Gone With the Witch (15 page)

“Right,” Starla said. “And I found nothing odd. Just their usual starbursts. Oh.”

“What am I missing?” Harper asked.

Starla said in a whisper, “If Ve had cast the Lunumbra spell on herself so she could be photographed at the Extravaganza, her image should have been on my camera. Yet it wasn't.”

I thought of all the photos taken that showed visible Wishcrafters, and there was one constant.

Me.

I took out my phone and waved Marcus over. “Will you please take a shot of us?”

Starla went to stand up, and I grabbed her arm.

She said, “Darcy, I just had my hair—”

Marcus took the picture.

“—done,” Starla finished, sitting back down. She let out a sigh. “It has a stripe again, doesn't it?”

Harper nodded.

Starla slumped back, let out a whimper.

I looked at the camera. Harper had her tongue stuck out, I was in profile as I reached for Starla, and she was only photographed from waist down.

But all three of us were clearly visible.

“Harper,” I said, “do me a favor and go stand over by Pie.”

Without even a peep of protest, she crossed the room and scooped up Pie. I snapped the picture and looked at it. Harper was there, but her image was washed out, white around its edges.

“Now by the kids' area,” I instructed. The kids' section was a good twenty feet away.

She trotted over. I snapped the picture and showed Starla.

“A starburst,” she said in awe.

“There must be a radius on the witch who's under the spell. The spell affects all the Wishcrafters within that radius. I'm that witch.”

Harper sat back down and looked at the pictures. “Aunt Ve cast the spell only on you,” she said. “Why?”

Starla said, “I don't understand.”

“Me neither,” I said, glancing again at the pictures.

I was sure there was a simple explanation, but for the life of me, I couldn't come up with one.

M
issy wagged her stubby tail as I walked through the side gate at As You Wish, and I set my bag down on the grass to give her a proper hello.

From his cage, Archie was regaling a group of tourist with the “I'll never go hungry again” monologue from
Gone with the Wind
. In Scarlett's voice, of course.

“‘ . . . they're not going to lick me! I'm going to live through this, and when it's all over, I'll never be hungry again . . .'”

He paused for dramatic effect, then finished the rest of the scene. When he was done, the tourists clapped and whistled. “Bravo, bravo! Encore!”

In Rhett's voice, he said, “‘No, I'm through with everything here. I want peace. I want to see if somewhere there isn't something left in life of charm and grace.'”

With that, he took a bow, and the tourists applauded
a moment more before wandering off. I carried Missy over to the fence that separated the yards and kept my back to the village green so no one could see me carrying on a conversation with Archie. “Do you ever think it crosses the tourists' minds that you're not an average bird?”

He scooted along his perch, closer to me. “I'd be highly insulted if not considered an above average bird at the very least. Which is why, after all, someone tried to steal me, lest you forget.”

Out here in the sunlight, I noticed some of Missy's fur was darkening with age on the top of her head, creating brunette half-moons that curved around her ears. It only added to her adorability. “How could I when you remind me every time I see you?”

He blinked. “I choose believe that is a rhetorical question.”

“So, you think it was a
tourist
who tried to steal you?”

He craned his neck and peered at me. “Do you know something I do not?”

“Not necessarily. It simply seems odd that no one saw what happened to you. There's not been a single witness to step forward.”

“Perhaps that is because my abduction is not receiving the investigation it deserves,” he said snidely.

“Or perhaps it is because magic was involved.”

“No,” he said. “I think not.”

“Yes,” I countered. “It's possible.”

“Noooo.”

“Yessss.”

“No Crafter would be foolish enough to make such an attempt,” he said crisply. “All know who I am. Who I represent.”

The Elder. Yes, everyone knew that, and going against the Elder was grounds for being banned from the Craft, but still . . .

“There are certain lines Crafters do not cross,” he continued. “I am one of them.”

He sounded so certain, yet no one had witnessed anyone snatching him. No one at all. “Where is the bag that you were stuffed into? Do the police have it?”

Fanning his face with his wing, he said, “Do not remind me of that claustrophobic mothball-scented pillowcase.”

“It was a pillowcase?”

“I do not know,” he squawked. “I did not linger to examine the precise textile into which I had been forcefully propelled. It merely seems the class of conveyance into which a mortal would stuff a precious commodity such as myself. Like I was a piece of stale Halloween candy! For shame!
Shaaaaame
.”

He started mumbling about Necco Wafers and Tootsie Rolls. I needed to cut him off before he started on a full-blown tangent about what he considered to be decent candy. “What kind of material was the bag made of?”

