Barbecue & Brooms (A Southern Charms Cozy Mystery Book 4)

by Bella Falls

  Nana flushed bright pink. “Charli, you’ve already met this man here, but I guess I wanted you to officially know that we are an item.”

  Her confession rendered me speechless. Mason placed his hand on my lower back, but nothing he could do would calm my jangling nerves.

  Billy Ray stuck out his hand to shake mine. “I know it may come as a bit of a shock, but I promise you, I intend to take good care of this here lady.”

  My eyes flicked down to his open palm, but I couldn’t bring myself to take it.

  “Charli Bird, don’t make Billy Ray think me and your parents didn’t teach you good manners.” Nana’s eyes bore into my soul.

  Plastering on a smile that no one would believe was real, I accepted the handshake. “Make sure you do take good care of her. She only deserves the best.”

  Matt and TJ joined us. My brother slapped the ex-racer on the back. “It’s kind of nice to have an inside track with a racer. Get what I said?” he asked, elbowing me in my side. “Inside track?”

  TJ emitted a barfing sound, and my brother stopped laughing at his own joke to make sure she was okay. “You know,” she chuckled, reaching out to stroke my brother’s cheek. “You’re going to be just fine when the baby comes. You’ve already got telling dad jokes perfected.” She kissed him on the lips.

  Entirely too much hankyin’ and pankyin’ was happening around me. I slipped away from Mason’s touch and bolted for the drinks, hoping at least something my grandmother put out had some alcohol in it.

  “Hey, Charli.” Dash’s deep greeting washed away my heebie jeebies.

  “Hey, yourself. Did you bring Lucky with you?” Handing him a red plastic cup of sweet tea, I allowed myself a slight peek at his face.

  The scars did nothing to take away from his looks. In fact, the injuries gave him even more a sense of mystery and intrigue.

  The edges of the wolf shifter’s eyes crinkled, and he flashed me a rare smile as he caught me looking. “I did. He’s inside with a plate of food, eating what he can.” The smile faded when he talked about the leprechaun. “He’s not looking good. Any progress on your end? Has the detective been able to, you know, detect something?”

  Dash’s sarcasm turned on my sense of protection over Mason’s attempts. “We’ve been working on things all day. There are a few theories, but we’re hoping tonight we might be able to get some key information to help out.”

  He led me over to another table full of food and handed me a plate to load. “I don’t know how much Lucky can endure. But the short guy is tougher than anyone I’ve ever encountered, and that’s saying something.”

  I nudged his side with my hip. “You mean the short king?”

  “Shh, don’t say that too loud.” Dash piled two scoops of creamy macaroni and cheese on my plate next to a smothering of collards. “There are times when I think the world can’t surprise me anymore. And then Lucky tells us an unbelievable tale.”

  Neither of us gave voice to the worry devouring our insides. Instead, we prepared to stuff food in our mouths. To outsiders, they might think it strange that all of us gathered here at my grandmother’s shouldn’t be eating like it’s a party. But we all understood the great magical undertaking about to happen and needed to be as fueled and ready as we could be.

  The grilled chicken leg covered in barbecue sauce perched on top of the mound of food on my plate. If I wanted a slice of red velvet cake for dessert, I needed to gobble everything down. Lily called me over to sit with the group of girls staying at my place, so I shot a quick thanks to Dash and joined them, not giving him a chance to say the other things I thought I saw in his gaze. Color me a coward, but I’d rather face the firing squad of nosy questions from my friends than listen to Dash’s explanations.

  About the time my plate was empty enough for some cake, Nana stood on the back porch and addressed all of us in her yard. “Y’all know why it was important I asked you to be here tonight rather than at the festivities. A friend of ours is in trouble, and it will take all of our strength and will to help him out.”

  Lily grabbed her cousin’s hand. “Are we doing it out here?”

  “If I thought we could get away with going down to the Founders’ tree and performing the ceremony round its magic, I’d drag y’all there. Since we’re still trying to keep as low a profile as we can, we’re gonna have to contain it all inside,” my grandmother explained. “Finish eating and drinking, and get your behinds in here.” The screened door slammed shut behind her.

