Southern Curses

by Amy Boyles

  “I know.”

  She crossed over and wrapped her arms around me. “After all, we’re the sweet tea witches. We stick with each other through thick and thin.”

  I smiled wanly. “Thank you.”

  “Anytime.”

  I left and went to my room, where I found Mattie the Cat curled up on the window seat while Hugo, my baby dragon, snored on the bed. I’d recently taken to letting him out of his cage every once in a while, and I think he was happier because of it.

  The hinges on my door whined as if begging for me to douse them with WD-40. Hugo awoke. He thwacked his tail on the bedspread and yawned. I gave him a good scratch behind the ear, stroked Mattie, and headed into the bathroom for a shower that would hopefully get rid of the stickiness clinging to me.

  Fall was just about here, but the days were still warm and muggy, the proof being the frizz in my hair.

  I let warm water roll down my back for what felt like half an hour before I finished scrubbing and shaving everything that needed it. I toweled off, dressed and was putting on the last touches of my makeup when a noise came from the window.

  Clink.

  “What’s that?” I said to Mattie.

  The gray cat yawned and stretched to a C shape. “Looks like that boyfriend of yours is throwing rocks at the window.”

  “What?”

  “Come see for yourself, sugarbear. I ain’t lying.”

  I tied a knot in the wrap shirt I wore and crossed to the window. Sure enough, Axel stood on the ground throwing pebbles. I unlocked the latch and slid the window up.

  “What’re you doing?” I said.

  He grinned at me. “Breaking you out.”

  “What?” I said.

  He folded his arms as if he was super impressed with himself. “I’m breaking you out.”

  I frowned. “What are you talking about?”

  He shook his head in frustration. “Will you just come down here?”

  I glanced over the edge of the roof. “It’s a long way. I’m not that talented a witch.”

  “I suppose being the man in this situation means I have to come get you,” he said, half joking from the sound of it.

  “Not because you’re a man, but because I’m chicken.”

  He grinned again and in one, two, three seconds launched up the slanted roof, plucked me tenderly from the window and jumped to the ground.

  I clutched his shirt for dear life as jitters teemed in my belly. Fright bubbled in my gut, shooting from my body in a fit of laughter. “Holy shrimp and grits.”

  Axel winked. “Liked that, huh?” He settled me softly to the ground. “Want to do it again?”

  I grabbed my belly. “No, that’s okay. I mean, that was great, I just don’t want to do it again so soon. Maybe later. Like when I know it’s coming.”

  “I took you for someone who enjoys rides at the amusement park.”

  “Some rides. The kiddie ones.”

  Axel laughed. “Okay. I won’t do it again unless you’re ready for it.” He threaded his fingers through mine. “Come on.” He led me to the street, where his Mustang was parked off to the side.

  “Are you capturing me?”

  “I’m not a pirate,” he said over his shoulder.

  “You would be if you put on an eye patch, lashed a parrot to your shoulder and had a hook hand.”

  “Not a pirate,” he repeated.

  “Okay, I get it. You’re not into role-playing. Not even werewolf?”

  He barked a laugh and opened the door on my side. He looped around and slid into his seat. The car was already running. The humming engine made the vehicle vibrate softly.

  “So, what’s going on?” I said once he maneuvered onto the street.

  He flashed me a devilish grin that made my insides coil. “How many times have I said that we’re leaving Magnolia Cove for a date and how many times has that actually happened?”

  “About two and none.”

  “Right.” He tapped the steering wheel. “Except for today.”

  I folded my arms as the cool air prickled my skin. “So you are capturing me.”

  “I thought you wanted to go on a date,” he said with an obvious bite in his tone.

  I smiled. “I do. I’m kidding. Lighten up.”

  “It’s hard when you discover a friend has risen from the dead, is wanted by the mafia and I might have to protect him.”

  “With one hand, I might add.”

  Axel tipped his head toward me. “I’m not worried about this sling. If I have to, I’ll heal myself and throw it in the trash.”

