Wonder Wand Way (Witch of Mintwood Book 10) Page 14

  “Hey, did you bring your wand with you?” Charlie asked. We were almost to the car and she had slowed down. Something had shifted in her voice.

  I frowned. In the darkness, her face was hard to see. “Of course I did. I always do these days. Why?”

  “Because I think we have company,” said Charlie, sounding grave.

  At first I didn’t know what she meant; I thought we were alone at the end of a long line of parked cars.

  Well, almost alone. As we walked I’d started to hear the hum of a conversation nearby, but I hadn’t really paid attention since there was no reason for me to assume that the conversation had anything to do with me.

  Many other people had left the town hall right along with us. We were speaking to each other, and the conversation I was hearing was distant enough that I couldn’t hear what was being said. I had assumed it was harmless chat between cat lovers or drama lovers or a mix of the two.

  The only trouble was, there was no one in sight. So who was speaking?

  As we neared the Beetle, I saw who had parked right behind us. I recognized their silhouettes before I actually saw their faces.

  Their voices were also raised in anger.

  “I want a pet! You said I could have a cat. I came here to get a cat and now look,” said one of the voices.

  “Don’t be ridiculous! Cats are a dime a dozen. And flea-infested! Besides, they’re the most annoying,” said the other.

  Betty and sister, near the top of the list among my dark witch enemies, were arguing on Main Street in Mintwood.

  Charlie was right. I would need my wand.

  “What do we do?” Charlie asked. Unfortunately, even though she kept her voice low, we were spotted by the arguing dark witches.

  Betty spun around, her eyes like fire. She looked terribly annoyed at our presence.

  “Of course it would be you. Can’t you leave us alone for two minutes?” she demanded.

  “I think we’ve left you along for a long time. You’re in my town, though. You can’t exactly tell me what to do,” I pointed out.

  What Betty did not seem to understand was that I was most powerful when I was in my own town. Their coming to Mintwood without my permission should mean bigger trouble for them than for me. Yet here she was yelling at me.

  This had to stop!

  “You think you’re so smart, do you? Found some kittens. You didn’t want us to have any of them, did you?” Betty said.

  At this point they were standing between us and the Beetle, or to be more precise about priorities, they were standing between me and gossip about Jasper that I planned to hear as soon as possible.

  I really didn’t have the energy to deal with these two right now. If nothing else, it was past my bedtime.

  “We didn’t want you to have the kittens and we didn’t even know you were here,” said Charlie. “Why would we want invading dark witches to have cute kittens?”

  “I didn’t see you taking any of them,” said Possy.

  “I’m allergic to them. Besides, we already have a pet cat,” said Charlie.

  “If you’re referring to that horrible ghost cat, tell me another tall tale,” said Betty.

  “If you were willing to listen, I’d be happy to,” said Charlie. “My tale would be about two dark witches who should be on their way out of Mintwood right about now. They also shouldn’t come back again.”

  “Who do you think you are to order us around?” Betty demanded. “You aren’t even the witch of this town.”

  “No, but I have a feeling she would agree with me. Just because I’m not a witch doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take me seriously,” Charlie insisted.

  “Are you threatening me?” Betty asked.

  “Yes, definitely,” I told her, taking over the dialogue. “This is my town and you are not welcome in it. You are also not welcome to any Mintwood kittens!”

  Betty’s eyes narrowed, and I knew Charlie was proud of me for standing up for myself and my town. Possy’s mouth was hanging open.

  I was a little surprised myself.

  “Are you officially expelling me from Mintwood?” Betty asked.

  Now Charlie looked confused. So was I. Did I have that power? How could I not know that if I did?

  “Yes, yes, I am,” I said. Shot in the dark meet ray of hope!

  Betty’s chin jutted out. Her eyes sparked with a furious light. Suddenly the darkness around us lengthened and the shadows went a shade darker. A chill curled into the air and up my spine.

  I felt myself retreat from her as her fury grew, and I pulled my wand out of my sleeve. Possy looked between the two of us to see what we were going to do next.

  “You’ll have to fight me for it,” hissed Betty. She planted her feet wide and assumed a braced stance. She was a squat-looking woman to begin with, and right now she looked utterly ridiculous. Fighting her didn’t seem like that difficult a prospect, but I knew that looks could be deceiving. Betty was formidable.

  I nearly wished I had simply told her she could stay in town, and gone home to bed.

  Instead I backed up my words. I waved my wand, making green sparks dance free and race around me and Charlie. The sparks were thick and bright.

  I waved my wand again and again. More green sparks appeared. Betty tried to fight them off. She tried ordering Possy to fight them off.

  All to no avail.

  I took a step forward. Charlie stepped with me, and the two of us walked the dark witches backward.

  Betty fought me all the way, but it was no use. There was nothing she could do.

  “Run!” Betty finally cried to her sister.

  The two turned toward each other and collided, then took a few seconds to right themselves.

  Betty and Possy clearly weren’t runners.

  Trying again, they gathered their skirts in preparation. Betty’s shoulders hunched forward, as if that was the first part of her body to start moving. Possy moved her knees first, raising them up and launching herself forward.

