Soul of the Witch

by Deanna Chase

  “A date you’ve been waiting ten years to go on,” Wanda said.

  “Thanks. I needed that,” Abby said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

  “Sorry. Listen, I’m coming over. I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”

  “You don’t have to do that. My dad’s here. I’m fine.”

  Wanda let out an impatient huff. “I know I don’t have to, but it’s what friends do. And I’m not letting you mope around at home because some guy blew you off. Dress in something warm. I’ll be there shortly.”

  The line went dead, and Abby put the phone down. “Dad?”

  Her father tore his attention from the television. “Yeah, kiddo?”

  “Looks like I’m going out after all. Do you need anything before I go?”

  He lifted his mug and his remote. “No thanks. I’m set.”

  She chuckled and retreated to her room to change out of the gorgeous red dress. Ten minutes later, she was dressed in jeans, a sweater, and ankle boots. On her way out of her room, she grabbed a knitted hat and a scarf. It wasn’t exactly freezing in Northern California in October, but once the sun went down, the temperatures plummeted with it.

  “Abby your friends are here,” her dad called from his recliner.

  She strolled out into the living room, bent to kiss her dad on the cheek, and smiled. “I’m glad you’re feeling better today.”

  “Me too. Now go out and have fun.” He waved a hand at the door. “John Wayne has it from here.”

  “Will do. See you in the morning.” Abby grabbed her coat and slipped out the front door.

  Strobe lights flashed from Wanda’s party cart, and a cheer rose up from the ladies she’d brought with her. “Whooohooo! It’s about time we got you out of the house,” one of the women called.

  Abby squinted. “Shannon, is that you?”

  “Sure is.” The tall, curvy redhead waved a hand. “Get over here. We have places to go and people to do.”

  “Shannon, behave.” Hanna darted out of the cart and wrapped her arms around Abby. “Hey, you.”

  Abby grinned and held onto Charlotte’s little sister with everything she had. “You’re a sight for sore eyes.”

  “My mom was thrilled you came by,” Hanna whispered into her ear. “She hasn’t stopped talking about it. She’s really missed you.”

  “I’ve missed her, too,” Abby said, choking back the emotion threatening to overtake her. “She was wonderful.”

  “Just don’t be a stranger, okay? Dad wants a chance to say hi, as well.” Hanna let her go and stared her in the eye. “And Candy needs to apologize, the little trouble-maker. I can’t believe she had the nerve to just drive off like she did.”

  Abby followed Hanna over to the cart, and the pair of them slid into the middle row. “If I’d known the mini belonged to your mom, I’d have come sooner.”

  Hanna raised a questioning eyebrow. “Really? Are you sure about that?”

  Abby couldn’t blame her for being skeptical. It had taken her ten years to show up. “Yeah. I couldn’t let something like that go.”

  Hanna nodded then leaned forward and said, “Come on, Wanda. We need to get this party started.”

  Wanda nodded and hit a button on her smart phone. Pink started belting out lyrics as Wanda turned the cart around and headed back down the Townsend driveway.

  Abby leaned over and asked Hanna, “Where are we going?”

  Hanna passed Abby a bottle of beer and raised her hands in an I-don’t-know motion. “Does it matter?”

  I guess not,” Abby said with a chuckle then took a long swig of chocolate stout brew. A moment later, all three of her friends started singing at the top of their lungs, and Abby felt a weight lift off her chest as her heart swelled with love for her friends. And for the first time in forever, Abby knew she was exactly where she was supposed to be.

  The cool air seemed to wash away her worries and disappointment. Her dad was having a good night, and she had her girls. For now, that was enough.

  “Who wants to go skinny dipping?” Wanda called over her shoulder.

  “Yeah!” her two friends called back instantly.

  “You’ve got to be kidding me. It’s like forty degrees out here,” Abby said, tightening her jacket around herself.

  “Ah, but the river is heated.” Wanda turned the party-mobile onto the golf cart trail and barreled over the grass down to the rushing river.

  “Since when?” Abby asked, staying firmly perched on her seat as her friends jumped out of the cart.

