Cursed at First Sight

by Daphne DeWitt

  “We had a fight, but he'll be back. I bet he's on his way here right now,” she said, sticking her nose up in the air.

  I grinned. Her nose had spent so much time in the air, it practically took up residence there.

  “Doubt it. I saw him with Maggie Prescott on the way here,” he said.

  He was lying like a dog on the floor. I knew that because his voice always got higher when he was telling a lie, and his voice right now could have broken all of the glass cups at that table.

  She folded her arms and tried to blink away the tears.

  “He’s fibbing, Abby. Listen to him. He's practically screeching like a howler monkey. He always does that when he lies. Bobby is crazy over you and besides Maggie is out of town,” Sadie said, making Abigail smile from ear to ear. Once again Sadie saved the day.

  “So, Daniel, how do you like Cat’s Cradle?” Christopher asked, washing down what little food was left in his mouth with sweet tea.

  “It’s, um, quaint. Very charming,” he said, nibbling on the fried chicken on his plate. He was eating a leg of chicken with a fork and a knife. That made me trust him even less than I had before. I mean seriously who eats chicken like that? Although, if I was being honest with myself (which I really didn't like to do) it was kind of cute in an irritating way.

  “And by quaint do you mean boring?” I asked, trying to reveal the real Mr. Daniel Price, not the pod person he turned into whenever he was around any member of my family who wasn't me.

  “I meant exactly what I said, Suzie Q. I find Cat’s Cradle to be very charming,” he said, smiling at me. “It's quite different from where I grew up and, if you ask me, that's a good thing.” He shook his head. “Besides, given what's happened the last few days, I'd say boring is the last word I'd use to describe this place. “

  Well, he had me there.

  He knew what I was trying to do. It was the worst family dinner in the history of Norwood family dinners, and we had some doozies.

  I should have stayed with Mrs. Abernathy because that pimento cheese was beginning to look pretty good.

  15

  The night drug on so long that I thought Daniel was going to move in. I was expecting at any minute for him and Grandma Misty to start playing truth or dare and giving each other makeovers. Seriously I didn’t think he was ever going to leave, but as soon as he did. I called a family meeting minus Christopher because he was already back to bird form and flapping around outside of the house in the form of a woodpecker.

  “I hate family meetings,” Abigail complained, tossing herself on the couch.

  “Quit complaining. I’m starting to think that’s all you know how to do,” Grandma Misty said, rolling her wheelchair in the corner. “Why did you call this meeting?” she asked, looking at me.

  Grandma Misty treated family meetings as if they were the top secret government liaisons they held in the White House. We tried to tell her many times before that the Norwood family meetings were not that important, but she would always tell us they were important to her. My favorite memory of Grandma Misty freaking out over a family meeting was when Abigail called one for us to help her pick out a dress for a date with a boy our grandmother considered "bad news." Needless to say, by the time she was through with Abigail, a date was the last thing on her mind.

  You didn't call family meetings unless you absolutely needed to. That was the way she saw things.

  “Where should I begin? Well, Grandma Misty, you see, Mrs. Abernathy told me that Rex was stalking her,” I started off, trying not to laugh.

  “The German Shepard or the used car salesman?” Sadie asked, crossing her ankles and sliding her hand over the hem of her dress.

  I had completely forgotten about Rex, the creepy cars salesman. He always wore a ton of gaudy gold jewelry, and he had so much grease in his hair you could have cooked with it. Oh, and he had one of those handlebar mustaches that only added to his creepiness factor. He was a walking talking Law and Order episode waiting to happen.

  “The German Shepard,” I told her, pacing back and forth.

  Grandma Misty just stared at me as if I had lost my mind. “Is that the reason why we’re having a family meeting?”

  Uh oh. I was sensing another Abigail date fiasco.

  “What? No, just listen, okay?” I asked, running my hands through my hair, “I asked Agnes to talk to Rex and see why he was always in Mrs. Abernathy’s yard. He tipped us off that he was getting bad vibes from the house, so we had Sadie bake up some lemon bars and put a sleep spell on them.”

