Southern Curses

by Amy Boyles

  I thought about that a second. “So which do you think it is?”

  Donovan adjusted his glasses. “Hard to say. There are some transformation spells that can take months to complete. When a spell takes that long, it’s usually because the change is complicated, complex.”

  “Like how?” I said.

  “Think about when a caterpillar changes into a butterfly. I’m talking complicated on that level. Before the caterpillar ever makes a chrysalis, it molts several times as it grows. When it finally does become large enough to form a cocoon, the change into its final form takes a week or so. But there was a lot of growing that had to occur first. Do you follow?”

  I grabbed a cookie from a tin because I hadn’t eaten breakfast. I chewed for a moment as I thought. “And a bat from a human isn’t as complex, I’m guessing?”

  Donovan wiggled a hand. “No, a bat’s just as complex when you consider that a person has to shrink and sprout hair but still keep her consciousness. That leads me to one conclusion.”

  I nodded. ”That there’s more to finish,” I said. “But why didn’t Arnold just do it right the first time?”

  “Idiot probably didn’t know,” Betty said. “That would be like most men.”

  “Man in the room,” Donovan said.

  “You’re not a man. You’re my brother,” Betty said.

  I rubbed my face. “So basically you think that Arnold the vampire has to do something that ensures Princess remains a bat and he remains himself.”

  Donovan nodded. “Exactly right. So this also means we’ve got to keep Princess safe. There’s no telling when the vampire will strike. We have to watch and be vigilant.”

  I grabbed a jacket from the peg. “I’ll see what Axel’s discovered. Find out what he thinks about all this. But first I’ve got to go to the store.”

  I nodded to Princess. “You coming with me?”

  The bat fluttered onto my shoulder. I cringed. Even though I knew it was Princess underneath the fur and fangs, the feel of those little claws in my shoulder made me cringe.

  Hugo came with us. The bat fluttered down to perch on the dragon’s shoulder. He nipped at her playfully, and Princess nestled onto him like they were old buddies.

  I reached the store. It was Tuesday, and Familiar Place was officially closed on Tuesdays as were most of the other shops in Magnolia Cove, but I still liked to go in and feed the animals, play with them, that sort of thing.

  I’d only been in the shop a few minutes when the bell above the door tinkled. I dropped a scoopful of food in the dog bowls and turned around, fully expecting to see Axel in the doorway.

  My heart stilled when I realized it was Rock Ford.

  I gulped and then swallowed down my fear. Guy was probably just here looking for his wallet, not to accuse me of stealing it.

  Surely he wasn’t here for that.

  “Hi, sorry, I’m not open today.”

  Rock glanced around, and the hair on the back of my neck stood straight up. What if he was the vampire and he saw Princess? Oh no…wait. Vampires can’t walk around during the day. Everybody knew that.

  I knew that.

  Breathe, Pepper. Just breathe.

  Still, I did a quick glance around the room to see where Hugo and Princess had gone. Something shuffled in the back, sounding like it came from the storage room.

  “Hi there,” I said so loudly you’d think I was speaking to someone who was nearly deaf. “How are you today?”

  He glanced around the store. “You letting someone know I’m here?”

  I froze. “No. I… No. There’s no one here.”

  He took an intimidating step forward. Now Rock Ford was a tattooed sort of man with piercing dark eyes and slicked hair. His body was cut, and he looked like he could punch a hole through brick if he had to.

  Or bone. A lot of bone.

  “Sounds like there’s someone in the back.”

  Hugo bounded in at that moment. Princess was nowhere to be seen. I exhaled. Even if he wasn’t the vampire, he might be working with the vampire. I didn’t know who I could trust in this lot of men who’d shown up the day Carl died, but I had a feeling Johnny Utah was more trustworthy than Rock Ford.

  Rock smiled, though the warmth didn’t reach his eyes. “You finished with my wallet?”

  “Your wallet?”

  He nodded. “The one you lifted from me when I was playing with the dragon.”

