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  Or this was another warning from Brian. Cassandra hadn’t seemed interested in Brian at all—only her problem.

  Joe was getting ready to walk out the door. I stopped him, putting my hand on his arm. “I wish you’d stay.” Tears gathered in my eyes. “Maybe you could take a half day.”

  “I wish I could.” He put his arms around me. “But I think we’re getting close to figuring out what happened to Olivia. If I drop the ball now, I might not be able to pick it back up.”

  “I understand.”

  “Go out for a while, Molly. You can’t do anything until the insurance agent sees this. Get out of the house. I’ll help clean up tonight.” He kissed me and left with Lisbet.

  Elsie was standing beside me at the door as he walked out. She put her arm around me. “I’m so sorry. I’m sure he means well.”

  “It’s the whole situation,” I said. “I think he knows I’m lying to him.”

  “Ironic, isn’t it?”

  “Yes.” I could appreciate her words. “I think the police are trying to tie Olivia’s break-in to mine now. I know that happens sometimes. Maybe they think we both had something valuable from the shop. Who knows? That could mean you and I are involved in her death, in a roundabout way.”

  “It’s a good thing we don’t have to work with them,” she said. “They sound even daffier than the council!”

  I wiped away my tears and straightened my shoulders. I had to pick a focus and stay there. “We should go to your house and make sure nothing is wrong there. There’s no point in putting up new protection spells here yet.”

  She agreed. “Let’s do that. I think Joe is right about getting out of here. Besides, if the council is afraid of this rogue witch, so am I. Do you think the rogue witch could be Brian? He was very strong on the boat.”

  “I don’t know. It’s possible, I suppose. I don’t think Cassandra really knows one way or the other.”

  I called our insurance agent and told him the door would be open. Elsie and I were on our way out when Dorothy walked up.

  “Sorry for showing up without calling. And for looking you up in the phone book to find your address. And for deciding I couldn’t be a witch. May I come in?”

  Her plain face was appealing in its sincerity. I wondered what had happened that had changed her mind.

  “Hi.” Mike smiled at her. “Do I know you?”

  “No, you don’t.” I introduced them. “Dorothy works at the downtown library.”

  “Wow. I love the library.” He grinned, his gaze pinned on her. “Maybe you could help me pick out a few good books. Now that I’m not going to college anymore, I might have some time to read on my own.”

  “I’d be glad to do that, Mike.” She smiled back at him. “Why did you decide to drop out of college? Your mom told me you’re going to East Carolina. That’s where I went to school too.”

  “Really?” He looked surprised and then frowned when he realized I was listening. “I’m just ready to move on now. Not everyone needs college.”

  “I see.” Dorothy smiled at him before she looked at my living room. “What happened to your house?”

  “Excuse us, Mike. Maybe you should go out for a while too. I’ll text and let you know when I think it’s safe for you to come home.”

  He shrugged. “I’m out of money, Mom. Could you loan me some for lunch?”

  I gave him a twenty. “I’ll see you later. Plan on helping with cleanup when you get back.”

  “Yeah. Whatever.”

  We went out into the garden to the same spot I’d brought the amulet last night. There were two benches and three chairs for our summer solstice events. I didn’t think it was surprising that Dorothy sat in the same chair Olivia had always claimed as her own.

  “So what brings you by?” I asked after relating my story about the break-in.

  “I’m sorry,” she said. “Maybe this isn’t a good time.”

  “It’s not going to get any better today.” I pulled a few dead roses off the bush beside me.

  “I’ve been having these really weird dreams. They’re about my mother. I used to have them all the time when I was a child. They stopped for years. Since I met the two of you, they’ve come back again. I was wondering what they mean.”

  Elsie snorted. She was a little allergic in the fall. “Dreams can mean anything. You might be better off consulting a dream specialist. I saw this wonderful movie once—I believe Dennis Quaid was in it. It was all about going into people’s dreams.”

  “Thank you so much.” Dorothy smiled at her. “I don’t know anyone who specializes in dreams. Maybe you do?”

  Elsie shrugged.

  “What kind of dreams are you having?” I asked. “Witches frequently have prophetic dreams. It’s possible that bringing you to an awareness of your abilities could have triggered them.”

  Dorothy sat forward, her brown hair swinging into her face. Her eyes were intense. “I think my mother may still be alive. I think she may be trying to reach out to me.”

  “What makes you think so?” Elsie asked.

  “It’s in the dreams. She’s doing things—like spells and potions. She doesn’t look anything like me. Of course, this would have been many years ago.”

  “No witch would simply abandon her offspring, especially offspring with magic,” Elsie said. “She must have died.”

  “Maybe so. No one could ever tell me anything about her when I looked up my adoption records. She could be anyone.”

  “In time, if you don’t continue to awaken your abilities, the dreams will fade again.”

  “No. You misunderstand me, Molly. I want to keep having those dreams. I’d like to find out who my mother was. Maybe the council of witches could help.”

  “I doubt that,” Elsie said.

  “So you’re saying that now you want to be a witch again?” I was a little confused by her off-again, on-again attitude.

