The Binding Witch and the Bounty Hunter

by Laura Rich

I wrinkled my brow and turned back to the bookshelf.

  “Look, Mom has volumes of books dedicated to the discussion of whether a spell is inherently good or inherently evil. It’s the critical pre-work part of any new spell.” I pulled one off the shelf and read, “The Doctrine of Inevitable Consequence basically states that your intent, combined with the outcome, will have a good or neutral consequence for you, or just bite you in the butt.”

  “That book does not say ‘butt,’” Luna said.

  “No, I just made that part up,” I said, “but I know Mom mostly aims for neutral consequences, since even the perceived good ones can be bad. Like the time she healed a wounded pixie that showed up at her door and incurred the wrath of the rival pixie clan who apparently wanted him to stay wounded. She still laughs telling the story about how she was pelted with tiny pixie arrows every time she went through her door, and this was several hundred years ago.”

  Call it karma, kismet, or whatever, apparently some witches did nothing but study this. We didn’t know any of that kind of witch, but only because we didn’t associate with other witches at all.

  Mom wasn’t very popular because she’d agreed to be the binding witch for a group of witches called the Bindan. She bound their powers in every generation. Unbelievable, I know—who would voluntarily give up magic? But this group, a holdover from the Salem witch trials, felt their best defense was to abandon magic, and they appointed my mother to do their bindings—forever. I just don’t know why she agreed to it.

  I felt they were old-fashioned at best and ridiculously oppressive at worst. I’d met some of them who were my age—Ella and Lily—and they were anything but happy about their situation. In fact, we started secretly texting each other after our mutual encounter with Madame Miri, and the more I learned about their lives, the more I wanted to confront Mom about the bindings. There had to be another way to help the Bindan and bring them into the modern day, where it was so much easier to hide magic.

  Suddenly, I realized I had been drifting again, stewing about things I couldn’t change.

  “Earth to Kate!” Luna said. “Just try something!”

  So I did.

  Luna watched while I tried one spell after another to lead me to my mother, with no results. It was as if I was missing a critical ingredient in the process. More than ever, I wished she were here to teach me.

  “What about something that brings the kidnapper here?” Luna said.

  “Huh?” I tried for the third time to scry for her location—holding a piece of crystal suspended on a string above a map of the area. The stone stubbornly refused to move, and I threw it aside. It smacked the table and a chip flew off. “Great.” I huffed. “What good would that do?”

  “Well, he could tell you where she is, couldn’t he?” she said. “Lead you back to her?”

  I considered her bobbing head for a moment. “It’s worth a shot, but only if he’s agreeable to it.” I turned back to the oldest of the spell books in the stack on the table. “I remember seeing something in here about bringing someone to you . . . and something else about rendering them pliable to command. Except there’s some negative karma in that, I’m sure.”

  “Hang on,” Luna said. “How did you make me your familiar?”

  My hand paused above the pages. “I—I just thought about it. I thought about it, and it took shape in my mind.” I thought about the glowing globe of change that had connected me to Luna.

  “Maybe try that,” she said.

  “But I don’t want to change him into my familiar,” I said. “I just want him to bring my Mom back.”

  “You want to change his heart.” She ruffled her feathers. “Change is change.”

  I pondered that. Was change karmically neutral? My head throbbed and I decided I didn’t care at this point. “Fair enough.” I closed my eyes and envisioned the orb again. This time, I fed it with my wish that he would change his heart and help me reunite with my mother. I let the orb grow to fit a large man—bounty-hunter-sized—then pushed it out to find him and bring him to me. I watched it in my mind’s eye while it grew small in the distance, then opened my eyes. It felt like I had done something. Only time would tell if it worked.

  My heart skipped a beat. I just hoped my good intentions were enough to make up for my skipping a karmic evaluation. A soft sense of dread crept up and slipped over me like a second skin.

  5

  Two rapid booms of thunder sounded in succession in the distance and woke me from a hard sleep. I wiped the drool from the corner of my mouth and made a face. After finishing the spell in the workshop, I’d felt sluggish, so Luna and I had returned to the trailer with the idea I would just sit down for a bit to eat some tacos and nap.

