“Is there anything else?”
“We could carve sigils into the fence around it and use them as protection wards.”
“I’m supposed to be restoring the cemetery. I don’t know if carving stuff into the fence is a good idea.”
“You’re right,” he said. “We’ll just do magic symbols. Get the dragon’s blood oil.”
After breakfast we went across to the cemetery and spent the entire morning putting a salt circle around the fence line. Then we hammered iron stakes into the ground at the gates, and last, Meri showed me how to paint the sigils onto the fence posts with the dragon’s blood oil.
“The rain won’t wash these away?” I asked as I finished the last one.
“The oil will stain the wood, but it will be invisible. Plus, the magic will make them stay.”
“What magic?”
“This.”
Meri wiggled his nose, and all of the sigils lit up in a blazing shade of red. They stayed that way for a minute and then faded until you could no longer see them, but I could feel them around us.
“You think that’ll do the trick?” I asked.
“No way to find out but to try it,” he said.
I finished cutting the grass and took the mower back to my garden shed. After wedging it inside, I briefly fantasized about how nice it would be to have a garage. On the whole, the mowing work was uneventful, so I felt emboldened to get some more work done.
With the grass cut and most of the weeds pulled, I decided it was time to start work on the headstones. Meri assured me that I could use magic to put the broken ones back together, but I thought it would be better to start with cleaning the ones that weren’t broken. Reassembly and repair could wait until I had a little more experience.
It wasn’t easy for me to choose a headstone to begin cleaning. At first, I thought that perhaps I should pick one of the stones in the newer section because the ones in the old section were more historically significant, but then I realized that was an awful way to think. They were all significant. Each one was a monument to someone who had passed. They were all important.
When I still wasn’t able to pick one, I did the most logical thing I could think of at the time. I let Meri choose.
“That one,” he said and flicked his tail in the direction of a stone shaped like a fallen log.
At its base was a small square of stone that was too weathered to read. I studied it for a moment before responding.
“You answered too quickly. Meri, you didn’t even think about your decision.”
“I know,” he said. “Because that’s why you couldn’t choose one. So I did things differently.”
I couldn’t really argue with that. “Fine. What do I do, then?”
“Imagine what you want the marker to look like when it’s clean and restored. Wave your hands over it to direct your magical intentions. That should just about do it.”
“That seems too simple.”
“It’s cleaning magic, Brighton. It’s not brain surgery. You’re stalling because you feel unsure of yourself. Just do it confidently.”
“Okay,” I said.
After taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes and held my head high. I could do this. I was descended from a long line of powerful witches, and I just had to believe in myself.
In my mind’s eye, I pictured the stone new and gleaming in the sun. While I had no idea what the headstone said, in my imagination, I could read it again.
My hands waved slowly over the marker as this vision became stronger and stronger, until I was sure my task was complete.
Meri’s gasping let me know that something had gone wrong. My whole body deflated when I opened my eyes. Not only had I not cleaned the tombstone, but I’d turned it to dust.
“Oh, no.”
“Yeah,” Meri said. “That is not what I expected.”
“What am I going to do now?” I asked.
But before Meri could answer, the ground around us began to shake. At first it started out as nothing more than a bit of a rumble, but within a minute, the ground underneath us rolled.
I was knocked off my feet and landed on my butt. Pain shot from my tailbone up my spine, and oddly, it made the hair on the back of my neck stand up.
Meri jumped into my lap just as the ground before us fissured and then split open. Even as the ground stopped quaking, a rumble from somewhere deep in the earth filled my ears.
“This is not good,” Meri said.
“We should get out of here.”
I wrapped my arms around him and tried to stand, but a gale force wind blew from the hole and knocked me back down.
The rumbling stopped and it was replaced by a moan. At first it sounded sad, but as the cry rose to a crescendo, it became at first angry and then furious.
A woman in white rose from the crack in the earth. She wailed at the sight of her gravestone and then turned her burning, wrathful eyes on me.
“Why? Why would you?” Her voice was so loud that I thought my ears would bleed.
I squeezed my eyes shut as if that would help and covered Meri’s ears protectively with my hands. The sound caused my brain to thud with pain, but I was also able to grab onto something.
It was as if the power emanating from the ghost was frayed at the ends. In my mind I was able to grasp one of those threads and unravel it just a little.
Clutching at her power and taking a bit of it into myself, I thought of Annika. Please help me.
I’d thought that the spirit would kill us, but she just moved around Meri and I in circles like a shark. Every time I stood up, she’d knock me back down, but she hadn’t hurt us yet. It was as if she were trying to decided what to do with me.
Minutes later, a car pulled up outside of the cemetery. The door slammed shut, and Annika called out. “I’m coming, Brighton. I’m here.”
Annika ran through the brush but stopped dead in her tracks when the ghost turned her icy glare in my friend’s direction. Annika turned her attention to the crumbled gravestone next to us.
“What did you do?”
“I was trying to clean it. I didn’t mean to do this. This ghost appeared after. She split a hole in the ground,” I said and waved my hand in the direction of the crevice.
