DEADLY WISHES

by Marianne Spitzer

  Maisy’s panic filled eyes flitted back and forth between Kellie and Lance before she answered. “I don’t know what I did.” She leaned back and crossed her arms across her chest.”

  “The hell you don’t,” Lance shouted and slammed his palm on the table. “Did you hear Kellie? People are dead and more will die if you don’t tell us what you did.”

  Maisy jumped but pressed her lips firmly together shaking her head from side to side.

  Kellie, trying to be the voice of reason, spoke quietly, “Maisy, the creature that you conjured up with your wish will continue to kill men until she is satisfied. She’ll also kill you since you know how she managed to arrive here. She doesn’t want you to share that knowledge with anyone. You have a choice here. Share what you know with us and stay here protected in your grandparent’s home or refuse and I’ll have Lance pick you up and carry you out to the road, drop you beyond the protective area, and let Cansha have you.”

  “You wouldn’t,” Maisy gasped.

  “Try me,” Lance growled and leaned closer to the table.

  Maisy tried to blink away tears. “How did you find out her name?”

  “We weren’t sure, until now,” Lance admitted. “You do know the police will charge Ronnie with murder. He’ll name you as an accomplice especially once they prove he’s responsible for facilitating the four other deaths. You’ll die of old age in prison.”

  Tears flowed freely down Maisy’s face, and she mumbled through her sobs, “Will they take into account that I didn’t mean for her to kill them and that I helped you? It was Ron’s fault. He cut Zach and texted me to come out to the cabin and find him while he got Alyssa out of the way. I didn’t cut Zach’s leg.”

  “I don’t know,” admitted Kellie, “But it might help especially if you’re truthful.”

  Maisy nodded and dried her tears. For the next fifteen minutes, she explained her part in bringing Cansha back from her prison in time. Kellie and Lance sat listening to the young woman’s explanation shaking their heads.

  “All right,” Kellie said when Maisy finished her explanation. “We’ll do what we can. You stay here with your grandparents until I tell you it’s safe to leave.”

  Maisy nodded, and Lance and Kellie stood to leave. They walked out to the barn to tell Grandma they were leaving, but she insisted they come back in the house long enough for her to bag up some sugar cookies for Hope and Faith.

  ~ * ~

  Kellie invited Lance back to her house to talk and strategize their next move. Lance sat across from Kellie on a chair in her living room. “What do you think?”

  “Honestly, I think she’s lying or telling a partial truth. If she did burn the copy of the wish she made, we’ll have to kill Cansha. Sending her back to her prison in time would be easier. Maisy knows she’s in trouble. She may believe keeping the information from us will help her when and if the police arrest her.”

  “Then call your uncle and get her arrested,” Lance suggested.

  “He won’t unless Ronnie admits she helped him. I can’t believe she knew Zachary was at the cabin that night and allowed him to die. How can a person be cold enough to sit and gather the blood of a dying person in a bowl to use in some sort of wish? She could’ve saved his life. My uncle has Alyssa’s journal, and it points to Ronnie as the killer,” Kellie said as she sat back and crossed her legs.

  “Do you think your uncle will let us see Ronnie again? If we tell Ronnie what Maisy did, he might turn her in to help himself, and in turn, she may end up helping us.” Lance shrugged.

  “I can try,” Kellie said pulling out her phone. When she tried to ask her uncle about another visit to Ronnie’s cell she held the phone away from her ear to keep his shouting from damaging her ear. “Yeah, okay Uncle Mike,” she answered and hung up.

  Lance said, “I heard every word he said. Seeing Ronnie is out of the question, but your uncle needs to know what we do.” A slow smile crossed his face. “Call Dan Riley. Tell him about the Maisy connection. He could write an article for the morning paper questioning why the police are ignoring information about a second suspect in Zach’s murder.”

  “You’re devious,” Kellie said but approved and placed the call. She gave Dan the least amount of information without naming Maisy, and he agreed to write the article.