Feathers flew. “The torture! Have you no mercy, Darcy Merriweather? I'm
molting
again! I'll be as bald as Demi Moore in
G.I. Jane
by suppertime, mark my words.”

“But still just as pretty as she was in the movie.”

He tipped his head side to side, as if considering. “This is true. Prettier, even. Bald wasn't her best look. Speaking of hair—”

I held up a finger. “Hold that thought. Let me just check if Higgins is around and wants a snack.”

His beak snapped closed. “Never mind.”

“Listen,” I said. “I was just asking about the bag because there's a chance fingerprints could be found on the offensive
textile
, thus leading the police straight to your birdnapper.”

“Thus?” he repeated, blinking.

“I threw that in for you. Thought you'd like it.”

“I approve. I also approve of the notion of the thief who captured me being stuffed inside a jail cell, as I was stuffed—”

I coughed loudly.

He fluffed his feathers for a moment before he said, “Yes. Well. I have no idea where the accursed pillowcase is at the moment, but the last I saw of it was in the woods behind the Wisp, near the pond.”

I knew the spot. “I'll ask Nick if one of his officers picked it up after taking Terry's report, and I'll keep you informed.”

Haughtily, he said, “‘Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn.'”

I narrowed my eyes.

“Perhaps I give a small damn,” he amended. “Minuscule.” He paused. “Inform me the moment you know.” With that, he flew out of his cage and into Terry's house through a special Archie-sized door flap.

As I headed into As You Wish, I thought of what Archie said about a Crafter not being so foolish as to try to steal him.

I agreed.

Which told me one thing for certain.
If
it turned out that a Crafter was involved, that person wasn't the least bit foolish.

No.

That witch was desperate.

*   *   *

“Darcy, is that you?” Ve called out as soon as I stepped into the mudroom. “We've been waiting for you.”

A small dog came running toward me, and it took me a moment to realize it was Audrey Pupburn.

I set the bag from the Furry Toadstool on a bench and set Missy on the floor. The two dogs started sniffing each other in the way of hellos. “It's me. Who's we?”
Please not Baz, please not Baz.

“Vivienne's here about that spell. We're in the family room.”

The spell. The one that had been cast only upon me.

Tilda and Titania eyed me from the stop of the back stairway as I passed through the kitchen, and the two dogs followed me down the hall toward the family room. I found Ve sitting on one sofa, Vivienne on the other. A plate of scones sat on the coffee table as well as a coffee tray.

“Oh my,” Vivienne said when she saw my hair.

“The streak is certainly more pronounced in Darcy's hair, the silver against the black,” Ve said, sipping from mug that had “There's a chance this is vodka” written on its side. “It's hardly noticeable in mine.”

I sat in a wingback chair and decided to wait to see if Ve would explain why I seemed to be the only one under the spell before I outright accused her of anything.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Titania creeping down the hallway. I lowered my hand next to my chair and rubbed my fingers together. She ran over to them, giving them a sniff. In a blink, she hopped onto my lap.

“She's taken a liking to you,” Vivienne said.

I ran a hand down Titania's back. “The feeling's mutual.” As Titania head-butted my chin and started purring, I noticed Vivienne was yet another who looked as though she hadn't slept well. In fact, I was pretty sure she was wearing the same clothes she'd had on yesterday at the Extravaganza. Which made me wonder if she'd slept at
all
. “Thanks for coming over so soon.”

“When Ve explained what was happening, I came immediately. It's an easy fix.”

“It is?” I asked.

Standing, she came over to the chair. “I just need a strand of your hair.” She plucked.

I yelped. “Hey!”

“Sorry,” she said. “It's easier not to warn people. Do you have a candle I can borrow, Ve?”

Ve set her mug on the table. “Certainly.”

A few minutes later, my strand of hair had gone up in flames, and the hair on my head was back to its natural color.

“I'll need to re-create the spell to fix its flaw,” Vivienne said, “but I have to wait until a black moon.”

“Black moon?” I asked.

“There are several definitions, the most common being when there are two new moons within a calendar month,” Vivienne said as Ve topped off her coffee. “I need ample darkness in a lunar month to counterbalance your starburst.”

Mimi was going to love hearing all this.

Vivienne said, “The spell is all about dark versus light. Opposites. Which is probably why your hair turned silver, and Starla's had a brunette streak. Light and dark,” she reiterated.

Magic would never, ever, cease to amaze me.

“Unfortunately, the black moon I need to permanently correct the spell won't happen again for a couple of months.”

“Months?” Ve said, eyes wide.

