Conjure

by Lea Nolan

  “I am sorry.” Her voice breaks with heart-wrenching sorrow.

  He nods. “Yeah, me, too.” He kicks at the long, spindly legs of an oregano plant. “Maybe you should leave us alone now.”

  Her breath hitches as she swallows a sob. Her body shimmers in the gloomy light, then grows fuzzy and thins, as her image breaks up and evaporates into mist. The wind kicks up, gusting through the garden and shaking the surrounding trees.

  Cooper blinks. “Did that just happen?”

  I nod, my eyes wide. “Uh-huh.” Drained, I crash against him to stay upright.

  Jack slumps to the ground. “You know what this means?” He lays his head in his hands and doesn’t even notice I’ve fallen into Cooper’s arms.

  “What?” Cooper and I ask at the same time.

  “I made out with a ghost.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  The radio crackles with static as we drive home from the hospital after checking on Miss Delia. By some miracle she survived the surgery but is still in a coma. With her lying there unconscious, there was no sense in hanging around, especially after the last festering section of Jack’s forearm exploded right there in her room. Luckily, we grabbed some gauze from a supply closet and wrapped up his radius and ulna before anyone caught sight of his exposed bones.

  The music cuts off abruptly. “We interrupt this program to update you on Hurricane Amelia’s progress.” The disc jockey’s voice sounds controlled but strained through the electrical interference. “Storm winds have taken an unexpected and sudden turn and are now projected to reach one hundred fifteen miles per hour, and are on course to make landfall on St. Helena Island in a little more than twenty-four hours.”

  A chill runs over my body. Amelia is a hurricane. Craning my neck out the window, I peer at the thick gray sky.

  “Turn it up,” Jack calls from the backseat. I’m finally riding shotgun next to Cooper, so I get to control the radio.

  The DJ continues. “The Sea Islands haven’t seen a hurricane this strong since 1893, when twenty-foot waves bashed the shore and claimed the lives of more than two thousand people. We urge you to take proper precautions and get to high ground if possible.”

  My ears tingle, suddenly growing warm. I rub the cartilage, wondering why they’re feeling so weird. The lobes heat next, swelling enough to make my earrings feel uncomfortable, like maybe they’ve been in too long or are getting infected.

  A faint buzz resonates deep in my ear.

  Jack shakes his head. “Dang.”

  “How the heck did we miss this?” Cooper asks, scratching his temple.

  Jack rubs his chin. “Though now that they mention it, the weather has been kind of crappy the last few days.”

  Fat raindrops splatter the windshield.

  It suddenly dawns on me: maybe Miss Delia and I actually caused this from working too much elemental magic.

  The buzzing slowly increases and expands, dampening other sounds. I jam my finger inside and pull at the outer ear, attempting to shake loose whatever’s going on. But nothing stops it. Between the radio static and the zapping sound in my ear, I can barely think straight. I shut off the radio, but the internal hum persists.

  Suddenly, I remember how my burning hand longed for the cool dagger at the museum, and wonder whether Maggie’s doing something to tip me off. Yanking my ear, I call out, “If this is you, Maggie, you can knock it off and just tell me what I need to know.” Since I can’t hear myself, I’m probably speaking louder than I think.

  The buzzing continues, and my skin blazes.

  Cooper’s eyes expand. “What’s going on?” He reaches over and strokes my arm.

  Jack lunges forward, popping his head between the two front seats. “Is Maggie here?”

  I shake my head. “I don’t know. My ears are ringing, and they’re hot, so I thought she might be trying to tell me something.”

  “Is the feeling as strong as you had in the museum?” Cooper asks, keeping his eyes on the road.

  I consider his question. There isn’t any urge or deep longing. “No. It’s just a weird physical thing. Why?”

  Cooper shrugs, dropping his arm from mine and grasping the steering wheel. “Didn’t Maggie say your spirit guide was more subtle than she was?”

  “Do you think my spirit guide’s talking to me?” I ask.

  The buzzing stops, and the heat drains from my ears. A chill runs up my spine as I lean back in the front seat.

  “What is it, Em?” Jack asks. “You look kind of weird.”

