by Joyce
“No!” Elsie grabbed the staff and clutched it to her chest. “You can’t have it.”
The Bone Man shrugged and started to walk away again.
“Wait!” Olivia called him back.
“No. We can’t do this.” The wind was blowing Elsie’s faded curls into her angry face. “We can’t give you away. Without the staff, we’ll never see you again.”
“You have to do it.” Olivia kept her loosely held form between us. “We have to know what happened, not just for me, but for Dorothy. You have to find her. Find my killer too!”
“I don’t want to lose you.” I realized that I was sobbing, tears dropping off my chin. “We’ll find another way. There’s got to be another answer.”
“Don’t be that way, girls. Maybe there will be something you can trade later and get me back. If not, I’ve lived my life.” She smiled, but I could see ectoplasm tears running down her face. “Come on. Let’s do this now and find Dorothy. Take care of the problem, Molly. Don’t worry about me.”
Her sacrifice made horrible sense to me.
Maybe because we were desperate.
Maybe because we were standing in the middle of the graveyard with the Bone Man.
In hurried words, I persuaded Elsie to trade the staff for the knowledge. Olivia kept urging us to do it before it was too late.
“Wait.” I stopped the Bone Man before he could disappear. “We’ll do it.”
He grinned as he turned around. “Give it here then.”
Crazy courage that I didn’t even know I had made me call him on the deal. “You’ll get it when we have what we need.”
His corpselike face grew as angry and fierce as a storm on the ocean. “You doubt my word, witch? I have never gone back on a trade.”
“And we are trading the spirit of our beloved sister to you for the information we seek. We won’t do it until we hear what you have to say.”
I didn’t think he was going to do it. I thought he’d walk away and we wouldn’t see him again. In some ways, I wished that would happen. I wanted to get Dorothy back, but the price was too high.
Instead, he pushed his face near mine. “You’re a rare one, aren’t you? Or is it the amulet talking?”
I could barely breathe. The stench was overwhelming, but that was mild compared to my utter terror at looking into his face. There were shadows in his eyes that no one should ever have to see this side of the grave.
In a voice that was almost lost in the wind, I answered. “I don’t know what the amulet does. I don’t know why everyone wants it. I do know that my friend’s spirit is tied to this staff. We don’t want to give that up. But we will—if you can prove to us that you have what we need.”
He backed up and spit in his palm. “Done.”
I swallowed hard and shook his icy claw.
“Don’t worry,” Elsie whispered, “I have hand sanitizer in the car.”
I held the staff. Olivia stayed close beside me. “What can you tell us, Bone Man?”
“There is a dying witch who will do anything to taste immortality. She has already killed and stolen magic from countless witches. She wears many guises but none so innocent as the human without magic who aids her. She has promised a taste of magic that the human was not born to. It is a trick, but her slave is not aware.”
“How do we find this witch?” I asked.
“You cannot find her. You can, however, find the one who serves her. It is she who took your friend’s life and your spell book. She will lead you to the witch who has stolen Dorothy Lane.”
“How will we know her?”
“Follow the trail she has left behind.”
I opened my mouth to ask for something less vague. Surely after the sacrifice we were making, we deserved more detailed information.
“And come back, Molly Addison Renard, if you’d like instruction on the use of that amulet. I’m sure you could find something to trade for it.”
He laughed, the sound echoing around us in the trees.
When I looked up, he was gone. Olivia and the staff were gone with him.
“Is that it?” I raged to the open cemetery. “That trade wasn’t worth it. We want our friend back.”
Elsie was softly crying, wiping tears gently from her eyes. “She’s gone. I feel like Jack, getting beans for Olivia, my cow.”
Despite my rage and frustration, I smiled. A bright shaft of sunlight broke through the dark clouds above us. The cold wind suddenly smelled like roses after a summer rain.
“It’s going to be okay,” I told her. “We’re going to find Dorothy. We’ll come back for Olivia.”
“But, Molly—” Elsie could barely speak. “We can’t just leave her here.”
“It’s what she wanted for now. We have to go home and find Dorothy. That’s what’s important. That’s why Olivia gave herself to the Bone Man. Let’s go.”
We walked quickly out of the cemetery. The ferry had returned when we reached the dock. Elsie and I got on board. We stared at the ocean as we left the island.
“That was too vague.” Elsie pounded her fist on the side of the boat. “How are we supposed to know who this woman is? It’s not like we haven’t looked around. It could be any woman in Wilmington.”
“We’re strong.” I put my arm around her. “Our magic will lead us to the woman, and we’ll know what to do.”
Elsie shook her head, her lined face defeated. She walked across the boat to stand on the other side, watching as Oak Island disappeared.
Did I really believe that we’d come back for Olivia?
I had to. It was the only way I could bear to leave her.
CHAPTER 34
I find inspiration in the fire.
I find inspiration in the air.
I find inspiration in the water.
I find inspiration in the earth.
Elements: Inspire me!
