Spell Booked (Retired Witches Mysteries Series Book 1) (25 page)

I find inspiration in the fire.

I find inspiration in the air.

I find inspiration in the water.

I find inspiration in the earth.

Elements: Inspire me!

The car was so silent on the way back to Wilmington that I turned on the radio. I switched it off just as quickly when loud 1970s music pumped out of it.

I looked at Elsie. She was staring blankly out the window. I wished that there were something I could say to reassure her. I wished there were something someone could say to reassure
me
.

Either we’d left what there was of Olivia on Oak Island for sketchy information, or it had been a good trade that would lead us to her killer. Either way, we’d left her there with the Bone Man. It wasn’t a pleasant thought.

“What do you think he wants with her?” Elsie asked. “Was it actually the staff he wanted, or Olivia?”

“I don’t know.” Truthfully, I didn’t want to think about it.

“This was a terrible thing to do.” Elsie’s voice cracked. “Forget what I said about wanting to stay a witch until I die. I wish I could renounce my magic right now!”

“We’ll get her back,” I promised. “We’ll find something the Bone Man will trade for her.”

“What would that be?” Elsie stared at me. “We wouldn’t have had to do any of this if the stupid council had done their job!”

There was another long silence between us until we reached Wilmington. I felt defeated, as Elsie did. I didn’t want to agree with her out loud. I was afraid we’d both get mired down in sorrow so deep that we’d never find our way out again.

“We have to follow the plan.” I turned on Front Street to head back to the shop. “We locate the person helping the witch, find Dorothy and the council shuts them down.

“Oh. Is that the plan, dear? How exactly are we going to do any of that?”

I pulled into the front parking space at the shop. A sharp, new black Corvette was parked next to us. The personalized license plate said “WCHYMAN.”

Oh brother!

It seemed to me that Brian had grown up with little or no guidance too. What was the next generation of witches going to be like if their parents didn’t take the time to train them? Brian’s parents and his grandfather surely knew that he was running wild. Why didn’t they help him?

“Oh look!” Elsie pointed. “It looks like my itching powder has done its job. There’s Brian.”

“You’re a miracle worker.”

“Not so much, but it’s nice to feel successful about
something
.”

I put the car keys into my bag. “I guess we’ll build on that!”

Brian was standing on the stairs. His frown was monumental on his handsome, young face. He held up the hand Elsie had doused with itching powder. It was bright orange and twice its normal size.

“I guess you know how this happened.” Brian looked directly at me. “I thought we were a team.”

“Sometimes these things happen for a reason,” I told him. “In this case, there’s something we’d like to talk to you about.”

“So you spelled me?”

“No, of course not.” Elsie was trying to break the locking spell on the door—not very successfully. “I noticed that orange moss in the cave last night. Some must’ve gotten on you, but we can clear it up like it never happened.”

She winked at me as I moved to help her with the door. Brian stayed where he was.

“I can’t believe you people did this to me.” He was still complaining. “What did I do to you? You asked for my help. I tried to give it. I almost got arrested for you.”

“It’s what we can do
for
you,” I assured him. “Have you ever thought of joining a coven?”

“So that’s what this is all about.” He nodded. “I knew you didn’t deform my hand and steal my wand for no reason.”

“Steal your wand?” Elsie shrugged as she looked for the antidote to the itching powder. “Don’t look at me. I never touch another witch’s tool. That’s my motto.”

“Come on. I know one of you did it.” He stared at me. “You knew where I kept it, Molly. I should never have trusted you to come with me.”

“I didn’t take your wand. We’ve been out on Oak Island all morning.” He was acting very strangely. Maybe I was too hasty thinking about inviting him into the coven. We’d watched Dorothy for months before putting the summoning spell on her.

“Look, this is getting old.” His voice deepened. “I
want
my wand.”

I thought about the string of magic thefts. This was probably one of them. Of course, we weren’t any closer to finding our spell book. I didn’t think there was anything we could do to help him.

