Curse of the Witch

by K E O'Connor

  “Another dark piece of magic we’ve considered is the Book of...” Auntie Queenie’s voice faded again. She sighed and shook her head.

  “Don’t use banana this time,” I said.

  “The Book of... Pumpkin,” Auntie Queenie said. “Yes! A nasty little book full of curses. It was compiled by a twisted, spiteful, cold-hearted warlock.”

  “Let me name him!” Samantha clapped her hands together. “I never liked him. He always leered at my chest. He’s called... Floppy Chops McFlappy Jowls.”

  Auntie Queenie and Lila chortled with laughter.

  “That’s a perfect description.” Lila wiped a tear from the corner of her eye. “He looks like a Basset Hound in a wind tunnel.”

  I tipped my head back. For mature women, they sure had an interesting sense of humor. “What did Mister McFlappy Jowls do with this book?”

  Auntie Queenie’s smile faded. “Every page had the potential to kill.”

  “Floppy Chops McFlappy Jowls was building up to something big,” Samantha said. “He’d collected these curses over a decade. He was never a popular guy and took offense easily. Alongside the Book of Pumpkin, there was a list of a hundred names. They were his targets. He’d planned an epic mission to kill everyone on his list using the curses in his nasty book.”

  “He almost got away with it,” Auntie Queenie said. “He killed ten people before he was caught. The Magic Council took the book from him, sent him away for a long stretch, and ordered us to destroy his work.”

  “That was a horror to get rid of,” Lila said. “We had to deal with each page individually and chant over it for twenty-four hours to leech the magic. There were one hundred curses.”

  “Where’s Mister McFlappy Jowls now?” I asked.

  “The last I heard about him,” Auntie Queenie said, “he was still inside. He must be ancient by now, but he’d still be mean enough to hold a grudge against us. He knew we were involved with taking his magic. If he’s gotten out without us realizing or been given an early release, I wouldn’t put it past him to come here for revenge.”

  “So, we have Grumpy Old Bird Face and Floppy Chops McFlappy Jowls,” I said. “One who likes earth magic and the other who favors curses. Neither of which were used on Bastille or Caprice. What’s the final piece of magic?”

  “It’s a potion,” Lila said, “the one the Magic Council gave us to destroy.”

  “The one that made everybody sick,” Auntie Queenie said.

  “Who did the Magic Council say the potion belonged to?” I asked.

  “Baby Big Mouth.” Lila grinned. “This magic user has a big round face and can never keep a secret. I called her Baby Cakes behind her back because I always wanted to squeeze those chubby cheeks.”

  “What magic does Baby Big Mouth specialize in?”

  “She was a dark one,” Auntie Queenie said. “She’s supposed to have made this potion to kill her entire family. She was lost to dark magic and had become convinced her family hated her and was trying to kill her.”

  “Did she have any reason to believe that was true?”

  “None at all. You know her family. They’re the...” Auntie Queenie’s words died. “Anyway, you know them. They wouldn’t harm another family member. Baby Big Mouth wasn’t strong enough to handle the dark magic she’d gotten lost in. She created this twisted, poisonous potion that acted slowly. If a person drank it or got it on their skin, it ate away at their health. It made them sick over several years, draining them of joy and happiness.”

  My eyebrows rose slowly. “That’s the potion that exploded all over the gang?”

  Auntie Queenie nodded, her expression glum. “Everyone was weakened. When I returned to find the gang in such disarray, I thought I’d lose them all.”

  “Queenie was incredible.” Samantha patted Auntie Queenie’s arm. “She used every magic trick she knew to get us on the mend. She brought in professionals, called in all of her favors, and didn’t leave our sides until we were recovered.”

  “You’d have done the same for me.” Auntie Queenie smiled at Samantha. “But it wasn’t enough. Not for everybody.”

  I looked carefully at Samantha. Although she had some color in her cheeks, there was still tiredness under her eyes. “You were there?”

  “Oh, yes.” Samantha shifted in her seat. “I’ve been doing well for years. The potion didn’t seem to bother me. But, as I’m getting older, I feel the dark magic gnawing at my bones. I’ve tried everything to dislodge it. My time is coming to an end.”

