Witches of Palmetto Point Series Boxset Books 1 - 3: Haunting Charlie, Wayward Spirits and Devil's Snare

by Wendy Wang

  “You’ve been limping like that for the last half hour,” Daniel said.

  “I’m fine. Let’s just keep going,” she said, ignoring the way he sounded half-concerned and half-irritated. What was his deal?

  “We should stop. Make camp. Eat. You’ve been through a lot today.” He stopped in his tracks and dropped his pack to the ground.

  Charlie kept moving forward. Something hard struck her right shoulder blade then thudded to the ground. She turned, half expecting to find the girl’s ghost standing behind her; instead, something silver caught her eye. A wrapper. She bent over and scooped up the energy bar. This one was cookies ’n cream-flavored. Her stomach rumbled. “Did you just throw this at me?”

  He shrugged.

  Charlie rolled her eyes and scowled. She fumbled with it for a second before ripping open the plastic wrapper with her teeth. A sharp pain traveled from her heel up her calf and she finally succumbed. She sat down hard on the ground and gobbled down the chalky energy bar, ignoring the slightly rancid aftertaste. “How much farther do you think we have to go?”

  “I don't know.” He glanced around. That look of confusion was back on his face and he didn’t offer up more of an explanation than that. Instead, he fiddled around with the contents of his backpack, moving them back and forth. Finally, he looked up at the sky. “It’s getting late.”

  “We should go then.” She started to get to her feet. “I don't want to be here after dark.”

  “I told you, you're safe with me,” he said. “I won't hurt you.”

  “I know, it’s just my family is probably worried sick.” The words came out too fast and too defensively, making her cringe.

  “I’m sure they are, but it’s gonna be dark soon. I’ve some MREs.”

  “Daniel . . . I saw something in these woods earlier today. I don't want to run into it tonight. We should keep moving toward the river.”

  He stared at her blankly for a moment, then dug around in his pack. He pulled out a dingy red pack with a white first-aid cross stitched on the side. “You should let me take a look at that foot. Take off your boot.”

  “No.” She hesitated. “My foot is swollen. If I take it off I won't be able to get it back on.”

  “Maybe not. But if you keep walking around on it, it will become infected. Do you really want it to go gangrenous? You could die, or worse,” he said.

  It was on the tip of her tongue to ask, “What could be worse than dying?” but she didn’t. She already knew the answer to that. She had no intention of dying here and haunting these woods for all eternity. They needed to get to the river and the sooner, the better.

  “What happens when I can’t get my foot back in my boot? Are you planning on carrying me?” she asked.

  “If I have to, yes. Will you please just take it off?” He implored her with his dark brown eyes. They reminded her a little of Tom. A pang of longing and rage mixed together made her heart ache.

  “You don't understand,” she said. “There is something in these woods. Something not happy about my presence here.”

  “Oh-kay.” He drew out the word and she could almost hear the word ‘crazy’ emanating from his thoughts. “Do I even want to know what that means?”

  “Probably not,” she muttered.

  “Listen, I know you’re spooked. It’s definitely been a weird day, but I've been camping here for . . . “ He paused and confusion darkened his face, as if he were trying to recall exactly how long he’d been here, but couldn’t. “ . . . weeks. If there was something dangerous here, I would've seen it by now. I mean, I haven’t even seen a bear. There have been birds and squirrels and the occasional fox.”

  Charlie crinkled the silver wrapper in her hand and the sound seemed to fill the surrounding space. Shadows played at the corners of her eyes. The trees rustled above her, and underneath it all she could hear something whispering. She listened closely, trying to make out the words, but the sound morphed into a hiss. The skin on her arms broke into goose bumps. The hair on the back of her neck suddenly stood up, and she had the unmistakable feeling that she was being watched. Quickly, she glanced around expecting to find the spirit girl standing nearby. A crow cawed overhead and but there was no girl. If the spirit was there, she wasn't showing herself. Charlie brought her gaze back to Daniel. “It doesn't matter if you’ve seen it or not. I have.”

  “What?” He threw his arms up in the air and shifted his body, clearly agitated by her. By this conversation. “What exactly have you seen?”

