The Witches Ladder: Witches of Palmetto Point Book 4

by Wendy Wang

“Who?”

  “The girl who lives here.”

  “The dead girl?” Jason asked.

  “Yep.” Charlie reached into the large leather bag she wore across her body. She pulled a red and black God's eye cross from the purse and held it at her side. “It's okay I have this.”

  “I can't believe you're using that,” Ben muttered.

  “Why wouldn't I? It works.” She said.

  “It's not a permanent trap.”

  “That's fine. I don't need it to be,” Charlie said. “I know a reaper that can actually transport the soul to where it needs to go with one.”

  “Right,” Ben said. He didn't hide his irritation. “One day you'll have to tell me the story of how you made friends with the reaper. I didn't think they were that friendly. They're usually all business.”

  Charlie rolled her eyes. “Maybe we should split up.”

  “Now there's an idea I can get behind,” Ben said.

  “I'm only suggesting it so that we can cover more ground. It's really not going to help matters if you decide to go all rogue and start collecting souls in your permanent amulet there,” she snapped.

  “I won't go rogue. You don't go rogue, either. We need to talk to the spirits,” Ben said.

  “Well, there's something we at least agree on,” Charlie said.

  “Fine,” Ben snapped. “I'll take the upstairs.”

  “Great,” Charlie said.

  She and Jason watched as Ben split off and headed up the carpeted steps to the second floor.

  Jason moved closer to her and spoke quietly, “So what's your plan?”

  “My plan is to find them first. I saw the girl when we first came in the house. In the kitchen. She looked terrified,” she said.

  “So he can't see them?”

  “He says he can but,” she shrugged a shoulder. “I'm not sure I believe him. You up for this?”

  “Of course I am,” he said. “What about you?”

  “Yep,” she nodded. “Come on let's go talk to her.”

  Charlie and Jason walked through the foyer to the open door of the kitchen. The air chilled even more and Charlie fought the urge to shiver.

  “Ryan?” Charlie called. “I know you're here. And I know you're scared. I just want to help you.”

  A voice came from behind them. “Haven't you done enough helping?”

  Jason's eyes scanned the room. “Did you hear that?”

  “I did,” Charlie said. “But I'm surprised you did.”

  “Yeah me, too,” Jason mumbled.

  “Ryan? Is that you?” Charlie called. A large knife block sat on the kitchen island next to a thick, expensive-looking butcher block. Charlie saw the knife handles begin to rattle in their slots. She reached for Jason's arm and pulled him to the floor as the first knife flew over their heads and planted into the wall behind them. “Ryan, do you remember me? We met not to long ago. You hid in my car.” A stack of plates crashed onto the floor near Charlie's feet.

  “Ryan I know this is scary. You don't know what's happened to you. I can help you. Let me help you,” Charlie said.

  Charlie could hear Jason's harsh breath but there were no other sounds in the room. Charlie peeked around the corner of the kitchen island. There was no sign of the girl.

  “She's gone,” Charlie said. “Come on.” She stood up. Jason stayed on the floor.

  “I really don't want a knife in the back, Charlie.” Jason said. “Maybe I should just stay here.”

  “I need you with me,” she said.

  “Why? I can't even see her.”

  “I know but I still need your eyes and your senses. Just because you can't see her doesn't mean you can't feel her,” she said. “You're also a pretty good negotiator.

  Jason rolled his eyes. “Now you're just kissing my ass.”

  “Is it working?” she asked.

  He smirked. “Maybe.” He rose to his feet.

  They heard a loud crash upstairs and rushed up the steps with Charlie in the lead. She held tightly to the God's-eye cross in her hand. She really didn't want to have to catch the girl with it. But she would if it came to that. They rounded the corner into what looked like the master bedroom, just in time to see Ben fly across the room and crash into the mirror over a large expensive-looking dresser. The silvered glass cracked and he landed on the ground, stunned, his amulet on the floor just out of his reach.

  Charlie tucked across in her pocket and held her hands up in surrender. “Hey,” Charlie said facing the apparition of a petite woman who looked a lot like Ryan. Her body flickered with most of her bottom half not showing at all. And what did show was transparent. “Hey there. You're Ryan's mom, right?”

