Clearwater Witches Boxset

by Madeline Freeman

  About fifteen minutes pass before we drop off Ryan. He consults the GPS on his phone before heading into a wooded thicket at the side of the road.

  “Let me guess,” I say as Dad starts driving again, “the four of you are going to be at the four corners of Clearwater—north, south, east, and west.”

  Jodi glances at me over her shoulder. “Clever girl. Yeah, with each of us at the town line at the cardinal direction points, it should give the spell enough juice to work.”

  I raise an eyebrow. “Should?”

  Dad reaches over and pats Jodi on the knee. “It’ll work. Everything will be fine—you’ll see.”

  We follow the main road out of town. Jodi pulls onto the shoulder just past the sign announcing we’re leaving Clearwater. When we get out of the car, she checks her phone.

  “Shelly’s in place. David and Ryan are nearly there. Won’t be long now.”

  There’s a nervousness at the edge of Jodi’s voice and she worries the folded edge of her paper bag. Is she really that worried the spell won’t work? Perhaps because she and her circle are out of practice at magic? But that didn’t stop them from being able to bind my friends and me the other night.

  “Krissa, you’re going to be all right,” Jodi says abruptly, turning and taking hold of my shoulders. “Trust your dad. He and Anya know a lot more about Seth than you do.”

  “Okay,” I say slowly.

  “I’m serious. And don’t try to do something crazy on your own.” She sighs, brushing her hand over my hair. “While I get that it’ll be hard, given some of the people in your circle and whatever complications are happening because of the binding, you have to do your best to rein in your friends, too. You’re going to need each other to beat Seth.”

  I nod hesitantly. There’s an almost manic glint in Jodi’s eye, one I don’t like at all. Why is she telling me all this right now? Why can’t she just tell me after the spell is over?

  Her phone trills and she gives a little start before checking it. “Everyone’s in place. I should get ready.” She grips her paper bag and candle tightly. Taking in a deep breath, she pulls me into a fierce hug.

  I hug her back because I know she needs me to, but it’s the last thing I want to do right now—I want to shake her, to make her tell me why she’s acting so weird. “Jodi, you’re scaring me.”

  “Don’t be scared,” she murmurs, but her voice trembles. When she releases me, she wipes beneath her eyes.

  Dad steps between us and pulls Jodi into a hug. They whisper things I can’t decipher to each other before separating, both sniffing. The unease surges in my veins, a thread of panic weaving around my insides. Whatever is about to happen isn’t good.

  Taking my hand, Dad tugs me several yards up the road, back toward the way we came. I struggle against him, but his grip is too strong. When we stop, I turn to watch Jodi, whose eyes are on her phone. She takes in a deep breath a releases it through her nose before pocketing the device and shifting the supplies in her hands. Opening the paper bag, she peers inside, inhaling the scent of the herbs. She holds the candle in her right hand and when her phone trills again, she closes her eyes and the wick flickers to life.

  I survey the scene as Jodi’s lips begin to move, forming words that don’t reach my ears. Her face is relaxed, beautiful. I’ve known for a while that she has magic, but this is the first time she’s ever looked powerful to me—like she really can use the elements around her to affect change on her environment. There’s so much more within her than teas and homeopathic remedies. How have I never noticed before? Once the spell is over, I’ll have to tell her…

  Realization dawns on me and I dart toward her. I don’t get more than a few steps before my dad’s arms close around my middle.

  “You have to stay here, where it’s safe,” he murmurs in my ear.

  I struggle against his arms. “But—Jodi. She’s outside the town line. Once she does the spell—”

  “She won’t be able to get back in,” Dad finishes. “It’s the only way. She and her circle are going into hiding. If someone wants to break their spell, all they’d have to do is kill its casters.”

  Dad’s grip is like iron around my waist, but I continue to fight. “Then isn’t she safer in here? Seth’s out there, remember? If she’s in here, he can’t get her.”

  “But who’s to say someone inside Clearwater wouldn’t have reason to break the spell? They’re safer in the big wide world than tiny little Clearwater. There are more places to hide—and they won’t all be together.”

