Natural Born Witch: Witches of Palmetto Point Book 8

by Wendy Wang

  “Great. That’s just great.” Ben paced around the tiny ER room. He combed his fingers through his hair, scratching his scalp in places, trying to relieve the headache threatening to take over. “We need that book.”

  “Why? Can’t the reaper who cut her just heal her?”

  “Not without her book. She doesn’t know the spell to reverse the effects of a reaper’s blade by heart. Hence the book! They write their spells down for the same reason we do. So we can recreate them exactly. Geez, Lauren, how could you be so damned self-centered and… ” Ben gritted his teeth. “And downright stupid.”

  “Hey! I might be self-centered, but I’m not stupid,” Lauren huffed.

  “I don’t know about that. From my experience, messing around with another creature’s magic or culture can be a pretty dumb move. Especially if you’re not involved in their everyday lives,” Will said.

  “You know, Lauren, I’m really disappointed in you,” Ben said.

  Lauren tucked her chin and scowled.

  “I’m also going to have to report this.”

  “Wait, you said—“ Lauren began.

  “I said, I’ll see what I could do. This… I can’t do anything about this. Someone in your position should be setting an example. And all this does is send the message that it’s okay to steal. I’m not willing to turn a blind eye to that. Especially when there’s a whole family of witches who are probably dead because of this damned book.”

  Ben pulled his phone from his pocket and dialed the number for the Internal Investigations Division.

  “Hi, this is Ben Sutton in the Witch Investigators of Criminal Activity Division. I need to report a crime committed by a member of my division.”

  “Ben, wait.” Lauren started to get out of bed.

  Ben covered the phone’s mic. Through bared teeth, he growled, “You stay there!”

  Lauren sat back down, looking like she’d been slapped hard across the face.

  “Yes sir, I need someone to come to the ER and secure the accused right now. Thanks.”

  He ended the call and shoved his phone back into his pocket.

  “Are you ready, boss?” Will asked.

  “We’ll go as soon as a security officer comes to arrest her.”

  “Whatever you say, boss. Whatever you say,” Will said.

  Chapter 16

  Evan fidgeted in his chair in the school cafeteria and picked over the sandwich and chips that Miss Cora, his dad's housekeeper, had made for him. It took every ounce of energy not to think about his mother or the stupid game on Saturday morning. When he'd started the week, that game meant everything to him. Now, he just wanted to go to Charlotte to be with his mom. But his father wouldn't let him. Wouldn't even hear him out.

  "What if she dies?" Evan had thrown those words like rocks at his father. He was no dummy. He knew how his father felt about his mother. Knew it the way he always knew things.

  "Hi, Evan," Rachel said. She stood at the end of the table with her lunch tray in her hands. "You mind if I sit down?"

  "Course not." Evan sat up straight. He noticed that Rachael's long dark hair shined with a little red in it. He pushed that thought away. Now was not the time for him to be thinking about Rachel like that. Still, he offered a smile.

  "Have you heard anything else about your mom?"

  The smile on his lips died. He shook his head. "Not really. The only thing I know is she’s still in Charlotte. My dad won't let me go."

  "Wow, he must really hate her." Rachel picked up her fork and twirled it in the spaghetti casserole on her plate. "It really sucks. I don't even understand how my parents ever got along. Much less had me."

  "Yeah, I know. But it's not because my dad hates my mom. In fact, I think he’s still in love with her."

  "And why won't he let you go?"

  "Because she's not in love with him," he admitted.

  "Wow, that would be pretty terrible."

  "Yeah, and she's got a boyfriend that she does love so that sorta leaves my dad out in the cold."

  "That totally sucks. Is he at least going to take you to the game on Saturday?"

  "I don't know. Probably, because it's a school thing. But I don't know if I want to go now."

  "Sure. Your mom is going to be fine. I was gonna go. Not that that's any consolation."

  "That's cool," Evan said. His cheeks warmed, and he hated himself a little bit for being happy that Rachel might show up on Saturday. He broke a chip in half and shoved it in his mouth. It crunched loudly in his ears.

