Renovation Spell

by Amy Boyles

  I shrugged. “I dealt with it.” Just like I dealt with a lot of other things. “I think that’s one reason why I wound up throwing myself into the witching world when I had the chance.”

  “And that’s when the bad thing happened.” His jaw clenched, and his back stiffened. “You should tell me who it was who hurt you.”

  “Why?”

  “So that, when I remember who I am and how to use the power stored up in me to its fullest, I can find him and hurt him the way that he hurt you.”

  I stared at Rufus, peering into a face that I could only see in profile. The bite in his words wasn’t fake. He meant every word of what he said. But how could I tell him that he would only be hurting himself?

  “John,” I said quietly. “It’s in the past.”

  “But it’s not, is it?” His fingers squeezed around a crimson-colored spell. He inspected it before releasing it into the air. “At least not for you.”

  “I think less of it every day.”

  Unless you count yesterday, for example, when I personally relived it.

  “But you still think of it.”

  “Why do you want to help me?”

  “Because you’ve helped me,” he said quickly.

  “And you’ve already done enough for me,” I replied.

  His face pinched in anguish, and he sighed, dropping his hand limply to his side. “Have you ever met someone and, for some unknown reason, felt a connection, a line that joins the both of you.”

  I paused before whispering, “Yes.”

  He pivoted to face me. Light from a single lamp on the covered barn illuminated a face full of hope, full of longing. “I feel that, between us, and I don’t know what it is. Is it simply that you’ve helped me? I don’t think so. Plenty of people have helped me since I wound up in this town by some chance of fate, but you’re the one who calls to me, who I want to help.”

  He strode forward, passion wafting off him in thick rolling waves. My breath got knotted up in the back of my throat, and I stood, unmoving, as he approached like a storm.

  He stopped and we stared at each other. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t look away. He mesmerized me, this man, and the thing was—every part of what he said was true.

  I felt connected to him, had since the very first moment we met.

  There was a pull to him, and I felt myself falling, slipping forward. Rufus reached toward me, and I wanted to let him take me in his arms. All I could see were his eyes as I fell into his gravitational pull.

  Then Lady rushed up, barking. The sharp sound jolted me from the moment, and I slinked back onto one hip.

  “Maybe we should search for the mimic spell?”

  He nodded, his expression crestfallen. “That is what we came for, isn’t it?”

  I turned away and searched, the entire time feeling as if my heart had cracked in two, as if not only had I hurt myself, but that I’d hurt him.

  And once again, my own gut tightened. There were two choices that I had been faced with (to kiss or not to kiss), and I felt that I’d chosen the wrong one. I’d let him down, and in letting Rufus down, somehow I had managed to let myself down.

  All those thoughts swirled in my head as we plucked spell after spell. Meteors unzippered the sky, revealing more darkness between the stars than I thought possible. The lack of light mirrored my heart and the dark pit that lay within it, a pit that might be ready to be filled by the man who had created it in the first place.

  Chapter 13

  “I found two mimic spells,” I said to Rufus.

  He spun around, jealousy crawling all over his face. “Perhaps you’re the one who should be getting paid for this and not me.”

  I shrugged. “Let’s call it beginner’s luck.”

  “I can think of something to call it,” he murmured. “It seems more like destiny or fate than luck.”

  I tsked. “Now, now. Are you seriously jealous that I found these before you?”

  “No.” He took the spells gently from my fingers and slid them in the open mason jar. “I’m not jealous that you found one. I’m jealous that you found two.”

  “Do you want me to help you find one for yourself?” I teased.

  “You jest.”

  “Yes, I do jest.”

  After stowing the bottle in his satchel, he rubbed his hands together. “Great. Now that we’ve got the work out of the way, why don’t we have a little fun?”

  I eyed him skeptically. “What sort of fun? Is this going to involve running and jumping? Because I don’t consider exercise to be fun.”

