Kade nodded as if he understood. “Good plan.”
“I thought so.” Landon licked his lips as he shuffled closer to Stephanie, waving his hand in front of her eyes as she continued smiling like a deranged doll. “I don’t think they’re in there.”
“They’re in there,” I countered, rubbing my forehead as I tried to calm the nerves that were threatening to take over. “They’re trapped. It’s like ... being in a bubble. They can see what’s going on, hear it, but they can’t escape from the bubble to participate.”
“How much danger are they in?” Bay asked.
I shrugged, unsure how to answer. “I don’t have a clue. I’m not sure what kind of magic is being used, or what kind of power is being filtered through them. It’s all very odd.”
Bay absently swatted Landon’s hand when he moved to poke Stephanie’s shoulder. “Don’t,” she ordered, her tone telling me she wasn’t in the mood for nonsense. “You could get hurt if you touch her.”
“She might get hurt if we don’t find a way to restrain her,” Landon pointed out.
“And if there’s a curse on her that forces you to attack me if you touch her?” Bay challenged, refusing to back down.
Landon sheepishly pulled back, allowing me to focus on Kade. He looked as if he was about to touch Rosie’s shoulder in the same manner until Bay asked the question. The look he shot me was full of worry.
“It’s okay,” I reassured him. “We’ll figure it out.”
He didn’t look convinced. “We should probably do it soon. I don’t like this.”
He wasn’t the only one. “Where do you think Shirley and Adele are?” I asked.
Bay inclined her chin toward the sand pit on the other side of the water. “They’re in those trees.”
I was impressed with her instincts. “How do you know that? Can you sense them?” If so, she was stronger than me on the psychic front. The realization that she might be more powerful than me slowly sank in. “Wait ... can you sense them?”
She shook her head. “I have inside information.”
“What inside information?”
As if on cue, an elderly female ghost popped into view on the other side of Bay. Even though she didn’t need oxygen to breathe, she looked out of breath.
“They’re definitely over there,” she said, bobbing her head. “They’re watching from the tree line ... and they seem amused.”
I figured as much,” Bay said grimly, shaking her head.
“Who is that?” I asked, confused.
“Who are you talking about?” Kade asked, glancing around.
“The ghost.” I gestured toward Bay, forcing Kade to turn his head.
He stared for a long time — it almost felt too long — and then he let loose a small gasp. “Holy ... !”
“Do you see her?” I was surprised. He was moving fast when it came to acceptance of his new reality. I was proud ... and a little awed.
“I see her!” Kade gasped. “I don’t understand.”
“Bay is a necromancer.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means we deal with a lot of ghosts,” Landon interjected, his eyes flashing with impatience. “We need to focus on what’s important right now. Viola is not important.”
“I heard that,” the ghost barked, causing Landon to jolt.
“You see and hear her, too?” I asked, surprised. “I didn’t realize you were sensitive.”
“I’m not.” Landon briefly pressed his eyes shut to collect himself. “Bay’s powers are growing of late. It used to be that she could see and talk to ghosts and I simply believed she was gifted. Now she can make me see them ... and hear them ... and occasionally smell them. It’s an adjustment.”
Bay’s smile was wan. “Sorry. I’m keyed up.”
“Don’t worry about it.” Landon squeezed her hand. “Just worry about Adele and Shirley. They’ve obviously picked what they think is a safe spot on the other side of the creek. We need to get beyond that barrier.”
“He has a gift for stating the obvious, doesn’t he?” Viola drawled, seemingly amused. “It’s a good thing you’re handsome, dude, because otherwise you’d have trouble attracting the ladies.”
Landon scowled. “And I’m done talking to you.”
“Focus on me, Viola,” Bay ordered, snapping her fingers to get the ghost’s attention. “What’s going on over there?”
Viola kept her eyes on Landon for a long beat before shifting her attention to Bay. “They’re talking, having a good time. They think they’ve already won, but I don’t know what prize they’re talking about. They seem excited that Tillie is here.”