  “Who are you and what are you doing in my house?” she screeched.

  “My name is Charlie Payne.” Charlie used the voice she reserved for soothing upset customers. “I know you're scared and I know you're confused. I'm here to help you. But I need you to answer a few questions for me, if that's possible.”

  The woman drifted closer and Charlie out of the corner of her eye she saw Jason back away.

  “There were men in my house all day,” the apparition said.

  “I know.” Charlie said.

  “And no one would answer my questions. It's like they didn't even see me,” the woman said.

  “What's your name?” Charlie asked.

  “My name is Caroline. Caroline Smoak,” she said.

  “Caroline, it's nice to meet you,” Charlie said. “Do you know what happened to you?”

  “I remember . . . I remember Tony. And I kept thinking this has to be a dream because Tony's dead. But he came in to the bedroom and he was so angry.”

  “Do you remember what happened after that?” Charlie asked.

  “He . . . “ she stopped and closed her eyes as if she were remembering but it was too painful to say out loud.

  Charlie stepped forward. “I'm sorry to have to tell you this but he killed you. That's why those men were here today. They were looking for evidence. “

  “I think I knew that. I just . . . “ Caroline crossed her arms hugging them tightly to herself and Charlie wondered if it was something she had done often in life. “I just didn't want to admit it to myself I think.”

  “I know,” Charlie said. “I really need to talk to your daughter. She's hiding somewhere in this house, though. Do you think you could get her to talk to me? It's really important. It will help me put Tony to rest, and you too.”

  “Will we . . . will we go to heaven?” Caroline asked.

  “I certainly hope so,” Charlie said, dropping her voice to a soothing register.

  “Ryan, honey,” Caroline called. “You can come out now. I don't think they're going to hurt us.”

  A second later Ryan flickered into the room and came to a halt next to her mother. Her body was a little more opaque.

  “I'm afraid your blessing didn't work,” Ryan said.

  “I'm sorry about that,” Charlie said. “I need to know something, Ryan. Remember when you asked me for a curse?”

  “Ryan?” her mother said, her tone full of shock.

  “I was just trying to stop him from hurting us,” Ryan said. “I didn't want him dead. Really I didn't. I just wanted him to stop. Actually I wanted him to leave but I figured that wouldn't happen.” Ryan folded her arms across her chest in a show of defiance.

  In the corner Ben moaned and pushed onto all fours, shaking his head. Blood streamed down one side of his face. He must have hit the mirror with his forehead for it to bleed so badly. Charlie frowned and brought her attention back to the two apparitions in front of her.

  “Ryan, I need to know who performed the curse for you? Where did you get the witch's ladder?”

  Ryan's gaze flitted from her mother to Charlie and back. Her mother wore and expression of disappointment.

  “It's okay Ryan. Please, I need you to tell me. There's another lady who's died because of a curse. I need to stop whoever is making these curses. I don't want anyon
e else to die, do you?”

  “Are you serious? Someone else has died?” Ryan asked.

  “I am.” Charlie nodded her head.

  “I mean I didn't think she would be doing it for more people. She didn't tell me it would kill my stepfather.” She chewed her bottom lip. “I just wanted to protect me and my mom.”

  “Oh sweetie, I am so sorry.” Caroline reached out to touch her daughter and it surprised Charlie when the spirit was able to make what looked like physical contact with Ryan. She had never seen that before.

  “I probably wouldn't have done it if I'd known he was gonna die, especially since we ended up dead anyway,” Ryan mumbled.

  “I understand,” Charlie said. “I just need a name.”

  Ryan rolled her eyes and sighed. “Layla Blake. She goes to my school. She's kind of a Goth girl, weird and into witchcraft. Doesn't care what anybody thinks.” She sounded wistful as she spoke of the other girl.

  “Why would you make friends with somebody like that?” her mother scolded.

  “I don't know, maybe because I was desperate. You were never going to leave him, were you?”

