Christian laughed. “This little thing? Why, what could she possibly do to—Ouch!”
Christian dropped Bella and clutched his forearm where a small half moon—shaped area welled with dots of blood. Bella ran to Issy, and Issy scooped her up with her right arm, which was now working fine. She pulled Bella close, hugging her against her chest.
Too bad the rest of her didn’t work as well as her right arm. Christian stomped over, blood dripping from the puncture wounds. He grabbed Bella by the scruff of the neck and jerked her roughly out of Issy’s hands then produced a gleaming silver knife from the side pocket of his black cargo pants.
“There’s no time to screw around. They’ll be coming soon, and I need to set the stage.”
Christian knelt down, placing the knife beside him on the ground. He pinned Bella on the ground with one hand. He was still holding on to the mirror with the other hand and casting cautious glances at Issy.
Bella snarled and growled, wriggling to get away and making Christian’s job all that much harder. Issy didn’t know if the Pomeranian was just working on survival instinct or if she knew that her struggle was buying Issy the precious time she desperately needed to regain full use of her body. She’d take it either way.
She struggled to sit up but flopped back onto the ground. Even so, her muscles were getting stronger with each passing second. It was only a matter of time.
Christian glanced sideways at her. “Don’t even think about trying it.” He raised the mirror. “Whatever you send will boomerang back, and in your weakened condition that will be the end of you. You might as well just lie back and let it happen, because after I’m done with this mangy mutt, I’m going to bring you to the brink of death, which is how the authorities will find you—weakened from your dark spell and unable to struggle when they take you in.”
“Hurry, Chrissy! They’ll be here soon!” Brittany nagged from outside the circle.
Christian ignored her and turned back to Bella. But he couldn’t hold down the wriggling dog, keep the mirror in his hand, and wield the knife at the same time.
While he was busy struggling to juggle all three, Issy could feel herself getting stronger.
Something skulking low around the perimeter of the circle caught her eye. She squinted it into focus.
Brimstone!
He was merely a black shadow in the moonlight except for his golden-orange eyes that glowed like twin fires. He nodded at her, and she felt a surge of hope, as if his very presence gave her inner strength. She concentrated on that strength, willing her muscles to work, focusing deep down on a spell to render Christian useless.
Christian placed the mirror on the ground so he could use one hand to hold Bella down, the other to raise the deadly knife. He must have thought Issy was no threat. She concentrated even harder, conjuring up a spell that would stop him but not harm him fatally. Even though technically she was defending herself, she still wanted to honor her vow to do no harm. She gave one big push and sat upright.
“Look out behind you!” Brittany shrieked.
Christian slid his eyes over to Issy. His brows shot up as he noticed she was now sitting and flexing her fingers.
He dropped the knife and grabbed the mirror. His grip loosened on Bella, and she wrenched free and ran toward Issy. Issy’s heart skipped as she looked into the mirror. The constrictor spell she meant to cast would render the recipient unable to move, as if a boa constrictor were wrapped around them. If Christian reflected it back on her with the mirror, she and Bella would be done for. But what choice did she have?
The acorn amulet in her pocket vibrated. She’d forgotten all about it.
Use it.
The suggestion floated into her mind. Her gaze snapped to Brimstone, who nodded.
Like all charms, the beauty charm Issy had bestowed on the amulet had its negative elements, and since one’s own beauty was viewed in a mirror, the negative aspect to the charm was that the amulet was never to be reflected in a mirror.
Issy wasn’t sure what would happen if she held the acorn amulet up to the mirror, but she knew for sure that if Christian could boomerang the constrictor spell back at her, she’d be incapacitated.
She summoned all her energy, held her breath, made a tight fist with her right hand, and pulled the amulet out of her pocket with her left. Then in a whoosh of breath and hope, she thrust out the fingers of her right hand, pushing all her magical energy outward.
A rainbow of sparks flew toward Christian.
He jerked the mirror up in front of him to deflect the sparks.
