“Callie, c’mon downstairs. Your mom picked up dinner on the way home.” Grandma Jo’s voice drifted upstairs.
Great, she’d eat a bit and claim a headache. She took a few deep breaths, combed out her wet hair, and applied balm on her parched lips. She still looked like hell but not quite as heartsick.
The smell of pepperoni and sausage pizza filled the kitchen. Grandma Jo usually frowned on fast food, but Ginnie and Callie insisted on a nice, juicy pizza now and then. She stood at the bottom of the stairs for a moment, breathed deeply, and joined them at the table. She cut a small slice of pizza and scooped a tiny portion of salad. The token bit of salad was a show so Grandma Jo would see green on her plate.
“What are you doing in that old robe this time of day?” asked Mom. “It’s early.”
She kept wet hair fanned in front of her face. “I just got out of the shower and grabbed it. I’m not going out tonight anyway.” She moved a little of the salad around with a fork while two sets of eyes bored into her.
“I thought you loved pizza,” Mom said.
“We had it for lunch today. Besides, I’m not that hungry.”
“Not hungry?”
“You must be sick,” said Grandma Jo. “Look at me.”
She reluctantly looked up, hoping her bloodshot eyes would go without comment. “I’ve got a really bad headache. Do you mind if I go lie back down? I’ll eat later.”
“Of course,” Mom said gently. “Do you need aspirin?”
“I already took some.” She trudged back upstairs, leaving the uneaten pizza on her plate. No doubt they were speculating about what was wrong, but she was too miserable to care. All that mattered was the solitude and darkness of her room.
On the way to bed, she glanced at her cell phone on the dresser. Five new messages—all from Skye. She was probably on cloud nine after Tanner called her the prettiest girl in Piedmont. At least one of them was happy.
Callie closed her eyes and relived the day’s every word with James. She had to do it. Maybe James would realize it one day. Would he really kick Theodora out of the house? Or was he even now turning to her for sympathy? She thought she was all cried out, but the tears were back, stinging swollen eyelids.
A knock on the door startled her, and she sat up in bed. She must have fallen asleep because there were deep shadows in the room.
Grandma Jo entered with a couple of slices of pizza on a tray and a glass of iced tea. “We’ve been worried about you. Try to eat a little. It’ll make you feel better.” She set the tray on an end table.
“I’ll try. Thanks, Grandma.”
“I also brought hot chocolate.” She smoothed Callie’s hair back from her face. “I put a little something extra in it, like I did the first night you came home,” she admitted. “I think you need it.”
Callie went straight for the hot cocoa and sipped, tasting the familiar hint of herbal medicine. This time she was grateful for anything that might numb her mind.
Grandma Jo left, shutting the door softly. Callie threw away the pizza, careful to tie it up in the plastic bag lining of the waste can. Tomorrow morning, she’d slip it out to the garbage can. She took another appreciative sip of the minty cocoa. Ahh . . . just what she needed.
A tiny frown crossed her face. What if this became a nightly crutch? Nah, Grandma Jo wouldn’t give her anything addictive. It was probably loaded with something harmless like kava-kava or valerian root.
The cell phone rang. Skye again. Maybe talking would make her feel better. Skye was probably calling to thank her for Tanner’s cafeteria confession. Callie gently set the mug down on the night table. Her head tingled the tiniest bit.
“Hey, Skye. What’s up?”
“Why don’t you tell me what’s up?” Skye’s voice crackled with anger. “What did you do to Tanner today in the lunchroom?”
She held the phone several inches from her ear. Her brain might be fuzzy, but there was nothing wrong with her hearing. Skye’s shrill voice penetrated the brain fog. Her BFF was definitely not calling to thank her. “I can’t believe you’re mad at me.”
“All that talk about how you shouldn’t cast love spells because it violates another’s free will, remember that?”
“But I—”
“And don’t say you didn’t do anything. Tanner was shocked at what he said.”
