The Magick of Dark Root (Daughters of Dark Root) (43 page)

“He hit his head on a rock just outside of Dark Root.”

“You’re from Dark Root?” Her eyes narrowed and she leaned forward to get a better look at me. “The witch town?”

“Um, yes.” I glanced around the room, feeling the walls closing in on me.
 

“And how did he
hit
his head?” she asked, a strange new look in her eyes. I’d seen that look from strangers’ eyes a few times in my life—and it frightened me.

I rubbed my hands together. “Uh, he got back from Seattle last night. When he came for his car, we went for a walk before supper. He slipped near a river. I helped him back and he spent the night in our guest room. He woke up still not feeling great, so I drove him here.”

She arched an eyebrow. “Your mother was Miss Sasha, correct?”

“Yes. Is, actually.”

She blinked slowly, her lips puckered in contemplation. “Well, it’s lucky for my son that you were there to help him. I guess I owe you a thank you.”

Leo fidgeted beside me and I hoped he wouldn't jump in and start talking about candy or worms, or any of that.

“How are you doing, son?” she asked.
 

In response, Leo tucked his face into his hands and hid behind my shoulder.
 

I nudged him out.

“He may have a concussion,” I said, as calmly as I could. “My sister’s a nurse and said he should be watched for a day or two.”

“Maybe I should take him to the doctor, then?”
 

“I’d give it a few days,” I said, taking a sip from my cup to hide my nervousness. “I think him being here, with you, is going to heal him right up. Isn’t that right, Leo?”

He nodded dumbly. I held back a sigh of relief.

“I have his stuff out in the car. I will bring it in,” I said, setting my cup down on the crate and standing.

“Thank you. Perhaps you’ll stay for Bible study? Would you like Maggie to stay for Bible study, Leo?”

He nodded.

I had no problem with Bible study, but I wanted to be out of this place as soon as possible.

“Um, I had better not. My mother’s expecting me home. I have to take her shopping.” I opened the door, setting one foot outside. “I’ll be right back with his things.”

Miss Winston followed me out. As I neared the car, she caught me by the shoulder. “I’m not sure what you did to my Leonard, but that is not my son.”

“Pardon?” I asked, spinning around and unloosening her grip on me.
 

“That
thing
you brought me is not Leo! Leo would never agree to Bible Study, even with a concussion and even for a pretty girl.”

My knees shook. “I don’t know what you mean,” I said, struggling to keep my voice steady.

“I know who you are and
what
you are. The sins of the father are passed down, as are the sins of the mother. Witches, all of you. You’ve put a spell on him, haven’t you? It’s blasphemous.”
 

“I better go,” I said, backing up. “I’ll bring his car around tomorrow when I have a ride.”

“Yes, you do that. I’ll be calling the police as soon as you’re gone. In the meantime, I’m going to do my best to get the devil out of that boy. He was a worthless heathen before, just like his father, but now he’s an abomination.”

How dare she? Leo was not an abomination!

The Circle hummed against my wrist as anger welled up inside me. Miss Winston noticed.
 

“Who or what did your family bargain with for their powers?” she asked advancing.

I reached my hands forward to stop her. My fingers tingled. I remembered…

The
deathtouch.

My hands still shaking, I sidestepped as she lunged forward, retreating to the Cadillac.

Leo’s face appeared in the doorway. “Maggie!’

“C’mon Leo, we’re going!”
 

He bolted outside, charging past his mother and into the car.

“You’re not taking my son!”
 

“Stay away!” I yelled.

The front window of her house cracked, then shattered to the ground.
 

She looked at it, then looked at me. “You’ll pay for this. All of this!”

 
“I’m sorry,” I said, jumping into the car. I spun out of her driveway with the gas pedal pushed all the way to the floor.

But not before I noticed the amber locket in the shape of a heart hanging from her neck; a locket given to her by my own mother, years ago, to cure her broken heart.
 

