Spell of Summoning

by Anna Abner

“Okay.” He tried to catch up. What happened to finding Charley?

  “Great. Because I told Nelly we would,” she said. “Wait. Is she a suspect?”

  “Yes.”

  Rebecca laughed sardonically.

  “What’s so funny?”

  “You’ll understand after you meet her. She’s more sorority girl than dark caster.” She turned toward the Jeep. “And if we hurry, we can surprise Charley at work.”

  * * *

  The Secret Cove Realty office was on Highway 24 in a strip mall painted a garish peachy orange with dark brown trim. Holden parked in front of a jewelry store, his heart wedged in his throat. He didn’t know what a cornered necromancer would do. Before he could warn Rebecca to use caution, she raced across the lot.

  A tall, big-breasted woman in a tiny business suit exited the realty office, saw Rebecca, and then immediately beelined toward an expensive import not far from him.

  “Charley.” Rebecca chased her. “I have a question.”

  Ms. McGovern dug a giant mess of keys from her designer purse. “Sorry, Becky, darlin’,” she said, laying on her country charm, “but I am late for a meetin’.” She unlocked her BMW with a beep beep from her key fob.

  “Wait, it’s important.”

  All Rebecca had to do was get her hands on the woman. A handshake. A back pat. As a last resort, a hug. But Charley wasn’t making it easy. Holden’s suspicions deepened.

  “Sorry. Like I said.” She scrambled into the car, slammed the door, and locked it.

  Anger coursed through him. No, more than that. Rage. Someone was trying to destroy Rebecca. They didn’t have time for games. If Charley was the culprit, this had to end. Now.

  He stepped out of the Jeep and called Grams.

  “Bubba, there aren’t any spirits here. What are you doing?”

  She was right. No signs of magic at all. But that didn’t mean Charley wasn’t dangerous. Holden didn’t advertise his power either.

  “Charley!” Becca tapped on the woman’s driver side window. “Open up. I need to talk to you.”

  But Charley pretended she couldn’t hear and shifted into reverse. Holden stepped directly behind the vehicle, blocking her.

  “I’m calling the police if y’all don’t get away from my car,” she screamed, narrowly avoiding striking him.

  Fury. Like a firestorm. Holden slammed his hand on the trunk.

  With her cell phone in one hand, Charley rolled the vehicle toward him. Short of getting run down in the parking lot, there was nothing else he could do. That helpless feeling spread. Someone was hurting Becca, and he couldn’t stop them.

  The car bumped Holden, forcing him to hop away or land on the rear windshield. He stepped aside and let her leave.

  “We’ll follow her,” Becca said, jogging past him toward the Jeep. “She has to get out eventually.”

  “And then what?” he asked, following more slowly. “Tackle her? Tie her up? Abduct her against her will?” He was in over his head. He turned to ask Grams for advice, but she had vanished.

  “All I have to do is touch her.” Rebecca clapped her hands to hurry him up. “Let’s go!”

  He climbed into his vehicle and squeezed the steering wheel until his fingers ached. “I don’t know what I’m doing,” Holden mumbled, pulling into traffic.

  If Charley McGovern, Realtor extraordinaire, really was a dark caster, they were in deep water. Cole should be here. Or Dani. Holden was useless. He didn’t even have a simple mending spell memorized.

  Fear soured in his stomach.

  What was he supposed to do if Charley turned and cast on Rebecca?

  Charley sped out of Auburn on Highway 24 and into Richlands, his home turf. Holden stuck with her, though he wasn’t thrilled with this plan.

  “You cannot attack her,” he told Rebecca at the next stoplight. Obviously she wasn’t thinking clearly. “Or threaten her. Or hurt her.” He glanced her way and caught a dramatic eye roll. “After the séance fiasco, we can’t afford another call to the police.” Surely the woman had seen them following her. She might have called the police already. “Are you hearing me, Rebecca?”

  “All I have to do is touch her.”

  No, she wasn’t listening. “All she has to do is cast a spell, and you’re toast.”

  The light changed, and Holden accelerated. Charley turned left on the outskirts of town, toward fields of green corn stalks and the Albert Ellis Regional Airport.