I snapped my eyes to Tillie out of reflex, but she was focused on the girls, her expression hard to read.
“They came to The Overlook because they heard Aunt Tillie was the most powerful witch in the Midwest,” Bay mused, thoughtful. “They always wanted her. They only paid attention to you guys after the fact because ... well, I guess because they sensed something.”
“Which means they’re real witches,” I pointed out. “Shouldn’t you have sensed that?”
Bay made a face. “Shouldn’t you have sensed that?”
She had a point ... which I decided to ignore. “How are we going to get them out in the open?” I asked, my eyes drifting back to the water. “If you’re right and they set up the girls as zombie slaves of sorts, that means we can’t touch them until this is over. To finish it, we need to find them.”
“You said the water was shallow,” Luke interjected. “Can’t we just cross and find them?”
“Look around,” Landon prodded, bobbing his chin. “If we try to cross the water, we’re sitting ducks. We’ll be out in the open.”
“We’re out in the open here,” Max pointed out. “We’re just as susceptible to attack now as we would be trying to cross.”
“Except we would be closer if we did that,” I supplied. “Maybe they have bad aim because they’re old or something.”
“Oh, that’s true.” Luke turned keen. “I hear old people can’t see worth a darn.” He looked to Tillie for confirmation. “Do you think they’re blind?”
Tillie’s mouth dropped open. “Why are you asking me?” She was incensed. “I’m not old. I’m in my prime.”
“Yeah, you are.” Nellie shot her a flirty thumbs-up.
“Geez,” I muttered under my breath. I couldn’t take much more of this. “We need to get them out of the trees. Do you know exactly where they are, Bay?”
Bay looked to Viola for an answer. The older ghost pointed toward a specific stand of trees.
“There,” Viola replied. “They want to be close enough to hear you, but apparently their hearing isn’t very good. I understand that. Before I died, I couldn’t hear anything ... and that includes my neighbors listening to that ridiculous rap music people find so entertaining these days. It’s not music. It’s just noise.”
“I agree,” Tillie said, narrowing her eyes. “We need to get them out of those trees.”
“I’m open to suggestions,” Bay said. “How do you think we should do it?”
“Well ... .” The response fell silent when Nellie narrowed his eyes and cocked his ax.
I realized what he was going to do a second before he let it loose, but it was too late. The ax flew across the water (with a little assist from Tillie, I’m sure) and landed in the trees. The witches inside were so startled they spilled from their hiding place and splashed into the water — to relative safety — across from us.
“What was that?” Landon barked, his temper flaring. “Did someone just throw an ax?”
“That would be Nellie,” Luke said. “He has impulse control issues. He’s a premature ejaculator when it comes to throwing axes, if you will.”
“I’m going to kick the crap out of you later, Luke,” Nellie warned. “Besides, I didn’t do all that myself.”
“No,” I agreed, my lips quirking. “Tillie helped.”
“I like making things f
ly faster,” Tillie admitted, her grin mischievous. “Now, let’s focus on the troublesome witches, shall we? We’ll retrieve your ax later, Nellie.”
“We’d better,” Nellie muttered. “I can’t live without her.”
“Your ax is a she?” Bay asked.
Nellie shrugged. “Maybe. Unless … if you think it’s sexist, then it’s not. Now isn’t the time for that anyway.”
“Definitely not,” I agreed, folding my arms over my chest as I met Shirley’s dark glare. “Hello, ladies. How are you doing today?”
Because the water moved very slowly, my voice carried relatively well over the space.
“I see you found us,” Adele noted.
“You fell right into our trap,” Shirley cackled.
“Or we simply want to stop this from continuing,” Max countered. “What is it you expect to get out of this little showdown?”
“We have a plan,” Adele replied simply. “We’re going to live forever.”
“Oh, well, good,” Luke drawled. “It’s an original reason for doing evil. Oh, wait, it’s not.”
