Spell Booked (Retired Witches Mysteries Series Book 1) (24 page)

Rain slash and thunder rumble,

Elements! keep me out of trouble.

Cold night and warm day,

Let nothing stand in my way.

It took about an hour to follow the coastline to the ferry landing that would take us to Oak Island. We passed the North Carolina Aquarium and the Confederate historic site Fort Fisher on the way.

The gray Atlantic crashed on the shore after a night of wind and rain. Seeing the ocean so close made me yearn to go into it. The water called to me—the deeper the better.

But there wasn’t time. I had to be content seeing it, stretched across the horizon, as the conversation in the car swirled around me.

“I think we last went to see the Bone Man when we were making a charm for Regan Thomas,” Elsie said.

“Regan Thomas?” Olivia wrinkled her forehead as she tried to think who that was.

“She was the teacher at the high school who took the basketball team to the state finals,” I reminded her. “Mike was a senior that year. He was on the team. We looked up a spell to help them, and it needed a shell only located at the bottom of the sea.”

“That should’ve told us something right there.” Elsie shook her head.

“Did the team win?” Olivia asked. “I can’t recall.”

“Oh, they won,” Elsie said. “But the coach lost all her hair. I think that was when we first noticed that our magic wasn’t what it had been.”

Olivia laughed. “We’ve had such adventures together. I’m glad that’s not entirely over because I’m dead.”

This reminder of her present state was depressing. There had been banter and chatter about it since the event that I’d ignored. This one pushed deep into my soul and created a hole there that I knew would never be filled.

I pulled the car up to the gate where the tickets for the ferry were issued. The ferryman told us it would be about twenty minutes until the boat was ready to leave again. We were welcome to pull the car into the parking lot.

“You should feel right at home on Oak Island since it’s haunted.” Elsie grinned. “Maybe you can find some of your own kind to play with, Olivia.”

“I’m still a witch, even though I’m dead,” Olivia protested. “I don’t want to hang around with any ghosts.”

I pulled the car smoothly into the parking space. We got out and brought umbrellas with us since it still threatened rain. Elsie and I walked around the boat, looking at the ocean splashing up against its hull.

Olivia was peering at the bearded captain in the wheelhouse, practicing writing her name in the mist on the window.

“I didn’t have a chance to tell you,” Elsie whispered. “I left Brian with a little surprise this morning. He’ll be back to see us in the next few days.”

“What did you do?”

She giggled. “I put some itching powder in his hand when he shook mine. It’s time-released so it won’t show up right away. He’ll come to us when it does, and you’ll have your chance to pitch him joining our coven.”

“That was a sneaky idea. Good, but sneaky. Maybe we can retire even if we can’t find the spell book, if we find the witches to take our places.”

She looked into the deep water. “I don’t know. If we can find Dorothy, and Brian will join us, I’d like to stay here. We wouldn’t need the book. I could guide another pair of young witches around the pitfalls of magic.”

“It would be all right to retire, Elsie. Hundreds of witches do it every year. It won’t be the end.”

She shrugged. “It’s okay for you—you have Joe. I’d be alone without a coven. I know my magic isn’t what it used to be. Maybe I can find an amulet like yours to recharge it.”

“You could have mine, if I could get it off.”

“I can’t believe your mother didn’t say anything to you about its power.”

“I don’t think she ever wore it. Maybe not Grandma Faye either. I don’t think they knew what it could do.”

We both stared out at the horizon, as though the answer to our problems were there in the quickly moving gray clouds and rolling sea flecked with white.

There were still only two other passengers on the ferry when they closed the boarding ramp and started making way.

Olivia found us. “This is
really
exciting. I’m so glad I came now. I can’t wait to get to the island.”

Elsie and I huddled under our umbrellas. The air was cold once we’d started moving. But it was filled with tiny drops of rain that the wind occasionally blew back at me. It lifted my spirit out of the doldrums where it had come to rest.

“I’m a little nervous about going to meet the Bone Man again.” Olivia flitted back and forth across the boat. The wind didn’t move her incorporeal form. “I remember hearing that he doesn’t like ghosts, and that he got rid of a few on Oak Island when he took up residence there.”

“I’m sure he’ll be fine with you,” Elsie said. “If he’s not, we’ll protect you.”

“Maybe I should stay on the boat. I don’t want my half-life to be any shorter.”

“A lot of what we’ve heard about the Bone Man probably isn’t true.” I wanted to make less of the man’s reputation. I didn’t want any of us to be scared of him when we got there. That could spell disaster.

