The Trouble With Witches (31 page)

Tink
shrieked as the spider crept away from the necklace and toward the circle of salt. But when it hit the circle, the spider curled into a tiny ball and died.

Satisfied, Abby extinguished the sage and picked up the necklace. Placing it in her open palm, she rested her other hand on top of it. Closing her eyes, she held the necklace for a moment.

I stepped away from
Tink
. She was safe now, and Abby, by holding the necklace in her hands, was taking care of whatever leftover negative energy it might hold. And in the process, she was charging the necklace with positive energy, energy that would protect
Tink
, not control her.

Smiling, Abby opened her eyes, and after polishing the necklace on the tail of her shirt, drew the necklace over
Tink's
head.

"There," she said as she settled the necklace in place around
Tink's
slender neck.

Tink
winced as the necklace passed over her head, but once Abby straightened it, she grinned. "Hey, the necklace feels different," she said.

"It's supposed to," Abby replied, her smile widening.

Taking the remainder of the sage bundle, she used it like a whisk broom to sweep the salt and dead spider into a plastic bag she'd pulled from her pocket. "I'll get rid of this later." She laid the bag under the table.

Abby crossed to where
Tink
sat and took her place beside her again. "There's something else I'd like to show you,
Tink
." She took the girl's hand in both of hers. "You see things and hear things sometimes, don't you?
Things that no one else can see?"

"Yes,"
Tink
replied in a shy voice.

"Would you like to be able to control that?" Abby asked gently.

Tink's
face glowed.
"Yeah."

Abby's eyes twinkled at
Tink's
enthusiasm. "Okay, close your eyes…"

The girl's eyelids dropped down.

"Now," Abby continued, "imagine a white light surrounding you. Inside the light you feel calm and at peace. You see the world around you, but nothing can penetrate the protective barrier of light. Do you see it?"

Tink's
body relaxed. "Yes."

"Now imagine that your gift is a flower, held deep inside your soul. The flower is curled tight right now, but any time you want to use your gift, close your eyes and imagine the petals slowly unfolding. Can you do that?"

"Yes, I see it. I see the flower."

"Very good," Abby said, squeezing
Tink's
hand. "Are the petals open or closed?"

"Open."

"Now allow the petals to close."

Her face screwed with concentration while she did as Abby instructed. "Wow. I can see the flower shut."

Abby smiled with pleasure. "You may open your eyes,
Tink
. How do you feel?"

Tink's
gaze flitted over the deck and back to Abby's face. "I feel really good," she said in amazement.

"Wonderful," Abby said, leaning forward and hugging her. Sitting back, she laid a hand on
Tink's
cheek. "Whenever you feel threatened or scared—"

"Of shadows?"
Tink
broke in.

Abby patted her cheek. "Yes, of shadows. Imagine the white light to protect you and keep you safe." She looked at her watch. "You've been gone a long time,
Tink
; they'll be looking for you." She hugged her again. "You'd better scoot."

Tink
popped out of her chair and hurried to the edge of the deck. She paused and looked over her shoulder at us with a worried expression. "You won't forget about Walks Quietly, will you?"

"No, dear, we won't," Abby said.

The worry fell from her face and she grinned. "Thanks…" Her hand touched the spider's web necklace. "…
for
everything."

"You're welcome," Abby said to thin air.
Tink
had already disappeared around the corner of the cabin.

Abby slumped against the back of her chair.

I placed my hand on her shoulder. "Are you okay?"

She reached up and laid hers on top of mine. "I'm fine. Don't worry." Motioning to the chair next to her, she said, "Sit and tell me what your impressions were."

I sat in the chair. "
Tink's
obviously a medium," I said, "and she needs to learn control. Hopefully, the visualization you taught her will help.
Along with the shielding."

"Yes," Abby agreed. "
Tink
needs to be the one to control her gift, not someone else."

"Do you think that's what the Finches were trying to do?"

"I don't know, but whoever is dabbling in
magick
, they don't understand what they're doing. The spell on that necklace was poorly done, and for the wrong reasons."

"Witch wannabes?"

"Yes." Abby's eyes closed as she stroked her face.

I lightly touched Abby's knee. "You're tired. Why don't you go inside and lay down?"

She bolted upright in her chair. "No."

Her sudden movement took me off guard. "What's wrong?"

She sighed deeply. "The cabin makes me uncomfortable." A look of confusion marred her face. "And I don't understand why. I smudged the inside and put a protective circle around it." Pursing her lips, she thought for a moment. "And I keep detecting the scent of lavender and roses, but I can't find where it's coming from."

"The smell disturbs you?"

"Yes."