“Come on.” Nellie elbowed him. “I love ‘I’m going to live forever’ mania. It’s one of my favorites.”
“I prefer ‘I’m going to eat my weight in bacon’ mania,” Landon said dryly. “That’s my favorite.” He didn’t look nearly as amused by the turn of events as the rest of us. In fact, he looked downright worried. “Ladies, it would be best for all concerned if you crossed the creek now and turned yourselves in.”
“On what charges?” Adele called out.
“Yeah, on what charges?” Shirley echoed. “We haven’t done anything ... except hang out at the creek.”
“What about the girls?” Bay challenged, gesturing toward Rosie and Stephanie. “You possessed them.”
“Have fun proving that,” Adele challenged.
“What about the murders?” I prodded. “Darren and Billy are dead because of you.”
“You can’t prove that either,” Shirley said. “We didn’t kill them. Lizzy and Kaley did.”
Something occurred to me. “No. Lizzy and Kaley might’ve killed Billy — that’s how they crossed the dreamcatcher without it alerting us to a malignant presence — but you killed Darren. Lizzy and Kaley weren’t in town at the time.”
Adele narrowed her eyes, shrewd. “How do you know that?”
“Because I saw the bus they came in on,” I replied simply. “They were collecting luggage that day. You weren’t. You seemed to be having a good time, which is why I focused on you, but you didn’t have luggage. That means you were here before then.”
“They checked in at The Overlook early that day,” Bay offered. “I didn’t think anything about it at that time because I was focusing on other stuff — like watching you guys — but they were early. They checked in before the bus even arrived. I never considered why they did.”
“That doesn’t prove anything,” Shirley countered, her expression momentarily shifting. I thought I saw a hint of fear. “You don’t have proof that we did anything.”
“I don’t think that’s important,” I admitted. “We didn’t come here to arrest you. We came to stop you.”
“From what?” Adele was indignant. “People have a right to protect themselves. That’s all we’re doing.”
“How do you figure that?” Bay asked.
“We’re old ... and Shirley is dying.” Adele extended a gnarled finger in her best friend’s direction. “We’ve been best friends since we were five years old. That’s seventy-five years of friendship. There’s only one way to save her.”
I thought about the bodies, the ritual way they were displayed. “You gathered blood,” I said, puzzling things out as I went. “Whatever you have planned, you needed the blood.”
“We did,” Adele agreed, matter-of-fact. “We need a lot of blood for the spell we’re going to cast. It can’t just be regular blood. We need witch blood, too. That’s where you come in.” Her smile was so pleasant it was almost deranged as she focused on Tillie. “I’m sorry about this, but there really is no other way. We need your blood.”
“And because we’re casting the spell to save me and I can’t go on without Adele, we’re going to need your blood, too,” Shirley said, her eyes narrowing as she focused on Bay.
Oh, well, crap. I should’ve seen that coming. “Wait!” I threw up my hands the moment Shirley started muttering. I couldn’t tell what Tillie was about to do, but the look on her face told me she was serious. “Do you really want a war here?” I demanded. “Do you really want to kill to get your way?”
“It’s not murder.” Adele was sincere. “We’ve talked about this. We have a right to save ourselves, better our lives.”
“You don’t have the right to take the lives of others to do it,” I argued.
“You believe that. We don’t. We don’t have a choice. We’re saving our lives.”
“You won’t win,” Bay said, her tone plaintive. “You can’t win. We outnumber you.”
“And we’re stronger than you,” Max added. “This is not a war you can claim victory on.”
Adele’s eyes narrowed as she regarded him. “What would you have us do? We’re out of options.”
“No, there’s one option left,” Max said. “You could die with dignity, Shirley. You could spend the time you have left enjoying it with your friend. And you, Adele, could let her. You could let go of this crazy notion that death is an ending rather than simply a different course.”
Adele shook her head, stubbornly crossing her arms over her chest. “No. We need to stay together. We can’t be apart.”
