Me and My Ghoulfriends (30 page)

“How about this afternoon?”

“That sounds fine,” I croaked.

I jotted down her address and hung up, wondering what disaster I had just gotten myself into and possibly could not get out from.

Needless to say, I was shocked to discover that Magnolia had a coven. How many witches were in town? If there was one bad witch, though, didn’t that mean there were more? They needed to form some sort of witch police to track down the bad ones.

I mean honestly, a real live witch in my hometown. Even in my line of work, the only dealings with witches I had had, well, were none. I had seen the movie
Practical Magic
with Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman several times, but that was it. Oh, and then of course, there were the Salem witch trials. But a coven here in Magnolia? I was still stunned.

Time moved at a snail's pace as I attempted to pass the hours before my meeting with Karyn. Every minute on the clock felt like an hour. I paced the aisles, fiddled with my nails (careful not to bite them), and then I’d return to my seat and squirm. Thankfully, Mindy stopped by to keep me company and take my mind off my worries. She was none too happy about my scheduled meeting with the high priestess of the local coven, though, and she made me very aware of her dissatisfaction.

“What time are you supposed to meet her again?”

I glared at my watch. “Oh, I need to get going. I’m supposed to meet Kayrn in thirty minutes.”

“I’m worried for you, Larue. What if she’s just as bad as Brianna?”

Mindy was thinking the same thing as I had, but I didn’t want her to know I was slightly nervous. Okay, more than slightly nervous. Sharing my feelings would only make her feel worse.

“I guess that’s the chance I’ll have to take. There’s no way for me to know.”

“You’re not meeting her in some dark alley are you? Oh, oh or not some forest somewhere?”

“Like a magical forest?” I chuckled.

“This is not something to laugh about,” Mindy warned as she wiggled her finger at me in a tsk-tsk gesture.

“I’m tough, I’ll be fine. I can handle myself.”

“Yeah, right, you’re not as tough as you think you are. There could be like fifty witches there. They could turn you into a dog or maybe a donkey.”

“I always thought being a bird would be fun. Getting to fly anywhere I wanted.” I bit my lip to keep from laughing.

“Laugh now,” Mindy warned, “but don’t come running to me for help. Or, should I say, flying to me.”

“My gosh! What if they burn me at the stake in the magical forest? Or use me as a sacrifice?”

“Stop it. Stop it right now.”

I laughed, holding my sides.

Mindy stared, giving me a dirty look, shooting daggers my way.

It seemed like I was the only one ever laughing at my jokes.

“All right, I’ll stop. But seriously, I will be fine. Apparently, you’re not too worried about me. If you were, you wouldn’t let me go alone. Alone, all by myself, to the magical forest.” I thrust my hand on my hip.

“Hey, someone has to run your store while you’re gone. And since I don’t have any customers I might as well take care of yours.”

Poor Mindy. If I ever got my life drama straightened out, I was going to work on getting her to broaden her business horizons and attract more customers. One type of fitness class was just not enough. Especially when that one type was pole fitness in little Magnolia. I looped my purse over my shoulder, scooped up my keys and headed for the door.

“I’ll be back soon. Wish me luck.” I made my way to the door.

“Do you have your cellphone? In case you need to dial 911?” She bellowed after me.

“I got it.” I threw up my hand and gave a magnanimous wave. “I’ll see you soon. Now sell a bunch of books while I’m gone.”

Mindy just gave a nervous smile and a measured stare as she peered at me over the top of her can of diet coke.

I maneuvered through the streets until I finally spotted the sign for a large subdivision of luxury homes. Turning in, I drove a short distance, slowly counting down the streets until I found the right one. I made a left onto Bradford Street and, halfway down, spotted number 3549. I pulled my car up to the curb and threw it in park. I sat there, waiting for some time before, finally, a sleek black Mercedes slid up into the driveway of the house.

That must be her
.
I wasn’t sure, since the windows were tinted so darkly, I couldn’t see who the driver was. Either it was Karyn, or the men in black had finally come after me. My skin was covered in chills, and my throat was tight. Suddenly, all the jokes I had teased Mindy with did not seem quite so funny when I was faced with the reality of the situation.

Maybe something would happen, just like Mindy had warned me about, specifically the burned at the stake one. Burning at the stake didn’t sound like much fun. I watched as long sleek legs unfolded out of the car, and then the tall woman appeared. Gracious and subtle like a cat. It was Karyn; I’d rather suspected it was, based on the black car.

What other color car would she have, though? Didn’t all witches drive black Mercedes?
She was the high priestess?
She was my age. I’d expected… Well, I wasn’t sure exactly what I’d expected at that point.

