Looking for Mr. Good Witch (5 page)

Willow wand and herb of sage,

Cleanse the air. Fire, rage.

Velvet cloak and silver coin,

Take this dream and make it mine.

“Mom.” Brian stepped forward. “Dad. What are you doing here?”

“I think your mother was clear on that point,” the man said.

Brian's father was tall and a perfect match for the woman. His gray suit was expensive, probably handmade. His brown hair and blue eyes reminded me of Brian. Between them, it was easy to see where he'd gotten his good looks.

“Excuse me.” Brian stepped to one side. “Elsie, Molly, Dorothy and Olivia—these are my parents, Schadt and Yuriza. Mom, Dad, these are my friends.”

I could see the anger and distance in Yuriza's wonderful blue eyes. She didn't like the crowd her son had fallen in with. Cassandra had probably told them about seeing us together at the cave. We weren't exactly the cream of the witch world.

“I can't believe you are with these people, Brian—and one of the undead. What are you thinking?” she demanded in a powerful voice. “Come with us this instant.”

Brian stepped back and grabbed Dorothy's hand. “I'm
not going anywhere with you. You ignore me for years and only come to find me so you can look down on my friends. Go home, Mom. Leave me alone.”

Schadt shook his head, his thick hair moving like a lion's mane on his head. “You'll either come with us now, Brian, or you'll find yourself without family or money in the future, do you understand?”

“I get it.” Brian raised his chin and stared down his father. “I've been without family for a long time. As far as money is concerned, I'll just sell the gifts you've given me to make up for actually spending time with me. Thanks for the heads-up.”

Without another word, Schadt and Yuriza abruptly vanished.

“Can you do that, Brian?” Elsie asked him. “If so, can you teach me?”

Brian shook himself. “It's not something teachable. Some of the families pay a premium to the council for the extra magic it takes. It's convenient—charms and spells, that kind of thing. I know you don't do it, but lots of other witches do. Are you guys ready to go now? Let's finish this.”

Elsie and I, with Olivia and her staff, led the way to Elsie's house on Grace Street in my car. Of course we discussed the unfairness of being able to purchase more magic on the way there. None of us had even known it was possible to purchase more magic.

“So that's why some witches are able to keep their magic for hundreds of years.” Elsie nodded, the purple velvet hat covering her faded red curls. “It makes sense to me now. Why should the witching world be any fairer than the normal world?”

“I guess that's what made Dorothy's father so powerful and vital when I met him, even though he was a thousand years old.” Olivia sighed. “I had no idea you could pay for extra magic. I wonder what it costs.”

“Probably more than any of us have,” Elsie said. “And let's
not forget that Dorothy's father was so evil that you had to hide her from him all these years.”

“I don't see where one has anything to do with the other,” Olivia argued. “Besides, I am quite well-to-do.”

“And you're also quite dead. Having enough money to buy more magic doesn't seem to be in your future.” Elsie smugly smiled.

“I could buy extra magic for Dorothy.” Olivia shrugged. “Well,
she
could buy extra magic with my money.”

“I'm not sure if Brian can really stand up to his parents.” I changed the subject. “If they want him back badly enough, they'll probably just take him.”

“Maybe it would be just as well for Dorothy,” Olivia said.

“For Dorothy?” Elsie asked. “Please.”

We were finally at Elsie's house. It was a lovely place that was surrounded by tall, old trees and green shrubs. It wasn't historic, like Dorothy and Olivia's house, but it was very nice. Bill had provided a good income while he'd been alive. Elsie had taught school until she'd retired.

Dorothy and Brian were standing in the cobblestone driveway with their heads together—literally—his head against hers. Their fingers were entwined.

“Aren't they cute?” Elsie giggled. “I don't know how you can
not
want to see them together, Olivia. You might even have grandchildren.”

“Grandchildren?” Olivia slid from the car like hot smoke. “I'm not old enough to be a grandmother. I suppose I never will be now.”

“You've got a hundred years before you move on,” I reminded her. “You should fill them as carefully as you did your house when you were alive.”

She bit her lip and floated away. It was an emotional subject for her.

Elsie opened the front door to her house, and we filed in
after her. It wasn't as grand or filled with antiques, but it had a nice homey feel to it that I'd always enjoyed.

“I guess the foyer is as good a place as any for the spell.” She took out several red candles that had been in a bureau to the left side of the door. “We can set them right here.”

To my surprise, as Elsie touched each candle, it burst brightly into flame.

“How in the world did I do that?” She was as puzzled by it as the rest of us. She hadn't been able to quick-start a candle in years.

“You are one hot mama.” Brian grinned as he came near her. “Good job, Elsie.”

