by M. L. Briers
Marilyn looked at the car, snorted her contempt and drew back from him. “I’m not going anywhere with you, and especially not in that midlife crisis excuse for a car,” she informed him.
Neal cocked just one eyebrow at her. “Judgy, aren’t you?” he tossed back. “I would have brought the family car,” he said, and then frowned. “But I don’t have a family.”
“Did you kill them?” Marilyn tossed back.
“Ouch, mean girl,” Neal said with a teasing glint in his eyes.
“Look, that’s not my fault you don’t have a family,” Marilyn tossed back and doing the thing she hated most air quotes. “I’m sure your conscience would allow you to sire yourself one if you were so inclined.” She offered him a pretty, judgemental look.
“Yes, but the trouble is – they’d be mine for eternity, and who doesn’t wish the years away when you have stroppy teenagers?” he asked and saw her snap to attention.
Claudia leaned in from behind and whispered. “He got you there.”
“I’m leaving,” Marilyn declared. “The both of you can stay and hyper yourselves into a sarcastic coma.”
Claudia frowned as Marilyn pushed by the vampire and headed for her car. “Running away doesn’t solve anything,” she shouted and got the backwards finger in return. “Now see what you did?” she said with an accusing look at the vampire.
“Oh, sure, blame the vampire,” Neal said, watching Marilyn go.
“Just did,” Claudia said, and slammed the door shut in his face.
“I did have a reason for being here,” he called, as Marilyn drove away.
Claudia sighed and pulled open the door once more. “I’m probably going to regret being curious, but go ahead.”
“Sandy,” he said, and the door was tossed closed in his face again.
“She’s already on our radar, thanks for playing, come back when you have something concrete to go on,” Claudia said and headed for the kitchen.
As her car was in the shop and she wasn’t about to walk to Amber’s house, there really was only one thing to do – snack on whatever Marilyn had in the fridge, and knowing her friend, she had a lot, and then do something decidedly dastardly, and clean out her friend’s closet.
If Marilyn was unhappy with her life, then the best place to start was her wardrobe, and Claudia was just the person to do it.
~
“What the heck?” Amber looked around her bedroom and found nothing was in its place, but unlike the previous night, there wasn’t anything on the floor.
What? She had a friendly fairy who just happened to like housework?
Then the thought hit her – the shifter – but no, he hadn’t been in her house to clean up, unless he was cleaning up something he didn’t want her to see.
“That’s fast work, even for a neat freak like you,” Scott said from the doorway.
“It wasn’t me,” Amber said and cocked a look back over her shoulder at her brother who shrugged.
“It didn’t magic itself tidy … oh, but there was an interested shifter in your house.” He grinned, and that playful look in his eyes made Amber clench a little.
“Do not…”
“Too late – Amber and the shifter, sitting in a tree…” Amber used her magic to launch the top book from a pile on her dresser by the door right at his head, and he was too slow to react; it caught him a good one on the temple before his hand shot out, and he managed to catch it before it hit the carpet. “Nice shot,” he grumbled.
“If you’re going to wear long pants at least act your age,” Amber scolded him. That didn’t stop her cheeks glowing red-hot with embarrassment, and she did feel like the spotlight of scrutiny was upon her. “Shame it was a paperback.”
“Shame I didn’t know sooner that you and the shifter were a thing, I would have invited him to stay for coffee and…” Scott doubled timed it out of the door when the rest of the books in the pile followed the first.
“Temper-temper, Sis,” Scott called with a chuckle that rattled her nerves and made her want to throw a chest of drawers at his head. “I heard that the heart wants what the heart wants.”
Amber opened and closed her mouth like a goldfish. By the time she’d thought of a really good comeback line she never got to deliver it because her mother’s voice floated up the stairs.
“And what does Amber’s heart want?”
“Oh dear, Goddess,” Amber muttered to herself. “Do not let my big-mouth brother throw a dead cat on the table of my sanity…”
“A shifter!” Scott said with glee.
As the breath left Amber’s lungs on a low whine of doom, all she could hear was her brother chuckling like an idiot and her mother’s silence.
In her mother’s world, silence often said a lot more than ranting, raving, shouting, or screaming, and Amber steeled herself for what came after the silence – usually the third degree – the never-ending third degree.
~
Sandy wasn’t sure what it was about Clearview that made her feel so connected to the town. Maybe it had something to do with Amber, she liked her a lot, and nobody had ever been as kind to her as Amber had.
She’d hate to leave, but she felt like an unlucky charm that was bringing bad luck. Since she’d arrived in town things seemed to be going wrong, strangely wrong, for Amber’s family, and she didn’t know if it was anything to do with her, but it sure felt that way.
Sandy scooped up the pile of different coloured candles she’d sorted to replenish the display stock and looked out of the shop window just to make sure a customer wasn’t about to come in and catch her on the hop.
Sandy liked the store, she wanted to stay busy, and she felt different when she was there; like it spoke to her, gave her some calm in the recent storm of her life, which was silly because it was just a store.
Sandy had a little chuckle at the thought of it. Maybe it was the scented candles that chilled her frayed nerves, and the pretty tumble stones and witchy wares that intrigued her and took her mind of life in general.