“Here it is.” Elsie found the cream that would take away the effects of the itching powder. “Hold still a minute. This won’t hurt at all.”

“Was there a protection spell on your wand?” I watched them. “Otherwise, anyone could have taken it.”

“I’ve never had a protection spell on it,” he said. “I never needed one. But I have a finding spell on it. I don’t care who took it, I just want it back. My grandfather will kill me if I’ve lost it.”

“A finding spell!” Elsie clapped her hands. “Brilliant! If the same person who took our spell book took your wand, we can help each other.”

The insolent pup had the nerve to look at us as though we were beneath him. “No offense, but I don’t see what help you two could be. We couldn’t even do a locator spell last night!”

“We were able to conjure you here last night and hold you,” I reminded him.

He rolled his eyes. “Okay. I get your point. That’s the only thing good about a coven—they work together and the magic is stronger. But this doesn’t mean I want to be part of yours. I work on my own. I’m better that way. I’m only doing this because I owe you, Molly.”

I was leaning toward agreeing with him. I didn’t know who his parents were, but they’d given him an enormous ego for someone so young. It probably went along with council association.

“Let’s pinkie swear.” Elsie held up her pinkie finger. “I know it’s not real magic, but isn’t it fun?”

Brian held up his orange hand. “I’m missing a pinkie. When is that stuff gonna work?”

We talked about the finding spell Brian had used on his wand. It had never occurred to me to put a finding spell on our book. The protection spells we’d placed on it had seemed good enough.

The finding spell was set up to trace his wand from his room to the person who possessed it. I told him about our visit to the Bone Man.

“Look at the board over there.” I showed him the spot. “There are dozens of witches who have had their magic tools stolen.”

He looked at the notices on the board. “I get it. This witch’s accomplice is stealing the items, either for the witch or to sell. Either way, she doesn’t have any magic. We can take care of her easy.”

“I think it makes sense that the witch is protecting her helper. That’s why Olivia didn’t feel anyone sneak up on her in the alley that night.”

“Or the witch did the deed herself.” His gaze searched the room. “Where is Olivia?”

“We traded her for this information.” Elsie sighed. “The Bone Man has her.”

“The Bone Man.” He shuddered. “What does he want with her?”

“We don’t know,” I admitted. “She told us to leave her and find Dorothy. That’s what we did.”

“Do we have a plan for what we’re going to do if we find the dying witch’s thief?” Brian asked. “Just wondering before we get to that point.”

“I thought we could coerce the thief into telling us where the witch is.” I sat down with Isabelle on my lap. “Do you have any ideas?”

“I do have an idea.” Brian punched one hand into another. “I take back my wand and do something really bad to both of them. Maybe I’ll use some of Elsie’s itching powder on them.”

I urged caution. “We know the thief isn’t a witch, but he or she is probably dangerous anyway. We should be prepared for anything.”

“This could be the only chance we’ll have to catch her,” Brian added. “Let’s not screw it up.”

Elsie laughed. “I don’t think we have to worry about some random street thief. We have a lot of magic on our side. She’ll tell us what we want to know, or we’ll fix her little red wagon.”

He laughed. “How do you come up with these things? I wish my grandmother were as cool as you.”

“Why, thank you.” Elsie’s green eyes sparkled. “It’s not often that a witch my age is told that she’s cool.”

I felt like part of one of the movies frequently made in Wilmington as we walked out of Smuggler’s Arcane together. The lady at the bookshop next door smiled and waved and then apparently thought better of it as she got a good look at us. She darted behind her shop door and stared.

“You can ride with us, if you like,” I suggested to Brian.

“Are you kidding?” He ran his hand across the shiny surface of his Corvette. “A gift from my father when I graduated from high school. I never travel without it.”

I waved as I started the car and followed Brian out of the parking lot. I hoped our newly formed coalition would work. We’d known Brian for even less time than we’d known Dorothy, and what we knew about him wasn’t exactly heartening.