  My mouth fell in mock shock. “No. Say it isn’t so. I thought you were punishing yourself for things you couldn’t control—like Rufus forcing you to turn into a werewolf. That’s why you still wore the thing.”

  Axel smirked. “You make it hard for a guy to have fun sometimes.”

  I threw my head back and laughed. Strands of crimson and honey hair fell into my face when I straightened. I caught Axel staring at me.

  “You look beautiful,” he said.

  I rolled my eyes. “Don’t make me blush.”

  “But that’s all I want you to do.”

  He pulled over onto the shoulder. The houses had disappeared. We’d left the cove behind, and what greeted us now was the tree canopy that lined the dirt road leading into town.

  I nibbled my bottom lip nervously. “What’re you doing?”

  We came to a stop, and Axel turned to me. “I haven’t been alone with you all day. I don’t count the swing.”

  I giggled. “If I remember correctly, the last time the two of us were out here in the boondocks, Rufus Mayes attacked me.”

  Axel’s gaze flashed to the woods. “You don’t have to worry about that.”

  I curled my fingers into his shirt. “But I do have to worry about some witch hunter.”

  Axel exhaled and sat back in the seat. “Do you think I would bring you out here if I was worried about you?”

  “No.”

  “I think Donovan is in danger, yes. He got mixed up in something he shouldn’t have. He’s now in Magnolia Cove, a town full of witches, many of whom would give their lives to help each other. I’ve left with you to take a small detour, and we’ll return before eight, when he’s supposed to make his big debut at the mob-infested party downtown.”

  “That was a mouthful.” I waited while he sat staring at me.

  “I just wanted to get us outside that town for once. You haven’t left since you arrived.”

  “It seems like someone always wants to kill me.”

  Axel rubbed my head. “No one’s going to harm you. Not while I’m here. Think about it—how scared are you since Rufus was banished? You faced off against him and won, Pepper. You won. Few can say that. So are you really afraid of anything anymore?”

  I tapped the corner of my mouth. “Sure. There’s tornadoes, earthquakes, floods.”

  He grabbed my hand. “Seriously.”

  I shrugged. “I guess I haven’t thought about it. I haven’t had time. Donovan appeared, told me he was in danger and that I was, too.”

  Axel unbuckled his seat belt and pulled me to him. He rested his forehead against mine before brushing his mouth to my skin. Heat blazed across my flesh where his lips had left a trail. I raised my head and felt myself gazing at him expectantly. He smiled. The corners of his eyes crinkled. He rubbed the pad of his thumb over my lips before kissing me fully.

  I relaxed into him. Well, as much as I could with a gearshift poking me in the ribs. I sighed. My toes curled while my fingers twisted into his black T-shirt.

  I have no idea how much time had passed when we separated. All I knew was that my chin was definitely going to be raw the next morning. Great. I’m sure Betty would notice and have something to say about that. She enjoyed commenting on my private life. It was like a thing with her—a weird, compulsive thing.

  When we came up for air, I leaned against the car door. “So. If you’re taking me someplace, we’d bet
ter get on it. Eight p.m. isn’t far away.”

  Axel adjusted in the seat. “You got it. I know a great little place where you catch your own catfish and then they cook it right in front of you.”

  I quirked a brow. “How about a picnic with the catfish already cooked? I’m not feeling like catching my own meal tonight.”

  “We can do that, too.”

  As we slid back onto the dirt road, I saw headlights up ahead. The sun was sinking down the sky, but it hadn’t burned all the way to the horizon. As the vehicle neared, I realized it was a passenger van and inside I counted at least six people.

  But it wasn’t the head count the made the hairs on the back of my neck prickle. It was the blue lettering painted on the side of the panels.

  THE SENSATIONAL SINGERS

  My heart pounded. I grabbed Axel’s arm. “Those are the people Donovan said he bought the vampire bat from. They’re heading into Magnolia Cove.” I twisted to look at him. “Can they do that? I don’t think they’re witches.”

