by Bonnie Gill
“We’ll get it removed.” He wanted to give her hope and reassure himself. Failure would not be acceptable.
“I read in the journal that it’s dangerous.”
“That’s why I’ll be there to help. We’ll do this together.”
Chapter 33
Abby prepared all week for the night of the full moon. She had everything the list called for. She’d read and re-read the spell so many times she had it memorized. But still, she was more nervous than a mouse in a room filled with a thousand hungry cats.
Pepper went with Abby to ‘Blazing Broomsticks’ to return the book and gather supplies.
“The diary warned that the genies are very dangerous and if the spell isn’t performed just right, things could go wrong very fast,” she said to Pepper. Her past history didn’t rule in her favor, and if the spell could backfire, it probably would. Still, she refused to give up—she intended to break her curse. But she needed to give Pepper the chance to back out.
“Ha. I’m not afraid of the big-bad-tampon-genie. I’m still going. You can’t talk me out of it.” Pepper sniffed a cypress eucalyptus incense stick and put it back in the box.
Figuring out a way to ditch River and Pepper would take some serious planning.
“Hey. Where are you today?” Pepper asked. Her blue eyes studied Abby.
Shoot. She needed to stop thinking so hard and pay attention to which candles she picked out. “Sorry. I have a lot on my mind.”
“Well, get what you need and let’s get out of here. This place is giving me the willies.”
They picked up the candles, more salt, and a ceremonial knife. River had found a natural spring and brought her back a milk jug full. They had two Tupperware containers, not the cheap crappy kind, the good kind. One was bigger than the other, so after they locked the genie in the smaller one, they could put the container in the other and duct tape it shut. Better to be safe than have to deal with a pissed off genie. She thought about throwing a tampon in there just to punish him, but hadn’t decided yet.
“I can’t wait for you to get rid of that curse so I can have the old Abby back.” Pepper smirked and tickled her in the stomach.
She pushed Pepper’s hands away and placed the bag of candles in the back of the truck. “Do you think all my bad luck will change? In the journal it said that it could, if the genie had caused it.”
“Of course I think it will.” Pepper shot her a smile filled with hope and reassurance.
“I wish I could end the curse once and for all. If I have a granddaughter she’ll have to go through everything I did.” She wouldn’t stop searching for a way to end the curse on the family for good.
“Didn’t River say he would look into it?”
“He did. He has his Eastern Team digging into their entire library looking for a final cure. So far they haven’t been successful.”
“I bet he finds one.”
She only hoped.
“What’s going on with you and Ottar?” Abby asked as they sat in the truck.
“Nothing. Why?” Her tone indicated something was going on.
She gave Pepper a skeptical look. “I haven’t seen him around these past few days.”
“River said he was with the Gnome at the Eastern Headquarters. He assured me Ottar would be back to repair my dinosaur. The guy is so annoying,” Pepper said and shook her head.
“Mmm hmm,” Abby said in a teasing way.
“What?”
“You like him.”
“You’re wrong. He annoys me and makes me want to punch him in his thick throat sometimes. Did you know he snores really loud? I walked by the barn one morning when he was watching for the Gnome, and I could hear him loud and clear, sawing lumber. That would drive me absolutely crazy.” She threw her arms in the air.
“So you’re thinking about sleeping with him?”
“Oh gosh no. He’s a Neanderthal. Shoot and ask questions later. You know he shot a rabbit in my yard and cooked it over the bonfire one night? One of my poor rabbits had to give his life so that barbarian could eat. I would have gone to the store and bought him a steak if I knew he had been that hungry.”
“Did you tell him you were vegan?”
“Yes, but the dumbass asked if that was like being a pagan. He said he’d fix it. When I asked how. He said, he would find a rabbit in the forest and let it go in my yard. I told him not to bother. The last thing I need is for him to disrupt another bunny family.”
Abby shook her head. Either those two would kill each other or hook up. She had a feeling either way it would end up disastrous. Pepper was pretty adamant about her animals and the rights of farm animals. She wished she could have heard Pepper giving Ottar an ass peeling for harming one of her wild rabbits. The guy probably didn’t know what hit him. Even though he was a tough guy, Pepper could turn into a pit viper when she was pissed. Ottar had the habit of taking Pepper to her extreme limits. She thought maybe there had been a spark between Pepper and Ottar, but it looked like she’d been wrong.
They pulled into their driveway.
“Did you decide where we are going to perform the spell tonight?” Pepper poked her in the shoulder.
Yes, she did, but she wasn’t going to tell them the real place. “How about near the cave where the Gnome hid the treasure?”
Pepper tapped her chin with her finger. “Yeah, that could work. You know, those guys owe you big time for finding the Gnome and his hideout. It would have taken them forever to figure it out.”
They walked into the house.
Abby blew out a loud breath. “Yeah, me the superhero.”
“You need a cape.” Pepper grinned a happy grin like she hadn’t a care in the world, which made Abby wonder what really was going on in the blond head of hers.
