by Joyce
“Why wouldn’t he tell you about it?” Elsie asked.
“Because that’s the way he is,” Olivia answered. “We all know he’s as slippery as an eel. He doesn’t admit anything unless he has to. I wouldn’t put it past him to set Molly on the track of a murdering witch just so he wouldn’t have to go get her himself.”
“That’s harsh,” Dorothy said. “I thought you had a good time with him on the island when he took your staff.”
Olivia fussed with her blond hair as she would have when she was still alive. But now it never changed. “That was different. I understand the way he thinks—though I didn’t know he was a sea god. I suppose that could explain a few . . . different things.”
I didn’t want to know what those things were. “Let’s stay focused, ladies. If the sea witch is actually someone from the memorial book list, we’d better be careful how we approach this. She could have Brian stashed somewhere. She could try to kill us.”
“How are we ever going to get her to go back to Oak Island?” Elsie asked. “Obviously it’s not somewhere she wants to be.”
“Or maybe she goes out and sows her wild oats every hundred years or so and then goes back,” Olivia suggested.
“But if that’s her normal routine, why ask me to find her and bring her back?”
“And how do we rescue Brian from her?” Dorothy asked.
There were no answers to the questions. We piled back into the Mercedes. Dorothy brought the spelled telescope with her. Elsie hid her sword under her green-and-peach-colored shawl.
I looked at my amulet in the mirror before we left the shop. I hoped it was powerful enough to help me through this.
Elsie had managed to spell a phone book so we could find the witches we needed to talk to. The closest one to us was Zack Nelson. He lived in downtown Wilmington, close to Thalian Hall, the old theater.
“Maybe I should pop over there while you all talk to Zack,” Olivia said. “You know everyone claims Thalian Hall is haunted. I wouldn’t mind spending some time with my people. I might learn a thing or two. It would be nice to understand my ghostly powers.”
“I think you should stay with us, Olivia,” I told her. “Remember the part about one of these witches possibly being a murderous sea witch? We might need your help.”
“Well, of course, Molly. But I don’t know what good I can be without knowing what I can do. Maybe I can visit Thalian Hall alone later.”
“I’ll be glad to take you over there, Mom. I’m surprised there aren’t any ghosts in our house, as old as it is.”
“Honey, I’m sure if there had been any ghosts, witches would have kicked them out years ago. As you’ve noticed, we aren’t exactly ghost-friendly.”
Zack lived in an older house that had been made into apartments. We found his name by the door on his mailbox in the downstairs entrance. When we pushed the call button, he answered and we explained that we were from Smuggler’s Arcane and wanted to talk to him for a moment.
He was happy to see us, and he even brought out homemade chocolate chip cookies and milk, which completely endeared him to Elsie right away. Olivia was taken with his charming Southern-gentleman manners and good looks.
We sat in a small solarium, eating and drinking, while I tried to devise a plan so we’d know if he was the sea witch. Because the power of glamour could be so strong, I couldn’t trust my eyes. I didn’t think I’d have been able to see the glamour the killer had put on before attacking Joe and Suzanne if she hadn’t been distracted.
“Would you mind if I used your restroom?” I asked.
Zack smiled handsomely. He’d been showing us dozens of the orchids that he grew. “Of course. It’s the third door to the right, Molly. Be sure to try the lavender soap. I made it myself. The perfume is exceptional.”
Dorothy seemed to be the only one cognizant of my dilemma. “I have to go too, Molly. I’ll come with you.”
Zack and Elsie both looked surprised, but no one said anything. Olivia sighed as she continued to study his beautiful face and muscular body.
“This looks odd,” I whispered to Dorothy as we went to the bathroom together.
“Women always do it in restaurants.” She shrugged. “What do you have in mind? What’s the plan?”
“There isn’t one. We should have thought of what we were going to do before we got here. I think Elsie and Olivia might be too taken by Zack to be much good.”