We were about to start the blessing when Aleese came downstairs. “What's going on, Mother? I smelled the candles. Are you trying to burn the house down?”

Aleese was a very nice, practical sort of accountant, whose husband had died, leaving her nothing. She'd moved in with Elsie to survive, and was nearly the spitting image of her mother years before, with her bright copper red curls and petite build. Only the eyes were different. Aleese had inherited her father's brown eyes instead of her mother's magical green eyes.

“It's just a few candles,” Elsie told her. “Why are you home? I thought you'd be working.”

“I wasn't feeling well. I guess that's why you felt free to bring your friends here instead of meeting them at that awful shop.”

Elsie stopped smiling. “I felt free to bring my friends here because this is my home. Go back upstairs, Aleese. We won't be long.”

Instead of listening to her mother, Aleese kept coming until she'd reached the foyer. She looked at us as though we were specimens in a jar. “Mother, this isn't a good idea.”

Brian smiled and touched her, muttering a spell under his breath.

Aleese stopped moving as she took on all the attributes of
a statue. It was an old spell, not difficult to do. Elsie had managed it on her own recently—mostly by accident, of course.

But it was different since Brian had done it to her daughter. “What are you doing?” Elsie demanded. “Take that spell off her. She doesn't know about magic. I'd like to keep it that way.”

Brian shrugged. “Let's get the protection spell done, and I'll take it from her. I can't handle any other family interference today. I guess it doesn't matter if it's from parents or kids. It's just annoying.”

“Is he talking about
me
?” Olivia demanded. “I'm not annoying. I'm just worried about Dorothy's future. That's all.”

Elsie's hands glowed red as she approached Brian. “Get that spell off my daughter now, punk.”

“Look at that!” Dorothy was amazed at seeing Elsie use her magic so effectively. “I didn't know that was possible.”

“Fire witches can be deadly,” Elsie hissed. “Brian, this is your last warning.”

“Okay.” He touched Aleese and muttered the counter spell.

Aleese moved as though she were sleepwalking. It would take a few minutes to get over the effects of the spell. “What happened? Why am I down here? Mother? W-what's going on?”

Elsie helped her daughter back upstairs, reassuring her that everything was fine despite her confusion.

“I'm out of here,” Brian said. “This is stupid. I'm sorry, Dorothy. Can you catch a ride back with them?”

Before Dorothy could answer, Brian walked out the door. He didn't disappear as his parents had. The Corvette's engine revved, and he was gone with a squeal of tires.

“What happened?” Dorothy blinked away the tears that had gathered in her big brown eyes.

“Oh, he'll be back,” Olivia said. “It's just a tantrum.”

I put my arm around Dorothy's shoulders. “If you could wait another ten years to fall in love, it's more likely that you'll find a man mature enough to handle it. Brian is just having issues. I'm sure he'll be fine.”

Elsie returned without Aleese. We whispered the protection spell and blessing on the house with the three of us holding hands. When it was over, Elsie decided to stay with Aleese until she made sure her daughter was all right. She was still very angry with Brian.

I took Dorothy and Olivia back to Smuggler's Arcane. It was just in time for the shop to open. We had a busy day ahead of us, but we were going to have to handle it without Elsie or Brian.

Love, elusive and free,

Bring him back to me,

Touch his eyes and make him see,

Bind his heart to me.

The day was as busy as I had expected it to be. Witches we knew, and some we didn't, came in for supplies to celebrate the full moon. We almost sold out of candles and silver knives. I knew the organized event in Wilmington was going to be well attended. I hadn't realized how many smaller events were going on around us too.

That was good news for us as witches as well as for Smuggler's Arcane. The Council of Witches always worried about losing witches without gaining new ones. One might be born a witch without knowing it, like Dorothy. Or one could be a witch and choose to ignore it. Either way was bad for the propagation of witchcraft in the new century. A strong base meant a better chance of survival.

I didn't worry about the survival of witchcraft overly much, but the council continuing to bring it up had left me worried. I was glad to see new faces at the shop.

Many of our customers were not witches at all. Some of them wanted to observe our customs, while others were
simply curious. I handled all of them the same. It was a blessing to have people interested in the old ways.

Phoebe came in from Atlantic Beach and filled a tote bag with everything from herbs to a new cauldron. She was a regular customer, and a practicing witch.

“Have you all heard the news yet about the deaths of the witches from Savannah and Charleston?” she whispered as she paid for her haul. “I've heard there has been another death right here in the Wilmington area.”

“Yes.” I finished running her MasterCard and gave her a receipt. “I've heard that too. Cassandra is supposed to be at the celebration tomorrow night. I hope she has more news on that front.”