“But all I did—”
“And I saw how you paired up Michael and Emily too. Did you have fun playing with all of us like we’re your little puppets?”
“I didn’t mean . . . I guess I thought . . .” Callie stuttered. “Look, I’m really sorry. I didn’t cast a spell per se; just nudged Tanner to say what he really felt, and then I put the idea in Emily’s head to sit by Michael.”
“Oh.” There was a long silence. “Are you sure that’s all you did?”
“Honestly, that’s it. I thought it would make you happy. Okay?”
Skye let out a sigh. “I guess so,” she said grudgingly. “Things didn’t go so hot after you left.”
“What happened?”
“Tanner had this horrified look on his face and then bolted without a word. I sat there at the table by myself the whole lunch break like a total loser. Then, even worse, on the ride home, Tanner wouldn’t look at me. He talked to Michael non-stop, and when I tried to talk to him, he either ignored me or answered without looking me in the face. Even Michael noticed how weird he acted.”
“Sorry,” Callie said again in a small voice. “But at least you know he’s attracted to you, right?”
“Yeah. All right, I guess I forgive you. But don’t ever do it again. If he wants me, it’ll happen when he’s ready.”
“Deal. I bet by tomorrow he’s back to his old self and acts like today never happened.”
“Probably.” Skye’s voice sounded wistful. “Enough about Tanner. Did you see James? What’s the deal with Theodora?”
She picked up the hot chocolate and downed the rest of the brew in one swallow, scalding the back of her throat. “It’s over.” She coughed and swallowed iced tea to soothe the burning.
“You don’t mean it.” Skye sounded stunned.
“It’s over,” she repeated. “We aren’t right for each other.”
“Bull.” Skye voice’s rose again. “What’s really going on?”
“It’s . . . complicated.”
“And here I’ve been giving you a hard time about Tanner when you and James just broke up. I’m coming over.”
“No, don’t,” Callie said hastily. “I’m not up to talking tonight.”
“Sure? I hate to think of you being alone.”
“I’m okay. Maybe tomorrow.” Callie cut her off and walked to the window, staring at the vague outline of Booze Mountain’s peak in the moonlight. She wondered what James was doing and laid her head against the cold, hard windowpane.
* * *
For the next three weeks, she heard excited classmates laughing and talking about their summer plans.
None of it mattered. She did her best to put on a show of normalcy, but the effort was draining. When her head hit the pillow at night, she immediately fell into deep, dreamless sleep. No more waking at dawn to hike the mountain paths; she couldn’t take a chance of stumbling upon James. It would be too much to bear.
All of her steadily increasing growth and heightened powers as she approached her birthday suddenly stopped. She didn’t lose anything, but there were no new discoveries. Each day was much like the next. Misery enveloped her mind and body like a gray aura muffling the outside world and keeping out light and magic.
And she wasn’t fooling Mom and Grandma Jo. At first, they tried to probe. “Why don’t you hike anymore? Why aren’t you eating?” To which she would shrug and say, “I don’t feel like it.” They only directly asked about James once. Her remote, dismissive answer of: “It’s over. He’s moved on,” made it clear the topic was off limits.
Even Skye couldn’t get her to open up. “He’s better off with Theodora,” was Calli
e’s clipped response to Skye’s arguments.
“You need to fight for him,” Skye repeatedly urged. But Callie would shake her head and change the subject.
The first week back at school after the breakup was the hardest. James only came to class once, and he casually smiled at her as if she had never been anything other than a passing acquaintance.
Tanner and Michael didn’t question her. Skye apparently warned them she didn’t want to talk about it. Tanner was back to his old self, flirting outrageously with any pretty girl who caught his eye.
Only Michael and Emily were changed by her magical tinkering. They were inseparable. And insufferable, to hear Skye tell it.
“It’s downright nauseating,” she told Callie. “They’re together all the time at school, and after school, they’re either glued together or talking on the phone. Stifling.”
