“You mean you can really spy on people whenever you want?”
Holding the wand in my hand, I say, “Don’t get any ideas.”
She eyes the glittery silver star. “Have you spied on me?”
“Are you kidding?” I laugh. “It’s strictly reserved for boyfriends.”
She turns serious. “I promise I won’t ask you ever again.”
Better find out what is happening at Ainsley’s before Jen gets any worse. I draw a rectangle with the wand and a floating screen appears. A flying disk zooms out of the elevator and into Ainsley’s penthouse. The disk pans across the kitchen and zooms into the living room. I hold the wand in front of the image. “Looks like everything is fine so far.”
Jen nods. “Can you go into the bedroom? It’s down the hall to the left.”
I flash her a wicked grin. “Hum… so you know where his bedroom is? You aren’t as innocent as you look.”
Jen smacks me in the arm. “Just move the darn thing.”
The camera floats down the hallway and into Ainsley’s bedroom. No tossed over furniture, everything looks fine. Mangus, Ainsley’s bull mastiff is sleeping soundly in a large crate by the walk-in closet.
Jen leans closer to the screen. “Can you pan over to the dresser?”
The camera turns left. Crap, maybe she’s right. A stack of books and magazines has fallen off the top of the dresser and are scattered on the floor. The camera moves down the dresser and it’s obvious the bottom drawer is cracked open.
Jen hops off the bench. “Look, someone has rifled through Ainsley’s penthouse! He’s been robbed—maybe kidnapped!”
Footsteps sound behind me as a football player walks by but doesn’t even look our way. My invisibility spell is holding strong. “Jen, you’re going crazy. The dog could have knocked that stuff over. He’s big enough to easily pull open the drawer with his mouth.”
Jen is frantic. “No. He’s in the crate. My gut tells me something is wrong. I need to get to his place A.S.A.P.”
“I know you won’t stop until you find out for sure. I can call Derrick. Hold on.” I push Derricks number. “Hey, Der, you free? Jen has a 911 situation.”
Derrick shouts over the loud freeway traffic. “Seems like your BFF sure has a lot of emergencies lately.” I can hear the engine roar. “Sorry, I can’t help you out, I’m in Irvine.”
Bad timing. “Okay, thanks.” I toss the phone back in my tote. “Sorry, he’s all the way down in the OC today. We can always try another driver. I’ve used Ben before.”
She shakes her head. “No, that’s okay. I’ll just catch the bus in front of school. It will just take one transfer to get to Ainsley’s.”
Because of LA rush hour traffic, the bus is out of the question. This time of day even if I text Ben now, he won’t be here for at least thirty minutes. There is only one solution to the problem. Pulling a small metal whistle out of the tote zipper compartment.
“What are you doing? Is that a rape whistle?”
I laugh and blow on the whistle. “No. But you’ll find out in a second.”
A weird chattering noise fills the air. In a flash, Fred descends out of the sky and lands on my shoulder. I tuck Fred under his chin. “I think we can do better than the bus.”
“What do you mean?”
“How about you transform into Fred?”
Jen glares at Fred. “Are you kidding? He’s a bat.”
“Duh.” I stroke his thick brown fur. “And a very cute one at that.”
Fred wraps his wings around my hand and makes a small chirping sound like a bird.
“Jeez, do you want me to leave you two alone?”
I wish I could say that was the first time I heard that joke. “Bats are quite affectionate. You could transform into something far worse.”
Her shoulders relax. “Okay. I hear you. It’s just that when I transformed into a ladybug it kicked my butt. It took a whole week before I got rid of the bad headache that kept haunting me. What do you think turning into a bat is going to do?”
“Look, you’re worried about Ainsley. It’s the fastest way to get to his place.”
She sighs. “Okay. I’ll give it a try. But Fred’s over twenty times the size of a ladybug.”
I just might have to cast a confidence spell the way this is going. “You can do it. Let your worry about Ainsley fuel your transformation.”