  Grandma Misty gave me a disapproving look, and my response was a shrug.

  “A witch has got to do what a witch has got to do.” That response got me an even more disapproving look. “As I was saying, we had to spell Mrs. Abernathy to sleep so that we could check out her house. I used the locator candle, and it led us to the attic where we found a symbol etched into the wall. It was a circle with an eye in the middle of it, and it was glowing like it was on fire.”

  “A glowing symbol on the wall?” Grandma Misty asked, staring off into space, “That doesn’t sound good.”

  “Right? Then Agnes left me at the house alone, and Allison Talbot paid me a visit,” I said, using a lot of hand gestures that didn’t even make any sense.

  “Stop flapping around. You look like Christopher. Malady, Allison Talbot is dead, so there is no way on earth you saw her,” Abigail said, biting her nails.

  I didn’t have time to bicker with her, so I turned my back to her.

  “Hush, Abigail. If you saw a picture of the symbol would you recognize it?” Grandma Misty asked me, concern causing her eyebrows to arch.

  “Definitely. There’s no way I could forget it,” I told her, picturing the symbol. I could remember the fire like a glow and the heat that came from it. I could remember how deeply it was carved into the wall and the feeling I got when I looked it.

  “Let's go check out my books. If we are going to find it anywhere it would be in those stacks,” she said, rolling out of her room and into her study. It was actually a big closet, but she preferred to call it her study. We just went along with it.

  “I really don’t feel like spending my night scanning through books with you losers,” Abigail said, her tone was bored.

  “You have no choice, Missy,” Grandma Misty said, snapping her finger and lifting Abigail.

  The door was enchanted and completely invisible to the human eye. Waving her hands in front of the door and the knocking on the door causing it to creak open. The room was filled wall to wall with countless books. Floating candles lit the room, for humans that would have been a fire hazard, but not for us. You know because we were witches and the fire was enchanted.

  “Abigail and Agnes, you two start on the stack on the couch. Sadie, you start on the books on the purple bookshelf and Malady you help me with the books scattered on the floor. Surely we will find something. Oh dear, where did I put my glasses?” Grandma Misty asked, patting the top pf her head and looking at her shirt. She was wearing them.

  “Grandma Misty?” Sadie asked, picking up a book without touching it.

  “Yes, Sweet Sadie?” she asked, still searching for her glasses.

  “Your glasses are on your face,” she said, pointing at Grandma Misty’s face.

  Touching her face, she laughed. “Oh heavens me,” she said, snapping her fingers causing a book to fly up in her lap.

  Finding a blood red leather bound book on top of the awful sunshine yellow shag carpet, I picked it up and held my hand over it until it opened up to the section on symbols. That book was a complete dead end.

  I looked through so many books my eyes began to hurt. Reading glasses were in my future because every word in those books was microscopic. It was like the witches who wrote the books wanted to punish anyone who read them.

  Just as I was starting to give up, Abigail jumped up from her spot and ran to me. Feeling the book slam on my lap, I looked down and saw the symbol staring back at me. “There. Hap
py now?” Abigail asked her hand on her hip and a bored expression on her face. Basically, it was Abigail being Abigail.

  “Ecstatic,” I replied, running my hands over the symbol.

  “I’m happy to see that you’re good for something other than picking fights,” Grandma Misty said, rolling over to me and taking the book from me. Her eyes lit up with recognition as she looked over the symbol.

  “Have you seen that symbol before, Grandma Misty?” I asked, scooting closer to her.

  “It's the symbol of the Blackwater coven in Cold Creek,” she replied, keeping her eyes on the book.

  Every small southern town had their coven of witches. They were usually the kooky family that lived in the weird house that smelled like sage.

  “That’s like three towns over,” Sadie said, leaning over Grandma Misty’s shoulder to see the symbol. Agnes did the same. She stole a glance at me before looking back down at the book.