  I turn my head toward him and stare, amazed by the clarity of his voice when just a second ago it was fuzzy and warped. “It stopped. Everything. The buzzing, the hot feeling. Everything’s back to normal.” I rub my ears again.

  Cooper smiles. “I think you just learned to hear that spirit guide of yours.”

  Jack nods. “Dang.”

  “Okay, but what is she saying?” I push a strawberry-blonde lock behind my ear. “I mean, it started as soon as that DJ finished reading the news.”

  Jack quirks his brow. “Come on. You heard a report, and your ears started acting up. Duh, put them together.”

  My ear buzzes, and the heat spikes for just a few seconds, then cuts off again. Okay, it’s definitely my spirit guide, and she wants me to pay attention to what the weatherman said. I gnaw the inside of my bottom lip and stare at the dash, pondering. Disparate pieces from the last few weeks come together, illuminating the path I should follow.

  A jolt of realization zaps me. “It’s the hurricane. It’ll give us the wind and water we need to break the curse.”

  “But what about the other stuff? Don’t you need earth and fire, too?” Cooper asks.

  I grab Miss Delia’s spell book from my messenger bag and clutch it close to my chest. “Leave that to me and my spirit guide to figure out. In the meantime, we’ve got to get that necklace from Missy.”

  “But—”

  I cut him off. “Listen, we’ve only got twenty-four hours to get this right. I don’t care if you have to rip it off her neck while she’s sleeping, you have to get it.”

  …

  Dad’s sitting at the kitchen table when we walk in, his head in his hands. “Where have y’all been? I’ve been calling you all day. Amelia bent eastward early this morning and is nearly here.” His face is creased with worry.

  My stomach sinks. We had to turn our cell phones off in the hospital. I reach into my bag and fumble with my phone. There they are, six unread messages. Jack’s phone probably has the same amount. “Sorry, Dad.”

  He nods, then squints at Jack’s gauze-wrapped hand and arm. “What happened to you, son? Are you okay?” He goes to stand up, but Jack jumps to explain.

  “Yeah, I’m fine.” He chuckles and waves Dad off. “Just a little poison ivy incident from when we were hiking. That’s where we were, when you couldn’t reach us, probably out of signal range.” He points to his bandaged arm. “Anyway, I asked Emma to wrap it for me so I won’t scratch it up.” He forces another laugh. “It’s probably overkill, but you know how gross poison ivy can be.”

  Dad’s shoulders relax. “Good, you had me worried. This storm’s likely to do some damage, and I’m going to have my hands full. The last thing I need is to be searching for you two or tending to a serious injury.”

  “Do you want us to help you board up the house or High Point Bluff?” I ask, knowing how much work it’ll take to protect the plantation.

  “We can take care of this house in the morning.” He shakes his head and huffs. “But we’re not touching the Big House.”

  “Why?” Jack asks.

  Dad sighs. “Because rather than following the mandatory evacuation order, Missy’s decided to go ahead with her Fourth of July party, only she’s making it a hurricane-watching party. She’ll have a full house of her fancy friends tomorrow night, and they want a clear view of the Sound.”

  Jack’s lip curls. “That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.”

  Dad scoffs. �
��You said it, son. But that’s not the worst of it.”

  “What is?” A tingling feeling creeps up the back of my neck.

  “She wants me to bartend, and you two to do the serving.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  I mash my lips together and try not to yell, remembering he’s now the requited love of my fourteen-year-old life. “What do you mean you didn’t get the necklace?” My hands fly to my hips.

  Why doesn’t Cooper get how important this is?

  Cooper winces and backs away from me on Dad’s screened porch, so I’m confident I’ve conveyed my frustration. He holds up his hands. “I tried, Emmaline, I swear. But my dad never went to sleep, so I couldn’t go in there.”

  Jack plops down on the swing. “How do you know? What’d you do, stay up all night watching them?”

  Cooper squares his chest and narrows his eyes. “Actually, yeah. I hung out in the hall, crouched in the dark like a frigging maniac, listening at their door all night. I don’t know what he was doing in there, but he was laughing, moving things, and making all sorts of noise. And Missy was snoring the whole time. Believe me, if he ever quieted down, I was ready to sneak in there and unhook it from her neck.”