The car was so silent on the way back to Wilmington that I turned on the radio. I switched it off just as quickly when loud 1970s music pumped out of it.
I looked at Elsie. She was staring blankly out the window. I wished that there were something I could say to reassure her. I wished there were something someone could say to reassure me.
Either we’d left what there was of Olivia on Oak Island for sketchy information, or it had been a good trade that would lead us to her killer. Either way, we’d left her there with the Bone Man. It wasn’t a pleasant thought.
“What do you think he wants with her?” Elsie asked. “Was it actually the staff he wanted, or Olivia?”
“I don’t know.” Truthfully, I didn’t want to think about it.
“This was a terrible thing to do.” Elsie’s voice cracked. “Forget what I said about wanting to stay a witch until I die. I wish I could renounce my magic right now!”
“We’ll get her back,” I promised. “We’ll find something the Bone Man will trade for her.”
“What would that be?” Elsie stared at me. “We wouldn’t have had to do any of this if the stupid council had done their job!”
There was another long silence between us until we reached Wilmington. I felt defeated, as Elsie did. I didn’t want to agree with her out loud. I was afraid we’d both get mired down in sorrow so deep that we’d never find our way out again.
“We have to follow the plan.” I turned on Front Street to head back to the shop. “We locate the person helping the witch, find Dorothy and the council shuts them down.
“Oh. Is that the plan, dear? How exactly are we going to do any of that?”
I pulled into the front parking space at the shop. A sharp, new black Corvette was parked next to us. The personalized license plate said “WCHYMAN.”
Oh brother!
It seemed to me that Brian had grown up with little or no guidance too. What was the next generation of witches going to be
like if their parents didn’t take the time to train them? Brian’s parents and his grandfather surely knew that he was running wild. Why didn’t they help him?
“Oh look!” Elsie pointed. “It looks like my itching powder has done its job. There’s Brian.”
“You’re a miracle worker.”
“Not so much, but it’s nice to feel successful about something.”
I put the car keys into my bag. “I guess we’ll build on that!”
Brian was standing on the stairs. His frown was monumental on his handsome, young face. He held up the hand Elsie had doused with itching powder. It was bright orange and twice its normal size.
“I guess you know how this happened.” Brian looked directly at me. “I thought we were a team.”
“Sometimes these things happen for a reason,” I told him. “In this case, there’s something we’d like to talk to you about.”
“So you spelled me?”
“No, of course not.” Elsie was trying to break the locking spell on the door—not very successfully. “I noticed that orange moss in the cave last night. Some must’ve gotten on you, but we can clear it up like it never happened.”
She winked at me as I moved to help her with the door. Brian stayed where he was.
“I can’t believe you people did this to me.” He was still complaining. “What did I do to you? You asked for my help. I tried to give it. I almost got arrested for you.”
“It’s what we can do for you,” I assured him. “Have you ever thought of joining a coven?”
“So that’s what this is all about.” He nodded. “I knew you didn’t deform my hand and steal my wand for no reason.”
“Steal your wand?” Elsie shrugged as she looked for the antidote to the itching powder. “Don’t look at me. I never touch another witch’s tool. That’s my motto.”
“Come on. I know one of you did it.” He stared at me. “You knew where I kept it, Molly. I should never have trusted you to come with me.”
“I didn’t take your wand. We’ve been out on Oak Island all morning.” He was acting very strangely. Maybe I was too hasty thinking about inviting him into the coven. We’d watched Dorothy for months before putting the summoning spell on her.
“Look, this is getting old.” His voice deepened. “I want my wand.”
I thought about the string of magic thefts. This was probably one of them. Of course, we weren’t any closer to finding our spell book. I didn’t think there was anything we could do to help him.
“Here it is.” Elsie found the cream that would take away the effects of the itching powder. “Hold still a minute. This won’t hurt at all.”
“Was there a protection spell on your wand?” I watched them. “Otherwise, anyone could have taken it.”
“I’ve never had a protection spell on it,” he said. “I never needed one. But I have a finding spell on it. I don’t care who took it, I just want it back. My grandfather will kill me if I’ve lost it.”
“A finding spell!” Elsie clapped her hands. “Brilliant! If the same person who took our spell book took your wand, we can help each other.”
The insolent pup had the nerve to look at us as though we were beneath him. “No offense, but I don’t see what help you two could be. We couldn’t even do a locator spell last night!”
“We were able to conjure you here last night and hold you,” I reminded him.
He rolled his eyes. “Okay. I get your point. That’s the only thing good about a coven—they work together and the magic is stronger. But this doesn’t mean I want to be part of yours. I work on my own. I’m better that way. I’m only doing this because I owe you, Molly.”
I was leaning toward agreeing with him. I didn’t know who his parents were, but they’d given him an enormous ego for someone so young. It probably went along with council association.
“Let’s pinkie swear.” Elsie held up her pinkie finger. “I know it’s not real magic, but isn’t it fun?”
Brian held up his orange hand. “I’m missing a pinkie. When is that stuff gonna work?”