  Wanda cackled. “Since last Samhain when Miss Maple accidentally turned it into a bubbling hot tub. She was trying to impress her new beau and sorta overdid it.”

  Abby stared at the calm water. “It doesn’t look like it’s bubbling.”

  “Oh, it will be.” Wanda kicked her shoes off and started to undress. The other two followed her lead.

  Abby, still sitting in the cart, stared at them with her mouth open. They were just messing with her. How could Miss Maple have turned the entire river into a hot tub? That would take a massive amount of energy.

  “Hurry Abby,” Hanna called as she stripped out of the rest of her clothes. “You don’t want to miss this. Trust me.”

  “Oh, hell.” Abby muttered and climbed out of the cart. By the time she reached her friends, all three of them were naked and running toward the water. Wanda and Shannon jumped in. Steam immediately rose from the river and the water started to bubble just like a hot tub. “Holy crow.”

  Hanna, who’d paused, jerked her head toward the water then followed them. She let out a shriek of delight as she slid into the water. She popped up quickly and turned to stare at Abby. “What are you waiting for?”

  “I have no idea.” Abby laughed. She stripped quickly and ran straight into the water. A shock of freezing cold nearly paralyzed her, and she came up sputtering as she shivered uncontrollably. “What the—you guys are terrible.” Abby’s teeth chattered, and she flailed, trying to get out of the water. “I can’t believe you guys. Cripes that’s cold.”

  “Um, Abby,” Hanna said from her spot where she treaded water. “What are you talking about?”

  Abby wrapped her arms around herself, her muscles screaming in protest from the ice cold water still clinging to her body. She glanced at the three of them still bobbing in the water. All three seemed perfectly content. “How can you stand it? It must be just above freezing in there.” She reached for her sweater and held it up to her chest, unsure of what to do next. There was no way she was getting her jeans on while she was still dripping wet.

  “It’s got to be at least a hundred degrees,” Shannon said.

  “Oh no,” Wanda said, turning to Shannon. “She’s immune. You have to warm her up.”

  “Immune?” Shannon repeated. “But how—”

  “Her magic must be misfiring,” Wanda said. “Do something before her teeth chatter right out of her head.”

  “Oh… Oh, no.” Shannon walked straight out of the water, steam billowing from her flawless skin. She raised her arms and said, “Air of the earth’s core, rise and cloak this soul in your warmth.”

  The earth under Abby’s feet heated and within seconds, warm air whipped up and chased away the chill. Abby glanced down at her body, noting it was already dry, and let out a sigh of relief. “Thanks, Shannon.”

  “Sure. Get your clothes on before you freeze again.”

  Abby didn’t hesitate. She redressed and tugged her coat around her. Shannon dried herself and joined Abby in the golf cart while Wanda and Hanna spent a few more minutes in the river.

  “How long has your magic been out of whack?” Shannon asked.

  Abby let out a huff of laughter. “Ten years, I suppose.”

  “Ten—oh.” She grimaced. “I’m sorry. It was none of my business.”

  Abby shrugged. “It’s okay. I’m going to have to get used to it if I plan on sticking around here, I guess.”

  Shannon twisted her still-wet red hair into a bun. “Is that
the plan? To move home?”

  “I’m not sure. Maybe?” Abby couldn’t really imagine going back to New Orleans. Not anytime soon anyway. And now that she’d broken up with Logan, other than her roommate, there wasn’t really a reason to go back. She loved the town, but she had to admit she’d missed Keating Hollow, missed her family, missed Clay. The thought of him sent a stab of pain to her heart. How could he have just stood her up and not even called or texted?

  “You’ve been missed, you know.”

  “Have I?” Abby studied the pretty woman. They hadn’t been friends in high school, so she couldn’t imagine Shannon missing her much.

  “Wanda, Hanna, Miss Maple, and plenty of others certainly missed you. Your sisters and your dad, too. Everyone always talks about you with an air of awe and regret. I don’t think you know what you left.”

  Abby frowned. “Awe? Are you sure it wasn’t something more like disappointment?”

  “Of course not.” Shannon gave her a strange look. “Why would you say that?”

  “Do you not know what happened… with Charlotte, I mean?”

