She sucked in a deep breath. Time stopped. As she raised her arm, she flung the rocks toward Bly’s minions and lunged for Jolene’s free arm engaging in a tug of war with large-beard as the fiery, red rocks flew out into the room.
One of the larger rocks hit large-beard in between the eyes with a sizzle. Fiona’s nose wrinkled at the smell of burning flesh. Large-beard loosened his grip on Jolene and Fiona pulled her away.
The rocks pummeled Bly and his minions, hitting their chests, their arms, their legs and then bouncing off and ricocheting around the mausoleum, only to hit them again. Each rock inflicted a searing burn and elicited shouts of pain from its victim.
They dropped their weapons and the geode so they could use their hands to ward off the bouncing, rebounding, sizzling-hot rocks.
“Let’s go!” Morgan flung the door open and they spilled out. Swain, who was last, slammed the door shut behind them.
“Lock it!” Morgan indicated the rusty lock that hung from the ancient hasp on the door.
Fiona could hear the rocks ricocheting off the walls and screams from inside. “But they’ll be trapped in there.”
Morgan shot her an incredulous look. “Who cares? They tried to kill us.”
Swain pushed the lock shut. “They won’t be trapped. There’s a secret exit. That’s where Overton disappeared to.”
“We better hurry before they figure it out!” Morgan put her arm around Celeste, who was still reeling from her injury, and they ran for the car.
“The Kia is gone!” Jolene said as they piled into the TrailBlazer.
“Overton must have taken it.” Morgan’s voice was laced with disappointment. “Which means he got away with the pestle.”
“Shoot!” Jolene looked at Morgan. “So this was all for nothing?”
“No, it wasn’t,” Swain said from the backseat. He pulled something out of his inner vest pocket. Fiona’s heart swelled when she saw the green glow … it was the pestle!
“But how did you get it?” Morgan asked.
“While you were all fighting, I had a little altercation with Overton and happened to lift it out of his pocket. I’m not sure he even knows I have it and I think he’s going to be right mad when he figures out I pick-pocketed it from him,” Swain said slyly.
“Pick-pocketed?” Jolene asked.
“You might not realize it, but you have to master a lot of diverse skills to be an archaeologist—getting out of ropes and pick-pocketing are just a few,” Swain said. “Now, let’s get going and put this relic to good use.”
Epitaph
One week later ….
The Blackmoore Thanksgiving table sparkled. Johanna’s good china—white dishes ringed in gold—had been dusted off and set on the table for the occasion. Jolene hadn’t seen them since Johanna went missing and was presumed dead seven years ago.
Red linen napkins complemented the red, green and gold plaid tablecloth. Light from the antique crystal chandelier set above Jolene’s great-great-great grandmother’s mahogany dining table bounced off the lead crystal wine-glasses that adorned each place setting. Sterling silver utensils shone beside each plate. But nothing was as bright as the smile on Johanna’s face as she sat in the Chippendale dining chair at the head of the table, her wheelchair outside the room in the hallway at her insistence.
“Can you clear a place for the turkey?” Mateo stood in the doorway, balancing a large platter heaped with turkey in his hand. Morgan and Fiona, loaded with bowls of mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy and rolls, squeezed past him while Jolene made room for the platter and they all took their seats, jostling for position at the table.
Celeste bustled in, snowflakes powdering her blonde hair. Her cheeks were pink from the cold … or maybe it was from Cal, who was right behind her.
“I hope we’re not late.” She cast a worried glance around the table.
“Right on time.” Morgan scootched her chair closer to Luke and Celeste and Cal took the seats next to her.
Jolene watched everyone fill their plates, joking and laughing as they passed the dishes around. She knew she should feel warm and happy. This was the first time she and her sisters had celebrated a holiday since her mom disappeared and now she had her whole family, including her mom, plus Luke, Cal, Jake … and Mateo. She had a lot to be thankful for.