“It's the beginning of a new purge,” Phoebe said. “There are too many witches now, and we're too open about what we do. Do you know how many witchcraft pages there are on Facebook?”

“No. I don't get on Facebook much.”

“I counted one hundred and fifty,” she confided. “That's why they want to do away with us.”

Being a witch didn't preclude being paranoid from time to time. With the history of our craft, it wasn't surprising.

“That sounds like a lot,” I agreed. “I don't think we can take back the knowledge that we exist now.”

“The council could take it back. They could erase the memory of us from all the non-magic people in the world. Then we'd be protected. I have a petition right here that I'm planning to present to them.” She rummaged in her large handbag and pulled out a petition that was written on a scroll. “Will you sign it, Molly?”

Since I was fighting not to have Joe's memory of witches erased, I could hardly sign her well-meant petition. As I glanced up for a diversion that could allow me to escape from behind the counter without hurting Phoebe's feelings, a large bag of lemon balm fell to the old wood floor.

Olivia smiled and shrugged.

“Excuse me, Phoebe.” I smiled at her. She was a very good customer and an old friend. “I have to clean up this mess.”

“Oh!” Dorothy noticed the bag of lemon balm. “I can do that for you, Molly.”

“Kay needs your help choosing a new robe for the celebration,” I told her.

We had brought in a few new robes, dresses and other elaborate apparel for the event. Not dozens of them, since they were expensive, but I hoped to sell them all.

“Sorry. Sure.” Dorothy went to help Kay, who was from Wrightsville Beach.

I still had to sweep up the spilled herb. Phoebe waited for a few minutes, and then one of her friends came into the shop and claimed her attention.

“Sorry, Molly,” Olivia said. “It was all I could think to do on the spur of the moment, and then it almost didn't work. What does Phoebe think she's going to accomplish with that petition? All she's going to do is rile up the council.”

“I guess if you're afraid or worried enough it doesn't matter.” I swept up the mess and went to dump the dustpan into the trash container in the supply closet. When I opened the door, the Bone Man was standing there, grinning at me.

I dropped the dustpan and the broom. What was it with him and closets?

“Will you speak to me now?” I asked in a low voice, not wanting to attract attention.

But it was as though he were nothing but a shadow. He stood there without moving or speaking for a moment and then disappeared again.

“Do you need help with that?” Dorothy came up behind me. “I think Kay found a robe she wants. I'm not sure how to work the cash register, with or without magic.”

“Yes.” I took a deep breath and gathered my scattered wits.
What did it mean? Why was the Bone Man haunting my closets?

I rang up Kay's purchase of a beautiful sea green robe. She was very excited about the big celebration. It was the first of its kind in Wilmington. Usually witches met privately and kept their activities secret.

In recent years, the council had encouraged us to go out and celebrate the full moon and other important events more openly in the hope that other witches would join in. It seemed to be working, as there appeared to be more witches in the city, where they had once hanged our kind.

“It's going to be a good strong moon too,” Kay said. “I'm very excited.”

“So am I.” I bagged her purchase and handed it to her. “I hope to see you there. Blessed Be, my friend.”

Portia de Winter came in with a lovely, warm smile for everyone. She was in charge of getting the full moon celebration going. The council had tasked her with the responsibility of making our events more visible.

She was a beautiful, older witch with long silver hair and sharp, blue eyes. She dressed well, always wearing a colorful ankle-length skirt. She was ready for the full moon in a gorgeous silver cotton that almost matched the color of her hair.

I couldn't think of a better choice for a witch who had to go out among other witches and spread the word. Witches could be clannish and, sometimes, rude to strangers. Portia had a way about her. She was friendly and appealing.

She nodded to the witches she knew as she came into the shop, and shook hands with those she didn't know, introducing herself to everyone in Smuggler's Arcane.

“Good afternoon, Molly.” Portia came up and took my hand. “I can see you're very busy. I hope a lot of this is for the celebration.”

“I'm sure it is.”

Dorothy was finished cleaning up the lemon balm I'd dropped. She eagerly shook hands with Portia. “How are you? I'm so looking forward to my first full moon celebration. I can't believe I missed out all these years.”

“We'll just have to make up for that by having the best celebration ever,” Portia responded with excitement in her blue eyes. She was a water witch, like me, but with much stronger magic.

“Great! I can't wait.”

Portia worked for the council, and was also the only council representative we'd met who didn't immediately spurn Olivia's presence. “Hello, Olivia. How are you today?”

“I'm just fine, except for a growing feeling of loss regarding my magic. My own familiar, Barnabas, refuses to come back home. I still feel like a witch, but I'm reviled by my own kind. It's very difficult being a ghost. No wonder witches usually move on right away.”

