“What do you mean?” She asked, puzzled.
“Did he hold his fishing pole? Or carry a tackle box or anything?”
“I’m sure he did,” Angie said. “He always let’s Chris hold the pole though now that Chris is old enough. I remember Frank being pretty tired that day though. He nodded off for a bit.”
My throat went dry. “I—I’ve got to go,” I stammered.
Angie’s brow furrowed. “Where?”
“I just thought of something.” I trudged over to the garage, poking my head in. “Can I borrow your keys?”
Concern washed over the hard angles of Blake’s face. “Where are you going?” He got up from this chair, pulling his eyes away from Liam. “Is everything ok?”
“I’ll tell you later. I just have to check on something. You stay with Liam.”
Reluctantly, he handed me his keys, and covered my hand with his. “I also wanted to tell you that last night meant a lot to me,” he said quietly.
“Last night,” I repeated. I blinked as more memories tumbled over the waterfall of my consciousness. I remembered the way it felt when I touched my astral hand to his, the things I experienced as I glimpsed into Blake’s heart. I smiled. “You wanted to kiss me.”
“Yes.” He smiled, and stepped closer. “And you wanted me to.”
“I know.” I touched his shoulder. “But right now, I have to go. It’s important.” I turned on my heel, before he could stop me.
Benjamin met me outside the garage and we hurried to Blake’s truck.
Chapter 21
I pulled in right in front of the lodge. Gray clouds hung in the sky, but at least it wasn’t raining anymore. All this lights appeared to be off in the lodge. I remembered Frank mentioning that the lodge would be closed. It was probably empty except for Frank and Chris. “I’m glad you’re here, Benjamin.”
“You scared?” He gazed out passenger side window, fogging up the glass as he panted.
“Yes, we’re about to confront a killer who knows a lot about magic.”
“I’d take Frank Honeycutt over the Sea of Lost Souls any day.”
I drummed my fingers on the steering wheel. “How do you think we should do this? Our first priority is getting the kid out of there.”
“Since when did you and I become a ‘we’?” he said, with amused cock of his head, his little black ear wiggling.
I swung open the driver side door. “Ok, you just ruined the moment. Get out of the truck.”
Benjamin padded along the front seat of the truck and jumped out after me. I slammed the door. The sound echoed in through the valley before fading into an oppressive quiet.
Benjamin trotted in front of me, swinging his stubby Rottweiler table right and left. His ears were lifted in high alert. “Why didn’t you want Blake here?” he asked.
As we approached the lodge door, I noticed it was unlocked and drifting back and forth a few inches as the chilly mountain breeze teased it. A quiet creak of the hinge accompanied the movement.
“Because I don’t want him to get hurt. He’s not a witch.”
“Neither were you a few days ago,” Benjamin said. “People have way of rising to the occasion.”
“Ready?” I whispered.
Without answering, Benjamin lifted his paw and pushed the door open.
We shuffled quietly through the dark upstairs of the ski lodge toward the office. A sliver of yellow light slipped out from the crack under the office door.
“Frank? You in here?” I pushed to door open.
Frank sat in the swivel chair, hunched over a pile of papers. He chewed the end of a pen.
When he heard my voice, he glanced up. “Hey there.”
Chris sat on the floor. His eye lit up when he saw Benjamin. The little boy clapped his hands. “Bennie!”
Benjamin trotted into the room, and greeted Chris with lots of wet dog kisses.
Chris giggled and playful rubbed his face into Benjamin’s shiny black coat.
“You look tiered,” Frank said. “Rough night?”
“You know, the storm kept me up,” I said, breezily. “Angie told me pick up Chris. She’s all finished at the station.”
His bushy gray eyebrows rose. “Oh, that didn’t take long. Did she mention what she had going on at the station this morning?”
“No.” I waved to Chris. “Come on, Chris. We’re going to go see Mommy.
“Mommy!” Chris yelled jovially.