Jolene’s gaze drifted to Annabella and Gunner Swain at the opposite end of the table. Annabella’s recovery was nothing short of amazing. Only a week ago, she’d been barely able to hold a spoon and now, here she was sitting up at the table and eating on her own. She was still weak and had a ways to go, but it looked like the remedies Morgan had been grinding up in the magic mortar and pestle had done their job.
Jolene’s heart pinched—the mortar and pestle had worked for Annabella, but not for her. Though her memory was back to normal, her paranormal energy gifts had not returned, despite the daily herbal concoctions Morgan had made for her.
Jolene busied herself by making a crater in her mashed potatoes and spooning a lake of gravy into it, keeping her head down for fear that her face would give away her inner emotions. She didn’t want her selfish thoughts to spoil the day for anyone else.
“Where were you two?” Morgan wiggled her brows at Celeste and Cal.
Celeste flushed. “Actually, we were checking out the Finch graveyard.”
“Oh, is the new gravestone in?”
The girls had not only arranged to replace Ezra’s smashed stone with an exact replica, but they’d also gotten the special permission to bury Thaddeus there like he’d always wanted. It was the least they could do.
Celeste’s eyes sparkled. “Yes. The stone looks great, but the best part is that I saw Thaddeus and he’s very happy on the other side … and Ezra finally has his fourth for poker!”
Everyone laughed. Swain lifted his glass. “I’d like to propose a toast … to teamwork and everything we all have to be thankful for.”
Everyone clinked glasses. Jolene noticed Mateo was looking at her with concern. She plastered a smile on her face and wrangled some turkey and stuffing onto her fork.
Luke held the turkey leg he’d been gnawing away on from his mouth. “So, I wonder what ever happened to Overton.”
“I guess he got away,” Fiona shrugged. “Swain said he saw him go down some passage.”
Swain nodded. “It looked like there was some kind of tunnel to the back of the hill on the north side. I didn’t venture down it.”
“And he left Wendy in there with Bly?” Celeste slathered butter on a roll and popped a piece into her mouth.
Morgan reached over Jolene for the potatoes. “Are you surprised?”
“Not really.”
“I’m sure they’ll both land on their feet,” Fiona said around a mouthful of turkey.
Meow!
Jolene looked down to see Belladonna standing off to the side, her head cocked, her eyes narrowed as if she was chastising them for not including her in the celebration.
“Speaking of landing on your feet.” Mateo pushed up from the table. “I made Belladonna a special dish of turkey and giblet gravy.”
“
Meourrrr.
” Belladonna butted Mateo’s ankles with her forehead and then trotted off to the kitchen behind him, casting an ‘at-least-someone-thinks-I’m-special’ glance back at Jolene and her sisters.
“I’m surprised Bly never showed up here with his henchmen to try to get the relic.” Luke swiped stuffing from Morgan’s plate. “What did you guys do to him?”
“Fiona peppered them with some magic stones,” Celeste said. “I’m not sure Bly or any of his minions even survived.”
Fiona fidgeted in her chair, beaming proudly. Jolene’s heart danced for her sister, but the happy feeling was short-lived as she remembered her own loss of power. At least Fiona would have some defensive skills now. That would help them out, especially with Jolene out of commission for who knows how long. Maybe forever?
“Do you think they made it out of the mausoleum?” Morgan asked.
Jolene shrugged. “Who knows? Who cares? As long as they don’t come back here—”
“Oh, they made it out, all right.”
All heads swiveled toward the door, where Dorian Hall stood in her usual black blazer and slacks.
“Did we leave the door open again?” Morgan asked.
Dorian smiled and walked over to the table, leaning in to survey the offerings. She stuck her pinkie into the gravy bowl and licked the gravy off. “Yumm.” She turned an inquisitive face toward Mateo, who had come back from the kitchen. “Worcestershire sauce?”
“Hey, I can’t give all my secrets away,” Mateo said slyly.
“Would you like to join us?” Johanna offered.
“You might as well, now that you’ve ruined the gravy.” Jolene frowned into the gravy boat.