“Just call me Super Jersey Devil Girl.” Abby jumped around like a winged crusader.
“Maybe you shouldn’t remove the curse. You could help River and Ottar hunt monsters.”
“Are you crazy? I have no control over what I do when I’m that beast. These past two times I behaved, but I might not in the future. What if I hurt someone, or even eat them? River would have to haul me into the secret hideout so they could probe me. The only reason why I’m not locked up now is because he convinced the agency it was a curse and assured them it would be removed tonight.” She laid the bag of candles on the kitchen table.
“You know, I’ll kind of miss that Jersey Devil.” Pepper loved to tease her.
“I won’t.” Never.
The knock on the back door interrupted them. River and Hercules waited for Pepper to let them in.
Abby’s heart felt like it grew two inches and her rib cage shrunk five when she saw him standing at the door. She still couldn’t believe he claimed to love her. His blond hair moved slightly under his hat in the breeze.
“Come on in.” Pepper held the door for them.
Hercules pulled on his leash, his feet slipping and his nails clicking along on the floor.
“Hi, ladies.” River put a box of donuts on the table before leaning over to kiss Abby.
Abby made the kiss last and snuck her tongue in his mouth. She pulled away and eyed the box. “Thanks for the donuts. Are you trying to get me fat?”
“A few donuts could never make you fat, honey.” He wrapped his arm around her waist.
“So how’s things on the Gnome front?” Pepper opened the box and looked at the different color frosted donuts. “Any vegan donuts in here?”
“There’s a vegan muffin. I think its blueberry,” River said.
“I knew I liked this guy.” She retrieved the muffin and set it on a plate before popping it in the microwave. “They taste better warmed up.” The buttons beeped when she pressed them.
“Are you ready for your b
ig night tonight?” River pulled her closer to him.
“I think so.”
He cleared his throat. “Would you mind if I read the journal? I just want to make sure we haven’t over looked anything.”
Of course he wanted to double check everything. She would do the same if things were reversed. “Here it is. Please don’t lose it.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it. If it makes you feel better, I can look at it here.”
“No, that’s okay. I trust you.” She held out the leather book to him.
“Thanks, sweetheart.”
She would have to get used to hearing those endearments toward her. She had never had anyone call her that. Abby decided she liked it.
“Sure thing, snuggy-poo.” She’d made up her own pet name for him.
“Oh barf. You guys are making me sick. Get a room.” Pepper picked up her muffin from the microwave and walked down the hallway.
“Is everything okay?” River tucked a curl behind her ear and stroked the side of her face.
“Yeah. I guess I’m nervous about tonight. You know if we blow this that genie is going to be pissed.” She shuddered at the thought of what he could do to River.
“We can handle it if we do this together.” His big hands covered both of hers. “Don’t get any screw-brained ideas.”
Damn, he knew her better than she thought. But that was his job, to be one step ahead of everyone. She’d never be able to sneak out and perform the spell on her own.
River looked at Abby and thought about how she was worried about him and Pepper. If he knew Abby like he thought he did, he guessed she planned on ditching them tonight. With her luck lately something could go wrong. He wanted to make damn sure it didn’t. He took the journal and opened it to the page Abby bookmarked.
“This is similar to the spell you and Pepper performed the other night. Except you have to summon the genie first.”
“Yeah. I saw that. According to the book, genies are like demons. Have you ever come across one before?”
“I’ve never dealt with one before. Demons aren’t my specialty. The Paranormal branch of L.A.M.P.S. deals with Demons, ghosts, and poltergeists.” It made him a little nervous. He inquired to all the other branches of the agency about genies, but no one else had encountered them before, not even the paranormal guys.
“Great.”
“After tonight you’re going to be free.” Free to be his, and that sent pulses throughout his body. Shoot he was already getting hard. He couldn’t get over how she sent him into a sexual frenzy.
“I hope we can do this.” Abby picked up Kazoo when the pup entered the room.
Hercules spun and knocked a chair over with excitement. Apparently, he was fond of the little guy too.
“Easy boy. You have to be careful.”
Abby laughed and set Kazoo back down. He ran up and danced on his hind legs in front of the big dog.
“He doesn’t realize how small he is.”
He grabbed a donut out of the box. “I’ll have to get used to eating a lot of these if I’m going to be a real sheriff.” The sugary maple frosting made his taste buds happy.
Abby patted him on the stomach. “I don’t think you’ll have a problem with that.”
“Okay, we meet tonight. I’ll come and pick you and Pepper up around ten. We want everything ready to go at midnight.”
Abby tightened her lips.
“Don’t worry. Nothing will go wrong.”
River could see the doubt in her expression, but more in her eyes.
“I promise.” He kissed her chocolate frosted lips. “Come on, Hercules. We have a lot of studying to do today.”
After tonight he could start his future with Abby.
If nothing went wrong when they summoned the genie.