  “Oh Ryan, it wasn't quite that simple,” her mother said.

  “You're right. She was never gonna leave me. She knew I'd kill her if she tried. Didn't you, Caroline?”

  Tony Smoak stood in the doorway, his apparition almost solid. His energy was growing.

  Charlie and Jason faced the spirit. She pulled the Gods-eye cross out of the back pocket of her jeans as fast as she could, held it up and began her incantation. Ben finally came out of his stupor, grabbed his amulet off the floor and moved to her side, reciting his own incantation.

  Ryan and her mother disappeared as shards of mirror began to fly around the room. Jason picked up a tray that had been dumped on the floor. Bottles and palettes of makeup lay broken on the carpet next to it. As Charlie and Ben worked to capture Tony's spirit, Jason batted at the sharp pieces of silvered glass, trying to keep them from hitting them.

  The bed dragged across the floor and Jason jumped out of the way. Charlie's voice grew louder as she spoke the words of the incantation. She reached for Ben's hand, grabbing hold of it. She thought he might throw her off but he held on tight. His energy strengthened her, and her energy flowed into him; for a moment it sizzled through them both, reinforcing their collective power.

  The spirit shook in place, flickering with shadows and light. He became soft around the edges and with one final scream his spirit body split into two – half going toward her cross and the other half into Ben's amulet. The shards of mirror dropped to the floor and an eerie silence fell over the house.

  “I got him,” Charlie said.

  “You mean I got him,” Ben said.

  “Why does this have to be a competition? We both got him, okay?” Charlie said giving him an incredulous look.

  “Fine, we both got him.” Ben rolled his eyes. “I've never really seen that happen before. I can't imagine a fractured spirit is going to be a good thing, though.”

  “It's fine. We can deliver him to Tom and he can take him to where he's supposed to go.”

  “That's your reaper friend, right?”

  “Yep.” Charlie turned to Jason. “Are you all right?”

  “Is he gone?” Jason dropped the tray on the floor.

  Charlie nodded. “Yeah, he's gone.” Ryan and her mother reappeared. Jason jumped back, startled by the two spirits.

  “What happens to us?” Caroline asked.

  “I have a friend who's going to take you on,” Charlie said. “I'm going to call him now. He may be a little scary at first, but I don't want you to be afraid. I promise he won't hurt you.”

  Ryan moved closer to her mother. Fear made their bodies flicker.

  “Tom,” Charlie said. “Tom can you hear me?” They waited for a moment and finally Tom materialized behind her.

  “Charlie,” Tom said in a silky voice. “Is everything all right?”

  “Yes. We caught Tony Smoak.” She handed Tom the God's-eye cross and he slipped it inside his robe. “This is Ryan and her mother Caroline.” Tom regarded the two quaking spirits in front of him. “I told them that you were going to take them onward, where they need to be. That you wouldn't hurt them.”

  Tom's robbed head nodded. He held out his arm. “Grasp on to my robe,” he instructed them.

  Ryan threw one last glance at Charlie and took hold of Tom's robe along with her mother. A pang of sadness squeezed Charlie's chest as she gave the girl a short good-bye wave. A moment later they were gone.

  “One day you're going to have to show me that trick,” Ben said sidling up next to her. He held an old blue bandanna to the bleeding wound at his temple where his head struck the mirror.

  “Does that mean you're admitting that you're wrong?” Charlie asked. “That it's actually good to have me along?”

  Ben shook his head and a mischievous grin stretched his lips. “Now, let's not get crazy.”

  Charlie chuckled. “You're going to find me indispensable. I know it.”

  Ben rolled his eyes. “So where do we find this Layla Blake?”

  Charlie turned to Jason. “She's a high school student. You think you can help us with that?”

  “Yeah.” Jason said. “Let's go back to the station and we'll do a search. If she's got a driver's license, we'll find her.”

  “Great. Lead the way.” Charlie nodded and followed him down the steps.

  Chapter 13

  Jason turned into the gated community of Frawley's Landing on the Stono River. A security guard came out of a guard shack styled like a mini Acadian mansion made of white clapboard and vintage bricks. Jason flashed his badge and told the security guard that he needed to go to Layla Blake's address. The guard complied, waving them through.

