“Can’t take pictures of ghosts,” said Tank. He lit another cigar and hopped away, calling over his shoulder, “Let me know if you find another collar. Happy to help any time.”
“You will not look for another collar,” Paws instructed me.
“You’re not the boss of me,” I said. He was sounding remarkably like Jasper, and I didn’t like it. Why did everybody think they’d be a better Witch of Mintwood than I was?
“And thank goodness for that,” said the cat. “Like a rabbit could do a cat’s job.”
“I can’t believe the mayor of Mintwood came to see you in secret today, and I missed it,” grumbled Charlie.
“Yeah, if you’d been awake for the mayor, you would also have gotten to see Hansen,” said Greer.
“Life is full of trade-offs,” said Charlie philosophically.
“Here we are,” I said, pulling into the parking lot at the trailhead for the second time that day. It was starting to feel like my second home.
“Should we try to let Kevin and Kay know we’re here?” Greer said.
“It wouldn’t be a bad idea, since we should probably ask them some questions about Chloe anyway,” I said. “But let’s look around a bit first.”
“When we went hiking to cheer Deacon up, I thought that would be enough to last me a lifetime,” said Charlie. “By the time we find Chloe it will definitely have been enough to last me a lifetime.” She was moving a bit more slowly than usual, but she insisted she was fine. “I’m not an invalid. I just was hit with a magical spell that nearly killed me. Stop acting like it was a big deal,” she snapped.
“You’re right. It’s not a real big deal. A real big deal would be if they actually paved that road near the cemetery,” said Greer.
“Well that’s never gonna happen,” said Charlie irritably.
Greer handed us flashlights with the observation that there was no point in tromping around in the dark without them.
We trudged up the now familiar dark trail, watching our steps carefully in the darkness. The branches didn’t look so creepy a second time around, but gazing deep into the impenetrable blackness of the woods still gave me the chills.
“Did I tell either of you that I heard from Andy again?” Charlie asked.
Andy was Charlie’s ex-boyfriend. They had been together since high school and had even lived together until recently, when Andy dumped Charlie out of the blue one day. She hadn’t had anywhere else to go, so she moved in with Greer and me. Not too long afterwards, Andy showed up and asked her to get the rest of her stuff out of their formerly shared apartment as quickly as possible. He was dating someone new.
“What did he have to say for himself?” Greer asked.
“He said his new girlfriend is moving in. He wanted me to know,” she said. “I told him I didn’t need to know, and I wished them every happiness. When we got off the phone I made a makeshift voodoo doll and stuck pins into it.”
She turned to me. “Speaking as a real witch, would you say that’s a thing?”
“I wouldn’t go so far as to say I’m a real witch just yet,” I said. “Harriet might know.”
“If it’s a real thing, can you make the voodoo doll real?” Charlie asked.
“It’s a good thing you lied to him about being happy for him,” said Greer.
“Right?” said Charlie.
We spent about an hour climbing, with Paws staying very close, making himself nearly useless in the searching for a ghost department. At least we didn’t run into any of the ghost bears that he claimed were around. I was starting to think that story wasn’t real, and Paws was just being dramatic. For a change.
“If Chloe’s ghost is here, she sure is doing a good job of hiding herself,” said Greer.
“Maybe she was taken away along with Mr. Smith and the dark witches,” said Charlie.
“I guess it’s possible. But why would a witch think to look up here for ghosts?” I said. “Surely she’d just go to the cemetery.”
“Maybe Chloe got tired of staying up here and wandered into town,” said Charlie.
After another half an hour of searching, I was starting to think it was fruitless. “Maybe we should come back some other night when we have more provisions,” I suggested. “We’ll stay out all night looking for her, and if we can’t find her then . . . well, I don’t know.”
This case was dragging on longer than I had expected. We had found nothing, and I was getting discouraged.