  Dash put down his plate of food and jogged over to greet his two friends who entered the scene with reluctant steps. I waved at the sisters in greeting while they surveyed with wide eyes how many of us were gathered. Hopefully Dash could explain to them how normal something like this could be in Honeysuckle and ease their worries.

  TJ hugged me goodbye and headed home at Matt’s insistence. Even though he was being overprotective, he had my full support. Magic, even when wielded carefully, could be wild and uncontrolled. No telling if it could cause her to go into premature labor, so no point risking an early appearance from Charli, Jr.

  After I brought my plate into the kitchen, I made my way into the parlor. Someone had helped Nana clear out most of the furniture except some heavier antique pieces lining the walls. Several of the witches found a place to stand on the edges to start a makeshift circle. Lily and Lavender joined their grandmother Mimsy on the interior where Lucky lay on his back on some cushions in the middle of the room.

  My stomach rolled when I spied the color of his face. Dash hadn’t been exaggerating when he said our friend wasn’t doing well. More gray than pale, he looked like he would fade away into the shadows before long.

  “Should I give him back his jewel?” Mason asked, popping up beside me.

  “I honestly don’t know, although I think it can’t hurt. Why don’t you ask Nana?” I suggested, too unsure and shaken to give him a definite answer.

  Dash escorted the two witches from the mountains inside the room, but they lingered outside the circle. I did my best to clear away my concern for Lucky and welcome them.

  “I think my grandmother wants you to join the other witches who have some psychic abilities.” Taking both by their hands, I dragged them over and introduced them to Lily and Lavender, letting the cousins take over the rest of the introductions and instructions.

  The wolf shifter stood away from us and refused when I jerked my head in invitation to join us. With most of us in place, what came next weighed heavy on us. Soft voices lowered until the creaks of us shifting on our feet or the occasional cough or sigh sounded like loud intrusions.

  Nana stood at the far end of the parlor. She looked around the room, taking stock of each and every one of us, nodding her approval and thanks to each individual for coming.

  “Dashiel Thaddeus Channing, you take your place inside the circle.” she ordered. “We need all the help we can get, and your friendship to Lucky is worth just as much, if not more, than a witch’s magic.”

  With a grunt, the shifter obeyed, sidling up to my right-hand side. Mason stood a little taller on my immediate left. At least both men were smart enough not to say anything.

  Nana held out her arms wide. “Y’all hold the hand of the person beside you. We form a barrier of magic, friendship, and hope around you witches in the middle. May it protect you and feed your good works.” Nana waited for the five in the center surrounding Lucky to also come together.

  The air around us crackled with anticipation, matching my nervous energy. Mason squeezed my left hand and Dash stroked the back of my right with his thumb, both of them distracting me. With a deep breath, I did my best to center myself and push my personal conflict away.

  Nana uttered the words to build the spell. “What we have, we give. What we give, we offer freely amongst all gathered here tonight.” A spark of magic rushed through me, and I opened my shields to let it weave its way through those of us in the outer circle.

  It didn’t escape my notice whe
n the power flowed stronger between Mason and me than with Dash. Perhaps the magic recognized two witches who’d shared before, or maybe the wolf shifter’s power couldn’t be a good match, no matter how hard the magic tried to work.

  The five witches in the middle bent their heads, Mimsy Blackwood murmuring low and rocking back and forth where she sat behind the top of Lucky’s body. With intent, she placed flowers all around the leprechaun with the help of her granddaughters. I recognized the daisies and sprigs of lavender but would have to ask my friends about the significance of the other flowers.

  Mimsy rubbed a cutting of what looked like rosemary between her hands and drew a line across Lucky’s head and down both his cheeks. The scent of the herb permeated the room, and my head lightened a little. I squeezed the hands of Mason and Dash to keep myself upright.