Jen pets Fred’s brown fur and concentrates on his wings. Her skin turns liquid and her body shrinks before my eyes. The liquid skin turns almost black and her arms transform into wings. The mass of her body continues to shrink as her hair disappears and her head morphs into one of a pointy eared bat. I’m totally fascinated by how different this transformation process is from when Jen morphed into the metal dumpster. It takes me a moment to realize Jen has taken off and is flying high above me.
Fred seems fascinated as well. He makes a muttering sound and says, “I must say that was a bit unnerving to witness.”
I laugh. “Now you know how I felt the first time I saw Jen morph.”
He stretches his wings out wide. “I did not mean the transformation, I meant seeing an exact copy of myself.”
I laughed. “Really? She’s that good?”
Fred fixes his beady eyes on me. “Yes, and I will not allow it again.”
He flies off in a huff, just missing Jen as she gets her bearings and heads off toward Hollywood. I linger on the bench for a little while longer making sure my invisibility spell worked. Sure enough, a guy walks behind me and doesn’t even look my way. Perfect. Something tells me I should check up and make sure Jen has made it to Ainsley’s and that she is okay.
I draw the screen one more time and gaze into the penthouse. Jen has arrived and Ainsley is sitting next to her on the sofa looking quite distraught. “Jen, you can stop worrying about being crazy.” Ainsley cradles his hand in hers. “I’m the one who took your memory.”
Tonight is going to be action packed. I better tell my mom there will be one more person at the meeting. “Mom, Jen just texted me and she’s in front of the house. I totally forgot I invited her to come to the coven meeting.”
My mother strolls out of the kitchen having made sure all the snacks are ready. “That will work out perfectly. We can repair the damage you think Ainsley has done.” She places two glass bowls of veggies and fruit on the coffee table. “It is unfortunate that Ainsley took one of Jennifer’s memories. I will have to take him to task for such a slip.”
“I hope you do. He could have easily blown all our hard work. My destiny is in jeopardy.”
My mom tucks me under the chin as the doorbell rings. “Things will be put right. Don’t worry.” She greets Jen with a hug. “Good to see you.”
Jen makes room for Derrick, who strides into the living room like he owns the place. “Hey Brook, long time no see.”
At least he didn’t tell my mom about dropping me off at Jerome’s several times. Still, I have to keep up the older brother act for my mom, so I punch him in the arm. He flees for the safety of the kitchen.
Jen stands confused. “Sorry, I’m kind of late for the meeting.”
I grab her hand and lead her down the hallway. “No problem, we were just practicing incantations. Come on back to my room.”
Jen walks through the bedroom door and Tara runs over to hug her. “What a surprise!” She turns to me. “Why didn’t you tell us Jen was coming to the meeting?”
Jen shakes off Tara’s hug. “Because, I didn’t tell her.”
I better chime in. “I did invite her, but she didn’t say she was coming.” I give Jen a smile. “She just showed up.”
Tara laughs. “Guess your curiosity got the best of you.”
Jen nods and smiles. “Busted. I just had to come and check it out.”
Tara leads Jen over to the bed where everyone, but Glenda is sitting. “I sense something else brought you here.”
“Yeah.” She plops down on the edge of the bed. “I just found out Ainsley stole one
of my favorite memories.”
Better start repairing the damage. “Are you sure? Why would he do that?”
She pulls at the hem of her floral peasant top. “I was so ticked off I really didn’t give him a chance to explain. He said something about a sentimental reason.”
Tara takes her hand. “Let me read your energy.”
Thankfully, I filled the coven in on what happened. I love how Tara is taking the lead. She closes her eyes and runs her fingers across Jen’s palm. “I’m sensing he did it to be closer to you. To possess something of yours.”
Jen yanks her hand away. “What happened to a lock of hair or picture? A memory is just way too personal. I mean, it’s out of my brain!”
Not that I blame her for being so upset. Ainsley definitely crossed a line. But to be true to my prophecy, I need to sugar coat it. “I think it’s romantic.” I scoot closer to Jen. “He wanted something that was precious to you. I’m sure he didn’t realize you would miss it.”
“Did Ainsley tell you he was going to do it?”
Shaking my head, I now have to feign innocence. “No. I just get where he’s coming from. He’s very nostalgic. It’s his Victorian upbringing.”