  Axel thought for a moment and then dropped his head back. “Why didn’t I remember? Why didn’t any of us remember? Garrick must’ve been too busy and he forgot to mention it, too.”

  “That doesn’t sound good.”

  Axel scraped his fingers down his face. “It’s not.”

  “What is it?”

  He ground his teeth. “There are two nights of the year when the magical shields that keep regular people from entering our town are down.”

  My heart sank. “Let me guess—tonight is one of those nights.”

  Axel nodded. “Tonight, Sylvia Spirits has to perform maintenance on that spell. Because of that, anyone can enter Magnolia Cove.”

  I gripped Axel’s arm tightly. “Even Johnny Utah?”

  He nodded solemnly. “Even Johnny Utah.”

  That meant Donovan was dead meat, and quite possibly me too.

  FIVE

  “Why didn’t anyone think of that?” I said as the Mustang raced down the dirt path back toward town.

  Axel ran a finger over his lip. “With all the hubbub about Donovan, I’m sure we forgot.”

  I realized that when I’d seen Garrick with the officers earlier in the day, right after Donovan appeared, that the men were probably working on that very issue.

  I tried rubbing the worry from my temples. It didn’t work. “What usually happens on those nights?”

  “The only other night it occurs is Halloween. We usually all dress up as witches and invite the public, so it’s not that big a deal. People expect pranks and spooky things.”

  My face fell in shock. “You invite the public? People?”

  He nodded. “Yeah. It’s a lot of fun.”

  “But what about after? When they can’t get back in?”

  Axel’s jaw twitched. “There’s a spell that makes them forget about us until the very next year.”

  I held up a hand for him to stop. “Okay. So we’ll deal with that at Halloween. What about tonight?”

  “Sylvia Spirits often has to do maintenance on the spell that protects us from outsiders. That means one other night she has to blow off some steam, and when that happens, the spell relaxes. Like tonight.”

  I twisted a hunk of my hair until it was so tight it wouldn’t coil anymore. “And it just so happens that Donovan returned to Magnolia Cove today of all days, when there’s a supposed witch hunter after him as well as a werewolf clan.” I exhaled, trying to calm my jittering nerves. “Could this day get any worse?”

  Axel’s brow furrowed. “Are you really asking that?”

  I cringed. “I guess that was stupid. The answer is—of course things could get worse. This is Magnolia Cove, the most magical place on earth.”

  The van slap full of the singing family had a good start on us. By the time we reached Bubbling Cauldron Road, we’d lost sight of them thanks to the pack of party-goers. Folks spilled out onto the road and covered the grassy areas like fleas on a hound’s rear end.

  “There wasn’t a crowd like this during the Cotton and Cobwebs Festival,” I said.

  Axel smirked. “Seems like whatever spell was cast on Donovan is a doozy.”

  I shot him a questioning look.

  He sighed. “By your look I can only figure you’re wondering about my use of the word ‘doozy.’”

  “That would be correct.”

  “I will not be chained to the confines of only masculine word usage. I can and will use such terms as ‘doozy’ when I see fit.”

  I bit back a laugh.

  “And that is why you like me so much,” he said proudly.

  “That is true.”

  The going was slow. The car slogged along as folks milled in the street.

  “Forget this,” Axel growled. He pulled the car off onto the side of the road and killed the engine. “We’ll get there faster walking.”

  We stepped outside and watched as the town spilled onto the grassy meadow that covered a portion of downtown. A stage had been set up, and a band was playing some sort of country funk.

  “What’s that?” I said.

  “Witch-a-billy.”

  “What?”

  He rolled his eyes. “It’s like rockabilly, except we call it witch-a-billy.”

  “Why does nothing surprise me anymore?”

  He took my arm. “Come on. Let’s find Donovan.”

  “Where?”

  “Betty’s house first. If he’s not there, then we come back here.”

  We raced through the crowd, dodging right and left. A couple of times I got swept away from him, but Axel wasted no time in locating my arm and pulling me through the bodies to him.

  I have to admit, y’all, I felt safer than safe with him by my side, even if he did have an arm in a sling.

