Witch Degrees of Separation: A Witch Squad Cozy Mystery #3

by M. Z. Andrews

  “I suppose we should go on without her,” I said, feigning a disgusted voice. “Sweets, Holly, are you ready?”

  Sweets straddled her broomstick and gave me a nervous nod. “Ready as I’ll ever be!”

  “Yeah, I’m ready,” Holly agreed.

  I straddled mine as well and took a step forward like I was going to push off, then I stopped as I heard a loud engine rumble in the distance. “You know, Jax, it’s Halloween, there’s all kind of magic at work in the universe on All Hallows Eve. Maybe you should go grab your broomstick and try it one more time,” I suggested.

  Jax shook her head sadly. “It’s not going to work, Mercy. I’m not a witch.”

  “I know you’re not, but Halloween is like our Christmas. Maybe if we all want it badly enough, it’ll work, just for today.”

  Jax sighed, hanging her head.

  “Mercy, it’s not going to work. Jax isn’t a witch. You shouldn’t tease her with this,” Holly said disapprovingly.

  “I’m not teasing her!” I insisted. I turned to look at Jax. “Please, Jax? For me? One time, if it doesn’t work I’ll never ask you to do it again.”

  Jax shrugged. “Fine, if it will make you feel better knowing I tried, I’ll do it.”

  I clapped my hands excitedly. “Hurry, we don’t have much time.”

  Jax shot to the car and pulled her broomstick out of the backseat. She raced back to stand next to me. She laid her broomstick down in front of her, put her feet shoulder width apart and closed her eyes.

  “Do you remember the chant?”

  Without opening her eyes she nodded. “I’ve been practicing,” she admitted, then quietly she inhaled and then exhaled, concentrating on her broomstick. Then she began to chant,

  “Power of Earth, wind, fire, and sea,

  And deities more powerful than me.

  Magical powers far and wide,

  Bless this stick I wish to ride.

  Raise me high in moonlit sky,

  And through the air, I ask to fly.

  Enchant my besom of straw and twine,

  This broomstick, which I call mine.

  And from this day, I’ll humbly call,

  Norman! Don’t let me fall!”

  Jax, Holly, and Sweets’ jaws dropped when the stick magically levitated into Jax’s hand. Jax’s eyes flew open as she felt the hard wooden surface touch her hand.

  “Mercy! It worked, I levitated it!” she screamed with sheer excitement and joy.

  I clapped my hands together as my heart nearly burst with happiness for her. “That’s amazing! I’m so happy for you, Jax!” I said, choked up. A stray tear managed to drop down my cheek. I wiped it away quickly before anyone else had a chance to see it.

  Holly and Sweets cheered her on. “Go, Jax, go!”

  Jax straddled her broomstick.

  “Stay close to me, Jax, you’ve never ridden before, I don’t want you to fall,” Holly told her. “It’s all about balance.”

  Jax nodded as if in shock – unable to believe what had just happened. “I’m ready.”

  “Let’s go then!” I hollered. “Up, up and away! Batman, don’t let me fall!”

  “Handsome, don’t let me fall!” Holly cried before launching into the air.

  “Truffles, don’t let me fall!” Sweets called, following behind Holly.

  “Norman! Don’t let me fall,” Jax said nervously. And just like that, she was in the air behind the rest of us.

  “You’re doing it, Jax! You’re really flying!” Sweets called out to her.

  Jax beamed with pride as the four of us soared into the air, high above the treetops. The air was cooler up there, but we got an amazing view of Aspen Falls. We could see all the people flocking by foot to the grand re-opening so they could see the witches fly in on their broomsticks on Halloween night.

  “Everyone looks like ants,” Jax squealed excitedly.

  “Yeah, they do. There are so many of them!” I hollered back as the wind whipped through my hair. “Isn’t this fun, Jax?”

  Jax’s giggle filled the sky. “Oh, Mercy, it’s more than fun. It’s a dream come true!”

