Red Witch: Book Two of the Wizard Born Series (17 page)

“Yeah, but Fred, you see —”

“We need to do that soon, because it’s already November and the recital is the third week of December.”

“Isn’t that when the regionals are for the talent search? How are you gonna do both?”

“They’re a week apart. The recital is the Saturday before Christmas, and the contest is the following week.”

He pulled onto their street and slowed down.
I really need to talk to her
. “What do you want to do tonight?”

“I forgot to tell you. I’m spending the night at Melanie’s.”

“Oh….” He pulled into her driveway. “Well, how about this afternoon? I could get a quick shower and —”

“Melanie and I are going to the movies, soon as I can get ready.”

“Oh.”

She put his hand on his arm. “I’m sorry. It’s just that I’ve been so busy I’ve hardly had time to tell to you.”

“Fred, we had a great meet today,” he said quickly. “Bryce and I set a new course record.”

She reached into the back seat and grabbed her bag. “That’s your first one, isn’t it?”

“A coach from Western Carolina was there.”

She stopped. “A coach? What for?”

“He was scouting me and Bryce. I think they’re going to recruit us. I might get a scholarship.”

Fred looked at him wordlessly, as if she were still sorting out what he was saying, mentally trying to fit the square peg into the round hole. “Western Carolina?” She blinked at him several times and her voice got small. “But that’s far away.”

“It’s an hour-and-a-half away.”

“An hour-and-a-half?”

“Yes, Fred! That’s what I need to talk to you about.”

“Oh.” She looked at the dashboard for a long moment.

“
Oh
is right.”

“We need to talk.”

He cocked his head before answering. “No kidding. When?”

She looked at him, mouth tight. “Pick me up from Melanie’s on the way to church tomorrow. We’ll talk then.”

“You forgot to say please,” he muttered.

“Okay, please.” She put her hand to her face and shook her head. “We need to talk,” she said, turning away from him. Then she leaned over, gave him a quick peck on the cheek and stepped out of the car, still shaking her head. “We really need to talk.”

“I know! Fred?” She walked up her to her front steps without looking back.

That wasn’t much of a goodbye kiss
.

Chapter 16

Rita and Cassandra led Louis out into the parking lot of the Rusty Screw, and the door closed behind them, muffling the racket from the crowd and the jukebox. Rita looked around to make sure no one was nearby while Cassandra leaned against a pickup truck and lit a cigarette. Louis stood, hands in the pockets of his black leather jacket, a blue bandana wrapped tightly around his skull. “All right, Louis,” Rita said. “Before I give you this stuff, we need to agree on the price.”

“Well….” Louis looked at his feet for a moment and scuffed one heavy black boot against the asphalt. “I was thinking: I’m short on cash right now, so instead of a flat fee up front, how about you get a percentage of the sale of the bike? Say…five percent.”

“How much do you think you can get for it?”

“About ten or twelve grand, maybe.”

“For a Harley? It’s worth twice that.”

“Yeah, it’s almost brand new. But I gotta sell it quick and on the sly so Sandra can’t pin it on me. I got a buyer lined up already, over in Morgan City.”

“What do you think, Cass?” Rita looked at her tall friend.

Cassandra tilted her head back, blew a long stream of smoke and watched it dissipate into the night. She said, “Ten percent.”

Louis looked at Cassandra hard for a moment, and then turned back to Rita. “Ten percent’s a lot.”

“You want to steal your bike back or not?”

He rubbed his stubbled jaw and stared across the parking lot, past the other rusty trucks and older cars. He looked at Rita. “You sure this is gonna work?”

She held up her hand and raised two fingers. “Witches’ honor.”

“Is there such a thing?”

“No, but this will work. Never fails.”

“All right.” He nodded. “Let’s do it.”

“Hold on.” Rita shook one finger at him. “What’re you doing for an alibi? Sandra’s gonna know it was you, and she’ll sic Deputy Fife on you, sure as sunrise.”

“Got a plan, ma’am.” He grinned. “Goin’ fishin’ at Gulf Shores for a couple days with some friends while my brothers and my cousin pay a little midnight visit to the old house. Cousin Felix’s got a trailer for the bike, so they’ll just roll it on up and…” — he jerked his thumb back over his shoulder — “Adios, motorcycle.”

