Shadow Witch

by Geof Johnson

  “I thought Renn killed all of the wizards on Eddan’s world,” Rachel said.

  “Maybe this guy’s magic is too weak to matter. I’ve never sensed anything from him, and I was there for all of spring break. Either his magic is too puny for me to detect, or he went all that time without doing a spell, which I doubt. No real sorcerer would do that.”

  “So why did he write to you?” Rachel asked.

  “He’s heard about our school and he’s offering his services as an instructor.”

  “Teaching what? What are his qualifications?”

  “He doesn’t say, but he’s offering to come teach on a trial basis, for free, up to two weeks, so we can see if we like him or not.”

  “Hmm....” Evelyn rubbed her chin with the knuckle of her index finger. “We could still use another teacher, especially one from that world. What do you think? Is there a way we can meet with him first?”

  “We can go to Vessport and talk to him. I know where it is, and I can make a doorway there. I can go Monday morning, since I don’t have to be at work ’till noon.”

  “I’d like to go with you,” Evelyn said. “I want to see what this fellow is all about. He may have something useful to offer us.”

  Chapter 14

  On Saturday morning, Jamie, Carl, Larry, and Garrett helped John Paul move into his new residence in Hendersonville. It took less than an hour, because Jamie made a magic doorway inside it, connecting it to John Paul’s lake home in Thibodaux, Louisiana. All they had to do was slide the furniture through from one house to the next.

  “Now, this is the way to move,” Larry said, brushing his hands together after they pushed the dresser against the wall. “It’s more like rearranging than anything else.”

  “I don’t really that have much stuff,” John Paul said. “My ex-wife took all the good furniture when we got divorced.”

  “Why didn’t she take your lake house?”

  “She left me before I got it. I inherited it from my great-uncle about two years ago.” He grinned slyly. “She’d a’ taken it for sure, otherwise. She had a slick lawyer.”

  They stood together in the small bedroom and surveyed the scene. Cardboard boxes crowded the old hardwood floor, and the walls were drab, once painted off-white, but not in years. “Needs a woman’s touch,” Garrett said, rubbing the side of his jaw with his fingertip. “New curtains and paint and stuff. Basically, though, it’s a decent house.”

  John Paul nodded. “I’ll get Brinna to help fix it up. She’s going to want to do that anyway, since we’ll be living here after we’re married. At least for a while.” He patted Carl on the shoulder. “That was nice of your dad to help me find this place. It’s better than an apartment, ’cause I can keep my boat here, and it’s got a garage.”

  “My dad didn’t have to do much. He just called one of his cousins. He’s got a ton of ’em. Cousin Jerry’s got quite a few rental properties, so it worked out pretty well, I think.”

  “Jamie,” John Paul said, “don’t forget to make a permanent doorway for me before you go.”

  “Where do you want me to put it?”

  “Can you connect it to the cellar in Brinna’s shop on Eddan’s world? It’ll be inconspicuous down there, I think.”

  Jamie looked around the small bedroom and said, “Where am I putting this end of it?”

  “There’s a storage closet down in the basement. I thought you could put it there, and I could put a lock on the door to keep it safe until Fred can put a hex on it.”

  Someone knocked on the front door and John Paul opened it to find Jamie’s older cousin Jerry waiting on the brick stoop. He was big, with a barrel chest and long legs, and had solid white hair. “Hello, boys,” he said in a deep, rumbling voice, and stepped inside. “Good to see you, Carl.” He turned to Jamie. “You still working for my brother?”

  “Yes sir,” Jamie said. “I usually work on Saturdays, but I managed to get off to help John Paul.”

  “Earl always speaks highly of you. He’s gonna miss you at the clinic when you go off to college.” He glanced around the living room and said, “Just came by to see if everything’s okay here.”

  “Everything’s good so far,” John Paul said.“Got all my stuff in, and electricity and water are turned on. Cable and phone will get connected next week.”

  Jerry scratched his ear and narrowed one eye. “You sure did get moved in quick. It’s only ten o’clock. I just talked to you yesterday afternoon and you were still in Louisiana. What’d you do, fly?” He chuckled.