  So Charley was either on her way out of town or picking up a friend. The first didn’t make sense. If she was elbows deep in casting a demon into her business rival, why would she skip out of town? If she wasn’t picking up a friend, this suspect was falling apart.

  Charley parked in the long-term lot, further confusing him. By the time Holden found a spot, she was pulling a rolling suitcase from her trunk and heading for the departures gate.

  Before he had a chance to warn Becca one more time, she was off and chasing Charley across the street.

  * * *

  Becca ran full steam across the crosswalk, earning a honk from a nearby taxi. But she didn’t stop. Couldn’t. She was too close to finding the caster responsible for all the pain she’d suffered the last three months.

  “Charley,” she called. “Please wait.”

  Charley spun in obvious shock, nearly tripping over her luggage. “Becky! What are you doing?”

  She hated that name. Rebecca or Becca, but never Becky. Just one more reason Rebecca couldn’t stand the woman.

  She catapulted herself onto her rival, throwing her arms around her waist. All she had to do was touch her. But Rebecca was a cover-all-your-bases kind of girl.

  Charley screamed, and another horn honked. Becca held on like a monkey, refusing to budge.

  “Get off me!” Charley tried to buck her off. “Is your hand up my shirt?”

  Charley wiggled, and Becca grabbed the sides of her face, planting a violent, messy kiss to her cheek.

  Finally, Charley broke free. “Are you out of your mind!” She hauled back and slapped Becca hard across the face. Her head snapped to the side as stinging pain ricocheted across her skull.

  Holden was there a second later pushing Becca behind him.

  She couldn’t see his face, but his shoulders trembled. She pressed her palm very, very lightly along his spine. Without turning, he reached a hand toward her and she clasped it.

  “That’s enough,” he barked.

  Charley jogged backwards, dragging her bag on its front edge. She didn’t look like a stone-cold necromancer. She seemed more horrified than malevolent.

  “Stay away from me! I mean it!” Charley bolted for the terminal’s sliding-glass doors.

  Holden spun and grabbed Becca by the shoulders, pulling her off the crosswalk. “Are you okay? Do you feel anything?” He examined her face and then felt the pulse at her wrist.

  “No, no.” She wrenched from his grasp. “Give me a minute.” She read her body, her palms in particular. Her face hurt, but that was all.

  Holden growled under his breath. “She slapped you.”

  Becca looked up into very worried blue eyes. He was scared. For her.

  “I’m okay,” Rebecca assured, showing him her hands. “I touched her. But no blood.” Which didn’t make any sense. Charley had to be the necromancer. Because, if she wasn’t, Becca was back at square one.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Holden didn’t like Charley McGovern, but she was not a necromancer, let alone their necromancer. She was just a bitch.

  His suspect list was narrowing, but it didn’t make him feel any closer to the end. Just the opposite. The fewer the names, the fewer chances to find this person. What happened when they crossed off all the names on the list, but still hadn’t found the caster they were looking for?

  Time to meet the little sister Rebecca supported full-time, probably the shakiest suspect on his list.

  Holden glanced at Rebecca in the passenger seat beside him. She looked tired, worn out, like t
he weight of the summoning spell was slowly crushing her to rubble. Maybe seeing her sister would brighten her spirits, even temporarily.

  And that was worth the time and energy to drive out of town and meet Nelly Powell for dinner.

  He pulled the Jeep into a quiet family restaurant off the main drive in Benson, North Carolina, a one-road town along a stretch of the I-40 between Charlotte and Auburn. A short, brunette version of Rebecca waved from the front vestibule. Becca climbed out of the Jeep, and the girl pounced, pulling her into a frantic embrace.

  “I missed you so much!” Nelly squealed, doing a little happy dance.

  “Oh, me too. You look fantastic.”

  Holden couldn’t help but wonder which Rebecca was the authentic version—extroverted schmoozer, bubbly sister, or the softer, sweeter woman he’d met only recently in their private moments. He knew for sure which one he liked better, but was that the real Rebecca or another production?

  The sisters embraced. Rebecca’s hands touched only clothing, not bare skin.