  “No, it involves actual fun.” He searched through the floating orbs, inspecting and gently batting them away when they weren’t what he was searching for. “Ah, there you are. Oh, and you, too. I think the both of you will do nicely.”

  “What’d you have there?” Lady asked, bounding up.

  Rufus smiled at her. “You shall see. Now, step back. I don’t want anyone to be hurt.”

  I eyed him warily. “What are you doing?”

  “Watch. You’re going to love it.”

  My stomach churned. “I’m not really one for surprises.”

  “I promise you’ll love this one.”

  Rufus squeezed a purple orb, and suddenly the sound of soft jazz floated in the air.

  “That’s a neat trick,” Lady said.

  “It is,” I murmured.

  “I’m not done,” Rufus said. He took a yellow orb that he held in one hand and twisted the top of it, creating an opening. From that opening, light shimmered up and down, and before I knew what was happening, I was looking at a shower of sparks. It was raining fireworks, y’all. They didn’t pop or explode. Their sound was more like a wind chime blowing in the breeze. That, along with the sound of the jazz, stole my breath.

  Rufus extended his hand. “Care to dance?”

  “I’m sorry?”

  “Would you like to dance?”

  This was definitely turning into a date. But when in Rome… I slid my hand over his and let him pull me toward the shower. The lights fell like rain beside us, and I couldn’t help but watch.

  “This is a nice surprise,” I said. “All we need now is a picnic and a bottle of wine.”

  Rufus groaned. “I knew I’d forgotten something.”

  I laughed. “Tell me, was this your plan all along? To bring me out and woo me with music and fireworks?”

  “Is it working?”

  “I do like both of those things,” I admitted.

  We were silent for a moment, and I noticed how his palm stayed stoically on my back, not daring to dip down below my waist. His large hand cupped mine, nearly swallowing my fingers in his hold.

  He spoke again. “You know, I suppose this is where I tell you something about me, something I’ve always dreamed or yearned for, but when you lose your memory—or at least in my experience of it—the only dream you have is of regaining that memory, of knowing who you were so that you can know your dreams and wants.”

  “Well, since you don’t know what you’re dreaming of, what is it that you want besides your memory?”

  “To be rich,” he said with a laugh. “No, I’m joking. What I want is to be able to know my magic and get to know you better.”

  I clicked my tongue. “You should aim higher.”

  “There’s nothing wrong with simple wants. Most of the world is made up of people who only want simple things—to provide for their families, have clean water, be able to cross the street without getting hurt. The very act of survival and wanting that is not only simple, but powerful.”

  I leaned back to stare up at him. “You should speak in public.”

  He chuckled, glancing down in embarrassment. “I only meant to explain why I’m not shooting for the stars. I get the feeling that in my past life I did aim for them and got much of what I wanted, but it still wasn’t enough. I’d rather want less and have more than want more and have less. Seems the key to happiness is the former rather than the latter.”

&nb
sp; “And you make my dreams seem so simple—take over the world, one house renovation at a time.”

  “People need a place to live.”

  “They do.”

  I relaxed back into his arms and let my head rest on his shoulder. Lady padded over to a spot on the grass and plopped down, rolling onto her back to scratch it against the earth. I could stay like that all night, leaning on Rufus, letting him lead me in a slow dance as the sky went from deepest ink to bursts of orange and pink, while spells whizzed by, bumping into each other and bumping into us.

  The thought surprised me, and I acknowledged the worry that knotted my gut, letting it surface and then waiting as it dissolved away.

  “Should we head back?” Rufus said after a few minutes.

  I yawned. “I think so. I’m tired.”

  He released his hold on me, and I instantly missed the comfort and warmth he’d given. He stared at me, and I stared at him, smiling. But it wasn’t the right time for a kiss, so I turned away, calling to Lady. Rufus grabbed his satchel and took a couple of other spells before we hit the road.

  “What did you take?” I asked as we climbed into his Range Rover.

