Cursed Brides and Alibis

by Amy Boyles

  “I’m so whipped,” she said.

  I smiled. “Business is booming.”

  She lifted her head an inch. “I’m not complaining. I refuse to do that. It’s just my feet are killing me.”

  I cocked a brow. “Isn’t there a spell for that?”

  She tossed her silky red hair over one shoulder. “My magic is still a little wonky from the years of Witch’s Forge being broken. It’s getting better, but it’s taking time. Anyway, it’s good to see you, Charming.”

  “It’s good to see you. You’re about the only woman in town who doesn’t run up to me and beg me to find their soul mate.”

  Blaire hooted with laughter. “You’ve already met Kimberly Peterson.”

  I raked my fingers through my hair. “I did and she is intent on finding any man she can.”

  Blaire pulled a tray out from under the counter. “Nothing ever changes. Want some pumpkin bread? I’m trying to perfect this recipe before fall arrives.”

  “Don’t mind if I do.” I bit into a cube of soft, spongy bread. The spices were perfect—just enough nutmeg and cinnamon. I moaned with pleasure. “It’s amazing.”

  “Thank you.” She studied me, her green eyes twinkling with interest. “But I have a feeling you’re not here just to try my pumpkin bread.”

  I brushed crumbs from my lips. “I’m not. I was wondering if you knew of any new witches who would be coming to Fire Town for any reason—visiting or moving here.”

  Blaire tapped the side of her mouth and scrunched her face in thought. “I can’t say that I do, but in all honesty, I’m not the best person to ask.”

  I could practically feel my eyebrow curl in question. “Oh? Who would be the best person?”

  “The old witch May Little. She tends to know those things. In fact”—Blaire popped a piece of pumpkin bread in her mouth and covered her lips to speak—“she knows just about when any witch enters and leaves this town.”

  Sounds creepy. “Sounds intriguing.”

  Blaire caught the expression on my face that suggested it wasn’t intriguing at all. “It’s just something she does. She has a little bit of a seer in her.”

  “Where does she live?”

  “Up on Crow Mountain.”

  A shiver raced down my spine. I wasn’t crazy about all the crows that cawed at me when I arrived in Fire Town, so an entire mountain of them sounded intimidating, to say the least.

  I swallowed. “Are there a bunch of crows on the mountain?”

  Blaire winked. “How’d you ever guess? But don’t worry. They don’t bite.”

  I arrived at Crow Mountain about twenty minutes later. Technically the place was outside Witch’s Forge, up on a mountain, obviously.

  My Mini Cooper wound up the curving road until we reached the apex, where a ticket holder sold entrance passes to tourists.

  I did not understand why anyone would want to visit a bunch of crows, but after I paid my money and stepped through the gate, I began to understand the novelty.

  Folks held small silver cups a little bigger than thimbles. Crows landed on tourists’s arms and sipped from the cups before flying off.

  A woman stood at the far end of the entrance, her arms outstretched. Crows perched on her arms and shoulders. One even landed on her head.

  “The crow is one of the witch’s loyalest creatures,” she said. “You always hear about how the cat is the best familiar, but do not underestimate the power of the crow. This bird can fly and see for the witch. It can also help in spells and can communicate with other crows for a witch. So enjoy the birds, everyone, and if you have questions, be sure to ask May. I’ll be happy to answer.”

  Lines deep as wires dug into her face. Her mouth cracked into a smile. “That is, if I can answer.”

  So I had found May. I passed a group of smiling tourists posing for pictures with crows and wove my way over to her.

  Her light blue eyes landed on me. They held a warmth that sent a jolt through my entire body. Her eyes glittered in a way that made me feel like May knew me—really knew me.

  It was disconcerting. Part of me wanted to talk to her, the other half of me wanted to run in the opposite direction. I felt like a child approaching a towering Santa Clause, terrified to tell him what I wanted for Christmas. But also knowing that unless I explained what I wanted, I wouldn’t have a cold chance in Hades of receiving it.

