Spell Found (Blackmoore Sisters Cozy Mysteries Book 7)

by Leighann Dobbs

  Fiona was looking at Mateo with wide eyes while fumbling in her pocket. It took forever for her to pull the orange stones out. She bent down and placed them on Mateo’s chest. She looked up at Jolene and shook her head.

  Jolene could already see that Mateo’s face was turning white. The spreading pool of blood underneath him was leaching all the color—and life—out of him. She could see his energy draining out as well. It spread over the floor in a bright, aqua puddle.

  The stones weren’t working. The wounds were too severe. She knew from when they’d found Nancy, already dead, that the stones wouldn’t pull someone back. But Mateo wasn’t dead … at least not yet. Jolene refused to give up hope. Her gifts were powerful. She could do the healing work even if the stones couldn't.

  Jolene knew they were in danger of losing the scrying ball, and probably a lot more, to Henry but she didn’t care about that. There was nothing else in the room for her but Mateo. She pushed Fiona aside and threw herself on top of him.

  Jolene focused all her energy on the life-depleting wounds. She could feel Mateo’s vibration weakening. The energy drain was slowing, but he was still losing it quicker than she could stop it from coming out. The only solution was more energy going in. Her energy.

  She pushed her energy into him, focusing on his veins, pushing her own life force though them, straight to his heart. It stuttered once. Twice. And then no more.

  Her own heart shattered. She was losing him! Her gifts, powerful as they were, were not enough. She needed something more powerful. Something with unlimited power.

  Through the haze of her grief, she heard Sarah’s voice. “Chant the spell.”

  The spell! Cassiopeia had said the spell had unlimited power and that it could help boost their own powers, but she wasn’t sure how to use it. She knew she would have to say it with all her heart, but was there a certain way to do that?

  Why hadn’t she paid more attention?

  Mateo had said something about being able to help them boost the spell, but now he was unconscious. She would have to make it work on her own.

  She dug deep within herself. Deep down to the bottom of her heart. She focused on heartfelt intent and said the words:

  By Water, Earth, Air and Fire,

  I ask thee now grant my desire,

  Harming none I now decree

  This charm is done, so mote it be

  She repeated the spell over and over while focusing on pushing her energy into Mateo. She felt herself weakening as her own energy seeped out of her and into Mateo. She focused on filling his veins, pushing the energy to his heart so that it would start beating again. Filling him with life even as it drained out of her.

  The last thing Jolene was aware of before her own energy faded out was Mateo’s heart thudding back to life with one faint beat.

  * * *

  Celeste cradled the crystal ball to her chest. With all the crazy energy floating around, she didn't know what was going to happen and she wanted to protect it. Especially from the white-hot sparks that had resulted from the explosion when the purple and red energy arcs met.

  To her left, Jolene had thrown herself on top of Mateo. Celeste could see that Mateo needed her sister's undivided attention. But Jolene was the most powerful paranormal of the sisters, and she was now out of commission. The girls would have to fight Henry themselves, Celeste thought ruefully as she watched Henry aim his paranormal gun at her.

  Sarah lay unmoving at Henry's feet. Morgan rushed to her side, pulling her away from the commotion and checking her for wounds.

  Fiona pulled her fisted hand out of her pocket, the glow of the rocks inside escaping from between her fingers. She raised her fist and flung the rocks at Henry.

  Henry's eyes went wide as he saw the red, glowing projectiles flying toward him like comets. He was a lot spryer than he let on when shuffling around town and the museum, so he actually managed to shoot the stone down with the paranormal gun.

  Fiona whipped her head around in a panic. Celeste figured she was looking around for more stones that she could throw but there were none.

  "Now you're pissing me off." Henry changed a setting on the gun and aimed it at Fiona.

  "No!" Celeste screamed as greenish-yellow strands of energy flew out of the gun.

  The strands wrapped themselves around Fiona like snakes. Fiona writhed and struggled but she was constrained by the energy. Henry aimed the gun at Morgan and Sarah on the floor near him and fired, with the same results.