It wasn’t until we went searching for Kevin and Kay that everything started to go wrong. The first time we had gone to where their bodies had fallen, their ghosts had led the way. The police had been up there since then, but I couldn’t see a trail in the dark, so I didn’t really know where to go.
“It’s for sure this way,” I said finally, staring hard at a tangle of trees.
We started to climb through the dense branches. The forest was sinister at night, inspiring me to imagine blacks squirrels ready to dive bomb us from above and large spiders weaving webs we’d accidentally walk through. These fantasies brought home how very alone we were out there on Mintwood Mountain and sent a shiver dancing down my spine.
“Are you sure this log was in our way last time?” Charlie asked as we all scrabbled over a particularly huge fallen tree.
“Um . . .” I muttered. Truth be told, I wasn’t sure at all.
“Ouch! Don’t snap a branch back in my face,” Greer complained as Charlie pushed carelessly through some thick scrub.
“Sorry, not used to walking through the jungle,” said Charlie.
After what felt like forever, we all came to a stop.
“That definitely wasn’t here before,” said Charlie. In front of us was a very large boulder.
“So what now?” I asked.
“Should we keep going?” Greer wondered.
“Do you know the way?” I said.
“I thought I did,” Greer muttered. She was still bringing up the rear, and her face was mostly in shadow. The moon was scarcely visible overhead.
“Are you sure this is a good idea?” said Charlie.
“No, not at all,” I said. “Should we just turned back?”
We were now deep into the woods and off the trail. All three of us looked around in every direction. “It all looks the same,” said Greer.
“Paws, do you know what direction we should be going in?” I asked the cat.
“I’m sorry, I was trying to preserve my life, and I haven’t been paying attention,” said Paws.
“A ghost bear isn’t going to come and eat you,” said Greer. “Can you get us off the mountain or not?”
“I can try,” said Paws. “Anything to get us out of here faster.”
The cat spent a few minutes sniffing around and doing his best real cat imitation. It soon became clear to me that he didn’t have a clue where we were or how to get us out of the woods.
Finally Charlie sat down on a log and said mournfully, “What are we going to do?”
“We can stay out here until morning, then we might have a better idea which way to go,” said Greer. “It has to be down, right?”
“The problem is that there are several flat stretches, and there are several ravines that are ‘down’ too,” I said gloomily. “We really need to hit the actual trail.”
“What do you suggest?” Charlie said.
“I thought we might need a radio, so I brought one” said Greer. “Maybe we can see if we can get anybody on it. Unless you have a spell you can perform?”
I breathed a sigh of relief and didn’t bother to answer her question. Leave it to Greer to save the day.
Paws snorted and looked like he was about to say something along the lines of, If only you had learned your magic you’d have a spell to perform right now. But I gave him my best death stare and he kept quiet. A good death stare is always useful, and I always appreciate an opportunity to practice.
Greer pulled the radio out of her bag and started fiddling with it, while I sat down on the log next to Char
lie. Paws crept over to us and hid behind our ankles, staring out at the night and jumping fearfully at every little sound.
“Up here, the radio might work better than cell service,” said Greer. Charlie and I exchanged glances. Neither of us understood radios very well – okay, at all – or had any idea what she was talking about, so we just decided to wait her out.
“I think I have something,” Greer sounded excited. “It’s a good channel.”
“What do we do now?” Charlie asked.
“I asked for help,” said Greer, leaning over the little gadget. “Mayday, this is Greer and I’m lost with two of my friends on Mintwood Mountain. Please send help as soon as you can. We went left off the main trail about a third of the way out and now we don’t know how to get back.”
“Do you really think that’s going to work?” Charlie asked.
“It’s worth a shot,” said Greer, sitting down on the log next to us.
It was a cold night, and I started to shiver. I didn’t want to be outside much longer, and if we were forced to stay out here all night I might attempt to light a fire using a spell or something crazy like that. Paws wouldn’t like it, but he didn’t have to be cold like we living creatures did.