From where Issy sat, she could see each spark’s reflection in the mirror, making it appear as if there were twice as many. She clutched the amulet in her left hand, dangling it at an angle so it was also reflected in the mirror.
She turned her face and shielded Bella with her right hand. She had no idea what might happen, and she didn’t want the dog to get hurt.
For two heart-thudding seconds, nothing at all happened. And then…
Crack!
A whoosh of hot air hit her first, blowing her hair back, and then…
Kaboom!
The explosion lifted her off the ground. Bella was torn from her arms as she was propelled backward.
Smack!
She landed with a jarring thud on the ground, the force of it clacking her teeth together and knocking the air out of her lungs.
Issy wasn’t sure what had happened. The explosion muddled her brain, and she sat there, stunned, taking inventory of her body to make sure nothing was broken. Everything seemed to work fine, but she couldn’t see a thing, because a mist hung in the air so thickly that visibility past two feet was impaired.
“Woof!”
“Bella!” Issy opened her arms, and the dog jumped in her lap. They were both unharmed! Or so it seemed. But where were they?
The mist began to clear, and she realized she’d been catapulted a few feet away from where she’d been when the explosion happened.
She was outside the circle!
“Arghh…”
Issy’s gut churned upon hearing Christian. Was he planning to retaliate? Should she run? But she couldn’t, not if Dee Dee and Cosmo were still there.
Issy put Bella down and stood. Her legs were a little wobbly, but she could walk.
“Woof!”
The mist had cleared enough for Issy to see Bella at the edge of the circle. Inside the circle, Christian lay on the ground, arms pressed to his sides, legs tight together, as if he were trussed with an invisible rope. Jagged shards of mirror stuck out of the ground beside him. He rolled onto his back, wriggling and squirming.
Brittany sat on the ground, shaking her head, apparently dazed. She took one look at Christian and slowly stood, her gaze jerking to Issy. “What happened? Oh crap, you beat him, didn’t you?”
“I guess so.” Issy watched Christian cautiously. Maybe this was a trick and Brittany was in on it.
“I’m out of here!” Brittany turned and bolted.
Okay, so maybe it wasn’t a trick.
“Good riddance.” Brimstone appeared from behind a stand of trees. He held something in his mouth that muffled his words. “Well, you better act quickly. The committee, the FBPI, and the cops will be here any second. My advice is to hit Christian with a tell-the-truth spell so he confesses as soon as they get here.”
“Good idea.” Issy clenched her fist and sucked in a breath.
Bella trotted over to the circle and sniffed the edge and poked a tentative paw out toward it.
Zap!
“Yipe!” She jerked her paw back. The circle was still protected by magic.
Issy’s breath whooshed out, the sound of sirens in the distance setting off a tremor of panic in her chest. “I can’t cast the spell through the magic circle!”
Brimstone rolled his eyes. “Right. If you would have just let me finish…” He trotted over to the circle and spit out a purple spotted salamander. The reptile landed directly on the edge of the circle
, causing a shimmer in the air above it similar to when Christian had unlocked the section of circle with salamander blood. It proceeded to scurry around the entire circle.
“Works better when the blood is actually in the salamander.” Brimstone spat on the ground. “Yech. Those things are nasty. Taste like sour chicken. I suggest you hurry before you get caught here, too. The committee might implicate you in all of this.” Brimstone trotted over to Cosmo and nudged him with his nose.
“What are you doing?” Issy asked.
“The creature is helpless. He doesn’t possess my superior skills.” Brimstone narrowed his eyes at Bella, who gave a soft yip. “None of these creatures do. But I suppose I’ll have to lower myself to help them.” Brimstone picked the unconscious Cosmo up in his mouth. But he didn’t fool Issy—she could tell he was taking care to be gentle with the bird. Brimstone might talk a good talk, but Issy knew his heart was in the right place.
“Humfy op an casht da schpell,” Brimstone, mouth full of bird feathers, shot over his shoulder as he trotted off.
The spell! Issy jerked her attention back to Christian, who was still wriggling in the circle.