  I pushed down the knot lodged in my throat and approached. My voice caught as I said her name. “May Little?”

  She nodded. “I’m who you’re looking for, Matchmaker.”

  I smiled. “You’ve seen me working?”

  “I’ve seen you,” she said mysteriously. The crow perched on her head cawed down as if correcting me.

  I shoved an awkward smile up to my face. “How do you do?”

  “An interesting question coming from a witch on the cusp of receiving all the powers of the elements.”

  My heart jackhammered against my ribs. How could she know that? No one knew that except for my family.

  “I see things,” she explained. “I see them through the eyes of the crows. The birds see all. They are our best familiars as witches. But so few of us use them. It’s a shame, really. We stick to such simple animals as the cat. But the crow”—she stroked a bird on her shoulder—“they are as smart as elephants and as sneaky as a snake.”

  I curled and released my fingers, trying to distract myself from what this witch knew. My only purpose here was to find out about the witch who’d impersonated Reese.

  I needed a name.

  May pivoted toward the sea of crows. “Walk with me.”

  As if I had a choice. I took a few quick steps to keep up and wished I’d worn my sneakers instead of ballet flats. There was already a stone lodged in the toe.

  “Have you ever wondered why you can’t see a match for yourself?”

  I was in the process of removing the stone, standing on one foot. Her words caused me to lose my balance. I lurched forward, but May’s strong hand clasped my arm in a vise.

  “Steady,” she said. “But have you?”

  “Not really. I suppose it has something to do with the fact that I’m helping others and am not supposed to be helping myself.”

  Her lips formed a thin, amused smile. “Do you think it’s that simple?”

  “Well, I did until now.” I fished the rock out and steadied myself. “Thank you.”

  We continued on our walk. “I’m not asking you because I have the answer; I’m asking only because I’m curious why you can’t see your own match.”

  Unsure how to answer, I remained quiet.

  “Have you ever wondered if it’s because if you found out, you wouldn’t believe the truth?” May prodded.

  I hiked a shoulder in uncertainty. “I think it’s more that I’m supposed to serve others with my powers and not myself. My job is not to find my own soul mate but to find another person’s.”

  Her lips curled into an amused smile. “And what if you did know? What if the soul mate was the last person you wanted it to be? Would you believe your own powers, or would you disregard them?”

  Why the heck were we having a philosophical discussion among a pack of crows?

  May studied me. Clearly she wanted an answer, and I had the feeling that unless I played her game, I wouldn’t get the information I wanted.

  “Okay,” I said slowly, chewing on the words before they left my tongue. “I suppose it’s possible that if I saw my soul mate and then I met him, would I act differently around him, knowing what I know? Like what if I knew who he was and then met him and assumed he would ask me out but he didn’t? What if he was dating a woman at the time we met? Would I trust fate, or would I move on and date someone else? What if I was married to someone when we met? What do all these things mean?”

  The more I theorized, the more insane my thoughts seemed to be. “I really don’t know. It’s best that I don’t know who my soul mate is. That’s how things have to be.”

  “
And what about magic? Do you believe the prophesy?”

  My shoes stuck to the ground. “How do you know about that?”

  May touched her nose and winked. “I know all sorts of things. The crows show me. Tell me—do you want the prophecy to come true?”

  “Do I want magic to suffer because of me?” I hissed. “Absolutely not. But I’m here in this town not only because I’m under contract to do my job, but also because I like this place. I want it to thrive. There’s nothing wrong with that.”

  “And how does your mother feel?”

  Boy, were my shoes getting used to being stuck to the ground here. This woman’s questions had me in knots and unable to move.

  “My mother wants me to be careful. She’s worried, but who’s to say the prophecy is right? That old witch was drunk on boiled peanuts when she made it. What she saw could be wrong.”

  May eyed me slyly. “And what about the new powers you’re not using?”

  She had me there. I did have new powers that I wasn’t exactly probing into because yes, I was afraid that if I learned what to do with them, the future might sour.

