by Amy Boyles
“What’s it called?”
“Why does it matter?” she said, exasperated.
“In case anyone mentions it, I want to know what it is.”
“Fine.” She released a heavy sigh. “It’s called Animal Transformation Spell.”
“Pretty vague.”
“You asked,” she snapped. Mama pushed aside a lock of hair that had fallen into her eyes. “The things you need for this spell are mandrake root, blood and milk.”
“Oh wow. Well, it looks like that should be easy to track down,” I said sarcastically. “I barely know what a mandrake looks like, every house will have milk and we’re all full of blood. It’s not like someone’s going to walk around carrying a vial of the stuff.”
My mother shot me a dark look. I shrank back. “That’s what’s required. It also says anyone who’s under the influence of the spell may appear to have a cold.”
I quirked a skeptical brow at her.
“That’s what it says,” Mama said snidely.
“When they’re a Bigfoot they’ll have a cold? That doesn’t make sense.”
Mama sighed, obviously frustrated with my question. “No. Some who are cursed can transform back to human, but not all.”
“What does that depend on?” I asked.
“The depth of the curse.”
I frowned. “So Langdon had turned back to human but if he had been a Bigfoot does that mean he wasn’t as deeply cursed?”
She shrugged. “That or the curse was revoked.”
I shook my head. “This is a wild-goose chase.”
She shot me another harsh look.
“Okay. Okay. I’ll hand out my questionnaires in Fire Town tomorrow. I’ll see if anyone has any mandrake. I’ll ask who keeps gigantic vials of blood in their basements.”
My mother closed the tome. “I don’t need your sarcasm. Rose and I will be working, too.”
“We will?” Rose said.
“Yes, we need to see if we can discover a generic cure spell, though I have the feeling that unless we know who is behind it, we won’t get very far.”
She tapped her teeth. “You’ll need to work fast, Charming.”
“I know. I’ve got to save Jimmy. That’s what I’ve been trying to do.”
My mother shook her head. “I’m afraid you don’t understand. The transformation spell, if allowed to go on for too long, can cause irreparable damage to the person afflicted by it.”
I knotted the bottom of my shirt. I had the feeling I wasn’t going to like where this was headed. “What sort of damage?”
My mother’s piercing aqua eyes landed on me, causing a shiver to ripple down my spine. “The spell will lead to death.”
NINETEEN
“Extra! Extra! Come get your matchmaking questionnaires! Find your soul mate today! Or tomorrow! Soon! Find your soul mate soon!”
I stood in the middle of Fire Town like a newsie shouting for folks to come and take my questionnaire so I could help them find true love.
As stupid as this was, it actually accomplished two tasks. The first was that it proved to me that every fire witch with the exception of maybe one or two was supposed to pair up with a wizard of opposite power.
The other thing it did was let me meet pretty much every inhabitant in town.
“Charming!”
The voice came from behind me. I turned around, a big fat smile on my face—because I had to look like I was having the time of my life while tracking down whoever had cursed Jimmy. I was met with the matching smile of Mayor Winnifred Dixon. Her assistant, Emily, followed behind her.
“Mayor Dixon, have you thought about what I said about the law?”
She dismissed my question with a wave. “Proof, Charming. I need proof.”
“I’m working on it.”
“Have you heard anything from your man Jimmy?”
I glanced around to make sure no one could hear me. “Actually, I have.”
The mayor’s eyes widened with interest. She pressed her meaty fingers together. “What’s that?”
I leaned in. “Just between us, I saw Jimmy last night. He’s been transformed into a Bigfoot.”
The mayor sucked air. Emily’s eyes popped to saucers. “No!” The mayor gasped. “We haven’t had a Bigfoot sighting in years.”
“It’s true. He attacked my family. I’m afraid Jimmy may be dangerous, but please, keep this between us. We’re trying to figure out a way to help him and find the witch who did this. You wouldn’t know anyone who’s into that sort of thing, would you?”
The mayor sounded insulted that I’d even asked her. “No, of course not. Emily?”
Emily shoved her glasses up her nose. “No, no one I know would dabble in any sort of magic like that. It’s horrible.”
“Whoever it is,” I added, “would need mandrake. Do you know where they might have procured mandrake?”
Mayor Dixon rubbed her chin. “Perhaps behind the falls.”
“I’m sorry?”
“You drove through the falls to enter Witch's Forge. There’s a pull off right before you leave and a cavern behind the falls. It’s been rumored mandrake grows there.”
“Good to know.”
Mayor Dixon squeezed my arm. “Charming, be careful. I don’t like the idea of a Bigfoot on the loose.”
I shivered. “Me neither.”
They left and I handed out a few more questionnaires, but I was more interested in looking around at the mandrake roots under the falls to see if the witch who was controlling Jimmy would go out there, or if she had left any clues as to who she was.
I set out alone later that afternoon. I did take Broom with me, but I managed to slip out of the house without my mother or Rose figuring out what I was doing. They had work to do, and besides, I didn’t want them worrying about me.
I found the pull off easily enough. I didn’t want to park at it because my car could be spotted by someone, so I drove it down the road and then hid it behind a sign thanking folks for visiting Witch's Forge.