I leaned back in my chair. "Yeah, the smell bothered me, too. That's why, after they gave me the bag, I put it in an empty drawer. It—"

"What bag?" Abby asked, grabbing my hand.

"The bag
Tink
—"

Abby abruptly stood and hurried into the cabin. A few minutes later she returned, holding the pouch in her fingertips like a dead mouse.
"This bag?"

I nodded, frowning. "What's the deal?"

With a look of disgust, she put the bag in the center of the table and made another circle of salt. Picking up the pouch, she dumped the contents inside the circle.

Sprigs of lavender and dried rose petals fell in a tidy little heap. Leaning forward, I examined the pile without touching it. The petals appeared to have a fine layer of dust coating them.

"What's with the dust?" I asked, looking up at Abby.

Her face wore a tight frown and her arms were crossed at her chest. She didn't answer my question. "Was it
Tink's
idea to give you this?" she asked.

"Not really. Jason prompted her. He said she made them to sell at craft shows."

"Humph," Abby snorted. "I doubt they'd sell this to anyone. It has some added ingredients." She snapped her fingers.
"Just a minute."
She hurried over to the edge of the deck and around the corner of the cabin.

I rushed after her, and by the time I reached her, Abby was crouched down scrutinizing the circle of salt around the cabin. She picked up a few grains of salt and rubbed them between her fingers. Holding her hand to her nose, she sniffed.

Her face puckered with distaste as she wiped her hand in the grass. She stood and marched back to the deck.

I scurried to keep up with her. "Hey, what's going on?"

By the time I reached her, she'd already lit the sage and was sending smoke across the pile on dried flowers.

"Abby, you're scaring me," I said, trying to catch my breath.

"You should be scared." Her eyes never left the clump on the table. "It's
goofer
dust and gunpowder."

"What?"

She looked at the sky and shook her head. "Ophelia, you really need to read those journals." Glancing over at me, she said, "
Goofer
dust is dirt from a graveyard. Someone added it to the bag
Tink
gave you."

"Yuck." I shivered.

Crushing out the smoldering sage, Abby brushed the pile, salt and all, into the bag already containing what was used to cleanse
Tink's
necklace. "And either before, or after, you received the bag, they sprinkled gunpowder around the cabin to negate the protective barrier created by the salt."

At a loss, I stared at her. "Why?"

"
Goofer
dust and gunpowder—two very nasty elements.
Especially when used together."
She fisted her hands on her hips while her eyes shot green fire. "Someone is trying to put a curse on us."

"Hey guys."
Darci
bopped through the sliding doors and onto the deck.

In unison, Abby and I whirled toward her.

She took one look at us and the smile she wore disappeared. "
Ahh
, maybe I'd better go back inside and put the groceries away," she said, pointing over her shoulder.

"No,
Darci
,
it's
okay," I said, rubbing my forehead. "Don't worry about it. Abby just informed me that someone is trying to put a curse on us."

"You're kidding?" she said, sinking down on the chaise.

Abby quickly filled her in on what had transpired that morning.

Darci
listened quietly, with a thoughtful look on her face. "Walks
Quietly
is off the suspect list, then?"

"I think so. My feeling is he's trying to help, not harm," I replied while I leaned against the railing. "We're down to the Finches. Maybe Rick was right. Jason is more sinister than I thought he was."

Darci
curled her long legs underneath her. "What about Winnie?"

I gave her a disgruntled look. "Winnie? She wouldn't know a spell if it hit her on the head."

"Oh I don't know," she said, twisting her head slowly back and forth. "She doesn't like you. And if the way she acted in the grocery store is any indication, I don't think Winnie would like it if you're invited back for another cozy dinner at the compound."

"You saw Winnie in town?"

"Yup.
And it's a wonder I didn't drop dead on the spot when she saw me."

"Really?"
I
said,
my voice incredulous.

She nodded. "She's very jealous of you, said some very nasty things about people who butt in where they're not wanted." She smiled sweetly at me. "I think she was referring to you, Ophelia."

Made sense.
Abby said whoever was experimenting with
magick
wasn't adept at it. That description would fit Winnie. Maybe she was the one who put the spell on
Tink's
necklace.

I pushed away from the railing. "I guess I need to talk to Winnie. I'll—"

"No,"
Darci
said, stopping me. "You need to call Rick. Tell him to meet us at the library in Brainerd." She uncurled her legs and rushed to her feet. "I have a plan."

I eyed her with suspicion. "What plan?"

I'd had experience with
Darci's
plans, and they usually involved me getting in some kind of jam.

She hurried over and grabbed my arm. "I know what you're thinking, and no, the plan doesn't involve breaking and entering."