The Witch's Handbook To Catching Werewolves

by Amy Boyles

  Dex pulled back his lips. “I’m saying more than that. He’s still around, and I know where to find him.”

  TWENTY-ONE

  I spit out the bottom lip I was nibbling on. “You know where to find the lord vampire? Are you going to destroy him?”

  If Dex destroyed the vampire who turned him, the curse of the undead would be lifted from my husband.

  He would become human again.

  “He created me, Andie. Until everything with Gabby is resolved, I’m staying in this form. I have the feeling Normal is going to need me as a vampire and not as a human.”

  But I needed him as a human.

  What was I saying? Stone had just let me down, and now I was back in my husband’s arms? I was so confused. I needed to eat some chocolate. That might help.

  “Do I need to remind you of everything he’s done? He entered an Alaskan village and single-handedly wiped it out.”

  Dex nodded. “I know all this. I know. But he also gave me a second chance at life.”

  I fisted up a clump of my curls and twisted them. “What if he can somehow see the future? What if he tracked you and he’s the one who’s after Gabby?”

  Dex gave me a hold-your-horses gesture. “Don’t jump to conclusions. We don’t know what’s going to happen, or Gabby’s role in any of it. We don’t know if someone’s going to come after her, or what. We wait and see. There’s nothing to be concerned about until there is.”

  “Stone said something is going to happen and it has to do with Gabby.”

  Dex stretched out his legs. “Like I said, wait and see. We can’t act until we know what we’re fighting against. Right now we need to be focused on the werewolf. Have Dot help you make the net. You can do that before dinner tonight.”

  I gave him a mock salute. “Yes, sir. Enjoy your slumber. Don’t get too comfortable on my bed.”

  “I’m not a threat, Andie.”

  My heart wrenched at his words. I knew he wasn’t, but I was just so confused. My thoughts were wrapped in feelings and my feelings in thoughts. Nothing made sense. So yes, even though I’d kissed him, I still wasn’t ready to hand my heart over to Dex. I had to be hard, act like sometimes he ruffled my feathers a bit because he’d lost out on three years, right? I was someone new, someone tougher, and Dex needed to understand that getting back under my covers wasn’t going to be easy.

  “But don’t worry,” he said, his voice distant. “I don’t expect to be seeing your room anytime soon after today.”

  Darn right.

  I left and found Dot, explaining what needed to happen. She fingered her pink waves of hair. “Wonderful. Now, let me see where I’ve placed my spun silver.”

  Sure thing, because plenty of folks kept precious metals lying around.

  She left the kitchen and retreated into her bedroom. I wasn’t convinced Dot would return with anything. It was pretty much impossible that she would have any spun silver.

  “Andie,” she called.

  I trotted into her bedroom, which was full of scarves and feather boas. “Yes?”

  She pulled a ball the size of her head from her bottomless pitted black medicine bag. “What do you think? Will this do?”

  I reached out and ran my fingers over the thin threads that made up the spool. “Is that really spun silver?”

  Dot winked at me. “Of course. What else would it be?”

  “Steel.”

  Dot swatted the air. “Pah. You’ve been away from your witch roots for too long. Now why would a witch keep steel in her purse?”

  I shrugged. “Why would a witch keep silver?”

  Dot stroked the ball. “Why, for all sorts of things. You can give someone the silver touch with a bit of this, protect them from evil and even help make them invisible.”

  I quirked a brow. “What’s the silver touch?”

  Dot scoffed. “It’s like having the golden touch, dear, but it’s silver.”

  “So everything a person touches turns to silver?”

  Dot nodded. “More like a curse than a blessing, really. But in olden days that spell used to get cast all the time.”

  I took the ball from her. Thing weighed a ton. It slipped from my hands and fell to the floor. The house quaked.

  “Andie, use a weightless spell on it so that you can lift it.”

  I snapped my fingers, and tendrils of magic coiled around the ball, taking most of the mass. I picked it back up, and the thing was light as a feather.

  “Sweet. Can you make a net?”

