by Tegan Maher
I glanced in the rearview mirror taking in Nell as she pulled Ginnie close to her. No one had mentioned her powers. Usually, witches of the same family had the same powers but not always. If Nell had something that could help, we needed to know.
“Nell, do you have a different magic specialty?”
Her gaze flicked out the window and back at me. “No. The powers in our family skip around. I don’t have an ounce of magical ability in me.”
I gripped the steering wheel hard. Their situation was the same as how my kids would be. One magical sibling and one not. They seemed to handle it well enough. In fact, the non-magical sister appeared to handle the high stress situation better than the magical one. Maybe my fears that my future little boy would resent having witches in the family were unfounded.
Nell directed us through town to a housing subdivision near Lake Bentley. I pulled into the driveway of a tan stucco house with a two-door garage. The house had been tastefully decorated with bright red bows on the light fixtures and a nativity scene near the front walk.
“Prepare yourself, Lily Rose,” Ginnie said and exited the back seat.
We followed her and Nell up the front walk and into the house. Nell shut the door firmly behind us.
The tension in the air rose by several notches and I had to focus on my breathing to stay calm. I’d never seen a rabid animal before, let alone a magical one, and didn’t know what to expect.
Ginnie turned toward me. “Don’t worry. He’s restrained. I wouldn’t put you or your babies in danger.”
“You can sense my worry or read my thoughts?” I asked.
“Only phrases and because of your heightened powers right now.” Ginnie leaned against the wall beside a shut bedroom door. “My powers work best when my customers are relaxed and in a state of deep meditation.”
Lily Rose reached around Ginnie and opened the door. She walked in ahead of us and stopped short. She shifted into her cat form and sniffed the air. Then she shifted back. “Oh, Hunter, my friend.”
I stepped in behind her expecting the worst. Instead I found a brown, bushy-haired dog curled into a ball inside of a large crate, one large enough that if he’d shifted back to human form, he’d have been cramped but not hurt.
Hunter lifted his head and sniffed the air. Then he stood and shook out his body from snout to tail.
“He doesn’t look rabid,” I said.
Lily Rose’s shoulders dropped. “He’s not rabid. But he’s not what he once was either.”
“What does that mean?” I walked toward the crate and Hunter wagged his tail at me. The excitement soon took over his hind legs. I closed my eyes and sorted through all the emotions in the room. None came from Hunter. Only Lily Rose and Ginnie’s sadness.
Lily Rose approached the crate and put her fingers to the edges for Hunter to sniff. He gave them a quick lick as if she were some random human. She jerked her hand back and wiped her fingers across the front of her shirt. “A familiar would never lick the fingers of another familiar. This can’t be a random curse brought on by someone who doesn’t know what they’re doing. I’d bet my last cigar this is a hex. A powerful one that has taken away his ability to shift. He’s just a dog now.”
Chapter Three
Dread filled me. A hex? Curses could be tossed out unknowingly, but a hex took magical knowledge and preparation. “But if he’s just a dog then why the attack on Ginnie?”
I rubbed Ginnie’s shoulder as she sobbed into her hands. I took in some of that deep sadness and tears formed in eyes. I glanced up at the ceiling, willing them to go back to where they’d come from. “Why would the hex portray itself as rabies?”
Lily Rose walked toward the door. “He must have attacked while the hex was at its peak and he didn’t have control over himself. The confusion of losing his human subconscious would have been more than he could bear. This is cruel.”
Nell stood by the door. “He seems to have settled now.”
“Who could have done this?” Ginnie said.
Nell reached out and pulled her into a hug. “I told you not to try to spy on your customers. Someone must have figured you out. That whole psychic studio thing isn’t safe for you.”
“You think this hex was performed by a client?”
“Or a disgruntled competitor in the magical world. Maybe Hunter told someone what he and Ginnie were doing and that spread to a witch who didn’t appreciate their tactics.” Nell lifted one shoulder in a half shrug. “I’m sorry there was nothing you could do. But I really need to take my sister to the emergency room now. We’ll do our best to provide a home for Hunter in his current form.”
Ginnie pulled away from her and moved out of the room.
Nell held out her hand, and I grasped it for a quick shake. I expected an assault from her emotions but nothing happened. As refreshing as the moment was, I couldn’t help but wonder why.
She gave me a half smile. “You’re wondering why your empath powers don’t work on me, aren’t you? I don’t have to be psychic like everyone else in my family to see the confusion.”
I took one last glance at Hunter before I followed her out of the room. “I don’t meet many people that are immune to my powers.”
“I’m not,” she said and pulled a chain from around her neck. On the end of the chain was a garnet stone in a silver casing. “The only magical gift from our mother to me was this necklace. When you are a non-psychic in a family of psychics, there is little to zero privacy. She gave me this charmed stone so that I could keep my thoughts private.”
“That’s actually a great idea.” I’d keep that thought in the back of my mind in case I needed to do the same for my little one. The non-magic one. I really needed to come up with a better name for the poor guy. It wasn’t his fault none of the men in my witch family were born with powers.
Lily Rose and I walked to the front door when Nell called out from behind us. “Wait a sec. Hunter mentioned that you’re part of some paranormal investigative group. Maybe you could poke around and see if you can find out who did this?”
