Spell Me Always

by Cherie Marks

  He just needed to find a way to get past the magical protections and onto the property. One way or the other, he was going to find a way to get into the inner circle of the Secret Army and handing General Harper a witch with that much power might just be the thing he needed. Hopefully, she stuck around.

  Of course, he also hoped he could handle that much power.

  From the looks of things, that remained to be seen.

  Chapter 3

  “Here! Help me get her in front of the fire.”

  “Um, Mez, are you sure you want to thaw her completely?”

  They paused as Mez thought about Noxy’s question. She was right. That could be dangerous.

  “Put her in the tub. Maybe she has a hair dryer that we can use to melt the ice from her face and head.”

  They moved through the house, only banging the walls a couple of times as they made their way upstairs and to the nearest open door.

  “How big is this house? From the outside, it looked like a tiny cottage.”

  “That’s how magic works, Noxy.” Then, Mez edited herself to say, “Well, how most magic works when it’s under control.”

  After two more doors, they finally found the bathroom. They placed Kresley into the tub as gently as they could, considering she was covered in heavy, slippery ice. Mez took a few breaths and began searching different places in the bathroom, trying to find a contraption like a hair dryer. Under the sink, she found what she was looking for. With a little bit of fumbling, she managed to get it working and began to push hot air in the direction of Aunt Kresley’s head.

  “You know, she’s not going to be happy we just left her people out there, vulnerable. Maybe I should head back out and check on them.”

  She knew Noxy’s offer was not out of charity. It was out of fear. Noxy hated confrontation and did anything to avoid it, but there was no way Mez was going to do this by herself.

  “They’ll be fine. The ice will melt by morning, and the whole place, including the land, is covered in magical protections.”

  “Maybe I should go make us some tea or something? She might be thirsty when she wakes up.”

  “Or you might be worried about the anger she’s about to unload on us. Don’t worry. It will mostly be directed at me.”

  “Yeah. That’s right. Why did she call you Grinelda? Did you say that is your grandmother’s name.”

  Mez nodded. “My grandmother...and her sister.”

  “There are two Grinelda’s in the world?”

  With more patience than she really had, Mez explained, “No, Noxy. My grandmother is her sister. That’s how we’re related.”

  “Oh, that makes sense.”

  Noxy swung upside down from the shower curtain rod, making Mez dizzy since she had to look up to see her. She turned the blow dryer on her familiar for just a moment to show her frustration, and Noxy scrambled upward to sit on top of the metal rod instead.

  “Hey, now! None of that.” She smoothed her fur back into place as she asked, “You know what doesn’t make sense? Why she tried to kill you when she thought you were her sister. What’s up with that?”

  Mez sighed heavily as she waved the blow dryer back and forth over her great aunt’s head. “They had a falling out. It happened years ago, when I was still waist-high to most of the witches around me.”

  “What was it about?”

  “I don’t know, but I got the sense it was about me.”

  “But you were just a child. How could you be the center of a conflict? Kids often needlessly blame themselves.”

  Mez shrugged. “Maybe you’re right.”

  “Look! I see skin.”

  Sure enough, Mez could see the creamy, pale skin of her aunt’s chin. It was only a matter of time before she’d have to explain everything. She hoped Kresley was able...and willing...to help Mez. She didn’t have any other ideas at this point.

  The moment the ice uncovered Aunt Kresley’s mouth, she sucked in a deep breath and shouted, “Grinelda!”

  But Mez just kept sweeping the hot air back and forth over the area that still encased the rest of her aunt’s head.

  “When I get out of here, I’m going to curse you into oblivion. You’ll beg me for mercy when I put your ass where your face should be and your face on your backside.”

  The ice began to clear from her nose. It had been a slow process in the beginning, but it was starting to pick up now.

  “You shouldn’t have come back! Such a bad decision after what you tried to pull. You just wait! You are going to be on your knees in front of me. You are going to regret the day you were ever born. You are...” She stopped as the melting ice freed her eyes, and she saw Mez for the first time. “Not Grinelda.”

  Mez had doubted for a brief time that her aunt’s mental faculties were as sharp as they’d used to be, but now she felt relieved. She knew Mez was not her sister after all.

  “I’m her granddaughter.”

  “Mesmerelda? Is it really you?”

  Mez nodded. “It’s me.”

  “You look so much like Grinelda. I thought for sure she had returned to pick up where we left off. Where is the old hag?”

  “She’s gone.”

  The small part of Kresley’s face fell with the news. “She’s dead? No one thought to tell me?”

  Mez lowered the blow dryer and rushed to reassure her, “Oh, no! Sorry. I should have been clearer. She retired to a dimension with sunshine and beaches. She’s still alive, just no longer in Linwyn.”

  “So, she doesn’t know you’re here, then?”

  “Oh, goodness, no! She would have a conniption. Her warnings were loud and long about ever seeing you again.”

  “Hmm. That makes sense. What changed your mind?”

  Mez began to blow air over the parts that were still frozen as she said, “Desperation.”

  “You’ll have to be more specific. What has you feeling desperate?”

  “Well, for starters, take a look at my handiwork still locked in place around most of your body.”

