Don't Give a Witch (Bless Your Witch Book Six)

by Amy Boyles

“Hey,” I said.

  Reid jutted out her chin. “I hope the paint flakes off onto the floor.”

  I scoffed. “Sorry. It was a mean joke. I love you.”

  She turned up her nose.

  “Okay,” Sera said, “what’s this all about?”

  I eased my door shut until the tongue of the knob clicked into place. I wedged my back into the wood, released a breath and said, “Grandma’s been wiping our memories.”

  Reid waved her hand dismissively. “Tell me something I don’t know. She’s already told us that before.”

  The room suddenly felt hot, suffocating. I knuckled away beads of sweat from my upper lip. “I know she’s told us. But what the heck has she been making us forget?”

  Sera inspected the ends of her hair. “She’s told us that she makes us forget how she summons Titus.”

  That was true. Grandma owned a magical horn that helped her call Titus, the unicorn king, when she needed him. In the past she’d made us forget how she summoned him, but for some reason the last time she called him, a few weeks back, she let us remember.

  “But what else? Aren’t you at all curious?”

  Reid thought about it for a moment. “Yeah. Yeah I guess I am. I’m really curious. I’ve an inquiring mind and I want to know what the heck we’ve been forgetting.”

  Sera shot our baby sister a look that said seriously? “I don’t think it’s anything important.”

  “But what if it was?” I said. “What if you and Brock broke up and she made you forget all about him? What if she made you forget he even existed?”

  She slapped a hand to her thigh. “Okay. What’s this all about?”

  I was so busted. There was no backing out now. “I want to enter the Magical Abilities contest, but I don’t want to do it alone.”

  Sera poked her finger at me. “I knew it was something. Had to be. There was no way you were being this manipulative for no reason.”

  I placed a hand over my heart in mock shock. “I’m not being manipulative.”

  “Yes, you are,” they both said in unison.

  I sat at my desk. “Okay, I admit my tactics weren’t the best. But I do want all of us to enter. I want to win that spell so that she can’t make us forget things anymore. If I don’t win it, I at least want the two of you to have a shot at it.”

  My sisters eyed each other as if they were communicating telepathically.

  “When do we have to enter by?” Reid said.

  “Today. That’s what that banner had written on it.” I leaned over, trying to plead my case to the best of my talents. “If we win this spell, no one could ever wipe our memories again. We’d be immune to that in the witching world.”

  Sera stroked her chin as if she’d grown imaginary whiskers. “I’m in. I’ll do it.”

  Reid scrunched her face. “If I do it, will you each promise to wear one of my outfits around town?”

  A pit the size of the Grand Canyon fell into my stomach. Dear all that was good in heaven, there was no easy answer to this.

  In the past couple of months Reid had finally gotten her magic. Each of us had a talent associated with our magic. Sera’s was baking amazing confections, and mine was sewing clothes that took you back to a wonderful moment in your life, or simply made you feel amazing.

  Reid’s talent was crocheting or knitting life-size jumpsuits. I’m not kidding. It was like wrapping yourself in some sort of outfit made by a person living in an insane asylum. They felt great on, but wearing the things around town was another level of crazy that I just wasn’t sure I wanted in my life.

  Honestly, they were better suited as sweaters for dogs and cats.

  It was a horrible thing to say, I know. But it was the truth.

  Sera didn’t hesitate. “Okay, I’ll wear one.”

  Reid’s eyes brightened. “You will?”

  “Sure.”

  She turned to me. “What about you, Dylan? Will you wear one of my outfits?”

  Every fashion muscle in my body quivered and cringed. Now, Reid had made some pretty wrap dresses, but she enjoyed making the bodysuits instead. Do not ask me why. I glanced at Sera, who was shooting death rays at me.

  I guess that meant there was only one answer.

  “Of course I’ll wear one of your outfits. I’d love to.”

  Reid jumped up. “Yay! Then I’ll do it! I’ll enter the contest.”

  Great. I had them all in. There was just one more thing to do.

  Figure out where the heck the competition was going to be.