  Dot clucked. “I have Thanksgiving dinner to prepare. You can make the net. I’ll supervise. In fact, why don’t you get Gabby to help? She’d love to work some magic with her mother.”

  “Okay, get us set up.”

  We corralled Gabby to the kitchen counter, and I propped her up in a breakfast chair, the spool in front of us.

  “Now,” Dot said. “Creating a net is easy. Let me show you the pattern.”

  My great-aunt plucked a large needle from the air. It was made of wood and much wider than a normal needle.

  “Wow,” Gabby said.

  “Wow,” I repeated.

  Dot threaded the silver through it and got started. She raised her hands in the air. The needle and the silver straightened to attention, and with the help of good old-fashioned magic, began netting.

  Gabby laughed.

  “It is funny, isn’t it?”

  “Now, Andie,” Dot said. “I’ve got it started. All you need to do is keep things moving.”

  “Okay,” I said. I poked the air until I felt her magic. My power scooped up underneath and took over.

  “Gabby help,” she said.

  I said, “Give Mommy a minute.”

  I kept constructing, looping and watching as the individual squares of silver were punched out. Underneath my magic, I felt Gabby tugging on it, trying to get control.

  “Gabby,” I said, “why don’t we work together?”

  “Gabby do it,” she said.

  “Gabby,” I said in warning. “Let me do it and I’ll let you help.”

  I felt my daughter tug on it again. “Gabby want to do it.”

  At that moment I felt like a mom trying to keep a steaming cup of coffee or mocha out of reach. That was easy compared to this. I could just reach up, and my kid couldn’t touch it. But with magic it was completely different. I felt her tug, her poke. I pushed back gently. But she kept on scrambling for a piece.

  “Gabby, I’ll let you help, but stop trying to take it for yourself.”

  I yanked with a force like a baseball bat hitting one out of the stadium. At the same time Gabby jerked the net from me.

  The silver broke, crashing all across the kitchen.

  “Ah,” I yelled.

  Gabby froze for a minute; then she erupted into racks of giggles. “Mommy, so funny. Do it again.”

  Dot picked a sliver of silver from the top of the turkey. “I would prefer you don’t do that ever again. Why don’t you two go into the living room?”

  I grimaced. “Sorry.”

  “It’s okay.”

  A couple of hours later we had a completed net. The sun was beginning to melt down the horizon. It was time to kick my butt into high gear. I had to get ready for dinner with one angel, one vampire, a best friend who was a witch, a great-aunt, my toddler and a Magic 8 Ball.

  Wish me luck.

  Fitz arrived that afternoon and dropped off clothes for Dex. I sneaked into the bedroom. He was still sleeping, so I got myself ready. By the time I was showered and dressed, he was up. I gave him the clothes.

  “Here you go. I’ll give you some privacy.”

  Dex wiped his eyes. “You don’t have to.”

  I ignored him and went back into my small dining room. The table was set, and I had to say it was absolutely beautiful. Now all we needed were our guests.

  Stone was the first to arrive. He raked his bangs from his eyes, pulled me aside and said, “Andie, I’m sorry for how I acted yesterday. I don’t want anyon
e to be tortured. And as much as I want a break from you, it hurts my heart to even think of it.”

  I bit my lip. Having him here, in front of me, I felt the easy comfort that Stone filled me with. He made it okay to be myself. And as much as I sorely wanted to be with him, life had suddenly gotten a bit more complicated.

  I sighed. “I’m so confused.”

  At the exact same moment Dex strode into the living room.

  He rolled up the cuffs of his long-sleeved shirt. If there was something that made me drool over my husband, it was his forearms. They were muscular and strong without being too corded. They made me want to purr.

  Stone shot me a look. His back stiffened. “I see.”

  “Stone,” I whimpered.

  “Angel,” Dex said in greeting.

  “Vampire,” Stone replied.

  “Is that supposed to be your hellos to each other?” I said.

  Dex glanced at me under long, thick lashes. “No, it’s our warning.”

  My jaw dropped. I pushed aside all my feelings of confusion, knowing that if I drank a mocha topped with whipped cream, at least a few moments of clarity would hit my brain. Mental note—do that later.