  “Seems pretty solid to me.” She made a sound like a drum rimshot.

  Mez felt a small laugh bubble up through all of her anxiety and break forth for just an instant as she nodded. “It wasn’t on purpose.”

  “The ice? Or your aim? Where did it go wrong?”

  “For about a week now, I’ve had no control over my magic whatsoever. I didn’t mean to freeze you. It was a sneeze gone wrong.” Mez blew the air further down as Kresley seemed to be able to shake the excess ice from around her face. Crystals crashed into the tub below. “And the worst part is that I could have just as easily disintegrated you instead. One of your trees is now deleted from existence.”

  The horror of what she could have done in an instant overwhelmed Mez for a moment, and she switched off the hair dryer, laying it on her lap as she lowered her chin to her chest. “It’s bad, and I don’t know what to do. I had to come to you because right now, you’re the only one who can help me.”

  “Well, you came to the right place. I don’t know what is causing it, but I’m sure I can fix it.” She shifted slightly in the ice until with a muttered incantation, her body began to glow as if embers coated every inch of her and the ice dissolved into water around her.

  She sat up slowly, shaking free from any remaining pieces of ice still clinging to her. “I remember seeing something like what you’re describing in a book I own. I don’t quite recall what it was or how it was fixed, but if we could locate that book, it might be exactly what we need.”

  “Great! That sounds amazing. Where do you keep this book?”

  “Oh, it’s in my library...with my other eight-hundred and fifty-five books.”

  Mez felt her stomach drop. “That’s ambitious. How organized is your library of books? Like, if we looked up the author or the title, could we find it?”

  Kresley rolled her freed head in a sort of figure eight on her shoulders. “I’ve been meaning to do something just like that. Haven’t gotten around to i
t yet, though.”

  “But you remember which one you read that had the similar situation, right?”

  “Not exactly. I can eliminate a few that I’ve read recently. That’s a plus.”

  “So, we have to go through eight-hundred and some books to find one? I think I’d rather look for a needle in a field of haystacks. We’re doomed.”

  “Don’t be so dramatic. Trust me, I’ll know it when I see it.”

  “I hope you feel that same way when the house is nothing but dust. Of course, ice blasts that coat everything in sight are when things go well.” Mez sighed heavily. “Most of the time, things just are no more.”

  “That’s where you’re wrong. They still exist, just in another dimension.”

  “Your tree?”

  “I’ve been growing it since it was a seedling. I’m going to miss that woody bastard, but it’s alright. Now, it’s giving someone else shade in another dimension.”

  “How do you know all of this?”

  She laughed and stood up in the tub, shaking water free like a dog after a bath. “Because I was just like you. Well, not the part where everything was either ice or gone, but I felt as lost as you do right now. Then, I found my purpose.”

  “Do you think you could help me? I mean, find my purpose?”

  “Oh, yes. I think you’ll feel it when you know it.”

  “Do you mean, I’ll know it when I feel it.”

  “I know what I said, and I meant every word of it.”

  Mez shook her head, feeling like she might not be speaking the same language as her aunt Kresley. Yet, for the first time in weeks, she felt relief that she was no longer in the struggle of her life...at least not alone. It was a good feeling, enough to let a small smile tip her lips up ever so slightly. For the first time in a long time, things weren’t so dire.

  “Now, let’s get going. I need to dry off, and we need to find a book.” She stepped out of the bathtub with a little help from Mez. She glanced around and patted her multi-colored baggy pants and blousy shirt a few times before asking, “You didn’t happen to see a pair of glasses frozen to the top of my head, did you?”

  This time, Mez had a little more trouble squashing her feeling of impending doom. She plastered on a humorless smile and pulled the pair of reading glasses from the back of Kresley’s head where they had slipped down. She handed them to her aunt and met the worried gaze of Noxy.

  There was a slight chance this would be the end of them all.

  “Thanks, dear. Now where did I put the door to the library?” She tapped her chin and stepped out of the bathroom, staring down every wall as she went.

  Yeah, Mez figured the odds were about fifty-fifty at this point.

  Chapter 4

  Who was she?

  Every day, he watched the mysterious woman move in and out of the small house, wondering who she was, and what she was up to. She wore black pants and shirts mostly with pops of purple that matched her hair. Everything she wore looked utilitarian more than fashionable. Always, the brown, furry animal traipsed by her side. He watched, fascinated by the occasional explosive release of magic. She didn’t seem to have control over what happened.

  So far, she’d iced over an entire field of purple flowers, disintegrated a metal barn, and, out of nowhere, the tree she’d decimated reappeared. She looked just as surprised as he imagined he did.

  He continued to watch her, though. But as far as he could tell, even after days of watching, he hadn’t been detected yet.

  And, somehow, he’d found a weakness in the property’s defenses. After a few times around the perimeter, he’d found a spot that felt like a hole that he could crawl through. For two nights straight, he had made his way onto the property and watched their nightly routine. They seemed to be looking for something, but he could never make out what it was.

  Each night, they walked around the inside of the house, knocking on walls and trying different incantations. It was baffling. And, yet he couldn’t seem to make himself stop watching her.