“Such as?” Olivia was willing to be reassured.

“Well, those bones he wears, for example.” Elsie’s eyes narrowed as she thought about it. “I’ve heard the bones belong to his enemies. He took them when he killed them.”

“How is that supposed to make us feel better?” Olivia demanded.

“I don’t know.” Elsie shrugged. “I just thought it was a good story.”

“Think again.”

“I’m sure there’s a lot of mythology about him that’s not true.” I pulled my coat closer against the cold. “He can’t possibly live up to the reputation everyone has given him.”

Elsie nodded. “I think he can, Molly.”

“Well, the two of you are no help at all!” Olivia circled around the boat and came back to us. “I’m glad Dorothy isn’t here today. At least
she
isn’t scared of the Bone Man.”

“There’s the island,” Elsie pointed out. “Too late to turn back now.”

“Just remember—no magic on the island if we want to trade with the Bone Man. He’s got a thing about it.”

“I’ll be good, Mom.” Elsie laughed. “Look how
good
we were last night with Brian. It was like reeling in a big fish. I could feel him pulling back, but we held on to him. What a moment!”

The ferry bumped against the rocky shore of Oak Island. It had been a pirate hangout for many years and a smuggler’s hold for many more. The lighthouse still stood sentinel to the wild forces of the Atlantic, protecting ships passing by. We weren’t far from the Graveyard of the Atlantic, where so many sailors had lost their lives for generations.

“We have to find the old cemetery.” Elsie’s whisper was whipped away by the stiff, cold breeze.

Gulls wheeled and turned in to the wind, crying out for their breakfast. The pungent smell of fish permeated the area, enticing them.

No witch would come here unless she needed something. The Bone Man knew that. Among his many myths were tales that he lived in the old cemetery that was hidden in the sparse trees that grew on the island. It wasn’t a public place, although travelers had sought it out for generations. This was where you came for love spells and spells to make your enemy vanish.

The Bone Man might
not
be a witch, but he had the reputation of one.

“There are some who say he’s dead.” Olivia repeated another story. “Maybe now that I’m a ghost, I’ll be able to tell.”

We got off the boat and trudged along the sandy paths that would lead where we needed to go. Each of us was lost in our own thoughts. I held Olivia’s staff in one hand.

Olivia’s mind was on Dorothy. “She’s a fighter, like her mother, you know. I’m so sorry I missed out on all those years with her. On the other hand, I bypassed the smelly diapers and the baby drool. Maybe it’s just as well. Now she’s a lovely young woman who’s neat and clean and smart. We have to get her back, Molly.”

“We will. You did what you had to do. Once she’s finished with her training, it won’t matter if she runs across her father.”

“Do you really think so?” she asked in a scared little-girl voice. “I feel so guilty.”

“I would’ve done the same thing,” Elsie said. “In fact, I’m sorry I didn’t have that opportunity. It might have been nice
not
to have a daughter at all.”

“Oh, you don’t mean that,” Olivia chided. “You love Aleese. I know you do.”

Elsie sighed. “I’m sure you’re right. I wish she were a witch though. I’m jealous of you having Dorothy.”

Olivia preened a little, in ghost fashion. “Thank you. She
is
very special.”

The wind felt colder out here on this tiny scrap of land. It whistled around us as it blew across the stony outcropping. The angry waves continued to fall against the shore, foam puffing up where the water left the sand.

The cemetery wasn’t a long walk from the dock, but Elsie and I were out of breath by the time we saw the familiar old headstones. We’d always been too frightened by the thought of meeting the Bone Man again to take the time to look at the names carved into those slabs of stone.

I believed there were witches buried here—not witches that he’d killed, but those who’d lived here hundreds of years ago. I’d once read about a colony of witches who had settled here in the 1400s to get away from the Inquisition in Europe.

Nothing was really known about them. History stopped being interested in them after they got here, it seemed. I wondered if the Bone Man was one of their descendants. That would explain why he lived here—and his abilities.

The ghost stories might not be true at all. Many ghost hunters had fantastic tales to tell about their adventures here. I didn’t believe them, even though tales of hauntings had circulated through the area for years. Witches and ghosts usually didn’t mix. This place was hallowed ground for magic. It seemed unlikely ghosts would want to be here.

“Keep your thoughts clear,” I whispered as a reminder. “We don’t want the Bone Man reading us like the Sunday paper, or we’ll lose our bargaining power.”