Rita looked at him for a long moment while Cassandra casually inspected her fingernails. “All right. Just so our names aren’t dragged into this.” Rita pulled a large manila envelope from under her arm. “This is what you’re gonna do.”

Louis stepped closer while Rita reached inside the envelope and withdrew a plastic drinking straw. “Look, close,” she said, touching one end of the straw. “There’s a powder in here — powerful stuff, so be careful — and each end has a little paper plug in it to hold the powder in. There’s a little bit of tape on it for good measure, but you gotta handle this gently or the powder will spill. You need to find a crack somewhere in the house, like an open window, or under a door or something…can you do that?”

“Rita, I used to live there, remember? I know of lots of cracks.”

“Good. When you’re ready, pull out one of the plugs and put your thumb over it.” She paused and said, “Are you getting this? ’Cause you’re gonna have to explain it to your brothers, and they’re not the brightest bulbs in the chandelier.”

“I’ll write it down, soon as we’re done.”

“No, that’s evidence if somebody finds it. Just pay attention.” She touched the straw again. “Take the other plug out and put the straw up to the crack and blow hard on the other end…tell ’em to be careful not to inhale any of it, or they’ll be taking a sudden nap. Probably a good idea to rinse their mouth out afterwards, too, just to be safe. Bring a bottle of water.” She gestured at Louis. “Got it so far?”

He nodded and she continued. “Give the powder about ten minutes to work. Everybody inside the house will be zonked for a few hours, so you’ll have plenty of time.” She scratched her cheek for a moment with a long red fingernail. “Now, explain to me exactly how you’re getting the bike out.”

“Sandra’s keeping it in the shed next to the house, and I heard she let the air out of the tires and drained the gas tank, just in case. So the boys are gonna use a foot pump on the tires and roll it out of there and down the street a bit to where the trailer will be parked.”

Cassandra finally lost interest in her manicure. “Why not just gas it up and drive it off?”

“You ever heard my Harley? It’ll wake the whole neighborhood.”

“That’s a good plan,” Rita said, reaching into the envelope again. “They’ll need this, though, in case anybody drives by or looks out their window.” She pulled out a jade pendant, a twin to the one she wore, attached to a long leather thong.

She held it up and said, “Whoever’s not pushing the bike needs to take this and twirl it real good.”

“What’ll that do?” Louis said.

“It’ll fix it so that anybody driving by or looking out their window won’t really know what they’re seeing. It’ll make ’em kinda stupid and forgetful for a bit.”

“Kinda like your cousin Felix,” Cassandra said, popping her gum for punctuation.

Louis looked skeptical. “What’s to keep my brothers and Felix from getting forgetful, too?”

“I was getting to that.” Rita reached into the envelope again and pulled out three woven bracelets. “Tell them to wear these. They’ve got a counter charm on ’em, so the boys won’t be affected by the pendant. There’s a spare one in here. Don’t lose it.”

“Cool.” Louis took one of the bracelets and held it closer for a better look.

“When are they planning to do this?” Rita said.

“Monday night. I’m going to Gulf Shores tomorrow.”

“Tell one of your brothers to stop by the house so I can go over this with them. And I want the pendant and bracelets back when they’re done. You can bring ’em when you bring our money.” She handed him the envelope. “One more thing.” She waved one hand in front of Louis in a complicated gesture and mumbled a few words. “There.”

“What was that?” Louis’s eyebrows drew down.

“It’s a curse. Bring the money and the pendant and bracelets and I’ll remove it. That is, if you don’t want body parts to start falling off unexpectedly.” She glanced at his crotch.

Louis’s eyes flared wide and he nodded fervently. “I’ll bring everything soon as I sell the bike, I promise.”

“You need to go put that envelope in your trunk before somebody sees it.”

“Yeah. Thanks Rita. And Cassandra.” He waved the envelope at them. “Thanks a lot.”

He walked away, and when he was out of earshot, Cassandra said, “That wasn’t no curse.”

Rita chuckled. “He doesn’t know that.”

* * *

Jamie checked the address on the mailbox before pulling in: 2205.
This must be Melanie’s house.
He parked in the driveway and texted Fred that he’d arrived.
Wonder why she didn’t want me to come to the door?

A minute later, Fred came down the front steps, wearing a black dress and heels and carrying an overnight bag in one hand and her purse in the other. She opened the passenger door and slid in.

