Spells to Die For

by CC Dragon

  “Maybe I’m not as ignorant and hateful as you think. I’m not like the rest of my family. I know I said a gypsy marrying into the family would be a problem. And it would. No true gypsy would marry into my family. You know it. You’ve blown my families’ prejudice into an epidemic. Vern isn’t like that. Harry. Not me either. One branch of the family had a bad run in. It’s not my fault,” he said.

  “Did you know your aunt murdered that woman?” I asked.

  “I knew she was up to something bad, but I didn’t think she’d ever do that,” he said.

  “But you did know I was half werewolf, and you didn’t tell me,” I said.

  “I’m sorry,” he said.

  “Get lost. You probably don’t want one of those in the family either,” I said.

  “You had no control. You were born that way. And the potion makes it no problem,” he said.

  “And kids? I can’t get a straight answer if a one quarter werewolf shifts or not. You’re willing to roll that dice?” I asked.

  “No one said anything about marriage or kids,” he said.

  “Right. We didn’t get that far. But I’m not dating from guy to guy for the thrills. I thought we were heading somewhere,” I said.

  “We were. But we don’t need to rush,” he said.

  “We don’t exist, anymore. I’m done. You are so ingrained in your family. You can’t stand up to them. I thought you were a leader, but clearly, you don’t have a handle on things. You’re just reacting to what they do and trying to look like you’re in charge,” I said.

  “I’m not done. I’m not giving up on you,” he said.

  He suddenly backed down rather quickly. I turned and saw Vin and his nephews walking up behind me.

  “She said go, you go,” Vin said.

  “I could use magic, but out of respect for the dead, I won’t start a fight,” Bran said.

  I laughed. “It’s a gypsy funeral. If there aren’t two good fistfights, it’s not a good funeral.”

  Bran left. He knew some of the women in here were witches. Gypsy or not, they had powers and so did plenty of the men. He didn’t know who, so it was smart of him to walk away.

  “You okay?” Vin asked.

  I nodded. “I’m sorry. He doesn’t understand the word no.”

  “We’ll make sure he left. The nephews will walk around the parking lot every hour, just to be sure he’s not waiting for you.” Vin nodded.

  “Thanks,” I said. “You made peace, Uncle Vin.”

  “I did. The chill has thawed with my brother. Losing a sister does that. I’m not marrying off the twins or anything, but I’m in better standing. Partly because I raised you.”

  I frowned. “You raised three girls.”

  “Yes, and all are friendly and respectful of their gypsy relations. But you have no blood ties. No reason to care. They face so much distrust and hate that it makes a big impact. Go see the Muli,” Vin said.

  I took a deep breath and headed for her. It was odd to see Vin’s mom dressed as her sister-in-law.

  “Thank you for coming,” the Muli said.

  “I’m sorry I didn’t get to see you before you passed. Viv and Belle always spoke highly of you,” I said.

  She nodded.

  “They suggested I might buy your things. I do love cats. But if you have any objections...” I wasn’t sure how to talk to a dead woman.

  “As long as you don’t use spells on my cat, I approve,” she said.

  “No, no spells on animals. Thank you. Rest in peace,” I said.

  She nodded.

  Spells on cats? Maybe she’d heard about Esme and misunderstood how and why she turned into a cat. It wasn’t worth explaining or arguing about. I went back to the table and ate. Luckily, I’d chosen a big salad and shrimp cocktail, for now. I’d go back for the hot stuff.

  “More wine?” Uncle Vin asked.

  I nodded.

  Viv and Belle dashed over.

  “We heard. And the price is fifty dollars. But we can’t do that transaction here or now. Tomorrow.” Viv smiled.

  “Fifty? That can’t be. You should have a garage sale. Get real money for her things,” I said.

  Belle shook her head. “She approved you. She really missed Uncle Vin and his family being closer to the family. I think this is her way of making peace. If the twins wanted something of hers, we can’t sell her things to them. You’ll make sure the right people get the right things,” Belle said.

  Viv pointed a finger at me. “Don’t try to pay more. It’ll be an insult. Rejecting a gypsy’s’ generosity is really bad.”

  “I won’t object, I promise. Go get some food,” I said.

  They headed for the buffet.

  “Bran’s an idiot,” Iris said as soon as her cousins had left.

  “Please don’t bring him up. I’m fine,” I said.

  Vin sighed. “Just be ready.

  “For what?” I asked.

  “Gypsies curse people who have wronged them. Bran walking in here, uninvited. Disrespecting and disrupting her memorial... If bad things happen to him, he might blame you. Obviously, it’s not you, but you should know that’s likely the origin of it. Either my aunt is haunting him or a gypsy cursed him. Either way, you can’t remove it,” Vin said.

  “Great. Can we ask them not to?” I asked.

  “No, you didn’t offend them. He could’ve waited to talk to you another time. He made a big mistake, and you can’t fix it. Don’t even try to defend him,” Vin said.

  “He deserves what he gets,” Violet said.

  “That’s not the right attitude,” Aunt Mandy said.

  I could see all the gypsy talk was upsetting my hippie peace-loving aunt.

  “Think of it as karma, Aunt Mandy. If the gypsies don’t do it, another force in the universe will.”

  She nodded. “I can’t argue with that. He’s off balance, and disrespecting others at a funeral doesn’t fix it. But I don’t want my girls wishing negative things on anyone. That comes back to you, as well.”

  “You could’ve thrown him out. Blasted him with magic,” Iris said.

  I shrugged. “That really would be rude at a funeral. To fling magic around. Attack people. Gypsy men fight, and they stood up for me. That was nice.”

  Two men in the corner started shouting. One took a swing.

  “Fight with others and amongst themselves. Fight number one has started.” Viv stood to look.

  “Gypsies never break their traditions.” Vin poured more wine.

  I looked down at the rings on my fingers, Trela’s rings. I knew what I was, now. How that might change me or how people treated me, my coven and such... That was the unknown. But the gypsies had to know the truth, as well, and they hadn’t kicked the werewitch out. That was a start.

  About the Author

  A loyal Chicago girl who loves deep dish pizza, the Cubs, and the Lake, CC Dragon is fascinated by mysteries, sleuthing, as well as the supernatural.

  CC loves creating characters, especially amateur sleuths who solve crimes in their spare time. A coffee and chocolate addict who loves fast cars, she’s still looking for a hero who likes to cook and clean...so she can write more!

  Website: http://www.ccdragon.com

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