  Jamie held his breath while he waited for John Paul’s answer. He’d better come up with a believable lie. He sure can’t say that we used a magic doorway.

  “Uh...I drove all night,” John Paul said, “and these guys showed up early and helped me unload. I don’t have much stuff.”

  “I guess not.” Jerry surveyed the room again and said, “Where’s the truck?”

  “Uh....” He glanced at Carl and his eyes flared for a second, then he cleared his throat and said, “I took it to the U-Haul place already. Just got back.”

  “Did you take it to the one on Asheville Highway or 64?”

  “The, uh, closest one. I don’t know the street names around here yet.”

  “Well, that must be the one on 64, then.” Jerry clapped John Paul on the shoulder and nodded. “You just give me a holler if you need anything. Any leaky faucets or whatever, and I’ll come over right away.”

  “I can take care of little stuff like that. I’m good with tools.” John Paul opened the front door and said, “Well, got lots to do, still. Got to unpack and go to the store and stuff. Thanks for droppin’ by.”

  Jerry hesitated for a moment and took one last look around before leaving. John Paul closed the door behind him and said, “Thought he’d never go.”

  “Dad?” Jamie said. “Do you think he’s going to come by here often? I don’t want him seeing the magic doorway if I make a permanent one.”

  “I hope not. Just to be on the safe side, we should go ahead and put a lock on that door in the basement if you’re going to put the portal inside of it.”

  “How long will that take? Sammi’s birthday party starts at one o’clock.”

  Carl turned to John Paul. “You got your tools handy?”

  “I put them in the garage. My cordless drill’s charged.”

  Carl turned back to Jamie. “Maybe an hour. There’s a hardware store less than a mile from here. We’ll be done in plenty of time.”

  * * *

  Shouts. Squeals. Shrieks.

  Jamie’s backyard was alive with the sounds of children having fun. Most of Sammi’s friends from the Rivershire School were jumping inside the bouncy castle, a huge, plastic blow-up structure with a pair of fake turrets and an inflatable chute extending from the wide opening. Some of the other kids were on the swings or were climbing in and out of the clubhouse, and two boys — Aiven and Blane — were playing catch with Rollie and Bryce.

  A pair of long folding tables, littered with paper plates and cups and remnants of food, were set up in the gazebo. Fred and Melanie sat with Nova on the side closest to the house. At the other table were both of Jamie’s grandmothers and Aunt Connie, talking with Mrs. Tully, who seemed as relaxed as Jamie had ever seen her. She looks like she’s enjoying herself for a change, he thought as he made his way toward them from the deck, carrying a plate full of food.

  Carl, Larry, Garrett, and Granddaddy Pete stood around the hot, smoking grill by the back door, holding bottles of beer and laughing at a joke Garrett had just told. In the corner of the deck, Rachel, Lisa, and Adele sat under the big umbrella at the picnic table, long-stemmed glasses full of some kind of citrus drink were in their hands. Jamie took a look over his shoulder at them and smiled. Just like old times.

  In the shade at the front of the gazebo stood Leora’s mother, Mrs. Hale, arms wrapped around her chest, hands gripping her elbows. Her face was as tight as the highest string on a piano while she watched her daughter pl
ay in the bouncy castle with Sammi and the other Rivershire kids. Jamie walked past her and said, “Aren’t you going to eat, Mrs. Hale? There’s plenty left.”

  She barely glanced at him before turning back to face the soft inflated fortress at the end of the lawn. “Perhaps later.”

  Mrs. Tully eyed the tense woman and frowned. “Mrs. Hale, Leora is not going to vanish, you know. She’s as safe as she can be, she is. She’s surrounded by good wizards and witches and an officer of the law.”

  Mrs. Hale turned to her and said, “I know, it’s just...I worry so.”

  “Why? Because we are on another world?” Mrs. Tully grinned, an unusual occurrence for the normally stern-faced housekeeper.

  Mrs. Hale glanced skyward, and then gazed around the yard for a moment. “Are we truly on another, for certain? It seems so...so....”

  “Normal?” Mrs. Tully winked at Jamie, and he had to stifle a laugh. “I’ve been here several times, I have, and no misery has befallen me yet. I’ve seen nary a monster or a villain, so relax. Have fun. You are at a party.”

