Shadow Witch (14 page)

Sammi’s breath caught in her throat for a moment. “I know. I...I didn’t mean to.”

“Didn’t Mrs. Callahan ask you not to do that?”

Sammi felt a heavy wash fill her insides and her lip begin to tremble. “Yes ma’am. I’m sorry! I...I didn’t —”

“What do you think she would do if I told her?”

She might send me away!
Her eyes began to sting with tears, and Mrs. Wallace’s face became blurry. Then her voice receded into the distance, as if she were talking to Sammi from the bottom of a well. “Sammi?”

The sounds in the room changed, replaced by two men’s voices and the
clip clop
of horses’ hooves. Sammi recognized one of the men — the mayor. He said, “If we handle this carefully, we can get exactly what we want with minimal or no cost.”

“We will not get what we want from Mrs. Wallace,” the other man said. “She seems to be a hard woman.”

“Yes, but if the young sorcerer really is in control of the school, we may have better luck. We just have to be careful in our dealings with him.”

“Do you fear him?”

“Of course? Don’t you? He is a wizard, after all, perhaps more powerful than Renn. But I doubt he has Renn’s brutal nature and rage.”

“Let us hope not. I would not even consider doing this if we were dealing with Renn, instead.”

“No. If it was Renn, and he knew we were conspiring against him, he would kill us without a thought.”

“In a most painful way, so I have heard.”

“Yes, you can be sure of that. But I do not believe the boy would be so harsh.”

“We should be careful, just the same.”

“I agree. We should discuss this further with the other council members on....”

The voices faded when Sammi felt someone shaking her shoulders. “Sammi? Sammi? Are you okay?”

Sammi blinked hard several times and Mrs. Wallace’s face came into focus, just as it had earlier that day in the stone house.

“Did she have a fit?” Leora said.

“I don’t think so.” Mrs. Wallace looked deeply into Sammi’s eyes. “Are you all right?” Sammi nodded and Mrs. Wallace said, “Did you just use your magic again?”

“Yes ma’am. I couldn’t help it!” Sammi wailed. “I didn’t mean to...I didn’t even try, and —”

“It’s okay. Don’t cry.” Mrs. Wallace put her hand gently on Sammi’s cheek. “Who were you listening to?”

“The mayor and the other man.”

“What were they saying?”

“You told me that I shouldn’t eavesdrop.”

Mrs. Wallace stood up straight and smiled ruefully. “Yes, I did, didn’t I?”
She took a deep breath and regarded Sammi for a long moment. “Um...were they saying something important? If they were, maybe this time we should make an exception.”

Sammi bit one corner of her lip and stared back at Mrs. Wallace. “Are you sure it’s okay? I don’t want Mrs. Callahan to get mad at me.”

“I’ll let you decide. Do you think it’s something I should know?” Sammi hesitated before nodding, and Mrs. Wallace said, “What were they talking about?”

“They’re still plotting to get control of the school, I think.”

“Please tell me what you heard.”

Sammi related what the mayor and the councilman had said. Mrs. Wallace listened silently with one hand on her chin and her eyes intense, and when Sammi finished, Mrs. Wallace took another deep breath and nodded. “We need to tell Jamie as soon as he comes to get us. Do you think you can remember this?”

“I can remember every word of every conversation I’ve ever heard, as long as I was listening like that.”

“You mean, with your magic?”

Sammi nodded again.

“Cool!” Aiven said, “That must be part of your power.”

“All right.” Mrs. Wallace tightened her mouth and looked off in the distance, then turned back to Sammi. “There’s nothing we can do about it right now, so let’s get back to work.”

Chapter 5

Jamie carefully situated Rollie in the shadow of one of the support columns of the gazebo. Then Jamie edged a few inches to his right so that the setting sun lit up his shoulder, but no more than that. “Okay. That’s good.”

“What do you want to say this time?” Rollie asked.

“I don’t know. Anything, as long as it’s about her.”

“All right.” Rollie grinned mischievously. “Sammi is a poopy head.”

Jamie stifled a laugh. “And her breath smells like dirty socks.”

“And she can only count to three.”

Jamie pulled his phone from his pocket, put it to his ear and said, “How about that, Fred? Did she hear it?”

“Well,” Fred said through the phone, “she’s giggling...now she’s nodding. I guess that means yes.”

“Hold on while I think of something else to try.”

