by R. A. Gates
Chapter 3
“I thought you said you were going to help me?” Laney stood in between Kody and the big screen, shifting back and forth to block his view of the movie whenever he tried to peer around her. A list of the items she needed for the spell clutched in her hand.
Seeming to give up on watching the show, he leaned back in the recliner and met her gaze. “Now when I said ‘help’, I didn’t mean it literally, more like emotionally. You know, cheering you on from the sidelines.”
“Well, put your pompoms down and find these things for me.” She held out the list, inching it closer to his face. “Please.”
He heaved himself out of the chair and snatched the paper from her hand. “Fine.” Glancing at the listed items, he said, “Should we start with the candles?”
They hunted for the ceremonial candles Laney was sure Mrs. Burns would have. After an exhaustive search of every closet, cupboard, and drawer, they came up empty.
“I wonder if she took them with her,” Laney mumbled as she shoved the last box back into the closet. Every witch kept candles on hand for casting spells. Her eighteenth birthday couldn’t come fast enough when she’d get her own set. But she needed candles now.
“Will this work?” Kody called from the kitchen, holding up a lopsided, already burned, wax number eight with chocolate frosting crusted on the bottom.
“It’s a birthday candle.”
“No kidding. I’m sure it still works,” he said as he picked a chunk of black charcoal off the wick and dropped it on the floor. He gestured around the living room with the candle as if it were a pointer. “The old lady’s got tons of candles in here. But if you don’t think you can do the spell without the right kind, we can forget this whole thing and go get some coffee. On me.”
Did he really believe she’d give up so easily? She gazed around the room and noticed all the nick-knacks on display. In one curio cabinet alone were at least seven wax dragons, all covered in a thin layer of dust but never used. There were also a few holiday-themed wax monstrosities, all part of a collection. She even had a menorah.
Technically, with the exception of the dragons, the candles did represent one type of ceremony or another. Maybe they would work. “I guess these are better than nothing,” she said as she gathered them up and stuffed them into her backpack.
Next, she rifled through the kitchen drawers, each and every one. Not finding what she was looking for, she paused to think where else it could be when her eyes stopped at Kody, who stood by the refrigerator, just watching her. “Do you smoke?” she asked.
He shrugged. “I’ve lit up a few times but didn’t really care for it. I think you’re high enough so I don’t think—“
“No, I just need a lighter.” From her pack, she pulled out the pumpkin shaped candle and shook it in front of his face.
“Yeah, I got one.” He patted his back pocket, ignoring her empty, out-stretched hand. “What’s next?”
Disappointment pulled down the corners of her mouth as she stuffed the pumpkin back into her bag. Didn’t he trust her? So they’ve only just started speaking to each other a couple hours ago, and during that time he’s learned that she let a beloved pet die and watched her botch a basic spell, multiple times. She sighed knowing he was probably right not to trust her, but it still stung.
“We need salt,” she said, reading down the list.
“Are we cooking it now?” His face scrunched up as he searched the first cupboard.
An image of Mr. Whiskers tied to a spit, turning over an open flame came to mind and she shuddered. So gross. “No. It’s for protection.” She shut the last cupboard and turned to see if he had found anything. “Any luck?”
“Here,” he said, tossing a small, plastic bottle at her.
She caught it and read the label: Mrs. Dash seasoning blend. “This isn’t salt.”
“It’s close enough. The old lady must have high blood pressure or something. See,” he said, pointing to some writing on the bottle. “It’s a healthy alternative to salt.”
For the second time that night, she studied his face for any clue that he was joking. Nope, she still couldn’t read him. “That’s good, but I think a better substitute for us would be something white I can use to draw a pentagram, like sugar. Find that.”
“Fine.” He squeezed past her, mumbling something about bossy witches not explaining the rules under his breath. At least she hoped he said witches. He better have said witches.
While he searched through containers on the counter, Laney ignored his rant and raided the fridge. A can of whip cream caught her eye and she tossed it in her pack. It was white, after all, and might come in handy.