  “Rebecca’s hands are freezing, don’t you think?” he blurted.

  Frowning, Nelly snatched both of her sister’s hands in her own. “A little.” She shrugged. “I guess.”

  “Let’s get inside,” Rebecca said, throwing Holden an exasperated look.

  The restaurant was decorated with nearly black, wall-to-wall wood paneling, and all the waitresses wore identical tank tops and cowboy boots. The three of them sat at a booth in the back. Holden ordered a steak sandwich with onion rings, and the girls ordered a pasta plate to share. Once the drinks were on the table, Nelly made her big announcement.

  “I got a job!” She pulled a face and then giggled. “Seriously. A real one.”

  Rebecca’s jaw dropped. “But—”

  “I know, I know. It’s a part-time, entry-level job, so it won’t interfere with my classes, and it’s at the PR firm I want to work at eventually. It’s like a stepping stone to a career.” She plopped her hands on the table, rattling at least a dozen silver bracelets on her arm.

  “But—”

  “I’ll finish my degree.” Nelly laughed again. “Geez, Becca, of course I will. What do you think I’m doing?”

  “That’s great news,” Holden said, interrupting. “Congratulations.”

  Becca signaled the waitress. “Champagne, please. We’re celebrating.” She stood up from the booth. “I’m going to use the little girls’ room, and then I want to hear every single detail.”

  As she passed him, Holden reached out and seized her wrist, images of all the things that could go wrong the second she was out of his sight flashing through his thoughts. “Five minutes,” he whispered, “Or I’m coming in after you.”

  She nodded and walked away.

  Nelly cleared her throat. “Since when does my sister need help using the restroom?”

  Okay. Good time to bring up a couple of things this young lady didn’t seem to know. “She hasn’t been feeling well.” He only glossed the facts a little. Maybe Rebecca’s skills in spinning the truth were rubbing off on him. “I’m afraid she’ll pass out and hurt herself.” Or worse.

  “She’s sick?” The raw, panicky concern on Nelly’s face told him she wasn’t a heartless money-grabbing idiot. She genuinely loved her sister. And probably wasn’t casting spells to possess Becca with a demon.

  “She works really hard,” Holden told her. “Twelve-hour days as far as I can tell. Seven days a week.”

  Nelly blanched. “I didn’t realize…”

  “She needs to take time off and relax, but—” God, it wasn’t his place to say this. Not his family. Oh, screw it. “She wants to take care of you and your dad so badly that she’s killing herself at work. No time off. No boyfriend. No hobbies.”

  Becca snuck up on him. “Who has no hobbies?” She looked pissed. Like, super pissed.

  Deep down, he wasn’t the kind of guy to mince words. “You.”

  “That’s none of your business,” she snapped, sitting.

  The waitress came over and poured champagne, which sat fizzing in their glasses while Becca shot daggers at him with her eyes.

  “Holden, excuse us. I’d like to talk to my sister. Alone.” You asshole. Rebecca didn’t have to say it. She communicated it quite well with her eyes and her tight lips and the fist on the table.

  He got up and left.

  * * *

  “Is what he said true?” Nelly asked, her eyes shining with unshed tears.

  Becca wanted to kick Holden. She wanted to kick herself.

  Nelly added, “Have you been working yourself into an early grave just so I can go to school? Becca, I never—”

  “That’s a bit of an exaggeration.”

  “Are you working twelve-hour days?”

  “Okay.” Becca held up her hands. “Hold on. Whatever Holden said is his own opinion, not necessarily the truth.”

  “Do you, yes or no?”

  “Sure.” She didn’t have anything to be ashamed of. That’s what it took to build a business from nothing to one of the most successful real estate teams in the county. Hell, the whole state. “I have to.”

  “Why? Why are you working so hard? What are you working for?”

  “Money!” she blurted and then regretted it. That sounded awful. She sighed. “That’s not what I mean.”

  “Becca.” Nelly took her hand and squeezed. “Listen to me. You don’t have to save us. You can’t make up for Mom. You know that, right?”

  “Who else was gonna do it?” she asked with complete sincerity. “Dad couldn’t handle things. You were a kid. Who else was gonna pay the power bill and do the laundry?”

