by Amy Boyles
Sera flipped down her vanity mirror and said, “I didn’t say I was breaking up with him.”
Reid threw her hands in the air. “Sheesh. If it’s not Dylan, it’s you I have to deal with on the whole boyfriend issue. Can you both just go along with things—get married, have kids, without any conflict? That would make my life a thousand times easier.”
Sera pressed the vanity into place. “Okay, well, I see this conversation isn’t about to go somewhere helpful, so I say we go back to Dot’s.”
We reached the house a few minutes later. Roman was back, and he had a sour expression on his face. His lips were drawn tight, and his brows were pinched as if invisible fingers were squeezing them together.
I snaked my arm around his waist. “Everything okay?”
I noted a clenched jaw as he shook his head. “No.”
“Okay,” I said slowly. “Want to talk about it?”
“In private,” he said. He pulled me to the back of the house, to a bedroom with colorful scarves strewn about the space. Like seriously, there were scarves everywhere—on lamps, tables, the bed, even hanging from the ceiling.
“Colorful,” I mused.
Roman quirked a brow. “Don’t even think about doing this to our bedroom.”
I shot him a mischievous grin. “Why not? I think it would be wonderful to have a roomful of scarves.”
“Yeah, the closet would be perfect for that.”
I rose up on my tiptoes and kissed his chin. The scruff of his beard scratched my lips. Roman cracked a smile.
“See?” I said. “I knew I could convince you to change your mind about the scarves.”
He shook his head. “I’m not changing my mind.”
“Not even a teensy bit,” I teased.
“No.”
I pouted out my bottom lip. “You’re no fun.”
“I don’t live for fun.”
I snickered. “That’s true. That’s why I love you, because you’re the cream in my coffee, the sweet in my tart.”
Roman shook his head. “I thought you’d say the tart in your sweet.”
I smiled. “That, too.”
He fisted a hand and tapped his mouth. “There’s something we need to talk about.”
I clapped my hands. “Right. Have you found out what evidence they had against Sera?”
He nodded. “I have.”
He didn’t say anything. I grimaced. “Is it that bad?”
He shrugged. “I’ll let you be the judge. From what I understand, surrounding Maisie when she landed were several of the original petits fours that Sera had made. You know, the ones that had caused the problem with Reid.”
I spit out a bit of fingernail that I was chewing. “I already knew that. That woman, Andie, told us that yesterday. The sheriff clearly didn’t think that was enough to hold her. So what? Some confections end up around Maisie’s body? That doesn’t mean someone shoved them in her mouth.”
Roman nodded. “I agree. They haven’t done an autopsy to see the contents of her stomach, and any toxicology reports will take weeks to come back. The only reason why Jonathan Pearbottom and the witch police haven’t gotten involved in this case is because the supernaturals here are governed by a different body. The sheriff is working with Dot’s niece, I’m assuming the same Andie you’re talking about, on putting together some of the pieces, but I’m afraid there aren’t that many.”
“Of course there are many,” I said. “We’ve got a whole slew of characters with ties to Maisie, and any one of them could have a reason to off her. In fact, I just found out that Scott, Daisy’s husband, and Maisie may have had a thing a while back.”
Roman shook his head. “All these people, they’re constantly sending us back and forth. Don’t you think that’s weird, Dylan?”
I shook my head. “No weirder than any other mystery we’ve tried to solve.”
He scratched his chin and sighed. Roman crossed to the bed and sat down. The springs creaked and groaned under his weight. “I think the whole thing is strange. And now, someone’s forcing us to stay.”
“The same person who stole those papers from Maisie’s house.”
“Possibly,” he said. “But on the other hand, maybe not.”
“So why didn’t they tell us that before?” I said.
“I don’t know,” Roman said. “I’ll tell you one thing: this is a strange case. Everyone’s pointing fingers at everybody else. The evidence that they have is flimsy. A lot of people didn’t like Maisie. A lot of people had a reason to want to get rid of her, but none of those people are the ones being looked at.”