  Lance shook his head. “I can’t believe you told him you think a second suspect performed a human sacrifice and that’s why Ronnie took the head and hid it in his aunt’s freezer.”

  Kellie twisted her lip and bit down on the left side for a moment. “When we consider what she did, it isn’t far from the truth. Zach bled to death, and Maisy took his blood to wish Cansha here. She knew he was dead when she texted Ronnie. He must have known, too because he agreed to bury him and cut off his head for her to give to Cansha when she came out of the wishing well. I’d say that’s a human sacrifice.”

  “True. It’s subtle, and I doubt the police would consider a human sacrifice as a motive. They prefer clean investigations. The beheading was enough to make them question Ronnie’s sanity or drug use. We’ll see how things progress after the article in tomorrow’s paper. I don’t envy you when your uncle calls,” Lance said leaning forward leaning his forearms on his knees.

  “I don’t want to think about it. It appears we may have to take the most difficult path with Cansha. How are we going to destroy her? Without the wish spell or whatever it is Maisy used, we must destroy her. At this point, I wouldn’t take Maisy’s word for anything. If she still has the wish she used, by the time she gives it up and we convince the police and D.A. to let us see it, who knows how many more men will die.” Kellie stood and walked to the living room window. She turned back to speak to Lance. “Mrs. Donahue is outside with Sweets. I hope the article in the paper won’t bother her tomorrow. The girls and I took her some homemade brownies last week, and she seems to be over the shock of her arrest and the head in her freezer. The police confiscated the freezer, and she told them she doesn’t want it back.”

  “Did the police drop the charges or did they ever file any?”

  “Uncle Mike said she was a person of interest, but he never believed she beheaded someone. They never filed charges, and she returned home after the hospital released her. I’m glad this is behind her at least until Ronnie goes to trial.”

  “I doubt there’ll be a trial. A good lawyer will get Ronnie placed in an institution. Whatever they do, we need to get rid of Cansha. Any suggestions on how to entice her out of hiding?” Lance’s brows knitted waiting for an answer.

  “I wish I knew. Maybe I should rephrase that. I’m not sure I’m going to wish for anything in the future. In order for Cansha to see us, we need to drop our protection. At least one of us does and the other steps in to start the battle,” Kellie walked back to the sofa and sat tapping her lip with her finger. “Any ideas?”

  “I agree with you, but I want to be the one to drop my protection. If something goes south with this plan, you have the girls to worry about. Don’t try to argue with me. Let’s look at the facts. One, Cansha hates men. Two, her companion cat creature attacked you, so she knows you’re vulnerable, but she’s also aware you survived. Three, I may be overprotective, but you do have loved ones. I’m single.”

  “You have Hannah.”

  “Yes, I do, but I don’t have any kids. I think I need to insist.”

  “I think you’re right. I did get attacked, but that large cat was after Max. All her victims have been males, and that makes you a good target. I hate to see either of us in that much danger, but you make a good point.”

  “Okay, first problem settled.”

  Kellie jumped to her feet. “I have an idea. We need to go back out to that meadow near the Women’s Center. I don’t have to pick up the kids until three. We can practice. First, we need to eat. I have turkey and roast beef from the deli. Do you want a sandwich?” She strode toward the kitchen.

  Lance stood and followed her. “Beef would be great, what’s your idea?” />
  Kellie pulled sandwich makings from the fridge and placed them on the kitchen island. “I’m not sure it’ll work, but if it does we need to be away from where someone might see us. That meadow is relatively private.”

  Lance leaned against the counter and replied, “You have me intrigued. What are you thinking?”

  Kellie handed him a plate and walked toward the table. “Remember when we couldn’t find a way to kill Thomas?”

  “Don’t remind me.”

  “You softened the rock, and I infused it with white light. It made it stronger. When you hardened the rock, he was trapped. Between the rock and light infusion, he can’t get out, and no one can break through.”

  “True, but how does that help us with Cansha? She can’t be locked in stone. She uses an element to gain strength, and we need an element to fight her.”