“Emily’s excited about dating him,” said Callie. “I wonder if it will last past the summer since Michael’s transferring to Alabama and she’s going to Auburn?”
“Haven’t you heard? She’s switched schools.”
Callie felt a twinge of envy and regret. Everyone was moving on but her. It seemed pointless to make plans with potential disaster looming shortly ahead.
“Go to Tuscaloosa with me,” Skye urged. “Even if you don’t go to the university, you could get a job and we could get an apartment together.”
“I’ll think about it,” Callie answered with deliberate vagueness. She wasn’t going to commit to anything until after the summer solstice.
But that afternoon after talking with Skye, Callie knew she had to start making concrete plans to forestall the disaster. She closed her eyes, and an image of the Ouija board appeared. Holy crap, not that thing. There were no answers there. Besides, it had probably been thrown away years ago anyway.
She sat down on her bed, defeated, but the image of the Ouija board remained. Callie closed her eyes and opened her senses. The Ouija was hidden inside a plastic garbage bag in Grandma Jo’s pantry. Of course. Grandma Jo likely worked continuous balancing spells against the residual energy the board gave off. But it wasn’t strong enough to last forever.
She’d have to be careful. Callie got a sage smudge stick, some black candles, olive oil, and a few banishing and protecting herbs. That should keep naughty poltergeists from wreaking havoc. All the same, she was glad no one else was around to get hurt.
She locked the bedroom door for privacy and prepared. Lighting the smudge stick, she walked clockwise around the room, taking special care at all the windows and mirrors. She chanted:
“Blessed sage as you burn,
All mischief you will spurn,
No harm may come to me,
Only truth will I see,
This room a haven be,
Safe, secure, and evil-free.”
The sweet, pungent smoke cast a dreamy atmosphere, familiar and comforting. This was the remembered scent of childhood when Grandma Jo lit smudge sticks to chase away the bugaboos Callie was convinced lived under her bed.
Once the room was saturated with smoke, she put the Ouija board on the floor in the center of the space. She pulled her altar box out of the closet for black candles and matches. On the floor, she mixed cloves and camphor in a small vial of olive oil. The olive oil and cloves were for protection, and camphor added a divination boost. Next, she dressed four black candles for each direction--North, South, East, West—by tipping out some of the vial’s potion and rubbing each candle in a downward motion. While infusing each candle, she commanded the herbal brew to meld with the fire and color energy of the candles.
“Black color to banish,
Make all evil vanish.
By fire and flame,
Keep spirits tame.
Negativity be burned
And any harm returned.”
She lit the four candles and placed them at each corner of the Ouija board. Closing her eyes, she took several deep breaths before placing her hands on the planchette.
The moment had arrived.
“Spirits, are you with me?” she asked.
The planchette slowly moved over the board and landed on ‘YES.’
She looked around. There was no unexplained chill in the air, no doors slamming, or floorboards creaking. All was calm—a good sign.
“How many of you are there?”
The planchette navigated toward the numbers section of the board and stopped on ‘1.’
Even better. “Do you have a name?”
The answers came faster now.
“M-A-B-E-L.”
Huh? She expected a name more along the lines of Andora, Ravenhawk, or Ariadne. Mabel sounded old-fashioned and grandmother-ish. This spirit needed testing for reliability.
“What’s my mother’s name?”
“G-I-N-N-I-E.”
So far, so good. “Thank you for coming, Mabel. I need your help. I’ve had visions of the future. Please tell me, am I the cause of a battle?”
“N-O N-O-T C-A-U-S-E.”
She pondered the answer. “But there will be a battle?”
“YES.”
“Is James in the battle?”
“YES.”
“Will he die?” She held her breath.
“NO.”
Callie let out her breath. “I had a vision of someone dying. Is the death from the battle?”
“YES.”
She didn’t want to ask, but she had to. “Who dies?” she whispered.
The planchette didn’t move.
“Mabel, are you still with me?”
“H-E-R-E.”
“Tell me who dies.”
“N-O.”