  Jamie put his plate on the table and sat next to Fred, who squeezed his knee briefly with one hand and rejoined her conversation with Nova and Melanie. Jamie heard more squeals, and saw Sammi and Leora slide down the chute from the bouncy castle and race across the yard toward the gazebo.

  Sammi was the first to reach the tables. “Which cup is mine?”

  Evelyn picked one up and checked the bottom, then another and said, “This one has an S written on it.”

  “That’s it.” Sammi took it, put it to her lips and drained it while Leora searched for hers. Sammi lowered her empty cup and panted with a bright grin on her face, deep dimples showing in both cheeks. “I was thirsty.”

  “Ma?” Leora said, her eyebrows drawn low in a look of concern. “Aren’t you going to eat?”

  “I have no appetite at the moment,” Mrs. Hale said.

  Sammi put her hand on the anxious woman’s arm. “You should eat, Mrs. Hale. The food is really good.” Sammi nodded her head earnestly. “You should try a hot dog. I bet you never had one of those before. Mr. Sikes cooked them and they’re the best in the whole world.”

  Mrs. Hale’s face softened and she said, “Well, if you put it that way, perhaps I shall.”

  “We’ll go with you,” Sammi said. “We need more punch, anyway.” Sammi and Leora, one on either side of her, led her to the deck, holding her hands and chattering like sparrows.

  “Hmm,” Nova said, her eyes narrowed to studious slits as she watched them walk away. “There’s something about that kid.”

  “Which one?” Melanie said.

  “You know which one.” Nova rubbed her chin and slowly turned her head from side to side. “Did you see that?” She glanced at Fred and then looked back across the yard at Sammi, who was already on the deck, watching Rachel scoop punch from a large plastic bowl into Sammi’s white paper cup. “She took that lady’s hand and all the tension just seemed to drain away from her.” Nova snapped her fingers on one hand. “Like that. I know Sammi’s a Shadow Witch and all, but are you sure she doesn’t have another witchin’ power? I don’t know what you’d call it...Don’t Worry Be Happy magic or something.”

  “Could be,” Fred said, “but I think it’s a natural, non-magical thing with her. We can ask Momma Sue when we go see her tomorrow.”

  Nova frowned and grunted. “Still don’t know about that. Haven’t decided if I’m going or not.”

  “Don’t be a baby. You’re going, and you’re gonna like it.”

  “What if I say no?”

  “You don’t have a choice,” Melanie said with a faint smile. “Fred has already decided for you.” She poked Fred in the shoulder and grinned. “She can be kinda bossy, in case you haven’t noticed.”

  It was Fred’s turn to frown. “Hey! I’m getting better about that, aren’t I?”

  “You have your moments.”

  Nova swept one hand in front of her and said, “All these people here, they did the oath, too, the one you made me say?”

  “Not the people from Eddan’s world,” Jamie said.

  “Why not?”

  “They’re cool about the magic anyway, and who are they gonna tell that could affect us?”

  Nova scratched her cheek with one black-lacquered fingernail and looked at the kids swarming around the playset. “You said those folks grow up around magic? It’s like, normal to them?”

  “They take it for granted. I can fly on their world as much as I want and not worry about it,” Jamie said.

  “Cool. Flying. I’d love to do that.”

  “You can ride on my back if you want, but we can’t do it here. My neighbors might see.”

  “I might take you up on that sometime.” Nova pointed at the fairy pendant that hung from a thin chain around Fred’s neck. “Is Momma Sue gonna teach me how to make that Stupefyin’ Spell?”

  “I can teach you that,” Fred said. “It’s not hard.”

  “Can Sammi do it?”

  “She’s not old enough. Momma Sue said she has to wait until she’s a teenager. Said it’s related to hormones.”

  “I have a theory about that,” Jamie said.

  Fred patted him on the knee and gave her head a tight shake. “Some other time, okay? This is a party, not a geek-fest.” She turned to Nova and said, “He has lots of theories.”

  Jamie shrugged. “Can’t help it. I think I got that from Eddan.”