“Don’t you think that’s enough? You’ve talked in every kind of shadow in the yard, and Sammi needs a break. She worked at the school all day, remember?”

Jamie sighed and said, “Yeah, sure. We’re done.”

Seconds later, the back door popped open and Sammi burst from it like a cork from a shaken bottle of champagne, ran across the yard to the playset and jumped onto one of the swings, a big smile on her face.

Fred emerged right after her, followed by Bryce and Melanie. “That was pretty amazing,” Bryce said as they crossed the lawn toward the gazebo, where Jamie and Rollie still waited. “She could hear everything you said. I bet the CIA would love to get hold of her.”

“Momma Sue would’ve liked to have seen that.” Fred took Jamie’s hand when she reached him. “She’s really interested in what Sammi is capable of. She thinks Sammi may be able to fine tune her power as she gets older.”

“Your dream-talking skill seemed to grow more sophisticated when you started using it a lot,” Jamie said.

Melanie rested her hands loosely on her hips and looked across the lawn at Sammi, who was swinging merrily away. “But she’s so
young
. She’s just a sweet little kid.”

“That’s a very useful talent she has, though,” Jamie said. “She told me word-for-word what the mayor and that other councilman were saying earlier today about the school.” Jamie frowned. “I don’t like what those puffed-up idiots are trying to do. I’m going to have to go down to the courthouse and have a word with them.
All
of the councilmen. We need to nip this in the bud, before it goes any further.”

“Sounds like they’re not afraid of you like they were of Renn,” Fred said. “Maybe you need to do something to scare them.”

“Send them to the planet where you banished the demon,” Bryce said.

Jamie shook his head. “I don’t want to kill them, just make them stop trying to meddle.”

“But you have an advantage now,” Fred said. “Thanks to Sammi. You know they’re still up to something.”

“Well,” Rollie said, “if you were wondering what the Big Cosmic Reason why Sammi is here, maybe this it. To snoop on the Rivershire council and warn you about what’s going on.”

“Could be.” Jamie glanced at Sammi, who was still swinging. “But she thinks she only hears stuff that’s important to her, and this deal with the mayor probably isn’t.”

“Maybe the Big Cosmic Whatever is more complicated than you think,” Melanie said.

“Who knows? I need to talk to Uncle Charlie about this sometime. That old Cherokee seems to have some special insight into stuff like this, for some reason.” Jamie waved one arm loosely and tilted his head to one side.“He wants me to take him to Eddan’s world to pick out the wood for my walking stick that he’s going to carve for me. We can talk then, I guess.”

Jamie, still hand-in-hand with Fred, walked toward the back door of his house. Melanie reached out and took Bryce’s hand, too, and smiled sweetly at him as they followed behind.

Fred yelled toward the playset, “Come on, Sammi, it’s time to go home. Dinner should be ready soon.”

“’Kay.” Sammi leaped from the swing and raced to catch up with them as they neared the steps of the deck.

Rollie grunted at the two couples walking ahead of him. “Dang. Quit holding hands, will ya? You’re making me feel bad. I’m the only guy around here without a girlfriend.”

Bryce looked over his shoulder and said, “We need to get you one, dude.”

“Yeah, but my requirements have gotten too high. Not only does she have to be cute and nice, she’s gotta go to college this fall at Western Carolina
and
she’s gotta have some magic in her. Or at least be accepting of ours, like you and Melanie are.”

Sammi skidded to a stop when she reached them. “I know somebody.”

Jamie paused with Fred at the edge of the deck and said, “What?”

“I know somebody who’s going to the same college as you, and she’s a witch, a real one.”

“How do you know that, Sammi?” Melanie asked.

“I’ve heard her talking with her mom. Her mom is sort of a witch, too, like a fortune teller or something.”

“You heard them with your magic?”

“Unh hunh. Lots of times.”

Jamie and his friends exchanged glances, and Fred said, “I thought you could only hear things that are important to you.”

Sammi shrugged, and Melanie said, “Maybe this other girl is, somehow.”

Bryce squinted with one eye. “How could Rollie’s potential girlfriend be important to Sammi?”

“Now hold on.” Rollie held up both of his hands. “Hold on just
one
minute. Who said this girl is my potential girlfriend? I’ve never even seen her, for cryin’ out loud.”

“Maybe you could,” Melanie said. “She could have a Facebook page or something. What’s her name, Sammi?”

“Nova. Nova Belanger. She lives near the beach somewhere.”