  "These energy strands will grow tighter and tighter like a python strangling the life out of them." He stepped closer to Celeste and held out his free hand. "Put the crystal ball in my hand and I'll leave you to free your sisters. Otherwise, you'll meet the same fate and you'll all die here."

  Celeste clutched the ball closer. Of all the sisters, she was the one with no defensive powers. She struggled to see Henry's spirit. Sometimes she could see people's spirits and those spirits would help her defend herself, but with Henry she saw nothing.

  Jolene didn't appear to be aware of what was going on around them. The way she was laying there so still and pale made Celeste's heart break. Without the help of her sisters' paranormal gifts, Celeste had no chance against Henry. Not unless she suddenly came up with something more powerful … something with unlimited power.

  Celeste felt something wrap around her ankle. She looked down. Sarah's hand! Celeste glanced at Sarah's face and their eyes locked. "Chant the spell-I'll help you boost the power."

  The spell!

  Cassiopeia had said the spell had unlimited power. But she'd have to say it with heartfelt intent. Her eyes flicked to Mateo, deathly pale and unconscious. He'd said he could help boost it, but was in no condition to do that now. Celeste was the least powerful, but maybe with Sarah's help the boost would be enough.

  She looked down at the crystal ball, then to her sisters and Sarah who were struggling against the ropes of energy. She was their only hope. She dug deep down and focused with all her heart.

  By Water, Earth, Air and Fire,

  I ask thee now grant my desire,

  Harming none I now decree

  This charm is done, so mote it be

  As soon as the words left her lips, Celeste felt a rush of power. A deafening whooshing sound filled the house. It sounded as if a jet plane engine was revving up inside the chimney. A harsh wind whipped down the stairs, straight to the hearth where leaves swirled and black ash puffed out into the room.

  And then she saw the ghosts. A dozen of them swirling and whipping around. They screeched at full speed toward Henry, encircling him in a swirl of angry mist.

  Henry screamed, his face contorting in fear. Apparently, Henry could see ghosts, too. But who were they? Celeste thought they looked like witches. The witches of the Salem ghosts, maybe? Apparently, Henry had done something they didn't like. Had the spell brought them here?

  The ghosts pulled at him with gnarled, bony fingers. Henry's eyes darted back and forth. He struggled to free himself from the witches' grasp, but to no avail.

  Henry let out an earth-shattering scream. The paranormal gun he still held in his hand exploded into a million white-hot pieces and at the same time the energy binds that held Fiona, Morgan and Sarah shimmered and disappeared.

  Through it all, Celeste clutched the crystal ball.

  * * *

  Henry lay curled into a ball on the floor, rocking and babbling as the spirits swirled around him.

  “Who are they?” Celeste asked Sarah, who was now wide awake and sitting up.

  “Ghosts of witches. Henry was a witch, but he broke his vow. He turned to the dark side. The witches have been waiting for three hundred years to insure the scrying ball gets into the hands where it belongs.” Sarah pointed to the sisters. “The crystal ball is where it should be now. Under your protection.”

  “We need to call an ambulance for Mateo and Jolene.” Morgan knelt beside them. She pressed two fingers on Jolene’s wrist and then did the same to Mateo.
“They both have pulses, but very faint.”

  Fiona already had her phone out and had called 911. She gave the dispatcher the GPS of their location in the woods, as her phone reported it, and told her they needed an ambulance as quickly as possible. When she heard sirens split the air, she ended the call. She glanced out the front door and saw a police car speed through the overgrown path, mowing down shrubs and tall grass. Fiona watched in amazement as Detective Peterson got out of the car and ran to the front door. He stood there just staring in confusion at the mess.

  Celeste wasn’t surprised at the confused look on his face. On one side of the room, Jolene and Mateo lay in a heap on the floor. On the other side, Henry was curled in a ball, babbling incoherently. Sarah sat stroking Raven who purred in her lap. Belladonna flitted nervously between Morgan and Fiona, who both looked a bit disheveled from the energy ropes.