Twenty-Six

CHAMPAGNE SUPERNOVA

“You’re lucky I like you,” I said, driving the speed limit and checking my rear view mirror for cop cars. “Well, do you miss your mother?” I asked as we took our exit and headed into Dark Root.
 

“No,” he said. It came out almost out as a sigh.

 
I squeezed his hand. “I’m sorry, Leo. I’m sorry you had such a crappy mother. It wasn’t fair to you and it kinda explains some things.”

“Minties!” Leo squealed as we drove past Dip Stix Café. I ignored him and headed for Sister House.

“Hurts,” he said, as we bumped along the dirt road.
 

“It’s just gravel,” I said. “You’ll be fine.”

“Leg hurts,” he informed me as we pulled into the driveway. He pulled up the leg of his pants. Another bruise had developed near his ankle.

“Do they all hurt?” I asked, noticing a small, blue-black mark behind his ear.

“Yes.”

I pressed my lips together “Don’t worry. June Bug has lots of Band-Aids.” He took my hand and followed me in. “I think Eve’s been baking,” I said, sniffing the air. It smelled like bananas and vanilla. “Maybe she’ll share.”

“Yay!” he said, but his voice was weak.

“I knew I should have gone with you. When did you develop a heart?” Eve turned to me, crossing her arms as if she expected an answer.

“Women often become more compassionate during pregnancy,” Ruth Anne said. “Especially to things that are in need.”

“Leo is not a thing!” Merry snapped. “I wish you’d both would stop referring to him like he’s a piece of furniture.”

“You’re just defending him because he has a crush on you.” Eve rummaged through her purse and produced a pink lip gloss, which she applied perfectly without a mirror. She slammed it back into her bag and sat down.
 

“Now what? That cop will be looking for Leo. Here.”

Merry paced across the living room, fanning her face with her hands. “Eve’s right. We can’t have the police crawling around here. One mistake and I lose June Bug.”

“Wait till Frank finds out Leo’s a sex offender,” Eve said. “Then things will get really ugly.”

“He’s not a sex offender,” Merry said, wringing her hands and glancing at June Bug as she raced past. “Not anymore, anyway.”

Ruth Anne sat back in the dining room chair and stretched her legs. “It might not come to that. If Maggie took him to see his mother, he’s not technically missing anymore.”

“That’s right,” Merry said, her shoulders softening.
 

“I still don’t think it’s a good idea to keep him,” Eve said. “We’ve got our own problems.”

 
“Eve, he is our problem!” I said. “He’s like this because of us. And if you could have heard the way she talked about him…she called him an abomination. An abomination! What was I supposed to do? Leave him there with her?”

“That was the plan. It’s not like he can understand her anyways.”

“He understands more than you know.”
 

“Does he understand why he’s weak and covered in bruises?” Merry asked.

I had no answer for that question.

“Maggie, can you come here for a minute? Ruth Anne, you too.” Merry called to us from halfway up the staircase.
 

Eve stood ashen-faced behind her. I glanced around the living room. June Bug and Leo were playing Operation on the floor. Mother sat on the sofa, watching them. There were no police cars in the driveway.
 

Merry’s eyes widened, beckoning.

“What now?” I asked.
 

We gathered in Mother’s room with the door shut and locked.
 

 
“We found this in Mama’s drawer,” Merry said, handing me a photo.

It was a picture of a good-looking man, about twenty years old. He was dressed in a uniform, like the one Ruth Anne had pulled up on her phone.

I turned it over. On the back, in Mother’s script, were the words: Robbie Maddock, April, 1915.

“Mother’s beau,” I said.

Merry handed me another photo. “Now, look at this one. It’s the same man, and he’s with Mama.”

There was no mistaking that the shockingly young woman in the photo was our mother. She knelt on a blanket, her long, wavy-brown hair cascading down over her shoulders, framing her
 
round face. Beside her, with his knees tucked into his chest, was the same young man from the previous photo. He wore civilian clothes: a white shirt, gray slacks, polished shoes, a floppy hat, and suspenders. She smiled into the camera while he smiled at her.