  “Yes, that’s what I was thinking. What if we pull water from the ground, drench her with it, freeze it but use the white light to make it colder than natural, and if we’re lucky Cansha might shatter the way liquid nitrogen shatters objects.”

  Lance stopped with his sandwich halfway to his mouth. His gaze looked past Kellie out the window. After a full minute, he dropped the sandwich. “That might be our only answer. I knew we’d need water or the wind to battle her, but the wind would only blow her away. She’d return. If you could infuse the white light and she shatters, we could scatter the pieces or maybe there wouldn’t be any left.”

  “Finish your lunch. We need to practice this. I can infuse the light, but we need to work together to pull water from the earth faster. I think together we could do it before she realizes what’s happening especially if she doesn’t know I’m there.”

  Lance nodded. “How much water would we need?” He finished his sandwich while he listened to Kellie.

  “When I saw her in the woods before she attacked, she was human sized. She’s about the same size that I am. Her cat is about ten times the size of an average cat, but it’s not big enough to give us a problem. A few gallons well placed would soak them both. If we practice pulling the water and pooling it until we have enough, we could drench her in one fell swoop. Since she won’t know where we are until you remove your medallion, we can pick the spot. Maybe an isolated, wooded area near the river where the ground is usually muddy.”

  Lance drank the last of his ice tea and stood. “We practice in the meadow until we’re sure we can do what we think we can. Then we find the perfect spot near the river and try it again. If it works, we prepare for a battle, and we’ll win this one.”

  Kellie slipped on her jacket. “I think it’ll work. She’s killing too many people to wait for my uncle to give us any information even after the newspaper article tomorrow. Let’s go.”

  ~ * ~

  Maisy went back to her room before her grandmother returned from the barn. She needed to find a way out of her current circumstances. Was it true that she couldn’t leave the property? She’d try tonight after her grandparents fell asleep. Pacing the room wasn’t helping. Maisy dropped onto the bed to think. She hoped her grandmother would think she fell asleep if she didn’t move around.

  Silence. The silence was deafening and driving her slightly crazy. Maisy’s problem was bigger than she could handle alone. Pulling out her phone, she placed a call and confided in him her greatest fear. He promised he would help find an answer. He knew who to call and ask for help. She waited and waited. No callback. No solution. Silence.

  Chapter Twelve

  Max rolled over and slid his arm around Kellie’s waist. She stirred and mumbled, “Good morning.”

  “I’m sorry I woke you. I have an early shift. Go back to sleep. You have at least an hour before the girls wake you.”

  “You need breakfast.”

  “There’s always something cooking at the station. I think it’s George’s day to cook. He’ll have a pot of chili cooking,” Max said as he slipped into his jeans.

  “For breakfast?” Kellie groaned.

  Max bent and kissed her. “Chili is always good. Go back to sleep. I love you.”

  “I love you, too. Stay safe.”

  Kellie rolled over saying a silent prayer that Max understood what brought the wraith into their lives and that Kellie needed to deal with it. Days with him at her side was much better than it was when he slept in the guest room. She smiled. Nights were better, too. Kellie drifted back to sleep until she heard the girls laughing and Rufus barked. The house was awake. She climbed out of bed and walked down the hall to see what they were doing.

  “Hey,” Kellie said, “I told you not to toss a ball in the house,” just as Faith tossed the ball over Rufus’ head to Hope and Rufus barked.

  “Sorry, Mommy,” both girls said.

  “Come downstairs soon. I’ll start breakfast. You have school today.”

  Kellie found the coffee maker calling to her with fresh coffee when she walked into the kitchen. Max must have set it to make another pot before he left for work. Since her attack on their nature walk, he’d been overly attentive. Not that she minded, but she’d be happy with the way things were before Cansha arrived in their lives.

  Hope and Faith walked into the kitchen holding hands and with smiles on their faces. Kellie knew those smiles. Her girls wanted something, and they were going to try and double-time her to get it.

  When Kellie set the girl’s breakfasts in front of them and settled in her chair with a cup of coffee, she waited to see who would speak up first.

