A little giggle sprung to her lips. “Good!”
“Where’s Alba?” Holly asked with a frown on her lips. “She’s late for her makeover!”
“I’m pretty sure she stayed late to talk to Sorceress Stone about summoning ghosts. She said she might do that. Since I haven’t had any luck calling Morgan’s spirit, she’s been trying to learn how to do it herself. I know she’s been upset that we haven’t been more help,” I said. I felt pretty bad about not being able to help, too but I didn’t know what else I could do.
Just then Holly’s dorm room door flew open and Alba strutted in, out of breath.
“Jeez, run all the way here?” I asked her with a little laugh.
“You’re late!” Holly barked at Alba.
“I stayed late with the Sorceress. She was giving me some extra practice on summoning spirits.”
“Why don’t you just tell her what you’re trying to do? She could summon Morgan’s ghost,” Jax suggested.
Alba shrugged as she threw her backpack down on the floor and fell into the oversized saucer chair next to her desk. “I don’t know, I guess I figured if she wanted to do that if she can do that, she would have by now. Why would I have to tell her to?”
Jax nodded. “Yeah, you’re right. They say ghosts won’t go to just anyone. They have to feel safe with the medium.”
“Maybe Morgan just doesn’t feel safe with us,” Alba suggested with her head hung low.
“No, I bet she’s trying to guard her body. Whoever stole it, stole it for a reason and I’m worried about what that reason might be,” I told the squad.
“What reasons could there be?” Holly asked as she pulled her curling iron closer to Alba’s chair.
“Obviously whatever intentions they have, they’re evil.”
“Duh,” Alba uttered sarcastically. “Ow! Watch it!” she screamed as Holly began to tug on Alba’s short hair.
“Sorry.”
“I just wish I could figure out the weird feeling I got about Morgan’s dad,” I said regretfully.
“You still think he has something to do with her death?” Jax asked.
I shrugged. “I have no idea. There was just something about him that set off alarm bells in my body. I’m hoping it will come to me.”
“Maybe we should all meditate on it,” Jax suggested. She peered into the mirror and touched at her makeup.
Holly shook her head with a bobby pin in her mouth. “Uh-uh. Tonight isn’t about work. Or school. It’s about fun. We haven’t had any fun all week.”
“There’s a dead girl out there with her body missing and you’re worried about fun?” Alba asked her wryly.
“I think she’s right.” I had to agree with Holly. What more was there for us to do? We were novice witches with no right to be involved, even though we all wanted to help. “Let’s just take the opportunity to meet the men tonight. Maybe we’ll pick up on something from them. We can’t rule them out, ya know.” Libby and Cinder’s words replayed in my mind – around here you have to consider everyone a suspect.
At 7 o’clock the five us wandered down the stairs, out the lobby, and into the courtyard. An assortment of mostly well dressed men were strolling around, drinking cups of punch and looking like quite like a bunch of aristocratic sons.
Ugh. I was so not the ‘marry a politician’ sort of girl. I had hoped there would be more normal guys here. My attention was drawn to a squabble going on towards the left side of the courtyard. One of the Wiz Kids – as I’d learned most of the witches called the guys next door – was arguing with one of the girls from my school about whether or not the girls had cheated at the recent Broomery Golf tournament.
Holly immediately abandoned the squad for a nice looking boy with an expensive looking ring on his pinky finger and an ascot around his neck that introduced himself as Evan. Alba excused herself to go find a plate of food, leaving Jax, Sweets and I to wander the courtyard awkwardly. I felt like a high school girl trying to find a lunch table to sit at again. Finally I suggested we just take a seat and people watch for awhile.
“Oooh, he’s cute,” Jax commented on a tall thin boy wearing a simple pair of khaki pants and a short sleeve button down shirt.
“At least he’s not wearing a suit,” I agreed. “The rest of these guys look like business majors, not at all what I would expect for a school of wizardry.”
Libby and Cinder joined us, each was wearing a nice dress and high heels. “Well, the men are told to dress their best for these social events,” Libby told us.
