by Amy Boyles
"You could be a little nicer," Sera said.
I ignored her. "So Grandma's a witch, right? I mean, Em said that."
Sera pursed her lips. "Seems so. But why did she keep it from us?"
"I don't know. It's hard to swallow." I chewed a hangnail and spit it out. "I guess all this is real."
Sera rolled her eyes. "I'm pretty sure we're dealing with the otherworldly. Queen Witch, or whatever she is, made flames with her fingers, for goodness' sake."
"I know. I know."
Sera curled her legs underneath her. "You're such a skeptic."
Reid returned. She handed me the binoculars, and I aimed them at the vehicle. It was dark, but I swore I saw someone in the SUV.
"There's someone there."
"There is?" Sera said. "Let me see." She took a good look and exhaled. "You're right. Do you think it's the witch?"
A shiver rolled down my spine. "I don't know, but I'm not going to lay here and let whoever it is barge in and start skinning me. We'll take watches."
"Watches?" Reid asked.
"Yep. I'll go first. You two get some rest. Sera, I'll wake you up in a few hours."
***
No one came to kill me that night. Thank goodness. All I had for defense was a termite-eaten baseball bat. With my luck it would break on the first swing. I really needed a better weapon. Or perhaps I needed to learn some magic.
I still didn't know how I felt about that. I watched Grandma the next morning, looking for any sign of magic in her. Of course when someone's frozen in a state of unresponsiveness, it's hard to garner any info from them.
I called Carrie, told her I'd be closing for the week but would still pay her normal wages. She seemed glad for the time off, and I couldn't blame her. I wouldn't want to walk into a place where I'd seen a dead body the day before.
Em sat waiting for us inside Perfect Fit. She wore a velour sweat suit. Dude. Someone needed to inform the ninety-eight-and-a-half-year-old that velour went out in the seventies. Though I had to admit, the purple outfit did look great with her red hair. So maybe I was a tad jealous. Or still bitter that this woman I didn't know had upturned my life.
I made a decision as I walked in the door. Unless I could make magic after a few hours, this lady was full of BS.
"Don't let a little lock stop you," I said.
Em laughed. "I didn't. Never do. Locks are easy to get around."
"How's that?" I asked.
She wiggled her fingers. "Y'all will find out soon enough." Her gaze floated from me to Sera to Reid. "Oh. You brought the talentless one. That's okay. We can use you as a third person. Magic always works best when done in threes, so even though you ain't got a lick of the gift, you're still strong in body."
Reid scrunched up her face. "What does that mean?"
"Never mind. Stand in a circle."
"It means you’re a body, plain and simple," Sera said.
Reid pouted.
I ruffled her burgundy curls. "Cheer up. At least you're not on someone's hit list."
We circled round.
Em floated her arms to her side. "The first thing I'm goin' to teach you is a basic protection spell. This is the simplest and yet most powerful magic you can learn. If you'd known this the other day, you could have avoided someone enterin' your store and spellin' your dress." Em cleared her throat. "Ahem. Now. Link hands and think about protection. Think about staying safe."
"Me staying safe, or the three of us staying safe?" Sera asked.
"Good question," I said. "I was wondering the same thing."
"I don't think it matters," Reid added.
We looked at Em. She pressed the tips of her fingers to her chin. "The talentless one is correct." Reid shot us a triumphant smile. "It don't matter. Think about overall protection. That's the point."
"Should we close our eyes?" Sera asked.
"It helps," Em said.
I closed my eyes and concentrated on feeling safe.
"Focus on your core of power. Feel it in the center of your stomach. Think real hard on it."
I quirked an eyebrow. Yes, I was ready to think real hard on my core of power. Ha! I did eventually, focusing on my stomach. It growled at me. One slice of toast for breakfast hadn't done a very good job of filling me up.
"Focus. Concentrate," Em said.