  "So, did you finish your project?"

  "My project?" Evan asked.

  "Yeah, the project you said that you had to work on. The one where you had to get those herbs or whatever?"

  "Oh, right, my project." He shook his head, and his shoulders slumped a little. "No. I didn't. Evangeline was called away because of my mom, and we didn’t get to finish."

  Rachel leaned forward and took a sip from her can of diet soda. "Does it have to be your aunt who helps?"

  "No, I guess not. But it would be better if she could help. I don't want to screw it up. Plus, I wasn't able to get everything I needed the other day."

  "Oh.” Rachel moved the casserole around on her plate. “What about that lady at the shop. Could she help you?”

  “I don’t know,” Evan said.

  “Why don't we just go back there and find out? You know, after school," Rachel said.

  "How would we get there?"

  A sly smile spread across Rachel's pink lips. She picked up her phone from her tray and wiggled it. "Uber. I have an app on my phone."

  "Don't you have to have… like a credit card or something?"

  "Of course. My mother set this app up for me with her credit card. You know, in case she's late. And we all know that she's late most of the time," Rachel said.

  "I have to have a reason to give my housekeeper, Cora, for not coming straight home."

  Rachel shrugged her slim shoulders. "Just text her and tell her that you're studying late with a friend. And that the friend will bring you home."

  "That's pretty smart."

  "Well, my mom's not around much, so I have to take care of myself sometimes."

  "And it’s safe? You know, taking an Uber by ourselves?"

  "Of course. You want to tell me about your project?"

  "Okay." He took a deep breath. "But first I need to know something."

  Rachel leaned forward, her long hair falling over the curves of her slim shoulders and small breasts. She smiled wider. "Anything."

  "How good are you at keeping secrets?"

  "I'm intrigued." She cocked her head and narrowed her eyes. "Very good. You?"

  "I'm very good, too."

  "Cool. I'm all ears."

  Evan jumped out of the Prius and held the door open for Rachel just like his grandmother had taught him. It took her a moment to say thank you to the Uber driver, and Evan’s stomach flip-flopped when she finally got out the car. He had never noticed how pretty she actually was before. The splay of light freckles across her nose. The amber flecks in her brown eyes. His heart beat a little harder than he expected when she gazed up at him and smiled.

  "Ready? I’ve been thinking about that amethyst pendant all week,” she said.

  "Is that why you wanted to come? To get the pendant?" he asked.

  Her shoulders lifted in a slight shrug. "I also wanted to spend more time with you."

  His stomach fluttered, and he couldn't stop the stupid smile spreading across his lips. He swallowed it back, trying not to give himself away.

  "Cool. After you." He gestured toward the door. She stopped short of opening the door herself and glanced back at him coyly. "Oh, right. Sorry. My grandmother would say, ‘Manners, Evan.’"

  "Uh-huh," Rachel said. A bell jingled overhead when Evan pushed open the door. The woodsy scent of incense smacked him in the face. He scanned the store's interior, looking for Evangeline's friend.

  "I'm gonna go check out the jewelry. Okay?"<
br />
  "Sure," Evan said. Disappointment settled in his chest when he didn't see the clerk that he'd spoken to the other day with his aunt.

  "Are you looking for me?" Magda stood so close her breath tickled the back of his neck, making him shiver. He whipped around to face her.

  "Hi… I am Evan Carver. Evangeline is my great aunt?"

  "Do you not know if she is your great aunt?" the woman asked.

  Evans neck and face heated. "Yeah, she's… she's my great aunt. I'm sorry, I don't remember your name."

  "It's Magda. Does your aunt know you're here?"

  "No, ma'am. She doesn't. My mom, well she got sick, and she's in the hospital in Charlotte, so my aunt is with her. I would be there too if my father would let me go, but he won't,” Evan rambled.

  "I'm sorry to hear about your mother. I hope it's not serious."

  "Yeah, me too. Anyway, I was kind of hoping that you could help me. I brought the stuff that my aunt bought for me the other day."

