Looking for Mr. Good Witch

by Joyce

  Dorothy stared at the people around us with a blank expression in her eyes. I wondered if she was thinking about whether or not she wanted to see Brian or if she’d been overwhelmed by meeting the council.

  A few witches examined us in disdain, but no one else spoke. I didn’t recognize any local witches or even any witches we’d met on our travels, which had taken us around the world. It was as if this was a different level of witches, one that didn’t make friends with ordinary people like us.

  “I want to see him,” Dorothy suddenly blurted out. She reached for a glass of wine as a servant walked by, and downed it in one swallow. “I can’t leave until I see him. I can’t believe it’s real until I’m sure he’s dead.”

  Having examined Brian before Cassandra had come for him, I believed we all knew that Brian was gone. I understood what she meant by wanting to see him one last time. Somehow the brain refused to accept that a horrible truth was possible. Sometimes it helped seeing the person again. Sometimes it didn’t. But I was willing to do whatever she needed. Despite what Olivia thought about her relationship with Brian, I knew her heart had never been involved with him. Dorothy’s was.

  “All right.” I took her hand. “Olivia is going to have to wait behind the drape until we’re ready to go. I’m sorry. I don’t like the council, but I don’t want to be the witch who was kicked out because she brought a ghost with her.”

  “I understand. I’m sorry.” She sniffed. “How are we going to find him?”

  “I think Brian might be over there, where the large group of witches is standing. They’re filing past something and it’s not the dessert table.”

  Dorothy and I looked where Elsie was pointing. There were many witches slowly moving past something that was against a stone wall.

  “Let’s go see.” I held Dorothy’s hand as we got to our feet.

  “If Mom couldn’t be here, I’m glad that you and Elsie are,” she whispered.

  Olivia was peeking out from behind the drape. She hissed at us a few times and tried to flag us down. I ignored her and kept walking. I didn’t want Brian’s memorial to end in a brawl with a ghost-versus-witch theme. Nor did I want to rub it in the council’s faces that we were harboring a ghost. That could be the deciding factor to them for making her disappear forever, as Cassandra had hinted many times.

  “Ladies.” Richard Brannigan approached us with a plate of food in one hand and a champagne glass in the other. “It’s good to see you. No hard feelings over what went down the last time we met, I hope.”

  “None at all,” I told him with a pleasant smile. The dwarf witch lawyer had been Olivia’s attorney for her will. He had also tried to take my amulet—at the council’s request, of course.

  “I’m glad to hear it. I did what was necessary with the werewolf and such.” His beady eyes behind his wire-rimmed spectacles coveted my amulet. “I see you’ve managed to hold on to it, Molly. Good for you.”

  “Thank you. Excuse us. We’re going to see Brian.” We walked around him as he called out a farewell. I was glad we weren’t saddled with talking to him as we had been with Cassandra. I wasn’t particularly fond of him.

  We found the end of the long line and stood together, not speaking. The line moved slowly, as the witches paid their last respects in muted voices to Brian as they passed him.

  When we finally reached the point where we could see his coffin, Dorothy gasped and her hold tightened on my hand. “What in the world? Are all witches buried that way?”

  “Oh no!” Elsie’s green eyes were riveted to the sight before us. “There’s no way I want people looking at me in a glass coffin when I die.”

  The glass coffin was incredibly ornate, with gold fittings and a blue velvet interior surrounding Brian’s handsome face. He was dressed like a prince, in a gold-and-white costume that looked as though it had come from a Renaissance faire. Heavy gold chains lay around his neck and on his chest. His hands were adorned with gold and jewels on every finger.

  “Why did they dress him like that?” Dorothy mumbled, crying.

  “Maybe that’s the way they saw him,” I replied.

  “The young Fuller prince.” Elsie completed my thought.

  The coffin was set on a small platform so that no one had to bend over to look closely at Brian. The light from the crystal chandeliers danced in the glass. Brass incense burners wafted the heavy scent of sage and bay laurel around us.