  A warning bell went off in her head. She did not know this man. Sure, he’d pulled her from the water; he’d seemed nice. But he’d also been . . . off. Befuddled and now a little belligerent.

  “It doesn’t matter.” She softened her tone and spoke just above a whisper. It was a trick she’d learned to deal with Scott when he went off on a tirade. She hated that she had to resort to this sort of manipulation. Lisa wouldn’t have done it. She would have gone off on the man. But she wasn’t Lisa and even though her senses felt stretched thin and hot-wired, she didn’t know what he might do if she resisted too much. There were already way too many ways for her to die here. She didn’t want to add at the hands of a strange man to that list if she could help it. “Fine. We’ll camp here tonight.”

  A slight smile curved his lips and he seemed relieved. “Good. I’ll get a fire built and the tent set up.” He rose to his feet and tossed the first-aid kit to her. It landed with a rattle, within her reach. “And you can tend to your foot.”

  “Great,” she said, pulling her leg up and unlacing her boot. The coppery odor of blood coated her tongue reminding her of when she had placed pennies in her mouth as a small child. She choked on the scent as she slid the boot off her heel and found her sock soaked in deep red.

  Daniel was unrolling the tent a few feet away.

  “How much water do we have?” she asked.

  Daniel knelt beside his pack and began to dig through it. His expression became focused. After a minute, he finally pulled two one-liter bottles of water from his pack. “This is all we have.”

  Her heart sank to the pit of her belly. “That's not going to last us very long.”

  “We’ll be fine. We'll split a bottle tonight. Drink a little more in the morning and then we’ll be found,” he said. He offered up a reassuring smile, but it only made her cold. “We’ll be fine. I promise.”

  Daniel put another piece of wood on the fire and sparks floated upward before finally burning out. Charlie stared at Daniel’s pale blank face in the orange glow of the flames. He’d put up the tent for her, and, after some back and forth, she’d convinced him to save most of the water for later. The dehydrated MREs stayed in his backpack. He’d offered her another energy bar, but, ignoring the gurgling ache in her stomach, she’d declined, bloated from all the fiber in the two bars she’d already devoured. When she got home . . . if she got home? a little voice in her head whispered. No. When she got home . . . she would have Jen make her some fried chicken with mashed potatoes and gravy. And a mess of biscuits. And maybe some key lime pie. Her mouth watered and she pushed the thoughts of her cousin’s cooking aside.

  She held her breath. The sounds of the night reminded her of some wild place, like a rain forest or jungle filled with singing bugs and howling. Coyotes? Were there even coyotes in these mountains? She didn't know, but if there were, they sounded too close for comfort.

  A screeching like no animal she had ever heard before pierced through all the other noises; she sat up straight and peered into the surrounding darkness.

  “It’s just an owl,” Daniel said.

  “It wasn’t an owl. It sounded like . . . “ Screaming. “I don’t know what it sounded like, but it didn’t sound good.”

  “You should try to get some sleep.” He poked the fire with a long stick, releasing more sparks against the darkness.

  Her whole body ached, and her heel throbbed from the blisters that had formed and broken as they walked in circles that day. And she was
almost certain that he’d been leading her in circles. She wished she had some of her cousin’s quartz stones. Breadcrumbs, Jen called them, because when she set them in place with the right spell, they glowed and showed the way to return. Having them would have at least given her the ability to prove her theory about being led nowhere. It also would have given her cousins a trail to follow.

  The real question? Why was Daniel just leading her around? If it continued tomorrow, she would confront him, unless she decided to strike out on her own. The idea of being alone in these woods scared her, but the idea he might be leading her into some trap scared her even more. She didn’t get the sense that Daniel was really evil, though. Just . . . lost . . . and hiding something. When she closed her eyes and tried to tune into him, though, all she got was a sort of static.

  “Maybe you’re right,” she said. “You sure you don’t mind me taking the tent?”

  “No,” he said. “Not at all. I’ll keep watch.” His gaze drifted toward the darkness behind her head. A soft hoo-hoo-hoo-hoooooing came from a nearby tree, and the image of a barred owl popped into her head. The hooing sound continued two more times. Was it looking for its mate? Or, was it trying to warn her?

