by Amy Boyles
“What? What did you do? You created that?”
He stroked my hair, soothing me. After a moment he gently untangled himself from my hold.
His eyes filled with concern. “First, know that you were never in any danger. I never would have hurt you—ever.”
I stared at him, not sure what to believe. “What was it that you used?”
“It’s a personal fear spell. One of many outside of town. It’s not real.”
I pounded my fist to his chest. “I felt like I was going to die!”
He took my face in his hands. “You were never in any danger. I promise you. But if I had told you what you would face, what would you have done?”
The realization sank into me. “I would have been prepared, I think. It wouldn’t have worked.”
“You wouldn’t have created the spear, the manifestation of your magic.” He sighed. “I wouldn’t have let anything happen to you. I promise. I wouldn’t have left you there, alone. If it looked like you weren’t going to be able to use your magic and make it manifest, I would have pulled you out and saved you. I swear.”
He pressed his palms to my cheeks. I took his wrists and stared into his eyes. They searched me, worry brimming in them.
“Are you okay?” he asked. “I want to be sure. I don’t want you to leave this situation traumatized and unable to trust me. I never wanted to do that to you. It would hurt me more knowing that I’ve lost your trust.”
“But how could I not…”
Rufus dropped his hands from my cheeks, leaving imprints of heat on my flesh. He straightened. “How could you not trust me?” he said weakly.
I shook my head. “You’re misunderstanding. You gave me my power. Well, I mean, you didn’t give it to me, but you helped me find and use it.” The words didn’t want to come. They wanted to stay hidden deep in the well of my heart, but I forced them to the surface. “How could I not trust you, because I do. I did and I still do.”
Relief flooded his face. “You’re one of the few people I know here, and you know me better than anyone. I don’t even know myself.”
And there, I held the key. All I had to do was hand Rufus the memory spell and he would discover who he was, learn about himself. Then he would know the truth.
He might have helped me, but I wasn’t prepared to face Rufus when he discovered who he truly was.
“Thank you,” I said. “For releasing me.”
He shook his head. “I didn’t do anything. It’s your power. You’re the one who used it.”
“But without you, I never would have been able to do that.”
Rufus shook his head. “You’re giving me too much credit. Now.” He rubbed his hands. “Care to try that again? Make sure it wasn’t a one-time event?”
I shook out my hands. “Yes, let’s try it again.”
So we did. We worked the spell again, this time without the fear part. Since I’d been able to manifest the spear once, Rufus figured that I should be able to do it again without having to conjure up something for me to be afraid of.
Turned out, he was right. The spear came quickly and easily. I was working on instinct, and it was cool.
After about thirty minutes I looked at Rufus. “You hungry? I’ve got some chicken and vegetables fixed.”
He patted his stomach. “I thought you’d never ask.”
Lady jumped up from her spot on the couch. She padded onto an ottoman, and then I helped her to the floor. “Clementine, I thought you’d never say anything about dinner. I’m famished. I thought we discussed this—that I’m always hungry. Let’s go chow down.”
Rufus’s gaze glued to mine. “Is your dog talking, or am I going crazy?”
I rubbed the back of my neck. Please don’t let him ask where the spell came from. “Yes, she’s talking.”
“Where did you get the spell?”
Crap.
I smiled widely. “It’s a funny thing about that. Why don’t I tell you over supper?”
“Yes,” he said slowly. “Why don’t you?”
Chapter 6
Over dinner, I explained to Rufus when and where I’d gotten the spell.
“Remember when we went to Dooley Hutto’s farm? That’s where I found it.”
He lifted a brow. “And you didn’t tell me?”
I pushed peas around on my plate. “I didn’t think it was important.”
He chuckled. “You wouldn’t also happen to be holding on to a memory spell, now would you?”
“Of course not,” I snapped. I said it too quickly. He would become suspicious. It was best to keep him away from thoughts like that. “What I mean is, I would never keep a spell like that from you.”
I hated lying.
I felt like such a bad person.
He smiled. “It’s unfortunate that a memory spell is so rare. I search for one every time I go out, but still no luck.”
“You’ll find one.”
Guilt churned in my stomach. Maybe it would be best if I released the spell, didn’t hold on to it. How horrible would I feel if Rufus discovered that I had been keeping such a thing from him after all he had done for me? The man had personally taken on my debt and had showed me how to use my magic.
It was almost as if…he cared deeply for me.
The realization flooded me like a wave, washing down my face and creeping to my toes. I stared at my plate before slowly lifting my gaze to meet his.
Rufus studied me, his dark eyes full of concern. “Are you all right?”
I tried swallowing down the knot in the back of my throat, but it didn’t want to budge. I sipped some water, and that seemed to help.
“Yes, I’m fine. It’s just…you’ve done so much for me. Thank you.”
“Isn’t that what friends do?” He said the word friends, but in his eyes something more shone.
“Yes, it’s what friends do. I only hope that I can repay the kindness that you’ve shown me.”
He smiled. “You already have. Now, how about we get ready and head on over to the house? Don’t forget, there’s a cleansing that needs to happen.”
Lady padded over. “Can I go, too?”