“No. I can’t stay,” Dorian said, ignoring Jolene’s sarcastic remark. “I just popped over to congratulate you on your success and pick up the relic. You will hand it over now, right?”
“As soon as you hand over our check,” Johanna said.
Dorian laughed and pulled a check out of her pocket. “I figured you wouldn’t forget.”
Johanna looked at Annabelle and Swain. “What do you think about handing it over?”
“That’s fine,” Swain said. “Morgan pre-mixed a month's worth of medicine in it and I think that should be enough.”
“Good,” Dorian said. “You guys did quite a number on Bly. I heard he and four of his men are still being treated for multiple burns.”
“Really?” Fiona smiled proudly.
“Yep. You put him out of commission for a while.”
“Well, that explains why he hasn’t bothered us,” Morgan said.
Dorian nodded. “And he won’t … at least not about
this
relic. Which brings me to the other reason I’m here.”
The sisters’ brows shot up in unison. “Oh?”
"I’m going to save you girls from suffering through a harsh Maine winter and send you someplace tropical. We’ve got a lead on the location of another relic that we need you to retrieve." She reached into her jacket and pulled out a large manila envelope. Jolene wondered how she managed to have that stashed in there and still look as slim as she did.
"Here’s the information and plane tickets. But you better pack bug spray." Dorian paused. Belladonna had entered the room, still licking gravy off her lips. The cat took one look at their new guest, humped her back and hissed. Dorian glared at Belladonna, then continued on, still looking at the cat with a sly smile on her face, "It's a very remote region and I hear the bugs are big enough, and hungry enough, to eat a small cat."
Later that night…
Jolene stacked the last of Johanna's fine china into the cabinet. After helping with the cleanup, everyone else had gone off visiting or retired to their rooms. Jolene had volunteered to put away their good dishes, glasses and sliverware, which were all now sitting in the china cabinet waiting for the next holiday. Would they be back in time for Christmas? Jolene hoped so—surely they'd be able to complete their mission before then.
Worry gnawed at her stomach. She wasn't sure what to expect on this new mission. She didn't know anything about the area but the prospect of giant, hungry bugs did not appeal to her. That was the least of her worries, though. If Dorian knew about this relic, that meant that others might, too … others that wanted the relic for themselves.
She flexed her fingers, straining for that powerful tingle she felt when she was in command of her gifts. Her heart sank—she barely felt anything. Would she be able to help her sisters fight off any paranormal bad guys they encountered in their search for this new relic?
If she didn't get her powers back soon, it could be deadly for the sisters. But she'd
tried
so hard. She'd even taken Fiona's advice about
believing
to heart, but that hadn't worked. It was almost as if something was stuck and she couldn't get her energy pattern started, like a car with a drained battery that needed a jump start.
"
Mawww!
"
Belladonna trotted into the room, looked up at Jolene and jerked her head toward the front door seconds before Jolene heard a noise at the door. She walked down the front hall to investigate. Mateo stood at the front door, his black duffel bag packed and ready to go.
"You're leaving?" Jolene wondered why she felt so disappointed.
"Yep, I'm heading out ahead of you." Mateo let the bag slip from his shoulder to the floor. "I'm your recon man. Not that you girls need help, judging by the way you handled Bly. You seem to be doing fine without me."
Jolene frowned, thinking of the times before she'd mastered her gifts that Mateo had mysteriously appeared just when she needed him most. It felt good to have someone watching her back. "I think we can always use an extra hand. We beat Bly in the mausoleum, but it was close."
He laughed. "Don't worry. If I thought you guys needed me, I would have been there. Fiona just had to believe and maybe you do, too."
Jolene signed and shifted on her feet. "Yeah, I tried that …"
He slipped his thumb under her chin, tilting her head up so she was forced to look into his velvety eyes.
“Don’t worry, it will come back." His lips were disturbingly close to hers, causing her heart to thud loudly. "Sometimes it just takes an extra push. A little magic."