Witcher Upper

by Amy Boyles

  “But what if someone could see them?”

  She hiked a shoulder to her ear. “Impossible. I hampered everyone’s magic so that all they could work were simple spells, nothing complicated.”

  “Ah, no wonder they were mad.”

  I remembered Norma Ray saying that Sadie was as bad as her mother. Malene and Urleen hadn’t agreed, but they hadn’t disagreed either.

  “So mad I had to leave, which was fine by me.” She sighed heavily. “And that’s why I never returned until now. But anyway,” she said, scooting out of the booth, “I suppose we should be going. I don’t want to take up any more of your time.”

  We headed toward the door and I understood why folks were now angry at Hannah.

  And I also realized that this meant that Malene and her quilting bee were witches.

  Chapter 17

  I dropped Hannah off at the bed and breakfast and couldn’t stop thinking about what Willard and she had told me. The spells that Rufus had somehow summoned or dug up or whatever could be seen by the two of us but not by anyone else.

  What did that mean?

  I shook my head. It didn’t mean anything. It was probably simply that Hannah’s spell was wearing off, that’s all. Whatever she had done to make sure the magic was dead and buried to the residents, it was just changing and breaking.

  But still, it seemed so strange that as soon as Rufus appeared, we were able to see them.

  Maybe it wasn’t me with the talent, but Rufus. Perhaps because of what had happened between us, what he had done to me, I could see the magic because of him, because of some sort of tether that joined us.

  I shivered. It needed to go away, these thoughts of him. But still, there was a mystery there, one that, like it or not, I was involved in.

  And what about Sadie?

  I nearly jumped in my seat. Her keys were still in my purse. If there was money hiding in her house or anything else that would help me pay off the debt to the wizard mafia, it would be there.

  Decision made, I headed over to Sadie’s, which luckily wasn’t too far away from my own house.

  When I stepped through her front door, an overwhelming sense of loss struck me. Her jacket hung by the door, her favorite bunny slippers sat by the couch, and the glossy home decor magazines she loved to read perched on the coffee table.

  I couldn’t breathe and I couldn’t think. All I could do was feel, and I felt abandoned, y’all. The realization that I had lost my best friend crushed me.

  Moving like a zombie, I made my way over to the couch, sat down and cried for a good twenty minutes before I was able to haul myself up and start searching.

  The most likely place to hide money was the bedroom closet. Clothes lay neatly piled on the bed that was made. I texted Liam, asking if the funeral home needed clothes for her, and while I waited for his reply, I set about searching.

  Would you believe that every shoebox only held shoes? Sadie was the only person I knew who would actually keep shoeboxes to store her shoes. After combing through those and bags, no money could be found.

  The surfaces were all clean, too. I couldn’t find hide nor hair of her phone, which still bothered me. Where the heck was it?

  By that time Liam had replied, asking for me to pick out clothes for Sadie. So I returned to the closet and retrieved her favorite black leather jacket and skinny jeans. There was no way Sadie would have wanted to be put in the ground wearing polyester. My girl would have wanted to be in cotton, leggings, or skinny jeans.

  So jeans it was.

  The next two hours were spent riffling through the hall closet, in cupboards, drawers, even the cotton-ball box, to see if Sadie had stashed one dollar in them.

  But sure enough, they were empty. The last place to search was the desk in her office. I plopped onto the chair, convinced that I would never at this point find any money, and stared at the glass-topped surface, running my fingers over the cool lid.

  A notepad sat to one side with a few words jotted in Sadie’s handwriting.

  Dooley’s barn 9 p.m.

  I gave it a double take. Right there in front of me was proof that Sadie had gone to meet someone.

  The blasted phone would tell! If only I had it.

  I raked my fingers down my face, letting my nails bite into my flesh. Obviously it wouldn’t do to leave my skin scarred, but I didn’t know what else to do. The note proved she went out to meet someone. Chief Sluggs wouldn’t listen to me when I tried to convince him that Sadie had been murdered, and now he thought I was some sort of suspect.