  "I thought Evangeline was going to help you," Magda said.

  "She was, but she got called away because of my mom. But you seem to know a lot about the stuff." He lowered his backpack to the floor and dug through it until he found the small bag of Tonka beans and Rue powder. He thrust it toward Magda and stood up. "Will you help me?"

  Magda took a step back. "This really should be something your aunt or your mother helps you with."

  "I know, but I need the luck for my game tomorrow. I have the spell book, and it has a potion in it for luck. I was going to take it and give it to all my team members so we could win,” Evan said.

  "And you don't consider that cheating?" Magda asked.

  "No, I consider it using all my assets. That's what my dad would call it. We still have to work to win the game. This would just give us a little edge,” Evan said.

  "I see," Magda said. "Luck potions are dangerous. Each ingredient has to be added at a specific time, and the rituals involved usually need at least three witches. And they can take days to brew."

  "Days? Seriously? I don't have days,” Evan said. "None of that is in my spell book."

  "Of course it isn't. A spell book assumes that you have some training in magic. Just putting a bunch of ingredients together does not make a spell. There is energy and intent that goes into it. Did your aunt or your mother not explain that to you?"

  "Sort of, I guess. They always talk to me like I'm a little kid. Like I can't do this sort of stuff yet,” Evan said.

  "Probably because you can't. There are practitioners, like your aunt, who might have trouble with this kind of spell. There's a reason it's not easy, Evan. If it were easy, everyone would have great luck. But as I've said, it's a tricky spell. And most potions are meant for the potion maker. Not for his football team."

  "It's basketball. I don't play football."

  "Whatever." Magda folded her arms across her chest.

  "I am so screwed." Evan rubbed the back of his neck. "I don't know what to do now."

  Magda glanced across the store toward Rachel. She raised her hand, signaling to the other clerk, pointing to the back room where she had taken Evan and Evangeline a few days ago.

  The clerk smiled and nodded. She said something to Rachel and pointed to a glass cabinet behind her.

  "Diana is going to keep your friend busy. Come with me." Magda turned on her heels and headed toward the short hallway leading to the ingredients room. Evan stood dumbfounded. She was going to help him.

  "Well, don't just stand there with your mouth open." Magda stopped and looked over her shoulder.

  "Yes ma'am," Evan said, putting his feet into gear.

  Evan watched as Magda gathered different ingredients from mason jars and amber-colored bottles.

  “Come here.” She tapped the table and motioned for him to join her. Evan cautiously drew up next to her. “First things first. I need your spell book.”

  “Oh-kay.” Evan dug through his backpack until he found the book and handed it to her. “I’ve got a bookmark on the page.”

  Magda gave the book a cursory glance before she opened the drawer next to her and tossed the book inside. She closed the drawer quickly and waved her fingers in front of a small lock until it clicked.

  “Hey! That’s my book.” He glared at her.

  “Once you’ve learned a few things, I’ll give it back to you. Until then, it stays put.”

  “But—“ Evan protested.

  “No buts. Take it up with your aunt if you want it back. For now, it stays put.” Magda gave him a pointed look.

  Evan rolled his eyes. “Fine. Fine. I don't know how we're going to win now," Evan grumbled.

  "If you'll ditch the attitude young man, I will show you how." Magda pointed to the array of things she'd laid out on the table.

  "What is all this stuff?"

  "This is how you, and only you, will be lucky on the day of your big-game. Hand me that bag with the Tonka beans and Rue powder that I sold you the other day."

  Evan did as he was told. He watched with curiosity as Magda retrieved a small linen bag and a small jelly jar from one of the lower shelves of her table. She opened the paper bag holding Evan’s ingredients and up-ended it. Two small plastic bags landed on the table.

  “What were you going to do with these?” Magda asked.

  Evan shrugged his shoulders. "Whatever the potion told me to do."

  "No. No. No," Magda said. "You never just throw ingredients into a pot and call it good. You have to understand how the ingredients work together, or in this case, don't work together. Putting these two things together in a potion, without understanding the proper preparation, is dangerous. The beans have to be carefully sliced in two, boiled until they're soft, then mashed before you ever add the Rue to them."