  She was right. Cold Creek - a few mountain towns over - was only a two-hour drive. We had driven there many times to pick up ingredients for Grandma Misty's potions from the underground witch garden. It wasn't really underground, so I had no idea why they called it that. It was in an enchanted small shack. Only witches could see it.

  “Road trip?” I asked, looking up at my family.

  I needed to go full Nancy Drew and figure out what was going on, but I required my team with me to do it.

  16

  Grandma Misty's old car was filled to the brim with empty chip bags and candy bar wrappers. It was like I was driving a group of high school football players to an away game instead of driving witches to find the missing links to an ever-growing mystery. Sadie and Abigail were so slender, but they could eat someone out of house and home. I had no idea where the food went.

  “Are we there yet?” Abigail asked from the back seat for the millionth time.

  The road trip to Cold Creek was a total nightmare. I wanted Agnes and Sadie to go with me, but Bobby had finally pulled the plug for good on his relationship with Abby, and she was really down in the dumps, so I asked her instead of Agnes.

  Agnes was more than happy to stay and help Grandma Misty with all of her errands.

  “Yes, finally,” I told her, passing by a town that read ‘Welcome to Cold Creek, y’all! Population 1500.’

  The drive through the main part of town took about three minutes. Seriously, Cold Creek made Cat’s Cradle look like New York City. I bet the population included pets too.

  “Does this coven have any cute guys?” Abigail asked, poking her head out from the backseat.

  “Abby, we are here to find out what the symbols mean not to play witchy love connection,” I told her, rolling my eyes. All she thought about was boys. I wanted to have her worries for one day.

  “I know that. I’m just saying,” she said, resting her chin on her hand.

  “Let’s focus on the reason we’re here. We don’t have time to frolic around,” I said, seeing a mailbox with the exact address Grandma Misty found us.

  It was a lot like our house. It would have been creepy, but the aquamarine shade of the house brightened it up.

  “What if I find a hot witch? Can I frolic then?” she asked, smirking.

  Pulling in the mile long stretch of a driveway, I put the car in park. “Just get out of the car,” I told her before slamming the door shut.

  Sadie got off the car and smoothed her dress with her hands making her look perfect. “I hope they're nice,” she said, smiling perfectly.

  I didn't want to burst her perfect little bubble but judging from that symbol, I knew they were probably going to be horrible people. Wicked witches if you will.

  “If they are mean, Sadie, we'll drop a house on them unless they're hot. If they're hot we are going to frolic,” she said, winking at me and strutting up the front porch.

  “Sadie, can you do me a favor?” I asked, already knowing the answer.

  “Anything, Sis,” she replied, chipper as ever.

  She was the only person I knew that was still in a good mood after a two-hour drive with Abigail. Two hours may not have seemed like a lot, but two hours with Abby felt like days. She never shut up because she wanted to use the voice up as much as she could. When she fell asleep she still never stopped talking.

  “You wouldn’t happen to know of any ‘mystical earmuff’ spells, would you?” I asked her, rubbing my temples. “If not, just hit over me the head with a frying pan. That should do the trick."

  She laughed as she pulled me to the front door. She thought I was joking, but I wasn’t.

  The large French door opened to reveal a very handsome man with black hair and silver eyes. Looking at him, I could tell he wasn't a day over twenty-five.

  Abigail’s mouth was wide open as she stared at the handsome stranger.

  “Please don’t drool on me,” I said, moving away from her.

  “Hi, can I help you?” he asked, leaning against the door.

  “Um, I hope so. Hi, I’m Malady Norwood, this is my sister, Sadie Norwood, and the fool with drool running down her chin is my other sister, Abigail Norwood,” I started off, holding my hand out for him to shake.

  As he took my hand, I felt a tingle that slid up my arm all the way up to my head. Looking at him, I saw that his eyes were glowing. We were definitely in the right place.

  “Ah, yes, all of you are from the Norwood coven in Cat’s Cradle. Come on in, we’ve been expecting you,” he said, holding the door all the way open to invite us in.