  “Great,” she said softly. She didn’t even have the energy to call up a smile. Slowly, she pushed herself to her feet and limped to the tent. Daniel had spread the sleeping bag out already. Her knees creaked as she bent down and climbed inside, sitting down hard. She watched him disappear with the lowering of a zipper. Earlier, when she had cleaned up her heel and bandaged it, she had taken off her other boot and sock and left them to dry by the fire. She wished she had thought to at least bring an extra pair of socks in her bag. She made quick work of unlacing the remaining boot and placed it and the sock by the door flap. The need for sleep hit her hard as she crawled over the fleece bag and lay on her side. She pulled half of the sleeping bag over her.

  Something hard dug into her hip and she rolled onto her back and sat up. Nothing stood out inside the sleeping bag so she folded it back and ran her hand along the tent floor. Maybe Daniel had set the tent over a rock. Her search came up with nothing. Maybe it was in her coat. She patted down the outer pockets and then the front. Something hard and rectangular met her fingers. She unzipped her coat and shoved her hand into the deep inner pocket. Something cold and metal scraped against her nails. She wrapped her hand around it and pulled out the knife Scott had given her. She’d totally forgotten about it. She reached back into the pocket and dug around a little until she found the compass. Her heart lightened. She didn't need Daniel. She would close her eyes for a few hours and wake up before first light. Then she would take off on her own. Find the river and get home. Once she was safe she would send local law enforcement back to get Daniel. It sounded heartless to her at first, but the small voice in her head kept whispering, Get away from him.

  And she would, but first she needed some shut-eye. She rolled over on her side again, snuggled beneath the sleeping bag, and within minutes sleep reached up and dragged her down into the darkness.

  Chapter 11

  Evangeline wound her way up the mountain, the darkness hanging like a thick curtain. She was a good driver, but her brights didn't penetrate very far. The three of them filled the bench seat of her old truck with Evangeline driving, Tom in the middle, and Jason next to the passenger window. Jason held tight to the safety bar, leaning as far right as he possibly could without too much discomfort. His fingers were a little numb from holding onto the bar so tightly for so long, and sitting next to one of death's minions didn't help, either.

  “How much farther do we have to go?” Jason asked. He was ready to be out of this truck.

  “Not much longer,” Evangeline said. “You could help me look for this road. From Jen's directions it's not easy to find.”

  “Yes, ma'am,” Jason said sitting up a little straighter. “Do you know if it's on the right or the left?”

  “Left,” Evangeline said.

  Jason concentrated on the left side of the road. From the corner of his eye he could see Tom staring straight ahead wearing a simper on his lips that irritated Jason to no end. He wished, not for the first time, that Evangeline had just said no to Tom's request to come with them.

  “It's right up here, Evangeline,” Tom said. He pointed into the darkness. “Wait for it. There. Do you see that small reflective circle?”

  Jason scowled and saw the red marker just as the headlights hit it. Evangeline flicked on her turn signal and slowed down. She yawned and pulled onto the gravel road. The incline became steep almost immediately and she shifted down into first gear. Slowly they made their way up the hill. From the corner of his eye something moved in the darkness, and Jason caught sight of a doe and a buck moving through the trees.

  “There's Daphne's truck,” Evangeline said brightly. She pulled in next to Daphne's SUV and set the parking brake. “Finally,” she said. She blew out a sigh of relief. A slight smile curved her lips. “Jason, honey, can you get the bags out of the back, please?”

  “Yes, ma'am,” Jason said, hopping out. His hiking boots crunched against the gravel, and he reached into the open truck bed, taking his bag and her bag by the handles. Maybe he’d been around them all too long, but the weight of the darkness surrounding them pressed in on him. The cabin glowed against the ominous night. Soft yellow light from the porch and windows beckoned them, offering safety.

  Evangeline got out, stretched her arms upward, and curved her upper spine slightly backward. Tom followed Jason out of the passenger side of the truck.

  “Anything I can help with?” he asked.