  As we saw my family’s building come into sight we began our descent. As we got closer to the street, I was able to make out a big black truck following us from below. Alba was clearly visible, riding in the bed of the truck, pointing her fingers at Jax as we flew overhead. There was a moment when Jax began to look down, but I was able to quickly avert her eyes. “Jax, look, it’s Reign! He’s waving at us.”

  Jax followed the direction my finger was pointing. “I see him,” she exclaimed. “Hi Reign!” she called out into the sky, waving crazily at him. “Look at me! I’m flying!”

  “Alright girls, get ready for landing!” I yelled. “We’re headed for the roof!”

  We hovered over the building for what felt like minutes – thought it was probably more like 30 seconds – allowing all the people on the ground below to see us, show their children, wave, and take pictures.

  “This is so much fun!” Holly giggled as she waved to the onlookers.

  Sweets wanted to wave, but she was too scared to let go of her broomstick, so she simply smiled through her fear.

  Jax, who had already gotten brave and taken one hand off of her stick, waved at all of the onlookers below, blowing them kisses and putting on a grand show for them.

  “Ok, girls. Down we go,” I called out.

  Easily the four of us descended to the top of the roof. As our shoes touched the flat asphalt roof, I felt a sense of relief wash over me. I hadn’t realized how tense I’d been, riding like that all the way from the park. The five of us walked to the edge of the roof and leaned over the side, waving again at all of the adults and children below.

  “I wish Alba could have seen that,” Jax said sadly. “She’d have been so proud of me.”

  Parked just across the street, Hugh, Tristan, and Alba leaned against Hugh’s black truck. Clapping and cheering like mad with the rest of the crowd. I waved at Alba and gave her a little thumbs up signal. She replied with a thumbs up in return.

  “Yeah Jax, she’s going to be so proud when she hears about this.” As I made my final wave at the crowd I noticed a dark figure walking up the street with a tall thin woman by his side. I pushed my glasses further up on my nose and peered over the edge of the roof. “Girls. Who is that?” I asked, pointing towards the couple approaching the restaurant.

  Holly, Sweets, and Jax followed my finger.

  Sweets breath caught in her throat. “Oh no! It’s Merrick Stone.”

  “And Sorceress Stone,” Holly added.

  I turned to look at Jax. “Did you know they were coming?”

  She shook her head worriedly. “No, I had no idea.”

  I looked back at Alba who was still watching us. Quickly I pointed to the Stone’s who were almost to the front door. She nodded at me and signaled that she’d be inside in a jiffy. “Weird stuff is still happening to my mom. I know it’s all Merrick’s doing. And now he’s going to crash our party?” I ranted. “Not on my watch! Come on girls, we need to get to Reign and tell him his father just showed up.”

  { Chapter Twenty-One}

  The four of us climbed down the fire escape and snuck in through the back door. I led the girls through the kitchen, which had a small staff of locals working that my mom and brother had hired. We wove our way past the commotion to the swinging doors behind the bar. The music was pumping and the lights were low, with flashing strobe lights electrifying a small dance floor. The haunted house area had been set up in the guest rooms on the second floor, and tickets were being taken at the bottom of the stairs.

  “Does anyone see Reign or Mom?” I asked over the heavy beat of the dance music.

  “No, but there’s Alba and the boys,” Jax hollered, pointing towards the front door, then waved frantically at Alba until she saw us.

  We waited until the three of them joined us next to the bar.

  “Woo-wee! You ladies look amazing!�
� Hugh yelled.

  “You look good too,” I said, giving him a small peck on the cheek. He was dressed as a scarecrow, with old ratty denim jeans on, a floppy felt hat, and his usual snap down shirt, but he had stuck straw in his pockets and out of his shirt sleeves and out of his hat. He looked pretty adorable.

  “What are you supposed to be? A UPS man?” Holly asked Tristan.

  “I’m Indiana Jones,” he hollered back over the music. He took a step back so we could check out his tan shirt, brown slacks and hat, and his whip.

  Holly rolled her eyes. “So creative,” she said flatly.

  “Have any of you seen my mom or Reign?” I asked them.

  Alba pointed up the stairs. “Isn’t that Reign up there?”

  I turned around, following Alba’s finger with my eyes. “You saw Merrick, right? I’ve got to go tell my brother he crashed the party.”