“I don’t know about that. There will be lots of folks, and you might talk.”
“Yes,” Rufus said. “What are you planning to do about that?”
I cringed. “I don’t know.”
“Y’all are talking about me like I’m some sort of problem,” Lady said with sass. “I’m not a problem. I’m a dog.”
I stroked her head. “Of course you’re not a problem. But if you start talking—”
“Then, what, the world will explode?” Lady asked.
Rufus shrugged. “For some reason I get the feeling that talking creatures aren’t as strange as we might think.”
I gestured toward the door. “But out there? In town? There are some humans.”
“Humans who, according to the older population, remember magic,” he corrected. “You might be surprised how they’ll react. They could be elated to talk to a dog. It might not be such a big deal.”
“I highly doubt that. I’ve seen too many conspiracy movies to believe that her little secret will stay confined to our town.”
Lady tapped her nose against my hand. “I, Lady the Dachshund, do solemnly swear that I will only speak in front of other magical people.”
“She did swear,” he teased.
I sighed. “Okay, come on. You can attend the cleansing.” I wagged a finger at her. “But you have to promise to mind.”
“I promise. I won’t get into any trouble.”
“We can only hope,” I mumbled.
Rufus winked at me. “That’s all we can do.”
Rufus drove us over to Harlow’s. It was late summer and the last of the sun’s fading rays burst into lemon-limes and magentas. Harlow sat on her porch, swinging back and forth on an old bench that I planned to take down and repaint.
“They’re all inside,” she said, stroking Gina. “I’ll come in when it’s over.”
I placed Lady beside her. “Now you stay here, Lady.”
My dog glared at me but said nothing. I knew she wanted to be in the middle of the action, but staying out of the way seemed a better option.
I shot her a smile before we entered the house.
“All I’m saying is that you should spread the wealth around,” Lynn said sharply. “It’s not fair to the rest of us.”
Rufus coughed into his hand, and the three triplets turned. With them stood an older woman, her gray hair swept back. She wore a long black tunic and a bright turquoise necklace that dangled down her chest.
She extended her hands in welcome. “You must be the renovator, Clementine. And this”—her eyes sparkled when they landed on Rufus—“must be the spell hunter.”
A jolt of jealousy rushed through me. I nearly scoffed at myself. What was wrong with me? Was I really jealous of an older woman showing Rufus attention? I must have lost my mind.
“I am he,” Rufus said kindly.
I did not like his tone.
“I’m Martha, the mother,” she said, head tipping toward the triplets. “We’re so happy to have you.” She directed her attention back to the trio. “Now, now, kids. Let’s put our anger aside and do what we came to do—cleanse the house with the help of this handsome spell hunter.”
I openly scoffed. Rufus coughed into his hand. I think to cover up what I’d done.
How rude of him.
Knight moved toward Rufus. “You have the spells?”
Rufus patted his satchel. I had the feeling that he wasn’t going to bring them out unless Knight flashed some cash.
I couldn’t blame him.
When Rufus paused, Knight’s cheeks flushed pink. “Of course,” he mumbled. He pulled a wallet from his black suit jacket and thumbed through a stack of hundreds. He pulled several out and handed them to Rufus. “Here you go.”
Rufus tucked the money in his pocket. “Let me give you the spells.”
“You’ll stay and make sure we’re doing them right, won’t you?” Knight said with an edge of fear in his voice.
“Of course.”
Knight shuffled closer as Rufus dug through his satchel. “It’s so hot in here.”
“It is.” Martha patted his back. “But don’t worry, son, it’ll cool off soon.”
He mopped up sweat from his brow and loosened his tie. “Now where did I put my journal?”
I glanced around and spied a leather-bound book on the counter. “Is that it?”
Knight’s gaze followed to where I was pointing. “Oh yes, that’s it. Silly me. I’d lose my head if it wasn’t attached.” He palmed the journal and waited for Rufus to be ready with the spells.
Realizing that I still had my shoulder bag on, I put it on the counter, where it slumped over.
Of course that was when Payne waltzed up to me, winking. “Hey there, fancy seeing you again.”
“Yeah, fancy that,” I replied warily.
“Nice bag,” he said.
“It’s not one I use often,” I replied, pointing to the worn-out leather. “It barely has anything in it but my keys.”
“Prove it,” he joked.
I laughed uncomfortably and sidled over, trying to stay out of his reach. I had the feeling that Payne was a handsy sort of man, and I didn’t particularly want to get handed.
But turned out that I didn’t have to worry about it because Rufus said, “All right. We’re ready. Everyone, let’s form a circle.” His gaze flickered to Knight. “Did you bring the candles?”
Lynn spoke. “Of course he didn’t. He’s too cheap.” She pulled several long purple sticks from her sleeve. How did she manage to hide them there? See? She really was a blonde Morticia.
“I brought them,” she declared haughtily.
Knight looked embarrassed.
Payne pulled a Zippo from his pocket and lit them. “Well, Knight brought the money, didn’t he?”
“It’s the least we could do—pay—after what happened at the last cleansing,” Martha said. “When you kids ended up destroying half a house, convinced that a spirit was hiding in the walls.”
“Mama, it did sound like it,” Knight pleaded.