“Maybe we could throw water on him,” Dorothy suggested. “What’s the standard practice for taking away a sea witch’s glamour?”
“I don’t think there is one. Sea witches are so rare—like witches who become ghosts. I’m not sure what to do.”
We surveyed the bathroom, admiring its homey touches. The lavender soap perfumed the entire room. The hand towels matched the color of the soap, and pretty purple plants grew in the windowsill.
Dorothy nodded. “Leave it to me. I have a plan.”
Before I could ask what that plan was, she was already on her way back to the solarium. I stayed in the pretty bathroom and filled the sink with water, bathing my face, using my fingers to smooth water on my eyelids. I invoked a water spell for clear sight and hoped that might help. I realized it might not be enough for a really sophisticated glamour, but it was the only appropriate spell that came to mind.
I smelled the lavender soap. It was very nice, but I only needed pure water. I went back and sat in the chair I’d vacated.
Zack looked the same as he had before I’d done the spell. Either he was who he said he was or I couldn’t crack his magic. I was able to see that his credit score was poor and he was having trouble with his wisdom teeth.
I shrugged when Dorothy raised her brows.
She nodded, assuming I couldn’t see anything, and got to her feet. She closed her eyes and invoked a spell for strength before she punched Zack hard in the face.
He dropped back in his blue velvet chair, his hand pressed to his jaw. “Why did you do that, Dorothy?”
She narrowed her eyes, studying him closely. “Are you the sea witch?”
“What is she talking about?” he asked Elsie in pain and confusion.
“Unless I’m very much mistaken, I think she was trying to make you angry so you’d shake off your glamour. A good ploy, really.”
“Except that anyone can tell that no glamour could make a face so perfect,” Olivia simpered, probably trying to make amends. “You’ll have to forgive her. She’s new to being a witch.”
“At her age? What has she been doing all her life?” Zack stared at Dorothy in horror. “Of course I’m not a sea witch. Your mother is right. Anyone could tell that.”
Dorothy’s actions put an end to the almost partylike atmosphere there had been only moments before. We left soon after. I didn’t expect to be invited back at any time in the future.
“I think we can cross him off the list, don’t you?” Elsie asked. “And by that I mean any list that young man ever makes with witch’s names on it.”
“What in the world were you doing?” Olivia asked Dorothy. “I can’t believe that adopted mother of yours didn’t teach you better manners.”
“Back me up here, Molly,” Dorothy implored. “It would’ve worked if Zack was the sea witch. I punched him so he’d be distracted and in pain, like it said in the books we looked through. If he’d been trying to hide who really is, his glamour would’ve slipped.”
“I think, before we visit anyone else, we should come up with a better plan,” I said in the kindest way possible. “I really don’t think Zach is the sea witch. Who’s next?”
CHAPTER 34
Water clear and water bright,
Clear my mind and make it right,
Cleanse my eyes and cleanse my soul,
Let the truth now be whole.
Emma Rhodes was next on the list. She lived in the newer pa
rt of Wilmington just off Military Cutoff Road. We passed the big branch of the New Hanover Public Library, and Dorothy squealed.
“I’ve always wanted to work at this branch,” she said. “I just don’t want to drive every day”
“We’re going to have to write down the next addresses,” Elsie informed us. “The spell on the phone book is fading.”
“I can just look them up on my phone,” Dorothy volunteered with a smile.
“I suppose you could do it that way.” Elsie frowned and muttered something about gadgets.
“She lives in those apartments.” I pointed when I saw the sign. “This time, let’s be more prepared. If Zack had been the sea witch, I’m afraid we’d be dead by now.”
Elsie giggled. “Or asleep like Joe and Suzanne.”
“And Zack could kiss us to wake us up.” Olivia sighed. “Just like a fairy tale.”
“Except that Zack would be the one who’d have put the curse on us,” Dorothy reminded her. “It’s unlikely that he’d want to help us.”