I placed my hands on top of my stomach. “I’m not really up to my best sleuthing capabilities right now.”
She held out a key and a business card. “Here’s the key to Ginnie’s studio in case you change your mind. The address in on the card.”
Lily Rose reached out and took the key. “We’ll discuss it. Either way, we’ll check up on Ginnie and Hunter later.”
We loaded into the SUV and I backed out of the sisters’ drive. “What do you want to do?”
Lily Rose played with the key in her hand. “Drop me off at their studio and I’ll do the snooping. You go home.”
“Right. I should go home and get some supplies just in case. We need to protect ourselves against the hex wielder.”
“No,” she said, her usual gruff voice taking on a sharper edge. She took her cigar out of the pocket of her flannel shirt and placed it between her lips. “You go home and stay there. I’ll handle this on my own. It’s a familiar problem.”
“Familiars and witches are teams. We’re in this together.”
She dropped the key into the pocket she’d taken the cigar from. “This is a serious offense against a paranormal creature. I can’t involve you and possibly endanger you and your babies. Not to mention you’re already on thin ice with your agency after that Halloween thing.”
The agency didn’t have jurisdiction over my day-to-day witching affairs. And pregnant or not, I’d never leave Lily Rose unprotected against a hex wielder who had the power to remove shifting capabilities. “I’m already involved.”
My phone beeped with a text. The blue tooth connected it to car’s voice system and asked if I wanted it read aloud.
“Yes,” I answered.
The robotic voice responded, “Seth says ‘need you at home for an emergency.’ End of text. Do you want to reply?”
“No,” I said and the voice system shut off.
“Seth has an emergency? That’s a new one,�
� Lily Rose said.
I tapped my fingers on the steering wheel and ran through the emergency scenarios. As a boxing instructor and former robbery/homicide detective, seldom did Seth have a situation he couldn’t handle. “He’s hosting a pre-Christmas poker game. I can’t imagine what emergency he could have other than they’ve run out of ranch dip and chips.”
Just in case, I made a U-turn and headed back through town toward my apartment. Lily Rose didn’t protest the change of course. Even if the emergency turned out to be as minor as I imagined, I’d have a great excuse to get my witch supplies from the bathroom hiding spot and then Lily Rose and I could check out Ginnie’s psychic studio.
I hated the suggestion that another witch would have done this because of Hunter and Ginnie’s scam tactics. Hexing amongst paranormals happened from time to time, but they usually didn’t result in a paranormal losing their abilities. Hexes were for giving ex-boyfriends warts on their noses or bad bosses getting flat tires every morning. I glanced at Lily Rose. I couldn’t imagine if someone took away her ability to shift back into her sparkling bag lady persona.
She must have sensed me glancing at her because she huffed and said, “You’re doing it again.”
I sniffed and shook my head to clear the sap. “Sorry. It must be the leftover emotions from Ginnie.”
Since I’d given up my reserved parking spot for one of Seth’s poker buddies, I had to park in the back visitor area. It too was pretty full even for a Saturday.
“Should I come up?” Lily Rose asked.
I nodded but not for the reasons she probably thought. I didn’t want her disappearing and heading off to the studio without me.
I put my key in the door but before I could twist it, the knob turned and the door pulled open to a group of people yelling, “Surprise!”
“What the…” My heart skipped and thudded in my chest. The babies must have sensed my fright because they began to squirm and kick and fight for room.
My adoptive mother, Momma Carla, and my adoptive sister, Paige, pushed through the small crowd and each one squealed. The blonde beauties looked like they could have stepped out of a sorority movie, each one in a festive, glittery dress.
“It’s a surprise baby shower,” Paige said on a giggle. Her breath hit me as she wound an arm around my shoulders. She’d been hitting the wine pretty hard for early afternoon. Unusual for her. “We’re going to play baby poop games.”
My worst nightmare come true. Well, saying worst would be a huge exaggeration, but a surprise baby shower with awkward games made the top five list. When I hesitated at the threshold, Momma Carla latched onto my arm and pulled me inside. Her warm and comforting touch pushed away my jitters.
I swiveled my head to see Lily Rose backing away. “Wait.” I untangled myself from the excited women and rushed toward her. “Please don’t go to the studio without me.”
She twisted her lips into a frown. “I’ll talk to some of my shifter friends first to see if this hexing problem extends beyond Hunter.”
“I’ll meet you at the studio in an hour,” I assured her.
She glanced around me and quirked an eyebrow at the guests.
I sighed and moved my hair away from my face. “Okay, maybe an hour and a half. But no later than that, I promise.”
“I’ll wait for you, but you will only get to go in if I know it’s safe.”
“Deal.”
“Nuala!” Paige yelled. “Come on, girl. Let’s get this baby shower started.”
“Good luck,” I murmured more for myself than Lily Rose.
Paige and Momma Carla pulled me into our cramped living room. None of the smiling faces staring at my baby bump were ones that I recognized. Not to mention no Seth and his poker buddies. Boy, was he paying for this one.
I leaned in close to Paige’s ear. “Who are all these people?”