  I laughed nervously. “I don’t know what you’re talking about there, but I did notice that it fell from your back pocket. I tried to flag you down, but you’d already driven away.”

  “Well, that’s a pity.” He sat on a stool and swiveled it back and forth. “I suppose you discovered my name’s Rock Ford.”

  “Oh, I didn’t notice.”

  “Did you do any more digging?”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “I did.”

  Axel’s voice brought me to a standstill. I glanced at the door. I hadn’t even heard it open.

  Rock swiveled toward him. “What else did you find?”

  “That Rock Ford is from an area near a cobalt mine.”

  I moved around where I could see Rock’s face as the two men spoke. “That’s coincidence. I hadn’t meant for that to happen.”

  “That’s what happens when you buy an identity,” Axel said.

  Rock’s eyes danced with amusement. “So you know.”

  “That your real last name is Carlsburg? Yes, I know.” Axel’s gaze darted to me. I shot him a questioning look. “I just got wind of your real name. It didn’t pop up until this morning.”

  Rock laughed. His head fell back, and he glanced at the ceiling. “So now you know. I wanted to outrun my family, outrun what we are. But what can I say? When you’re from a family with a reputation like mine, it’s hard to outrun.”

  “Meaning?” I said.

  “Lots of vamps in the family,” he said.

  “Is that why you killed Carl?” I blurted out.

  Axel rolled his eyes. I shrugged. Seriously. Just once I’d like to ask that question and have someone say, Yes, that’s why I killed him.

  But no, that’s not what happened.

  “I didn’t kill Carl.”

  “And you expect us to believe that?” Axel said.

  Rock opened his arms wide. “Believe what you want, but I had nothing to do with it.”

  “Then why were you there that night?” I said.

  “To talk to him.”

  “About what?” I said.

  Rock sighed. He crossed his arms and glanced around the room. “About some things that involve the family.”

  “Did you have a chance to?” Axel said.

  Rock wagged a finger at us. “You two are very Cagney and Lacey. Has anyone ever told you that?”

  “No,” I said.

  “I’m not sure I like the comparison,” Axel said.

  I fisted my hands to my hips. “Because they’re two women? I’ve watched Nick at Night. I know about Cagney and Lacey.”

  “You give her an inch and she takes a mile,” Rock said. “I’ve changed my mind. You’re more Starsky and Hutch.”

  I rolled my eyes. “What did you need to speak to Carl about?”

  Rock scratched his chin. “I see I’m not going to get off the hook. Fact is, I spoke to Carl before he died about a little money issue. The family knew he was parading all over the place selling himself off as this man or that—creature dealer one day, witch hunter the next. We knew about it and wanted him to stop.”

  Axel leaned against the wall. “How?”

  “Money,” Rock said. “All of Carl’s problems came from a lack of funds, so the family was prepared to give him a generous sum in exchange for him stopping his shenanigans.”

  “So you talked to him before he was killed and offered this?” I said.

  “I did, but he declined.”

  Axel strode over to me. His footfalls fell heavy. “Seems strange that a person would b
e offered money and not take it.”

  “I can’t speak for why he didn’t,” Rock said.

  “Was it not enough?”

  “It was plenty, but I think Carl had issues that go deep in the family, as others may have issues that run deep with him. He said he didn’t want the money. If he couldn’t earn it, then he didn’t want it.”

  “Is that why he pushed so hard to kill Donovan?” I said.

  “That I can’t speak to,” Rock replied, rising. He extended a hand. “My wallet?”

  I nearly jumped from my skin. I’d completely forgotten about that. I slipped a hand beneath the front counter and handed him the beat-up piece of leather.

  “Here you go.”

  He peeled it back and checked the contents before sliding it in his pocket. “It was nice chatting with you,” he said, crossing to the door. He placed a hand on the push bar and stopped. “I’m surprised you haven’t asked me the most obvious question of all.”

  “What’s that?” Axel said.

  One corner of Rock’s mouth coiled into a devilish smile. “Why did Carl turn our brother Arnold into a bat?”