“That’s right.” I did my best to keep my voice even. “You and Benjamin can go wait by the truck. I’ll be right out.”
Chris curled his little fingers around Benjamin’s collar and the boy skipped out the door. Benjamin and I shared a look as he passed.
“Be careful,” he warned.
Frank stood up abruptly, the dusty wheels of the chair scraping against the creaking wood floor. Swiftly shut the door, and smiled. “I’m glad you’re here.” Then he reached into his pocket and pulled out a disgusting wad of black fur.
“What are you doing?” I recoiled from him.
Frank walked around behind me, sparking the black fur in a circle around me. He muttered something under his breath. At first, I thought he was humming.
I listened closely.
“These eyes that see into death’s door,
“No!” Pressed my hands over my ears and closed my eyes. “Stop.”
But he didn’t stop, he got louder. “I send thee passage, breathe no more.”
I keeled over, the spell hitting me like a punch in the stomach. My head hit the floor with a sickening crack.
“I saw you last night.” He walked over to me and used his muddy boot to flip me over one my back. “I had hoped you had some sense, but you’re just like the rest of them.”
I gasped, fighting to stay conscious.
“But it turns out, you’re just a little witch, like your aunt, like your mother, and like all the other magical meddlers on this mountain. You all disgust me.”
“You killed Martha,” I wheezed. “You tried to kill Liam.”
He pressed his foot into my chest. “You must think you’re pretty smart to have figured it out.”
The door burst open and Benjamin stood there, bearing his teeth, drool flying as he barked.
“Benjamin!” I reached my arm out and Benjamin charged forward. Then he stopped suddenly, inching backward, giving his head a shake.
He tried again, lunging for Frank, but it was like he was bumping into an invisible wall.
“Why can’t he get in? Why can’t I talk to him?”
Frank ground his foot into my chest, pure hated boiling in his eyes. “That’s another little trick I picked up from the infamous Wilder Grimoire. Did you know the fur coat of a familiar is very powerful. It can separate a witch from her familiar. It was simple enough to collect. I just emptied out the vacuum cleaner after Ida used it to clean your home. Clever, huh? I used the same trick on your aunt. All I had to do was sprinkle a circle of fur on the ground while your aunt was alone in the woods. That’s why the dog couldn’t save your aunt, and the same thing is going to happen to you.”
Benjamin leapt a third time and I heard a firm knock as his head collided with the invisible wall.
Frank went to his desk and perched on the edge. “Do you know why your mother, Elena Wilder left this place? Why she gave up all of her family magic and never looked back? It’s because she watched her parents die at the hands of a monster. That was the day I decided I wanted to purge this place of magic altogether—kill everyone who threatened the safety of the people who called this mountain home and that’s exactly what I’m going to do. Angie’s soft. Shed refused to be proactive, only doing something about these creatures after they’ve already harmed someone. Martha was the same way.” Frank shook his head.
“That was you last night at Liam’s place?”
“Guilty.”
“You astral projected and cut my thread. You could have killed me.”
“That was kind of the point.”
Frank said, folding his arms. “Astral projecting is a very valuable skill to learn if you plan on doing anything illegal. It makes having an alibi a whole lot easier—especially when it’s backed up by the sheriff. Would you you like a demonstration?”
I struggled to my feet and crawled to the door. Benjamin stood there barking, frantic.
Then Frank stepped in front of Benjamin, appearing out of thin air. He appeared just as solid as the other Frank. He had the same salt and pepper hair and bushy eyebrows. He had the same boots and jeans on. But I realized as he knelt down in front of me and got right in my face that I couldn’t feel his breath on my face. I couldn’t smell the sickly sweet scent of mint. Otherwise, this figure in front of me could have passed for a flesh and blood human.
“You’re astral projecting,” I whispered.
Astral Frank grinned and nodded. He reached out to touch me, and I shrank back, knocking my head against the leg of the desk.
Having no where else to go, I braced myself for his ghostly touch.