“In North Carolina?”

“Dunno.”

Jamie stepped up onto the deck with Fred and said, “We could probably figure that out. Let’s go check Facebook.” He opened the back door and everyone gathered behind him.

Rollie groaned and put his hand on his forehead. “Aw, come on. This is dumb.”

Fred looked back at him and smirked. “Are you being a baby?”

“No! But...gosh.”

“Aren’t you a little bit curious?”

“Yeah.” Rollie let out a short gust of air. “I ’spose.”

They went into Jamie’s family room and he booted up the computer on the small desk against the wall. Fred pushed him aside and said, “Let me do it. We don’t want this girl to think some perv is stalking her.”

“But we
are
stalking her,” Bryce said.

Fred ignored him and loaded Facebook, then typed in her password. “Let’s do a search...Nova Belanger.” She typed some more and pointed to the screen. “Only two came up. One is in Canada, the other in Hampstead, North Carolina.”

Everyone pressed closer to look. “Click on her home page,” Melanie said.

Sammi stood on tiptoes. “I can’t see!”

Bryce picked her up and set her on his hip as the screen display changed to Nova’s Facebook page. Her picture, a selfie, was on the left. She had dark skin — not as dark as Rollie’s, closer to light caramel — and had delicate features, her expression serious. What really stood out to Jamie was her hair: brown, shoulder-length dreadlocks, a few of them bleached to a reddish-blonde.

“Oohh,” Fred said. “She’s kinda cute, don’t you think?” She looked up at Rollie, who was peering intently over her left shoulder, but he didn’t answer.

Melanie pointed at the screen. “Send her a friend request.”

“Wait wait wait!” Rollie leaned over and reached for the computer keyboard, but Fred fended him off with her arm and gave him a harsh look. Rollie frowned and said, “I’d like to pick my own girlfriend, if you don’t mind.”

“Who says I’m doing this for you?” Fred said. “If she’s a witch, then maybe she’d like to meet me. I know Momma Sue will be interested in her. She and Mrs. Malley told me to let them know if I run across any more witches.”

“Like me,” Sammi said brightly, still sitting on Bryce’s hip with her arms around his neck.

“Yes, like you.” Fred turned back to the computer. “What am I gonna say? I should send her a message, shouldn’t I?”

“You need to word it so that she gets it that you’re a witch, too,” Jamie said, “without being too obvious.”

Melanie rubbed her bottom lip with her index finger. “Something subtle.”

“We saw what you did and we know who you are,” Bryce offered with a grin.

“No!” Melanie slapped him lightly on the arm. “That’s an old murder movie. We don’t want to scare her off.”

“How about....” Fred wrinkled her brow and said, “I have the same secret as you. A few of my friends do, too.”

Jamie nodded. “You should add
we need to talk
.”

Fred typed while everyone watched. Rollie scowled and said, “Just to be clear, I’m gonna be ticked off if you guys try to set me up with her.” He poked his chest with his thumb. “I’ll make my own decisions about my love life. Understand?”

Fred turned in her seat and looked up at him. “Relax. What’s the harm? She may not even respond.”

“She will,” Sammi said. “I know it.”

“How do you know that? Melanie asked. “With your witchin’ power?”

Sammi shook her head and smiled. “I just know. She’s going to answer, and she’s gonna be Fred’s friend on Facebook, and everybody’s gonna like her.”

Somehow, Jamie knew that she was right. He wasn’t sure how. He just knew.

* * *

Duane Gundy waited in his car in the gas station parking lot around the corner until he was sure his wife had gone to work and that it was safe to go back to his house. He didn’t want her to know that he had called in sick and had better things to do than drive a delivery van all day.

Of all the disguises he’d used during his time as a bounty hunter, one of the best ones was the simplest: a dark blue dress suit. When he got home, he pulled it from the back of his closet and tore off the dry cleaner’s plastic that covered it like a shroud. He found the black leather shoes, still polished to a glossy shine, in the box under the bed. He frowned when he took the top off and examined them.
Hate these. So uncomfortable
. Then he sighed.
But it’ll be worth it, wearing these damn things, if it helps me find my Sweetness
.

He dressed meticulously. Black socks, slacks with a leather belt, white shirt, and suit jacket. The gray tie was last, and he wore it loosely, intending to tighten it to his neck at the last possible minute. He examined the finished product in the mirror over the dresser and frowned.
Glad I don’t have to dress like this every day
.