“I figured as much, but does their best really have to be a suit and tie? I’d rather see everyone in jeans and a t-shirt. Dressing realistically is much more indicative of their true personalities.” It just didn’t make sense to me. And it was quite disappointing if I were being honest.
“Maybe some of them feel most comfortable in a suit and tie?” Sweets suggested lightly.
I shrugged. “I guess that’s possible. But the man of my dreams certainly won’t be wearing a suit and tie?”
“Will he be wearing a cowboy hat and boots?” Sweets asked coyly.
“What?” I asked her, confused.
She pointed her finger across the courtyard, where a small group of men had just walked in. None of them wore suits or ties; instead they all wore denim jeans and an assortment of nice shirts. One of them wore jeans, a button down plaid shirt and a cowboy hat and cowboy boots and for some reason he seemed to hold my attention and I could hardly pull my eyes away.
The girls and I watched as the small group of men made their way through the crowd, stopping to chat with people here and there. Finally they broke free of the big crowd and made their way to the shallow end, near us. My heart began to thump nervously in my chest. The cowboy was a handsome man, tall, square jaw line, broad shoulders, and muscular arms. Something about him set my skin on fire.
“Hello ladies,” said the man next to the cowboy. He was a tall gangly fellow with a shock of blonde hair that fell into his eyes when he turned his head.
“Hi there,” Jax said with a big smile. “I’m Jax, this is Sweets, Mercy, Libby and Cinder.”
The tall fellow shook Jax’s hand and kissed the top of it causing Jax to giggle. “It’s nice to meet you Jax. I’m Freddy. This is Houston, Nick, Juan and Curt.”
“Nice to meet you all,” Jax smiled at them all. “Are you all first year students?”
“As a matter of fact, we are,” Freddy said with a nice little smile. “And you ladies?”
“We’re second year,” Libby said, pointing at her and her sister.
“The rest of us are first year,” said Jax.
The music blaring from the speakers changed and suddenly it was playing a casual slow song.
“Would any of you care to dance?” Freddy asked, looking directly at Jax.
She lunged forward, taking the hand he had extended towards her. “Absolutely, see ya ladies!” she called back to us as Freddy pulled her out onto the dance floor, leaving us alone with his four friends.
“I like your hat,” I said to Houston, the cowboy, as we all stood looking at each other awkwardly.
He touched the brim, nodding at me in the process. “Thanks.”
“I’ve never met a cowboy wizard before,” Sweets said with a little giggle.
“Just because he has a cowboy hat doesn’t make him a cowboy. Are you a cowboy?” I asked him. I would be surprised if he were. I’d never seen a cowboy wizard before either.
A slow shy smile spread across his face and one eyebrow shot up. “Would you like me to be a cowboy?”
Ah. He was a player. I’d met those kinds of guys before. Immediately I stood up. The night was quickly tanking. “You be whatever trips your trigger, Cowboy,” I said curtly before heading back towards Winston Hall. I was going to grab a bagel and a macchiato from the coffee shop and call it a night. Maybe Sneaks would be back and I could snuggle up with him and a spell book on my Kindle or something.
I hadn’t gotten within ten
feet of the hall when I heard the distinct sound of boots pounding the cobblestone behind me. In seconds the tall, good looking cowboy had situated himself between myself and the door to girls’ lobby. “Well hold up there, now.”
I stopped and looked up at him in annoyance. “Lose your horse?” I asked him sarcastically.
“Why’d you run off so quick?” he asked casually. “I was only playing.”
“Well, that’s the thing Cowboy, I’m not really into games.”
“I’m not either,” he promised, holding his hands up as if swearing an oath. “My buddies were just giving me a hard time about wearing a cowboy hat and boots to the social and when the first thing you noticed was the hat, well, I didn’t know if it was a good thing or a bad thing.”
I was quiet for a moment. I guess that made sense. I let a little smile curl the side of my mouth.
Houston put one arm up on the doorway and leaned in a little closer to me. “So, is the hat a good thing or a bad thing?”
I shrugged as color flooded my face. “It’s different. I happen to have a soft spot for different.”