“Some friends of mine, some co-workers of Momma Carla.” She gave me a sidelong glance meant to scold. “Seth was in charge of inviting your friends but he said getting into your contacts was harder than getting into the vault at Ft. Knox.”
That’s because I have it magically locked. But I couldn’t tell Paige that.
I glanced at my watch. “Seth set me up, huh?”
Paige tsked. She leaned close to whisper, “Momma Carla has been planning this for the last month. Don’t hurt her feelings.”
“Message received,” I whispered back. I wouldn’t dare hurt Momma Carla’s feelings purposely. My adoptive family rescued me from a group foster home when I was six years old and after only recently finding out more about my real family, I’d come to appreciate them all the more for it.
Momma Carla began a round of introductions and I smiled and repeated names and melded into the perfect baby shower guest of honor. My sparse Christmas decorations had been removed from the living room and replaced with tons of pink and blue shower decorations. At least there was plenty of food, even if it felt weird eating cookies in the shapes of babies.
After the traditional shower games but before the cake and presents, I mingled and took on a barrage of awkward new mom questions.
“How does it feel to be an older mom?”
“I’m only thirty-three.”
“Are you and Seth getting married?”
“We haven’t really discussed it.”
“Will you breastfeed?”
“Two babies? I’m not sure these boobs are meant for that.”
“Will you go back to work?”
“Yes, as soon as possible.” I literally wished I was working right that second.
Paige bounced around with a wine glass, the contents sloshing out and spilling onto the floor. As she moved past me, I grabbed it from her hand. “I think you’ve had enough.”
“Oh my.” A red-headed woman to my left —I’d forgotten her name already—stood from where she’d been seated on my couch and snatched the glass from me. “You absolutely cannot drink while you are pregnant. What are you thinking?”
“Hey, lady. Buzz off.” Paige squared up with the woman. I guessed she wasn’t one of Paige’s friends since she didn’t remember the woman’s name either.
The irritation from the woman and Paige instantly rubbed off on me. “For your information, I don’t drink at all. I simply removed the temptation from my sister.”
Momma Carla moved between the three of us and her warm chuckle broke apart our standoff. “Is everything okay, my lovelies?”
If I didn’t find a way to end this party soon, Lily Rose would begin scoping out the psychic studio without me. Not that I didn’t appreciate the shower efforts but I didn’t know anyone other than my mom and sister.
Becoming a time-traveling, cold-case-solving witch had taught me to think fast undercover and adapt quickly to intense situations. This counted.
I crumpled onto the couch and burst into loud, chest-heaving fake sobs.
“Oh dear.” Momma Carla sat beside me and pulled me into a side hug. “What’s the matter?”
I sniffled and put my head against her shoulder. “It’s so overwhelming and there are so many people here in my apartment.” I let that sit for a minute.
“Those darn hormones. And you have a double shot.” She combed her fingers through the back of my long, dark hair. “I think we’ve been at this long enough. I’m going to start nudging people toward the door.”
“But you and Paige worked so hard on this.” They really had.
She patted my back. “I’m only happy if you’re happy. And this isn’t making you happy. We’ll be out of your hair in less than ten minutes.”
I dabbed the edges of my eyes as if to wipe away tears and worked up a timid smile. After I solved the hexing issue with Hunter, I’d find a way to make it up to her. I glanced around at a few of the unopened gifts and the idea hit me. I’d let her and Paige arrange the twins’ nursery with all the new goodies.
Chapter Four
I parked on the street in front of Ginnie’s psychic studio. The large plate gla
ss windows were decorated with spray snow and made into the shapes of snowflakes and a snowman. Something we’d never actually see in central Florida. A sign on the door indicated her open hours from four in the afternoon to ten at night and that the studio saw clients for readings by appointment only.
Guess walk-ins would ruin the scam.
With a shake of my head, I reminded myself to stop being so judgmental about Ginnie and Hunter’s operation. I perched against my bumper and waited for Lily Rose. I sent a check-in text to Seth and he responded with an apology about the surprise and that he was out with my adoptive father for a couple of beers. I sent back a heart emoji.
I switched mental gears to the issue at hand. A quick search of the internet gave me a list of all the other psychics in the area. Besides Ginnie’s, there were five others listed. That didn’t mean that there wouldn’t be a number of unlisted ones too. The fact that the hex only affected Hunter worried me. Did the hex wielder think punishing half the team would be enough? This case had too many variables and not near enough information to start from.
I glanced up and Lily Rose moved out from the shadows in human form. “It’s clear. Let’s go.”
She removed the key from her pocket and unlocked the front door. The front area displayed shelves with crystals and candles, each with a description explaining its use. I used the flashlight on my cell phone to check the items against the descriptions in case something seemed out of place. Although my attention to detail had waned since the pregnancy, earlier in my time witch career Lily Rose and I had devised a mind map system to remember case clues.
“Over here,” Lily Rose called out.
I wandered past a raised sitting area with oversized square pillows and a fluffy dog bed toward an office. A tiny Santa set up for motion detection sounded off as I passed. The music from his voice box sang out, “Have a Holly Jolly Christmas.” Not a very jolly night, Santa.