So I did. I thought about keeping my family safe—all of us staying absolutely safe. I also thought about my growling stomach. It snarled in reply. I located a bubble of energy in my gut. As I focused, the air changed. It felt charged, as if a buzzing electric current had centered itself in our midst. Starting in my middle, a tingle washed over my body, energizing me. The hairs on my arms stood straight up, and I could feel it—power. Like nothing I'd ever experienced before.
"Open your eyes," Em said.
I did. A blue iridescent ball of…I don't know…energy, bobbed up and down in the midst of our circle.
"That is so cool," Reid said. "Did I do that?"
"No. They did," Em said.
Reid's face fell. "Oh. Well, didn't I at least help?"
"Not really."
Poor Reid. Dying to have her power.
"That is what I call a sphere of protection," Em said, circling the globe. "When placed right, it'll prevent anyone who wants to harm you from enterin' a buildin'. But in order to use it, you have to walk it over to the doorway and let it pop in the frame. That'll seal it. You ready?" She smiled at us expectantly.
We shrugged.
"Walk it over."
We stepped; it shimmered.
"Careful, y'all. Pretend this is one of those egg baby things you had to take care of when you were a kid. Don't break it."
"Egg baby?" Reid said.
"Before your time." I gritted my teeth, trying not to destroy the ball.
"Egg baby?" she repeated.
Sera sighed. "Every year at summer camp, we always had to blow the yolk out of an egg and pretend it was a baby. Get it? It was fragile. Now stop asking questions and focus."
"I don't know how she knew that," Reid said.
Em smiled. "There's a lot of stuff I know."
"Come on, let's go," I said.
I stepped forward, Sera stepped to one side and Reid stepped to the other. The sphere of protection, as Em called it, wobbled and shimmered.
"Y'all created it together; move it together."
"Let's go straight back," I said.
"There's a couch right behind me," Sera said.
I sighed. "Okay, Let's take a step to the right."
"Which right? My right or your right?" Reid asked.
"Your right."
The ball shook. The blue swirls on it vibrated. I bit my lower lip. We'd break the stupid thing before we made it to the door.
"Let's go," I said.
We moved right and then back. As we reached the door, I said, "Okay. Now Reid, swing around so we can position it right."
"Why do I have to swing around? Why can't Sera?"
"There's a table in my way," Sera grumbled.
"Just someone swing around," I said.
Reid swung around, all right. She moved so fast the ball shook.
"Hold it, everybody. Stop."
The ball wobbled, flexing in and out like a muscle. And it popped. All over me. Blue magic-bubble gunk dissolved on my body. It didn't feel bad, sort of like a wave of warm air.
"Good job, y’all. Way to go," I said.
"Well, at least now you're protected," Reid said.
That was an upside. "How long does it last?" I asked Em.
"A few days, tops. Every spell is different, and since every witch is different, it's hard to say."
"Way to be specific," Sera whispered.
"You can keep practicin' on your own. I recommend tryin' it at home to see if you can create it individually. For training purposes it's best to work with each other, but in the real world you'll need to master these techniques."
Not such a bad idea. At least alone I wouldn't be conten
ding with two bickering sisters.
"How about we take a little break?" Em said.
"Sure."
"Drink some water. It may not seem like it, but magic takes a lot out of you."
Reid saluted her. "Aye, aye, captain."
Em frowned. "In the witch world, there are specific rules. The first is being respectful to your elders. Witches who aren't learn that lesson the hard way."
"I'm not a witch," Reid shot back.
"That's true. You ain't got power, but you never know. Your magic could come in." She stared at Reid's head. "You have such pretty, pretty hair. I'd hate for you to lose it."
Reid's eyes widened. "My hair?"
Em patted Reid's cheek. "Mind your tongue, sweetie. It would be a shame for those curls to disappear."
Em exited to the back, leaving Reid to wring out the ends of her tresses. "You don't think she'd cut my hair, do you?"
"Of course not," I said.
Reid exhaled in relief.
"She doesn't have to. She'd spell it off or something."
Reid gasped.
Sera pointed out the window. "Hey, isn't that the SUV from last night?"