Chapter 34
Abby paced around the kitchen waiting for River. Where could he be? And why wouldn’t Pepper let her out of her sight? It was as if River warned Pepper to keep watch over her. If she couldn’t get away, then that foiled all her plans of performing the spell alone.
“I’ve changed my mind. I think the waterfall would be a better place for the spell,” she said to Pepper.
“Why?”
“I just have a feeling.” She rubbed her stomach. That little voice of intuition and dread poked its pointed stick inside her belly.
“Fine. This is your rodeo, Abs. I’ll call River and let him know.” Pepper pulled out her phone before she could refuse.
Pepper filled him in on the new location and pressed the screen to hang up on her phone. “Done. He’ll be here soon.”
Abby released the bound breath filling her chest. She went through her checklist one more time to make sure everything was in her bag.
“You know, you don’t have to come.” Abby hoped Pepper would change her mind. “As a matter of fact, I wish you wouldn’t. I don’t want you to get hurt.”
“And miss the big event?”
“There’s no naked dancing in this spell.”
“Too bad. That was the best part of the last one.”
She didn’t want Pepper dancing naked with River. He probably wouldn’t do it anyways but she couldn’t be sure. Pepper was quite the persuader.
River pulled up to Pepper’s house in his new squad car. He pressed on the horn to alert the women he arrived. A real gentleman would knock on the door, but he wanted to get moving.
Abby came out the back door carrying a bag full of supplies while Pepper followed holding a large mirror. They both wore black shirts and dark pants, and they’d pulled their hair back in ponytails.
He jumped out of the car and helped them load their gear in the trunk. Pepper slid into the back, and Abby sat in the front passenger seat.
“Ready?” he asked Abby with an encouraging smile.
She gave a half-nod, but her fidgeting and repeated lip balm swiping said something different.
He reached for her hand and laced his fingers through hers. “Whatever happens, we’re in this together.”
“Like the three musketeers,” Pepper called out from the back seat.
A small laugh escaped his lips. “That’s one way to look at it.” He put the car in drive and they headed toward the ATV parked at the station.
The silence in the squad car made the five-minute drive feel more like an hour. River assumed the women were quiet because of nerves. He wouldn’t be much help there. His nerves were pulled so tight he imagined he could strum out the Battle Hymn Republic on them—which made it extremely hard to hold his confident look.
Before long, they were in front of the waterfall. According to his watch they had a half-hour before the ritual could take place. He handed Abby her grandmother’s journal. “You know you are the only one allowed in the circle.”
“I do.” Her haunted tone was like a punch to his heart. He wished he could perform the spell for her.
He touched a strand of brown hair hanging in front of her eye and tucked it gently behind her ear. “You have to be strong. The genie will try to scare or trick you before you bind him.”
“I know.” She kept her answers short but the determination on her lips and the intensity in her eyes said all he needed to hear.
“I’m going to scout the perimeter to make sure nothing is lurking in the shadows.” He didn’t think anything suspicious lay in wait, but he needed to walk off some of his trepidation.
River strode into the woods and looked around for anything that could cause an interruption. He reached into his backpack and pulled out the heat sensitive equipment to check the area for any heat signatures. A few small orange blips registered on the screen, most likely squirrels, skunks, or raccoons, but nothing to worry about.
Relieved that the Gnome was in custody, and Abby wasn’t
going to turn tonight, the forest and people in the town were Cryptid-free at the moment. He tried to relax. When they summoned the genie, who knew what that bastard could bring with him. Abby’s spell would be opening a door to another realm, and she’d have absolutely no control over whatever came through the passage.
He made his way back to the waterfall. The girls had all the ingredients for the spell spread out on the banks of the shore. The swishing sound of the waterfall added suspense to the moment.
He checked his watch. “We have fifteen minutes.”
Abby looked up from all her ingredients. “Okay. We’re almost ready. I don’t want to make the salt circle until we’re about to start.”
“Good idea. From what I read that’s the most important thing to have intact.”
The rectangular mirror lay on the ground face up, a black dry-erase marker set on top. The candles formed a perfect triangle around the mirror. Her knife and spring water sat to the side next to the round red Tupperware container. He brought his duct tape, plastic bags, and box for the genie to be shipped to headquarters, per his superior’s instructions. Not having control over the contained genie bothered him. What if someone let it out once he released it to L.A.M.P.S.? Abby would be cursed again. He reconsidered sending it to them.
River checked his watch again. “Three minutes to twelve. Almost time.”
Abby paced back and forth around the site. “What if I screw this up?” She looked up at him, her eyes pleading for his help.
“You are going to do this. You are going to free yourself from this curse. Stop worrying.” He draped his arm around her shoulders and kissed her soft lips. His pulse raced like a raging Skunk ape. The last thing he needed was something to go wrong tonight.
Abby had never been more nervous than she was right now.
Not only did her future depend on this spell, but River’s and Pepper’s lives depended on its success, too. She stared at them with gloomy hovering in her vision, and realized just how much she loved them both. One slip up from bad-luck-Abby and everything could go to shit, really fast.
