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  “That stuff is really nasty.” Elsie shivered thinking about it. “But we have it, if you want some.”

  “If it’s not too much trouble.”

  He boosted himself into one of the chairs. I brought out two extra chairs from the supply closet. It dawned on me that Olivia didn’t need one anymore. I was glad that I’d made that mistake, however, when she thanked me, with tears in her eyes, for not forgetting her. It seemed old habits die hard.

  We gathered around the small table when the tea was served. Mr. Brannigan opened his binder, casting uncomfortable glances at us, until we looked away. He shuffled his papers and cleared his throat when he felt his secrets were safe.

  He studied his documents before looking up at us. “Larry Tyler will change into a wolf in a few days. We don’t have time to allow the mundane courts to work on this. We don’t want to take a chance that he could be denied bail either.”

  Elsie sipped her tea. “We knew that already.”

  “Yes.” He straightened his shoulders beneath his expensive suit. “Because of the situation—and the fact that witches are involved in the problem—the witches’ court has granted me the right to use a spell that will make sure Larry goes free. At least temporarily. He will have to prove that he wasn’t involved with Olivia Dunst’s death. Otherwise, our system will take care of him.”

  CHAPTER 25

  Spirit haunting, leave this space.

  Your life is done, give back your place.

  Among the living, your time is gone.

  I banish you, before the dawn.

  That wasn’t at all what we had in mind.

  “Wouldn’t that be bad for witch and werewolf relations?” Dorothy asked. “And isn’t that what we’re trying to avoid?”

  “As far as the council is concerned, it’s more worrisome to them that a witch has been killed, and the theft of the magic tools. They’re concerned about the possibility that a werewolf could have killed a witch. They don’t want that to get out in public, of course.”

  Elsie had also put a cup of lavender tea at Olivia’s place. Olivia put her nose to it and inhaled. “Will you put a little extra sugar in that, Dorothy?”

  “Sure.” Dorothy ladled in a few extra sugar cubes. “How’s that?”

  “It had plenty in it already,” Elsie protested. “Just the way you’ve always liked it, Olivia. Did you suddenly develop a sweet tooth?”

  “Sometimes I like it a little sweeter than other times.”

  Mr. Brannigan cleared his throat again. “As to the matter of a witch who now seems to be a ghost, the council is also concerned. It simply isn’t done. There are spells to disperse this random energy.”

  Olivia shrieked. “You want to kill me—again? I have a second chance to know my daughter, and you want to disperse me?”

  “No one is going to disperse you.” I stared at Mr. Brannigan with cold eyes. “She may be a ghost, but if we’re correct and she was murdered by this witch even the council is afraid of, I think that makes it their fault. They failed to protect us.”

  His beady eyes wandered the shop for a moment before returning to gaze sharply into mine. “Witches don’t become ghosts unless their life plan is interrupted. We’ve learned throughout generations that this can lead to bothersome apparitions. Nipping it in the bud is best for all.”

  “We aren’t nipping Olivia.” Elsie’s voice was firm and decisive on that issue.

  “We believe the council should have informed us that there was a rogue witch who might want to kill one of us,” I argued our case. “They were negligent. I think that means the normal rules don’t apply to this situation.”

  He sipped his tea. “I’ll let you take that up with the council. I’m stating their position. Right now, we’re talking about rescuing the werewolf.”

  We agreed to that, after a brief discussion away from the table. Since the only plan we had was to break Larry out of jail, I was willing to hear what Mr. Brannigan had to offer. If we didn’t like his idea, we didn’t have to do it.

  Olivia was in tears as she gave Dorothy, me and Elsie each a wispy hug. It felt more like a cold draft wrapping itself around me. Not a particularly pleasant sensation, but I knew Olivia was trying her best to thank us.

  “What do you need us to do?” I asked him when we went back to the table.

  “The spell is a difficult one,” he said. “I’ll need whatever magic you can spare to help me with it.”

  Elsie snorted. “You mean the council couldn’t give you a little extra for the job?”

  He glared at her, but continued. “I have a special apparatus in which I can collect your magic.”

  “I don’t like the sound of that.” I glanced at Elsie, who also looked uncomfortable with the idea. “We can come with you to do whatever it is that needs to be done. We’re not putting our magic into a pot.”

  “You can trust me, ladies.” He gave us a small smile. “I won’t play you false. Of course I would return your magic when we’re finished.”

  “I haven’t been around that long,” Dorothy said, “but even I don’t like the sound of that.”

  “Fine,” he huffed. “I suppose that means you’ll have to come with me. Get your tools together, and let’s go. The sooner we get this over, the sooner I can go home.”

  “What about me?” Dorothy was a little forlorn. “I don’t have a magic tool yet.”

  He nodded to the staff. “What about that?”

  “She’s not an air witch,” I told him. “She has earth magic. She needs something else, but we haven’t had a chance to find it yet.”

  He glanced at his pocket watch. “I can give you an hour, no longer. It would be good to have her magic, beginner though she is. Without her magic tool, she’s probably useless to us. I’ll meet you at the jail.”

  Mr. Brannigan left the shop with the four of us staring at each other.