I glanced out. Sure enough, sitting across the street was the same black vehicle. "That's it."
"How can you tell?" Reid asked.
"Out-of-state plates," I said. "The back license on the vehicle last night was blue. See the one on the front fender of that one? Same color blue."
The driver's side window rolled down, revealing a man with dirty-blond hair.
"Oh my God," Sera said. "It's the assassin."
I grabbed the doorknob. Sera placed a restraining hand on my arm. "What are you doing?"
"I'm going to ask him why he's following us."
"You think he's following us?" Reid.
"Obviously. Why else would he keep popping up?"
Sera's grasp on my arm tightened. I looked at her. Tears welled in her eyes. "What if he tries something?"
I unhinged her hand from me. "Oh please. It's broad daylight. That guy's not going to try anything. If he does, there's witnesses." I yanked open the door and stormed out. The assassin, seeing me coming, looked up in what may or may not have been surprise. Dark shades shielded his eyes, so I really couldn't tell.
I stopped in front of his door, crossed my arms over my chest and tapped my toe. An intimidating stance, I know. "Just what do you think you're doing, following us?"
"Excuse me?" he asked.
Deep voice, kinda husky. Very sexy. My knees turned to jelly. Whoa. I needed those to stand. Couldn't have them collapsing out from under me now. I locked my legs and pursed my lips.
"You heard me. Following us. Who are you? What are you doing?"
He rested his arm on the lip of the window. Veins popped out from the taut skin. Strong, masculine fingers drummed the door. His smooth flesh looked so inviting. I wanted to run my fingers down it. I wiped a tinge of drool from the corner of my mouth. Why was I here again? To invite him in for cookies and coffee? Oh my gosh, what if he was spelling me and I didn't know it?
"Listen, you'd better explain why you're following me, or else I'll call the cops."
"No one's told you?" he asked in that deep, übermasculine voice of his.
I took a step back. "Told me what?"
He opened the door. "Come on. Let's go get you some answers." He stalked off toward my store. Not once did he bother to look back to make sure I was following him.
Well, that was rude.
***
"You haven't told them?" The assassin pointed the question at Em.
A slight blush smeared her cheeks. "I forgot."
The assassin leaned against a wall. He crossed massive arms over his chest.
"Hubba, hubba," Reid whispered.
"Hush," I said.
Reid shrugged. "What? I can't help it."
I shook my head. What was I going to do with her?
"Told us what?" Sera asked.
Em smiled. "I'm providin' you with a bodyguard."
"And I take it this is said bodyguard," I demanded.
The assassin nodded.
"So he's not an assassin?" Sera asked.
Em scowled at her. The assassin chuckled. "Not today," he said.
Oh. So did that mean he could be an assassin? Perhaps a question for another time. "So that's why you've been following us?"
"I'm keeping you safe," he said.
I snorted. So unsexy. "You're keeping us freaked out, is what you're doing. Stalking us, following us."
He frowned. "It's not my fault no one told you about me."
"Don't you think you should've introduced yourself?" I huffed.
"I was going to the other day, but then that girl walked in the bakery, in case you've forgotten." He meant Jenny Butts, when she came in to gab about something. I don't remember what.
"You've had plenty of opportunity since. Usually—and I can't be certain about the etiquette here because I only just discovered that I'm a witch and all—but it seems to me that if you've been hired to protect someone, the least you can do is introduce yourself."
He rocked back on his heels, smiled at us. "My name's Roman," he said. "I've been hired to protect you. How's that?"
I flipped the end of my ponytail over my shoulder. "It's a start, but don't expect me to welcome you with open arms. Folks with manners introduce themselves. Tell you they're guarding you."
He smirked. "I'm telling you now."
"Thanks, but no thanks. We don't need a bodyguard."
The assassin, all six foot whatever of him, took a towering step toward me. I tried not to cower, because really, he was a rock of man. "Listen here. I don't care what you want. I've been hired to guard you, and that's what I'm going to do. Whether you like it or not."
