Red Witch: Book Two of the Wizard Born Series (35 page)

Cassandra did, and Rita opened it and dumped some of the mixed powder into it. Then she blended it with a popsicle stick. “That’s good. Let’s try it.”

Fred scurried to the far edge of the bed, the chain clanking as it followed her. “Not on me!”

Rita laughed. “Don’t worry. I cut my leg shaving this morning.” She dipped out a bit of the green goo from the jar, bent and dabbed it on her leg. Cassandra looked, too. Fred stayed safely on the far side of the bed. “Yep.” Rita said. “Works good.” She sat up and set the jar on the floor. “Now you need to make about seven more batches like that, Fred.”

“Are you going to sell it in those big jars?” Fred asked.

“No. Got something better. I picked up a bunch of these yesterday.” She reached into a box on the floor and pulled out a travel-sized, clear squeeze bottle. “Cute, huh?”

“How are you going to get the stuff in there?”

“Thought of that.” Rita held up a plastic pastry syringe. “With this.”

“See, Fred?” Cassandra said. “You’re not the only smart one around here.”

Fred let that comment go. “How are you going to get the gel into that thing?” Fred said.

Rita smacked Cassandra on the upper arm with the back of her hand. “Hand me that other big measuring spoon.” Rita pulled the plunger from the syringe, took the spoon from Cassandra, and dipped out a blob of the thick healing mixture. Then she pressed it into the opening of the syringe, but it smeared over the sides, little making it inside. “Damn.” Rita scraped at the uncooperative green mess. “This’ll take all day.”

“Lemme try.” Cassandra reached for the syringe, but Rita turned her body away, then stood, banging the leg of the table as she did.

“Dammit, Cass. Look what you made me do. Almost knocked the table over.”

“Well, it ain’t working, Rita,” Cassandra snapped. “Give it to me.”

“Heat it,” Fred said. Both women turned and looked at her blankly.

“What for?” Rita asked.

“It’ll soften the jelly…make it more viscous.”
They don’t know what that word means
. “It’ll flow easier.”

Rita sat down again. “How’re we gonna heat it without melting the plastic?”

“You can get a pot of hot water and put the jars of jelly in it for a few minutes until they get soft enough. In fact, you can use your little Sterno stove to keep the pot warm.”

“That’ll work.” Cassandra nodded. “I’ll get the pot of water and the Sterno.”

* * *

Fred watched as Cassandra gingerly pulled the jar of finished healing jelly out of the water on the floor beside her. She quickly dropped it on the table and shook her hand. “Ooh! It’s kinda hot.”

Rita opened it with a paper towel to protect her hands, then she dipped out some jelly with the spoon and smeared it into the syringe. It easily flowed inside. Rita nodded and smiled. “Yeah. Good. Gimme one of those little squeeze bottles.”

Cassandra handed her one of the clear empty tubes and Rita twisted the top off. Then she put the plunger back in the syringe, set the tip into the bottle, and pressed the plunger with her thumb. The green gel squeezed through the nozzle and into the little tube. Rita held it up triumphantly. “Ta da! That’s twenty-five dollars’ worth of magic right there.” She screwed the top back on the tube. She looked at the jar. “And there are about fifteen tube’s worth in there. So that’s….”

“Three hundred and seventy-five dollars,” Fred said, rubbing her cheek with one finger. “Kinda plain, though. Needs a label.” Again, she got blank looks from the women.

“How’re we gonna do that,” Cassandra said.

Fred shrugged. “You can make ’em on a computer. Does your friend Percy have a printer?”

“Think so.”

“Well, there you go. You can pick up inkjet printer labels from the office supply store and he can make ’em in about ten minutes. You can put your logo on them and everything. You do have a logo, don’t you?”

“Of course,” Rita said. “It’s got a silhouette of three witches flying on broomsticks across a full moon, ’cause we call our business
Three Witches
. Get it? Three witches on broomsticks?”

“Got it,” Fred said.
More like two witches and a slave
. “Did you put your address on your site so people can mail in orders?”

“No. We don’t people to know where we are. Credit card orders, only.”

Too bad. Jamie could find it online and come get me.
“Do witches really fly on brooms?”

“No.” Cassandra laughed. “Nobody can do that.”

Jamie can, and I can too, if I’m holding his hand. We can even dance in the sky. Like to see you try that.
Fred felt a pang of sadness when she pictured herself high in the air of the three moon world, arms around Jamie, dancing cheek to cheek like they often did. No chain on her ankle.

“All right.” Rita set the little tube down. “Let’s finish up ’cause you gotta make fifty amore powders after this, Fred.”

“You’re kidding,” Fred groaned. “I’ll be working all night.”

“No you won’t. Not with that food processor.”

Fred crossed her arms. “I’d rather not. I’m getting tired.” Rita pulled the doll out of her pocket, but Fred said, “Don’t care. Go ahead and stick me. You’re gonna do it anyway.”