“I suppose that’s true,” Olivia agreed. “You’re not very romantic, are you?”
I interrupted. “What can we do to make sure we’re safe? All I could think of was a water spell for clarity. It worked, but what I saw wouldn’t have saved us. Any ideas?”
“If we had our spell book, we wouldn’t have this problem,” Olivia chided.
“If you hadn’t been murdered, we’d still have our spell book.” Elsie grinned at me. “There you go, Molly. Don’t let her bully you.”
I smiled as Dorothy parked the car. “Ladies, this isn’t a plan. Think of poor Brian. We have to find the sea witch to save him.”
“What if you’re wrong and we find the sea witch but she isn’t the Bone Man’s wife?” Elsie asked.
“Then we’ll save Brian, and I’ll have to figure out another way to keep Joe safe.”
“You know it’s not as easy as you make it sound,” Olivia warned.
“What about if we work on that spell you used at Zack’s, but we do it together, before we go inside?” Dorothy said.
“Great idea!” Elsie smiled. “And I have just the thing that we can spell to see what we’re really looking at.” She produced a small, handheld mirror from her bag.
“Excellent!” Dorothy said. “Come on. Fist bump!”
Awkwardly, Elsie and I bumped fists with Dorothy. Olivia did her own ghostly version of it. We got out of the car and stood under the shade of a large cedar tree. We all put our hands on the mirror. I repeated the spell for clarity, and we said it together a few times before trying to spell the mirror.
Closing our eyes, holding our tools of magic, we recited the spell until the mirror began to glow.
“I think that’s got it,” I said. “Let’s try it out.”
I held the mirror up to my face. It showed me with the Bone Man standing right behind me. I jumped and glanced back to see if he was really there.
“Why is it showing him, Molly?” Dorothy asked.
“The spell shows who we really are,” I replied. “In this case, it’s showing a large influence in my life. You try it.”
Dorothy nodded and cautiously took the mirror from me. She was almost too nervous to hold it up to her face. “That’s not too bad. Look. It’s showing Hemlock and Mom’s house. I guess that’s who I am right now.”
“It’s your house too, honey,” Olivia told her. “I’m not surprised at all that being a wealthy witch is influencing you. It’s your birthright. Be proud of it.”
“Let me try.” Elsie wasn’t afraid of what she’d see in the mirror. “There I am. I look amazing holding my sword. I’ve never seen it on fire before. What’s up with that?”
We all looked at her image in the mirror. She looked strong and powerful, much more so than she looked in real life.
“Maybe you accidentally stuck it in the fire,” Olivia said. “You can get a little careless at times.”
“We know the spell works. We’ll have to figure out a way to gaze at Emma in the mirror.” I shivered, still a little nervous after seeing the Bone Man standing behind me. “We’ll deal with that once we get inside.”
Elsie insisted on carrying the mirror, since it was her idea. We found Emma’s apartment easily enough. Dorothy knocked on the door, and we waited.
“Yes?”
I remembered seeing Emma at the memorial. She was very short, almost pixielike, with golden blond hair and blue eyes.
I smiled at her. “I’m sorry. I’m Molly Renard from Smuggler’s Arcane. Someone at the memorial left behind a valuable antique watch. We’re trying to find out who it belongs to.”
Her blue eyes widened. “I don’t think I left anything there. That poor boy. I felt so bad about his death. It could’ve been any of us. Would you like to come in? I have gingerbread in the oven.”
We gladly agreed and went into Emma’s very modern apartment. She chatted the whole time about her job as a nurse and Sam’s death. Elsie fidgeted, having a hard time sitting in one of the plastic scoop-type chairs. They were too low to the floor, and she was afraid she wouldn’t be able to get up.
“I’ll help you before we go,” I whispered. “Let’s just get this over with. Give me the mirror.”
Emma brought us each a slice of gingerbread with dollops of fresh cream. It was heavenly, though I thought after eating it that we probably shouldn’t have tasted it in case she was the sea witch. It was too late then.