  I glanced at the clock—two hours had gone by since then—and peered out the smoky glass window on the door. A steady rain was falling through the late sunset, which was weird, because clear weather was in the forecast for this weekend.

  “Just a few more minutes, Mom,” Luna mumbled in her sleep.

  “Wake up, Luna,” I said, gently stroking her head.

  My phone rang just as a second boom of thunder sounded a little closer. This one rattled the dishes in the cabinets. I fumbled the device out of my pocket and answered. “Hello?”

  “Karen? This is Elder Wright’s wife.”

  I sighed. The Bindan. For some reason, none of them could get my name right.

  “It’s Kate.”

  “Oh, well, right . . . Jennifer has gone into labor!”

  I glanced at my tracking chart on the refrigerator door where I logged each of my mother’s “clients” and their due dates. Jennifer was only six months along.

  “With all due respect, Mrs. Wright, that’s impossible. She’s not due for several months.” Premature labor was out of the question, since the Bindan retained the hearty witch constitution even with the Binding. Their births were textbook every time.

  “Now listen here, missy,” she started.

  The aluminum trailer door vibrated with three hard knocks, jerking my attention away from the call. It was full dark now. Through the smoked-glass window, the trailer’s exterior light revealed a tall, dark figure.

  Luna jumped up and squawked. “He’s here! It worked!”

  My chest tightened in panic, and I half-listened to Mrs. Wright babble on her usual rant about how her husband was right about me and how I was anti-social (I own that and chalk it up to my extreme introversion), disrespectful (didn’t I literally just say, “with all due respect”?), and illiterate. That last one stung a little and brought me back to the call. I could definitely be more well read, but reading just didn’t come easy to me. It was one of the reasons Mom homeschooled me—that and we moved around all the time.

  “Listen, Mrs. Wright, I’m sure everything is fine. If you’re concerned, take her to the ER.” I smirked, knowing they were totally dependent on us in this regard, and completely out of their own fear of discovery. They definitely would not go to the ER.

  “You little—”

  “Bye now!” I ended the call. My patience had run out. I couldn’t deal with my mother’s kidnapping, my newfound powers, a pigeon for a familiar, whoever was on the other side of that door, and the Bindan all at once. I was sure I was right and Jennifer would be fine. Well, ninety-nine percent sure. I made a mental note to call her in a few hours to check up.

  “She sounds like a lovely woman,” Luna said, deadpan.

  “Now I know you’re joking,” I said. “But just in case she’s right . . .” I shot off a quick text to Lily and Ella to see if they could keep me updated on Jennifer’s condition every hour.

  They both texted back “kk,” which was text speak for “okay.”

  I shot off a quick “ty” to say thanks, and then three more knocks shook the door.

  “It’s showtime!” cried Luna, with a little shimmy of her wingtips.

  I did a double take at the bird.

  “I hung out in the rafters at the community theatre in
Conroe last summer,” she explained.

  “Sure, makes sense.” My hands were shaking, and I didn’t move to open the door. An enormous boom signaled that the storm was right on top of us. “Ha, ha, crazy storm, eh?”

  “Sure. Storms make noise. What are you waiting for?” Luna hopped on her one good foot. “Let’s do this thing!”

  A nervous giggle escaped my lips. “Well, I’m probably about to open the door to the guy who kidnapped my mom. Does this seem like a bad plan to you?”

  “Kate, every life decision can be framed as a bad one if you think about it hard enough. It’s all a risk. That’s what makes life worth living. It’s just through experience that we learn which decisions are likely to pay off.”

  The bird’s wisdom caught me off guard. “Luna, that’s really beautiful.”

  She nodded. “Let’s just hope you have enough experience to not get us killed.”

  “What?” I cried.

  Three more knocks shook the door. I swear one of them left a bowl-shaped dent in the metal.

  “Nothing! Get the door!” Luna swooped up to the curtain rod to the left of the entrance. “I’ll scratch his eyes out if he tries anything funny.”