  “It took me two years to find the right piece of wood for my staff,” Olivia whispered.

  Elsie nodded. “It was about the same for me finding the right sword.”

  I could see where this conversation was headed. I couldn’t let it go there.

  “I found my cauldron in about twenty minutes at a flea market in Charleston. It doesn’t have to be a huge process.”

  Dorothy bit her lip. “I don’t even know where to start to look for a stone. I mean, not a magical stone.”

  “The stone isn’t magic, dear,” Olivia explained. “It’s a vessel for your magic—a tool you can use to focus your magic. Think of it like a diamond necklace. It won’t help if you’re not pretty and charming to begin with.”

  “That’s the worst explanation I’ve ever heard,” Elsie said. “We’d better get started if we’re going to find a stone for Dorothy.”

  “Has anyone seen Scooter?” Dorothy glanced around the shop for her cat.

  “I hope Barnabas didn’t eat him,” Elsie said.

  “I haven’t noticed him around,” Olivia added. “I hope he didn’t get out the door.”

  “We don’t need to panic on that score,” I said. “We would’ve seen a large tuxedo-colored cat running out the door. No one has been in here since we left.”

  “What about the cave?” Dorothy glanced at the carpet covering the trapdoor. “Maybe Scooter went down there.”

  Isabelle told me that she had seen Scooter in the cave. Harper agreed with her, though he made it clear he wasn’t going into the cave again.

  “He’s probably down there.” I went to uncover the trapdoor. Time was against us. If we were going to find a stone for Dorothy—and her cat—we needed to get a move on it.

  “Oh my poor baby!” Dorothy rushed to precede me down the stairs.

  Olivia went too, with Elsie coming behind me.

  “You know, this damp chill isn’t good for my arthritis,” Elsie said. “Who cam
e up with the idea to use the cave anyway?”

  “I believe it was you,” Olivia chided her. “If I remember correctly, you used it as a selling point for us to buy the shop together.”

  “That’s right.” Elsie reached the rocky bottom of the cave. “It wasn’t one of my better ideas.”

  “It’s served us well,” I reminded her. “Our magic is strong here. Now let’s find the cat.”

  The cave wasn’t very big. With all of us searching, it only took a few minutes to determine that Scooter wasn’t there.

  Elsie put her hand to her hat. “You don’t think he wandered down to the river, do you?”

  Olivia looked that way. “We haven’t been down there in years.”

  “There’s nothing to stop him,” I said. “We’re going to have to search.”

  “I can fly down there,” Olivia offered. “Wait a minute. Where’s Dorothy? Is she missing too?”

  I glanced toward the entrance from the river to the cave. I could barely make out Dorothy’s form headed in that direction. “Let’s go.”

  “The young are too fast for their own good.” Elsie sighed before following us.

  “Wait for me,” Olivia commanded. “I really should’ve been the advance scout on this mission.”

  “The scouts always die,” Elsie reminded her.

  “Nothing to worry about then, I guess.” Olivia was soon too far away for us to see.

  “If my magic were better,” Elsie huffed, “I’d make new legs.”

  “You know we don’t do that.”

  “Maybe we should start.”

  The darkest part of the entrance to the cave took about five minutes to walk through. We’d explored it all the time right after we’d first moved into the shop.

  Olivia had been worried that someone would find the entrance and come into the cave. We’d put a confusion spell at the opening near the water. It had kept anyone from accidentally wandering inside.

  “I always forget how dark it gets walking through here,” Elsie said. “We should have brought flashlights.”

  “I hope we can find Dorothy before she comes on the confusion spell. That could make things even more difficult. As it is, I don’t see how we’re going to meet Mr. Brannigan in an hour.”

  “I can take care of the dark anyway.”

  “No, Elsie. Don’t do it.” I urged her to restrain from a spell for light.

  She snapped her fingers, and I knew I was too late.

  Light flooded the tunnel leading to the river, but it was so bright that I couldn’t see anything. It was as though the sun had come down into the darkness. I stopped walking and covered my eyes with my hands.

  I knew this spell well. It wasn’t friendly to those who used it. Witches long ago had created it to defend castles against invaders. The invaders fell from their ladders, blinded, as they tried to breach the castle walls.

  “That didn’t work exactly as I’d expected,” Elsie said. “Are you still there, Molly?”

  “I am. I’m not sure if my eyes are.”

  “I’m so sorry. I was working on a little light, like a candle or a flashlight.”

  I found her hand and held it in mine. “We’ll be fine. Let’s move on.”

  Both of us had been blinded by the spell. We walked together, my hand guiding us along the wall.

  I could smell the river getting closer. I could feel its magic coursing through me as I moved toward it. The magic didn’t help my vision, but it kept me going in the right direction.

  “Hurry, girls!” Olivia came back to us. “I think Dorothy may have hit the confusion spell. I can’t believe it’s still so strong after all this time.”

  “Did you see Scooter?” I asked.

  “Yes, he’s down there. What’s wrong with you? I know you’re old, but you’re usually not so slow.”

  “Did she just call us old?” Elsie asked.

  “I think she did.” I told Olivia about the light spell. “Neither one of us can see a thing.”