  “Grandma,” I said, striding into the living room, “we’re entering the Magical Abilities contest.”

  Grandma fisted the air in victory. “Wonderful news!” She stepped over to the coatrack, and with slow yet delicate movements, she unhooked her white eyelet jacket and started needling a hand through the sleeve.

  “What are you doing?” I said.

  “Why, we’re all going to Castle Witch for the competition. It’s been ages since I’ve been to the contest. In fact, Magical Abilities is only held every three years. The last time I went, a centaur with a hankering for making towns disappear won.” She crossed to me and clapped me on the shoulder. “It’s about time a witch won the title again. Let’s go.”

  I held out my hands. “Whoa. Wait. What makes you think you’re going? You’re the reason we’re entering—so that you’ll stop wiping our memories.”

  Grandma threaded her fingers through her fluff of silvery hair. “Why do you think I’ve been wiping your memories?”

  Sera entered the room. “What are you talking about?”

  Grandma wrapped a lemon-colored translucent scarf around her neck. “Nan! Come on. We’re going to Castle Witch!”

  Nan walked in carrying two suitcases. “The girls are ready?”

  Grandma strode over and picked up one of them. “They are.”

  Confusion contorted my face. “Wait a minute. You were expecting us to enter.”

  Grandma straightened and blinked at me. “Dylan. Of course. I’ve been working for years up to this moment. Waiting for you to enter the contest and win the prize back for us.”

  From the doorway Reid said, “I don’t get it. You never wanted us to be witches. You didn’t tell us about our powers. How could you have been working for years?”

  Grandma rubbed her hands together and smiled mischievously. “It was all my master plan, Reid. Don’t ever underestimate a grandmother who happens to be a witch.”

  I pushed up my sleeves, totally dumbfounded by this whole thing. “What do you mean ‘win the prize back for us’? Win what back?”

  Grandma riffled through the bottomless pit that was her purse. “There you are!” She fished out a pair of sunglasses and slid the gigantic rounded frames over her eyes. “That’s better. All set.” She pivoted her body to me. “What, Dylan? Oh yes! Why, win back the Never Forget serum for us. That’s a Horton family recipe. Years ago it was sold by a Horton down on her luck to the contest committee. The actual prize they give away varies by year, but if one of you wins the prize this year, then you can opt to take the Never Forget away from the committee forever. It will belong to us, and no one else can have it.”

  Sera picked up a rogue dust bunny from the wooden floor and tossed it in the trash. “So you’re telling us your master plan all along has been to make us join this contest, and you plan on us winning.”

  Grandma poked the air. The dozen silver rings that she wore clinked together. “That’s exactly right. Now let’s go get them. Let’s go show the committee who’s the boss and win back Never Forget.”

  Reid spat out a clump of burgundy hair that she’d been chewing. “Yeah, let’s go to Castle Witch where time doesn’t exactly stop, but it kinda does, and enter a contest we know nothing about so that hopefully we can win a prize that we don’t even care for.”

  I scoffed. “I care about the prize, Reid. I want it so that Grandma will stop making us forget things.”

  Grandma checked her appearance in a mirror
. “One day when you’re a grandmother, you won’t be so quick to judge, Dylan. Okay, you girls ready? There will be plenty of clothes and whatever else you want at the castle.”

  “How do you know?” Reid said.

  Grandma’s gaze bobbed around the room. “I may or may not have already sent your clothes on ahead.”

  I smacked my forehead in disbelief. “Okay. Someone remind me to never try to outwit Grandma, ’cause apparently it’s not going to work.”

  Sera slid her fingers through her hair and secured it back with a hair band. “Don’t try to outwit Grandma.”

  “Thanks,” I countered.

  Grandma fisted hands to hips, spread out her legs and announced like a pirate on deck, “Let’s go sail the high seas, girls.”

  Reid’s face twisted in confusion. “What?”

  Grandma grinned apologetically. “Sorry. Thought I was someplace else at the time. Correction. Let’s go to Castle Witch! Everyone join hands.”