The three of us hadn’t been sitting for long when there was a crackle across the radio. Greer grabbed it, holding it close to her face as if that would help. “I don’t think you need to do that,” said Charlie.
“I was trying to say something, but it’s garbled,” said Greer excitedly. “I didn’t actually think this would work.”
“You what?” Charlie said. “You didn’t think what would work? You put our life in the hands of a broken radio?”
“I said it was worth a shot,” said Greer defensively. “It’s not like you had a plan either. But I can’t hear what they’re trying to say. We don’t have good enough reception, but I do think it means someone heard us.” She stood up, switched her flashlight back on, and beamed it around the trees. Charlie and I did the same, a flood of adrenaline filling my veins as I realized we might get out of the woods and down the mountain before morning.
“Should we keep heading in what we think is the direction of the parking lot?” Charlie asked.
Greer shook her head. “Let’s wait a few more minutes before we move.” She picked up the radio again and sent another distress call. Again there was a crackling as if someone was trying to respond but couldn’t.
My heart was now slamming in my chest. We were out on the mountain in the dead of night. My aunt knew where we were in a general sort of way, but she wouldn’t be able to get to us in time if we were attacked, and Greer had just broadcast our location over the radio. We had no idea who was coming to help us.
“Chloe had better be grateful for this when she find her,” said Charlie.
“Assuming we ever find her,” I muttered.
Just then there was a snapping in the brush behind us. We all turned to stare, and I could tell that Paws was about to lose his mind with fear.
“Was that the ghost bear you were talking about?” Charlie asked.
“Ghost bears don’t make noises in the woods, but real bears do,” said Greer.
“You think that was a real bear?” I whispered.
Suddenly I felt the need to be very quiet and very still. I had no idea what you were supposed to do if you ran into a real bear, but I didn’t think yelling was on the list.
“A real bear would be louder,” said Charlie. “That sounded more like a fox or a coyote running through the woods.”
Just then there was a howling that made us all stop breathing again.
“Coyotes,” said Greer grimly.
“They don’t like humans, do they?” said Charlie.
“I don’t want to find out,” I said.
“Let’s get out of here,” said Paws.
We started to move, but we hadn’t gotten very far when Greer tripped over a log and nearly went sprawling. I barely managed to grab her in time to keep her from falling, and then we nearly toppled into Charlie.
“Smooth. Clearly none of you played sports in high school,” said Paws.
All three of us glared at the ghost, but he wasn’t finished.
“We just had to climb up a mountain by ourselves at night. Are we experienced hikers? NO! Was this a good idea? NO! Oh, let’s go risk our necks on a mountain where hikers already died, because that’s a good idea, said no cat ever,” Paws ranted.
“Smart cats would never say that, at least,” said Charlie.
“Cat and smart cat mean the same thing,” said Paws.
“You see light over there?” Greer pointed in front of us. Sure enough, through the trees there was a blinding light, small but getting rapidly closer.
“I see it,” I said. “Hopefully somebody friendly.”
“Lemmi!” a voice yelled through the darkness. I froze. Who could be calling me by name in the middle of the woods at night?
“LEMMI!” Louder this time, the male voice echoed off the surrounding trees.
A ringing silence followed. Even the animals were shocked.
“I recognize that voice,” said Charlie.
“So do I,” Greer grinned.
I glanced back into the dark woods and wondered how close to the coyotes we were. It was a tough choice, but I kept walking forward. “Let’s go,” I said, resigned to my fate.
It didn’t take long for the man holding the bright flashlight to become visible through the trees. Jasper Wolf looked as good as ever dressed for climbing. He had a black hat on over his dark hair, and even from a distance I could see his mint green eyes sparkling out at me.
“Hubbah hubbah is here,” said Paws.
“Enough with the color commentary,” I hissed at my feet.