  I made a face and unlocked the door, throwing it wide just as lightning slashed the sky to reveal the soaking wet bounty hunter. Rain blew into the trailer and soaked my pant legs.

  The oaf grunted and caught the door in a humongous hand that could crush my throat.

  I took a step back in pure intimidation. This guy was even bigger than I remembered.

  He grunted again and gestured at himself, then at the interior of the trailer.

  Luna peered at the giant. “I think he wants an invitation.”

  “What is he, a vampire?” I squeaked. Dealing with vampires was definitely not on the agenda tonight. What with the mesmerization, the blood, the gore . . . I shuddered.

  “He doesn’t feel like a vampire.” Luna shook her head. “Definitely not a vampire. Maybe just polite?”

  I shook my head and stepped back even more, gesturing for the giant to enter. “Just get in here and shut the door. We’re going to drown otherwise.”

  He looked left and right, then stepped on the fold-down stairs to enter.

  Luna and I both steadied ourselves and our poor trailer rocked back and forth as it took on the giant man’s weight. She flew to my shoulder while I retreated to the bathroom door to give our guest a wide berth.

  His bulk took up most of the living space. He peered around, head canted forward to avoid hitting the ceiling. Water dripped off his massive frame and pooled on the floor. He reached around and, with surprising gentleness, shut the door. He turned around and his charm bracelet jangled as he pointed at Luna and grunted.

  I glanced at my shoulder, then back at the kidnapper. “Yes, it’s a pigeon.”

  “Did you just roll your eyes?” Luna whispered in my ear. “I’ll have you know that pigeons are some of the best birds. Loyal, maternal, and smar—oh, look at the pretty bracelet! So sparkly!”

  “Let’s focus on the task at hand, Luna,” I muttered. To the man, I said, “Have a seat.”

  The kidnapper grunted again, shrugged, and sloshed over to the sofa, where he sat down with a thud and began to bite his nails.

  I frowned. It was every bit as annoying as my mother said it was when I did it, but I refrained from commenting on it. No need to provoke the big guy. I raised my voice to be heard over the rain pounding on the aluminum roof of the trailer. “Not one for idle chit-chat, are you?” At least he wasn’t trying to kill me. I decided that the direct approach would probably serve me best here. “Can, uh, you take me to my mother?”

  He looked at me blankly.

  I waited for a response, but when one didn’t come, I frowned. “Did you not hear me?” I said louder.

  “Uh-oh,” Luna said.

  “What?” I shifted uneasily. Something didn’t seem quite right about this encounter. Wasn’t he supposed to be more . . . chatty?

  “Maybe when you changed his heart, it broke something in his head?” Luna suggested. “I mean, he doesn’t look very smart in the first place.”

  I frowned. It was possible my unorthodox spell had produced some less-than-accurate results. I mean, look at Luna. I’d accidentally made a familiar out of a pigeon, for goddess’s sake!

  The giant man shifted on the sofa, whose springs twanged in protest. He pointed to his mouth and groaned.

  “Can you not speak at all?” I stared at him in horror, remembering I may have fueled the spell with a little anger and possibly a teeny-tiny bit of interest in controlling his will. This would not bode well for my karma.

  He shook his head and groaned.

  I rubbed my forehead and tried to make sense of the situation. Rain continued to pound the trailer, making it difficult to think. If I could just get some quiet . . .

  “Maybe just try commanding him to speak,” Luna said. “Just like you had to invite him in.”

  An uneasy feeling settled in my gut. I felt like Dr. Frankenstein with his monster. “You may, uh, speak, kidnapper.”

  He took a deep breath and let it out. “Finally! This is a very powerful spell—well done! It’s crazy—I totally want to help you!”

  “Uh, thanks?” I glanced at Luna.

  She shrugged her wings.

  “Don’t mention it,” he said. “Hey, do you know how long this spell lasts?”

  “No idea.”

  “Well, let’s get to work then. We don’t want this wearing off before we find your mom.” He grinned. “I’m kind of an asshole.”

  6

  “So, um, can you take me to my mother?”