  My friends’ grandmother leaned back and closed her eyes. Both granddaughters flanked her and laid one hand on each of her shoulders. All five completed a circle around the leprechaun by touching the witch next to them. With her hands free, Mimsy placed her fingers on either side of Lucky’s temples and drew in a hard breath.

  The older woman labored to continue breathing and her eyes rolled into the back of her head. “The shield around his mind is strong. Whoever cast it is very skilled.”

  Magic pulsed through my body as she bent her head again in greater concentration.

  Georgia’s eyes whipped open and she glanced around the room with great awe and fear. Swallowing hard, she tried not to freak out. “There are a lot of spirits here.”

  “Focus, girl,” Mimsy called out. “Any that might be of use to us?”

  The sister from the mountains shook her head and searched around the circle for Dash to get her out of there. Her gaze found me, and I did my best to mouth her some encouragement and send some good will directly to her.

  “I don’t like this,” muttered Dash.

  “Don’t you dare break the circle. Not now. Not if you care about Lucky,” I demanded.

  Georgia licked her lips, still not appearing any bolder, but she gave a slight nod to let me know she wouldn’t run away. Blowing out a calming breath, she opened herself up.

  Her head turned and tilted to the side, seeing something there the rest of us couldn’t. “There are three faded figures hovering about. They are too much in the shadow to communicate with me, but I feel like they belong here with him.”

  Lucky held up a shaky hand. “It cannae be! Ask them if they are me offspring.”

  The air around the leprechaun shivered, and I swore I saw three shadows hovering above him. Each figure wavered when Georgia addressed them, as if taking turns.

  “They’re a little stronger now, speaking some language I don’t understand. But each one repeats a different word over and over again.” She closed her eyes to concentrate. “It sounds like what they’re conveying starts with a C,” explained the witch.

  Lucky smiled. “It is me kin. Conmac, Ciar, and Corc.” He proceeded to whisper something so low, none of us could hear anything for sure. I knew the ancient tongue he used wouldn’t be understood by us anyway.

  “Lucky had kids?” Mason asked under his breath.

  “I was thinking the same thing,” added Dash.

  I nodded. “Me, too.”

  Nana widened her eyes to get us to hush.

  The three shimmering shadows gathered together until they formed one stronger and darker mass. We watched it rise in the air above the leprechaun, pause, and then dive right into Lucky’s chest.

  “Keep the circle intact,” ordered my grandmother.

  All five of the psychics drew in hard breaths, their voices coming out fast.

  “He never saw it coming,” Lavender cried out.

  Lily followed. “It hurt when his mind was invaded.”

  “The one who did it forced Lucky to do their bidding, emptying him of his will and compelling him to fulfill theirs, like a marionette and its master.” Georgia’s voice sounded distant.

  Ginny coughed and sputtered, her body convulsing. Breaking her hold on the two witches beside her, she dropped forward, her hands touching Lucky’s leg.

  The overwhelmed girl uttered a long, low moan until her voice rasped out her prediction.

  “A rabbit’s foot, a golden coin,

  All good things for luck to join.

  To drain from one into a vessel,

  You search for something in which to nestle.

  Fly fast and far or all is lost,

  To fail is much too high a cost.”

  A sharp scream ripped through the younger witch and reverberated in all our chests. The tingle of magic reached a peak, signaling its limits.

  “Wait,” cried out Dash, pulling his hand out of mine and rushing forward to catch a fainting Ginny. “Do you see who did this to him? Does he remember anything about the one who attacked him?”

  The shared power in the room blasted through all of us and dissipated. I collapsed forward and grabbed my thighs, putting my head between my knees to keep from retching. Alison Kate didn’t make it, and Lee held her hair out of the way. Ben approached Lily and knelt down beside her, catching her as she broke down into sobs.

  Henry slumped down and sat against the parlor wall as the rest of the people in the room attempted to recover. I joined my assistant, too tired to make it any further and having missed where Mason had disappeared to.

  “So what do you think?” I asked him.