I swallowed the egg in the back of my throat. "Well, don't expect me to like it."
"I don't care if you like it. That's not my concern." He glanced at Em. "Now if we're done here, I'd like to get back to work."
Em swatted her hand. "We're done."
"Don't fall asleep, Mr. Bodyguard," I said.
He stopped, turned around and glared at me. "Don't worry. I never sleep on my watch." Then he opened the door and slammed it shut behind him.
"If I were you, I wouldn't get on his bad side," Em said.
I wiped a line of sweat off my forehead. "Why's that?"
"Because he's killed before. I wouldn't put it past him to kill again."
I bit my lip. Maybe I should have been nicer.
CHAPTER SEVEN
I rubbed the back of my neck, trying to work out a tension knot. "How could you forget to tell us about him?"
Em shrugged, appearing unimpressed with my concern. "Like I said, it slipped my mind. In case you haven't noticed, a lot has happened in the past few days."
I shook my head. The nerve of this woman. "Of course I've noticed. You've upturned our lives more than anyone."
"No, dearie," she said in a fairy-godmother sort of tone. That was if the fairy godmother liked playing You Might Be a Redneck If… "Y'all are the ones who went and did that. You are the dirt, and I'm the cleaner. I'm fixin' what should have been done long ago. And mind this: you need to practice as much as you can, because if the Queen Witch of the North has any say, she'll skin you herself."
"That's not very nice," Reid said.
I whacked the back of her head.
"Ow."
"Don't say stupid things. Of course it isn't nice. It's terrible."
"What are you talking about?" Sera said to Em.
Em stretched her spine. She contorted her body in some sort of yoga pose that made my muscles ache to look at. "The North Queen wanted to have y'all skinned. That way we wouldn't have to worry about this situation one way or the other."
"Skinned," Sera said. "What do we do? Where do we go?"
Em straightened herself. "Calm down, chicklin'. Since I know Hazel, I convinced the queen not to make a move against your family. I told her that y
ou can be trained." Her upper lip curled into a snarl. "Which so far ain't goin' too well, is it?"
"We suck at this," Reid said.
Em stared at each of us so hard that I almost thought we'd burst into flames. "You'll get better. Now. Let's try basic levitation. Circle up." She pointed to a small leather-bound book on a glossy coffee table. "I want you to lift that book all together."
"Can I say, ‘Light as a feather, stiff as a board’?" Sera said.
I cackled.
"Oh, me too!" Reid said.
I laughed even harder.
"Do you want to die?" Em asked.
My laughter faltered. "No, of course not. It's just…we joke. A lot. Even about serious things. Haven't you figured that out yet?"
Em clicked her fingernails together. "This is grave, a level beyond serious. You'll never master this until you take it seriously."
I shook my arms and legs and said to my sisters, "Y'all. Someone has died. Are we ready?"
They nodded.
"Then let's witch it up."
Em threw me a questioning look, but she didn't say anything. I wasn't exactly poking fun, but I wasn't exactly not, either.
I closed my eyes and focused on lifting the book. I imagined seeing it in the air, high above our heads, floating about the room. We must have been at it maybe five minutes before Em said anything. Honestly I was bummed. I mean, if we couldn't lift a little bit of paper and ink, there was no way we'd be able to protect ourselves against the witch who wanted us dead.
Correction: me dead.
Em's voice quivered. "Okay," she said tentatively. "Open your eyes—but do it slow. Ever so slow, and don't be afraid when you see."
My heart leaped with glee. Sweet! We'd done it. We'd lifted that little book. Readying myself for high fives all around, I cracked open an eye.
Holy crapola.
The book, the one we were supposed to lift, sat on the table, which was still attached to the floor. But the couch in front of it hovered several inches in the air, as did the clothing racks around it, the cash register, the chairs, the coffeemaker, and everything else that wasn't bolted down. Every single thing in my shop floated on some sort of invisible current. Everything except the one thing that we'd been focusing on.