  Jack rakes his new glove through his jet-black hair. He’s lucky Cooper’s got a bunch of unused golf equipment lying around. A tinge of panic fills Jack’s eyes. “So what are we going to do? Emma, are you sure you can’t skimp and work a spell without the necklace?”

  My stomach drops. Sure, I can try to break The Creep, save Jack, and free Maggie’s soul without the necklace, but that would leave the Beaumont curse in place and Cooper doomed. That’s not an option.

  I shake my head. “No, I need the necklace, and we’ve got to have it before the hurricane passes.”

  The rain’s already begun, and the wind’s kicking up, too, which is why we spent the morning boarding the windows of the caretaker’s cottage. The screen porch is the only open area left in the house.

  I turn and watch fat droplets spatter onto the screen and cling there. I’m still not exactly sure how to use the necklace, but thanks to my improved communication with my spirit guide, I’m hoping it’ll hit me when the time is right.

  I could also use a clue as to how I’m supposed to bind the blood of the sun and moon, the day and the night. Overnight, I scoured Miss Delia’s book and my own notes and came up with a whole lot of nothing.

  Cooper rubs his forehead and slouches into the settee. “So how are we going to get it? It’s not like we can just ask her to hand it over.”

  A spark ignites in my brain, and I take a quick breath. “Maybe we can.” I dash into the house to grab Miss Delia’s spell book, feeling suddenly less resentful of our forced employment at tonight’s stupid hurricane-watching party.

  “What are you talking about?” Jack asks when I come back to the porch.

  Cooper eyes me suspiciously. “What’s that for?”

  I settle into the settee next to him and thumb through the book, searching for a few entries I only skimmed over because I didn’t think they applied. A plan forms as I review the entries. “I think we can confuse her enough to get her to hand it over tonight at the party.”

  Jack’s brow quirks. “Right, she’s just going to take it off and give it to us in front of Beau and all her friends. And no one’s going to notice when we take it and ditch the party.”

  I nod. “Exactly.”

  Cooper scratches his temple. “But how?”

  “We’ll work a Mind Confusion charm on everyone there.” I grin, proud of my awesome advancing hoodoo skills.

  Cooper’s gaze turns dark. “I don’t like the sound of that. It’s not right to make people do things against their will, no matter what your reason.”

  My brain throbs. He’s going to get all moralistic on me now? After we’ve stolen from a museum and lied to our parents, sheriff’s deputies, and hospital officials? After half of Jack’s arm has fallen off and we’ve been chased by seething dog-beasts, the same demons that almost killed Miss Delia yesterday? Not to mention hiding our relationship from Jack. Really? I pinch the bridge of my nose, squeezing back the headache that’s gripping my skull, and search for the words to convince him.

  Jack beats me to it, leaning forward on the swing. “You’re kidding, right?” I sigh, thankful we’re on the same page. For once. Jack lifts his arm, which is covered by another of his rash guards. “We’re talking about my life here, Coop. This morning, I woke up to find it’s already moved halfway up my bicep. I’m running out of time, and you’re worried about making Missy give us the necklace?”

  Cooper clasps his hands and looks down at the floor. “That’s not what I’m saying.” His lips form a straight line. “You know I want that necklace more than anything. Heck, I was ready to crawl across my dad’s bed to get it.” He shakes his head. “I just don’t like the idea of brainwashing anyone.”

  Jack rakes his good hand through his jet black hair. “It’s Missy, for God’s sake. You hate her, I know you do.”

  Cooper shuts his eyes tight. “I don’t hate her.” His words are stilted and forced. He looks at Jack. “I may not like her, but that means I have to be even more careful with what happens to her.”

  “Huh?” Jack and I tilt our heads and ask in unison.

  Cooper sits up straight. “I have to treat her fairly and with respect. Otherwise, I’ll question my motives.”

  Jack shakes his head. “I’m sorry, I still don’t get it.”