  Not that I was an athlete, far from it, but these two would have a hard time outrunning a turtle.

  Luckily, I was so relieved that they were leaving, I had no intention of chasing after them.

  I leaned against the Beetle as we watched the retreat though the darkness.

  After a minute or two, Charlie moved forward, my spell still circling her head, her blond hair green with sparkles. She was grinning from ear to ear as she turned back to me.

  “That was incredible!” she said. “Do it again!”

  I sagged against the Beetle. My whole body felt weightless. There were definitely no bones left in me, never mind muscles.

  Charlie rushed over and helped me into the passenger seat of the Beetle.

  “Are you all right?” she asked.

  My eyes closed and refused to open. I tried to mumble to her to get us back to the farmhouse as fast as she could, but my lips wouldn’t move.

  Charlie understood anyhow; she wanted the same thing. Hopefully Detective Cutter and Tom were busy elsewhere, because she definitely exceeded the speed limit as she drove us home.

  Paws, sensing that something was wrong the instant we got back, came bounding over from the rickety porch. I was sure he muttered something about the force of his frantic footsteps being the last straw for the front of the house, but in my stupor I couldn’t quite make it out.

  The other ghosts weren’t far behind. Mr. Bone barked instructions to Charlie about how to get me to the house.

  There were lights on, and Charlie ran in to grab Greer to come and help. Luckily, my bartender friend was still awake. She was, in fact, busy changing out of her party frock.

  Charlie hurried her along, and they came running back out of the house together. Carefully they got me inside and into my bed.

  Paws was absolutely furious. Sometimes he took any excuse to be angry, but this was more than his usual histrionics. He actually seemed worried about my well-being, hard as that was to believe.

  Oh, wel
l. Stranger things have happened. For example, I had expelled witches from my very own town.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  I slept for a long time. I found that out when I woke up and groggily looked at the clock. At first I thought it was wrong. In frustration, I hid my head back among the waves of blankets I had surrounded myself with. A warm bed was one of the hardest things to leave.

  When I forced myself to look at the time again a little later, it became clear that I had slept the morning away. Greer was still likely to be home, but Charlie would have left hours ago.

  Someone had kindly placed my wand next to the bed for me. I was relieved to see it safe and sound. It looked a little on the dull side, to my surprise. I had performed quite an epic spell the night before; apparently the wand needed time to recover just as I did.

  Reluctantly, I crawled out of bed. I bypassed getting dressed in favor of just stumbling downstairs. My eyes didn’t seem to want to open all the way. My body tingled, and the thought of performing a spell today made me queasy. Whatever I had done the night before had certainly taken its toll.

  Given that it was only early afternoon, Greer was in the kitchen making breakfast. As soon as I saw her she swam before my eyes.

  Sitting down to steady myself, I realized that my memory of the night before was already slipping away. Clearly sleeping for a long time did not mean I was fully recovered.

  When Greer caught sight of me, she gave a cry and threw down her spatula.

  “Are you okay?” she asked.

  “I think so,” I said.

  “You did not look okay last night. When you didn’t wake up at your normal time, Charlie and I got worried, so we asked Gerry. She said it was perfectly normal to sleep a lot after doing what you did, and to just leave you alone, but to have food ready for when you woke up,” said Greer.

  I felt guilty. There was a lot of worry in my friend’s eyes.

  I glanced over at the nook and was staggered by the amount of food Greer had baked and prepared. There were stacks upon stacks of pancakes, at least three different types. Not that it mattered, no indeed, but one of them was chocolate chip.

  There were also two bowls of eggs, one with onions and one without. There was French toast, bacon, sausage patties, and sweet potato home fries. My mouth started to water.

  “I can’t believe you’ve been making all of this. You didn’t have to do that,” I told Greer.

  “I’ve been wanting to make a big breakfast for a while now. I was hoping Charlie would be around to enjoy it, but she had to get to work. I figured there was no time like the present to get cooking. I also thought we’d need a good breakfast for me to tell you what happened last night,” she said.

  “Yeah, I really want to hear about your evening. I wasn’t expecting to perform a big spell and essentially pass out afterward. It distracted me,” I said dryly.

  “Why don’t you read Hansen’s article about the party while I finish cooking breakfast. Then we can talk,” said Greer.

  Given how desperate I was to read Hansen’s article, she didn’t have to tell me twice.

  Before I started to read, I glanced out over the back field. The day was gray, but it still looked warm. The air had the slightest hint of purple, and I found a myself relaxing. A few birds spiraled near one of the trees, and I just hoped Paws was asleep and wouldn’t wake up to drive them away.

  With this beautiful backdrop, I bent my head to read.

  Fundraising Gala

  Last evening a celebratory gala was held at the beautiful Babbling Brook Barn to celebrate the Wolf Corporation’s purchase of the Hayview lot. Situated on the lake with its stunning views, the restored barn provided the perfect backdrop for a bright and laughter-filled evening. Many of the people who had worked tirelessly over the past months and years to make the purchase of Hayview a reality were in attendance. The evening marked the culmination of countless hours of hard work by many individuals. It also marked the realization of a long-held goal.