  “Nonsense,” Auntie Queenie said. “You’re a vivacious and beautiful woman.”

  Samantha shook her head. “It takes a lot of effort to be this vivacious. I like to think I’m still young and as full of energy as I was thirty years ago, but it’s not true. I use most of my magical energy to maintain myself. I can’t do it much longer. As great as your tonics are, Queenie, this magic is beating me. Just as it was beating Bastille.”

  “Was Caprice also getting weak because of this potion?” I asked.

  “She fared better than Bastille,” Auntie Queenie said. “Bastille got at least half of the potion on her. She swallowed some as well, which is never good.”

  “The rest of us got splashed with it,” Samantha said.

  “You’re a strong witch. You’ll beat this.” Sadness clouded Auntie Queenie’s vision. “I’m not losing any more of my gang.”

  Samantha smiled sadly and patted her hand.

  I blinked tears out of my eyes and let my hair fall over my face as I pretended to study the book. It wasn’t fair what had happened. Auntie’s gang had been helping the Magic Council. They’d gotten re-paid by having a deadly potion inflicted on them.

  Auntie Queenie’s hand settled on my knee, and she gave it a gentle squeeze. “We’ve still got fire in our bellies. And having you here to sort this out is just what we need.”

  I cleared my throat and nodded. I’d solve this. If they were all sick, the last thing they needed was some sleazy, dark magic using maniac after them.

  “We’ve got three possible attackers,” I said. “But I don’t know any of their names.”

  “Our descriptive names should help,” Lila said. “Look for a grumpy old eagle, a guy with floppy jowls, and a woman with a moon face who never stops gossiping.”

  I shut the book and slid it onto the center of the table. I knew most people in Willow Tree Falls, so finding any of these unusual looking strangers wouldn’t be tricky.

  Auntie Queenie touched the book. “We did it because we thought we were helping the Magic Council.”

  “We also did it because we were full of ourselves,” Lila said. “We know how powerful we are, and when we joined forces, we were almost unstoppable. We got arrogant.”

  “We have a right to be,” Auntie Queenie said. “Our joined power is incredible. It’s just a shame the Magic Council came to see us as a threat as opposed to an ally.”

  “Do you really think the Magic Council wants you dead?” I asked. “I can take on three dodgy magic users, but the entire Council? Even Frank would struggle with that.”

  “No,” Lila said. “It’s not the Council. They’re the good guys.”

  “Maybe it’s them.” Auntie Queenie sank back in her seat. “But we should look at these three suspects first. As you said, they’re a manageable problem. Taking down an ancient, powerful magic body, not so much.”

  “You all need to be in a safe house,” I said. “Lila and Samantha, you can’t go back to the hotel. The killer found Bastille and Caprice there. Staying on your own puts you at risk.”

  “You can stay here,” Auntie Queenie said. “There’s safety in numbers, and we’ve got the room.”

  I glanced at the kitchen door. “I thought Esmeralda would be finished with the angels by now.”

  “You’re right,” Samantha said. “They can’t have been quizzing her for this long.”

  A shiver of worry ran through me. I hoped she wasn’t about to be victim number three. “You all stay her
e. And stay together. Don’t separate, not even to use the bathroom.”

  “McFlappy Jowls won’t be hiding behind the shower curtain,” Auntie Queenie said.

  “Even so, no one stays on their own. If you’re together, you’re stronger.” I pushed back my chair and stood. “I’ll get Esmeralda and bring her here.”

  As I left the house with Wiggles, unease shifted through me. What if Auntie Queenie’s concerns were justified, and it wasn’t any of the magic users in her book? You don’t go up against the Magic Council and win.

  I had no idea how I’d stop everyone in the gang dying if it was the Council chasing them, but I was determined to try.

  I wasn’t losing another one of these witches, no matter who was hunting them.

  Chapter 19

  “I have a bad feeling about this,” Wiggles said as we walked away from Mom’s house. “We know about powerful magic, but this is hardcore.”