  "That sounds like what Cora does when she cooks our meals," Evan said.

  "In some ways it is," Magda said. "Listen, I think for your purposes, the best thing for you is a mojo bag and some blessed oil. Those are the safest options."

  "Yes, but will they help me win?"

  "Honestly, hon, that really depends on you as much as it does the magic you want to use." Magda cupped his chin and looked deep into his eyes. "You will get out of it what you put into it. If you keep thinking it might not work, it won't work. Do you understand?"

  "I guess so," Evan said.

  "All right, I'll take that answer," Magda said. "Since it's your mojo bag, you're going to help me build it. It will work better that way."

  Evan straightened up. "Great. What do I need to do?"

  "First, let's put on some gloves. That Rue can irritate your skin if it's not handled properly."

  Alarm bells went off in Evan’s head. "What would happen if I put it in a potion and drank it?"

  "Oh, honey, it could definitely upset your stomach enough to make you miss that game of yours." Magda winked. "If you know what I mean."

  Evan wrinkled his nose in disgust. "Yeah, I think I do know what you mean."

  "Good, I'm glad you do. Now, let's get started.”

  Chapter 17

  Jason flashed his badge to the young woman behind the security desk. Her dark brown eyes widened, and she pushed her shoulder-length, shaggy hair behind one ear.

  "What can I help you with, officer?" She looked young, too young to be sporting gray hair, but the dark pink ends told Jason that she had picked the silvery color on purpose.

  "I'm helping out with a case upstairs, and I need to talk to someone in your security division about pulling some video footage for us."

  "Okay, I can do that." Her expression a little fearful. "Just give me one minute." She picked up the phone on the desk and dialed. "Hi, it's Gemma at the front desk. I have a police officer here asking to speak to someone about video footage?"

  "I'm helping Ben Sutton if that makes a difference,” Jason said.

  "Did you hear that? Yeah. Okay. I'll let him know,” Gemma said, and hung up the phone. "Someone from security's going to come down."


  "Great, thank you." Jason gave her his best smile. "I like your hair."

  She grinned and dragged her fingers through it down to the pink tips. "Thanks."

  From the corner of his eye, Jason caught Tom's expression of disgust and the rolling of his eyes.

  "What's your problem?" Jason said, keeping his voice low.

  "Nothing,” Tom said.

  The elevator opened, and a man Jason recognized stepped out. He wore a pair of khaki pants and a black polo shirt with the letters DOL embroidered over the left breast. The snow-colored hair at his temples looked the same, but the silvery mustache he wore was new.

  "Gerald, right?" Jason said. He reached out to shake the head of security's hand.

  "Yes, sir, it is. I remember you. You’re that deputy,” Gerald said. He turned and took Tom's hand and gave it a good shake. "And you're a friend of Miss Payne's."

  "That's right."

  "It's a real shame what's happened her,” Gerald said.

  "Yes, it is," Jason said. "I was hoping that you could help me out with a couple of things. I've been working with Ben Sutton on finding a way to help Miss Payne."

  "Sure. He said something about that. You wanted to look at some security footage."

  "Yes, I do. Specifically, the footage in front of Lauren Coldwater’s office if possible."

  "Yes. She was attacked."

  "She was,” Jason nodded. “And I’d like to help find who attacked her."

  A strange smile spread across Gerald's face causing dark shadows in the creases around his mouth. Jason noticed the bags under the man's eyes for the first time.

  "I'm already on top of that,” Gerald said.

  "You are?" Jason asked. "Mind if I take a look? Also, is there any way to know when people leave the building? I know they have to swipe the badge to go up and then again to get on the elevator but—"

  Gerald's grin grew wider. "No. I can't say there is. We know when people get here, but that's about it."

  "Right," Jason said. "Well, it was worth a shot. Now, can I take a look at that footage?"

  "You know, I've already done that, and I saw no unusual activity outside Ms. Coldwater’s office,” Gerald said.