  Alba nodded. “We’ll wait here.”

  “Keep an eye on everything,” I hollered. I told the ticket taker that I needed to talk to my brother and he let me pass him. Quickly I climbed the stairs and found Reign directing children at the top of the stairs.

  “Mercy! I’m glad you’re here. I could use your help.”

  “Reign, your father and his sister showed up!”

  Reign stared at me blankly. “Yeah, I invited my dad.”

  “After everything that has been happening to Mom? And after what he did to me and Jax - you brought the monster here? How could you?” I asked angrily. I felt heat rising into my face and my pulse was beginning to drum in my ears.

  “He’s not a monster, Mercy. I talked to him, he promised me he isn’t the one doing all the weird things to Mom. I really think he’s telling the truth. We need to give him a chance.”

  “How can we give him a chance, Reign? There’s a dead boy at my school that didn’t get a chance to live because of your father.”

  “You don’t know that was him either,” Reign argued as he let a group of four girls go into the first room on the haunted house tour after a group of three emerged on the other end.

  “I have a pretty good idea,” I hollered back. “I don’t feel good about those two being here!”

  As if I had just called down from the heavens, the entire building went dark. The music shut off, the strobe lights stopped flashing, all the twinkling orange Halloween lights that were strung up all over went black and the entire world seemed to go silent for all of two seconds. That was when the first little girl screamed which set off a firestorm of screams from every other child in the entire building. It was like one tiny ripple of panic had ignited chaos.

  “Coincidence?” I hollered into the darkness at my brother. Furious I pulled out my cell phone and pressed the flashlight app and together Reign and I made our way through the crowd.

  “It’s alright everyone, don’t panic. We just threw a breaker. No big deal. I’ll have everything back up in a jiffy. Don’t go anywhere,” he hollered at the children and their parents as we dodged the crowded main dining area to the cellar door.

  Down the stairs we went, with me leading the way with my little flashlight. “I can’t believe this doesn’t tell you something, Reign. Merrick is just going to keep antagonizing my mother until she leaves Aspen Falls. Is that what you want? Because at this point I think keeping her safe is worth sending her back to Dubbsburg, as much as I hate allowing that jerk to win.”

  “It was just a breaker, I’m sure of it. We’re drawing a ton of amps from all the music and lights and the kitchen.”

  When we got to the bottom of the stairs, we heard the cellar door open and two more people began their descent down the stairs.

  “Hello?” I called out.

  “Mercy?”

  “Mom?”

  “Yes, sweetheart. What happened to the lights?”

  I turned my flashlight on her so her path down the stairs would be illuminated.

  “It’s probably just a breaker. Mercy and I were just coming down here to flip it back on,” Reign hollered out.

  “Need any help?” a deep male voice asked.

  “Detective Whitman?” I asked, moving the flashlight up a few more stairs to shine it on his face.

  “Yeah, I’m keeping track of your mother tonight,” he explained, squinting into the light.

  “He’s my babysitter,” she corrected, with only a hint of annoyance.

  When Mom and Detective Whitman made it safely to the cellar floor, I handed my phone to my brother. “Here Reign, take my phone.” I took my mother’s arm. “Mom, did you know that Merrick and his sister are here tonight.”

  Mom squeezed my arm. “No, I didn’t know that. I’ve been running around like crazy making sure there’s enough food everywhere, I haven’t even been paying attention to who is who. Everyone is in a costume anyway.”

  “You’re sure he’s here?” Detective Whitman asked me.

  “One hundred percent sure. I saw him and Sorceress Stone walking towards the building, I haven’t seen them inside, but I’m sure they are here somewhere. Reign invited them.”

  Detective Whitman sighed heavily. “Son of a…,” he whispered under his breath.

  Suddenly the lights flipped back on and the heavy music began pounding once again. Reign appeared out of the back utility room. “There, it was just a breaker. I told you,” he said with a wide smile. “You’re such a conspiracy theorist.”