  “Mommy,” Hope said. “You know we love Rufus.”

  “A lot,” Faith answered.

  “Yeah, a lot,” Hope continued. “A lady came to visit school yesterday to talk to us about staying safe on Halloween.”

  Faith nodded vigorously, “Did you know that kids can get bitten by dogs that are scared. They don’t understand the costumes sometimes.”

  “I heard that,” Kellie answered. “Which is why we leave Rufus in my office during trick-or-treating.”

  “We know,” Hope continued. “The lady from the shelter says we do the right thing.”

  Faith grinned at her mom.

  Kellie knew there was more to this than Halloween safety.

  Hope took a sip of milk and looked at Faith. Faith nodded. “Mommy,” Hope started. “The lady told us about the dogs and cats at the shelter that won’t have homes on Halloween.”

  “Yeah, Mommy, they’re alone all the time,” Faith insisted.

  The girls looked at each other again and Kellie waited for the real reason for this conversation. Both girls spoke at the same time. “Can we get another dog, please. Please, Mommy.”

  Kellie bit her lip to keep from laughing at their serious faces. “We have Rufus. We don’t need another dog. Between you two and him, we have enough commotion in this house.”

  “Aww, Mommy,” Faith sighed.

  Hope’s face brightened. “Can we get a cat then? It’s important to support the shelter.”

  She sounded like a commercial. Kellie explained, “We did. Rufus is a shelter dog, and I don’t think we need a cat right now.”

  “I’m glad you brought Rufus home, Mommy. Sometimes dogs and cats live forever at the shelter. They never get a home or a family,” Hope explained with all the seriousness a six-year-old could muster.

  The knowledge that Rufus was rescued from a shelter seemed to settle the question of a new pet, at least for the moment. The girls went to their rooms to get dressed for school and Kellie cleared the table. It was Taylor’s turn to take the kids to school, and it gave Kellie time to get ready for her morning of spirit battle training.

  ~ * ~

  Lance drove out to the same wooded area they visited the first time Kellie practiced controlling the elements.

  “We can practice here. Have you thought of a good place for the actual encounter?” He asked.

  “Yes, it’s on the old Malone property. After I had the mansion demolished, I gave the land to the city. It’s open for public use and has river access. This
time of year, it’s too cold for swimming, and there’s a small hidden cove that’d be perfect. It has a large open grassy area, and I thought if worse came to worse, we could pull a massive amount of water from the cove faster than out of the ground. Since Cansha can’t see us, she won’t know we’re practicing to control the water and wind. I hope she’ll think we made a mistake and she found us,” Kellie offered climbing out of the car.

  “Good idea. After practice, we could check out the area.”

  Kellie walked to the clearing and asked, “How do we begin?”

  Lance suggested, “Let’s each try pulling water from the ground. Then we can concentrate on the same spot and see if we can pull more.”

  “Have you tried this before?” Kellie asked and then focused on drawing water from the ground at her feet. A small puddle appeared in less than a minute. She glanced at Lance, and he also had a small pool near his feet.

  “No, but the old man told me I could combine my abilities with another if needed. He said two combined would have the strength of ten alone. Are you ready to try this together?”

  “Sure,” she concentrated on the spot Lance pointed out. In less than fifteen seconds, water bubbled out of the ground and flowed away from them.

  Kellie leaped into the air, “We did it, look at that. We did it. Let’s try again. Maybe we can make a fountain. We’re going to need a lot of water to drench her and that evil cat. I want to see it shattered into a million pieces, too. My girls were frightened when it attacked me.” She spun in a circle and jumped again. “I wonder if we can direct this water into a thin stream or a wide one. We need to practice that, too. We could be human firehoses.” She smiled at Lance.

  “We could and if we find that we can direct the water into any type of stream, we could pull a massive amount of water out of the river. In less than a heartbeat, she’d be soaked. Then you hit her with your white light, we freeze the water, she freezes and crumbles. At least that’s how I picture it in my mind.” Lance said and looked for the perfect spot to try again.