  I don’t know what to say. All I know is I don’t want Jodi to leave me. In the short time she’s been part of my life, she’s become like a second mother to me. I can’t imagine living without her. With my dad back, I felt like maybe, finally, I’d get to have an unbroken family—but in less than two full days, someone’s taken it from me again. Tears prickle my eyes as Jodi places the bag of herbs on the ground. With her free hand, she pulls something from her front pocket. In a flash, she’s flipped open the knife and brought it up to the hand still holding the candle. Her face tightens as she pulls the knife across her palm. Thick, red blood drips onto the bag, then she squats and touches the candle flame to the paper. She continues to chant as it catches fire. As it burns, a shimmer of translucent light shoots upward and outward—a wall surrounding the entire town. I can see the whole thing for several seconds before it dissolves. But even though I can’t see it anymore, I know it’s still there. I can sense it.

  Jodi’s eyes are wet when she turns them on me. She mouths I love you before turning on her heel and heading for her car. She doesn’t look back as she gets in and drives away.

  Chapter Seven

  Through a sheen of tears, I watch Jodi’s car until it turns right a half mile up the road. She’s gone—just like that. How long before I’ll see her again? And what if I don’t? While Dad seems convinced she’s safer in the world beyond the protective spell she just helped cast, I can’t share his optimism. What happens if Seth finds her?

  I wipe the tears from my eyes with the sleeves of my jacket as I spin on my heel and start up the road that leads back to town. My phone is already in my hand by the time Dad catches up with me.

  “Anya will be here to pick us up in a couple of minutes. We should just wait for her here.”

  Ignoring him, I continue my trajectory as I type a text to Bria and Felix. Surely between the two of them one can come get me.

  Dad sighs. “Look, I get that you’re upset right now, but when you calm down, I know you’ll see that this is for the best. Jodi understands that, too—that’s why she and her circle were willing to do this.”

  I hit send and pick up my pace as I wait for a response. I don’t look at my dad—I can’t look at him right now. I’m too angry. He’s just sent away one of the most important people in my life—how can he think I want to be around him? He’s the last person I want to talk to.

  I sense his agitation flaring as he works to keep up. “Honey, slow down. Let’s talk about this.”

  My phone buzzes and I glance at the message. It’s from Felix. Class is over in a minute. I’ll cut out and come get you. Send me your location.

  He’s at school—of course he is. I tamp down a twinge of guilt. It’s not like it’s the first time he’s cut class to help me out. As I send the information about where I am, Dad slows, disappearing from my peripheral vision.

  “Kristyl, stop right now and talk to me. You’re acting like a child. Kristyl.”

  His accusation stings so badly I can’t help but stop. I spin, facing him for the first time in minutes. “I’m not acting like a child. You’re pissed because you expect me to act like a child. But guess what, Dad? I’m not a little girl anymore. I’m not going to stop because you tell me to or talk because you want me to. I can’t talk about this right now—and I sure as hell don’t want to ride in a car with Anya. Felix is coming to get me.” Without waiting for a reaction, I turn again, continuing up the road.

  “Kristyl,
stop—”

  “It’s Krissa,” I call over my shoulder. “A lot changes in five years.”

  To my relief, he doesn’t follow. By the time Felix pulls up beside me, Dad’s consciousness is just a pale glimmer in the back of my awareness.

  Felix doesn’t ask what’s wrong, for which I’m thankful. I don’t want to put anything into words. Instead, I push the memory of what happened at the town line into his mind and allow him time to process it.

  He doesn’t speak until we’re set up at a table in a bagel shop off Main Street. “I know it’s not what you want to hear, but maybe your dad has the right idea here.”

  I stare past Felix, my eyes fixed on the happy cartoon poppy seed bagel painted on the far wall. It wears a cowboy hat and twirls a lasso. “How do you figure?”