“So that means it’s good?” he asked. His hazel eyes sparkled as he looked at me.
“I suppose, if you must put a label on it, yeah, the hat’s good,” I admitted.
He stood up straighter. “Well alright then, can we start over?”
I couldn’t help but appreciate his little southern drawl, it was pretty cute. “What the heck, sure.”
“Good. Let me properly introduce myself. I’m Houston Brooks. Yes. I am a cowboy. I grew up in Texas. My mother says I was conceived in Houston, which a-course I never really needed to know, but that’s where she came up with the name.”
Nothing like knowing where a guy was conceived to break the ice. “It’s nice to meet you Houston, I’m Mercy Habernackle. I’m from Illinois. I have no idea where I was conceived.”
He chuckled. “It sure is a pleasure to meet you Mercy Habernackle. You’ve got beautiful green eyes, they are very bewitching,” he said quietly as a little smile played around his lips.
I felt my cheeks redden again at the compliment. I wasn’t used to getting compliments. “Thanks Houston.”
“You can call me Hugh, most folks do, would you like to dance?” he asked me.
I looked around behind me and saw that all of my friends were on the dance floor. “I’m really not much of a dancer,” I admitted nervously.
“It’s alright, it’s slow dancing, not advanced algebra,” he said with a chuckle.
“I’m probably better at advanced algebra than slow dancing, but ok,” I said, grinning up at him. He extended his elbow to me and I slipped my hand through it and let him lead me to the dance floor. He turned to me and soon I felt his arms slip around my back, pulling me closer to him. My pulse started to race and I awkwardly tried to keep time with him, but my legs and feet just didn’t want to communicate properly with my brain.
“Boy, you were right,” he whispered into my ear as we circled the dance floor. “You really can’t dance, can you?”
I dug my fingers into his shoulder playfully. “I told you!”
“Have you eaten? How about we get a bite to eat?”
I wondered if he’d felt the rumbling in my stomach while we danced. “Yeah, food would be good. I’m starving.”
“They’ve got free pizza tonight in our lobby, can I tempt you away for a slice?”
I looked at my dancing friends. The thought that I should probably let them know that I was wandering off with a stranger for a few minutes alerted me to the fact that I was being invited into the boys’ building. Perhaps I’d find a clue about the Hartford girl’s missing body. “Yeah, let me just let my friends know where I’m going. I’ll be right back,” I said quickly.
“Ok, I’ll wait over here,” Hugh said and left the dance floor.
I scuttled over to Jax quickly, who was still cutting a rug with Freddy. “Jax, I’m going to go get a slice of pizza with Houston in the lobby of the boys’ dorm.”
She nodded as she spun around to the new fast beat. “Ok Merc, see ya later!”
The boys’ lobby looked much like the girls’. Except they had a big screen TV and a lounge area where our coffee shop was.
“So what brings you to The Institute, Mercy?” Houston asked as he slid two slices of pepperoni pizza onto a paper plate.
“Truth?” I asked with a little smirk.
He looked up at me and smiled. “Yeah, the truth.”
“It was either this or a correctional facility.” I felt bad leading with the truth. Holly had specifically forbade me from saying anything such as this, but I had no interest in meeting someone and then them finding out my worst secrets later and then ditching me. I’d had that happen far too many times in my lifetime to want to start that here where the playing field was level.
“A correctional facility? What did you do?” I noticed that his eyes crinkled in the corner when he smiled. It was pretty adorable.
I shrugged as I grabbed us each a napkin from the counter. “I was born a witch.”
He led us to a table and chairs in the lobby. He pulled my chair out for me and pushed me in when I sat down. I’d never had anyone do that for me in the past, it made me feel a bit like a lady. If he’s going to treat you like a lady, then act like one! I heard my mother’s voice in my head.
He sat down across the table from me and took his hat off, setting it on the chair next to him. His sandy blonde hair curled around up around his ears. “Yeah, being born with – powers – isn’t really as easy as many would like to believe. We can’t do everything, but we can do just enough to make us different.”