  “Yes. I have to know more. I hope you’ll take me back. I’d like to apprentice, or whatever you call it, with the two of you.”

  I couldn’t say no. I knew Elsie felt the same. I believed Dorothy was sincere. We’d all liked her and wanted her to be the one we could leave our spell book with when the time came. That hadn’t changed.

  She’d had some doubts, but that seemed natural for someone who had never realized there was magic in the world around her. I was willing to give her some leeway. I knew Elsie was too.

  “Thank you so much.” She hugged both of us. “You won’t regret this. I’ll be the best witch in the world.”

  Elsie chuckled. “Our standards are not that high, I’m afraid. We aren’t powerful witches who go around fending off evil or anything. Still, let’s celebrate our reunion. A little tea and sparklers, I think.”

  Elsie muttered a spell, and we were immediately soaked by a tea rain that came down only where we were seated. Her wish for sparklers came out as dozens of fireflies that covered us from head to toe.

  Naturally, we ran into the house.

  Most of the fireflies were gone, but we were still saturated with sweet, warm tea.

  Dorothy started laughing and danced around the room. “I love it.”

  “I used to love it,” Elsie remarked. “I’ve ruined my fascinator.”

  “Maybe I can fix it,” Dorothy volunteered.

  “No!” Elsie and I both yelled at the same time. There was nothing worse than an untrained witch attempting magic without supervision—unless it was a witch whose magic was fading.

  “Just a little tea storm.” Elsie giggled. “Nothing to worry about. Can you lend me something, Molly? I don’t want to get in your car this way.”

  We all changed clothes—I barely had something large enough for Elsie and small enough for Dorothy. When we were dry and didn’t smell like tea, we went to the car.

  “We’ll go to
Elsie’s first to strengthen the protection spells there,” I told Dorothy. “And then we’ll go to the shop and try to figure out what to do about Brian.”

  I gathered Isabelle in my arms. I wouldn’t take a chance on losing her again. The three cats would be fine at Smuggler’s Arcane. Our protection was strongest there.

  Mike was still outside, talking on his cell phone. He asked if he could go with us, obviously attracted to Dorothy. I had to tell him no. He had an expression of pathetic rejection on his face as we pulled out of the drive.

  “Oh, he looks so sad,” Dorothy mourned.

  “Because your magic must remain a secret from those who don’t have magic, there will be many times you have to keep your loved ones away from what you have to do,” I explained as we drove away.

  “Why doesn’t Mike have magic?” Dorothy waved to him. “How did I get magic from my mother, but he didn’t get it from you?”

  “That’s a good question.” Elsie fussed with my old red beret that she’d insisted on wearing. “There’s no real answer for that, although the council has tried to figure it out many times. It makes them nervous that the number of witches being born continues to decline.”

  I laughed. “Remember that time a few years back when the council was offering a bonus to every witch who married another witch? I don’t think anyone took them up on it.”

  “And it doesn’t always work,” Elsie said. “You remember Reuben and Julie? They were both witches, but neither one of their children had magic.”

  “That’s right. Magic is as elusive as any other force of nature,” I added. “It can come from two witches, or only one witch. There are even cases where neither of the parents have magic.”

  “What about finding my mother?” Dorothy asked. “Is there a spell or something you can teach me that could help find her, if she’s still alive?”

  “That will be the first spell we teach you,” I promised. “Aren’t you also curious about your father?”

  “I suppose I am. I haven’t had any dreams about him.” Dorothy gazed out the car window in the backseat. “Maybe both of my parents had magic.”

  We stopped at Elsie’s house. Everything was fine there, thank goodness. I didn’t think I could handle anything else being wrong. We worked together on a protection spell that felt good and strong. Lucky for us that Aleese wasn’t there to see us do it.

  We finally reached Front Street and the old Cotton Exchange. I was glad to see our shop and looking forward to a few minutes of peace after everything that had happened.

  But we were immediately swamped with customers. Each of them had different stories to tell about the loss of some treasured magic item, most which had been passed down through their families for generations.

  There were some whispered questions about missing witches. I realized that Olivia might not have been the only witch that had been killed. Everyone was afraid.

  “Brian—or whoever is doing these things—has been very busy,” Elsie said. “The council can’t continue to ignore what’s going on here. This witch must have half the magic items in Wilmington by now!”

  I watched our last customer leave the shop. “The question is—what is he doing with all of them?”

  CHAPTER 15

  Open, portal closed to me.

  Lift my spirit, set me free.

  Let all that hinders be removed.

  One. Two. Three. So mote it be!

  “Lock the door,” I told Dorothy as Elsie settled into a chair. “We need a few minutes alone to cast a new protection spell.”

  “We need a good spell,” Elsie said. “Something simple. We’re already protected, but let’s not take any chances. With Olivia’s magic fading, we need to build a better wall.”

  I was a little uneasy about the idea of another protection spell. It had worked at Elsie’s house, but what if it backfired here and blew all the doors and windows out? Anything could happen—as I could see from Elsie’s “tea” party.

  I hoped we’d be okay with Dorothy’s earth magic balancing us.