“Here ya go.” He said as he dropped the sugar in her bag.
She left him in the living room, snooping through Mrs. Burns’ DVD collection while she gathered the last few items. A chill ran down her spine as she entered the make-shift greenhouse room to get the blue sage. Some of the larger, more exotic plants gave her the creeps. Either the light was playing tricks on her, or the gigantic bud by the window actually turned her way, watching her. She grabbed the sage and bolted out of the room.
After slamming the door, she leaned her head against the wood, willing her over-active imagination to settle down before Kody questioned her sanity. A moment later, she turned around to find a human skull shoved in her face.
“Oh, my gawd,” she screamed, tumbling back into the door. “What the hell is that?” Each beat of her heart echoed in her head as she stared at the naked cranium.
“Don’t you mean who?” Kody said, turning the skull around in his hand. “I found it next to your boss’ Star Wars DVDs. Do you think it’s Mr. Burns?”
With all the new details of Mrs. Burns’ life coming to light in the last few hours, Laney really didn’t want to know. “Just put that away and let’s get out of here.”
Once he returned the bone to its spot, Kody picked his cane up from the floor and then headed to the front door. “Is that everything?” he asked, holding it open for her.
Checking over her list, she nodded. “Yep. Let’s go.” Excitement put a spring in her step as she bounced out of the apartment, eager to get started.
“Aren’t you forgetting something?” he asked as she passed.
“No, I just checked—“
“Mr. Whiskers?” He pointed toward the dead cat still lying on the living room floor. The arrogant smile on his face was just begging to be smacked off.
She tried to swallow down the embarrassment creeping like fire up her neck. “I didn’t forget.”
Using the salad spoons next to the body, she scooped the cat back into the Tupperware and snapped on the lid. She thrust it at Kody as she walked by. “You can carry Mr. Whiskers.”
“So, where should we do this?” he asked as he approached the front door to the store. “The cemetery sounds appropriate.” If it wasn’t for the small smile on his face, she might’ve thought he was serious.
“Ah, yes, because every low-budget horror movie does not start out that way.” She really hoped he was kidding. “I was thinking the abandoned paper mill would be better. No houses near there and it’s still within the town wards.” The wards kept the town hidden from the rest of the world, especially the witch-hunting Eradicators who wanted any being with magic destroyed.
She locked the shop door and walked to her car, which was parallel parked down the block. It was an old VW Type 3 Fastback that was way past its expiration date. Thankfully, she knew a great mechanic that could charm just about anything. Literally. There was more magic holding her car together than metal.
She tossed her backpack in the back seat before leaning over to unlock the passenger door. Kody slid in, set down the bowl at his feet and leaned the handle of his cane against his thigh. His body eased into the seat as if they were going on a joy ride.
Laney clicked her safety strap on as she said, “Seat belt.”
He waved her off. “I don’t wear them. A friend of mine d
rowned after his car swerved off a cliff and landed in a river. His seatbelt wouldn’t unbuckle.”
“O-kay,” she said, not sure if she should argue her point or let it go. “I promise you, we won’t be driving by any cliffs, considering there aren’t any in this town.”
“The town is surrounded by mountains. Mountains have cliffs.”
“But we’re not driving up a mountain.”
He shrugged and turned his attention out the side window.
Her back teeth ground together as she did her best to tamp down her rising anger. Her car, her rules and he was going to ignore her? Not a chance. Without warning, Laney unbuckled and reached over him, trying to grab the buckle.
“What are you doing?” He pushed her back but she didn’t give up.
“You need to buckle up,” she practically shouted as she pushed him back into the seat. While dodging flailing arms, she stretched to reach the buckle, but lost her balance. To keep from falling into his lap, she put her hand down to catch herself—right on his bad leg. Her palm dug deep into his thigh, right down to the bone.
“Son of a bitch!” He grabbed at her wrist to pull her off.