  “Sure. But that wasn’t your fault.” Shannon tilted her head to the side as if she was trying to figure something out. Finally, she said, “Listen. I know we weren’t friends when we were younger. And I take full responsibility for that. I was… well, let’s just say I had some serious self-esteem issues and as far as I could tell, you were everything I wanted to be. It’s not fair and I’m not proud of myself, but I took it out on you because I was never going to be you. It took me a while to figure out that just being me was enough. Once I finally gave myself a break, life got a heck of a lot easier.” Shannon frowned. “And I’ve been waiting ten years to tell you I’m sorry.”

  “You were jealous of me?” Abby asked with astonishment. “But why?”

  Shannon barked out a laugh. “You’re kidding right? Everyone loved you. Charlotte, Clay, Wanda. And you had the perfect family. Not to mention just how talented you were. I swear, it was like you could walk on water and I could barely pass witchcraft 101.”

  Abby shook her head. “You must have done okay. That air spell you did, the way you saved me from freezing my butt off, it was super impressive.”

  Shannon gave her a half shrug. “I think I might have a problem with structured learning. Or test taking. Or maybe I just didn’t care enough then. Whatever it was, school sucked for me.”

  Regret and shame washed over Abby. How has she been so clueless? While it was true Shannon hadn’t been a friend, if Abby had been paying any attention at all, she might have seen the vulnerable girl beneath the armor. It might have prompted her to try to see past Shannon’s defensive shell to the sweet girl she was now. “I’m sorry. But rest assured that nothing was ever as great as it seemed. Our perfect family you saw? It was a mess. After my mom left, things were hard. My dad worked all the time, and it was just me and my sisters trying to figure out why she just up and disappeared.”

  “Oh, man,” Shannon said with a nod. “Yeah, that sucks.”

  “I’m mostly over it.” Abby gave her a slight smile. “As much as someone can be when their parent abandons them, I suppose.”

  A silence fell between them while they watched Wanda and Hanna splash around in the water. It wasn’t long before Shannon retrieved them both a bottle of beer from Wanda’s onboard cooler. “Here.” Shannon passed her the bottle and reclaimed her seat. “I think it’s time to forgive yourself, Abby.”

  “What?” Abby asked, startled. “For what?”

  “For not being able to save Charlotte. I think that’s what’s blocking your magic.”

  “I don’t… Um, I was never trying to save her. I didn’t even know she was that sick.”

  “I know.” Shannon turned to her with wise eyes. “But I bet somewhere deep inside, you think you could have saved her had you known. Maybe if you gave yourself a break, your magic would fall back into place.”

  Abby didn’t say anything as she stared out at the river, seeing nothing but the bright moon shining down. Shannon’s words echoed in her mind. Forgive yourself. Abby shook her head. “I don’t think forgiveness has anything to do with it.”

  Shannon opened her mouth to say something else, but then she shook her head, appearing to change her mind in mid-thought. “Of course. Don’t listen to me. I’m probably just projecting my own crap anyway.”

  Before Abby could respond, Hanna and Wanda appeared and Shannon jumped up to use her magic to help their friends get dry.

  Abby, who was done talking about her magic, turned the music back on, hoping it would save her from Wanda and Hanna’s inevitable questions. Her plan worked, and right away they all started singing “Shake It Off” by Taylor Swift. Abby sat back in her seat and relaxed when Wanda climbed back into the driver’s seat and asked, “Where to next?”

  “Downtown. I need dessert,” Hanna said.

  “You got it,” Wanda said, turning the cart in the direction of Main Street. “There’s a flourless chocolate cake with my name on it.”

  Chapter 22

  Abby sat in an armchair in Doctor Kass’s office and eyed the text she’d gotten from Clay for the hundredth time. He’d finally sent her a message near midnight the night before apologizing for standing her up. He’d been vague on the details, but he’d mentioned he had to work something out with Val about Olive’s custody. She hadn’t been able to stop worrying since.

  “Hello, Miss Townsend,” Doctor Kass said as she swept into the room and sat in the chair directly across from Abby. The therapist had long, straight, silver hair and a kind face with clear blue eyes. She was dressed in a fitted black suit with silver high heels and looked like a million bucks. Abby hoped that when she was in her seventies, she looked even half as good as the older woman.