  “Okay, boys. This is Thanksgiving. A holiday where we pretend to be happy and love our relatives, even those on the opposite political spectrum. Since you two are on polar sides of the supernatural rainbow, my suggestion is that we put our knives back in our sheaths and sing a little ‘Kumbaya.’”

  Stone peeled off his jacket. A hard line of determination formed on his lips. “I’ll sing whatever song you want. I’ve got this.” He kissed my forehead, shooting Dex a look of warning. “Whatever you want, Andie. I can be mature.” Anger fumed in Dex’s gaze as Stone winked at him. “Who’s ready for a little holiday cheer?”

  Was the angel baiting the vampire?

  I stepped away from Stone. Were they competing for me? Angel or not, he and Dex were acting like a couple of high school boys vying for the same girl.

  What the heck was going on?

  As if on cue, Dot floated into the room—literally, holding a tray of pigs in the blanket. “I know it’s not Thanksgiving tradition, but it’s a good appetizer.”

  “Everything smells heavenly,” Dex said.

  “Thank you,” Stone replied.

  Dex scowled.

  I broke in between them. “Okay, you two. Cool your jets and turn off the fake testosterone, because I know neither of you can make it. At least I think that’s true. Angels aren’t human and vampires are undead, so I don’t think your physiological processes work the same as humans.”

  “I might not make it, but I’ve still got it,” Dex said. “As opposed to a guy who never made it to begin with.”

  “I’ll show you who can make it,” Stone said.

  “Enough,” I said. “I’m going to kick both you out of here if you don’t stop your attitudes.”

  “I can pour some water on them,” Dot said. She grabbed at her clothes as if searching for a pocket of some substance. “Or, I can see if I’ve got a spell that will work on both of them.”

  I grimaced. “Can you two can it, or do I have to sic Dot on you?”

  Dex swiped a finger over his perfect lips. “I’m going to play with Gabby.”

  “I’m her guardian angel, you know,” Stone said.

  I flared out my hands. “Enough. This isn’t a peeing contest.” I thought about that. “Do either of you even use the bathroom? Never mind. I’m not interested in your biology.”

  I glared at both of them. Stone shrugged like he was innocent, and Dex simply studied me quietly, knowing full well why I was angry.

  “Dex, go play with Gabby. Stone, let me catch you up to date.”

  Dex did exactly as I said, and Stone sat down. “What’s happened?”

  I explained everything, ending with showing him the net. “So that’s where we are. The plan is to bait the werewolf again. We haven’t decided when, but it’ll need to be soon.”

  Stone fingered the silver. “You think this will hold him?”

  “According to Dex, it should.”

  Stone frowned. “No offense, Andie, and I know he wouldn’t hurt you or Gabby, but he might be a bit overzealous when it comes to you.”

  I shook my head. “What’s the sudden change in mood? Yesterday you were saying you had to live without me and that it was torture being around me. Now you’re acting like we’re a couple.”

  Stone threaded his fingers through the shock of bang that covered his right eye. “It’s like I said, the pain was getting to be too much.”

  I pressed my palm to Stone’s chest. “Love is getting hurt, Stone. That’s life. You deal with it like an adult and not poke each other like children—and I mean you and Dex—until someone breaks. Not cool, and that’s not the way to win my heart.”

  “Understood.” Stone gave me a brilliant smile. “Whatever you need. Whatever Gabby needs. That’s what I’m here for.” He rubbed his hands together. “I’m ready to hunt down this werewolf whenever you are. Just tell me when and where.”

  I smiled. “Yeah, if we can ever find him. He’s supposedly a man named Antonio, but there’s no way to track him down.”

  “You think he doesn’t exist?”

  I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. “I don’t know. That’s crazy, but I don’t know what else to think. I mean, he doesn’t have a phone number or an address. It’s almost like he’s made up.”

  The doorbell rang. “Hold that thought.”

  I left Stone and crossed to the door, musing over my theory. The fragmented pieces of the mystery started to cohere, and a picture began forming in my head.

  I opened the door to find Kate. She had her arm looped through her date’s, which I hadn’t expected her to bring but was glad for it.