  The house was dimly lit with candles floating above us and soft music playing.

  “I didn’t catch your name,” I said to the stranger, leading us into an enormous living room filled with lots of gaudy decorations.

  He laughed before sitting on the purple crushed velvet couch. “That's because I didn't tell it to you, Malady. The name is Cade Blackwater, it's a pleasure to meet you ladies finally,” he said, looking at each of us as if he were sizing us up.

  His eyes made you feel like he knew every secret you were hiding. It was unnerving.

  “We are here to--,” I said before being cut off by him.

  “I know why you’re here,” he said, running his hand through the flame of a candle near him without even flinching. “You do?” I asked.

  “You’re here about the symbol you found in Mrs. Abernathy’s attic. Am I right?” he asked.

  “How did you know that and how did you know her name? Are you the one who put the symbol here?” I asked, totally freaked out.

  “Me? No, I didn't do it. That tingle you felt when I touched your hand wasn't because of my good looks; it was because when I touch someone, I can see into the depths of their minds. I see everything. I knew that the symbol showed up in someone's house in Cat's Cradle, but I didn't know who that person was. When I shook your hand, I found out,” he said, winking at Abigail, causing her to giggle like a school girl.

  Of course, she liked him even though he was terrifying. The girl had issues.

  “What does the symbol mean?” Sadie asked, completely engrossed in the conversation. Her eyes were wild like she was reading her favorite book for the first time or watching one of those old movies she loved so much.

  “It means that a spell that was cast on someone in Cat’s Cradle was broken in some way. Completely botched,” he said, resting his elbows on his knees.

  “What kind of spell?” Abigail asked, managing to stop drooling over him long enough to ask.

  “A love spell, Darling. The best kind of spell and the worst kind of spell. When the spell is intact, it makes you feel like you could touch the moon, but when it's broken, it makes you do crazy things. You snap because all of that happiness you once felt is gone and you just feel empty,” he said, walking over to her and kneeling beside her. “May I?” he asked, holding his hand over hers.

  “You may,” she said, her eyes twinkling like shooting stars.

  While they flirted shamelessly, I tried to think of anyone who had been acting weird latel
y but failed. Sure, everyone in Cat's Cradle was weird, but weird was normal in that town. Surely, I would have noticed if someone had cast a love spell on someone. Wouldn't I?

  “Who’s Bobby, and why on earth would he want to let you go?” he asked before turning his head to me, “Did Allison come with you?”

  Of course, he knew about Allison.

  “Not that I’m aware, Romeo,” I replied, looking all around me to see if she was anywhere in sight. She was like a ninja ghost.

  “She’s always near you,” Another man’s voice said, startling me.

  Slowly turning around, I saw a man with the same face as Cade Blackwater.

  “This is my twin brother, Cole, he talks to the dead,” he said like it was the most normal thing in the world.

  “Oh, how comforting. So, he’s a medium?” I asked.

  They were identical. I'm talking same inky black hair, same razor-sharp cheekbones, and same steel gray eyes. But for some reason, Cole was creeping me out way more and made the hair on my neck stand up.

  “I guess you could say that, but his connection to the dead goes way deeper than those mediums who have reality shows and make lucky guesses. He’s the real deal,” Cade said, leaving Abigail’s side and taking his spot on the couch.

  “Is she here now?” I asked Cole, my heart beating uncontrollably.

  I wasn’t sure I was totally convinced that he was the "real deal" as his brother called him. But I was going to find out.

  “She just left. She said watching you interact with people was painful because you were so awkward. Why is she calling you bad luck?” he asked, snickering.

  Just like that I was convinced.

  “I don’t really feel like discussing that with a stranger,” I said, shaking my head in disbelief.

  “She wants you to follow her,” he said, walking to the front door. My heart dropped. The idea of chasing Allison Talbot’s ghost around was not my idea of a day well spent, but Mason needed it. So I persevered.

  “Where is she?”

  “By your Grandma Misty’s car,” he said, snapping his fingers and opening the door.