“Oops.”
The accidental distraction gave her the opportunity she needed to grab the belt and pull it forward. The resounding click declared her the winner.
His murderous glare as he rubbed his thigh didn’t faze her a bit as she turned on the ignition. “Sorry, but safety first. I don’t want you to get hurt.”
A heavy silence saturated the car during the trip across town. The old mill sat by one of the rivers that fed into the canal by town. It shut down over twenty years ago. The closest house was about a mile away, making it perfect for their needs. As they pulled up to the front, the headlights shone on the rusted chain-link fence meant to keep teenagers out. The fence didn’t work as this was the prime hangout for the town’s youth a few years back. But the pit bulls that now roamed the grounds were 100% effective.
Laney killed the lights and shut off the engine. “Let’s get this party started.” She grabbed a flashlight and her pack from the back seat. Two dogs barked from the other side of the fence. Uneven footsteps sped up as they crunched on the gravel behind her.
When she approached the fence, she reached her hand toward the dogs only to have it yanked back. She stumbled back against Kody, still holding her wrist.
“Are you crazy? Do you want to be eaten?” His heart pounded against her back as he held her tight.
She eased out of his hold and shined the light in his face. The last signs of panic melted from his eyes as he squinted and blocked the light with his hand.
“Don’t worry. Gregory and Johnny would never hurt me.” She turned to the two dogs salivating on the other side of the barrier. “Would you boys? No, you wouldn’t. Na-uh.”
Kody tensed, but he didn’t stop her as she poked her hand through the links and scratched one of the dogs behind his ear. “You know these dogs?”
“Since they were ity-bity puppies, huh Johnny?” She couldn’t help the baby-talk whenever she was around her dogs. “My family owns the property.”
“Of course,” he mumbled as he fidgeted with the container. “I’m guessing you have a key, then?”
After taking a moment to give the other dog equal attention, she pulled out a set of keys and unlocked the padlock holding the gate closed. The dogs growled at Kody as he slipped inside, staying as close to Laney as possible.
“They’ve been fed recently, right?” he asked as he held his cane upright like a light saber. Two sets of ears lay back flat and loud, menacing growls rumbled the ground.
“Put that away,” she said as she kneeled between the dogs, stroking their sides. “They won’t attack you unless you give them a reason. Act natural.”
Slowly, he lowered his cane and leaned against it, whistling a few random notes.
She rolled her eyes as she stood. “Oh, yeah. That’s natural. This way.” She led him to the side of the brick building. Dead weeds grew out of the cracks in the concrete and along the fence line. The forest surrounded the property; blocking most of the moon’s light from getting through. A few times Laney kept Kody from tripping in the dark. She unlocked another gate but shut it before the dogs could follow them through.
“No, no. You guys stay here and keep watch. I don’t need you screwing up the spell or eating my friend.”
“What?” Kody yelled.
Laney chuckled. “I was kidding.” So, he’s not a dog person.
After locking the dogs out, she strode to what used to be the employee parking lot. The not quite full moon crested over the tops of the trees. Light glinted off shards of broken beer bottles scattered across the pavement. She stopped when she reached the center.
She pulled out all the items they collected from Mrs. Burn’s house: candles, a braided blue sage bundle, blessing seeds, a sandwich baggy of little pink packets… “What’s this?” She held up the bag.
“Artificial sweetener. I couldn’t find any sugar, either. At least it’s white.” He knelt beside her and helped pull out the other items.
“But you only grabbed three packets. How am I supposed to…Never mind.”
“What’s the jerky for?” He pulled a hunk of beef jerky from one of the side pockets of her bag and dangled it in front of her.
She snatched it from his hand and stuck it in her back pocket. “I was hungry. Why don’t you take the book and find the spell. You can read the instructions to me as we go along.”
Kody found an old truck tire at the edge of the parking lot next to the fence and sat down. His bad leg stuck straight out while he set the book on his lap. Flipping through the pages, he stopped at the one marked with a post-it note. “You need to cleanse the area. Did you bring a broom?”