We talked about the finding spell Brian had used on his wand. It had never occurred to me to put a finding spell on our book. The protection spells we’d placed on it had seemed good enough.
The finding spell was set up to trace his wand from his room to the person who possessed it. I told him about our visit to the Bone Man.
“Look at the board over there.” I showed him the spot. “There are dozens of witches who have had their magic tools stolen.”
He looked at the notices on the board. “I get it. This witch’s accomplice is stealing the items, either for the witch or to sell. Either way, she doesn’t have any magic. We can take care of her easy.”
“I think it makes sense that the witch is protecting her helper. That’s why Olivia didn’t feel anyone sneak up on her in the alley that night.”
“Or the witch did the deed herself.” His gaze searched the room. “Where is Olivia?”
“We traded her for this information.” Elsie sighed. “The Bone Man has her.”
“The Bone Man.” He shuddered. “What does he want with her?”
“We don’t know,” I admitted. “She told us to leave her and find Dorothy. That’s what we did.”
“Do we have a plan for what we’re going to do if we find the dying witch’s thief?” Brian asked. “Just wondering before we get to that point.”
“I thought we could coerce the thief into telling us where the witch is.” I sat down with Isabelle on my lap. “Do you have any ideas?”
“I do have an idea.” Brian punched one hand into another. “I take back my wand and do something really bad to both of them. Maybe I’ll use some of Elsie’s itching powder on them.”
I urged caution. “We know the thief isn’t a witch, but he or she is probably dangerous anyway. We should be prepared for anything.”
“This could be the only chance we’ll have to catch her,” Brian added. “Let’s not screw it up.”
Elsie laughed. “I don’t think we have to worry about some random street thief. We have a lot of magic on our side. She’ll tell us what we want to know, or we’ll fix her little red wagon.”
He laughed. “How do you come up with these things? I wish my grandmother were as cool as you.”
“Why, thank you.” Elsie’s green eyes sparkled. “It’s not often that a witch my age is told that she’s cool.”
I felt like part of one of the movies frequently made in Wilmington as we walked out of Smuggler’s Arcane together. The lady at the bookshop next door smiled and waved and then apparently thought better of it as she got a good look at us. She darted behind her shop door and stared.
“You can ride with us, if you like,” I suggested to Brian.
“Are you kidding?” He ran his hand across the shiny surface of his Corvette. “A gift from my father when I graduated from high school. I never travel without it.”
I waved as I started the car and followed Brian out of the parking lot. I hoped our newly formed coalition would work. We’d known Brian for even less time than we’d known Dorothy, and what we knew about him wasn’t exactly heartening.
I knew he was sneaky and a bit underhanded. Maybe that could work in our favor. Elsie and I could be a little too aboveboard. It had never mattered before, but it might matter now. This witch and her accomplice weren’t playing fair, but we still kept acting like they were.
Brian’s magic was intense air magic, much stronger than Olivia’s had ever been. Still, it should be easy to tune our magic to his.
That was a good thing, because I didn’t expect Mr. Brannigan, Cassandra or any other member of the council of witches to show their faces while the real work was being done. They’d probably find some way to take credit for it later. I didn’t care as long as we got Dorothy back.
We approache
d the old apartment building where Brian lived. I followed him into the parking lot behind it. I wished Joe could have been there to help us with this part. He would’ve known what to do with a criminal who wasn’t a witch. But I still couldn’t ask him for help. Not as long as the witch behind it was involved.
“I hope you’re ready.” I turned to Elsie.
She took out her sword. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”
Brian was out of his car and searching the parking lot with worried eyes. “Maybe we should go somewhere we won’t be interrupted.”
“What about that little group of trees over there?” I pointed to the berm that had been planted to separate this parking lot and the one next door. There were a dozen tall pine trees and some smaller shrubs that might disguise us from prying eyes.
“That seems okay.” Brian led the way toward the trees. “You know, I put the finding spell on the wand, but I’m not sure how to invoke it.”
Elsie giggled. “I knew you needed us.”
“Just this one time.” His ego acted to protect him from the idea that he might always need help. “I know what I’m doing.”
“It sounds like it.” I didn’t want to be hard on him. If he stayed with us, he’d learn the right way of doing things.
We huddled close together in the island of trees between the two concrete seas. The three of us invoked our magic tools to find Brian’s wand. He muttered the enchantment he’d used, and we all took up the call to find what was lost.
The cars in the parking lots were stationary. No one came out of the buildings on either side of us. I could see the beginning of a fine, glistening thread of magic stretching from us and outward. It moved in the breeze like a spider’s web, catching the sun and growing toward the missing wand.
The thread of the finding spell reached out. It settled on a single person who was wearing a black jacket. We watched as that person walked into the parking lot and looked around, as though wondering what had brought her out there.
The amulet felt warm in my hand, but I didn’t need its magic to know who it was. “Lisbet?” I whispered, and saw her head turn toward me.