  “I’m so sorry, sissy. That wasn’t fair.” She shifted, her bare legs peeling off the plastic seat. “Well, you don’t have to anymore.”

  Becca snorted. Right.

  “I mean it. I’m not taking any more money if it means you’re miserable. I can take care of myself.”

  “I don’t want you to—” Becca wanted to help her sister. She really did. Taking care of her dad and Nelly was the reason she got up every morning at five thirty and worked until nine, ten, or eleven o’clock at night when a client needed her. And maybe it was ridiculous to want to fix the pain her mother had caused by leaving, but it made her feel in control. Finally.

  “Stop. Look at me. Please. I can’t stand the thought of you working this hard for me.”

  “Here you are,” the waitress said, smiling as she set down two plates of steaming food and an extra dish. “Enjoy.”

  Becca stared at the pasta primavera like it was raw sewage. “I’ve lost my appetite,” she said quietly. “You eat.” She pushed the plate nearer to Nelly.

  Her sister snorted. “No, thanks. I’m a little flustered.” She pushed back on the plate. “Who is that guy?”

  “I told you, a business associate.” What a ridiculous euphemism. Holden was a lot of things to her, and none of them had anything to do with business.

  “He’s a little weird. But he worries about you.” She chuckled, poking her straw in and out of her sweet iced tea, her bracelets jangling. “It must be nice for someone to take care of you for a change.”

  “I can take care of myself.”

  “No shit.” Nelly rolled her eyes. “That doesn’t mean someone else can’t do it. Now and then.”

  Becca stared after Holden though he was long gone. “He’s more than a little weird.”

  “He’s handsome though. That counts for something.”

  Becca nodded. Handsome didn’t cover it. “He’s polite. And sexy. And smells good. And holds doors for me. But his issues.” She groaned. “They’re the size of semi trucks. And I don’t know if he’ll ever really get over them.”

  “What kind of issues?”

  “Private.” She wouldn’t spill his secrets, not to her baby sister. “But big.”

  Nelly did more poking with her straw. “Well, so long as he doesn’t hurt you—”

  “He’d never—”

  �
��Then what’s the problem? I hate to break it to you, sissy, but you’re not issue free yourself.”

  “He says he’s better since he met me.”

  Nelly smiled. “You’re better since you met him.”

  “What?” She laughed. “What do you mean?”

  “Well, you haven’t arranged the condiments into sets of three. You haven’t folded the napkin into fourths. You haven’t even lined up your silverware in parallel lines.”

  Becca examined the table as if seeing it for the first time. Her sister was right. She hadn’t done any of the little compulsions that made her feel calmer and more in control. Maybe Holden was good for her, too.

  And she’d snapped at him.

  “I need to go talk to him.”

  “Sure.”

  Becca signaled for the waitress, had her box up the food, and took care of the check.

  Outside in the warm spring sunshine, Holden lounged in the Jeep’s driver seat. His eyes tracked her as she approached.

  “You shouldn’t have said those things to my sister.”

  “She needed to hear the truth.”

  “There’s such a thing as tact.” Though she kind of liked his brutal honesty. Rebecca didn’t have enough of it in her life.

  “I guess I don’t have any.” The Jeep roared to life. Holden passed her his baby blue UNC cap. “Did seeing your sister help you feel better?”

  “Much.” She wound most of her hair under the hat and tucked the rest behind her ears. “But where do we go now that I’m out of suspects?”

  “I don’t know.” He jerked the Jeep into reverse. “But I want to talk to that goddamned witch one more time.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Rebecca’s gaze followed Holden as he paced her motel room, his cell cupped to his ear. “Yeah, no.” He was visibly rattled, talking fast. “Does your spell still have juice?”

  “Speakerphone,” Rebecca said for the second time.

  Nodding, he palmed the phone and pressed a button.

  Dani’s voice crackled in the air. “—mess with me, kid. That spell will last the rest of her life, if it has to.”

  “But nothing happened,” Holden shouted.

  “Then you didn’t touch the spell caster,” Dani shouted back. “When you do, you’ll know it.”