  “So time will work like it did when we went to Castle Witch before, right?” Sera said. “When we return, it’ll be at the same time we left.”

  Grandma nodded. “Exactly right, Sera. You don’t have to worry about your stores while we’re gone. Now, let’s go.”

  We joined hands. Tendrils of magic coiled up my legs and wrapped around my body. A wall of power sprang up behind us. I felt a pull in my stomach as Grandma’s magic whisked us from our home.

  The wall disappeared, and a moment later I found myself outside the garden of singing flowers at Castle Witch.

  “Hurry, girls. You must hurry if you want to join the contest before it’s too late.”

  Grandma ushered us inside. Castle Witch was exactly what it sounded like—a castle somewhere in the South, on the side of the veil that separated our world from that of the magical. It was a place you couldn’t get to without using power, and it was fantastic.

  Gray stone, brilliant purple tapestries, skyscraping arches and stained glass windows surrounded us. It was sort of like standing in a cathedral, but at the same time it was furnished like a home, with chairs and tables, couches and large elephant ear plants.

  The place buzzed and hummed with activity. “This way, girls,” Grandma said.

  She led us to a long hall, where there was a table set up at one end and a long line of folks leading up to it.

  All kinds of people stood in line. Witches in pointy hats, witches in regular clothes, a couple of those centaurs, and a few men.

  It was weird whenever I saw men in an area pertaining to witches, because it was mostly women I’d dealt with.

  The line moved quickly, and I nearly missed it when a cloud of blonde curls started to rush past us.

  “Chasity,” Sera said, reaching her hand out.

  Chasity LaRue stopped and stared at us. Her blue eyes looked dazzling in the bright room. She wore a simple summer jumpsuit, and her mess of hair tumbled over her shoulders and down her back. A high-pitched squeal left her lips as her gaze leveled on me and my family.

  She gave each of us a quick hug. “So good to see y’all.”

  “Are you entering the contest?” I asked.

  She nodded. “No. I won the last time.”

  Of course she did. Chasity was a brilliant witch.

  “This year I’m a mentor, so if you have any questions or need help with any spells, let me know.” She winked at me. “You never know when you’re going to need it.”

  I smiled. “Tell me about it.”

  A commotion from up front cut through our conversation.

  “You’ve got to let me in,” shouted a man’s voice.

  “You need more experience.”

  “I have all the experience in the world.”

  My entire family, including Nan, edged away from the line and leaned over to get a better look.

  “Who’s the Count Dracula–looking guy?” I asked Chasity.

  “Damon Devlin; he’s been in charge of the contest for forever. Years ago, Magical Abilities was a huge deal, but over the past few years the contestant pool has dwindled.”

  “Why?” Sera said.

  Chasity shrugged. “The prizes haven’t always been that great. Two contests ago the prize was a spell that stopped you from ever having gas.”

  “That’s ridiculous,” Reid said.

  Chasity nodded. “I know. When Never Forget was announced as the prize, so many people have entered that Devlin’s having to turn people away. Like that guy. Plus you have to be nominated by someone to enter.”

  “Nothing was said about that yesterday,” I said.

  Chasity shrugged. “It’s just one of those rules most people know.”

  Panic clawed up my throat. “Who’s going to nominate us?”

  Grandma clapped me on the back. “I will.”

  In front of Devlin stood a much younger man who looked to be a little older than Reid. He wore a white satin button-down shirt, a pair of black slacks and crocodile-skin boots.

  I blinked to make sure that was right. Crocodile skin? I mean, they really didn’t go with the black pants. He should have worn jeans instead. But, whatever. I digress.

  His dirty blond hair was spiked up to a six-inch point on top. It appeared this guy took fashion a bit to the extreme.

  “You will let me into this contest,” he snarled.

  Devlin rose. “I will not do anything. You will leave this minute or I’ll make you leave.”

  The young wizard grabbed Devlin by the collar and yanked him forward. “I will be in this contest. You just watch.” He released him.

  Devlin brushed down his shirt as the younger man whirled toward us and stalked down the hall.