“I just don’t see it that way. If he asked me for permission at least I could think about it.”
Glenda pops up out of the chair in the corner. “I’m with you. No guy has the right to take something from you no matter what the motive.”
It’s so much like Glenda to play the big sister.
My mom waltzes into the bedroom wearing a sparkling silver caftan. “Girls, I hope you are ready. It’s quiz time.”
Jen follows behind us as we head toward the living room. Fred flies out from his secondary perch in my mother’s room and blasts down the hallway just missing getting caught in Glenda’s mass of blond curls. He lands on a perch I set up for him next to the menagerie of other spirit animals. Shana kneels down and pets her red fox sitting obediently in a doggie bed. Glenda greets her snow owl with a little tuck under the chin. We’re all one big happy family.
There is a chattering noise from over by the curtains—then a loud bang. My mom runs quickly over to the curtain rod by the front door. She taps on the large acorn finial and holds out her hand. “Rocky, get over here now.”
Rocky is Tara’s new spirit animal, a juvenile grey squirrel. He jumps onto my mother’s arm and she holds the squirrel out in front of Tara. “You really need to train him better. He always gets into mischief. If he damaged the finial you will have to replace it.”
Tara whistles and Rocky jumps over to her shoulder. “I’m sorry, High Priestess. He’s still a baby. I’m sure he thought the finial was a real acorn.”
Derrick pops out of the kitchen with more snacks and an armful of sodas. “Here you go. It’s going to be a tough quiz tonight.”
The girls dig into the bowls filled with veggies and fruit, while Derrick helps my mom pull out a giant cast iron cauldron. They heft it into the special gold circle of knowledge my mom and I drew in the middle of the living room.
My mother claps her hands together. “Before we get started. I’d like to officially induct Jennifer into the coven as a witch by proxy. It goes without saying that anything that takes place here is never mentioned.”
Tara taps her carrot stick on Jen’s shoulder like a sword. “Welcome to the coven, girlfriend! The High Priestess is right, what happens at coven headquarters stays at coven headquarters.”
My mother doesn’t laugh. Coven meetings are serious business. “Is that understood, Jennifer?”
She bows her head. “Of course. As soon as I walk out the front door, I won’t remember a thing that happened.”
My mother smiles. “Perfect.” Then she motions for the coven to gather around the circle. “Tonight, Glenda and Brooklyn must cast a spell to immobilize Derrick.”
Glenda stamps her feet. “But he is a wizard of the Twelfth Order.” Glenda’s mass of blond curls practically covers her face as she approaches the cauldron. She pulls out her trusty blue velvet spell bag and begins tossing the key elements for the immobilization spell into the cauldron. Its cast iron quickly shifts from black to glowing red-hot. Glenda conjures a giant ladle, leans forward and stirs the liquid saying, “I command the bonds of Ares to restrain you.”
Derrick wiggles back and forth like his hands and feet are tied. Glenda jumps up and down in victory until a flash of light explodes, and Derrick vanishes. Glenda hangs her head. “I’m sorry, High Priestess, I have failed.”
Trying not to be put off by Glenda’s mistake, I stride up to the cauldron ready to kick some ass. Derrick pulls some impressive wizard magic and marches right through the front door and stands next to me. He’s gloating big time and I know I need to set him straight. “Get ready to be bound up, dipshit.”
My mother’s eyes narrow. “Brook, that language isn’t necessary.”
Derrick dons a huge satisfied grin at my scolding and resumes his position next to the cauldron. “Bring it on! “
Pulling my black silk pouch out of my pants pocket, I toss several ancient herbs and minerals into the caldron as well as a grey rabbit’s foot for good luck. “I command the bonds of Ares to restrain the wizard’s ass.”
At first Derrick stands totally still, then he wiggles his feet and hands. For a second he’s really bound. Snap, it really worked! I hold up my hand and the girls come by and give me a round of high-fives. Before they can give me another round, a bright flash explodes from Derrick’s shoes. He starts tap dancing, but it’s obvious his hands are still bound. He taps the side of my boot. “Hey, Brook, not bad for your first try.”