I managed to get behind her with the mirror. Dorothy looked over my shoulder.
The only image we could see was Emma, dressed as a nurse, with a young child who looked as though she was recovering from cancer. Her small, bald head and thin face were pathetic.
“What are you all looking at back there?” Emma laughed and grabbed the back of her blue top. “Is my tag sticking out or something?”
“Yes.” Dorothy pretended to push a tag down at Emma’s neckline. “There you go.”
To further distract, Elsie pointed to a picture on the mantel of a pretty young girl with curly blond hair. “Is that your daughter? She’s very cute. How old is she?”
There was no way she could have known that the dying girl we saw with Emma in the spelled mirror was the same girl from the picture. She didn’t look like the same person.
“Yes. Brandy was three in that picture. She died last year. There was no magic, no medicine that could save her. I almost gave up being a witch.” Emma wiped tears from her eyes. “Then I realized that I couldn’t abandon my beliefs because of her death. I was teaching her to be a witch too. She loved writing spells.”
“I’m so sorry.” Elsie managed to push herself out of the bright yellow chair and took Emma’s hand. “I can’t imagine what you went through.”
“It hasn’t been easy. I give everything to my job and then spend hours trying to contact her spirit.” She held up her hand. “I know. I shouldn’t be messing with that stuff, but I see you have a ghost. I’d give anything to have Brandy here with me.”
Olivia dropped down from the ceiling. “Oh, my dearest woman, she is here with you right now.”
Emma got to her feet. “Really? Where? Why doesn’t she show herself? I can see you.”
“It may be your sorrow,” I said. “I don’t know everything about ghosts, but my mother told me once that grief can keep us from contacting our dead loved ones. You’ll have to let go of it to see her.”
By this time, we were all crying, our arms wrapped around each other. Olivia was crying too, and she pressed as close as her ghostly flesh would allow her.
“Thank you,” Emma said. “Thank you so much for coming today. The watch you found isn’t mine, but what you’ve given me is invaluable.”
“When you find her,” Elsie warned, “beware the council. They’ve already threatened to take Olivia from us. They might do the same with Brandy.”<
br />
Emma’s face was fierce. “Let them try. Where is she now, Olivia?”
Olivia pointed to a corner where a blond doll sat on a painted chair. “She’s right there. Come on and give your mama a hug, sugar. She wants to see you in the worst way.”
Until that moment, I couldn’t see Brandy either. Then, suddenly—there she was. She looked as she did in the picture on the mantel, with a big smile on her face.
“Mama?”
“I’m right here, baby.” Emma sobbed as she saw her daughter’s spirit for the first time. “We’ll never be apart again. Someday I’ll cross over and we’ll really be together.”
We left Emma and Brandy together. All of us were still crying, trying to keep our eye makeup from running.
“Definitely not the sea witch.” Elsie blew her nose on her peach-colored handkerchief. “We’re so lucky to have you, Olivia. That poor woman. At least they’ll be together again.”
“I couldn’t see her,” Dorothy remarked. “Do you have to be related to a ghost to see them?”
“No. Not usually,” I replied. “I couldn’t see her at first. She had some reason that she was hiding. I hope it was nothing to do with her mother.”
“I know what you’re thinking, Molly, and don’t you dare.” Olivia shook her finger at me. “Sometimes a ghost has a hard time getting used to where she is, and she can’t appear right away. It has nothing to do with how much the mother loves the child. And it certainly doesn’t mean she was being abused or something. I can’t believe you even thought that.”
I had been thinking that. It came from years of teaching school and trying to help children who were being abused at home. I didn’t always think the worst, but I had in this case. “I’m sorry. I’m sure you’re right. But how did you know?”
Olivia looked surprised by the question as we got back in the Mercedes. “I don’t know. Maybe I’m learning things about being a ghost. It’s taken long enough.”