  He takes a long sip from his paper coffee cup. “He said to break the spell, all a person would have to do is kill Jodi and her circle, right? And we already know Seth has no problem killing people. I’m sure it won’t take him long to figure out what happened, and he is psychic, so finding Jodi inside Clearwater would probably be a snap. But trying to pinpoint four people who could be anywhere in the world? That’s like finding a needle in a haystack. In a million haystacks.”

  My gaze shifts to a smiling cheese bagel drawn swinging on a swing. “But I need her here.”

  “She’s not the Seth expert. Like it or not, that appears to be Anya.”

  My lip curls at the sound of her name. “I don’t trust that woman.”

  “Do you trust your dad?”

  I don’t answer, but Felix doesn’t seem to expect me to. He starts on his bagel—garlic with roasted red pepper cream cheese. I pick at mine. Although I haven’t eaten yet today, I’m not hungry. His food is half gone and he’s gotten himself a refill on his coffee before he speaks again. “So, do you want to talk about your… other issue?”

  “How is it having Bridget in your head?” I ask, deflecting.

  The corner of his mouth twitches. “It’s not so bad today. I’m able to block her out better, so that’s good.”

  We chat as he finishes his bagel. I even manage to take a few bites of my own. Just talking with Felix is enough to make me feel better, but I can’t shake a sadness in my core. I try reminding myself Jodi’s absence is just temporary, but it doesn’t make it any easier to accept.

  Felix offers to provide a day full of distraction if I need it, but after we’re finished at the bagel shop, I decide I’d like to go home. Curling up in bed sounds like the best medicine right now.

  On our way down Main Street, I notice an older woman outside Hannah’s Herbs. She has her hands cupped on the glass like she’s attempting to peer inside. I wonder why she doesn’t just go in, but the answer comes to me a split second later: The shop is closed. Devin, the store’s one employee besides me, can rarely work mornings. Jodi takes almost every open shift. With Jodi gone, there’s no one to open the store.

  “Pull over,” I say, pointing toward the shop. I can sense Felix’s hesitation, but he does as I request. Before he’s even cut the ignition, I have the passenger door open. I jog toward the woman, vaguely aware of the sound of Felix following. “Can I help you?” I ask, hitching my practiced customer-service smile on my face.

  I could’ve just passed by. I know that. It’s not as if I can actually provide this woman any assistance. I don’t have keys for the doors on me, and the register won’t have any money in it to make change. Maybe it’s just that the shop makes me feel close to Jodi, and I want as much of that feeling as I can get right now.

  The woman turns. She’s older, probably in her late fifties, and slender with long gray hair pulled back into a braid. She offers a familiar smile, but there’s something clipped about it. Probably she’s irritated we’re having this conversation on the sidewalk instead of in the store. I don’t recognize her, but I get the sense I should. She’s probably a semi-regular customer. “I was hoping to pick something up. My son-in-law is a long-haul trucker who just got in a few hours ago after a rather exhausting shift. He’s feeling a little under the weather and I wanted to pick up something to help.”

  A wave of guilt sweeps me. “I’m so sorry. We might be open later today, if that helps.” I don’t know if it’s true, but it’s possible Devin will be by in the afternoon.

  She cocks her head to the side. “Any particular reason you’re not open now? Jodi usually gives notice if the store’s hours are going to change.”

  I open my mouth, but nothing comes out. I can’t very well tell her the real reason Jodi’s not here.

  “Family emergency,” Felix says. “Very last minute. Jodi sends her apologies.”

  The woman turns her shrewd gray eyes on Felix for a moment before turning back to me. “Well, I hope everything works out. Thank you for stopping, Kristyl. I’ll try back again later.”

  I smile and wave as she starts across the street. When Felix and I are safely in his car, he asks, “Do you know her or something?”

  I shrug. “I guess.” There is something familiar about her, but I can’t place it. The idea nags at me until Felix drops me off at home, and then the sadness over Jodi being gone crashes over me again.