  “Tell me about it,” I said. “I can’t go to the Magic Council and petition to stop them from killing Auntie Queenie and her friends.”

  “You could, but it would take a dozen meetings and six fifty-page forms filled in before they’d even agree to meet you. They’re suit wearing, stuffy pencil pushers who don’t get their hands dirty.”

  “Which means, if the Magic Council is involved, they’ve hired a freelancer. Someone with lethal skills.”

  “Someone just like Auntie Queenie and her gang,” Wiggles said.

  I nodded as we reached the hotel and walked into the reception.

  The reception desk was empty, so I hurried up the stairs and knocked on Esmeralda’s door. It pushed open as I leaned against it. “Esmeralda, it’s Tempest.”

  There was no reply. I walked into the bedroom to find it empty.

  “She’s left half a cookie.” Wiggles hurried over and scoffed the cookie sitting on the edge of the dressing table.

  I walked to the table and lifted the mug by the cookie crumbs. The contents were warm. “She hasn’t been gone long. She could have ducked into a store on her way to Mom’s house and we missed her.”

  “What’s this?” Wiggles bounced on the bed. He had a piece of paper between his teeth.

  I took the paper and read it. “Let’s meet at the stone circle at twelve-thirty to discuss the offer.” I turned it over. There was no name on the note, but it must have been for Esmeralda.

  “What offer? Who’s she going to meet?” Wiggles asked.

  “I don’t know, but I don’t like this. If Esmeralda’s on her own, it makes her vulnerable. Why would the angels leave her alone when there’s a killer on the loose?”

  “The angels know nothing about the Magic Council’s involvement or the dodgy characters from Queenie’s book,” Wiggles said. “Esmeralda’s a clever witch. She won’t meet some weirdo who left an elusive note on her bed, not with everything that’s going on.”

  “So, she must know the person who sent her this message.” I hurried back down the stairs with Wiggles. A quick check of the garden and dining room confirmed Esmeralda wasn’t in the hotel.

  We left and hurried up the hill toward the stone circle.

  I was almost running as we reached the top of the hill and sucked in a breath as I looked around.

  “I hear voices coming from the circle,” Wiggles said.

  “Keep to the edge of the tree line. Let’s see who Esmeralda’s meeting.” We inched closer to the stone circle, using the dense shadows of the forest to hide our movements.

  I ducked as I spotted Esmeralda. She stood just inside the stone circle with her back to us.

  Standing opposite her was a tall, broad-shouldered man with slicked-back dark hair wearing a gray suit and a neat black tie.

  “He looks official,” Wiggles muttered. “I’m getting the definite whiff of Magic Council.”

  “Me too,” I whispered. “But why is Esmeralda meeting him here?” I gestured Wiggles to follow me and crept closer until we could hear their voices clearly.

  I ducked behind a bush with Wiggles and settled in to hear what they were talking about.

  “It’s not good enough,” Esmeralda said, her tone suggesting she was deeply unhappy.

  “It’s the best you’ll get.” The man’s voice was high-pitched and petulant. “You can complain all you like, but it’s a generous settlement.”

  I glanced at Wiggles and shrugged. “What settlement?”

  “No! It has to be an individual settlement. You’ve tricked me. What you’re offering is unfair.”

  The man’s expression hardened. “It’s only unfair to everybody else involved. We’re the ones being honest, here.”

  “Honest! You wouldn’t know what that word meant if it leaped off one of these stones and kicked you in the behind.” Esmeralda paced in front of him. “I put in the effort. I made the claim as an individual. You’re twisting things.”

  “By making that claim, you implicated others.” The man looked at the papers in his hand. “You stated that you weren’t the only one affected.”

  “To show I’m not making this up. No one else is interested in compensation.”

  “The group settlement stands.” The man lowered the papers. “You take that offer, or you go away and stop bothering us.”

  “A group claim for compensation?” My brow wrinkled. It sounded like Esmeralda was chasing the Magic Council for money. But money for what?

  “If you make that offer just to me, I’ll accept it immediately.” Esmeralda jabbed a finger. “I’ll sign on the line right now, and you won’t hear from me again.”