“Olivia, take heart,” Portia counselled. “Things will change. They always do. At some point, ghost witches may even be able to use their magic again. Don't give up. Remember—you're here for your daughter. I can't think of a worthier cause.”

Elsie came in while Portia was still there. She stowed her large purple bag behind the counter. “I'm sorry, Molly. I was just so upset seeing Aleese that way. I overreacted. I guess I owe Brian an apology too. I don't even know how long it's been since I got that hot—literally. I didn't even know it was possible anymore.”

“It's not a big deal,” I told her. “I know how you felt. We tried all our lives to protect our families from magic. It's hard when it comes right into our homes. I think Brian was embarrassed by the whole situation with his parents and then with Aleese. He isn't used to dealing with those kinds of issues.”

“He'd probably be better off if he was more interactive with his family—although they seemed like twits to me. The emotion would have been good for him. He's all brain and knowledge, but there's very little heart in his magic.”

“I know.” I told her about seeing the Bone Man again in the supply closet. “I don't know what to think about it. He's not exactly the person you want to have visions of.”

She knit her red brows together. “Maybe he's trying to contact you. Maybe he needs help.”

I gazed at her with complete disbelief. “First of all, why would the Bone Man need help? He's an entity unto himself. And second, why would he contact
me
? It's not like we're friends or something. I'm as terrified of him as you are.”

She shrugged as two more witches came up to pay for their purchases. “I don't know. Olivia had some kind of relationship with him that I'd rather not think about. Maybe she could pop out there and talk to him. You should ask her when things get quiet.”

But the shop was even busier after Portia got there. We made tea for her, and she sat at our table drinking it and talking with friends. It was always a pleasure having her there. We all wished she'd become a member of the council.

Dorothy was getting familiar with the merchandise, but was still unsure of many things, which meant that Elsie and I had to talk her through dozens of purchases. I thought she did an exceptional job for her first big day there. I couldn't have asked for more.

Around five
P.M.,
people slowly stopped coming in. We helped those who were already there and got ready to close for the day. I'd convinced one woman who believed she was being visited by a demon that it probably wasn't so. She wasn't a witch but had created what she considered a perfect lover from her fantasies. I assured her that demons didn't really make good lovers, despite present day fiction, and sent her home with some Valerian root so she could get a good night's sleep.

“Girls, I think this may be the busiest I have ever seen our shop.” Olivia was smiling, although sometimes her ghostly facial expressions were difficult to decipher. “I'm so glad I was here to be part of it.”

“I'm glad you were here too, Mom,” Dorothy added.

“I wish I could join in tomorrow at the full moon celebration, but I'm afraid some of the others might be mean to me. I hate to miss it.”

“Let's think about it.” I had no real goal in mind. I knew how most witches felt about ghosts, even ghosts of witches. “Maybe we can think of some way to hide you.”

Portia had gone, and Dorothy saw the last customer out of the shop before she locked the door and put out the closed sign. We were intent on closing up, giving Barnabas food and water, and then going home.

I was particularly anxious to talk with Joe about his new case—and his new partner.

“Did you ask Olivia what she thinks about the Bone Man appearing out of nowhere?” Elsie put on her purple hat and picked up her bag.

“What about the Bone Man?” Olivia's whole body shuddered. “He wasn't so bad. I just don't ever want to go out there again.”

“I'm not planning on going out there,” I assured her. “I've been seeing him here.”

The expression on Olivia's face was simple this time—horror. “Molly, I can't believe he's your type. And what about Joe? This is too much.”

Dorothy frowned at me. “Is that a good idea? I mean, I haven't met the Bone Man, but Joe is such a nice person. And what about Mike? How is he going to take this?”

I ignored her question about my son and what he'd think about the Bone Man. “I'm not dating him. I saw him in my bedroom this morning after coming out of the closet. I saw him here in the supply closet. That's why I dropped the dustpan.”

“You mean he's
appearing
to you?” Olivia asked. “That's odd. I've never heard of him reaching out to anyone. Have you, Elsie?”

“No. Never.” Elsie adjusted her bag on her shoulder.
“Maybe it has something to do with your mother's amulet that you started wearing. You remember, he was very keen on it when we were out there last time.”

I fingered the amulet. “Maybe that's it.”

“Or maybe he's in trouble,” Olivia said. “Maybe you should check on him, Molly. What if he needs help and you're the only one he can connect with?”

“I think
you
should go, Olivia. You know him so well,” I suggested.

“No. Not me. He hasn't been appearing to me anyway, Molly. I think he wants
you
.”

“This is the Bone Man we're talking about,” I reminded her. “We don't randomly stop in at Oak Island with a Bundt cake and ask him how he's doing.”