  As I walk toward the wraparound porch, the memory of my first day here overwhelms me. Although it was only weeks ago, so much has happened between then and now that it feels like a lifetime. When I’d needed her, Jodi took me in, even though I hadn’t seen her in five years. She quickly changed from estranged relative to guardian to friend, becoming almost like an older sister to me. And when my reality shifted, Jodi alone remained constant. I understand Felix’s point about her being harder to locate and therefore safer in the wide world, but the selfish part of me wants her here.

  My fingers curl around the doorknob and when I push it open and step into the house, the scraps of composure I’ve been holding onto disintegrate. Everything about this place reminds me of her—from the funky coat hooks created from flattened forks and spoons to the candles adorning every flat surface to the faintly earthy scent that’s ever-present thanks to the greenhouse at the end of the hall.

  Tears prickle my eyes and I wipe at them, desperate to hold it together. I have my mom and dad back. In another life, my parents being safe, whole, and with me would have satisfied two of my deepest desires. But now it’s not enough. Just thinking about Jodi off who-knows-where, probably staying at some low-rent motel with thread-bare blankets, worn carpeting, and mystery odors, makes guilt clench my stomach. She left to protect me—to keep me safe.

  I blink hard and wipe my eyes one last time. I won’t cry. Jodi doesn’t need my tears. What she needs is for Seth to be gone so she can come back home. The problem is, I don’t know how to defeat him. As much as I want to rage at Dad for letting Jodi leave, I know now I won’t. I’ll apologize for my behavior and await further instructions because that’s what I can do to help my aunt. But my resolve does nothing to relieve my sadness as I climb the stairs toward my room.

  Chapter Eight

  Things are difficult at school the next day. Although when I’m at home, I don’t find it too difficult to keep my mind clear, proximity to the other circle members wears down my defenses quickly. In addition to dealing with an almost constant flow of errant thoughts and emotions from Owen and Fox, I also catch flashes from any witch or psychic who happens to be in the class at the time. And then there’s the issue of Zane.

  Although, according to Felix, everyone learned of his death yesterday, the topic is still on the tongues of most students. Now that the shock of his passing has worn off, people have moved on to debating what caused it. By third hour, I’ve overheard everything from motorcycle crash to drug overdose, but no matter how wild the speculation gets, it doesn’t come close to approaching the truth. Not that I’m in any hurry to correct any misconceptions. This is definitely a case where fact is stranger than fiction.

  Paying attention in class isn’t even an option. I fake my way through assignments by working a spell I’ve seen
Crystal do before, using magic to fill in answers I know. It’s not automatic as much as a shortcut, taking the information already in my head and transferring it onto the paper without me having to write it out by hand. It works okay in English for the rough draft of an essay, but as I don’t know half the answers in second hour science, a portion of the worksheet is full of gibberish. When I hand it in, I hope this is the kind of assignment the teacher checks for completeness rather than correctness.

  When I get to Spanish, I’m surprised to find Tucker already seated in a desk right by where West, Felix, and I sit. Tucker is perpetually tardy, so to see him in class early is beyond strange. He lifts his chin familiarly as I start up the aisle. I take in a breath and tamp down the swell of unease rising in my stomach. I don’t like the idea of being alone with him until Felix and West arrive—but what could he possibly do to me in the classroom? Besides, it’s like I told Owen: I can’t hold my reality’s Tucker’s actions against this Tucker. They’re not the same person.

  Still, my stomach churns as I take my seat. I want to give him the benefit of the doubt, but when I look at him I still see the eyes of the guy who pinned me to the brick wall outside the bookstore. Maybe I always will.

  Felix and West arrive less than a minute later and I’m able to breathe more easily. Neither of them seem surprised or bothered by Tucker’s presence.

  We have a substitute today, and once she takes attendance she assigns some practice exercises from the book and promptly sits behind the teacher’s desk, pulling an e-reader out of her purse. While a handful of the more serious students immediately pull out their textbooks and get to work, the majority of the class erupts into conversation.

  I open my notebook to a fresh page but don’t get any further. If the teacher were here, I’d make an effort, but the substitute’s attitude is contagious and I just don’t care.

  Tucker taps Felix on the shoulder. “So, uh, there’s something I’ve been meaning to ask.”