  Cooper takes a deep breath. “It would be too obvious to do something bad to her. I can’t stand the way she bosses everyone around and thinks she’s something she’s not. And I hate the way my father lets her get away with—even encourages—her behavior.” He turns to me and gently grasps my hand. “Don’t you see, Emmaline? I’d love to ask you to work some horrible hoodoo spell and sic a pack of plateyes on her, then watch her run screaming in those stilettos off this plantation. But that’s the easy way out. As much as I can’t stand her, it won’t change the important things. It won’t bring my mother back, and it won’t make my father a decent human being.”

  I gasp. His words land like a punch in the gut, but only because he doesn’t know how right he is about his father. A Mind Confusion charm won’t change Beau, but it will help ensure that Cooper doesn’t morph into someone like him. It’ll keep Cooper the kind, loving, soulful person that he is. The Cooper I love.

  I can’t keep the secret from him any longer. If our relationship means anything to me, I have to tell him the truth.

  I clear my throat and place my other hand on top of his. “Um, Cooper, I understand where you’re coming from—”

  He nods. “Right, so there’s got to be some other way to get the necklace. Another spell.”

  I shake my head. “I’m sorry, but I don’t know enough, and we’re out of time. This is it.”

  “No? Are you sure?” His pale green eyes search mine for a different, more ethical answer.

  “There’s something I haven’t been able to tell you, but you need to know,” I say, bracing myself. “Maybe it’ll help you be okay with what we have to do.” I bite my lip.

  He tilts his head, and his eyes narrow with alarm. “What is it?”

  Gripping his hand, I squeeze my eyes shut and concentrate on forming the words. “Sabina was really angry at what Edmund and the pirates did to Maggie.”

  Jack huffs. “Yeah, hello, she created The Creep.” He thrusts his arm in our direction.

  I shake my head. “That’s not all she did.”

  Cooper’s brow knits. “What are you talking about?”

  “When Edmund died, his wife, Lady Rose, needed a midwife to help her give birth to their son. Sabina was brought in to help, but when she saw the pirate’s necklace around Lady Rose’s neck, she freaked out.” My heart thuds in my chest, and a sick feeling swirls in my stomach. These are the last words I want to utter, but I don’t have a choice.

  Cooper’s face turns ashen. “And?”

  �
�The necklace proved that Lady Rose had some connection with what happened on The Dagger. Sabina said it was a blood stone, purchased with Maggie’s life. As punishment, she placed a curse on the Beaumonts, starting with Lady Rose’s baby, that would be passed down to every generation.”

  Jack sneers. “How can the Beaumonts be cursed? They’re rich.”

  Ignoring him, Cooper shakes his head. “What’s that supposed to mean?” He grabs my arms and peers into my eyes. “Emmaline?”

  I swallow hard. “You’re going to lose your soul when you turn sixteen.” Even though the words came out of my mouth, they sound impossible.

  Cooper releases me, then stumbles off the settee as the color drains from his skin.

  Jack looks stricken, as if Sabina herself had just punched him in the gut. “Whoa, that woman was hard-core.”

  Cooper’s eyes search the room as he struggles to find words. “Lose my soul? How’s that possible?”

  “The curse dooms all of Edmund and Lady Rose’s male progeny to lose their souls when they come of age. In Sabina’s time, that was sixteen. It’s happened to every generation since their child was born, including your dad. It’s why none of the Gullah ever come up to High Point Bluff or work for your family. They can sense the darkness here.”

  Deep creases etch Cooper’s brow. “No. I won’t give away my soul. It can’t happen if I don’t agree.”

  I rush to him, gather up his hand, and try to impart some measly sense of comfort and support. “I’m sorry, but it’s been this way for almost three hundred years. It’s going to happen unless we get that necklace and break Sabina’s spell. It’s the only thing that links the Beaumonts to Sabina’s original curse.”

  He draws his hand from mine. “So I have to do something wrong to make something else right. That’s what you’re saying?” He staggers backward toward the screen door.

  “Duh, yeah.” Jack jumps off the swing and meets him at the door. “This is your soul we’re talking about. You can worry about hurting Missy’s feelings later.”