I knew he was sneaky and a bit underhanded. Maybe that could work in our favor. Elsie and I could be a little
too
aboveboard. It had never mattered before, but it might matter now. This witch and her accomplice weren’t playing fair, but we still kept acting like they were.

Brian’s magic was intense air magic, much stronger than Olivia’s had ever been. Still, it should be easy to tune our magic to his.

That was a good thing, because I didn’t expect Mr. Brannigan, Cassandra or any other member of the council of witches to show their faces while the real work was being done. They’d probably find some way to take credit for it later. I didn’t care as long as we got Dorothy back.

We approached the old apartment building where Brian lived. I followed him into the parking lot behind it. I wished Joe could have been there to help us with this part. He would’ve known what to do with a criminal who wasn’t a witch. But I still couldn’t ask him for help. Not as long as the witch behind it was involved.

“I hope you’re ready.” I turned to Elsie.

She took out her sword. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”

Brian was out of his car and searching the parking lot with worried eyes. “Maybe we should go somewhere we won’t be interrupted.”

“What about that little group of trees over there?” I pointed to the berm that had been planted to separate this parking lot and the one next door. There were a dozen tall pine trees and some smaller shrubs that might disguise us from prying eyes.

“That seems okay.” Brian led the way toward the trees. “You know, I put the finding spell on the wand, but I’m not sure how to invoke it.”

Elsie giggled. “I
knew
you needed us.”

“Just this one time.” His ego acted to protect him from the idea that he might always need help. “I know what I’m doing.”

“It sounds like it.” I didn’t want to be hard on him. If he stayed with us, he’d learn the right way of doing things.

We huddled close together in the island of trees between the two concrete seas. The three of us invoked our magic tools to find Brian’s wand. He muttered the enchantment he’d used, and we all took up the call to find what was lost.

The cars in the parking lots were stationary. No one came out of the buildings on either side of us. I could see the beginning of a fine, glistening thread of magic stretching from us and outward. It moved in the breeze like a spider’s web, catching the sun and growing toward the missing wand.

The thread of the finding spell reached out. It settled on a single person who was wearing a black jacket. We watched as that person walked into the parking lot and looked around, as though wondering what had brought her out there.

The amulet felt warm in my hand, but I didn’t need its magic to know who it was. “Lisbet?” I whispered, and saw her head turn toward me.

I call the storms. I summon the rain.

Hear me: bring the clouds again!

Lightning flash and thunder rumble.

Strike my enemies with your trouble!

“That’s the woman who works with your husband!” Brian pointed.

I kept my eyes on her. “I know.” She’d been right in front of me the whole time, and I hadn’t realized.

“Is it all right to kill her?” he asked.

“Of course not!” Elsie sighed. “The council frowns on that kind of behavior.”

“She’s the one who killed Olivia.” Brian said in a menacing tone.

I put my hand on his arm. “You don’t want revenge as much as
we
do. But for now, we have to let her live if we want to find the witch who really caused all of this.”

“What do you have in mind?” Brian asked.

“Let me talk to her. She knows me. I hope she trusts me.”

“Does she know you’re a witch?” Elsie watched Lisbet, who watched us.

“I don’t know. It’s possible. I’ll go with the assumption that she
does
know. The witch she works for has broken every other council rule. Telling her about magic would be the least of what she’s done.”

“Be careful, Molly.” Elsie grabbed my arm. “I can’t stand the idea that something could happen to you too.”

“I’ll be careful.” I hugged her. “Keep your sword handy.”

Brian nodded at me. “I could come with you.”

“Thanks, but I think I’ll do better on my own. My husband always says it’s good for the bad guy to think she has the upper hand. That way she thinks she’s in control.”

“So you can pounce and kill.” Brian held his thumbs up. “Sweet!”

I started walking down from the berm where we’d been hiding. I wasn’t sure what I was going to say to her. I had to swallow hard on my anger, thinking she might have been the one who killed Olivia.

I’d known Lisbet for ten years. She was involved in every aspect of our lives. I knew she wasn’t a witch. What had happened to make her this way? Had the witch spelled her?