“Best looking guy in Mintwood jumps on his white horse, I mean black pickup truck, and comes to the damsel in distress’s rescue. All is right with the story. Said damsel in distress ruins it by being herself,” Paws narrated.
“Are you okay?” Jasper said, racing toward us now that he’d seen us.
“We’re fine,” said Greer. “Thanks so much for coming.”
“Heard you loud and clear,” said Jasper. “Did you hear me?”
Greer shook her head. “It was just a bunch of static. I tried to keep giving messages, though.”
“What were you thinking?” he asked, getting down to the business of scolding us now that the friendly preliminaries were out of the way.
No one else had a chance to answer before I got really annoyed.
“How dare you rescue us!” I fumed.
I was unspeakably angry that he’d come to help us, and – okay, I’ll admit it – that he’d seemingly been proven right in his accusation that I couldn’t take care of myself.
“Proving my point again,” said Paws.
“You heard me over the radio?” Greer asked excitedly, trying to deflect my tantrum.
“Sure did,” said Jasper. “I was working late at the barn, and I was switching around channels on the radio, because just listening to music gets boring. The second I heard you I came to help. I’m pretty familiar with this mountain; my dad and I used to climb it all the time when I was a kid. You really aren’t that far from the trail, but it’s good you called for help. What are you doing out here in the middle of the night, anyway?”
“The thing is . . .” Greer started.
“We were just . . .” I said at the same time.
“Stargazing,” Charlie supplied.
Jasper stared at all three of us. He was dumbfounded.
“These ladies have that effect on men. And not in a good way,” said Paws.
Charlie blinked innocently at him. If I hadn’t known she was lying, I wouldn’t have been sure. I made a note of that for the future.
“Sure, fine, that’s a great idea,” said Jasper sarcastically. “Why take care of yourselves when you can wander around lost on a mountain in the dead of night?” He handed Greer a flashlight, then turned around and star
ted to lead us back to the trail without another word.
Jasper was still angry when we reached our vehicles. “I take it you’ll be fine from here?”
“Sure we will. Thanks so much again for coming,” said Greer. “I suppose you’re going to mention this to Deacon?”
Jasper stopped being angry long enough to give her an evil grin, and Greer was forced to groan when a pair headlights came around the bend. Another truck swung into the parking lot and had barely come to a stop when Deacon jumped out. “What were you thinking? If I didn’t live further away, I would have been here when Jasper was. I couldn’t believe it when I got his call.”
Deacon stormed over to us, and Greer, who handled being told what to do just about as well as I did, instantly flipped into angry bear mode.
“We were stargazing, and we went a little astray. We’re allowed to do whatever we want. We’re adults,” she said. “I don’t even live in one of your buildings anymore, so you can’t tell me how to behave.” I had a feeling this was a far cry from the date atmosphere they had shared a couple of days before.
Unlike Jasper, who seemed a bit surprised at our lack of appreciation for his rescue, Deacon didn’t look the least bit put off. “You have a death wish? Weren’t dead hikers found out here a few days ago? You know how they died? They fell into a ravine,” he said. “Maybe because they couldn’t see while they were traipsing around at night.”
Jasper gave me a smug smile, so I stuck my tongue out at him. What? I never said I was mature. Okay, so I told Jasper that, but I just said it to get my way.
“We’re really sorry for having worried you,” said Charlie. “It wasn’t our intention to get lost.”
Deacon’s jaw muscles worked, but no sound came out.
“I think they’re fine now, we should get going. We both have to work tomorrow,” said Jasper.
Predictably, I even took offense to that. “Are you saying I’m out here because I don’t have a real job?”
Jasper sighed, suddenly looking deflated. “No, that’s not what I’m saying. What I’m saying is that I wish you’d be careful because I don’t want anything to happen to any of you. Now, since you refuse to be careful, I’m going home.”
He was giving up on us! How rude!
A Witch on Mintwood Mountain (Witch of Mintwood Book 4) Page 10