His hand disappeared into my shoulder, and I felt an sudden chill like someone had dropped an ice cube down my shirt.
Astral Frank closed his eyes as if savoring the sensation.
Behind me, I heard the other Frank speak. “I can feel your fear. I can feel your despair. You wish Benjamin could save you. Oh, and what’s this.” Frank paused. “You are thinking about Blake. You wished you’d been brave enough to kiss him before your untimely demise. How touching.”
“Get out of my head,” I growled.
“Whatever you say.” The Astral Frank retracted his hand and meandered across the room and merge with Frank’s physical body. Seeing the glee on his face made me feel hot all over.
“How dare you be so cavalier about magic. Going in to Martha’s home and reading her grimoire. Using curses on innocent people.”
“They’re not people,” he said. “They’re monsters.”
“You’re the only monster here,” I said. “You must have been all hocked up on Werewolf blood to be able to pull off a killing spell on my aunt.”
“Oh, I was.” Frank opened up the top drawer on his desk and pulled out several mason jars of red liquid.
A wave of nausea ripped through my body. “What is that?” I asked even though I already knew what he’d answer.
“I’ll give you a hint—it’s not cherry moonshine,” he said, unscrewing the metal cap and taking a sip. He smiled and licked his lips as the thick red liquid dribbled down his chin.
“Werewolf blood,” I said. “You’re disgusting.”
“At first I could only get a few drops at a time. I’d scrap it off of the chains that Liam used on himself for full moons. It was easy enough. I just had to come by when I knew Liam was at work, and take what I needed. As for the killing curse, I could enter Martha’s home freely. I had a key, and her wards wouldn’t stop me from entering. All I had to so was place a dried chip of Lloyd’s blood on my tongue and the basement door opened for me, revealing all of her secrets. She had quite a bit of Liam’s blood stashed away. Apparently, he was giving it her so she experiment with it and find a cure for his wolf disease. I knew she won’t miss what I stole from her collection.”
“When you performed the killing spell on Martha, did you mean to turn into a werewolf?”
Frank sealed up the mason jar and set it on the desk. “That was an accident. It’s hard to know how much to take. I hadn’t eaten much that day. I’m sure my blood sugar was a bit low,” he said casually. “It worked in my favor. It pointed the finger at Liam, who I just found out was dating my daughter. I can’t have that, not after we buried our first daughter. Ida and I have spent too much time trying to protect Lola from this place.
“Why’d you have to kill Martha? What was her role in this?”
“I had to kill Martha for the same reason I have to kill you. She represented everything I’m against. She protected magic, and you’re making friends with werewolves, following right in her foot stops. You are the last of the Wilder Coven, and this shaky truce that we have on this mountain will die along with you.”
I heard Benjamin barking frantically near the doorway, trying to get my attention.
I pulled my eyes away from Frank. “I can’t understand you, Benjamin.” I shook my head, utterly helpless.
Benjamin stopped barking long enough to look me in the eyes. I didn’t need to heard him to talk to know what he was feeling. Fear. Sadness. Regret. He thought I was going to die and he’d get a front row seat.
“Benjamin, get help,” I said, my voice barely a whisper.
This time Benjamin left his spot in the doorway and raced out of the lodge.
“Oh, I wish you hadn’t done that,” Frank said, cracking his knuckles. “But I’ll tell you what—it’s a good thing no one else can understand that dog.”
“If I die Benjamin will go to another witch, and he’ll be able to talk to that person just like how he helped me solve my aunt’s murder.”
“Hopefully, his new witch won’t be as nosy as you.” He paused as a smile spread across his gaunt face. “Hey, maybe he’ll be my familiar next. Wouldn’t that be ironic?”
“You’re not a witch. You stole your power from a werewolf and my aunt’s grimoire. You’re an imposter.”
“You supernatural types are all the same—always thinking you’re better than us, above the law.” Frank shrugged. “In that case, I guess, I’ll have to kill the dog, too. I’ll go do that after I kill you. Does that sound good to you?” He strolled over to me and grabbed my chin between his hands. “I asked you a question. Look at me,” he commanded.