  The last thing I wanted was to have a prophecy weighing on my shoulders.

  “I don’t know an earth witch or air witch who can easily teach me. Besides”—I lowered my voice—“if people discovered I could wield both elements, what would they think? They’d think I was some sort of freak—or that I was lying.”

  “No one thinks Glinda Calhoun is a freak,” she murmured.

  She started walking again and I followed. “That’s because she’s powerful. She doesn’t wield more than one type of magical element.”

  May was silent for a moment; the only sound that floated between us was that of the crunch of pebbles under our feet.

  When she spoke, her voice became a funnel filled with mystery. “But you came here to find out something else? Yes?”

  Finally.

  “A witch arrived in town yesterday. She cursed a woman named Reese and took her identity. I feel responsible for Reese and want to know why the witch who was murdered would have taken her place.”

  May stopped suddenly and pivoted toward me. “You want a name, is that right?”

  I nodded. “It would be a good start.”

  May chewed on that for a moment. She stroked the crow’s back on her left shoulder as she peered at me. “I wonder, Charming Calhoun, what will you do when the answers to some of your questions scare you?”

  Sheesh. More riddles? As much as I wanted to make a sarcastic remark, I hiked both shoulders to my ears.

  “I don’t know. I suppose I’ll have no choice but to embrace them.”

  “Wise answer.” She ran a finger down the crow’s beak. “The name you seek is Corley Duvall.”

  I opened my mouth to ask how she knew the woman. “That’s as much as I know. Sorry I can’t be of more help in that regard. But that’s the name. Do with it what you will.”

  “Thank you.”

  I wasn’t sure if I should stick around and walk the grounds with her more or if it was rude of me to leave.

  I hesitated. “So, um.”

  “You may leave,” she said. “But there’s something you should ask your mother.”

  “How she plans on fixing her hair?” I said.

  May didn’t understand the joke. Her mouth didn’t even crack halfway into a smile. “You should ask her why she’s never told you about her own earth power.”

  My jaw dropped. “What?”

  May flicked her wrist and started to walk off, but her voice floated back to me. “Oh, and tell her Frankie Firewalker is coming. Glinda will want to know.”

  With that, May disappeared behind a flock of birds that had swooped down as if right on cue. A sea of black swallowed her, and I turned and left.

  Chapter 7

  “Why didn’t you ever tell me that you had earth powers?”

  I dropped my purse on the counter in the kitchen, fully expecting my mother to be in there still sipping coffee, for some reason, and found the room empty.

  I whirled around. Broom jiggled up and down as if to say it didn’t know where she was, either.

  “Mama!”

  “In the spell room,” she called.

  Ugh. I’d almost forgotten my mother had the house construct a spell room for her. I stomped through the downstairs until I came to the room and opened the door. Potions sitting atop burners bubbled milky steam. A brown powder sat in a mortar, the pestle dusted with the ingredient. The entire room stank of magic, which can have quite a wang to it, and baby powder.

  I wasn’t sure where the baby powder came into play in all this.

  The room was dark and it took a moment for my eyes to adjust and when they did, I realized Reese was lying on a raised platform in the middle of the room.

  I rushed to Reese’s side. “You got her. She’s here!”

  Pig snorted from her spot on a chair while Rose dabbed sweat from Reese’s brow.

  Mama sniffed like a snob at a cotillion who’d just been asked to dance with the geekiest boy in school.

  “Really, Charming, did you think I was wrong when I said the vampire would need our help?”

  I stared at Reese’s pale face. Her lids didn’t flutter. There was no sign at all that she truly lived in her shell except for rosy cheeks and a pulse.

  “I never doubted you,” I said quickly. “What sort of spell is on her?”

  “I think it’s a coma spell.” Rose dropped the cloth on the table and pinched Reese’s arm. “A coma spell for sure.”

  Mama rolled her eyes. “Of course it’s a type of coma spell, but what specifically?”

  I didn’t have anything to offer as far as that went, but I had one thing I could do. “I got the name of the woman who took Reese’s identity. Corley Duvall.”