  When we reached Betty’s house, we barged in, shouting their names.

  “Donovan! Betty,” I called.

  Stillness greeted us until one baby dragon bounded down the stairs and jumped into my arms.

  “Hugo,” I said, pulling him into a hug.

  Axel’s fingers twitched at his sides. “They’re not here. Come on. Let’s see if they’re at the festival.”

  I wrapped Hugo around my neck, and we headed out. As we say in the South, or at least in Alabama, there were so many people in town, Magnolia Cove was covered up.

  “Do you have any way to contact Betty?” Axel said to me.

  I gave him a double take. “You’re asking me? This is a freakin’ magical town. Shouldn’t we be able to reach people using methods that are more advanced than Star Trek?”

  He shot me a dark look.

  I shrugged. “I’m just saying. We are witches.”

  “We’re not that advanced. This is still the South, after all. Folks like things a certain way.”

  “I know,” I said. “No comment.”

  Which meant that as advanced as certain things are in the South, there’s still a need to cling to what makes the South distinctly Southern. Don’t get me wrong, I love where I live, but sometimes I want folks to jump into the right century.

  “That’s something you and I should work on,” I said. “Having a better central communication system for witches who don’t want to carry cell phones with them.”

  He nodded. “Let’s get right on that after we do this.”

  I wasn’t sure if that was sarcasm or not, but there was no time to ask him or to think about it too hard.

  The throng of people thickened to the point that Axel lifted a finger and snapped. People parted like he was Moses and they were the Red Sea. I don’t even think they noticed. Yet one moment folks stood in a thick clot and the next, they’d been separated.

  Lights flared to life onstage. The witch-a-billy band stopped playing. The lead singer drifted over to the microphone. He looked very rock and roll with silver chains hanging from his clothing and tattoos inking his arms. He gripped the microphone and said, “And now, it’s time to welcome our guest of honor, Donovan Craple!”

  I watched
as Donovan crossed the stage as if embarrassed. He was a meek man who didn’t appear as if he enjoyed too much attention.

  Welcome back, I thought.

  He tapped the microphone, cleared his throat and said, “Thank you. It’s great to be here. Umm. Well, that’s all I can think of to say.”

  I rubbed my face in disbelief. The entire town was watching, and Donovan was only going to spend about three seconds onstage?

  You know what? The town deserved it. They basically forced my uncle to appear, and whatever they got, they didn’t have a right to be choosy about it.

  Beggars can’t be, after all.

  Donovan gave a quick, hesitant wave and disappeared to the back. Garrick and about twenty police officers lined the front of the stage. They kept a close eye on the crowd, warning folks not to get too close.

  Axel grabbed my hand and tugged me toward the rear. We pushed through sweating bodies until we found Donovan with my grandmother.

  “Donovan,” I yelled.

  They turned toward us. I picked up the pace and was out of breath by the time I reached my uncle.

  “Out of shape…sorry…Uncle…”

  He glanced from me to Axel, who wasn’t winded in the least. Donovan shot him a questioning look. “What’s up?”

  “We saw the Sensational Singers entering town in their van.”

  Donovan’s face twisted in confusion. “What?”

  I grabbed his arm. “In all the hubbub everyone forgot that tonight anyone can enter Magnolia Cove. Anyone.”

  “Well put a fork in me and call me stupid,” Betty said. “It slipped my mind.”

  “And you run this town,” I said sharply. Which is something Betty always says—she runs this town.

  She grimaced. “I’m getting old. Forgetful.”

  Wow. That was the first time I’d ever known Betty to show weakness. To her weakness was a disease she didn’t want to catch. Oh, and she was immune from disease as well. At least according to her.

  Axel stepped forward. “Donovan, we’ve got to get you to safety. There’s no telling who could be here right now.”

  Just then, the lead singer from the witch-a-billy band walked up. “Donovan,” he said, holding out his hand, “it’s great to meet you. I don’t know what it is, but it’s like I’m compelled to tell you hello. Must be something in the water.”