  “So,” Nova said, “this old geezer wizard from that other world...you really got all of his memories? Can you like, remember everything he ever did?”

  “Not everything, just the significant stuff. But can you remember everything you ever did? Do you remember what you had for dinner last Monday?”

  “I can’t remember what I had for dinner last night.” Nova turned back to Fred. “If I learn that Stupefyin’ Spell, I have to learn the counter charm, too, right? Do I have to wear one of those cheesy things?” She pointed at the cheap bracelet that Fred had on her left wrist.

  “You can put the counter charm in anything you want, but it should be something that you wear all the time. I just recently learned how to put it in wedding rings and stuff. That’s what I did for our moms. They all have necklaces with the Stupefyin’ Spell in it, too.”

  “Is Hendersonville that dangerous of a place?”

  “Nah, but you never know.”

  “What if you need more than one counter charm? Isn’t there a different one for different hexes?”

  “Momma Sue taught me how to combine them into one object.” Fred raised her forearm and gestured at her wrist. “For instance, I can put the counter charm for a repulsion spell in here, and it won’t mess up the charm that’s already in it.”

  “Speaking of repulsion spells,” Jamie said, “you need to put one on the magic portal I made at John Paul’s house today.”

  Melanie’s eyebrows drew down sharply. “You made a magic doorway and left it unprotected? What if some stranger finds it?”

  “Relax. It’s inside of a locked closet in the basement. My dad and John Paul put a dead bolt on it, so it’s okay for now. But just to be safe, Fred needs to put a hex on it.”

  “But not this weekend,” Fred said. “Too much going on.”

  “Well, soon as you can.”

  Nova picked up her paper cup, looked inside it and twisted one side of her mouth. “I’m dry. Is there any punch left?”

  “Plenty.” Jamie scooted his chair back and stood. “I need some, too. I’ll go with you.”

  As they walked across the grass toward the deck, Nova held up her cup and said, “So this is all you ever drink at parties?”

  “We have sodas.”

  “Oh, wow,” she said flatly. “Wild and crazy, aren’t you?”

  Jamie shrugged. “We have some great parties at Bryce’s house. He’s got a big pool and a game room and stuff.”

  “Oh yeah. Richie Rich. Heard about that.”

  “Please don’t call him
that. He hates it.”

  They walked up the wooden steps and she nodded. “He can give his money to me if he doesn’t want it.” She looked at Carl and the other fathers, who were still standing around the grill even though there was no food cooking on it. “Excuse me, Mr. Sikes,” she said. “Where can I get something to drink?”

  Carl gestured with his beer bottle toward the picnic table. “There’s still some punch left.”

  “Uh, you wouldn’t want to share one of those Budweisers, would you?”

  “How old are?”

  “I turned eighteen back in January.”

  “Ummm...is it okay with you mom?”

  “You can ask her, if you want.” Nova pulled her phone from her back pocket and offered it to him.

  “Nova,” Lisa called from the picnic table, where she was sitting with Rachel, Adele, and Mrs. Hale. “How about one of these?” She tapped a tall glass pitcher in front of her that was half-filled with a colorful beverage and lemon slices. “We’re having sangrias. Ever had one before? They’re yummy, and they don’t have that much wine in them.” She nodded toward Leora’s mother. “We even got Mrs. Hale to try one.”

  “That looks good.” Nova said and licked her top lip.

  “Carl,” Rachel said, “I think it would be okay if she had just one.”

  Nova watched with an eager smile as Adele poured some from the pitcher into a long-stemmed glass like the ones they had.

  “Thanks, Mrs. Wilkins.” Nova took the drink and raised it to her lips, and Jamie turned away and saw Sammi at the far end of the yard, standing at the top of the slide, watching, her dark eyebrows drawn low and her mouth forming a silent oh.

  Nova looked up and saw Sammi, too, and hesitated, frozen in place for a long moment. Then she closed her eyes briefly and sighed. She handed the glass back to Adele and said, “Uh...maybe later, Mrs. Wilkins. Thanks, though. Anything else to drink around here besides punch?”

  “There are some sodas in the ice chest.” Rachel pointed toward the back door.