  So, he waited and prowled until he could figure out what her agenda was.

  Of course, if he was being honest, he found her amusing. Every emotion played out on her face and in her body language. Her anxiety and fear were most prominent and became obvious with every tensing of her shoulders and every sweeping gaze at the resentful workers milling about her. They were obviously still pissed off about having to thaw out in the forest overnight. But on occasion, the creature beside her would say or do something that made the woman’s shoulders shake with laughter.

  And one time, he was close enough to see her face soften, stretching into a full smile that made his chest tighten for just a moment. He’d been in a bad mood the rest of the day. He didn’t like that she might have any effect on him. She could be working with the Secret Army. Or worse, she could be a rogue agent with her own agenda.

  At first, he’d been irritated by her, but in the last day, he had to admit, she’d surprised him.

  The same irritated people who worked the land around her had no idea that she had been the cook who’d whipped up the potato soup with cheese, bacon, and chives that they’d all raved over. When the witch had told her she didn’t have to do that, he’d overheard the woman say that she wanted to help however she could and that she probably owed them that much. Reluctantly, he’d admired her, even if she had flashed another one of those smiles that bothered him so much.

  He watched the woman, with her little animal companion riding on her shoulder, walk along the wooden fence that separated the house from the rest of the property. The animal on her shoulder, they were whispering with their heads close together, and he wished he could hear what they were talking about.

  As they rounded the house once more, his own animal instincts kicked in, and he could sense that her gaze was about to rise in his direction. Swiftly, he shifted and remained standing on the rise of the hill above the valley below.

  Her companion’s hand...or paw...or whatever lifted and pointed in his direction. He’d been noticed in this form before, but so far, no one had done anything to dissuade his visits. No one suspected the truth as far as he knew.

  Of course, he’d been a little distracted watching her this time, so he hoped he’d been able to change in time to avoid her notice. He was taking too many chances. This much he knew.

  But he needed to know more about her, about his intentions toward Kresley, the elder witch. That was the only reason he couldn’t take his eyes off of her. It had to be.

  * * *

  “There’s that wolf again. That’s the third time in three days. What do you suppose it wants?”

  Noxy pointed to the hill that loomed above the property, and Mez lifted her gaze to see a hulking gray wolf with white fur trimming its ears, underbelly, and around its mouth.

  Mez answered dryly, “It probably wants to chase your tail. That’s my guess.”

  Noxy dropped the book she’d been holding and turned to face Mez. She planted her curled hands on her hips and said, “It’s no wonder everyone around here thinks you’re a bitch.”

  Mez didn’t skip a beat. She blew on her fingernails and scrubbed them just below the collar of her shirt as she answered, “You know it. A boss-ass bitch.”

  As they laughed, Mez felt a little of the dark cloud that had been hanging over her lift. The past few days hadn’t been going well. Not only had they not found the book, they still hadn’t even found the entrance to the library. Aunt Kresley was not the most organized of witches, and she was a little spacey besides. Her heart was in it, but at this rate, Mez might be better off heading back to her little spot of solitude at the edge of nowhere and nothing. At least there she couldn’t hurt anything...or anyone...with her erratic magic. But she couldn’t give up yet. She was homesick and a tad disheartened by the lack of progress, but she needed a solution. Being afraid she might hurt others around her was no way to live. For now, she had to hope things turned around soon.

  “You don’t think the wolf
is here as a spy, do you?”

  Noxy was often suspicious by nature, but after what Aunt Kresley shared about some of the attacks she’d fended off lately, Mez thought Noxy might be right.

  “I think you might be on to something, Noxy. Do you think it’s a shifter? Or a familiar?”

  “How do you suppose we find out?”

  Mez watched the wolf as it seemed to be watching them. It paced back and forth through the low, scrubby brush around its paws and stared in their direction.

  “I think we have to set a trap. We need to catch whatever it is and ask our questions.”

  “Well, Miss Magic Blunderkid, what do you suppose we do to set up this trap?”

  “Whoa! Harsh! Now who’s being the bitch?”

  “Yeah, sorry. That came out with a little more frustration than I meant to display.”

  Mez softened slightly. “I know what you mean. I really didn’t think we’d be here this long either.”

  They sat in silence for a few somber moments before Mez said, “I think we let the wolf in.”

  “By the hair of our chinny-chin-chins?”

  “No, I mean, we lower the protections just enough for the wolf to break through. Then, we lead him into our trap. From there, we’ll wing it. What do you say?”

  Noxy shrugged. “That is probably the worst plan I’ve ever heard. But I don’t have a better idea, so let’s do it.”

  Mez clapped her hands together into a praying position and brought them to her lips as if she were thinking through the plan. After a moment, she lowered them and said, “There’re no two ways about it, we’ll have to ask for Kresley’s help. The last thing we need is for me to hiccough and send the wolf out of our reach to who knows which dimension.”

  “You’re not wrong, but I hate to distract her from her current mission. Otherwise, we might never get out of here.”

  “True! But if I can’t control myself, I’ll defeat the whole purpose.”

  “Then, maybe we take a risk. What about binding your magic for a night?”