  “I got it,” Jason said, pushing past Tom toward the front steps. The late evening chill settled around his shoulders. He would need to dig out his jacket if it was going to be this cold. The door opened before he had the chance to knock and Lisa's weary, concerned face was the first he saw.

  “Come on in,” she said. “We were starting to get a little worried.”

  “Yeah, well, we had a later start than we anticipated.” Jason threw a glance over his shoulder and jerked his head toward Tom coming up the steps carrying two paper bags in his arms.

  Lisa's lips twisted into a frown and she gave him a quick nod of understanding. If there was anyone who aligned with his feelings about Tom, it was Lisa, and it secretly made him feel better.

  “Oh, y’all are a sight for sore eyes,” Jen said as she rose from the navy and green plaid couch. She walked over and hugged Jason’s neck. “Thank you for coming.”

  “Of course.” Jason put the bags down and patted Jen on the back.

  Tom waited for Evangeline and stood back to let her walk through the door. She carried a black leather tote in one hand and a large paper bag with a handle in the other. Lisa closed the door behind them and locked the deadbolt. Jason noticed as she took a container of salt and poured a line straight across the threshold.

  “We were just debating about going to bed or not,” Daphne said. She was curled up in a leather armchair with a fleece throw across her lap. She sat up straighter and gave Jason a smile, but didn’t get up.

  The slight aroma of bacon hung in the air and Jason’s stomach rumbled.

  “Are y’all hungry?” Jen asked. “I can make y’all a sandwich or maybe fried eggs and bacon?”

  “I’m good, baby girl,” Evangeline said, putting the paper bag on the breakfast bar and her tote on the floor by her feet. She took a seat on one of the leather bar chairs. “The boys may be hungry, though.”

  “I could eat,” Jason piped up. He toed the suitcase nearest his foot. “Where should I put these?”

  “There are three bedrooms. Jen and I are sharing,” Lisa said. “We figured Evangeline could bunk with Daphne and you guys can either share a room, or one of you can sleep on the pull-out couch. Assuming you even sleep, Tom.”

  God, he really liked Lisa sometimes. She did not hold back. Jason watched Tom's cautious expression as he glanced from face to face throughout the room. Everyone
waited expectantly for an answer. Do reapers sleep?

  “I — I won't need a bed,” Tom said sheepishly. “Thank you, though.”

  Lisa took a seat on the arm of Daphne’s chair and held out a hand. “I win. Pay up.”

  Daphne rolled her eyes and made a disgusted sound in her throat. “I don’t usually carry cash in my pajamas. You’ll just have to wait till later.”

  Jason smirked. “So, what’s your plan then, Tom? You just gonna creep around here all night?”

  Tom leveled his gaze on Jason. The corner of his mouth twitched a little. “Actually, I plan to keep watch on the house. Charlie mentioned a spirit. If she shows here, then I’m going to reap her.”

  “Not before we can interrogate her,” Lisa said, rising to her feet, her arms akimbo. She faced Tom.

  Tom sniffed, appearing to consider her request. “It will depend on how cooperative she is.”

  “Will her cooperation help her?” Daphne asked. “You know . . . determine where her soul ends up?”

  “That’s not my decision,” Tom said. “But we can make her believe it will.”

  “A little spiritual good cop, bad cop, huh? That’s how we’re gonna play this thing?” Jason asked, his tone laced with sarcasm.

  “It’s as good a suggestion as any,” Evangeline said, pulling the pins out of the bun at the nape of her neck. She ran her fingers through her silver mane. “Until we encounter her, though, we need to keep looking for Charlie.”

  “Agreed,” Tom said. “So, on that note, I will see you all in the morning.” Tom walked to the door, keeping his back to them. He held his hands out, raising his arms to shoulder height, with his hands palm up and his face raised to heaven. An uncomfortable stillness fell over the room as all eyes focused on him. The edges of his body began to soften, like a blurred photograph. Darkness burst from his head and torso, the color of his clothes morphing to black. His black robe flowed around him as if caught in a gentle breeze. A scythe appeared in his right hand. No one breathed until the reaper disappeared through the door.