  “So, what brings you here today?” she asked, resting her hands on her wide mahogany desk.

  “My magic is on the fritz.”

  “Hmm, that concerning.” Doctor Kass nodded. “Want to tell me what the problem is?”

  Abby chuckled. “I was hoping you’d be the one to answer that.”

  Doctor Kass gave her a wry smile. “Yes, I imagine you do, but that’s not usually how therapy works.”

  “So I’ve heard,” Abby said dryly. “My last therapist was pretty clear he was only there to listen to me talk—and make judgments.”

  “Judgments?” Kass’s eyebrows shot up. “What kind of judgments?”

  “You know, the usual. He spent a considerable amount of time telling me what I did wrong and basically just made me feel worse. I went to three sessions and left.”

  “Ouch.” She leaned forward. “I can’t speak to his methods, but I will tell you I’m only here to help you find the tools to deal with whatever you’re going through. There isn’t a right or wrong, only what is. Sound okay?”

  Abby twined her fingers together and nodded. “Yeah. Sure.”

  “How about we start at the beginning? When did you first notice your magic was off?”

  “Last week. I was trying to make potion for my dad, and I couldn’t get it right.”

  “Okay, anything significant happen between the last time you successfully made the potion and when you tried last week?”

  Abby let out a humorless laugh. “You could say that. It’s been ten years.”

  The therapist’s eyes widened with interest. “Ten years. Wow. Want to talk about that?”

  It was on the tip of Abby’s tongue to say no, but the entire reason she was here was to sort her magic out. There was no way to do that if she didn’t talk about Charlotte. Taking a deep breath, she launched into the story she’d never fully relayed to anyone, not even her other therapist. “I was eighteen, full of confidence, determined be the town healer after getting my healer certification. Humboldt State had already accepted me.”

  “So you’re an earth witch, then?” she asked.

  Abby nodded. “Yes. My mom was a healer, and apparently her DNA runs strong in my veins. Anyway, I had alre
ady mastered all kinds of potions. Ones to relieve nausea, minor pain, headaches, boost energy. And then the end of the school year came. It was prom night, and my best friend came down with some sort of flu-like illness. She told me it was just an infection and the doctor had her on meds that would clear it right up. Charlotte, that was her name, she asked me to make her an energy potion so she didn’t have to miss the prom. Her mom asked me not to give her anything, said the doctors were handling it.”

  “I take it you obliged Charlotte?” Kass asked.

  “Yeah. Charlotte pretended like her infection was no big deal. It was prom and I didn’t want her to miss it. She seemed fine except for the shadows under her eyes. It was just one night, you know? So I made her a batch. Actually, the recipe produced enough for two batches. I gave her one and stored the other in my work studio.”

  “What happened after you gave it to her?”

  “We all went to the dance. Charlotte seemed fine. She danced with her boyfriend all night. I remember them laughing as they headed out into the parking lot when it was over. That was the last time I saw her alive.” Abby swallowed, trying to force down the lump forming in her throat. “Clay, my boyfriend, and I left and spent the night down by the river. When he dropped me off in the morning just before dawn, I noticed the light on in my studio.”

  Doctor Kass leaned forward, but didn’t say anything as she waited for Abby to continue.

  Abby closed her eyes and forced the words out. “When I opened the door, she was lying on the bench, the second bottle of energy potion spilled all over her dress. Her eyes were open and…” Abby shook her head, trying to clear the image from her mind. It didn’t work, and all she saw was her friend’s lifeless body.

  Warm hands covered Abby’s, and the therapist’s voice was low and gentle. “It’s okay, Abby. It’s okay to talk about it. Do you want to continue?”

  Abby shook her head, but when she opened her eyes and saw the raw compassion staring back at her, she blurted, “She died in my studio, drinking a potion her mother asked me not to give her. She died because of me. It was my fault. Everyone says it isn’t, but I know the truth. She was supposed to be home in bed, resting, healing, and I—I gave her the tools to push herself too hard. The doctors said her heart gave out—likely prematurely because of the energy potion. It was too much for her body to take.”