  “How can anyone be at peace that way?” Elsie whispered. “He looks uncomfortable.”

  “Let’s go,” I urged. Nothing more could be gained by standing and staring at him.

  “No.” Dorothy shook her head, her dark hair swinging from side to side. “No. This isn’t right. I just know it isn’t.”

  Afraid she was about to make a scene, I squeezed her hand. “You have to let him go. I know it’s painful, but you have to go on without him.”

  Witches behind us were making subtle and not-so-subtle sounds reminding us that there was a long line behind us. Elsie took Dorothy’s other hand to console her.

  “No!” Dorothy yelled and shook free of both of us. “This isn’t happening. It’s not right. I won’t let him die.”

  Elsie and I had no time to react as Dorothy smashed open the glass coffin with one of the brass incense burners. A woman behind us screamed and fell to the floor in a faint. Someone else yelled for security. Most of the people in the line scattered into the large hall.

  I tried to reach Dorothy, but there were too many shards of glass preventing me from easily getting her away from the coffin. I coaxed. I pleaded with her. She had become like a possessed mad woman, clearing away the glass from Brian’s body until her hands were bloody.

  “What in the world is going on here?” Abdon came down on us with his full fury. His mouth was twisted, his eyes blazing with anger when he saw Dorothy on top of what was left of the coffin.

  “Maybe we should leave now, Molly,” Elsie suggested. “There’s no point in all of us being persecuted, thrown in a dungeon, boiled in a cauldron. Let’s leave.”

  Brian’s parents rushed to the scene. Yuriza gasped and grabbed her husband’s arm. Schadt balled up his fists and reached for his wand.

  Dorothy had finally cleared away most of the glass from Brian. She looked into his young, handsome face and brushed his hair from his forehead with a light hand. “You can’t be dead. I won’t let you be dead. I love you. I know you love me too.”

  Elsie took my hand. “Molly, I think I’ve seen this movie. Only the girl was in the coffin instead of the boy. I can’t remember the name right now.”

  “Snow White,” I whispered.

  Dorothy planted her lips on Brian’s, her arms going around him to almost lift him out of the coffin. It happened so quickly that no one had time to react. Two security people stood beside me but didn’t move.

  “Brian.” Dorothy sobbed against him. “You have to wake up.”

  There was no flash of light. No clap of thunder.

  But suddenly, Brian was alive again. He sat up in the coffin and put his arms around Dorothy before he kissed her.

  “What’s going on?” He looked away from her to the astonished faces that surrounded them.

  “Son!” Schadt yelled, advancing on the coffin.

  “He’s not dead.” Yuriza followed him.

  “That’s ridiculous!” Abdon roared. “Of course he’s dead. I checked him myself.”

  “I don’t think he was dead at all.” Elsie spoke up. “I think it was just the sea witch’s spell. Or I guess the old ‘true love’s kiss’ works too.”

  I put my arm around Elsie, tears flowing freely down my cheeks. “She did it. She saved Brian.”

  Dorothy still sat on Brian in the demolished coffin.

  “True love’s kiss, huh?” Brian kissed her through her tears. “Thank you. I love you too.”

 
“Someone get them out of there before the girl bleeds to death on my grandson,” Abdon shouted. “And get all these mourners out of here too. I need some peace and quiet—and a large whiskey.”

  CHAPTER 40

  Rejoice,

  The dark times are gone.

  Rejoice at your life.

  We waited. We weren’t going anywhere without Dorothy. A healer was called in, and she took care of the cuts on Dorothy’s hands and arms. Brian carefully climbed out of the coffin after Dorothy was lifted out by two security people.

  “Hi, Molly. Elsie—you look great.” Brian, back to his usual self, grinned at us. “What are you doing here?”

  “You were dead,” I reminded him. “We came to pay our respects.”

  “That was nice. But I’m glad I’m not really dead. What happened? I remember opening the door to my apartment and someone was standing there. That’s it.”

  “It was the sea witch,” I explained. “She wanted to mate with you.”