“It’s not that kind of cleansing. You still have that lighter?” Her fingertips tingled where they brushed against his palm as she took the lighter. She kept the smile off her face until she turned away to walked back to the center.
The first thing she did was scatter the blessing seeds over the ground. Using Kody’s lighter, she lit the bundle of sage to rid the area of negative energy.
“I thought you said you weren’t going to smoke any weed?”
“Ha, ha. Stop distracting me.” Waving her hands through the smoke, she circled an area about five feet in diameter. Deep, calming breaths helped calm her nervous stomach. She’d never attempted a spell so advanced and she needed to center and focus her attention on her magic. It didn’t help that his stare was practically boring a hole into her back.
He cleared his throat and rattled off the next item on the list. “You need to draw a five-point star on the ground. It says to make sure the top is pointing north.”
Her fingers pinched the corner of a sweetener packet as she tore it open. Her heart sank as she poured the miniscule amount of fake sugar into her palm. Even adding the contents of the other two packets, she’d never have enough to form a complete star. Her gaze shifted over and landed on her now half-empty backpack. It was a good thing she thought to bring the whipped cream.
The only problem was that when she searched for the can, she couldn’t find it. “Hey, did you see a—”
A skwooshing sound interrupted her. Kody sat on the tire, the tip of the whip cream can pointed at his open mouth as he filled his pie-hole with her salvation.
“No!” She jumped to her feet and ran across the parking lot, determined to save enough whipped topping to work the spell.
“Wha?” he asked around a mouthful of fluffy cream.
“Don’t you dare swallow.” She yanked the can from his grasp.
Keeping his mouth open, he dropped his head and let the froth of saliva and cream fall into his waiting palm. Some of it had already started melting and dripped between his knuckles as he offered her the white glob. He licked the remains from his lips. “Sorry. I was hungry.”
She stared at his hand, her stomach clenched at the sight. “That�
��s just gross.” No way was she touching that stuff now. But when she shook the can, it barely made a sound. How much did he eat before she caught him? Would there be enough?
He must have read her mind as he made his way to the ritual circle. He tilted his hand and drew a five-point star on the ground with the cream that dripped off his fingers. When the last drop had fallen, he attempted to complete the design with the remains in the can. The last sputterings of cream didn’t quite get the job done. Without acknowledging the glare Laney aimed at the side of his face, he ran his finger through the cream, spreading it out so it closed any gaps and formed a barely recognizable star.
“See. We did it.” He stood and smiled, gesturing to the pentagram with a wave of his sticky hand. “What’s it for, anyway?”
She stood next to him and sighed. It was the ugliest excuse for a star she’d ever seen, but it would have to do. “Having a white star will help ward off any evil spirits that might want to crash the party.”
“That won’t really happen, will it?” His voice cracked slightly at the end. She couldn’t blame him. It seemed like the darkness between the shafts of moonlight grew thicker and heavier every second. The sooner they brought Mr. Whiskers back, the sooner they could go home.
“Don’t be a wuss. I know what I’m doing.” Her hand automatically rose to her chest to touch the tiny, gold cross hanging around her neck. “What’s next?”
He strolled back to the tire and found his place in the book. “The candles need to circle the star.”
Most of the candles gave her no problems as she spaced them evenly around the pentagram. But the birthday candle wouldn’t cooperate. It had to be ground against the pavement a few times before the wax number eight stood upright. “Now what?”
“You need to put the corpse in the center of the star. Is it big enough?”
“Yeah, it’s big enough.” She groaned as she eyed the container. There was no getting out of it, she was going to have to handle the dead cat. Asking Kody to help was out of the question after just calling him a wuss. At least she remembered to bring the oven mitts.
After popping off the lid, she had to turn her head away to keep from gagging at the stench. The noxious cloud of decay lingered around the body, beckoning forth her last meal.