  “Duvall,” Mama mused. “I feel like I know some Duvalls.”

  Rose poured one of the steaming milk potions into a cup and drank it.

  I blanched. “Should you be drinking that?”

  Rose smiled. “It’s only tea with a fog potion cast on it. I bet your mother that you’d be concerned if I drank it. Now she owes me twenty bucks.”

  Rose winked at Mama. Mama scowled at me. “You disappoint me, Charming. I thought for sure you’d know the difference between a fog spell and poisonous potions.”

  “Let’s say I don’t,” I growled. “Can we please get back to the important stuff?”

  “Like what?” Rose said.

  “Like Corley Duvall.”

  Mama opened a book and placed it on a lectern near Reese. “She wouldn’t have been a Chattanooga Duvall, would she?”

  “I don’t know. I have no idea where the train departed from.”

  “I do.” Rose smiled and pulled a train case from a shelf. “Let’s see. Her ticket is in here somewhere. I know I saw it earlier. Lipstick, eyeshadow, a pen. Oh, here it is!”

  Rose pulled a golden ticket from the depths of the travel case. “The Witch’s Forge Express departing from Chattanooga. I think we have a Chattanooga Duvall right here.”

  Mama didn’t glance up from her book. “That family owns a premier witch shop in the city. If Corley was one of them, calling the shop may give us an idea of where to begin looking.”

  Mama dragged her gaze from the tome. Her laser-like stare bored a hole in my head. I glanced at Rose. She smiled eagerly at me.

  “Oh no, y’all are not getting me to call and ask about Corley.”

  “Why not?” Mama said. “You’re the most obvious person here.”

  “Why am I the most obvious?”

  “Because you can tell them you were matchmaking the woman. Simple as that. Just call.” Mama jerked her head toward Rose. “Rose will get you the number. Besides, every time I work my magic, my hair gets worse.” She shot me a pointed look. “I believe the shop’s name is Duvall’s.”

  I marched from the room and called. “Hello,” I said when the woman on the other line answered, “my name is, um, Charmaine a
nd I’m looking for Corley Duvall. Is she in?”

  I certainly didn’t want to give the woman my real name. That could come back to bite me. Not sure how, but it was possible.

  The woman’s voice came out gruff and angry. “Corley don’t work here no more.”

  A bubble of hope expanded in my chest. “Oh? But she used to?”

  “Did up until a few days ago. Who’d you say you were again?”

  “Charmaine.” I paused, trying to think up a lie and quick-like. “We were friends. Do you know where I can find her?”

  “I don’t know. She ran off. Probably with that man she’d been seeing.”

  What? A man? How could there have been a man if she’d hooked up with Jamison?

  Might as well ask. “What man?”

  “Oh, the boss walked in. Gotta go.”

  The line went dead. I leaned against the wall and tapped my finger against the phone. “What man?”

  The house rumbled and shook. A second later a heat vent opened and a photo of a man was spit out. He had dark hair and the picture was black and white. When I looked closely, I realized the man wore a suit from at least fifty years ago.

  I picked up the picture and laid it on a table. “Thanks, House. But I’m not sure that’s what I need.”

  I returned to Mama and Rose. “Corley ran off with a man only a few days ago. Whoever I spoke to had to run—Corley leaving must’ve been a big deal or a sore spot with the family. But she left. Problem is, if she left with one man, why would she hook up with Jamison? That doesn’t make any sense.”

  “Life doesn’t make sense. Especially bad hair days,” Mama quipped.

  I frowned at her and suddenly remembered what had happened at the station. “That weird man in the fur coat. At the station he and Corley had an argument, right, Rose?”

  Rose fed Pig chocolate again. “Oh yes. That’s right. They did.”

  I scratched my chin. “What if that’s the man? What if they came together, but something happened and she broke up with him? Maybe the only way she could get away from a real creep like that was to be someone else.”

  I sank onto a chair. “Maybe that’s too stupid. Probably not possible.”