  Henry blew out a breath. “I think whoever did this, it wasn’t their first time. We’re dealing with a nasty piece of work who is more than capable of covering their tracks. I also think it’s possible that we might lose…” He waved me off and turned his head away so I couldn’t see the tears forming in his eyes.

  When I looked for Lucky, I found him talking to Nana with Mason helping him to sit up. Dash hovered over the two sisters, crouching down to talk with them and rub both of their backs. When he caught me staring, he quirked his eyebrow, checking to make sure I was okay.

  “I’m fine,” I mouthed. Pointing at each sister, I gave him a thumbs up in definite approval. They had more than earned our respect tonight.

  A few of the guys helped bring Nana’s furniture back into the room, so Henry pushed himself up from the floor with a whole lot of grunts and groans. He offered me a hand to help me stand, and we busied ourselves in straightening up the place and ignoring the somber mood that blanketed the parlor.

  Nana thanked as many as she could before they left until only the few of us who’d been clued in since the beginning were left. Matt and Ben helped Lucky to his feet and escorted him out to the warden’s patrol car parked outside. Dash promised he would return after taking care of Georgia and Ginny. My grandmother forced them to take some food back with them to their campsite. I guessed she gave them an open invitation to return to Honeysuckle anytime they wanted and to call on her if they were ever in need of her services.

  Blythe and I returned to the backyard and poured sweet tea into plastic cups, bringing them inside and distributing them around. Once everyone had at least a sugary drink to shore them up, Nana collapsed onto the stiff couch.

  “What do y’all think?” she asked, the exhaustion on her face causing her to look a little older and less sure.

  “I think I need to shower those two new girls with a whole lot of baked goods,” exclaimed Alison Kate.

  Lavender still clung to her cousin’s hand. “They were pretty amazing and possess a whole lot more power than I think they know. I feel like it supercharged me. I can see all of your auras with more clarity than ever before.”

  “Not that it’s a super power,” remarked Lily, “but if any of you are thinking of purchasing any flowers, I know exactly what you need.”

  Mimsy hugged her granddaughter. “That’s a fine use of magic, my dear. And perhaps it’s high time we teach you how to expand your gifts.”

  Nana raised her hand in the air. “Stop this dithering. We don’t have time for pleasantries or general o
bservations. I need concrete thoughts and interpretations. If someone has an idea of how what just happened could help Lucky, speak out now.”

  I obeyed my grandmother because she’d train me well not to ignore her special tone. “Henry thinks whoever did it is very skilled and can probably cover his or her tracks well.”

  “I can talk for myself,” my assistant complained.

  I ignored him and continued. “But did anybody else catch it when Ginny talked about a rabbit’s foot or golden coin?”

  “I did.” Henry raised his hand, giving me a side-eyed glance. “I think she said the word ‘vessel’. So maybe whoever forced Lucky to give them his luck used something to put it in.”

  I couldn’t help the smile that spread across my face. “That’s the first piece of good news we’ve had so far.”

  “Why, Charli Bird?” Nana asked.

  My eyes went to Mason. “Because we’ve, I mean, I’ve been searching for something that wasn’t tangible.” I didn’t know how many in the room knew about Mason and the magical switcheroo Mason and I had accidentally set in motion. “How can you find the concept of luck if it has no form to find? Knowing we’re tracking an actual object narrows things down.” At least I hoped it did.

  “Charli, you won second in a race today when before, you would fall off a broom if you tried to mount it. I think we know that somehow or another, you and Mason have swapped powers.” Lee shook his head at the two of us.

  “Fine,” I admitted. “I think I might be able to help Mason hone the tracking magic to search for a tangible object. As a last resort, we can close down our borders and have him check every single possession on each person before they leave.”

  Nana cringed. “I’d prefer if we could do something else long before the event ends. The contingency of naysayers from Charleston are really pushing the regional council to take umbrage with how we do things here in Honeysuckle. A disasterous ending like that could tip the scales in their favor.”

  Billy Ray leaned in to say something personal to my grandmother, and I pursed my lips. Matt flopped down next to me, taking too much pleasure in my discomfort.