She looked at me as I reached her. “What are you doing here again, Molly?”

“You
know
why I’m here.”

Lisbet’s inquisitive eyes swept the area. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. You should go on home now. I’m sure Joe is wondering where you are.”

“I know what you’ve done. I know
why
you’ve done it. No harm will come to you if you take me to the witch you’re working for.”

The smile on her thin face faded. “No, Molly. Please don’t get involved with it. I’ll leave town. I don’t want you to get hurt. You and Joe are like family to me. Leave it alone.”

“I can’t. She took someone dear to me. I want Dorothy back. You know where she is, don’t you?”

“No.” Lisbet shook her head. There were tears in her dark eyes. “She’ll kill me. She’ll kill
you
, Molly. I could never face Joe again. You have to leave it alone. She’ll release the girl when she’s done with her. When she’s back up to her full strength from absorbing all the magic, she’ll leave here. It will be over.”

“We can’t wait that long.” I put my hands on her arms as she sobbed. “You have to help me get her back before it’s too late. Her mother, my best friend in the world, is already dead. Dorothy can’t die too.”

Lisbet was sobbing, hanging like a rag doll. “No. Please don’t ask me to do this. I’ve done so much already. I didn’t want to kill your friend.
She
said it was the only way.”

I swallowed hard. She’d killed Olivia. “There are witches around us who want to kill you, Lisbet. You have to do as I say.”

“I’m not afraid of witches,” she sneered. “
She
protects me.”

“Unless she’s here right now, I suggest you listen carefully. You could be dead long before she could defend you.” I tipped my head toward the berm. “They’re waiting for your answer.”

A lightning strike came out of the otherwise clear sky. It struck so close to us that the ground shook beneath our feet.

I wasn’t sure how Elsie and Brian had managed it, but it was a nice touch.

Lisbet almost jumped out of her skin. The terror in her eyes was enough for me to know that she didn’t believe she was safe anymore.

“What was that?” She spun in a circle, trying to discover what had happened. “They can’t do anything to me. I’m protected.”

I looked at the amulet she wore. It was dead. If there had been magic in it, it was gone. What about the witch she worked for? Why didn’t she have Lisbet’s back? Did she realize we were closing in on her?

That could be dangerous for Dorothy. Panic seized me, but I had to stay calm.

“I tried to help you because of our past relationship. If you won’t listen, you’ll have to face their revenge.” I started to walk away.

“Wait.” She squinted, trying to see where her adversaries were. “I’ll take you to her. Maybe you can bargain with her for your friend’s daughter. I can’t make any promises.”

“Smart girl.” There was no way to guarantee this wasn’t a trick. We had to take a chance for Dorothy’s sake. “Let’s go.”

I got in my car. She climbed into the passenger side. “Where are the others?”

“They’re air witches. They have their own means of transportation.”

I thought a little magic myth was in order here, even if it wasn’t completely true. Of course they wouldn’t get on their brooms and meet us there. I hoped Elsie and Brian got the idea.

“What in the world is she doing?” Elsie asked as she watched my car pull out of the parking lot.

“I don’t know. But I’m following her,” Brian said. “Come on!”

We drove into the old town part of Wilmington, near the river. This wasn’t an area I’d pegged as the lair of a rogue witch. The buildings were in disrepair—windows broken and doors hanging open. It didn’t even look like anyone was living here.

“She’s lived here for five hundred years,” Lisbet said. “She’s seen the whole world change. She wants to stay alive. I don’t blame her.”

“How did you get involved with her?”

“She offered me something no one else could—magic and power. I couldn’t say no. She showed me a whole world that I didn’t know existed. She opened my eyes.”

“And that was enough to kill my friend?” My voice shook, and my hands trembled on the steering wheel.

“I didn’t have any choice, Molly. She needed your friend’s magic and your spell book. Your friend wasn’t the only witch I’ve had to kill. I’m sorry for that—but not for what I’ve seen and done. You can’t know the freedom and excitement of real power until you’ve felt it.”