  The old mall lot called Hayview has changed ownership at long last. The next step is to tear down the abandoned buildings that are still standing on the property. For the past few years they have mostly been empty.

  Let’s look at the history of Hayview so that we can fully understand why the purchase of the lot was worth celebrating.

  After Hayview first opened, the mall’s business boomed. The stores were a destination for everyone from miles around. Always busy, the shops were bustling.

  Over time, for complicated reasons, the mall started to lose its luster. Gradually, the big stores that were the hallmark of the Hayview location disappeared one by one.

  We lost a lot of investment in the local community when those big box stores left. The effect on the area has been significant.

  Not only was the loss of jobs devastating, but we also lost one of our tourist attractions. On top of that, the taxes those companies paid were important to the success of our community.

  We in this county have been resilient. Finding something useful to be done with the Hayview property will be an important part of our prosperity going forward.

  Through a lot of difficulties, and thanks to the hard work of many town council members in Mintwood, the unused lot has finally been sold. To great excitement and after months of negotiations, the Wolf Corporation has purchased it.

  The Wolfs have yet to unveil their plans for the property, but just the purchase is cause for celebration. That’s what last night was about—everyone involved in this process gathering together at a great and exciting time for the county.

  The evening featured excellent speeches and much laughter. Everyone present was happy to have seen this sale go through. The food was excellent and there was music and dancing.

  And only slight marring of the festivities came from a handful of protesters, who seemed to be unhappy with the very notion of big developments. To be fair, we do not yet know what the development is going to be, and the protesters were peaceful and respectful. They had excellent signs.

  A good time was had by all. Even better, this is only the beginning. There is a whole lot more to come.

  I looked up at Greer. Hansen’s article had been totally supportive. It also wasn’t that long. I had learned more than I had known before about what the Wolf Corporation had been up to, yet the article was still short on essential details, which apparently weren’t available to the public yet.

  I was dismayed to know that Jasper had been working on an important business deal, and I’d had no idea. He hadn’t said a word to me about it in our time together.

  Okay, maybe that wasn’t entirely fair. He always told me he had important work to do, I just hadn’t realized that it involved buying Hayview. That was a huge deal.

  Sadness threatened to overwhelm me again. The evening sounded like a lot of fun, and I had missed it.

  I glanced at Greer to see if she was ready to tell me how the night had gone from her perspective. She was just finishing up another pan of bacon.

  “So tell me everything,” I said.

  She set the bacon down onto a plate and shrugged. “It was all right. Now that the Wolfs own Hayview, everyone wanted to know what they plan to do with it. As far as I could tell, that’s still a big secret, as Hansen’s article makes clear. Deacon doesn’t know, and he couldn’t figure out why I was so concerned about it anyway. Very annoying. The food was excellent, and Jasper was busy most of the night. I didn’t see him talking to any girls. He was mostly just glad-handing all the important people. I did think he looked tired.”

  I brightened a little at Greer’s reassurance that she hadn’t seen Jasper flirting. Maybe it was a sign that he missed me.

  “Did you have any idea that the sale was going through?” I asked.

  She shook her head. “Nope, none. Deacon knew that Jasper was working on a big deal, but he didn’t know what it was.” She paused, as if debating how to say what she wanted to say next. “Do you have any idea whether this would cause Jasper to beha
ve strangely toward you?”

  It hadn’t occurred to me until she said it that there could be a connection between the Hayview purchase and Jasper taking a break from our relationship. Or whatever he was doing. However you defined it, I didn’t like it.

  I shrugged. “I hadn’t thought about it before. I guess there’s a chance. It remains to be seen,” I said.

  “It sure does,” Greer agreed.

  “Was Mrs. Sounds there?” I asked.

  “Oh, yes, she was right at the center of everything. She was sitting with Mr. Wolf, and they looked quite chummy. The only other person I saw to take note of was Tyler Spin. I don’t like him at all,” said Greer.

  “Thank you. I don’t like him either,” I muttered.

  “Deacon and I managed not have a fight,” Greer said. “He apologized for being a guy and not being more self-aware. I told him I forgave him this time but it clearly wasn’t something that was going to change,” she added with a smirk.

  “We both know you wouldn’t want it to,” I said dryly.

  For once Greer actually blushed. She was rarely openly affectionate about Deacon or anyone else, not that it mattered much. We all knew she cared deeply about Deacon. She had for years.

  He knew it too.

  “It’s good to be able to talk to you,” she said, looking at me closely. “You came home in quite a state last night. Charlie told me why, but I had never seen you like that before. How are you feeling now?”

  “I’m feeling very tired. I had no idea that would happen. I’m going to have to ask Paws about it. He’s probably going to lecture me about something I did wrong,” I said.

  “Are Betty and Possy now banned from town?” she asked.

  “I think they are. She was angry enough to make it plausible that she took it seriously. I guess it remains to be seen whether it will stick,” I said.

  Greer nodded. “I guess it was about time they showed up around here again. I can’t say I’m surprised. They delight in pushing your buttons. I think banning them from Mintwood was the right thing to do!”

  “I do hope they’ll get the hint, but I have a feeling they won’t,” I said. “Do you know that they wanted one of the kittens?”