  Rufus smiled before settling down his satchel behind us. “That, my dear, is a surprise. It’s always good to have a little insurance, and that’s what I took.”

  “Insurance?” I said. “For what?”

  His gaze darkened, but only for a moment. “You never know who might want to steal what a spell hunter has stored up. These will keep me and my spells protected.”

  Worried, I said, “Do you think someone wants to harm you?”

  He stared out the window as we rumbled over ruts and holes. “Not yet, but soon word will spread about what I can do. And then, yes—I’ll have to watch out, because people always want what they don’t have and many are willing to do bad things to get it.”

  Chapter 14

  We didn’t say much the rest of the way to my house, though we did say goodbye on my doorstep. I slinked inside before he could kiss or hug me, my mind still churning as a whole slew of feelings rushed through me.

  But I did want to kiss him, didn’t I? The once predator was now a changed man.

  My gosh. What was wrong with me? Did I have a thing for going out with bad guys? The last guy I almost dated turned out to be a killer, and now I wanted to kiss Rufus.

  But he was different now, wasn’t he?

  As soon as the thought left my head, the doorbell rang. He was back! He wanted the kiss, too.

  Well of course he did, dummy. That was obvious, wasn’t it? Rufus wanted to smack some lips with me.

  But then would I tell him the truth? Would I tell him who he was and keep the memory spell from him?

  Therein lay the problem.

  It was just my hormones, I told myself. Only my hormones making me feel this way. I had to stick to the original deal that I had made with myself—until it was obvious that Rufus had changed, beyond a shadow of a doubt, then I would keep the truth from him.

  The doorbell! I’d almost forgotten. In my deep thoughts, I’d forgotten that he was back, on my front porch.

  I jerked open the door. “Listen, John, I don’t think this is such a good idea.”

  “John? You been going out with him?” Malene tapped her foot impatiently, glaring at me. “What’s all this about John? You got the hots for him?”

  Crap. It wasn’t Rufus at the door. It was Malene, and now she would tell half the town what I’d said. “No, Malene. I don’t have the hots for him. I’d just done a little spell hunting with him, is all.”

  She arched a brow. “A likely story,” she said sarcastically as if she was from a 1940’s black-and-white movie. “But anyway, I came by because we’ve got to go.”

  “Where? It’s late.”

  “Lynn left her house. We need to get over there and see what she’s got stashed. Maybe a body.”

  “Whoa,” I said. “I think she’s suspicious, but I’m not sure there’s a body in her house.”

  Malene folded her arms. “You didn’t see what I saw, girlie.”

  Intrigued, I replied, “Oh. What did you see?”

  “Urleen, Norma Ray and me headed over to Lynn’s house this morning and did a stakeout.”

  I nearly slapped my face. “In broad daylight you spied on a woman?”

  Malene shrugged as if it was just another day in the life. “Today wasn’t an official quilting day, so we didn’t have anything else to do anyway.”

  Okay, as if that made sense. “What did you see? If I’m going to be dragged over to someone’s house at this time of night, you’d better tell me everything.”

  “I don’t know how long she’ll be gone, so I’m going to make this quick.”

  “You realize that you just could’ve called me on my cell.”

  “I ran out of power. I had a lot of Googling to do today.”

  I was afraid to ask about that. “Okay, what’d you see?”

  “Lynn kept coming and going. Using a wheelbarrow, she brought in a huge steel barrel and then she went to the store and brought back a whole bunch of chemicals.” Malene lifted her brows. “One of them was acid.”

  “Acid?” I said skeptically.

  “Don’t you see?”

  “No.”

  Malene threw her hands up in the air. “For someone who’s so smart, you sure can miss the details.”

  I sighed. “Okay, what am I missing?”

  “She’s going to dump Knight’s body in the barrel and then pour the acid over it to get rid of it.”

  Ugh. Disgusting. “That’s a long stretch, I think.”