  “That’s great. How can you save my daughter if you can’t see?”

  “We’re working on it,” I told her. “Won’t she talk to you?”

  “I don’t think she can hear me. Please hurry. I’m afraid she might wander out into the water.”

  When we’d reached the end of the tunnel, my vision cleared a little. Everything was in shadow, but at least I could see forms.

  “Is Dorothy here?” Elsie asked. “I still can’t see. I’m so sorry, Molly.”

  I saw a large, flat rock and guided Elsie to sit there. “I’ll look around. You wait here until you can see.”

  “She’s over this way,” Olivia said. “Hurry, Molly.”

  I followed the shadows along the edge of the river. Even after two hundred years, there were still rough outlines of the wooden docks that had once been used by the smugglers. A few posts still stuck out of the water.

  I could see Dorothy on the rocky shore. She was lying prostrate on the ground.

  Quickly, I took some of the river water into my hands. I blessed it and muttered a healing spell before I touched my face and closed my eyes with it. This close to the water, I knew the spell would work without backfiring.

  A few minutes later, I could see clearly again. I went over to Dorothy, not sure how to remove the confusion spell. It shouldn’t have worked on her—or anyone else coming from the cave. It wasn’t set to be that way.

  “Dorothy?” I leaned close to her. “Are you okay? Do you know who I am?”

  She was covered in dirt but seemed all right. “Of course. I was trying to commune with the rocks. I know we don’t have much time to look around. I figured down here was my best chance.”

  The confusion spell had obviously dissipated through the years. We’d have to tackle that problem later unless we wanted visitors in the cave.

  “Thank goodness. I was worried about you. Did you find your cat?”

  “He’s right over there. I told him how silly he was to run out this way. If he said anything in return, I didn’t hear him.”

  “What’s that in his mouth?” I went closer and peered into Scooter’s face. “There’s something green in there.”

  “I hope he didn’t hurt himself.” Dorothy got off the ground and stood beside me. She picked up her cat, and something fell into her hand. “What’s this? It feels warm.”

  I looked at it without touching it. “I don’t know. How do you feel holding it?”

  Dorothy smiled. “Different. Strange. Can this be my stone?”

  Olivia peered over her shoulder. “If it is, you are the luckiest witch in the world. That’s an old emerald cull, probably dropped by some pirate two hundred years ago.”

  “Oh.” Dorothy gazed at the dirt-encrusted stone. “That must mean I’m a real witch now.”

  CHAPTER 26

  Clear my sight of cloudy lies.

  Heal the darkness from my eyes.

  Bright of day and dark of night

  That which was wrong shall be made right.

  “Seriously?” I gazed at the stone a little closer. “It doesn’t look like an emerald to me.”

  “I guess my vision is much better from the spirit world.”

  “Let me see.” Elsie took it from Dorothy, spit on it and then wiped it off on her top. “I guess it could be an emerald, at least a cull. It doesn’t matter anyway. It’s not like it has to be something valuable. It’s how you feel about it.”

  “I feel great about it.” Dorothy took the stone back and put it in her pocket. “Okay. Let’s go save Larry.”

  She lifted Scooter and started walking into the tunnel that led to the cave. It was only a moment later that she screeched and dropped him.

  “Oh my gosh, I think Scooter just talked to me. Or thought to me. Or whatever you call it. My cat communicated with me.”
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br />   “I hope he has a better name,” Elsie said.

  “I don’t know if I’d call it better or not. He says his name is Hemlock. Isn’t that a poisonous plant?”

  “Not only poisonous,” I explained as we continued walking. “It’s an ancient medicinal plant that has been used for all kinds of good too.”

  “I’m glad to hear it. I was afraid he was an evil cat.” She whispered the “evil cat” part as though she were afraid of what he might do.

  “There is no real evil,” Elsie said. “There may be some mismanagement, but nothing is completely evil. There is good in the most deadly thing.”

  “Well said.” Olivia applauded. “I’m so glad my daughter will have the three of us around to teach her.”

  “That’s right. What are we going to do about the council wanting to get rid of Olivia’s ghost?” Elsie asked me.

  “We won’t let them, right?” Dorothy asked.

  It was hard to explain that we had no power to combat the council. They were very strong and could do what they liked.

  “We’ll do the best we can to protect her,” I replied. “She may have to live in the cave, where our magic is the strongest.”

  “Live in the cave?” Olivia’s tone was one of disbelief. “I hardly made it through the night in the shop. I can’t imagine living—or I guess this would be ghosting—in the cave.”

  “Technically, I think that would be haunting, Mother,” Dorothy corrected her.

  “There has to be some quality and dignity to death,” Olivia continued.

  We reached the cave and carefully climbed the stairs to the shop. Olivia was still complaining about living in the cave, and Elsie was offering to keep a large fire burning for her there at all times.

  I noticed the shop door was open again and took a quick survey of the interior. “I don’t think we’re alone.”

  Elsie kicked the trapdoor into place and slid the rug over it. “I don’t see anyone else.”

  “I feel someone here too,” Olivia added. “Why can’t we see who it is?”

  “Because all of you together have the magic of a flea.”