  “No, I’m not. Merrick is behind all of this weird stuff that’s been happening and he’s responsible for Ronnie’s murder and I’m going to prove it tonight!” I hollered and ran back up the stairs before Reign or anyone else had a chance to oppose me. I’d had it with all the back and forth. I needed Merrick to pay for what he was doing to my mother and for what he’d likely done to Ronnie.

  At the top of the stairs, I ran into four girls dressed up as the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I had no idea who they were as they had masks on.

  “Mercy!” one called out as I rushed by.

  I stopped and peered at their faces closely. “Libby?” I asked, fairly sure that it had been her voice I just heard.

  She nodded as the girl next to her pulled down her mask. “And me, Cinder,” she said with a little giggle.

  “Glad you guys could make it. Who are these two?” I asked, pointing at the other two girls.

  They removed their masks as well. It was Heather and Sabrina, the two girls I had taken the broom riding class with. “Oh, hey, girls. Did you all bring dates?”

  Libby nodded. “Yeah, they are over there with Hugh and Tristan,” she said pointing towards the bar.

  I smiled at them. “Good, well, I’m glad you’re here. It’s going to be a big night. I’m about to expose Ronnie’s murderer,” I told them.

  The four girls exchanged curious glances. “You know who the killer is?” Heather asked.

  “Don’t we all?” I asked impatiently.

  Libby and Cinder shook their heads. “We don’t,” said Libby.

  “Oh, well, it’s Merrick Stone, I’m sure of it,” I told them.

  “Yeah, it totally has to be him, his temper is out of control,” Sabrina agreed quickly.

  “And who else at school could have caused him to inhale all those potion fumes and stuff,” Heather said, nodding.

  I nodded, glad that somebody else finally got it.

  Libby and Cinder looked at me curiously. “Wait, inhale what stuff?”

  Suddenly, a pair of familiar figures crossed by in front of me. “Excuse me, I’m on a mission.”

  I took off, leaving Libby, Cinder, Heather, and Sabrina with their mouths hanging open and headed directly towards Merrick and Sorceress Stone.

  “Excuse me,” I hollered over the music, tapping Merrick on the shoulder. “I need to have a word with you.”

  Slowly the pair of them turned around to face me; both looked down their matching long thin noses at me. Their steely grey eyes instantly sent chills rippling down my legs.

  “You again?” Merrick asked with repugnance.<
br />
  Nervously I glanced up at Sorceress Stone. Her expression was that of amusement mixed with resentment. My conscience told me I should stop myself before I did or said something that I’d later regret, but my outer self – the place where that impulsive streak, my mother was so sure I had, seemed to reside – took over.

  “Why are you here?” I asked him matter-of-factly, ignoring the fact that he was head and shoulders taller than me and could easily crush me with his magical prowess.

  “Excuse me?”

  “No, I won’t. I know you’re the one that has been plaguing my mother.”

  He rolled his eyes exaggeratedly. “You have no idea what you’re talking about,” he spat.

  “Don’t I? She comes to town, getting within five miles of you, and her life gets flipped on its side. You thought no one would suspect you, or what?”

  Silently he nudged his sister and the two of them began to turn around, ignoring my little outburst.

  Infuriated, I felt the heat in my face at an all time high. “And I know that you killed Ronnie Edwards.”

  A hush immediately fell over the crowd as mouths that had once been chattering away, became silent so ears could hear our argument. Even the music, once heavy and blaring, seemed to instantaneously change to a quiet ballad for slow dancing.

  Merrick looked around at the faces of the families in the dining area staring at him. He narrowed his eyes angrily. “You’re an idiot, girl,” he hissed venomously. “It is completely ridiculous to think that I would ever harm your mother or one of my students.”

  “You didn’t have any problems trying to kill me in the potions lab the other day.” I knew I had him when Sorceress Stone’s bony hand fluttered up to her throat.

  “Merrick,” she whispered, looking at the stunned faces around her.

  He reached out and touched her arm to silence her. “I wasn’t trying to kill you. If I wanted you dead, you would be six feet under right now. I was teaching you a lesson.”

  “Were you trying to teach your niece a lesson too?” I asked him as the Witch Squad split the crowd and descended upon me quickly.