  What kind of crazy world was I living in?

  Oh, and to make it all worse, Rufus, the man I hated, had shown up and he could see spells that no one else could and somehow he had dragged me into that ability.

  On top of that, I didn’t even hate Rufus as much as I wanted to.

  There, I admitted it. Did I trust him? No, but the idea of zapping him into the future with my magic seemed off the table. It wasn’t fair to him. Never thought I’d say that—that I felt sympathy for Rufus Mayes.

  The world had changed and at the speed of light.

  I grabbed the pad of paper and stuffed it in my purse.

  Since there obviously wasn’t any money stashed in Sadie’s house, I didn’t see any reason to linger. So I grabbed the clothes she was to be buried in and headed for the front door.

  A shadow cut across the front porch. The old wooden boards creaked and someone whispered.

  The killer! Maybe they had returned to rifle through Sadie’s things. It was possible. But why were they whispering?

  It didn’t matter. There was no time to think about that. What I needed to focus on was the fact that the killer or killers stood only feet away.

  My gaze flickered around the room. In one corner a baseball bat leaned against the wall. Trying to be as silent as possible, I tiptoed over, snatched it and sneaked back to the door.

  Scratching came from the other side. It was almost like a tapping, as if the person whose shadow cut across the glass was ticking their nail against the knob to see how it worked.

  My heart jacked up, and sweat sprouted on my forehead. I inhaled a deep breath and waited for the door to open.

  Yes, I know that I held a baseball bat and that I could use magic to attack instead, but I wasn’t comfortable with that. After all, my magic worked by charging up. It would be risky to just throw my arm out and touch whoever stepped over the threshold. What if they sliced my arm with a knife? What if they shot me with a gun?

  Those were not good future events.

  The baseball bat felt slick in my hands. Great. I was sweating so badly that when the killer entered, the bat would probably fly right out of my grasp and go through a window.

  So I tightened my grip and held my breath as the knob turned. They moved slowly, whoever they were, taking their time to open the door wide.

  More whispers sounded from the porch. Oh no, it was probably the entire unionized wizard mafia come to the house. How could I fight so many folks? Georgie had magic, and I was certain Sykes Laffoon did, too.

  The shadow stepped forward, and a head popped into view. I saw a flash of blue hair and glasses and exhaled sharply.

  Malene heard me exhale, and her head snapped in my direction. She took one look at me holding the bat and screamed.

  The look on her face shocked me, and I yelled, too, dropping the bat, which then hit me on the foot. My toes throbbed in pain and I kept yelling. Then suddenly the entire quilting bee appeared in Sadie’s house with knitting needles raised and pointed at me, as if they were about to gouge out my eyes.

  I screeched and stumbled back, falling onto the floor. My rear end connected painfully and sharp pain flared up my back.

  Malene threw her hands out. “Everyone stop screaming!”

  The room quieted. Norma Ray and Urleen dropped the needles back into their purses.

  Malene glared at me, both fists on her hips. “Clementine Cooke, what in the world are you doing snooping around
Sadie’s place?”

  I slowly rose, my foot and back throbbing. “I came by to see if Sadie had stashed any loot here.” I pointed to them. “What are y’all doing, and why were you aiming knitting needles at me?”

  Urleen sniffed. “We keep them for protection. You can’t expect us not to protect ourselves.”

  “No, I suppose not.” My gaze cut to Malene. “What’re y’all doing here, anyway?”

  “We were walking by and saw a shadow in the house. We figured somebody was in here and up to no good, so we decided to investigate.”

  “You almost gouged out my eyes,” I said sharply.

  Malene smirked. “You’re being dramatic. No one almost did that.” She surveyed the house. “Why’re you looking for money?”

  “Because I’m broke and Sadie stole it. All of it.”

  Norma Ray patted my hand before brushing past me. “Come on into the kitchen. I’ll put on a pot of coffee, and you can tell us all about it.”