  “Do you not watch crime shows?”

  “No, and maybe you should stop.”

  Malene’s face twisted, red and furious. “Dagnabbit, don’t you understand what I’m trying to tell you? If you think there’s been a murder, it looks like we may have your suspect and be able to catch her red-handed. Now, if you just want to sit here and do nothing about it, then so be it. But I’m telling you that if you want to be more than a slug on a log, then you need to come with me, right now.”

  Malene crossed her arms and waited.

  I considered all that was wrong with this situation—spying, possibly leading to illegal entry, which might lead to an arrest—mine and Malene’s.

  But…if what she said was correct, then we might have caught our killer, because someone had offed Knight.

  Sighing out of fatigue more than frustration, I grabbed my purse and said to Lady, “Don’t wait up. I’ll be back.”

  “Oh goody,” she exclaimed. “I can’t wait to hear all about this train wreck!”

  I shot her a pointed look. “Good night.”

  With that, I followed Malene out the door and into the night.

  We arrived at Lynn’s house a few minutes later. It was a sad-looking cottage with skewed shingles revealing bald patches on the roof, trim that needed a good painting, and a sagging front porch, suggesting that some of the boards had rotted.

  Malene parked and switched off the car. The engine clicked and chittered before dying completely.

  “The barrel is inside. I don’t see the chemicals anymore. She must’ve taken those in, too.” Malene peered through the windshield. “The lights are off and her car’s gone. I say we take our chance and get inside that house now.”

  “And how do you propose we do that?”

  Malene tapped the side of her nose. “I’m guessing Lynn’s got a key stashed under a doormat or a rock.”

  The neighborhood was quiet; very few lights were on. Plenty of folks were already in bed, asleep, but then again, plenty weren’t.

  “We have to be quick. We start shining lights all over the place looking for a key and we’ll be in trouble.”

  “Then we’d better get going now.” Malene opened her car door. “Come on, chicken.”

  Chicken? Was this some new nickname that Malene had come up with for me? I wasn’t sure that I liked it.

  But before she could as
k me again, I followed her from the car, walking slowly and glancing around as if I was guilty of something—which I was about to be.

  Malene hustled straight on up to the front porch as if she owned the place. My gut twisted hard, and I grimaced in pain. Apparently I didn’t deal with the stress of illegal activity all that well.

  Go figure.

  She stepped around the sagging boards and flipped over the mat. “We got it!” She brandished a key, grinning from ear to ear.

  I gestured for her to lower it. “We don’t want anyone to see us. Hurry up.”

  Malene unlocked the door, and before I could utter a word, it was open and she was yanking me inside. She shut the door, and we stood, plunged into darkness.

  A faint clicking sound came from Malene, and the next thing I knew, she was pointing a penlight in the room.

  “Wow,” I said, impressed. “You come prepared.”

  “I’m not as prepared as Urleen, but I’ve learned a thing or two from her in my life. One of them is to always have a flashlight and pepper spray. You never know when you’re going to need both. Or either one. Come on, let’s look around.”

  I pulled out my phone and flipped on its light. The first thing I noticed was a cabinet full of crystal skulls.

  Malene surveyed it. “Think she pulls them out and strokes their heads for luck?”

  I laughed. “No telling. Let’s keep going.”

  We picked our way around the house until we came to a door in the kitchen that was conveniently locked.

  “That probably leads down to the basement, where the barrel is,” Malene said with authority.

  “How would Lynn get a barrel down to the basement? More than that, how would she get Knight’s body down there? He probably weighed twice as much as her.”

  Malene considered that. “Good point.”

  We kept searching until we came to the enclosed back porch, where we spied the barrel. Sitting beside it were five large gallon-sized plastic bottles.

  “See?” Malene pointed the light on the first label. “It’s a type of acid.”

  “Muriatic acid.” I read farther. “Says it’s for swimming pools.”