Whatever it was, she was grateful for it, but she was sad that she couldn’t stay forever.
The white lilies in the beautiful multicoloured twist vase that sat higher up in the display caught her attention. She noticed that they looked a little wilted – she reached out and touched one of the petals with the tips of her fingers and wished they’d lasted just a little longer because they were so pretty – and then she jumped in place and drew a breath when the petal pulled up away from her fingers. The flowers perked up, almost perfect again.
Sandy looked around the store to see if anyone else had witnessed that, but of course, she was alone. “I only thought I saw it,” she murmured. “Wishful thinking to wishful seeing – not weird at all,” she told herself and turned her attention to the candles.
When the door was pushed open, and the little bell above rang out into the silence; she jumped again, but this time she had a good reason.
“Carlos,” she breathed out, and then couldn’t seem to take another breath in as he walked into the store like he owned the place and let the door close behind him.
“What? You thought I couldn’t find you, Sandra?” His words were mocking, and coupled with a look of contempt on his face that made her heart try to escape her ribcage, and she knew he wasn’t playing around.
“No, I was just…”
“Running – hiding?” he spat out with a sneer that made her pulse race and her hands feel clammy.
Sandy knew where the exits were; it was the first thing she’d done when she started working in the store was to plan her escape and backup route out of there, just in case. The first way out was the front door, though she’d never expected to use it, and rightly so because it was blocked by him now. The only other way out was through the back, but she had to wonder how likely she was to get to there before he caught her.
Sandy was glad that Amber wasn’t in the store. Still, she selfishly wished she had someone to stand beside her and give her the strength
that she couldn’t find on her own to stand up to him. “I was going to give you your ring – I have it…” She went to turn to the counter, but Carlos moved fast.
With a sweep of his hand; he sent the entire display crashing to the floor in a deafening clatter to startle and distract her from any attempt to run, and it worked. Instead of heading out back, Sandy only backed up away from him in the other direction.
Now, she’d done it. She’d choked on her plan of escape, and now Carlos stood between both exits. Whichever way she went, she’d need to get by him first.
Sandy knew that she didn’t stand a chance of getting out of there before he got to her first. The next move was his.
CHAPTER THIRTY
~
Lottie was heading for the bakery, but she stopped in mid-stride as a feeling washed over her that felt like a hot flash, but thankfully, she’d stopped having those a long time ago. This flash was different, this one was backed up by magic, and it called to her – magic to magic – witch to witch – and what it said was – help!
For her age, Lottie still felt light on her feet. Sure, she knew she was no spring chicken, but then being a spring chicken didn’t last long in life and you found ways to compensate when things started to wear out that you didn’t even notice you were doing.
It was middle-age, and after while that seemed to drag on and weigh you down a little more with every passing month and year. Marilyn felt that, but she still had a spring in her step when she needed it, and it felt like she needed it now.
That witchy call for help was coming from Amber’s store, but she knew that Amber, Marilyn, and Scott were at Amber’s house, and Claudia and Louann were at home. That left only one witch that was about in town unless there was someone new in town that they didn’t know about, and that witch didn’t even seem to know she was a witch, so how she was sending out a witchy SOS was anyone’s guess, but there it was, throbbing away like a distress beacon in the sea of Lottie’s thoughts.
Sandy.
Lottie had to wonder if the vampire was causing trouble again, and if he was, well, she knew just how to deal with him. She also knew the store got broken into, and Amber’s house ransacked, and it might not be the vampire that she was dealing with, but that didn’t matter. A witch had a duty of care to help their brethren in trouble, and witches got in a lot of trouble.
Lottie pulled on her magic and had it ready at her fingertips, just in case – and without a thought in her head for the fact that she wasn’t a spring chicken, she burst into the store and took in the scene. “What a lovely day for a séance,” she declared brightly and brought all eyes in her direction. “Now, if only I had the recently departed to contact,” she said in a steely tone as she turned her full attention on Carlos.
Carlos eyed the woman from head to toe and dismissed her with a grunt. “We’re closed,” he bit out, turning a hard look back to Sandy to get her to back him up.
Sandy looked from Carlos to Lottie and back again. She couldn’t protect herself, but she couldn’t allow the older woman to get in Carlos’ way either. When push came to shove; she was going to have to find the courage to get between them – she just hoped she wouldn’t need to.
Sandy turned back to Lottie. “We’re closed,” she said, hoping that Lottie would receive the warning loud and clear and just breeze on back out again without giving the game away.
“Sign says open,” Lottie said, stepping inside and letting the door close behind her. “The customer is always right, and I do so feel the need to be here.”
That wasn’t a lie. It wasn’t just Sandy’s witchy distress call that told her something was wrong, but the scared look in her eyes, and the catch in her voice when she tried to save Lottie from herself.
Little did Sandy know that Lottie wasn’t the one who needed saving. If that was the ex that Amber had been telling her about, then Lottie had no qualms about dropping him like a logged tree and explaining herself to the police later.