“Please, Mabel.” She couldn’t believe she was pleading with a spirit. “Maybe I can stop it from happening.”
“N-E-C-E-S-S-A-R-Y A-C-C-E-P-T.”
“No! No one should die because of me.”
“N-O-T B-E-C-A-U-S-E Y-O-U.”
Anger washed her gut. “It is my fault. I should never have come home. The best thing I can do is go away again.”
Even though she didn’t ask a question, the planchette moved.
“D-I-S-M-A-L-S W-I-T-C-H-E-S C-A-V-E-R-N.”
What? “Mabel, I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’ve never heard of this Witches’ Cavern. I just want to know who dies.”
The planchette didn’t move.
She sighed in frustration. “Okay. If it’s not my fault, then will you at least tell me whose fault it is?”
The planchette moved so slow it seemed to take hours to spell out one word. Mabel clearly was reluctant to give details.
“F-A-T-H-E-R.”
“Lucas.” She spat out the word. “It’s always him. I wish I had never found out he was still alive.”
All four candles flickered and two died out. A whiff of decay crept through the sage smoke screen. It took all her nerve not to run screaming from the room.
“Mabel, are you still with me?” A tinkling laugh erupted, like the faint echo of a bell. She kept her trembling fingers locked on the planchette.
“N-O M-A-B-E-L H-E-R-E.”
Friendly or no, another spirit had taken Mabel’s place. Maybe this one would answer her question. “Who dies?”
“Y-O-U W-I-L-L D-I-E.”
The melodic laughter grew louder and closer.
Her hands involuntarily jerked back from the Ouija board. “You cannot enter my magic circle. By the elemental powers of earth, wind, air and water, I command you to leave this house and never return.”
Utter silence. The rotting smell evaporated, and the two extinguished candles sputtered and glowed again. Callie took down the magic circle, more confused now than when she started.
* * *
James tried to forget her.
Callie thought she was protecting him from Lucas, but breaking up with him was the best thing she could do for herself. It was better this way. He would stick around and protect her during her birthday initiation, but after that, he was moving o
n.
Theodora was still Theodora. Meaning, she wouldn’t give up. Actually, the more he resisted, the more her ego rejected defeat. Theodora found a B&B and kept playing librarian, enjoying the young men’s attention. It was positively maddening. At least Dad had thrown up his hands in defeat.
“If you insist on being a fool, there’s nothing I can do about it,” he said. “You know what I think of witches.”
But eventually, Carter, being Carter, couldn’t help running interference.
“Son, I know you don’t like me getting in your business, but—”
“C’mon,” James groaned, holding up his hand. “Last time you tried to help, you planted Theodora on our doorstep. Now I can’t get rid of her. She’s driving me nuts.”
Carter flushed. “I brought her here for another reason, as well.”
He froze. “What other reason could there be?”
Carter regarded him, brows knitted. “Remember when I went to visit friends? It was about the time Sin got sick.”
“Right, you were gone a long time.” James gave him a hard stare. “And Sin was poisoned, deliberately.”
“I agree. I think it was a message to you.”
“What do you mean?” he asked sharply.
“We’ve both noticed strange things going on. You had that encounter with an immortal in the woods, and we’ve both felt menacing presences in the area, much more than normal. When you told me Callie’s father was immortal and that he was trying to get his daughter to come work for him, I started to worry.”
James nodded. “Because you know I’ll protect Callie.”
“I think Lucas wants you out of her life before there’s a showdown. Poisoning Sin was the start of a campaign to intimidate you into forgetting her. I told you the truth. I did visit friends, but it was more of a reconnoiter mission to see if they’d observed any unusual immortal activity.”
“And?”
“Everyone was uneasy. A couple of families even moved away.”
James was startled. “I’m used to being isolated and fighting our own battles. I never would have thought to check with others. And actually . . . I even suspected you hurt Sin.”
Charmed and Dangerous: An Appalachian Magic Novel (Appalachian Magic Series Book 1) Page 19