  A few minutes and an empty pot of coffee later, the women had the entire story about the money and Sadie’s lies.

  “What I can’t figure out is why she was still stealing,” I said. “Her mother was well and had been.”

  Malene’s mouth pinched into an expression that I wouldn’t quite call a frown, but it was definitely more than a thin line. “Like mother, like daughter.”

  I scowled. “I really don’t think Sadie was stealing for her own evil purposes.”

  Malene pointed toward the house. “Then where’s the money?”

  “That’s why we have to find the killer.” I took another sip of coffee, trying to find a way to gently raise a subject that I wasn’t sure Malene would talk about. “I met Sadie’s mom, Hannah, and found out why folks hate her.”

  The three women exchanged a look. Norma Ray spoke. “Oh? And what exactly did you find out?”

  Oh crap. They were supposed to jump right on in and say they knew about the hidden spells. Was this a trap?

  “Well,” I said slowly, “I discovered that Hannah hid something from the town.”

  Another look exchanged.

  “What sort of thing?” Norma Ray asked. “Was it a clock? Like one of those big ones in the town square.”

  Like, where did Norma Ray come up with this stuff?

  She shook her head before anyone could answer. “I know what it was. She stole all the children. But I’m pretty sure she must’ve given them back because I see plenty of grown-ups walking around.”

  I nearly slapped my face.

  Malene’s expression soured. “Norma Ray, you know very well that it wasn’t children or a clock that Norma Ray hid in Peachwood.”

  Urleen pulled a flask from her purse, unscrewed it and poured a heavy load into the three women’s cups. “I hate to drink before five, but it seems like we might need it with what we’re about to discuss.”

  Malene sipped her coffee laced with whiskey and grimaced. “That hits the spot. Tell me, Clem, what is it that Hannah hid?”

  I sucked my teeth, worried. But at the same time I’d already decided that the three of these women had to be witches. They just had to be.

  I tapped my finger on Sadie’s kitchen table. “Hannah told me that she hid all the complicated spells in town. She hid them away because people were being irresponsible.”

  Malene nodded. “That’s true. She did.”

  I exhaled. “So you are witches.”

  Norma Ray shook her head. “Oh, dear, we’re more than witches.”

  I stared at them, shocked. “Then what are y’all?”

  Malene pulled off her glasses and rubbed them clean with a cloth. She stared at me long and hard. The room suddenly felt stifling, and I considered opening a window while I waited for Malene to answer. But then that would just let the humidity in, which would be worse.

  Finally she spoke and the tension disappeared. “You might as well know. What Norma says is true. We’re more than witches.” Her eyes narrowed. “We’re also spell hunters.”

  Chapter 18

  “You’re what?” I said, confused.

  Urleen patted my hand. “We’re spell hunters, dear. It’s sort of an elevated witch.”

  “I don’t understand. I’ve never heard of such a thing.”

  Norma Ray stirred her coffee with her finger. “You’re entitled not to know anything about us. After all, you don’t even want to be a witch.”

  I flared out my hands. “Okay, first of all, would everyone stop saying that?”

  “If the shoe fits,” Norma Ray said.

  “Don’t worry about it, dear,” Urleen replied. “It’s just that some things are obvious.”

  I wanted to shout so loudly that I blew off the roof. “Would one of y’all just please explain this without judging me and my own abilities?”

  “I’ll go,” Malene said. “The three of us are spell hunters, as we said. In our youth we sought out long-lost spells—the kind that had been forgotten.”

  “How?” I asked.

  Malene’s tone suggested it was the simplest thing in the world. “Why, we looked for them. You’d be surprised at what you can find in an old field.”

  “She means along with arrowheads,” Urleen added.

  “You can also find spells,” Norma Ray added.

  I squinted, trying to wrap my mind around this. “So you used to hunt for spells.”

  “We hunted everywhere,” Malene said whimsically, her eyes glassing up. “There used to be thousands out in the fields here, in fact. Just old spells that had to be raised and then used or left for the next person.”