I wanted to strike her down. I’d never entertained that thought before. We would never even sell items needed for a death spell or potion at Smuggler’s Arcane. This was different. I wanted her to be dead like Olivia—her throat slit in a dark alley.

I had
never
used my magic to hurt anyone in my life. I had never even thought about it. But at that moment, if common sense hadn’t prevailed, I would have killed her.

I quickly pushed those thoughts aside. I didn’t want Lisbet to see me that way. She was trained as a detective to pick up on those signals. Revenge had to wait.

And there was the witch to deal with. I fingered my amulet, not at all sure I could face such a creature. The only thing that kept me keep going was reminding myself about Dorothy and Olivia. I had to finish this.

I parked the car outside the sagging redbrick building. All of the windows were painted black. The front door was barely on its hinges. There were runes scratched into the wood at the windows and doors. This close, I knew that a witch protected this place.

And yet those runes were as useless as the amulet Lisbet wore. Was the witch so close to death that she couldn’t maintain her spells?

I hoped so. It might be the only chance I had to stand up to her.

“She’s in here.” Lisbet glanced around the deserted alley and then grinned. “I hope you know what you’re doing, Molly. I don’t think she’s going to like that I brought you here.”

“I’m sure she won’t. On the other hand, she’s infuriated the witches in Wilmington, not to mention the werewolf community.”

Her eyes were enormous in her sallow face. “There are
werewolves
in Wilmington?”

I didn’t answer. “Shall we go upstairs?”

I could feel Elsie and Brian behind us, even though I couldn’t see them. A witch can have relationships that are strong enough to make her aware when those people are near. I hadn’t known Brian long, but he was already one of those people.

The door creaked as Lisbet opened it. The foyer of the old building was disgusting with garbage, filth and dead rats. The stench almost made me vomit. I covered my nose with my hand and kept going.

We walked around the debris, and I set my foot on the groaning stairs. Around me, paint was peeling from the walls, and the ceiling was dripping with moisture. It had been a long time since the witch who lived here had done anything, magic or not, to maintain the place.

We came to a landing at the top of the stairs. The structure was set up more like an apartment building than a house. There were several doors off the landing. Underfoot, the carpet was threadbare and covered with mold. Where I could see it, there were holes in the wood floor beneath it.

“Careful where you walk,” Lisbet warned as she danced around the pitfalls. “It’s this way.”

I saw her open the door that led to the witch’s hidden sanctum. Terror so sharp I could taste it almost stopped me. I could hardly force my feet to move forward. My whole body shook with it.

Anger had sustained me to this point. Now—alone and about to face a monster—I could scarcely breathe. I wished that I had a staff or some other bulky item to hold on to. Holding the tiny cauldron and the amulet in my hand wasn’t enough.

I put one foot in front of the other carefully to follow Lisbet’s tracks. I silently urged my friends to be coming up the stairs behind us, even though I knew they weren’t that close. I hoped I could find something to distract the witch until we could face her together. I couldn’t do this alone.

“What’s taking you so long?” Lisbet called from the doorway. “Not
scared
, Molly, are you?”

I set my chin and stared her down. “I’m not afraid of your witch.”

“Great! Come on inside then. My
mother
is waiting.”

Her
mother
? Lisbet’s mother was the rogue witch. Lisbet had no magic. Her mother had promised her magic if she could keep her alive. It was a lie—a lie that had cost more than one witch her life. Magic couldn’t be gifted. But Lisbet obviously didn’t know that.

The odor coming from the apartment where Lisbet had disappeared was even worse than the hall and stairs. It was dark in the room, with the windows painted over. The stench of mildew and mold added to the smell of decay. I wanted nothing more than to run in the opposite direction. Every nerve and muscle was trying to pull me away.

When I was completely inside the apartment, the heavy door slammed closed behind me. I tried not to panic. Running would only make me seem weak at a time when I needed to appear strong, whether I was or not.

Panic is our great enemy
, Elsie had once told me when I was very young.

Illusion is a witch’s best friend.