  “Well, no.” He ran his hand through his hair. “Look, kid, I’m just a bounty hunter. The demon who hired me has some unfinished business with her. She’ll be back in one piece as long as she agrees to his terms. I just met his goons at the drop point. I don’t know where he took her. I’m sorry.”

  Anger and disappointment churned inside me, and my face grew warm. “Who is this demon, and where is the drop point?”

  Luna squawked and flew off my shoulder and back to the curtain rod. “Watch out! Angry witch!”

  I glared at her and she began to preen herself.

  The kidnapper blanched as if he had heard her and agreed. “His name is, well, nobody really knows his real name. There won’t be a trace of them at the drop point—they make sure of that. But there is a chance I might be able to find the location of his current safe houses, though. For a price.”

  My hands grew hot and thrummed with energy, and a cold confidence flooded my brain. “Either you can help me, or you can’t. I think you’re forgetting who’s in charge here, Mister . . . . what is your name, anyway?”

  “Leo Vidra.”

  Lightning struck somewhere nearby with a big boom. The power flickered a few times, then went dark.

  “Crap,” I said. “Tree on the power line, or the transformer blew. Don’t move.”

  “Not moving!” Leo and Luna chimed in unison.

  I heard our little one-hundred-twenty-volt automatic back-up generator spring to life, and the lights came back on. Internally, I celebrated. It had been tough to convince Mom to agree to the six-hundred-dollar price tag, but now she wasn’t here to experience how handy it was—and a much better alternative than going out in the rain to push the start button, or worse yet, hand-pulling the ripcord on the first generator we owned.

  “Leo Vidra, you will find out where my mother is being held.” I drew myself up and stared down at him.

  “Oh, of course I will try. I just might not be that successful without . . . I was just hoping you could help me with discharging this first?” He jangled his bracelet.

  I narrowed my eyes. “Is that what I think it is?”

  Leo shifted his weight on the sofa again, and I swear I heard a spring break.

  “Yeah. It’s a Cheval de Frise bracelet.”

  “It’s shiny!” Luna said, swooping down to sit ne
xt to Leo. “What does it do?”

  “It’s for keeping my karma in check,” he said.

  I narrowed my eyes. It sounded an awful lot like he just answered Luna’s question. “Can you hear my familiar speak?”

  He shrugged. “Yeah, I can.”

  “Wait, isn’t that weird—I mean, uncommon?” I said. “I can’t hear my mom’s familiar when he talks.”

  “And it’s a good thing too, Kate,” Luna said. “He’s not very nice.”

  Leo laughed. “No, it’s not very common at all, just when two people share a . . . well, you know how all magic creatures go back to a central point of origin. It’s probably one of those weird recessive genes.”

  I suspected that was a half-answer, but it wasn’t that important, so I decided to go back to it later. “Why are you wearing that bracelet then?”

  Leo nodded. “My line of business is . . . dangerous.”

  Luna hopped to the sofa arm and gave him a googly-eyed look. “Kidnapping?”

  “What is it you do, exactly?” I said.

  “Mostly what she said.” He nodded towards Luna.

  I didn’t know of any rules against sharing the name of your familiar, especially if someone could already speak with her, so I decided it was okay to tell him. “Her name is Luna.”

  “Like Luna said. Some kidnapping, but also assassination, guard work, intimidation, theft, tracking . . . anything that pays the bills, you know.” His face turned serious. “No kids, though. I won’t do anything that’ll hurt a kid.”

  I gulped.

  “Well, it’s good to draw the line somewhere, I suppose.” Luna hopped back down and flew to my shoulder.

  I stroked her head with a light touch while I tried to regain my composure. I nodded at the bracelet. “I’ve read about those before. They grow a charm for every bit of evil magic you do—to offset the karma coming your way. I’ve just never seen one in real life before.”

  He nodded. “Easier than enslaving a witch to do the job for me.”

  I gulped again. I did remember reading that was how demons used to deflect their bad karma. But I also remembered that the Cheval de Frise was designed to last through at least a century of hard use by even a really active demon.