Don’t throw up. Don’t throw up. Don’t throw up.
The rose-printed oven mitts weren’t as thick as she’d like. She could still feel the squishy, bony body under her padded fingers. Arms straight out, she carried it over to the star as quickly as possible. She was so focused on not letting its tail touch any part of her that she didn’t see the large crack in the pavement.
She tripped.
Mr. Whiskers flew out of her grip and through the air. One, two, three times the body bounced across the pavement, leaving behind a trail of skin and fur. It finally skidded to a halt right before knocking over the menorah.
“That can’t be good.” Laney lay on her stomach, staring at the cat. Her knees and right wrist ached from her failed attempt to catch herself. She was in no hurry to get up.
The tap of Kody’s cane echoed off the building as he made his way over to her. He grabbed under her arm and helped her to her feet. “Are you all right?” he asked once she was steady.
“Yeah.” Unwilling to meet his gaze, she shook off the mitts and then dusted the dirt and gravel off her jeans. How embarrassing.
“Man, I’ve never seen a cat bounce like that. And did you see the hang time it had?” He whistled. “That was freakin’ awesome.”
Either he’s trying to make me feel better, or he’s totally twisted. Maybe both.
Together, they walked over to the body. One of the back legs bent at an unnatural angle and its nose had shifted to one side. Kody prodded the cat with his cane. “Yep, definitely broke some bones.”
“That’s really not good.” If it wasn’t for the fact that the spell was supposed to heal the body as the spirit came back, she would feel really bad for breaking the cat. But she was a witch. She could fix it. She hoped.
Being extra cautious, Laney picked up the body again and placed it in the center of the pentagram. The candles gave her no problems when she lit them. Finally, something was going right. “Next?”
“Do you have the knife?”
Ugh, she forgot about that part. Normally, she wasn’t squeamish when it came to blood, but when she had to cut herself to get it, she trembled at the mere thought. Shaky hands weren’t good when it came to slicing your own skin. Gripping the handle of the stolen steak knife, she pressed the tip to the center of her palm. Only a couple drops were needed. Just a quick jab and it would all be over. Taking a deep breath, she pushed the knife tip farther into her hand and...
“Wait.” She pulled the knife back. “Is it midnight yet?”
Kody pulled out a pocket watch from his coat and shined the flashlight on the face. “You got about 4 minutes. Why?”
“Why?” She sputtered, fidgeting with the knife as she rocked from foot to foot. “Because everyone knows that spells need to be cast at midnight. Duh.”
He reread the instructions. “It doesn’t say that in here.”
“Yeah, well…”
“You’re stalling.” He set the book on the ground and stood. His cane echoed off the building with every step. He took the knife from her hand and examined it up close. He huffed. “This thing’s so dull, you’d have better luck with a spoon. Here.” He pulled out a pocket knife and took her hand. His thumb ran over her palm, leaving a burning trail on her skin. He stared at her hand, caressing it for the longest time.
Laney studied him as he did this. Light from the candles flickered across his dark eyes. The heat from his hand was making her sweat everywhere. She hoped she didn’t get any pit stains. That was a surefire way to scare a guy away. She must have beautiful hands if he couldn’t look— “Ow!” Blood pooled in her cupped hand where he had stabbed her with his weapon. “A little warning next time.”
“It’s midnight.” His nostrils flared as he stared at the small puddle of blood. A low moan rumbled from his chest. In a husky voice he said “Now, do your thing.” He turned around and went back to his seat without so much as an apology.
Did he just growl at me?
She glared at his retreating back, imagining what that pocket knife of his would look like embedded between his shoulder blades. Not only did he hurt her, but he was right about her stalling, which was worse. She shook her head to dislodge any ideas of revenge before they took root. There was a cat to resurrect.
“I call upon the spirit of Mr. Whiskers.” She shook her hand at the cat, splattering drops of blood on its fur. “I offer my blood to give life.”