  EIGHTEEN

  “Princess said that Arnold was changed into bat because he owed money—like a million dollars type of money,” I said to Axel.

  Axel scrubbed a hand down his face. He glanced at Princess, who’d flown back into the room once Rock had left.

  “That man wasn’t Arnold. At least, I don’t think so,” Princess said when she appeared from the storage closet. “Of course, he didn’t smell like bat. But I don’t guess that bat stink would stay on someone after they’ve stopped being a bat for a while.”

  Now Axel raked his fingers through his hair. “So Carl turned Arnold into a bat using a spell that didn’t completely work; then Carl sold the bat to the Sensational Singers, who in turn sold him to Donovan. Then eventually we come back to Carl, who was hired to kill Donovan.”

  “Yep” I said, wiping a pretend line of sweat off my forehead. “Hard to keep it all straight.”

  “But we still don’t know who Arnold is,” Princess said.

  I flashed a look to Axel. “Have you thought more about the curse on Princess?”

  Axel nodded. “I have.”

  “And?” I said.

  “It’s not good,” Axel said. “The more I research, the more I think Arnold still needs something from Princess in order to complete the transformation. He probably didn’t realize that when he turned her, but came to see it as time went on.”

  “That’s what Donovan thinks too.”

  “Keep her with you,” Axel said. “Until Arnold makes his move, there’s nothing we can do. We can’t change her back without him, and he can’t stop the curse until he shows himself.”

  “Stop the curse?” I said.

  Axel threaded his fingers together. “It’s possible that there’s a time clock on this. If Arnold doesn’t bite Princess before time is up, then he’ll revert to the bat. If he does it before then Princess will be stuck looking like she is. It’s a risk I’m not willing to bet on. We know Arnold is here, but who is he?”

  I glanced from Princess to Axel. “I think there’s one thing we need to do.”

  “What’s that?” Axel said.

  “We need to take Princess out among people. Let her see the townsfolk.”

  “They can’t see her,” he said. “It’s too risky, puts her in danger.”

  I nodded. “Until she pinpoints Arnold, we’re stuck. Axel, Arnold may be responsible for Carl’s death. The night of the murder we only saw who was in the circle, but what if someone outside the circle killed Carl?”

  Axel paused. He glanced at Princess. “Do you want to go out?”

  “You know how us werewolves are. We love seeing and being seen. We’re flashy.”

  Axel chuckled. “When you put it that way, it’s a plan. But where?”

  I smiled. “Isn’t a new hot spot opening tonight?”

  “Wicked Witch,” he said.

  I clicked my tongue. “Then that’s where we need to go.”

  He rose and stretched. “I have been promising to take you out.”

  I elbowed him in the ribs. “You’ve been promising to take me out of town.”

  He slid a hand around my waist. “As soon as I can. How about we start with a dance club?”

  I smiled. “Sounds perfect.”

  Axel left a few minutes later, and I grabbed Hugo and Princess. I dropped the bat into my purse.

  “I don’t know why I’m hiding you. It’s not as if vampires walk around in daylight.”

  Princess craned her head out of the bag. “Didn’t you know?”

  I grabbed the keys and stepped outside, locking the door behind me. “Know what?”

  “That whole thing about vampires not being able to run around during the day is a lie.”

  I dropped the keys to the ground. “What?”

  “They can walk around just like you and me,” Princess said. “That’s what makes them so deadly.”

  NINETEEN

  “So were Arnold’s brothers vampires?” I said to Princess when we got back to the house.

  “I don’t think so,” she said. “He told me that when he became of age Arnold was offered the choice of becoming a vampire. It’s not for everyone,” she said. “But he chose the life.”

  “You don’t know for sure.”

  “I didn’t get the sense from Rock that he was.”

  “Can you tell if someone is?”

  She paused. “I think so if I had to focus on it. I concentrated on that Rock guy, but nothing came to me.”