The cave was chilly. Very chilly. Like a good fifteen degrees cooler than outside. Probably had to do with the water rushing over the falls and plunging into some sort of magical vortex, but I wasn’t complaining.
The walls were smooth and brown. The floor was dirt, and sprouting up were little green plants that looked like the tops of turnips.
Though I was tempted to pull one out, I was also afraid the mandrake would scream, so I left them alone. I’d just peered around the back of the cave when I heard someone pulling up outside.
I darted into a dark nook and waited. It was still daylight, so I could see just fine.
A witch entered the cave, her head down. She beelined straight for a root and sang a song. Then she plucked it from the dirt.
The thing looked human. It really did. The root had arms and legs and even a head with a knotted root face that reminded me of an old man’s features.
The witch wrapped the root in a towel and left. I quickly followed, getting a good look at the vehicle—a dark blue Honda sedan.
As soon as the car headed toward town, I sprinted to my car, started her up and followed. I caught up fast but kept my distance.
The car turned down the path to Earth Town. I frowned. That didn’t make any sense. Shouldn’t we have been going to Fire Town?
I followed until the car stopped in front of a house that I recognized. I watched as the witch, her back still to me, got out of the car and entered the home.
I nearly catapulted from my vehicle before I sprinted across the grass. The windows were open, and I watched as the woman headed to a back room. She pulled something out from under the bed—a dish—and added the mandrake to it.
She finished her work and shoved the dish back under the bed. When she glanced up, our eyes met. My breath caught in the back of my throat, tickling a sensitive place and causing me to cough.
“Belinda,” I croaked.
Her eyelids flared. “Charming!”
After wh
at felt like a lifetime of seconds I stopped hacking. My stomach hurt from coughing, and my throat was raw. I swallowed to ease the pain, but it didn’t do much good.
Belinda reached out the window. “You didn’t see me here.”
“I did see you. You’re putting a spell on someone. It’s obvious.”
“No!” Her lower lip trembled, and tears spilled down her cheeks. “You don’t understand. I’m not hurting anyone. Cap asked me to do this.”
I paused. Something rang true in her words. “What?”
She made a stop gesture with her hands. “Wait just a minute. I’ll be right out.”
We found a park bench to sit on in the residential section of Earth Town. A brisk breeze lifted the hair off the back of my neck, and I smiled at how delicious it felt.
“Why were you in Cap’s house?”
Belinda nibbled her bottom lip. “He’s been using the mandrake on a spell that stops him from caring about me.”
I cringed but already knew it was true. “That’s horrible—to force himself to stop caring.”
She shook her head. Dark curls spiraled around her face. “No it isn’t. It makes life so much easier if we don’t care about each other, and the mandrake here is still potent, unaffected by the town, so the spell works.”
“But why wouldn’t you want to be togeth—oh, wait. The town’s law that makes the two of you being together illegal. That’s why.”
She nodded. Tears dripped off her chin and splashed onto her lap. “We couldn’t be together, so he started using the mandrake. But the police found the last mandrake and confiscated it. It’s what they arrested him for. I was replacing it so that he wouldn’t have to suffer while he’s at the jail.”
I squeezed her hand and did my best to smile kindly. “I will make sure you and Cap can be together, and I will help turn this town around. I promise you that.”
Wow. Could I promise that? Seemed like I was trying to fill a tall order, but this town needed me. This town needed Southern Belles and Spells Matchmakers.
It needed me more than it knew.
“Do you know of anyone else who uses mandrake?”
Belinda swiped a tissue under her sniffling nose. “The only other person I know is Sweet Rush.”
I clicked my tongue in interest. “The twin who runs the figurine store in Fire Town?”
Belinda nodded. “Sweet has always been into strange things. She and her brother once promised that the town would one day thank them for saving it. It was winter and we were in the middle of a blizzard. They used their magic to try to help the town, but only ended up making the blizzard worse and calling down mosquitoes who could survive the cold.”
“That’s what happens when you use magic in a town that’s known for its power being broken,” I commented.
“Yeah,” she said. “There may be other witches who use the mandrakes, but Sweet’s the only person I know who’s actually used one in a spell.”
And who apparently wanted some sort of town appreciation. Wouldn’t she get town appreciation if she, say, created a monster and then saved the town from it?
Sounded like a plausible theory, one I should probably tell the police.
I thanked Belinda and left, heading back. I decided to stop at the jail first, to see if Thorne was in.
I arrived as the sun was setting. I headed straight inside the bar and was confronted with the gang from the first night.
I rolled my eyes. “It’s not even dark yet. Don’t y’all have someplace better to be? At least until it’s completely pitch outside?”
Peek, the Carhart-wearing vampire, smirked. “You got a wish to be in jail, little miss?”
I fisted my hand to my hip and shot the vampire the meanest glare I could think of. “I’m here to see your boss. Where’s Thorne?”
“Out.” Peek’s gaze flickered to my throat. “Maybe we can help. You got a problem that the police can fix?”
I squinted at him, trying to figure out if he meant that honestly or if Peek was being sarcastic.