  “Was she hot?” he asked with a teasing expression on his face.

  “When we last saw her, she looked like a big cucumber with spikes all over her and a green Brillo pad on her head,” Elsie said. “Not really your kind of date.”

  “I think I’ll pass on that.” He looked around. “Where did they take Dorothy?”

  “Let’s go somewhere more private,” Abdon said. “The others don’t need to hear all this.”

  But for my money, this was too good an opportunity to miss. “Excuse me, I think you’re wrong.”

  “What?” Abdon’s scar on his cheek stood out purple against his skin. “You are a guest in my house.”

  Frightened, but determined to say what needed to be said, I cleared my throat. “And you are on the Grand Council of Witches, which is supposed to protect all witches. We told you long before this about the danger facing Brian. The sea witch has taken the lives of twelve other young witches. Where was the council when that happened?”

  “We sent the herald to inform you.”

  “I believe you should have done more, and now all the council needs to hear what we have to say. Deny me if you like, but in the end, the council will pay the price for it.”

  Abdon opened his mouth to rebut my words, but Makaleigh Veazy held out her hand. “I would be interested in what she has to say.”

  I was grateful, and I managed to take a breath at her intervention. She reminded me of Whoopi Goldberg. Her dark hair was like a halo around her beatific countenance.

  “The council shouldn’t indulge one witch,” Joshua Bartleson said in a lofty tone. “I am certain it is against our principles.”

  “Maybe it shouldn’t be,” Makaleigh said. “We’ve gone too long without getting our hands dirty. Why are we here if not to help our fellow witches?”

  She seemed to be the only council member interested in listening to me or helping defeat the sea witch. The rest left with Abdon and Brian’s father. Yuriza stayed, casting a defiant look at her husband.

  Brian showed us to a small room with a big fireplace that was carved from crystal. There was uncomfortable furniture set on valuable Persian carpets. Crystal sconces lit the room. “You hash this out. I’m going to check on Dorothy.”

  Makaleigh sat back like a queen in a large chair. “Tell me of this sea witch, Molly Addison. I knew your great-great-grandmother. I recognize her amulet around your throat.”

  Elsie and I took turns explaining everything that had happened. I didn’t include the Bone Man in this description, because I didn’t want the council to know about the deal I’d made with him to protect Joe.

  When we were finished, Yuriza nodded. “I am not part of the council, but you have my undying gratitude for saving my son. I don’t know why Schadt and my father-in-law deem this to be of no merit. I promise to speak with them on your behalf.”

  “What can I do for you, Molly?” Makaleigh asked.

  “We need help capturing the sea witch. I believe it’s the only way Brian and other young witches will be safe from her, the only way you can make sure justice is done.”

  “Why capture what you could kill?”

  “I’m not convinced we could kill her.” I kept the real answer to myself. “Can you help with that?”

  “I grew up along the Nile many centuries ago. There were many such water creatures at that time. Let me consult the archives, and I will tell you if I find anything that might be useful to you.”

  “Archives?” Elsie perked up. “I’d love to take a look at the archives.”

  “It is forbidden for anyone not on the council,” Makaleigh said. “Perhaps someday you will sit beside us.”

  “Thank you.” Elsie inclined her head with respect, but whispered to me, “Yeah. Right.”

  “Is there any other grievance I might return to the council for you?”

  I thought I might as well air one of the biggest grievances witches in the real world had with the council. “Would you consider lifting the ban against non-magic spouses and their children knowing about witches?” It was a long shot, but if I didn’t have to worry about Joe, I wouldn’t have to figure out how to get the sea witch to the Bone Man’s island.

  Makaleigh’s arresting face grew stern. “This can never be allowed, Molly. There is too much at risk. I lived through a time of torture and death for all witches. I never want to see that time return. Witches should marry witches. They should have children who are witches.”

  “How would that happen every time?” Elsie asked.

  “There are ways to tell if the child in the womb has magic. If not, the couple should try again.”