“Does that mean you’re willing to die together?” I asked, legitimately curious. “That’s what’s going to happen here. You’re going to die ... and there won’t be a thing we can do to stop it once it starts.”
“If we’re supposed to die here, then at least we’ll go together.” Adele was resigned. “I understand you’re going to fight. You don’t want to die either. You should know we’re very powerful witches.”
“Not really,” Tillie said, taking me by surprise with her calm demeanor. I thought for sure she would be picking a fight rather than reacting with something that reminded me of ... well, sympathy. She actually looked sympathetic.
“What are you doing?” I asked when she raised her hand.
Instead of answering, she ignored me. “There is one other option, and you’re not powerful enough to stop me.” She briefly slid her eyes to Bay and nodded, a silent message passing between them.
“Are you sure?” Bay asked.
Tillie nodded. “It’s the easiest way.”
“Okay.” Bay blew out a sigh as she closed her eyes. “Darren. Billy. Come to me.”
I was fascinated as she whispered.
“Come to me now,” Bay ordered, her voice low and demanding. In an instant, the ghosts of Darren and Billy materialized. “Distract them,” she instructed. “Keep them focused on you.”
The ghosts did as she asked without hesitation, quickly flying across the water. Their forms grew stronger as they skimmed the creek causing Nellie to gasp.
“What the ... ?”
Whatever he was about to say died on his lips when Tillie started chanting.
“I bind you, Adele, with all that I am and know. You cannot do harm to others, or even yourself. Your magic is done, moot and defunct. I bind you to a mortal life. May the Goddess have mercy on your soul.”
She repeated the charm three times before moving on to Shirley and repeating it, adding a bit about passing with peace for the ailing woman. It showed she had a heart, which somehow softened her in my view.
When I’d dragged my eyes back to the scene across the way, both women were on the ground, sobbing as the ghosts swirled around them. They tried casting spells, but the magic never materialized. They looked exhausted. They clearly weren’t the enemies we’d envisioned.
“Well, that was a bit anticlimactic,” Luke complained, wrinkling his nose. “I didn�
�t even get to make an inappropriate comment while running from danger.”
“Yes, that’s the true tragedy of the day,” Kade drawled, shaking his head.
I ignored them as I stepped closer to Rosie. Her eyes were clearing, and she looked confused and frightened.
“What am I doing here?” She shrank away when I tried to touch her shoulder. “Who are you?”
She didn’t remember anything. Er, well, at least right now. Perhaps that was a good thing.
“It’s going to be okay.” I meant it. “We’ll get you back to town and ... well ... it’s going to be okay.”
I looked to Bay, who was doing the same with Stephanie. She’d called back the ghosts, who were circling her, but she appeared lost in thought. Apparently this fight hadn’t gone the way any of us expected.
“It’s for the better,” Max said in a low voice, as if reading my mind. “Not every battle needs to be a full-on war.”
He was right, but still I couldn’t help feeling let down. “I guess things went as well as could be expected.”
“Yes, and now we only need deal with the cleanup.”
“Things could’ve been worse,” I said finally.
“Most definitely. Let’s finish it.”
“That sounds like a plan.”
30
Thirty
For groups used to big fights, the relatively easy takedown of two elderly witches was a bit of a letdown. When you add to that the fact Adele and Shirley were sympathetic figures — despite being murderers, I mean — the whole thing turned into something of a downer.
Still, we couldn’t dwell on that.
We left the Winchesters to clean up the mess, returning to the fairgrounds and our regular jobs for the rest of the day. Things went as normally as could be expected, the only distraction occurring when Landon parked in front of the police station and led the two women into the building.
They looked to be bitterly complaining to one another, but otherwise they were unharmed. It was the best possible outcome.
Once we closed down for the night, everyone was happy for a quiet dinner. We were well into preparations — simple burgers and pasta salad to make matters easier — when Bay, Tillie and Landon arrived.
Freaky Witches (A Mystic Caravan Mystery Book 7) Page 29