  She meant the orbs. “Why would you hunt them?” I asked.

  Urleen rubbed her thumb and fingers together. “People pay good money for the right spell.”

  “But can’t anyone read a spell?” I asked, thinking of my own experience with the balls of light. They were easy to decipher.

  “No,” Urleen said flatly. “It takes a certain talent. Most witches won’t be able to tell a simple glamour spell from a burping curse.”

  Strange.

  “Anyway,” Malene continued. “We were great at it until Hannah came along.”

  “She ruined our business,” Norma Ray spat. She drained her cup and rose, refilling it. “That woman ruined all of us.”

  “Because she hid all the spells and no one could find them anymore?” I asked, piecing it together.

  So what Rufus and I had seen were either old spells that Malene and them had hunted, or they were a mixture of the old spells and the ones that Hannah had hidden. My guess was that it was more the latter—a mixture of the old and not so old.

  Malene spoke with bite. “When Hannah hid the town’s spells, it did something to our powers.”

  “Made it so that we couldn’t see them anymore,” Norma Ray added.

  “You probably wouldn’t be able to see them anyway,” Malene replied, “as you won’t wear your glasses.”

  Norma Ray sat. “I don’t see how that’s important.”

  Urleen spoke with her lips to her coffee mug. “You would if you wore spectacles.”

  She harrumphed but said nothing. Norma Ray knew when she’d been beat.

  Malene spoke. “Can I continue, please?”

  We all nodded.

  “Thank you.” Malene directed her words to me. “There were already many spells living outside this town in fields, orchards and the forest, but when Hannah decided in her great wisdom to steal and hide the rest of the town’s spells, it broke something in our magic, and we haven’t been able to spell hunt since—not even outside of Peachwood.”

  “Can you imagine taking away a dog’s sense of smell?” Urleen said. “It’s like that for us.”

  “Hannah said that she took the spells because people were abusing the power.”

  “Phooey,” Norma Ray replied. “Hannah hid those spells because she couldn’t come up with her own. She was jealous, plain and simple.”

  “And what about the humans?” I said. “There are humans here
, those who don’t know about the magic. You can’t go around showing them magic.”

  “Why can’t you?” Malene said.

  I sputtered. “Because the government. They’ll want to run tests on you and stuff.”

  Malene cackled. “You’re kidding, right? First off, there are already witches and wizards working for the government. Secondly, how do you think witches make most of their money? By selling magical trinkets to humans. Humans are always looking for ways to make themselves more beautiful or even to hex someone.”

  “Hex?” I said, shock in my voice.

  Malene wagged a finger at me. “I’m not saying that I approve of hexing, because I do not. But ever since the beginning of time, humans have come to witches looking for cures. What’s wrong if humans know we’re here? I don’t see a problem with it.”

  “You see, they used to,” Urleen said. “They used to live in Peachwood and ask for the help of the witches.”

  “But what about abuse of spells?” I asked.

  “You’d never give a human a spell that was too powerful for them,” Malene said, “and the humans weren’t so stupid that they ran off and told everyone else.”

  “Why’s that?” I asked.

  “Because if they did, then they wouldn’t have the help of witches that they needed. Why ruin a good thing?” Norma Ray explained. “So it used to work out in Peachwood. The humans came to the witches for help, and the witches were left in peace. No one yelled Satanism or tried to burn us at the stake.”

  “What about the humans now?” I asked.

  Malene shrugged. “Some of them remember, but none of the witches here can work any spells of significance, thanks to Hannah. So I doubt anyone cares anymore.”

  I thought about the fact that Rufus and I could see the spells, but for some reason I didn’t want to reveal that piece of information yet. I wanted to keep it close.

  “Malene, is that why you disliked Sadie so much? Because of her mother?”

  Malene scowled. “No, I disliked Sadie because I disliked her.”

  Urleen and Norma Ray exchanged a look.

  “You might as well go on and tell her,” Urleen said.