My mother dons a prideful smile as she moves back to the center of the circle. “A good first attempt, Brook. But you missed an important step. You needed a lock of Derrick’s hair.”
Glenda stamps her feet. “So that’s what I forgot.”
Wait, there was one in my bag. I smell a wizard’s trickery. Digging through my bag, I know the hair is gone. “But it had to have made it into the caldron.”
Derrick laughs. “The operative word is had.”
Before I can jump Derrick, a huge flash of light makes it impossible to see. When the light fades, something is missing—the wizard. My mom claps her hands again. “Enough fun and games. As you know this is a special evening. It’s the fifth full moon in the cycle so the Great One Cerridwen will speak to us.”
Jen looks mystified. “Excuse me, but what does Cerridwen do?”
My mother smiles “Good question, Jennifer. She is a very powerful goddess and one you should admire. Cerridwen has the power of transformation, the caldron of inspiration, and of prophecy.” My mother motions for us to gather around the cauldron. Then she digs her long finger into the liquid and then turns to face the coven. “Which of you would like to ask for a prophecy first?”
Tara darts next to my mom practically pushing her aside. “Oh, Great One, will I get into the Master’s program at Stanford?”
The liquid changes patterns like a kaleidoscope. It stops and forms a vibrant purple star. The heavy Irish accent of Cerridwen says, “You are very close, my dear. The unicorn incantation should do the trick.”
Glenda is the next. She saunters over to the caldron confident of her question. “Will my boutique be successful?”
The liquid ungulates and changes patterns until it forms a bright magenta flower. The voice is stronger this time. “The shop will be wildly successful. But you must name it Fashion Palace.”
Glenda’s face turns white. “Cerridwen has to be joking.”
My mother glares at her. “The Great One is never wrong.”
Shana is less than enthusiastic as she tentatively approaches the caldron, her lips quivering. “Will I ever meet my father?”
Oh no, she had to go there. I know what it feels like to be abandoned by your father. I move next to Shana and take her hand as the liquid shudders and turns into a deep blue six-pointed star. The Irish lilt takes on a somber tone. “I am terrib
ly sorry, my dear, but that is not possible. He is no longer with us.”
Shana throws her arms up into the air. “My mother lied!” Then she turns into a blubbering mess. I try to console her, but for some reason she chooses Jen instead. She leans on Jen’s shoulder as another wave of tears washes over her. Jen pats her back. “I’m so sorry, Shana.”
She wipes her tears away and straightens up. “I knew I shouldn’t have asked.”
I watch as she heads straight for the front door. Tara and Glenda run after her. My mother ignores the interruption and motions for Jen to stand in front of the cauldron. As much as Jen wants no part of the oracle, I know she must complete the ritual as an honorary member of the coven. I take her hand and gently guide her until we are standing in front of the cauldron. Jen looks terrified as she stares into the liquid. “No, I don’t want to know anything.”
I need to give her a push. “Come on, I know you’re dying to ask her about Ainsley.”
The liquid changes patterns until it forms a burnt orange crescent moon. The Great One’s voice takes a forceful tone. “You don’t believe in my power, my dear, and that is a mistake. Because I know the answer to your question.”
With the look of terror still on her face, Jen says to me, “But I didn’t ask her anything.”
My mother moves next to her and gently touches her shoulder. “You don’t have to. The Great One can read your mind.”
Cerridwen says with a prideful tone in her voice, “Yes, my dear, I have read your mind and your future. Forget about the artist. You have a much more powerful vampire who is going to alter your life—and soon.”
Terrific, all my hard work bringing Jen and Ainsley together shot to pieces by the Great One. Yet, something about the way she said alter cause my witch senses to sizzle. Then a horrible realization hits me like a thunderbolt. The powerful vampire the oracle is talking about is Murdock—which means only one thing—he has broken free from his cave and he’s coming to America to kill Jen!
How to Snag a Shifter-The Book of Brooklyn Book One: A Young Adult Paranormal Romance Witch Series (The Book of Brooklyn Witch Series 1) Page 13