  “Andie,” she said. “Meet my new boyfriend, Phillip. Phillip, this is Andie.”

  I locked gazes with Cal’s brother. Phillip offered a lopsided smile and an awkward wave of one lanky arm.

  “Hi there, Andie. Good to see you again,” Phillip said.

  I plastered on my fakest smile. “So you’re the new boyfriend Kate’s been gushing about. Y’all come on in for Thanksgiving dinner.”

  They entered the house, and as I shut the front door, a sick feeling took over my stomach. As the pieces fell into place, I had the sense that Phillip knew more about the mysterious Antonio than he was letting on. I was going to find out what.

  Starting now.

  TWENTY-TWO

  We sat down to dinner, and even Gabby decided sitting at the table with the grown-ups sounded like a good idea. Dot prayed, which didn’t last the half century I thought it might. You know, ’cause she seemed like the sort of person who took the opportunity to give thanks as a platform to go on and on and on.

  There’s always that one person, you know.

  Then there’s the other side, the person who just says rub a dub dub, thanks for the grub. Somewhere in between is best.

  “Pass the gravy,” I said to Dot. She lifted her fingers, and the porcelain boat sailed down to me. “So, Phillip,” I said, “you feeling better? You look better, and if looks went with feelings, I’d say you’re worth about a million bucks.”

  “I don’t think we’ve ever had a millionaire over for a meal before,” Dot said.

  “It was a figure of speech.”

  Phillip scratched his shoulder. “I’m better, thanks. Pretty nasty cold that took me out a few days ago.”

  “Yeah,” Kate said. “We couldn’t see each other.”

  He hand-fed Kate a crescent roll. She moaned when she bit down. He gave Kate a toothy grin. “It was hard being away from each other,” Phillip said. “But now I’m better and back in the land of the living.”

  “So I’ve been looking for Antonio,” I said. “He seems to be somewhat of a ghost except for when he’s big, hairy and pretending to want to kill me.”

  Both Dex and Stone shot me looks. I shrugged. “What? This is polite holiday co
nversation.”

  “Talking about werewolf attacks isn’t exactly nice,” Vordrid said. “But Phillip, Andie raises an interesting question.”

  I jabbed my fork into a glob of cornbread dressing. “Yeah, do you know where to find him? Because George didn’t have a way to contact him at all.”

  Phillip pushed a brussels sprout around on his plate. “He’s pretty hard to track down. I can help you, of course.”

  “You can?” That, I had not expected at all. I’d expected Phillip to dodge. “That would be great. We can start by hitting all his local haunts. Maybe you can help flush him out.”

  “Yeah,” Stone said. “I think Andie’s beginning to believe that Antonio doesn’t exist.”

  “That’s funny.” Kate elbowed Phillip. “Didn’t you and George make up friends for Cal when y’all were little?”

  My ears pricked at what she said. I’d forgotten that George had told me the same thing when we first met.

  Phillip barked out a laugh. He smiled at me before pawing at his chest. “I’d be happy to help. Anything to help you in the situation you’re in.”

  I rolled my eyes. “You mean that the townsfolk want to skewer me for witchcraft? And oh, yes, I’m about to be fired from my job?”

  Kate looked up and frowned. “We don’t know that you’re going to be fired. Don’t jump to conclusions.”

  “Please, Kate, we both know what’s going to happen. I’ll be fired, and then we’ll have to move.”

  Dex took a sip of his water. “You don’t have to move. I’ll be able to help you.”

  Stone chirped up. “I can definitely offer whatever you want. Anything you need, I’m here to help.”

  Dex stared down at his plate. “Maybe she should take the offer from her husband, someone she’s known almost half her life, as opposed to some guy she just met a few weeks ago.”

  Stone’s fists tightened. “I’m Gabby’s guardian. I think my intentions are good.”

  Dex glanced up, his face a dark mask of emotion. “She’s my wife. I can help her.”

  Oh jeez. The air was so thick with man pride you could slice it up and serve it under ice cream.

  “Guys,” I said. “It’s Thanksgiving. You promised to play nice.”