She held her breath, conjured up the spell, fisted her right hand, then flung her fingers out toward Christian. "Verum!"
The sound of sirens grew louder. Time to run. When the authorities came they would catch Christian in the circle, and he would blurt out the truth. No one needed to know that she had been here.
“Woof!”
Bella sniffed Dee Dee’s wolf form. Shoot! Issy couldn’t take off yet. She needed to undo the sleep spell and let Dee Dee run off or change to human form before the FBPI got here.
She turned toward Dee Dee, clenching her fists, doubling them up together, and then flinging them in front of her. Purple glowing sparks floated over toward the slumbering wolf.
“What the heck is going on here?”
Issy whirled around to find Dex Nolan standing behind her.
His eyes flicked from the floating purple sparks to Issy’s fingertips. He'd clearly seen her cast the spell.
Issy's stomach plummeted. There was no way she could hide the truth that she was a witch.
“Did you just…?” Dex’s forehead creased as he watched the purple sparks land gently on Dee Dee.
Issy nodded.
“But that looked like magic…” Dex’s eyes widened as a puff of purple mist covered the wolf and then cleared to reveal a sleeping, yawning Dee Dee.
“Okay, I did not see that.” He turned confused eyes on Issy. “Did I?”
Issy’s heart thudded. She couldn’t talk her way out of this one. Dex would know magic when he saw it. He was sure to capture her and take her to area 59. She couldn’t do anything about that, but at least she could save Dee Dee. She’d tell him it was all her magic and cover up the fact that Dee Dee was changing because she was a werewolf.
Issy couldn’t meet his gaze. “It is magic. I changed that wolf into Dee Dee.”
The shrill blare of a siren split the air. They were pulling onto the road.
“You need to go.” Dex’s voice was tinged with panic.
“What?” Issy’s eyes locked on his, and something clicked deep down inside her.
“Get out of here. They’ll kill you.”
“But I… You’re one of… ” Was he letting her go? Risking his job for her?
“Forget about it. Go!” He jerked his head in the opposite direction of the sirens.
Issy stood frozen in place, her eyes locked on his. His eyes reflected the same uncertainty and longing that she felt in her heart. And another thing… Sincerity. He really was giving her this opportunity to get away.
“Thanks.” She kept her gaze locked on his as she took one step back. Then another.
He nodded, and then she turned and fled, Bella following close on her heels.
26
Two Days Later
Seated at a trendy bistro table situated in front of Karen Dixon’s new juice shop in the middle of Main Street, The Main Squeeze, Issy stared into the murky green depths of a glass of juice. “Are you sure this will help with insomnia?”
“Of course. It’s a special mixture of kale, spinach, apple, and celery.” Karen leaned toward Issy’s ear and lowered her voice. “And you know all my juices are charmed to fix what ails you.”
“I would think the fact that the FBPI are finally moving on out would be enough to help you sleep better,” Ember said, her eyes narrowing at a spot behind Issy’s left shoulder.
Issy turned to see the dark Crown Victoria drive by. Dex looked out from the passenger seat. Their eyes locked, and Issy’s heart hitched. She quickly tore her gaze away. Some things were not meant to be.
“Lucky thing they’re not setting someone up in town.” Raine slurped her purple juice loudly.
Issy whipped her head around to face her cousin. “What do you mean, setting someone up in town?”
Raine shrugged. “That’s what a friend of mine said they did down in Lowell, Mass. Moved someone right into the town so they could watch the goings-on. Sneaky, if you ask me.”
Issy whipped back around, watching the taillights of the car fade as it drove out of town. “That’s crazy. Who would move to another town for their job? Lucky thing they aren’t doing that here, though, right?”
“Woof!” Bella, seated at Issy’s feet, thumped her tail as if in agreement.
Ember and Raine exchanged a look, but Issy was too distracted by the painful, hollow feeling in her heart where a spark of hope had been extinguished as quickly as it had ignited. The feeling confused her because she was pretty sure she didn’t want the FBPI, and certainly not Dex Nolan, moving into town.
