Red Witch: Book Two of the Wizard Born Series (39 page)
Read Red Witch: Book Two of the Wizard Born Series Online
Authors: Geof Johnson
As the women stared back at them with stunned looks on their faces, Fred waved and said, “’Bye now. I’d say it was fun, but it wasn’t.”
Jamie snapped his fingers and the doorway vanished. The room was quiet for a long moment as John Paul gaped at the empty space.
“Whew!” Carl wiped his forehead.
“Huh.” John Paul said. “So that’s it? They’re gone?” He turned to Carl. “You realize what we just did is highly unethical and illegal, don’t you?”
Carl shrugged. “You got a better idea?”
“I can bring ’em back if you want,” Jamie said.
John Paul shook his head firmly. “No thanks.”
Fred picked up the stack of books from the bedside table and handed them to Jamie. “Here. We’re taking these.”
“What are they?”
“Spell books.” She picked up the a little plastic tube of green goo. “And this is healing jelly. This goes too.” She waggled it with her fingers. “Made it myself.”
“Your mom’s not gonna be happy about the spell books,” Carl said.
But Fred gave him a steady look and crossed her arms. He sighed and waved one hand dismissively. “Fine. You can sort that out later. Anything else you need?”
Fred looked around the room, her prison of the last two weeks, and shook her head. “Can we go home now?”
Chapter 38
Rachel pushed the plate of fried chicken across the table to Lisa. “You certainly seem to have gotten your appetite back.”
Lisa grabbed a drumstick, indelicately. “I’m starving!” She took a vicious bite, the suburban barbarian.
“She’s been eating like that all day,” Larry said, sitting next to her, leaning his elbow on the table, chin in hand.
“What time did you get to bed?” Rachel said.
“Around three-thirty, I guess.” Larry sighed. “Fred had to take a shower first. A loooooong shower.”
“I don’t blame her. I would too.”
Carl looked at the mob of teenagers in the living room, congregating around Jamie and Fred, who held court from the couch. “How long has it been this crazy?”
“Since right after lunch,” Larry said. “Rollie was the first one over after Jamie.”
Lisa put down what remained of the drumstick, nothing left but bare bone, and licked her fingers. “Fred cried when she found out Rollie didn’t do the talent contest. She didn’t know.”
Larry picked up a piece of chicken from the plate. “But then all three of them did their little chant, and they were all smiles again.
We’re the crew, we can’t be beat.
” He chuckled before taking a bite.
Rachel added, “
Everybody smell our feet
.” She laughed. “Jamie’s sure that chant does something, in a magical way. He thinks they have a pretty powerful triad of their own.”
“Speaking of powerful, how’s your finger, Larry?” Carl asked. “Did Fred’s potion do the trick?”
Larry held it up and said, “Totally healed. Can’t tell I cut it at all. That green jelly Fred put on it really worked.” His grin was lopsided. “I guess her bein’ a witch isn’t all bad, huh?” He rubbed his jaw for a moment. “She wants to go back to the witches’ house with Jamie and get the rest of their spell books. I don’t know what to do about that.”
Lisa picked up another piece of chicken. “I think we should let her, as long as we supervise her when she uses them. If she can make a healing potion like that….” She shrugged and took a bite.
“There might be other helpful spells she can do,” Rachel said, then put her hand on Carl’s arm. “Honey, we need to do something nice for that policeman that helped you last night.”
“I invited him for dinner this Saturday night. Hope that’s okay. Jamie said he’ll make a doorway for him.”
“I’ll cook,” Lisa said.
Rachel frowned. “Carl invited him.
I’ll
cook.”
“He helped rescue
my
daughter,” Lisa said. “I should cook.”
“But I think I….” Rachel held up one hand and shook her head. “We’ll both cook.”
Larry stood and wiped his mouth with a napkin. “I think it’s time for a little peace and quiet around here.”
* * *
Fred, still on the couch with Jamie, couldn’t help but smile, watching her father trying to send her friends home as tactfully as he could. When he herded the last of her well-wishers, Bryce and Melanie, to the door he said, “Thanks for stopping by. You can come back tomorrow, but we need a little family time now.”
Melanie paused at the door and said, “Can I borrow somebody’s phone to call my mom to pick me up?”
“Bryce,” Fred said, “why don’t you give her a ride?”
Bryce and Melanie looked at each other, and Melanie said, brown eyes sparkling, “Is that okay?”
“Oh,” Bryce blinked a couple of times. “Yeah. Sure.” He glanced at his watch. “It’s still early. Wanna, um, get some coffee or something?”
She flashed her brilliant, dimpled smile. “Sure.” She looked back at Fred as Larry held the door open for them. “Let’s go shopping or something tomorrow. I got money for Christmas. I’m not broke anymore!”