  “What is going on here?” Peterson demanded to know.

  Celeste held the crystal ball, nonchalantly hiding the glowing piece where the paint had flaked off against her side and hoping Peterson would be too distracted with everything else going on to ask questions about it.

  Sarah pointed to Henry. “He’s crazy. He came busting in here and shot that man.”

  Peterson’s eyes widened as he noticed the dark stain under Mateo. “He’s bleeding bad. What about the woman?” Without waiting for an answer, he pressed the microphone on his lapel. “I need an ambulance at the old West Great River Road. Right away.”

  Peterson turned to the girls. “Just what were you people doing here? This house is in the middle of nowhere. Why would you come here … and did you break in?”

  “We thought it was part of the Salem witch trial history. We found out about it on the Internet,” Celeste blurted out, her eyes fixed on Jolene who Morgan was tending to.

  She didn’t have time for Peterson’s questions. Her sister was in trouble!

  “And you broke in?” Peterson’s tone was incredulous. “I’m sure you could see the house is abandoned and not exactly open for visitors, or safe.”

  “Look, can you wait with the questions? My sister is—”

  Morgan was interrupted by sirens and flashing red lights. The ambulance! Peterson looked out the door in surprise at their impossibly quick arrival.

  They all watched helplessly as the paramedics worked on Jolene and Mateo.

  “Will they be okay?” Morgan asked.

  “Not sure. They’re weak but stable. We need to get them to the hospital pronto,” one of the ambulance attendants told Morgan as they loaded Jolene and Mateo onto stretchers.

  Morgan followed behind the stretcher. “I’ll go with—”

  “No, you won't!” Peterson shot out his arm to stop her.

  “What? But I—”

  "Things look very suspicious here." Peterson's eyes scanned the room. “I’ll need your statement first. Then you can go."

  Morgan’s eyes flicked to the ambulance, but they were already closing the back door.

  Fiona touched her arm. “She’s in good hands. She’ll be fine.”

  Morgan sighed and turned back. “Fine. Ask away.”

  The next twenty minutes were filled with Peterson asking a bunch of questions while two policemen hauled away Henry and crime lab techs took pictures.

  Celeste tried to rein in her impatience. The urge to rush to Jolene's side as well as get the scrying ball safely out of there was strong. She spent most of the time avoiding looking at the bloodstain on the floor and hoping that Mateo had not lost too much blood to survive.

  At a certain point, Peterson relayed word from the hospital that Mateo and Jolene would be fine, which made Celeste feel a little better. Even more so when it appeared that he seemed not to have noticed the scrying ball at all.

  Finally, the police packed up their stuff and left. Peterson was the last out the door, giving them a stern warning to get out of the woods before dark.

  “I want to thank guys for saving me,” Sarah said to Fiona, Morgan and Celeste.

  “One good turn deserves another. You pulled us out of the vortex,” Morgan replied. "But what were you doing here?"

  "I was watching over you. Hanging back outside. Henry is a member of the witches’ guild and when I saw him, I thought he had been sent as extra protection." Sarah shook her head sadly. "He had us all fooled. No one knew he'd gone bad. He knocked me out. I should have been able to tell he'd gone bad."

  “Well, it all turned out fine in the end and you helped with the spell that got him,” Celeste smiled at Sarah.

  Sarah nodded. "From the look of things, the witch ghosts had been waiting to get back at him. They knew all along that he'd turned. It took both of us to boost that spell. Your powers are stronger than you think. Well, I'm sure you want to get to the hospital, so I'll be off on my broomstick.” She laughed at the sisters’ surprised looks. “Just kidding, I walked.”

  As Sarah left with Raven trotting behind her, Celeste held up the crystal ball. She gazed inside it, but it was dark.

  Morgan took the ball and looked into it. “I guess there’s not much in our future. This thing isn't showing anything.”

  “That’s probably a good thing,” Fiona joked as she bent down, picking up the stones she'd thrown at Henry. “Besides, we have more important things to think about. Jolene is in the hospital and we need to be by her side. And Matteo was hurt very badly.”