  “It looks like your first spell is going to be a protection spell.” I held the amulet and the cauldron around my neck. “Repeat what we’re saying, and imagine something like a big earth mound protecting the shop.”

  “Or trees standing in front of it.” Elsie took my hand. “Something to do with the earth. Not daffodils though. Anyone could come right through those.”

  The three of us joined hands and chanted together, each of us focusing on something that enhanced our native power. I kept the river in mind, feeling its strength and depth surrounding us like an impenetrable shield.

  I could feel our magic melding. Dorothy was going to be a powerful witch. I was glad she had such a sweet disposition. Maybe it was good that she wasn’t raised by her witch mother. She might’ve turned out differently.

  Smuggler’s Arcane began shifting and shaking as though an earthquake were trying to bring it down.

  “Don’t lose focus,” I told Dorothy when I intuitively felt her open her eyes.

  “Yeah, but—”

  “It doesn’t matter. Don’t lose focus.”

  I knew when she’d stopped thinking about the shop shaking and was focused again on the protection spell. I could feel the three cats focusing their energies on the shop too.

  I half expected to open my eyes and find the shop in ruins around us. I was surprised and pleased to find that we had created a new protection layer for the shop without destroying it.

  “Is everyone all right?” I asked.

  “I’m fine,” Elsie said. “That was some powerful magic.”

  Dorothy looked around her. “Wow! That was awesome!”

  “I think now we should look for the man who heard Olivia’s last scream.” I was trying to be single-minded, one thing at a time. “It should be safe since the police already questioned him.”

  We gathered our possessions and told Barnabas, Isabelle and Harper good-bye. They were still a little nervous, but they said they could see that everything was going to work out soon.

  Elsie put away her sword and went to the front door. It wouldn’t open. “That’s odd.”

  “What’s wrong?” I gave the door a try. It wouldn’t budge.

  “I think we may have protected the shop too well,” Elsie muttered, glancing back at Dorothy.

  “We’ll have to open it.” I bent my head and whispered a small spell to open the door.

  It didn’t work.

  “Will we be able to leave the shop at all?” Dorothy peeked over our shoulders. “I only have the morning off.”

  “I think we might have to go into the cave and try to open it from there.” I smiled at Dorothy, feeling a little foolish. How was she going to believe we could teach her anything if we couldn’t do a simple protection spell?

  Dorothy’s eyes got wide. “You have a cave in your basement? Can I see it?”

  I’d forgotten that everything impressed Dorothy. She didn’t know the difference yet between a good spell and a bad one.

  “If we can open the trapdoor.” Elsie didn’t sound sure of that at all.

  I kicked aside the rug and pulled up the trapdoor. “It must only affect going in and out of the shop the conventional way.”

  “Well, that’s good!” Elsie followed me down the stairs. “Come on, dear.”

  “Cool!” Dorothy smiled. “I’ve heard about the smugglers’ caves under some of the waterfront buildings, but I’ve never seen one.”

  “Well, you’re in for a treat,” Elsie said. “If you like sand, rocks, moss and dampness—it’s heaven.”

  We walked slowly down the old stairs. They were in worse shape now than they had been before Elsie had “fixed” them. If we couldn’t use magic to repair them soon, we were going to have to hire a carpenter. Of course, that would mean erasing his memory of the
cave. It was our most guarded secret—after the spell book.

  Dorothy investigated every part of the cave like a kitten. No nooks or crannies were ignored. She talked about pirates and smugglers the whole time she snooped around.

  Elsie and I sat around the cauldron. We’d had about as much excitement as we could handle for one day.

  “And this is where you do your magic.” Dorothy grinned as she sat in the third chair. “This is really exciting.”

  “First, let’s unlock the door upstairs. Then we’ll move forward.” It might take a few tries to get everything right with Dorothy’s magic added to ours.

  We were used to Olivia’s magic. Every witch’s magic vibrated at a different frequency. It was one way we could feel another witch, even with our eyes closed.

  I repeated the opening spell for Dorothy—and Elsie, since she couldn’t remember it. Witches learned and wrote hundreds of spells in a lifetime, which was why we kept spell books. Losing ours might seem like a terrible thing to Cassandra, but to us it was a catastrophe.

  Together, we repeated the spell until we heard a popping noise upstairs. Isabelle told me the front door was unlocked. We sat back in our chairs with a sigh of relief.

  “This stuff is hard.” Dorothy twisted her neck from side to side to ease the tension. “I didn’t realize it would be this difficult.”

  Elsie frowned.

  “Not that I’m giving up again,” Dorothy rushed to reassure her. “I just meant—it seemed as though it would be easier, you know? Like you just snap your fingers or twitch your nose.”

  “That’s TV magic!” Elsie took out her sword and pointed it at the small fire that always burned under the cauldron. “This is real magic, my girl. Magic of nature and the elements. Calling upon the real power of the universe.”

  The fire shot up into the cave, sparkles of light flying everywhere, illuminating the dark places.

  Dorothy gulped. “While we’re down here chanting and stuff, can we find my mother? Then we could find the man you’re looking for? Please. It would mean so much to me.”