  “Well that was easier than I expected,” Jason said as he rolled up his window and drove into the development.

  “You're welcome,” Ben said from the back seat. He had left his motorcycle at the sheriff's station and opted to ride along with them.

  “What did you do?” Charlie asked, twisting in her seat and throwing him a dirty look.

  “I just made him want to comply with us, that's all,” Ben said. “It's not as if I'm trying to control his life. I just helped him to make the right decision, that's all.”

  “Well that's an interesting trick,” Jason said.

  “It's also gray magic,” Charlie said. “I would expect more out of a Defender of Light.”

  “Well technically I'm not a Defender of Light. Since that's really the Council of Seven. I just work for them and they give me a certain amount of leeway to do my work.”

  “So you're really a hired gun, is that what you're saying?”

  “No, not exactly. I'm a highly trained agent. But we are allowed to use gray magic up to a point.”

  Charlie scowled. “Well that's not Machiavellian at all, is it? The ends justifying the means.”

  “No it's all right,” Jason chimed in. “It's not unlike what we do when we interview people. We don't always tell the truth. Sometimes we out and out lie to people to get them to tell us what we want.”

  “You're splitting hairs. And I don't always agree with that tactic, either.” Charlie folded her arms and turned forward again in her seat.

  “Well, if it gets us in to see Layla Blake, then I'm all for it.” Jason said, taking a right onto Heron Drive.

  “I like this guy,” Ben said. Charlie shook her head and rolled her eyes while staring out the window at the mini-mansions as they headed towards Layla's address

  “This is a pretty fancy neighborhood for a kid into witchcraft,” Ben said.

  “It's probably a form of rebellion,” Charlie said. “There's a lot of pressure on the kids in this town to be cheerleaders and football players. Not everybody wants to conform to that. And if you want to rebel, what better way to do it then witchcraft? That is the ultimate shock in a town like this.”

  “Really? I didn't get that upti
ght sort of vibe from this place,” Ben said. “Being so close to the beach and all.”

  “Actually, it's Charleston's influence. It's a lot more liberal than most places in the state. There's a lot of transience around here because it's basically a beach town. But that doesn't mean we don't have our conservatives. When my cousin Jen opened The Kitchen Witch Café it was a huge deal when she put witch in the name.”

  “Of course it was,” Ben said shaking his head.

  “We're here,” Jason said as he pulled into the driveway of a massive Mediterranean-styled house with two curved staircases leading from the large front porch to the brick lined driveway. He parked behind a BMW SUV and turned so he could look at both Charlie and Ben.

  “All right,” Jason started. “Since I'm about to use my badge to get into that house, y'all have to play by my rules. Any questions?”

  “None for me,” Charlie said. “Is it all right, though, if I ask questions?”

  “Have I ever been able to stop you?” Jason said, half a grin curving his lips.

  “Point taken,” Charlie said. She twisted in her seat again so she could look at Ben. “I don't think you should do any of your little mind control tricks.”

  “That's what he's going to do.” Ben frowned and sounded defensive. “He's just going to do it with language.”

  “Yeah well, it's his investigation,” Charlie said. “We're just along for the ride.”

  “Fine,” Ben said.

  Jason pulled his key fob out of the ignition, ending the back and forth before he got any more heated. “Okay, let's go,”

  The three of them got out of the car and headed up the steps. Jason pulled his badge from his front pocket and rang the doorbell.

  A few moments later the heavy, carved door opened, and Melinda Helms stood there with a strange smile on her face.

  “Oh my goodness, Charlie Payne. Is that you?”

  Jason and Ben both turned and stared at Charlie.

  “Well hey, Melinda,” Charlie said, her cheeks flooding with heat. “I didn't realize this was your house.”

  “Oh, you know Josh. He always dreamed of the big house on the river. So here we are.”

  “Yes indeed, here we are,” Charlie said, forcing a smile. All she could think about was what Lisa said at dinner the other night that Josh and Melinda had separated.