“Are you saying there someone on the inside working?” I said.
Roman shook his head. “I don’t think so. I think the whole situation is simply strange and it’s confusing. I believe that’s the main thing going on. They have a little bit of evidence in the form of a dessert against Sera, so they keep her overnight, but nothing pans out about that. I just think we need to get out of here and let them deal with it. Sera is off the hook. No one’s looking at the rest of the family, and why should they? They’re in mourning. Your family was only brought here for the baby shower. There’s no reason why any of us should be investigated at all.”
I knot of unease wedged in my stomach. I rubbed my arms, trying to dispel the sinking feeling that was creeping over me. “I don’t like to leave things undone. At all. Every murder that I’ve been around, we’ve always figured it out. Now you’re telling me we should just leave this one.”
Roman raked his fingers down his face. “Dylan, we’ve done about everything we can do here. As soon as I figure out how to get us past this tornado, we are gone.”
A loud crash came from the front room. I shot Roman a concerned look. Recognition flashed across his face. He jumped to his feet and headed toward the door. I followed. We reached the living room right as a smaller tornado twisted in the doorframe.
“Everyone stay back,” I yelled.
My family hovered on the fringes of the room. Milly and Grandma exchanged looks.
“Maybe we can talk it down,” Dot said.
I knew we couldn’t do that. I also knew that this was the third time I had seen this tornado apparition. I didn’t know what was going on, but I felt like it wanted us. For what, I didn’t know, but I had a feeling it wasn’t going to be good.
The whirlwind broke the door. Everyone lurched back.
Except Sera.
A tendril resembling an arm shot out from the twister. It wrapped itself around my sister and yanked her into the vortex.
A collective gasp escaped the room. I shot forward, intent on saving her. Strong muscular arms wrapped around me. Roman pinned me back. I tried to wedged my fingers under his arms, but he held fast.
“Don’t do it,” he said.
The twister spat and lurched. I watched in horror as it darkened, becoming inky black. Then it shrank into nothingness.
The tornado and Sera had vanished.
SEVENTEEN
What had just happened? I blinked. A tornado had swept Sera away, disappearing with her. What were we supposed to do?
“Where did she go?” I said.
No one answered. A cold chill wrapped around my heart and squeezed. I felt like I was losing air. It was escaping, and I couldn’t get it back in. I tried to inhale, tried to heave in more breath, but nothing came. There was oxygen, there was air in the room, but none of it reached my lungs.
“Breathe, Dylan,” Roman said.
“I can’t. I can’t catch my breath.”
“Yes, you can,” he said, rubbing my back.
“Where is she?” I looked at my grandmothers. Their faces were drawn. They didn’t know where she was. They didn’t know any more than I did.
I took a deep shot of air, let it fill my lungs and released. “How do we find her?”
Still no one answered. Frustration built inside me. It felt like a pressure cooker—steam and bubbles rising up around the lid, threatening to hurl it to the ce
iling.
Grandma wrung her hands. “I don’t know where she is.”
I threw my arms into the air. “Is there a way to find her? We’ve been stalked by this tornado three times. There must be means to catch her. You’ve been witches for decades. One of you must know something.”
Dot raked her fingers through tendrils of pink hair. “I don’t know. I’ll have to think on it for a while. There are many ways of tracking a person, but most of them involve using an object that belongs to them. A vial of their blood, for instance, or possibly a strand of hair.”
I fisted a palm into my hand. “We don’t have any of her blood. We don’t have any of her hair. Anyone else have an idea?”
Everyone shook their heads. Brock fisted his hands. “I’m going to start knocking on every door in this town until someone tells me where she is. I got a few people to visit.” His gaze flickered to Roman. “You coming, brother?”
Roman and Brock were so close they often refer to each other as brothers. It was an old bond they shared. Roman nodded. “I’m coming with you.”
I rushed forward. “Me too.”