She raised arms in the air, checking quickly for pit stains, and said, “I offer my breath to chase away death.” She blew gently toward the cat and her magic swirled the air around her, creating a soft tornado. Leaves, dirt, and other debris lifted into the wind as it flowed over Mr. Whiskers and out to the forest. The damned birthday candle wobbled a bit, and then tipped over—right on the cat. Before she could react, the tail burst into flames.
“Oh, my gosh. Cat on fire! Cat on fire!” She dropped to her knees and frantically scraped at the pavement to gather some dirt, but the tiny pinches she threw at the flames didn’t do any good. Blowing only made it worse.
“Kody!” She ran to her backpack and ripped it open, searching for something, anything to put out the fire. The vial of unicorn tears was too small to make any difference. She needed the strengthening potion for later and her water bottle was empty. No, wait. About an inch of water sat at the bottom. But would that be enough? There was only one way to find out.
She grabbed the bottle and ran back to put out the kitty barbecue, but Kody beat her to it. He stomped on the flaming tail with his boot. The sharp scent of burnt hair crinkled her nose and made her sneeze. About half of the tail was singed black. Hopefully, the spell would fix that, too. If she didn’t hurry up and finish, there’d be nothing
left of the body for Mr. Whiskers to come back to.
“Now that’s taken care of, should we continue?” Kody didn’t wait for an answer and walked back to his tire.
Even after drawing in a calming breath, she struggled to get her bearings back. “I… Uh… What’s the next line?”
He ran his finger down the page. “I call upon the spirit of Mr. Whiskers. Hear me now and come back to your body.” He chuckled. “It says here you have to dance to entice the spirit to return.”
That instruction didn’t sound at all familiar. “No, it doesn’t.”
He pointed to a line on the page and said, “It’s right here. Come look for yourself if you don’t trust me.”
Doubt coiled in her gut. Had she somehow missed that step when she first read the instructions? She didn’t want him to feel that she didn’t trust him, not after all he’d done for her, stabbing her in the hand aside. “No, I believe you.”
Her cheeks burned at the thought of dancing in front of someone. Behind the locked door of her bedroom, she could work the moves like nobody’s business, imagining she was strutting her stuff in a music video. But with an audience, even an audience of one, all she could manage was rocking back and forth while her arms hung uselessly by her sides. Pathetic. Could she do this? Maybe if she closed her eyes and pretended Kody wasn’t there she wouldn’t humiliate herself.
She started out in the usual way when attending the school dance with her friends; swaying side to side. Her feet moved a few inches in either direction. She raised her arms high overhead as she repeated the words of the spell.
Nothing happened.
“If you want Mr. Whisker’s spirit to return, you’re going to have to do better than that.”
Her heart sank. “Fine, but turn around.”
“And miss the show? No way.”
Closing her eyes, Laney remembered watching her grandmother dance and chant during a Summer Solstice celebration. The way the older witch swayed and turned and leaped over the grass was so elegant and beautiful. Laney rubbed her aching wrist. Grandpa Jack used to tell her that she was as graceful as a wounded buffalo. Maybe instead of dancing, Mr. Whiskers could be lured back with a nice, fresh salmon.
“Come on, twinkle toes. Put your heart into it. Here, let me help.” He pounded the handle of his cane against the pavement in a steady beat.
Her toe tapped in time with his rhythm and she picked one of her favorite club songs to sing in her head. With her eyes squeezed shut so she could pretend she was back in her room, she was swinging her hips and waving her arms in the air. Then, she repeated the lines of the spell in the same tune as the song.
As she got her groove on, the wind grew strong, the candles burned bright, and the darkness grew heavier. Her magic swelled inside her, building up pressure to the point that her skin tingled. She stopped dancing and stood before the fading whip cream star. In a loud shout, she raised her head to the heavens and said, “Consummatum est.”
A loud pop echoed off the building accompanied by a flash of light and then…
Nothing.