  “First, let’s secure this crystal ball," Morgan insisted. "I’ll call Luke and tell him we have it. Maybe he can drive down and take it back to Dorian while we stay here until Jolene gets out of the hospital.”

  “Good idea. I’m anxious to get to the hospital and see her and Mateo,” Fiona said as she headed for the door.

  "I'm just glad they'll both be okay, but I want to see for myself." Morgan moved to exit the house, but the doorway was suddenly blocked by Peterson. “Did you forget something?” Morgan asked in surprise.

  “Yeah, the crystal ball. Hand it over or you’ll end up in a lot worse shape than your sister and her boyfriend.”

  22

  Morgan clutched the crystal ball to her chest, protecting it instinctively. She stepped back, away from Peterson, her eyes flicking to the one unboarded window. All the other police cars were gone. Only Peterson's car remained. “Crystal ball?” Morgan stalled for time by playing dumb.

  Peterson stepped forward and looked down at the ball she held close. “Don’t play dumb. You know exactly what I’m talking about.”

  Morgan saw the truth in a flash. “So, you’ve known all along. That’s why you’ve been following us.”

  Peterson laughed. “Yeah. You probably just thought I was a dumb cop, huh? I’ve been watching your every move. I even gave you the clue that sent you here. Dr. Bly told me one of those old witches buried the ball around here and put a spell on the area. I knew I wouldn’t be able to get into the house without you, so I had to give you a clue that led you here. I would have been here sooner, but I got tied up. Then again, it gave you the chance to get rid of Henry for me, so it’s all good.”

  Morgan thought about that. Hadn’t Henry been the one who'd given them the clue, even if he'd directed them to a different area? Peterson had been the one to remind them that Salem Village was a different place back in 1692. He’d known what they were up to all along and that his information would help the search for the relic.

  She glanced at Fiona and shifted her hold on the crystal ball in a silent signal that she was going to toss the ball to her. Fiona’s eyes narrowed slightly which Morgan hoped meant she understood.

  Celeste’s eyes widened when she put the pieces together. “Wait a minute. You killed Nancy!”

  “Yes. I killed her and Opal, too. But they didn’t have what I needed. It turns out you ladies did, though I suspected that from the start. Dr. Bly warned me about you. I’m going to collect a mighty big bounty from him when I bring back that crystal ball. It'll be easy peasy, especially now that your most powerful sister is in the hospital and won�
�t be able to fight this.” Peterson took a geode from his pocket.

  Morgan’s fist curled around her obsidian pendant. But the pendant wouldn’t help much against the geode. The pendant was more for redirecting energy aimed at her. The geode would suck all the paranormal energy out of her. She couldn’t let that happen.

  Jolene had the most powerful paranormal skills for fighting, but as the oldest sister, Morgan saw it as her job to protect the others. It was three against one here and Morgan intended to use her intuition to anticipate his next move, blocking his efforts so the three of them could overtake him. She’d seen Fiona pick up the rocks and knew those could be used to fight Peterson.

  In one swift move, Morgan tossed the crystal ball to Fiona and had faith that she would catch it while Morgan focused on using her intuition to outwit Peterson.

  Her gut instincts told her that Peterson was going to step forward and to her right so she swung around, stepping to the left and kicking her foot out.

  She was rewarded when her foot hit soft flesh.

  Peterson grunted and stumbled forward.

  Morgan spun around behind him, kicking out toward the hand that held the geode.

  Success! The geode tumbled from his hand and bounced on the floor, landing face down which rendered it useless for energy draining. Morgan's elation was short-lived.

  Peterson spun back around with a small blue gun in his hand. Morgan recognized it as a smaller version of the energy spewing guns that Dr. Bly was so fond of using and very similar to Henry's gun.

  Morgan's heart froze as Peterson aimed the gun directly at her. Her gaze flicked over his shoulder to Fiona, who was reaching in her pocket with her free hand. Morgan knew she was reaching for the stones. A movement on her right pulled her attention from Fiona.