Elsie did the mime trick of zipping her mouth and throwing away the key. Olivia stared at the cemetery before us and nodded.

Together, we started into the cemetery, passing the old headstones. There were a few sculptures of sleeping angels and crosses. I remembered them well. The path was always a little overgrown. The sand snagged at any unwary foot.

I held Elsie’s hand in mine. We were both cold and trembling. I wanted to be strong—the anchor for our coven—but the truth was that I was terrified. I knew Elsie was too. I wished that Olivia weren’t a ghost but were still there with us, flesh and blood. With three of us, it always felt safer coming here.

A small whirlwind of brown leaves suddenly rose up before us. Out of it, the Bone Man appeared.

“Ladies. How may I be of service today?”

Bless the morning,

Bless the day.

Bless the tide,

Bless my cares that float away.

Olivia disappeared for a moment, and Elsie drew in a frightened breath.

I clutched Elsie’s hand tightly. My heart was pounding, and my legs felt like rubber, but I knew I had to hide my fear if I wanted to negotiate with the Bone Man.

“We’ve come to make a trade.” I released Elsie’s hand. Being the recent mother of a teenager and the wife of a homicide detective had made me an expert in being terrified and hiding it.

The Bone Man stood at least seven feet tall. He was emaciated, joints sticking out prominently. His head was barely a skull, too small for the rest of him. His hands and feet were very large and bony too. He wore no shoes or gloves. His mouth was stained red.

His black eyes appeared larger than they should have been, like a painting out of correct dimension. They stared right through me. The wind rattled the dried bones that hung from around his neck and accentuated his worn black suit. It looked as though he’d taken it from a corpse in the cemetery, of a fashion I’d only seen in books from the 1700s.

He rubbed his hands together. “Always willing to make a trade. What have you got for me?”

Elsie brought her hoard out of her pocket, her hand trembling so that she dropped her dried lizard.

He eyed her offerings. “And what do you want from
me
?”

“We want to know who kidnapped our friend Dorothy Lane. We think it was a person who trades in magic antiquities, not a witch.” My voice was a little shaky, but it came out okay.

“Kidnapping, eh?” He grinned, showing rotted teeth. “Bad business.”

“So you’ll help us?”

“Not for that meager fare.” He spit on Elsie’s trades and pushed them aside with his foot. “What else have you got for me?”

We put everything we’d brought with us on the ground at his feet. He looked all of it over with a jaundiced eye.

“Either you don’t know what’s going on or you think I’m a fool.” He laughed, the sound shivering through us. “Since I know you don’t think I’m a fool, I’ll say good-bye now, and no harm done.”

“Think of something, Molly,” Elsie urged in a tiny voice.

“I don’t know what else to offer. This is all we brought.”

The Bone Man swiveled on one long, thin leg to face us again. “
All?
I don’t think so.”

I wasn’t sure what he meant and was a little flustered. The last time we’d traded with him, he’d barely said two words to us. We’d gone back for the toenails, and he’d given us what we needed.

Having a real conversation with him was unnerving. My instinct was to run away as fast as I could rather than look into those cold black eyes again.

“What is it
you
want?” I thought he must have something in mind that we weren’t considering.

“Now we’re ready to trade.” He stepped close to me, one eye squinted almost closed.

I could smell death on him. His bony finger reached out and pointed at the amulet around my neck but didn’t touch me.

“I’d like that fine piece.” He stared at my throat. “But only blood can take it. Even you can’t gift it.”

I was glad he didn’t want it, though I would’ve given it to solve the mystery of who had Dorothy. His words were puzzling. What was it about the amulet that made everyone want it?

Unfortunately, asking that question would’ve meant another trade that we didn’t have payment for. Maybe another time.

I marshaled all my resolve and got past how close he was to me. The feeling of snakes and spiders crawling over me lingered as I met his gaze. I knew there wasn’t enough hot water and soap in the world to get rid of that.

“What then? What will you take for the information we need?”

“There’s only one thing you have that is worth the price of what I can tell you.” He nodded at the staff in my hand. “That will do it.”

“You can’t have her,” Elsie protested. “We don’t need your help that much.”

“He’s talking about my staff.” Olivia’s voice was shaky. “He wants
me
.”

“No!” Elsie grabbed the staff and clutched it to her chest. “You can’t have it.”

The Bone Man shrugged and started to walk away again.

“Wait!” Olivia called him back.

“No. We can’t do this.” The wind was blowing Elsie’s faded curls into her angry face. “We can’t give you away. Without the staff, we’ll never see you again.”

