favorite holiday so I'm really excited to share a Halloween fic with you!

****October 29, 2021 Halloween Question: What's your favorite Halloween candy? (Mines Twizzlers for sure.)****