  “We’re going to need that sense of focus tonight,” I said, placing her in a cage and leaving her in my room. “Get some rest. You’ll need it.”

  I went downstairs. Betty was nowhere to be found. She was probably off running the town. I found Donovan in the kitchen heating up some lunch.

  “Did you know that vampires can walk around during the day?” I said.

  “Ah!” He threw up his hands. My uncle whirled around and shot me a scathing look. “Do they also specialize in scaring people?”

  “Sorry,” I said meekly. “I thought you heard me.”

  “No, I didn’t, but I’m about to eat a slice of this Chess pie Betty made. Want some?”

  “You got some coffee to go with it?”

  “You know it.”

  I nestled down at the table with Donovan and half a pie. “Are you going to plate it?”

  “Nah. I say we eat it from the dish.”

  Sounded good to me. I grabbed a fork from him and dug in.

  Warm wonderful goodness melted on my tongue and slid down my throat. “Wow. My grandmother can really cook.”

  “So could your mom,” he said.

  I smiled. “I’m sorry to say I didn’t inherit that from her, though I do have a penchant for sweets.” I pulled a bag of jelly beans from my pocket and plopped a few in the black coffee. “These make just about anything taste better.”

  He watched as a few disappeared beneath the dark surface. “I can believe that.”

  I shrugged. “I like sugar.”

  He patted his round stomach. “You won’t hear me giving you a hard time. You can see I’m already digging in and taking no prisoners when it comes to this pie.”

  I finished chewing another bite. “Me too.” I forked another mouthful and stopped before biting into it. “Uncle Donovan, what happened with your powers…there’s something that bothers me about it.”

  He nodded. “You wonder if the same thing will happen to you. Will you lose your magic?”

  “Yes, I do.”

  He wiped his hands and leaned back in the chair. “It’s a reasonable thing to question, especially since you and I have very similar gifts. But I have no reason to think that’ll happen to you. Besides, you’re much younger than me. If it were to occur, it wouldn’t be for years.”

  I ate another mouthful, instantly regretting the calorie count I was adding to my daily total.


  “It also tends to happen more to men than women,” he said. “I’ve never known a woman who lost her magic, though I’ve known a man or two.”

  “Oh,” was all I could think of to say.

  Donovan chewed another bite. Stillness settled over the room, but there was still the hum of tension to it. “Is there one more thing you’re wondering?”

  I wavered, unsure if I should tiptoe around the subject or just dive in like I was fishing for catfish in a pond.

  Catfish won.

  “Will you stay when this is over?” I said.

  He shook his head. “No, the store is yours, Pepper. I won’t stay. I’ve had too much fun enjoying my retirement. Granted, I’ve been on the run, but once this is all cleared up, I’ll be on my way traveling the world, going from one magical town to another.”

  I squeezed his hand. “That sounds like a wonderful plan. But you’d come back here, right?”

  “At least as long as my power lives, I will. Don’t forget, you’ve got to be a witch or wizard to find this place. I’ll tour the world as long as I can, and when I can’t anymore, I’ll move to Florida and enjoy the beach.”

  I finished up my last bite and grabbed the empty dish. “Thanks, Uncle Donovan.”

  He smiled. “Anytime, Pepper. I’m here to talk whenever you need me.”

  “I appreciate that.”

  I washed everything up and went to my room to take a nap before the night’s festivities. When I reached the bedroom, I found Princess out of her cage.

  I shot Mattie a worried look. The cat as usual lay curled up on the window seat.

  “Where’d Princess go?”

  “She heard your cousins come in and called for them to get her out.”

  “Those two must’ve been sneaky. I didn’t hear anything from downstairs,” I said.

  “They were as loud as they usually are,” Mattie said.

  “That doesn’t make any sense.”

  “I wasn’t trying to make it make sense,” she said.

  I left my room and found the three of them in Cordelia’s. Amelia flashed a huge smile when she saw me.

  “Y’all are going to Wicked Witch tonight?” she said. “I’ve been dying to go there.”