Vivienne blew on her coffee, then took a sip. “As I said, that black moon is rare. Until then, the spell will need to be cast while burning a strand of hair from the witch who's using the spell. It will prevent the streak from occurring.”

“How long does this current spell last from the time it is cast?” I asked, fact-gathering.

Ve fidgeted on the couch, fussing with the buttons on her tunic top.

“Twelve hours,” Vivienne said.

Titania had flopped down next to me on the chair and
stretched out to nap. Missy and Audrey were playing tug-of-war with a chew toy. And my mind was spinning.

Twelve hours. That meant that Ve had probably only cast the spell on herself once—to test it—and on me at least three times now.

She caught me looking at her, and she reached for a scone and took a big bite. “Delicious,” she murmured around falling crumbs. “That Evan sure can bake.”

I turned my attention back to Vivienne. “And the spell affects all Wishcrafters within a certain radius of the witch who the spell has been cast upon?” I asked.

Vivienne nodded. “Twelve feet, as Ve requested.”

“I see,” I said, looking at my aunt.

And there must have been something in my tone that hinted at my displeasure, because Titania glanced up at me.

The dogs dropped the toy, and Missy came to stand near my feet.

Ve brushed crumbs from her lap and said brightly, “Would anyone like a refill?”

“Did I say something wrong?” Vivienne asked, glancing between us.

“No,” I said to her. “You just cleared up something for me. Thanks.”

She looked confused, but I didn't want to question Ve about the spell in front of a guest, so I let it go. For now. “Is Mimi up yet?” I asked instead. “She's love to hear all this.”

“Up and out. She took Higgins home before heading to Spellbound to work her afternoon shift,” Ve said, looking visibly relieved that I'd changed the subject.

Mimi worked for Harper a few times a week and loved every second of it.

“Did you get everything you needed at the Furry Toadstool?”

“More than I needed,” I said. “I was a pushover when it came to the cat toys.”

“Reggie has a way of getting you to buy things you don't need,” Vivienne said. “Audrey has more hair accessories than I do, but Baz insists on her wearing only the bows. Just like Audrey Hepburn's dog, Mr. Famous.” At the sound of her name, Audrey jumped up next to Vivienne and settled in next to her owner, dropping her head on Vivienne's leg. It was clear the two adored each other.

Ve said, “Mr. Famous? Was that really his name?”

“Oh yes,” Vivienne said. “And you should have heard the argument Baz and I had when he wanted to name Audrey ‘Ms. Famous.' He finally relented about that, as long as I agreed Audrey would always be styled just like the other dog. Hair bow and all. Baz works with Ivy Teasdale at Fairytails to get the look just right. I'm convinced Ivy thinks we're both crazy.” She took a weary breath. “Which we probably are, so that's okay.”

Vivienne was acting rather relaxed for someone whose husband had been brought in for questioning by the police last night. And whose house was now being searched inside and out. Then I glanced at her clothes again and made a leap. “When's the last time you saw Baz?”

Vivienne paled.

Ve shot me a look that clearly asked where I was going with this conversation.

Vivienne said, “We had a big fight after we got home from the Extravaganza. I told him I wanted a divorce and packed as much of my stuff as I could shove into my car. I made it clear to him that I was done and wasn't coming back. I haven't seen him since. I spent the night at the Pixie Cottage—Harmony and Angela were kind enough to let me and Audrey sleep in their personal guest quarters, since all the other rooms were full.”

“Oh dear,” Ve murmured.

“Was your fight about Natasha?” I asked.

“Yes. He tried to deny he'd had an affair with her, but Glinda told me what she'd seen at the Extravaganza. I'm waiting for the photos that prove it without a doubt, and I can finally be free from him.”

I guessed Glinda hadn't told her that those photos were coming from me.

“I'll find another place here in the village—I belong here more than he does,” she said.

Because she was a Crafter, and he was a mortal.

“It's not the first time he's cheated,” she said sadly. “He's been having affairs for a while now. They started right after my accident. But I could never catch him at it. He's so smart, so smooth. Somehow he'd always convince me that I was crazy, that he loved me and only me. And I'd believe him. Over and over and over again. But this last time was different.”

“How so?” Ve asked.

“
He
was different. I think . . . I think he loved her. I had the feeling he was going to leave me.” She bit her bottom lip to keep it from trembling. Audrey looked up at her with such concern that it nearly broke my heart. “I didn't know who he was cheating with, so I hired Glinda. I needed to catch him cheating if I was going to get anything out of this marriage besides a broken heart. If he divorced me . . . I got a small settlement, just fifty thousand dollars. But if I caught him cheating . . .”