  The guy in the suit snorted a laugh. “You’d love that. There’s enough money in this group settlement to set you up for the rest of your miserable life.”

  “And it will be miserable. I’m suffering. I feel sick every day, and my memory is fading. That’s your fault.”

  I sucked in a breath, and my heart raced. “This is about the potion that misfired. Esmeralda’s suffering because of it, too.”

  “And she’s chasing the Magic Council for compensation,” Wiggles said.

  The man crossed his arms over his chest. “The Magic Council agreed to an out of court settlement with the entire group. Split the money between all of you and the problem is solved. You’ll have a cozy retirement somewhere quiet. A nurse can dose you up with calming magic and sedatives until you give up the ghost and stop bothering us. But that’s all you’re getting.”

  Esmeralda scowled at him. “I deserve more. I led this claim. You settle only with me. I never mentioned a group settlement.”

  “Esmeralda’s gotten greedy,” Wiggles whispered.

  I shook my head. It sounded like it, but I couldn’t believe she’d be so merciless. Auntie Queenie and the gang were Esmeralda’s oldest friends. They’d been through so much together. Would she turn on them to get her hands on this money?

  The man smirked. “If you go down this road and insist on all the money, we’ll ruin you. We’ll tie this matter up in court with nit-picking questions and legal loopholes. You’ll be poor and too sick to care by the time we’ve finished with you. Any money you get from us will be eaten up in legal fees. And when you lose, you’ll pay all our costs, as well. Take the group offer. It’s the easy way out.”

  “For you,” she said. “When that money is split between us, it’ll barely cover my upcoming medical bills. I’ve booked a month with a voodoo shaman in Haiti and an immersive healing cleanse with the demi-goddess Panacea.”

  “You have expensive tastes.”

  “I’ll try anything to get better. Bastille was drowning in debt because she was so desperate to get well. The offer you’re making wouldn’t have helped her.”

  The man shrugged. “Bastille could have paid off her debts and had a little left over to pay for her funeral.”

  “That’s my point!” Esmeralda was almost yelling. “If she’d lived, she’d have had no quality of life. Bastille couldn’t have kept trying different spells and ways to heal herself. She was borrowing money to get by
as it was.”

  “Even if she’d had all the money in the world, it would have been wasted. There’s no cure,” the man said. “We have records of that potion. We know where it came from and what its purpose was. Once you’ve been contaminated, you don’t get better. You fade. You’re fading, Esmeralda. Why use your last years fighting something you’ll never win?”

  I shifted my position to stop my feet from going to sleep. My emotions were torn. I understood why Esmeralda was suing the Magic Council, but why keep it a secret from the others? If they worked together, they could get the Council on the ropes and squeeze more out of them.

  My hand flew to my mouth as a dark, horrible idea entered my head. “No, she wouldn’t.”

  Wiggles cocked his head. “What are you thinking?”

  I swallowed, my stomach clenching. “The Magic Council has offered compensation to everyone made sick by the exploding potion.”

  Wiggles nodded. “That sounds right.”

  My breath came out shaky, my brain rejecting the idea every time I jumped on it. “Esmeralda doesn’t want a group settlement because it means she’ll get less money.”

  He nodded again.

  “Wiggles, think about it. The fewer people left alive in the group contaminated by the potion, the more money there will be for each of them.”

  Wiggles closed his eyes for a second before a growl slid from his mouth. “Esmeralda’s killing everyone until she’s the only one left.”

  “Which means, she’ll get all the money.”

  “She’ll have to kill Lila, Samantha—”

  “And Auntie Queenie.” My hands balled into fists. Esmeralda wasn’t one of the gang. She was an enemy.

  “What’s it going to be, Esmeralda?” the man asked. “Let’s end this nonsense now. Take the deal. Share the love with your old cronies.”

  “You can stuff your deal,” Esmeralda said. “I’ll get all that money, one way or the other.”

  “Then I’ll see you in court.”

  My eyes widened as fire flared on Esmeralda’s hands.

  The guy in the suit laughed as he clicked his fingers and vanished.