  Every single eyeball watched him—including us. His dark blazing eyes locked with mine. I felt a bolt of lightning ignite in my core and flash through my body. When he reached my family, the man stopped.

  Every one of us leaned away. But of course he stared at me. Up close he had a handsome yet angular face. He was sharp-edged as if he’d lived hard and fast.

  The man—still staring at me, by the way—opened his mouth and hissed.

  My mouth dropped in shock, and I rocked back on my heels. Way back. Too far back, in fact. I landed right on my butt in the middle of the hallway.

  “Jerk,” Sera said.

  His gaze flickered over to her, and then he strode away, the heels of his boots clicking as his feet landed on the stone floor.

  My sisters pulled me to my feet.

  “Who was that?” I said.

  “Taylor Stone,” Chasity said.

  “Who?”

  “Stone,” she repeated.

  “I’m not familiar with Stone, but I’m very familiar with the name Cobblestone,” Grandma said.

  “Who’re the Cobblestones?” Reid said.

  “A well-known magical family,” Grandma said.

  Nan nodded. “They hire lots of my people.”

  Nan came from a long line of protectors—those in charge of guarding witches. Their base was actually in Castle Witch. So most likely we’d be seeing some of them around.

  “Why do they need protection?” Reid asked. “And he was kinda hot.”

  “Because they’re supposed to hold a powerful secret,” Chasity said.

  I brushed dust and dirt from the seat of my bruised rear end. “And what’s that?”

  Grandma’s eyes twinkled as she said, “The elixir of life.”

  THREE

  “Grandma,” I said. “Tell me about the elixir of life.”

  She wrangled me back into the line. “Not now. First we need to get you registered.”

  Unlike Taylor Stone, my family had no problem entering the contest. Good thing, because I had absolutely no idea what the heck we were supposed to do in this thing. As far as I was concerned, I’d pretty much do whatever it took to win some Never Forget, and if that meant working magic that turned me into a toad, I’d do it.

  My sisters and I were given a room to share, while Nan and Grandma shared their own ro
om.

  “Why do I always get stuck sharing with you two?” Reid grumbled as she sorted through the chest of drawers and wardrobe. Said she wanted to make sure her best outfits had arrived. I had a theory that she wanted to make sure her crochet needles and seemingly endless supply of yarn had made the trip, too.

  Oh joy.

  I crossed to her and threw my arms around her dramatically. “We’re sharing rooms because we love you and don’t ever want you out of our lives. We don’t know what we’d do without you, Reid.”

  She pushed me off and said, “You’re such a loser.”

  “You love me anyway.”

  She murmured something under her breath. “Orientation is in half an hour, right?”

  Sera plopped down on a bed and toed off her shoes. “Right. We have that long to hang out and remember what our lives were like before we entered some crazy competition.”

  Reid headed for the door. “Well I’m going to grab a snack before that. Anyone want to join me?”

  Sera rolled her eyes. “I just took off my shoes. Will you bring me something back?”

  Reid shook her head. “Nope. You come and reap the rewards or you stay and get nothing.”

  “I hate you,” Sera said.

  “But I luuuuv you.”

  Sera slid her legs off the bed and jammed her feet back in her sandals. “Okay. I’m coming. Dylan, you coming?”

  I rubbed goose bumps off my arms. “No thanks. Mr. Creepy made me lose my appetite.”

  “Wonder why,” Sera said.

  Reid opened the door. “We’ll be back.”

  They slipped out. I heard their feet pad down the hall. I stretched my arms and was trying to figure out what to do next when a soft rap came from the door.

  I opened it to find Chasity waiting for me.

  “Hey, come on in,” I said. “Sera and Reid should be back in a few minutes.”

  Chasity bounded inside. She was about Reid’s age, but in some ways she was much younger. It was funny because in other ways she was light-years older. Actually, that was more like galaxies older. If there was something older than a galaxy, I would have used it to express how much older Chasity seemed than Reid. Probably the only thing older is God, but that really wouldn’t make sense to explain the age difference in those terms.