Roman shook his head “No, darlin’, this time you’re staying. This is where I need you to be.”
I scoffed. “Heck, no. I am not staying here. I am going to find my sister. I don’t know whose fault this is, but there is somebody in this little town that knows exactly where she is. I am not resting until I find her.”
A sad smile curled Roman’s perfect lips. “I wish I could say yes to this, but I can’t. You’re staying. Dot, Hazel and Milly, you come with me. I need you to put a spell on this house that Reid and Dylan are going to stay exactly where they are.”
I glanced at Reid, unable to believe that Roman would force me to stay alone with her while they went out searching for Sera. “You’re letting the old ladies go with you, but you’re forcing us to stay here?”
Roman curled his fingers around my arm and dragged me into the kitchen. “Now look, your sister just disappeared. Brock is probably about to have a heart attack, and you’re putting up a fuss. Those three witches is out there have tons of experience between them. They might be able to help. You and Reid stay here.”
Well, to be honest, that humiliated the holy crap out of me. As much as I wanted to argue, I simply felt like the best thing I could do at the moment was close my mouth.
Isn’t that a first?
I nodded dumbly and watched in silence as Roman, Dot, Grandma, Milly and Brock left. They even took Gabby, toddler with them. When the door shut behind them and sealed us off from the rest of the world, I felt a knot of emptiness bubble inside me. I nearly tumbled to my knees and cried.
But I didn’t. Instead I started trying to figure out a way to get the heck out of here.
Reid dragged her fingers over a magazine, picking it up. She plopped on the couch, kicked her feet up on the coffee table and said, “Well, it looks like there’s not much work to do here. Might as well just sit back and relax.”
I glared at her. “Are you kidding? Our sister’s been stolen, everyone else is looking for her, and you and I are stuck here. There’s no way I’m just gonna sit and wait.”
Reid palmed through the glossy pages. “I don’t know what you expect. Roman said stay, so I’m going to. Obviously I’m worried. But there’s nothing I can do.”
There had to be a way to help. I couldn’t sit while Reid pretended that nothing serious was going on. Which was clearly what she was doing by reading a magazine.
I started to pace. Back and forth over the wooden floors. My gut clenched while sweat sprinkled my palms.
“What are you doing?” Reid said, working an eyebrow.
“I’m thinking.”
“Can you do it quieter?”
“Reid, no I can’t do it any quieter. You need to put down that magazine.”
I snatched it from her and threw it against the wall. “It’s gone. We are not listening to what Roman said. We’re going to find Sera. End of story.”
Reid rose, stretching her arms to the ceiling. She fingered her burgundy-colored curls. “Okay. I’m thinking. The grandmothers spelled this house. How’re we going to get out?”
I sighed. “I wish we could wish our way out of here.”
Reid and I looked at each other. We gasped at the same time. “Oh my gosh!”
Her eyes widened with mischief. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”
I did a little happy dance. “If you’re thinking that we need a leprechaun in order to find our sister—yes, I’m thinking exactly what you are.”
Reid clapped. “Yes! That’s exactly what I’m thinking. Okay. Now we need a way out of here. Then we can go to the leprechaun and see if we can wish Sera to us.”
“Reid, that is the best idea ever.”
I wrapped my arms around her and gave Reid a big hug. The sweet smell of cotton and astringent wafted off her skin. It was a nice combination, making her smell clean.
I punched my hands on my hips. “Okay, if you were one of the grandmothers, would you actually spell this house so that we couldn’t leave?”
Reid shook her head. “Of course not. They know we want to go. Besides that, they might need our help at some point. If they met that tornado again, they would need us. To do what, I don’t know. But they might need moral support.”
I poked the air. “Secondly right. So, let’s figure it out. Let’s first test the house and see.” I headed for the door and opened it, trying to walk through. My forehead bumped an invisible wall. “Ouch.”
Reid stepped on my heel. “Sorry. I thought you might make it.”
I shook my head. “Okay. There’s a barrier.”