Fred laughed and waved goodbye. Larry closed the door behind them and rubbed his hands together. “Finally!” He looked at Fred and Jamie. “Now, are you two okay here? ’Cause we’re going down in the basement to watch the game.”
“Who’s
we?
” Lisa said from the table.
“You, me, Carl, and Rachel.” He walked toward the basement door, motioning with one hand for Lisa to follow him.
“But I don’t even
like
football.” But when Rachel and Carl stood and started to follow Larry, she rolled her eyes. “Oh, what the heck. Somebody bring the chicken, will you?”
Jamie watched them go and said, “Fred, your dad is acting funny.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, he’s usually hanging around us, watching us like a hawk, but now it seems like he
wants
us to be alone.”
She draped her arms on his shoulders and wrapped her hands behind his neck. “Are you complaining?”
“No, it’s just…different.”
“He’s ecstatically happy that I’m home and grateful to you for rescuing me.”
“You did most of the work. All I did was make a doorway.”
“Well….” She put her face close to his. “I’d still be there if it wasn’t for you, and the closest we’d ever get would be in our dreams.” She kissed him lightly on the cheek and chuckled. “But you watch. Give my dad about ten minutes and he’ll be back up here, checking on us.”
“Fred, I don’t mean to change the subject, but did you give Melanie a love potion?”
“Didn’t have to. She and Bryce are falling in love the old-fashioned way.”
“But…I don’t get it.”
“They’ve spent a lot of time together lately, working on the search for me, but Melanie’s furious with Michael because he didn’t lift a finger to help. Bryce and Sally haven’t been getting along since he decided to stop sponging off his dad. Sally’s kind of a gold digger.”
“You know all this and you haven’t even been back for twenty-four hours yet?”
“I’m a witch. I have powers, remember?”
“Hmph.” He looked at her like he was going to say something more about it, but seemed to change his mind. “Fred, about your powers: have you noticed that when we kiss in a dream that we don’t get the tingle? At least I don’t. In fact, we haven’t had a really good one since you came home.”
“Are you wondering if we still
got
it?” She smiled slyly.
He returned the smile with a slyness of his own. “Yeah. I think we should do a little test.”
“Me too.” She drew his face to hers and pressed her lips firmly against his. Goosebumps formed up and down her arms and she felt the warm, electric tingle surge throughout her body. The hairs on her arms and the back of her neck stood out and she shivered. “Ooh,” she said softly, then kissed him again. She pulled back and they locked gazes. “So what do think? Do we still
got
it?”
But she didn’t need to hear his answer. His eyes told her everything she needed to know.
Chapter 39
Rita leaned her elbows heavily on the rough wooden table, her face resting in her hands, staring dully at the unfinished planks. An earthenware mug appeared before her, and she looked up to see the lean fellow with the scraggly blond beard, smiling a yellow-toothed smile.
What’s his name? Larda? Larva?
The strong yeasty smell of the brew inside the mug hit her nostrils, and she wrinkled her nose. “Is this all they serve here? Don’t they have any wine or whiskey or something?”
The smile on the lean man’s face faded, and she said quickly, “No, it’s fine. I like ale. Thanks.”
Beggars can’t be choosers
.
His smile returned and Cassandra, sitting across from her in the lap of a burly, dark-bearded man, said, “I kinda like it.” She picked up her own mug and took a sloppy sip. “It’s okay once you get used to it.” She touched her man-of-the-moment on the end of his nose, giggled, and looked at Rita. “He’s kinda cute, dontcha think? Looks a little like Big Dan.” She tapped his nose a couple of times with her fingertip.
The lean fellow and the burly man had attached themselves to Rita and Cassandra from the moment the witches had stepped into the smoky, low-beamed tavern. The men offered to buy drinks, and since credit cards and American money were now useless on this strange world, the women accepted.
The serving girl, a pale, flat-chested waif with stringy brown hair and a slight overbite, set four bowls of stew on their table, curtsied and walked away. Rita couldn’t help but notice the lean man’s gaze follow the girl as she left.
He’s had his eye on her all day.
A thought occurred to Rita and she said, “She’s pretty, isn’t she?”
A slight sigh escaped his lips, and he continued to watch her for a moment before turning to Rita. “Yeah,” he grunted.
Quite the conversationalist.
Then Rita had an idea.
He could use a little help.
“Cassandra, hand me your purse.” Cassandra pushed her black leather pocketbook across the table and Rita opened it, pulling out a small bag containing the amore powder.
Now I remember his name
. “Larson.”
She held the clear plastic packet toward the lean man and waved it as she spoke. “I’ve got just the thing for you.”
Cassandra caught her gaze and winked.
About the Author
Geof Johnson lives in Atlanta Georgia with his family, a dog and a cat. He enjoys running, water color painting, and playing guitar a little too loud and a little too much.
You can contact him at:
[email protected]
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