“No,” I said weakly, squeezing my eyes shut.
“Look at me, and I’ll make this quick,” he yelled, using his free hand to pull up one of my eyelids.
How had it come to this?
Benjamin was going to die because I said too much to Frank. Liam was going to be locked up by the sheriff if he survived. And Frank would walk free.
I had one last idea. Maybe I could beat Frank to the punch. If I could say the killing curse to Frank before he could say it to me.
“These eyes that see into death’s door—” I started.
Frank laughed and clamped his hand over my face. “Nice try. But also, kind of pathetic.”
So that’s it, I thought.
This was how I was going to go—with one simple incantation. I’d made a career out of words, writing press releases and spinning stories. It was fitting that words would be the thing that did me in.
A little voice in my head reminded me of how that obnoxious Rottweiler had tried to instill a sense of respect for magic in me, and I’d brush off of his warnings.
As I looked into Frank’s eyes, I realized that this is what I could become if I didn’t take the time to learn about the power I had access to. Magic was neutral—so were werewolves, ghosts, and witches. It all came down to how they used their power.
I closed eyes again, hoping to escape the killing curse one more time, but the fight was draining out of me. I felt my body shutting down just like I had when I’d stayed in the astral plane too long.
That’s it, I thought.
The astral plane.
If I was too weak to kill Frank in the physical world, maybe, just maybe I could kill him on the astral plane.
With that, I used every ounce of energy to get the words out in a hoarse whisper.
“With these words, we split in two,
We go to where our hearts beats true.
One half remains, one half breaks free,
We arrive right where we need to be.”
I visualized an astral version of Frank separating form his physical body. I didn’t know if it would work—me doing it to another person, but I was out of ideas. Desperation always let to creativity.
Frank blinked and staggered a bit but still kept his grip around my neck. I doubted he’d even heard what I said. But understanding landed on him as his astral projection stepped out beside him.
I knew instantly I had done it. The world was tinged blue. I looked to my left and saw myself—looking worse for wear, gasping in the hands of Frank. It was so strange. Frank and I were still there, still interacting like I was in there. I suppose I was. I guess I was in two places at once, my soul split on two planes.
“What is this?” Frank spat.
“It’s just another one of her silly parlor tricks. She did it to herself, too,” Astral Frank said. He sneered at me. “Did you mean to do that or are you just really bad at being a witch.” Astral Frank tugged on his silver thread, clearly disoriented from being pulled out of his own body against his will.
I threw my shoulders back and planted my feet. “Frank!” I yelled. I just needed him to look me in the eye, just for a moment.
The heads of both Astral Frank and the physical Frank swung to look at me.
I began muttering Martha’s killing curse.
Fear flickered on Astral Frank’s face. “If you do that on the astral plane, you’ll take yourself down, too. You’re not strong enough. You’ll doom both of our souls to the sea of lost souls.”
Seriously? He knew about the Sea of Lost Souls, too? How many times had Frank gone into Martha’s cabin to read her grimoire?
As if reading my thoughts, the real Frank spoke. “Oh, I know about the Sea of Lost Souls,” he said darkly. “I Googled it.”
Maybe he was right, but I didn’t care. I’d do whatever it took to keep my friends were safe from this monster.
And it was already too late. I’d moved my lips, barely putting breath behind them, but it had been enough. I’d gotten the killing curse out even before he’s finished baiting me with his internet knowledge.
A beam of what looked like green electricity shout of out my mouth and plunged right into Astral Frank’s chest.
Astral Frank clutched at his chest. It had begun to glow with swirling green. He stared at me in disbelief as he dropped to the floor, his astral form not making a sound. Then he seemed to melt like candle wax as he sunk into the floor. The space under him transformed into gray liquid and skeleton hands reach to take hold of him.
Carolina Witch Page 15