  Elsie and I couldn’t have been more horrified by her decree if she’d told us to go out and murder every person who wasn’t a witch. The arrogance and self-righteousness of her statement took my breath away.

  “I will talk with you again, Molly. As I will you, Elsie. You can be sure that I will keep you in my special sights from now on. Thank you for enlightening me.” Makaleigh swept from the room with Yuriza at her side.

  Elsie and I put our arms around each other. “What have we done now?” she whispered. “I don’t want that monster’s special sights on me.”

  “It won’t take long for her to forget she ever met us,” I murmured. “I didn’t think anyone could be worse than Abdon.”

  Dorothy and Brian joined us in the smaller room. Dorothy still had blood all over her.

  “But the red looks very nice with that black dress,” Elsie complimented. “I’m glad you’re all right.”

  “What made you do such a thing?” I hugged Dorothy. “If Brian had really been dead, your emotional magic might have brought him back anyway. There would have been a price to pay.”

  “I know,” Dorothy said. “Elsie told me we can’t resurrect dead people. But in my heart, I knew he wasn’t really dead. I could still feel him there.”

  Brian kissed her cheek. “Lucky for me, or I’d have been buried looking like Prince Charming.” He glanced down at the jeans and T-shirt he’d changed into. “For future reference, before you put the torch on the wood, this is how I want to go out.”

  “I like your spirit!” Elsie grinned.

  “And I know I’ve been hedging about joining your coven.” Brian took Dorothy’s hand. “But it’s what I want to do. I like all of you—and love some of you. I want to help you.”

  “And you might find that we can help you too.” I was thrilled that he’d finally made a commitment. I didn’t care if it was because of Dorothy. There were no rules against lovers or spouses being part of the same coven. “Welcome, Brian. And I think we should go.”

  “I won’t argue with that,” he said. “The council is up in arms—which keeps my grandfather off my back for now. Let’s go.”

  “What about Mom?” Dorothy asked.

  “Is Olivia here?” Brian questioned.

>   “She’s hiding by the door,” Elsie said. “Maybe we could stop and make a plate of food before we leave too. I’m starving.”

  “We’d better get Olivia out of here before we do anything else,” Brian said. “I don’t want to think what could happen if someone from the council sees her.”

  “I’m glad I had peanuts,” Elsie complained.

  There were still dozens of people milling around the big ballroom. Many more had left, but it looked as though most of the council was still there. Abdon was arguing with Makaleigh near the dais.

  Olivia peeked out from behind the heavy drape. “Are we ready to go yet? This is really boring and not at all what I had in mind. Brian! You’re not dead. That’s so wonderful. Dorothy—what happened to you, honey? You’ve got blood all over your pretty dress and my diamond earrings.”

  “Not really yours anymore,” Elsie remarked.

  “We don’t have time for this,” I told them. “Let’s get you out of here, Olivia.”

  “Can we just walk out the door with her?” Dorothy asked.

  “I don’t think so.” Brian nodded toward Abdon, who was coming our way.

  “Quick.” Elsie emptied a hand-cream bottle into a nearby planter. “Get in here, Olivia. They won’t know you’re here.”

  “Really?” Olivia whined. “I don’t like the smell of that rose hand cream you use, Elsie.”

  “It’s that or nothing,” Dorothy told her. “Just do it, Mom.”

  Olivia turned into a gray mist that squeezed into the tiny hand-cream bottle. Elsie put the top on it and dropped it in her bag.

  “Where are you going, Brian?” Abdon only had eyes for his grandson.

  “I’m going home with Dorothy. I’ll talk to you later.”

  “After all you’ve put this family through, young man, you’re staying right here. The sea witch hasn’t been captured yet. She won’t give up until you’re dead. We can protect you here.”

  “I can help Molly, Elsie and Dorothy find a way to defeat her.”

  “That’s not your concern.”

  “Yes, it is. I’m going. Wish me luck.” Brian grinned at him and put his arm around Dorothy as he started out the front door.