“It sounded like a family of rats running around,” Martha snapped. “If you’d called me to begin with, I could’ve told you that and none of the rest would’ve happened. The wall wouldn’t have fallen on Harlow and nearly killed her.”
Knight fell silent, scolded to scalding by his mother.
As for me, I was ready to get this whole thing over with so that I could walk out of this dysfunctional family unit.
The sun had finished sinking into the horizon, and it was dark outside. Cicadas chirped loudly, along with crickets and bellowing frogs.
“Circle up,” Rufus commanded.
We made a ring in the center of the living room, all six of us. Rufus opened the mason jar and plucked a blue orb from it.
“Everyone needs to hold a candle,” he instructed.
Lit candles were passed around until everyone grasped one except for Rufus.
“I need those of us who are here to concentrate on this spell. If there is any evil or trickster spirits here, they will be found. We must focus on searching them out, on them being revealed.” He gazed at each and every one of us in turn. “Do you all understand?”
We murmured in agreement.
“Ready?” he asked.
We nodded.
“Then go,” Rufus told the spell. “Seek out what must be found.”
The spell zipped around the room before floating out and away. I held my breath, unsure of exactly what, if anything, would happen.
Would the spell come back and make a ringing noise to indicate that a spirit was present? Or would it do nothing?
Turned out, I was completely wrong.
A loud bellow sounded from the back of the house.
My gaze flew to Rufus, who turned one ear calmly in the direction of the sound.
Everyone’s faces were illuminated by the candlelight. The glow flickered under Knight’s round cheeks. “What was that?” he asked.
The bellow sounded again. It reminded me of an old man groaning in pain. Suddenly the back door flung open, and a strong wind blew through the room.
Knight screamed.
Rufus spoke harshly. “Everyone calm down. We must remain unified.”
He plucked the second spell, a green orb, from the jar. “Banish what your kin has found. Banish it back to where it came from.”
The orb rose into the air before zipping through the house.
The bellow sounded again. “Leave,” something said in a low, gritty voice.
Knight’s teeth chattered. “I think we should do as it says.”
“You are such a coward,” Lynn snapped.
“Y’all just calm down,” Payne said. “That spell hunter will take care of it. You okay, Clementine? You need to stand closer to me?”
I nearly vomited.
“Everyone be quiet,” Martha said.
The house rumbled.
“We’re going to die,” Knight shrieked.
I could nearly hear Rufus’s eyes rolling as he said in a voice tempered with patience, “No one is going to die. Let’s stay calm.”
A shriek came from the very bowels of the house. The back door slammed open and shut. A great gust of wind blew into the room, killing the candles.
Knight screamed.
“Oh, for goodness’ sake,” Lynn snapped. “Stop your whining. You’re such a baby.”
Then the house went silent. The back door creaked. Rufus pulled another spell from his satchel. It was golden. Our candles flickered back to life.
But only five of us were standing.
Lynn gasped. “Oh no!”
There, lying on the floor, his face drained of color, lay Knight Owens.
Chapter 7
Lynn kicked his shoulder. “Get up.”
Payne chuckled. “Good one, buddy. But you can get up now. You’ve
given us all a shock.”
But Knight still didn’t move. Annoyed that no one was taking him seriously, I crossed to him and knelt. Remembering CPR, the first thing I did was check for a pulse. I pressed my fingers into his doughy neck, but I couldn’t find anything.
“He doesn’t have a pulse.” I pointed to Lynn. “Call an ambulance.”
“You’ve got to be kidding.”
“We have to start chest compressions,” I said.
As I moved to do chest compressions, one of Knight’s hands fell away from his stomach, revealing a knife stuck into his gut.
I gasped.
A high-pitched scream split through the house. The back door opened with a bang, a gust of wind swept through the room and thunder clashed outside.
At the sight of the knife, I jumped back as the candles snuffed out once more. Plunged into darkness, I knew my first and only job was to help Knight as quickly as possible. I slid forward, my fingers searching the floor, expecting to bump into him, but where he had been, I only felt cold floorboards.
“Knight?” I said. “Where’d he go?”
The lights clapped back on. Not the candles, this time the overheads. Rufus stood at the light switch, his lips drawn into a firm line.
I turned back toward the floor, fully expecting Knight to be lying there, bleeding out.
But his body was gone.
I rose quickly. “Where did he go?” My gaze flickered to Lynn. I must have looked confused and angry. “Where is he?”
She scoffed. “How would I know? I didn’t do anything.”
I turned to Payne. “What happened to him? Where is he? Knight?” I called, half hoping he would answer. “Who stabbed him?”
They all looked at me, their faces full of confusion. I pointed to the floor.
“Maybe you should settle down,” Martha said. “Have a sit. Take a breath.”
“I’ll call the authorities,” Rufus said.
I pointed to the floor. “He was right there. With no pulse and a knife sticking from his belly. He was dead. And now his body is gone. Dead bodies don’t just up and disappear.”
Worry filled Lynn’s eyes. “A knife? I didn’t see that.”
“Neither did I,” Payne murmured.
“Well, I’m not lying,” I snapped. “He was lying there with a knife in him.”