“I think that’s Constance Skeenbauer. She’s like my great-great-great… I don’t know how many greats… Grandmother. She was killed during the Coventry Witch Trials.”
“Wait, there really were witch trials in Coventry?”
“Yes. Where do you think your house got the name Hangman’s House?” Annika asked. “But don’t answer that. We’ve got to fix this.”
Just as Annika said that, a blast of icy wind threatened to take down the trees around us. My teeth chattered as it chilled me to my core.
“Okay,” I said. “I don’t know how to fix it.”
“Take my hand,” she said and offered me help up. “Please let us fix this, Constance.”
The spirit didn’t knock me down again as I’d expected. She allowed Annika to help me to my feet. Once I was up, we joined hands.
“I’m going to just take the lead on this one,” she said. “Meri, I know you’re Brighton’s familiar, but can you help me out?”
“I’ve got you guys,” Meri said. “I’ll keep you safe and enhance your magic.”
As Annika chanted a spell I’d never heard, Meri ran around us in circles. Constance’s spirit watched from a distance, and it seemed that our efforts had lessened her fury.
I channeled my magical energy through my hands and into Annika, and when I closed my eyes, I found that the thread I’d borrowed from Constance was still there. When I took a chance at passing it through me to Annika, it paid off.
The icy wind died down, and the birds began to sing again. When Annika was finished, not only was the gravestone restored, but the hole in the ground was healed. Green grass grew over it once again.
Constance drifted over to us, and her expression had softened. “I’m sorry,” she said. Her m
outh didn’t move but I could hear her speak all the same. “I thought that because you were a Tuttlesmith witch, you’d destroyed the gravestone on purpose. I was wrong. I hope you can forgive me.”
“I can, and I’m sorry that I messed up so badly.”
“You’ll learn,” she said with a smile. “You have so much potential.” Constance’s spirit turned to Annika, “As do you, Annika Skeenbauer. It would be a shame if you spent your entire life ignoring your gifts.” With that, Constance disappeared.
“So when you called out for help, I sort of stole my grandmother’s car,” Annika said. “I should get it back.”
“You seem to have an affinity for grand theft auto,” I said with a chuckle.
“Hey, I do it to help a friend. You should come back with me. I think you’ve had enough excitement in this old graveyard for one day.”
I wanted to argue, but she was right. “All right. I’ll come with you. Meri, are you coming with us or going home?”
“I think I’m going to go nap,” he said. “Looking after you is exhausting.”
“Fine, see you later.”
“Try not to get dead,” he said as he streaked off through the trees.
Annika and I returned her grandmother’s car to its parking space, and Amelda was none the wiser. We went back into her shop, and I perused for a while. She was busy doing something with invoices and making a few calls.
“Hey, if you’ll run over to the coffee shop and get us some lattes, I’ll buy.”
“Sure, but I’ve got the coffees. You can buy next time,” I said and brought the dress and skirts I’d picked out up to the counter. “I’d also like to purchase these.”
“I’ll have them ready for you when you get back.”
As I walked across the town square, I started to get frustrated by the fact that Langoria’s murder wasn’t solved yet. The courthouse looming in my peripheral vision was a constant reminder that I was still a suspect too. I hadn’t gotten anything in the mail yet about the taxes, but I imagined it was coming any day. The responsible thing to do would have been to go in and check with whoever handled the taxes, but I vowed to do that another day.
By that time, I was convinced that Maximillian had something to do with Langoria’s death, and when I saw him exit the courthouse and get into a brand new truck that looked like it had cost more than I’d made in my lifetime, I knew I had to bust him. Maximillian spotted me as he pulled the truck out of the two spaces he’d parked across, and he waved. I forced a fake smile and waved back.
Since it was the middle of the afternoon, Bubble & Brew Coffee was quiet. The chipper, college-aged girl behind the counter made chai lattes for Annika and I while I looked around.
The store’s walls were lined with shelves containing what looked like magical items. There were potion bottles, small cauldrons, dried herbs, candles, and tons of crystals. But none of it felt truly magical. It was as if humans had decorated the shop in witch memorabilia and had no idea that they were surrounded by real witches.
“Your lattes are ready,” the girl behind the counter called out as I examined a crystal ball in a skull-shaped holder. “Can I get you any pastries?”
“Actually, yes. Those walnut tarts look amazing. I’ll take two.”
“Sure thing.”
I took the coffee and the pastries and headed back to Annika’s shop. As I walked in, Remy was leaving. He nodded his head, said “Hello, Brighton,” and then kept walking.
It was a cold greeting, and he suddenly felt like a stranger. If it hadn’t been for my budding relationship with Thorn, I probably would have been even more heartbroken. As it was, his newfound contempt for me only made my chest ache a little.
“He’s really mad at me,” I said as I set the coffees and tarts on the counter in front of Annika.
“He’s mad at me too,” she said. “But he’ll get past it. I’m sorry I caused trouble between you two.”
“It’s all right. It’s not your fault either.”