“You have to do it.” Olivia kept her loosely held form between us. “We have to know what happened, not just for me, but for Dorothy. You have to find her. Find my killer too!”

“I don’t want to lose you.” I realized that I was sobbing, tears dropping off my chin. “We’ll find another way. There’s got to be another answer.”

“Don’t be that way, girls. Maybe there will be something you can trade later and get me back. If not, I’ve lived my life.” She smiled, but I could see ectoplasm tears running down her face. “Come on. Let’s do this now and find Dorothy. Take care of the problem, Molly. Don’t worry about me.”

Her sacrifice made horrible sense to me.

Maybe because we were desperate.

Maybe because we were standing in the middle of the graveyard with the Bone Man.

In hurried words, I persuaded Elsie to trade the staff for the knowledge. Olivia kept urging us to do it before it was too late.

“Wait.” I stopped the Bone Man before he could disappear. “We’ll do it.”

He grinned as he turned around. “Give it here then.”

Crazy courage that I didn’t even know I had made me call him on the deal. “You’ll get it when we have what we need.”

His corpselike face grew as angry and fierce as a storm on the ocean. “You doubt my word, witch? I have
never
gone back on a trade.”

“And we are trading the spirit of our beloved sister to you for the information we seek. We won’t do it until we hear what you have to say.”

I didn’t think he was going to do it. I thought he’d walk away and we wouldn’t see him again. In some ways, I wished that would happen. I wanted to get Dorothy back, but the price was too high.

Instead, he pushed his face near mine. “You’re a rare one, aren’t you? Or is it the amulet talking?”

I could barely breathe. The stench was overwhelming, but that was mild compared to my utter terror at looking into his face. There were shadows in his eyes that no one should ever have to see this side of the grave.

In a voice that was almost lost in the wind, I answered. “I don’t know what the amulet does. I don’t know why everyone wants it. I do know that my friend’s spirit is tied to this staff. We don’t want to give that up. But we will—if you can prove to us that you have what we need.”

He backed up and spit in his palm. “Done.”

I swallowed hard and shook his icy claw.

“Don’t worry,” Elsie whispered, “I have hand sanitizer in the car.”

I held the staff. Olivia stayed close beside me. “What can you tell us, Bone Man?”

“There is a dying witch who will do anything to taste immortality. She has already killed and stolen magic from countless witches. She wears many guises but none so innocent as the human without magic who aids her. She has promised a taste of magic that the human was not born to. It is a trick, but her slave is not aware.”

“How do we find this witch?” I asked.

“You cannot find her. You can, however, find the one who serves her. It is she who took your friend’s life and your spell book. She will lead you to the witch who has stolen Dorothy Lane.”

“How will we know her?”

“Follow the trail she has left behind.”

I opened my mouth to ask for something less vague. Surely after the sacrifice we were making, we deserved more detailed information.

“And come back, Molly Addison Renard, if you’d like instruction on the use of that amulet. I’m sure you could find
something
to trade for it.”

He laughed, the sound echoing around us in the trees.

When I looked up, he was gone. Olivia and the staff were gone with him.

“Is that it?” I raged to the open cemetery. “That trade wasn’t worth it. We want our friend back.”

Elsie was softly crying, wiping tears gently from her eyes. “She’s gone. I feel like Jack, getting beans for Olivia, my cow.”

Despite my rage and frustration, I smiled. A bright shaft of sunlight broke through the dark clouds above us. The cold wind suddenly smelled like roses after a summer rain.

“It’s going to be okay,” I told her. “We’re going to find Dorothy. We’ll come back for Olivia.”

“But, Molly—” Elsie could barely speak. “We can’t just leave
her
here.”

“It’s what she wanted for now. We have to go home and find Dorothy. That’s what’s important. That’s why Olivia gave herself to the Bone Man. Let’s go.”

We walked quickly out of the cemetery. The ferry had returned when we reached the dock. Elsie and I got on board. We stared at the ocean as we left the island.

“That was too vague.” Elsie pounded her fist on the side of the boat. “How are we supposed to know who this woman is? It’s not like we haven’t looked around. It could be any woman in Wilmington.”

“We’re strong.” I put my arm around her. “Our magic will lead us to the woman, and we’ll know what to do.”

Elsie shook her head, her lined face defeated. She walked across the boat to stand on the other side, watching as Oak Island disappeared.

Did I really believe that we’d come back for Olivia?

I had to. It was the only way I could bear to leave her.