I nodded. “Exactly. I’m really hoping that The Institute will teach me how to use my abilities effectively, and I never thought I’d say this, but, I’ve enjoyed meeting a group of girls who are witches too. No one judges here. It’s actually kind of refreshing.”
Hugh nodded. “I’m glad you’re having a good experience here.”
“Aren’t you?”
He looked down at his plate. “It’s alright. Being in a dorm full of guys, in classes full of guys, and having dinner with a bunch of guys, has been rather – boring. This is kind of nice, though.”
His hazel eyes looked at me intently. Wow, this guy is good. I smiled at him as a little shiver zipped down my spine and pebbled my skin.
“It’s kind of chilly in here,” I said when my goose bumps wouldn’t go away.
“You’re cold? I have a sweater in my room, I could go get you one?” he asked, about to stand up.
I reached out an arm and pulled him back down. “No, no. It’s fine. Maybe we could just finish our pizza outside? You must have your air conditioner on in here. You’re lucky, we don’t have air in our dorms.”
He shook his head as he finished the slice he was working on. “No, we don’t have air either,” he said and then stood up. “Let’s go outside, it’s a nice evening.”
I smiled at him and together we walked back into the courtyard. As we passed through the short stone wall, I heard a scream come from the dance floor. “That sounded like Jax!” I said, handing Houston my plate of pizza. “Can you take this please?”
I took off towards the dance floor and saw Alba rushing towards the dance floor from the cafeteria. “Jax!” she hollered.
{ Chapter Eleven}
“Jax! What happened?” I asked as I found the blonde pixie haired girl on the dance floor with a look of horror on her face.
The rest of the Witch Squad had circled around her too. Jax pointed at Freddy. “This creep practically molested me on the dance floor!”
Alba’s temper flared. “He got rough with you?”
Jax nodded emphatically. “Yeah, we were just dancing and then all of a sudden he’s got his tongue down my throat! I tried to push him off of me, but he wouldn’t budge and then before I knew it he had his filthy paws where they shouldn’t have been.”
Freddy’s hands went up in defense as Alba’s stu
rdy frame challenged him immediately. “Hey, hey. I thought the chick wanted it.”
“What part of stop did you not understand, jerk!” Jax hollered at him.
Suddenly Houston was by my side. “What happened?”
I looked up at him angrily. “Your friend happened. Come on Jax, let’s go.”
“Wait, Mercy, don’t go,” Houston pleaded as he looked between Freddy, Jax, Alba and I.
Sweets and Holly left their dance partners to follow Alba and I as we escorted Jax back to Winston Hall. “Are you alright Jax?” I asked as we all plopped down onto the sofa and arm chairs in a little nook in the lobby.
She nodded with tear filled eyes. “Yeah, we were having so much fun and then all of a sudden it’s like he snapped and he got super aggressive! I didn’t do anything, I swear.”
Alba shook her head, her dark eyes blazed angrily. “You don’t have to apologize. It’s not your fault he got handsy with you. That jerk. He should be kicked out of school for that.”
Jax wiped at her eyes. “It’s ok, Alba. Don’t get him in trouble. I learned my lesson, that’s all.”
“You should have just zapped him one,” Holly said angrily. “Guys like that need to be taught a lesson.”
“Yeah, let’s go back to the room and curse him good,” I said with a little nod.
Jax dropped her head into her hands and began to sob.
“Jax! What’s the matter?” Sweets asked, rubbing Jax’s back.
“Don’t cry,” said Holly. “Let’s get even!”
“I can’t get even!” Jax finally sobbed.
“What do you mean?” I asked her. I looked at the other girls and searched their faces to see if they knew what she was talking about.
“I can’t do a spell on Freddy!”
“Ok, you don’t have to. We were just trying to make you feel better,” I assured her.
“No, you don’t understand,” she bawled. “I want to put a spell on Freddy, but I can’t!”
The rest of the girls and I looked at each other in confusion. “You’re not making any sense, Jax,” I told her.
The Witch Squad: A Witch Squad Cozy Mystery #1 Page 8