The head witch, she was the woman in charge. The aura around her really was electrifying. Brianna certainly didn’t possess that type of energy. If she had I was positive Brianna would’ve been substantially more malicious. Possibly she would be unstoppable.

I hesitated a moment, contemplating whether I should start my car and zoom away before she even saw me. I was more intimidated by her than I’d thought I would be. She had a power about her, and it radiated. The aura around her flowed steadily off her with every step she took. I probably had come across a few witches around town and never even knew it.

One thing was for sure, she didn’t look like a witch, with her smooth long blonde hair. But that stereotype of witches was long outdated, I supposed, as was evidenced by Brianna. The tension was twisting my stomach into knots. No witch paraphernalia was in sight, but a shadow of fear was, without a doubt, wrapped around my shoulders like a heavy cloak.

A ghost may be no match for me, but I had never dealt with witches until Brianna. And it had looked like she’d had the upper hand on me. I really didn’t know what to expect from Karyn. However, I’d soon find out.

I’d been waiting in front of Karyn’s home for ten minutes when she’d pulled in. She’d said she would be a little late, and I’d told her I didn’t mind waiting, I didn’t have any other options for breaking the spell. As she approached my car and I stood there waiting for her, she took in my appearance, looking me up and down.

I had dressed in my black slacks, cream-colored cashmere sweater and my favorite Dior boots. By the look on her face, I assumed she approved of my selection.

“Larue. It’s so nice to meet you.” She stretched out her graceful hand.

I took it in mine, and said, “It’s nice to meet you too.”

“I’m terribly sorry if I seemed a little awkward on the phone. It’s just I was shocked—”

She cut me off. “To hear that there was a coven in Magnolia?”

“Yes,” I said bashfully.

“This isn’t Salem, right?” she teased.

“Exactly.” I giggled.

“Please come in, won’t you?” She motioned toward her home.

I was curious to hear what she had to say, but at the same time, I was tense. What was lying in wait for me behind her front door? I prayed it would not be Brianna.

Hesitantly, I walked through the door with my eyes on full alert. I was waiting for someone or something to jump out at me at any moment and I’d have to go into defense mode. Mindy would have laughed at the thought of me in defense mode, but I could take care of myself if I had to.

“Please have a seat.” Karyn gestured to the formal living room to my left.

“Thank you,” I said.

“Would you like some coffee?” she offered.

“Yes, that would be great. Thanks.”

“Cream or sugar?”

“Both, please.”

“Would you like a snack as well?

“No, thank you. Coffee is fine.”

I watched her as she walked off down the hallway to retrieve the coffee.

When she was out of sight, I took in my surroundings, grateful for the opportunity to look around without her noticing. The chocolate colored velvet sofa was positioned in front of the marble fireplace with two coordinating floral armchairs on either side of it. The walls were bathed in a warm taupe. The home was elegant, and it fit Karyn’s appearance well. ‘Sophisticated’ was the word that came to my mind.

Karyn sashayed back into the room and handed me the steaming mug of coffee. I was nervous about drinking it in her gorgeous room, and prayed I would not spill brown liquid all over her expensive looking rug. The thought had also crossed my mind that the mug contained some magic potion. Wasn’t that what witches did? Cook up magic potions? But Karyn seemed so nice I decided to trust her, momentarily. She settled herself onto the velvety cushions of her sofa and, ever so gently, positioned her mug on the coffee table in front of us.

As she placed the mug down she said, “A love spell is not supposed to be dangerous or manipulative. The spell Brianna cast was both of those.”

I watched her carefully as I took a sip from my mug.

“In order for the spell to work, you must believe it will work.” She picked up her mug of coffee and took a sip.

I nodded in acknowledgment without saying a word.

“You didn’t believe, when you made an attempt to reverse that spell.”

“No, I suppose I didn’t.”

“It’s understandable, though. I know you are not accustomed to witchcraft. You can’t just one day wake up and decide to become a witch. Did you have anyone else with you when you performed the spell?”

Ghosts.
I didn’t think I should tell her that.

“My best friend was with me,” I offered.

“If someone in the circle doesn’t believe, then it will not work. So it may not be just your fault.”

Good, I could blame it on Mindy
.

“You know, a love spell is not meant to work the way you described, and I was shocked to learn Brianna had done such a thing. You cast a love spell to bring love to you. As opposed to casting a spell to specify whom you want to love you. It’s not your choice. Your true love has already been selected for you. You’re just asking for the person to find you faster. That’s what is supposed to happen. That’s what love really is.”