“Are you joking?”
He shook his head. “No. You’re in the police station. We do help people.”
“And here I thought all y’all did was intimidate everyone who walked in and stared at their necks as if you were deciding whether or not they were a tasty treat.”
“We do that, too.”
I bristled. “No thanks. I don’t need your help. I’ll wait for Thorne outside.”
I left the Flying Hickory Stick and stood outside. I inhaled deeply, drinking in the air. All those vampires made my heart race, set my pulse in a flutter. I hadn’t let my body feel fear in a long time.
Fear was not a place I lived in. My life’s work was to make people happy, to bring them together. It wasn’t to be afraid of anything.
“What are you doing out here?”
“Ah!”
I flinched, annoyed with myself for being frightened. I glanced over. Thorne’s outline loomed in the darkness. For the first time I noticed there weren’t a lot of streetlamps by the tavern.
“What are you doing out here?” he repeated.
“I’m looking for you.”
His voice was harsh, cold. The sound of it was like a steel rod being driven into my spine. “Trying to make more of a mess than you already have of my investigation?”
“What are you talking about?”
He approached. His silvery eyes flashed with anger, but the deep scowl on his face made Thorne look more handsome.
Wait. Scratch that. This vampire was not handsome. He was lethal, dangerous.
Thorne didn’t stop until he stood six inches from my chest. Then he reached behind me.
The distinct smell of him wafted up my nose. I would’ve thought vampires would smell of death and dirt, but Thorne proved that theory wrong.
Something ripped behind me. I jumped.
Of course the vampire didn’t flinch. He thrust something under my nose. I shrank back, a stupid gut response to his movements.
The last thing I wanted was for this vampire to think I was afraid of him.
I was not.
Okay, maybe I was a little.
I peered at the sheet. “What is that?”
“What does it look like?” he snapped.
“A wanted poster.”
“It is. Look closer.”
Thorne held the paper so I could grab it. I stared at the picture. A sketch of a typical Bigfoot was on it, and the word WANTED was typed above the sketch.
Oh no. I realized what had happened. Word had gotten out about me and my family seeing Jimmy, and someone had made these and posted them.
I groaned. “I’m sorry. I guess this is my fault.”
Thorne nodded. “At least you have the sense to admit this is your fault.”
His words needled me to the core. “Look, I said I’m sorry. There’s no need to insult my intelligence.”
Anger flared in his eyes. “You just ruined my entire investigation.”
“An investigation where you’ve got the wrong person in jail—on purpose,” I shot back.
Thorne seemed to grow angrier, which made him appear even larger. “You and your family need to stay out of my way.”
“Me and my family are the only ones figuring out what’s going on in Witch's Forge.”
“You need to stop!”
I poked his chest. “You need to do a better job’ policing.”
A crash that sounded like a trash can falling over jarred us from our argument.
Thorne paused.
“Jimmy,” I said. “I bet that’s him.”
Thorne shot me a look full of warning. “Stay here.”
I smirked. “The heck I am. That’s my friend out there. If you’re going, I’m going with you—”
But Thorne was already gone, running in a flash down the street.
I ground my teeth and kicked up my heels in a run. I’d be darned if I was going to let that vampire catch my friend without me there.
I set
off right behind him to catch Jimmy, the Bigfoot.
TWENTY
Whoever said keeping up with a vampire was easy was a liar. Actually I’m pretty sure no one ever said that—in all of history. Thorne was a blur, disappearing into the night within seconds.
Luckily I had exceptional hearing, if I did say so myself. I quickly tracked down the sound and found Thorne in an alley.
“Where is he?”
The vampire whirled on me. “What are you doing? I told you to stay back.”
I thrust out my hip to show how sassy I could be. He glared at me as if he didn’t care. “We’re talking about my friend. I don’t want you to get your vampire claws on Jimmy and hurt him.”
He scoffed. “Please. Your friend probably killed Langdon.”
“What?” I screeched. Something hissed behind me. I turned around right as an aluminum trash can, that for some reason was sitting atop a dumpster, crashed down, hitting me hard across the knuckles of my right hand.
“Ow!”
Thorne rushed to my side. He took a protective stance as a cat sprinted down from the dumpster and scampered away.
I shook out my hand, which only made the pain worse. “Darn cat! And why was that trash can on top of a dumpster? Who would do that? Why would they do that? Ow, it really hurts.”
Thorne frowned. “Let me see it.”
I cradled my hand. “No. It might be bleeding. It could put you into a frenzy.”
“It’s not bleeding,” he argued.
“How do you know?”
“Because I’m like a shark,” he said pointedly. “I can smell blood up to a mile away.”
“Oh,” I said quietly.
“Let me see it.”
I studied him, unsure of his motives. “Are you going to make it worse?”
“Why would I do that?”
“Because you don’t like me.”
“I don’t want you harmed. You could sue the police department.”
I rolled my eyes and showed him my hand.
“The knuckles are puffy. Let’s get you some ice.”
“I don’t need ice from you.”
“Would you can it?” he said. “I’m trying to help and all you’re doing is spitting in my face. Now, are you right-handed?”