“You’re telling me.”
I sank back, shifting my weight onto one hip. I ran my fingers over my jeans, thinking. There had to be a way out of here. Surely the grandmothers would have left an opening, made a hole for us to get out. My gaze wandered around the room until it landed on—
“Jackpot,” I said.
I walked over to the fireplace and stuck my head into the hole. I couldn’t see anything, but I knew one possibility for getting out of here.
“I really don’t like the way you said jackpot and then looked up the chimney like you’re Santa,” Reid said.
I flashed her the most hopeful smile I’d given in my life. Well, that’s probably not exactly true, because I’d shot it to Roman about half a dozen times, hoping he wouldn’t be mad at me for some sort of harebrained scheme.
“Fly up the chimney,” I said.
“No,” Reid said. “We are not going to fly up the chimney. That is a terrible idea. I once saw a movie; it was Gremlins, I think. In that movie the father was playing St. Nick and he got stuck in the chimney when coming down. Then you know what happened, Dylan? This is spoiler, but he died. Died. So there’s no way you’re getting me up that chimney. No way. No, ma’am. Thank you.”
“Okay, if I go first and you see that it’s possible, will you follow?”
Reid clamped her mouth shut and then pumped out each cheek one at a time. It looked like she was trying to play the bugle or some sort of horn, but luckily no horrendous sounds were coming out. You know, like when a middle schooler lives next door to you and they decide to take band, but they pick the most annoying instrument ever, which would either be drums, or in this case, the horn. And they play that horn, but it’s awful and loud, but there’s nothing you can do about it. You know what I mean?
That’s what Reid looked like—like she was playing the bugle.
She finally released a breath. “I’ll do it if you go first and you live.”
I cuffed her on the shoulder. “You’re so supportive. Really, your confidence in my witching abilities amazes me.”
She shrugged. “I don’t have confidence in your abilities. I think you may pull this off. Or you might not, and then I’ll have two sisters in a real pickle. But at least I’ll be alive, so that’ll be something.”
“I’m trying hard not to hate y
ou right now,” I said.
Reid grinned. “I’ll bring your purse up with me. Good luck.”
I rubbed my hands together like an athlete warming up to do—something. Not fly up a chimney, that’s for sure. I thought about it, speculated in the amount of physics and magic it would actually take for me to do this.
“You know, if you imagine it, it’ll happen,” Reid said. “Because that’s how magic is. You imagine and it happens.”
She was right, of course. All I really needed to do was focus on zipping my way out of here and up the chimney and it would happen.
I hoped.
I swallowed a knot in the back of my throat. I wrung out my hands, trying to get the blood flow going and also to calm a serious case of the nerves that had invaded my stomach. A butterfly invasion currently swirled around my center. Focus and breathing would calm me.
“Okay, so are you going to do it?” Reid said.
I cuffed my fist into my palm. “I’m going to do it. I’m going to fly right out of that chimney.”
Reid spat out a tendril of hair she was chewing on. “Well, you’re making me nervous with all that moving around. If you’re going to do it, I say you just go.”
“What if there’s magic in the way?”
Reid shrugged. “Poke around and see if there’s any.”
I snapped my fingers. “Good idea.”
I leaned down and stuck my head under the lip of the hearth. “I guess if it comes back down, then there’s a barrier.”
“I guess.”
A trickle of magic bubbled from my fingers and wafted toward the opening at the peak of the chimney. I watched as the power traced a line straight up and out, releasing into the night sky.
I brushed soot onto my jeans and rose. “It got out.”
“So then we can, too,” Reid said. “Go for it. I’ve got all the confidence in the world aimed at you.”
I smirked. “That’s not what you said a minute ago.”
Reid snatched her purse and shouldered it. She grabbed mine as well, tucking it under her arm. “That was a minute ago. This is now. We’ve got to find a leprechaun and save our sister.”
I nodded. “Yes, we do. Okay, are you ready?”