“He’s just been acting so out of character lately,” Annika said. “Like, I had no idea he could be so cold. It’s strange, Brighton. I grew up with him, and I thought he was my best friend. It’s almost starting to feel like I never knew him at all.”
“I hadn’t expected him to turn on me like this either,” I said. “It kind of sucks. He seemed like he sincerely cared about me, but he just shut it off. And he shut it off right after promising to always be there for me.”
“I don’t know,” she responded. “He does seem to have flipped a switch, but the word around town about you dating Thorn probably isn’t helping,” Annika said and swatted my arm. “I can’t believe you didn’t say anything.”
“I was going to tell you. I didn’t think anyone would know. I guess I thought Thorn wouldn’t say anything?”
“Why wouldn’t Thorn tell everyone? You’re a catch. Of course he’s excited.”
“We got into it too,” I said. “About me being involved in the case.”
“I understand Thorn being… prickly,” she said with a giggle. “That’s how he is. I wouldn’t take it too seriously.”
“I’ll try not to, but I do want to solve Langoria’s murder. I think I’d rather focus on that right now than relationships.”
Chapter Fourteen
When Annika and I left the shop for the day, I saw Maximillian’s truck parked outside of Dumbledore’s Diner. When I looked in the window, he was inside with his girlfriend, and they didn’t have food in front of them yet.
“Hey, Annika, where does Maximillian live?” I asked as she locked the door to the shop.
“Why?”
“Because I’m going to break into his house and see if I can find evidence he killed Langoria.”
“That sounds like something I need to be involved in.”
“Well, we have to hurry. We only have as long as it takes him and his girlfriend to eat dinner,” I said and pointed toward the diner window.
My hand shot back down to my side, and I turned away quickly when Maximillian turned and looked at me. Getting caught pointing at him hadn’t been part of the plan.
“He’s waving at you,” Annika said. “If you don’t want to look totally guilty, you’d better wave back.”
So I did. And just as I did, Maximillian’s girlfriend turned to see who he was waving at. If looks could have killed, I’d have had a hole in my head. Drusilla swiveled back around, and from what I could tell, began to lay into Maximillian.
“Let’s hurry,” I said.
Annika showed me where Maximillian and his girlfriend lived. We parked the car down the block in the alley so as not to make our little burglary obvious. This time we really were breaking and entering, but I was desperate to prove he’d killed Langoria.
We were fortunate that Maximillian had a door that led from his attached garage into the backyard, and he’d left it unlocked. We didn’t even have to use any magic to get in.
The backdoor to the actual house was a different story, but since Annika and I were in the garage, no one saw use using a spell to unlock the door. I was just about to turn the knob so we could slip inside when the garage door opener made a loud grinding sound and the main garage door began to lift.
“Oh, crap,” I whispered.
We didn’t have enough time to slip out the back of the garage so instead, we had to hide behind a stack of Amazon Prime boxes. Annika crouched down and scooted along the wall to give me space.
As soon as we were hidden, Maximillian’s truck rolled into the garage. He didn’t even bother to close the garage door before he and his girlfriend both got out and slammed their doors.
That’s when they started shouting at each other. She was mad about the new truck and the grill. He was angry because Drusilla still blamed Langoria for everything wrong in her life even though the matter was “over.”
“You bought this grill and this truck as soon as you had more money. You didn’t even think to get anything for me. I’ve been waiting all thi
s time for you to spend money on me. For you to show me you care,” she yelled.
“Really, Drusilla? You think that’s how I should have shown you I care? Buying you this house and your car wasn’t good enough? Taking care of us financially wasn’t good enough?”
“I made money too,” she spat.
“I know you do, but you can’t argue with the fact that I support us. I know you contribute to our household, but even with the money I paid Langoria in alimony, I was still supporting us.”
“So what are you saying? You’re saying that you get to choose how we spend our money always because you make more?”
“I’m not saying that,” he said and squeezed the bridge of his nose.
I was watching the whole thing go down and praying they didn’t see us behind the boxes. The good thing was that they were too wrapped up in their fight to notice us.
“I think you are saying that. I don’t think you appreciate me. I take care of us in other ways. I come home from work and cook your dinner. I do your laundry.”
“I know that, and I appreciate it. But, Dru, you work part-time. I have a full-time job that sometimes requires overtime. Most times, in fact, and I think I’ve done a good job taking care of you. I got you the Mercedes you wanted and kept my old truck until I didn’t have to pay alimony anymore. I’ve tried to put you first.”
“No, you put her first. You always did.”
“I had to do what the court ordered, Dru.” He sounded defeated at that point.
“You never fought hard enough. It was because you wanted to take care of her. You still loved her. You cared more about her than me.”
“Dru,” Maximillian began. “This is the same argument we have over and over. It’s not true, and you know it. It’s really wearing me down. I’ve given you everything you wanted, and I just wanted something for me. I don’t know why you can’t understand that.”
“Maybe I should help you out by leaving. That way you wouldn’t have to worry about me or giving me what I want,” she said and pulled her keys out of her purse.
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