Admittedly, she’d leave out the part where she’d done it with magic, and play the dotty old fool to get herself off any hooks she might be wiggling on. But ultimately, it would be her word against his, and she was an upstanding citizen, born and bred in the town, and he was a stranger. Who were they going to believe?
“Look, lady,” Carlos bit out, taking a step towards Lottie, his hands clenched into fists, he had a nasty twisted look on his face, and the air felt thick with anger.
Lottie was ready and willing to take him down.
Sandy panicked, she wished that something would just fall on his head and shut him up long enough for her to talk Lottie into leaving. Then the strangest thing happened – the largest of three cast-iron cauldrons that sat on a shelf above the counter just scooted to the edge, and as Carlos turned at the scrapping sound – it fell.
Just like that – in the blink of an eye, and before Sandy could say a word of warning, if she would have, and in truth, she wasn’t entirely sure that she might – it dropped down and caught him on the head, and – splat.
It hit him, and he hit the floor, and there was even a satisfying clang from the iron pot to boot.
Sandy gasped in a breath and slapped both hands over her mouth, and she snapped a look at Lottie when the woman took a step forward to eye Carlos. Then a wry smile spread across the older woman’s lips, and Sandy was sure there was a twinkle of something in Lottie’s eyes, but she was too shocked to connect the dots of what that twinkle could mean. “Nice shot,” Lottie said.
“I didn’t…” Sandy dropped her hands and shook her head. Now she looked like a goldfish out of the water as her bottom jaw flapped, but no words came out.
“Oh, but I think you did,” Lottie said with a wicked little smile. “Be careful what you wish for.”
“What?” Sandy said, moving forward towards Carlos, and then panicked and stepped back again when she saw the blood, she hated blood. Lottie thought the young witch looked a little like a headless chicken, but what did she know? “Huh?” Sandy gulped out.
“Did nobody ever show you how to use your magic?” Lottie asked.
“Magi … I don’t …” Sandy shook her head again.
Lottie knew that she might just as well have been talking in tongues, because nothing was registering with the young witch, and she got that – the first time was usually the hardest to understand.
“Don’t panic, you didn’t kill him – but you did give him a killer headache, and us time to get help,” Lottie assured her.
“He’s not dead?” Sandy asked, and in truth, she wasn’t sure if she was happy or not that he was still breathing. For a split second, she’d been glad when she thought he was dead and gone from her life, and that left her free to do whatever she wanted without looking over her shoulder.
“Unfortunately not,” Lottie said, and hot-footed it over to the front door where she twisted the sign to closed, but yanked the door open.
“Don’t leave!” Sandy panicked once more.
“Oh, I’m not going anywhere,” Lottie assured her. Then she poked her head out of the door, looked left and right until she found what she was looking for.
Sandy struggled to hear what Lottie was saying, so she listened harder. “I need your help.” The thing was nobody was there.
“I’ll help,” Sandy said. “But shouldn’t we call the police?”
Lottie turned back and let the door close behind her. “I wasn’t speaking to you, and what do we tell the police? That you wished a cauldron to fall on his head and knock him out?”
“I didn’t,” Sandy said, confused. “Or maybe I did, but I didn’t do it on purpose, and there aren’t any fingerprints.”
“Now you’re thinking like a criminal.” Lottie chuckled. “But sure, tell yourself it was fate – a fluke – unlucky timing, maybe he’d walked under a ladder this morning, or a black cat had crossed his path,” Lottie said with a smirk. “Or maybe he’d broken a mirror- that’s seven years bad luck, you know?”
“But,” Sandy st
opped trying to talk because she found she couldn’t speak and think at the same time – and neither talking nor thinking was working out for her at the moment. She deflated.
When Sandy caught sight of Neal walking by the window, she motioned to Lottie to give her a heads up, and much to Sandy’s surprise Lottie yanked open the door and let the man inside. “You call yourself speedy?” Lottie scolded him.
“I suppose I could have borrowed your broomstick to get here faster, but either way the civilians outside might have noticed something,” he said, returning fire with a smug smile.
“Eyes on the prize, bad boy of sucks-Ville,” Lottie berated him and pointed to Carlos.
“You insult me and ask for my help in the same breath? How like a witch,” Neal shot back.
“A witch?” Sandy gasped, and Neal winced.
“Two for one special today,” he said to Lottie.
“Relax, she’s a kindred spirit who doesn’t want to admit it to herself yet,” Lottie said, and then pointed to Carlos. “But I think that one is a nasty piece of work and could do with an attitude adjustment and never to darken her door again.”
Neal considered it for a long moment. “And what do I get for my trouble?” he asked with a devilish smile and oozing charm.
“I’ll owe you one,” Lottie said in a dry tone and raised one eyebrow that was cocked and loaded to show him that she wasn’t falling for his vampire charms.
Neal sighed. “I will collect,” he informed her, as he stalked over to Carlos and hefted him up and over his shoulder like it was no big thing.
“I’m shocked,” Lottie said, rolling her eyes, and watched him head for the back door.
“Any requests?” Neal asked Sandy on his way by her, but he thought she looked like Bambi at that moment in time and was struggling to understand what was happening.
“Huh?” Sandy looked to Lottie for help.