“Let’s hope not. It’s bad enough that we have to put up with someone from the committee spying on us.” Ember inclined her head toward a tall bearded man who was leaning against the side of the building, a pink smoothie in his large hands. Luigi Romano was a wizard, sent by the committee to remain in town for an undetermined amount of time.
Apparently Christian Vonner’s escapades upset them enough that they felt someone needed to move in and keep a close eye on the rest of the paranormals.
They were afraid there might be others like Christian, so they were stuck with Luigi until the committee was satisfied no one in Silver Hollow was doing anything against the rules of magic. Issy didn’t know how effective Luigi’s presence would be. Everyone knew who he was and would be on their best behavior around him. He was easily recognizable with his long, wild brown hair and bushy beard. Not to mention the ear piercings and long dark coat he always wore even in the heat of summer. Maybe his presence was meant to be more of a deterrent than anything.
So far Issy and her cousins had managed to steer clear of him, happy that they hadn’t been implicated in the whole Christian Vonner mess.
Christian had been “taken in” by the committee. No one knew where the committee took paranormals for punishment, and no one ever dared ask. All they knew was when Christian was returned— if he was returned—he would be a completely different person.
Dex had not ratted her out to Stan. Issy didn’t know why, but she was grateful. As far as she knew, he’d never mentioned a word to anyone about the magic he’d seen in the woods. Not a whisper about Dee Dee transforming from a wolf, either. Issy herself hadn’t talked to Dex since that night. Probably better that way. She didn’t know what to say to him and was half-afraid that if she tried to explain, he would change his mind and take her to area 59. Better to leave things the way they were.
“Looks like Karen’s new place is a big hit.” Dee Dee slid into the seat across from Issy, a peach-colored drink in her hand. In place of her stodgy police uniform, she had on a silky tank top and a jean skirt, her usual clunky black boots replaced with cute strappy sandals.
“Do you have a date or something?” Raine asked.
“Maybe.” Dee Dee blushed. The pink color in her cheeks was rather becoming, and Issy thought Dee Dee was getting even prettie
r. Of course now she knew why. It had nothing to do with her acorn charm or dark magic.
The full-moon ritual Louella had caught Gray performing had been a sexuality ritual, but not for Gray. He’d been performing it for Dee Dee. That was why he had been so secretive about it. As part of his witch’s oath Gray was sworn to protect the identity of the person he had been performing the ceremony for, and Dee Dee didn’t want anyone to know. She was embarrassed to admit that she wanted to look prettier so she could sow some wild oats before having to honor her responsibility as daughter of the pack Alpha and be placed in a strategic marriage to a male from another pack.
Issy hated the idea of her friend being forced into an arranged—and probably loveless—marriage, but Dee Dee had accepted it. It was their culture and her duty. At least she’d get to have some fun in the meantime.
“With who?” Ember scanned the crowd, apparently looking for the lucky guy.
“He’s not here, so you can stop looking. I’m meeting him later.” Dee Dee sipped her drink.
“Gray?”
“No!” Dee Dee blushed again. “I mean, I like Gray, and he’s a sweet guy, but he’s not my type. I didn’t come downtown to see him. I wanted to stop by and touch base with you, Issy. Wanted to thank you for covering for me with Dex.”
“No problem. I just feel bad I doubted you,” Issy said sincerely.
Dee Dee put her delicate (and now hairless) hand on Issy’s arm. “Don’t even think twice. The situation was tense, and I doubted you, too, so we’re even.”
“So Dex never mentioned anything when the cops finally came?” Ember, Raine, and Issy had heard bits and pieces of what had happened after Issy fled the woods, but they hadn’t had a chance to talk to Dee Dee and get a firsthand account yet.
“He didn’t breathe a word. He’s a good actor. Acted like he found Christian in the woods in that condition, and I corroborated the story. We backed each other up.” Dee Dee glanced at Issy out of the corner of her eye. “He’s a keeper.”
A Spell Of Trouble (Silver Hollow Paranormal Cozy Mystery Series Book 1) Page 17