“Did you have a good time?” Jamie asked as he put the car in reverse.

Fred only shrugged.

“What did y’all do?”

“Not much.” She looked out of the passenger window as the car backed out of the driveway.

“Was the movie good?”

“It was okay.” She still wouldn’t look at him.

He put the car in drive and bit his lip.
She’s mad.
“Do you want to talk?” He glanced at her and all she gave was a tiny shrug, barely more than a twitch. He exhaled slowly out of one side of his mouth.
Guess I’ll have to wait until she cools off.

She turned on him so suddenly that his foot hit the brake, jerking them to a stop in the middle of the road. Her eyes were angry enough to spark a fire. “How
could
you?”

“How could I what?”

“I’ve waited almost my whole life for you to love me, and then you go and make plans to leave me behind, to go off to school somewhere just so you can hang out with your buddy, Bryce.”

“But —”

“I feel like a fool, thinking that I was more important than him.” She crossed her arms and looked away.

Jamie shook his head and resumed driving.
She’s not being fair.
He gritted his teeth and thought about something his father told him once about maintaining a happy relationship — always say “I was wrong, dear,” even when you’re not.
I don’t want to say that. But I don’t want to make her madder, either.
He cleared his throat. “Fred, nobody’s more important than you.”

“Oh really? You didn’t consult me at all about this Western Carolina thing.”

He turned the car onto the street that led to the church. “I tried to yesterday, but you wouldn’t let me. You were too busy talking about yourself.”

“Oh, so it’s my fault? It’s my fault that you made plans that didn’t include me?”

He pulled the car into the church’s parking lot and steered into an open space. “I haven’t made any plans. All I did was talk to a coach, and he approached me…I didn’t contact him. I had no idea he was coming.” He took a deep breath. “And I don’t even know if I want to go there.”

Fred opened her door when the car stopped and said, “Well, I don’t either.” She slammed the door and stomped off, leaving Jamie shaking his head, bewildered.

But I didn’t do anything wrong!

* * *

Jamie became aware of the sky first, a soft, velvety blue of a sky, with delicate puffs of cookie-cutter white clouds drifting by like cotton balls on parade. He was lying on soft grass.
I’m in the dream meadow again.
He felt a gentle hand on his forehead. “Hey, Fred.” His head was in her lap.

“Hey, yourself.” She smiled.

That’s a good sign.
“Are you not mad at me anymore?”

She gave a little shrug. “I don’t know. We’ll see. If you’re a good boy, I’ll forgive you.”

She’s not mad.
“I’m always a good boy.” He grinned up at her.

She rubbed her hand through his hair and her lips trembled for a moment before she pressed her mouth into a tight line. “Jamie, I’m really sorry. I was so mean to you yesterday. I was tired and cranky ’cause I didn’t sleep much at Melanie’s house. I know that’s no excuse, but —

“That’s okay. I know —”

“No.” She put a finger on his lips. “I overreacted, and I’m sorry. It’s just…it’s just that I love you so much and I can’t bear the thought of losing you.”

“You’re never going to lose me.”

“I mean, of us being apart. I waited so long for you! I don’t want to…oh, I don’t know what I mean.”

“Fred, we’re not going to be apart. I can visit you anywhere, if we’re careful, even if we go to different schools. But we need to talk about that…where we want to go.” He smiled wistfully. “But if we go to separate schools, I don’t know what we’re gonna tell your roommate when I suddenly appear out of nowhere.”

“We’ll just have to get her to swear the oath, won’t we?” Fred giggled. “But what a perfect way to sneak you into my dorm room!”

“You want to tell
another
girl about our magic? Melanie and your dorm mate and —”

“Melanie might be my dorm mate. We talked about it last night.”

“Oh.”
Didn’t see that coming
. “You’re gonna go to the same school?”

“We might. We might go to Western Carolina. Who knows?”

“I don’t know if I am or not. That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. My dad wants me to go to UNC at Chapel Hill, but I’m kinda thinking like Bryce now. I want to make my own choice.”

“What’s Western Carolina like?”

“The campus is beautiful. I looked at some pictures on the Internet. I’ll let you know once Bryce and I go visit it.”

“I want to go with you when you visit. I’ll talk to Melanie and see if she wants to go, too. We can ride with you.”