Rita rubbed her chin as she studied Fred’s determined face. “Okay, how about this? If you make the amore powder, I won’t ask you about the blood bond today.”

Fred eyed the doll for a moment. “All right.”

* * *

When Fred finished making the healing powder, she opened the magic book to the page for the love spell. She was immediately struck by something about the list of ingredients.
It’s got three of the herbs that are in the counter charm to the knockout powder. Three out of five
. She glanced at the two women across the table, who were showing signs of boredom and fatigue, fidgeting in their chairs, checking their nails and dozing. Cassandra stood and stretched. “I’m going to take a cigarette break, Rita. It don’t take two of us to package that stuff.” She left the room and Fred felt a little surge of optimism when Rita yawned and picked up Cassandra’s magazine.

But it’s only three out of five ingredients,
Fred thought as she opened the first bag of herbs for the spell.
I can always save them and hope I get a chance to steal the other two some other time.
She ground the dried leaves in the food processor, and when she took the cup out, she tapped some of the powder on the table, just as she’d done the day before. Fred looked over at Rita.
Good. She’s not paying attention
.

Fred finished the first batch and Rita packaged it into the little bags. Then Cassandra came back as Fred started the next batch, and Rita left for a smoke. Fred spilled more powder.

Cassandra paid even less attention to Fred than Rita did. When Cassandra’s eyes started closing and her chin dropped to her chest, Fred quietly leaned over and stuck her hand under the mattress. She pulled out the little card she’d stashed there, and used it to scrape the spilled powder into a pile.

What am I going to put it in?
Cassandra stirred and Fred held the card under the edge of the table, brushing the powder onto it with her finger. Then she hurriedly folded it around the powder and slipped it back under the mattress.
That’ll have to do until I can steal a bag
.

Cassandra cleared her throat and blinked hard. “You ain’t through, yet?”

Fred sighed. “No. I was taking a little break. I’m tired.”

“Well hurry up and finish. I wanna get out of here.”

Not as badly as I do.

Rita came back and they finished the fifty orders. As the women packed up for the day, Rita said, “Fred, you ready to do the blood bond?” She pulled the voodoo doll from her dress pocket.

“You said I didn’t have to!” Fred scooted to the far side of the bed in panic.

“I lied. Blood bond…yes or no?”

“No!”

Rita jammed the pin into the doll’s middle and Fred collapsed, holding her stomach, writhing in agony.

Rita watched her for a minute before withdrawing the pin. “Tomorrow I’m going to ask you twice. The next day it’ll be three times, and so on. It’s time for you to join us. Do the bond, Fred.”

Never!
Fred glared at them silently until they finally left.

* * *

Rachel sat at Lisa’s kitchen table, watching her poke her fork at the mostly uneaten cheesecake in front of her. “How was your first day back at work?”

“Okay,” Lisa replied. “Everybody was really nice to me. They chipped in and bought me a big bouquet of flowers.”

Rachel gestured at Lisa’s plate. “You’re not eating that.”

“I ate some lunch.”

Rachel regarded her friend, who had always been at least fifteen to twenty pounds overweight for as long as Rachel had known her, always starting a new diet. Now her cheeks stood out, her neck looked thin and her eyes were hollow and dark. “How much, Lisa?”

“Half an egg salad sandwich.”

Rachel raised an eyebrow and Lisa said, “Well, almost half.”

“If you don’t start eating better we’re going to have to put you in the hospital. I’m more worried about you than Fred. At least she’s eating.”

“Pop Tarts and peanut butter! That’s okay for a four-year-old once in a while, but….” Her lip trembled again.

‘It’s okay, it’s okay. She’s fine. She’ll be home soon. Let’s make sure she doesn’t come home to find her mom sick in bed.” She pointed at the cheesecake. “
Eat
.”

“Everything is just so
hard
right now.” Lisa sighed. “I was so happy when Fred finally got in touch with Jamie on Christmas Eve, but now we’re back to where we were. She’s still a prisoner, and they’re hurting her.” She bent her head and rubbed her eyes with one hand. “Every night before I go to sleep, I go into Fred’s room and flick on the light and…and I see her empty bed. It’s just awful, Rachel,” she said, her voice breaking. “Just awful.”

Rachel took a deep breath but didn’t know what to say. Lisa sat back in her chair, hand to her mouth, looking away and blinking back tears. After a long painful silence Lisa cleared her throat. “Did Bryce and Melanie come over again today?”

“Every day. They’re working almost as hard as Jamie and Carl and Rollie. They really want to help find Fred.”

“You know, they say that it takes a crisis to find out who your true friends are.” She reached across the table and took Rachel’s hand. “You’re a true friend, Rachel.”

“Yes I am.” She smiled at Lisa as she squeezed her hand. “Now eat some more of that or I’m going to bring my mother over here, and she’ll make you eat it.”

Lisa laughed weakly and forked a bite of cheesecake into her mouth.

* * *

Fred knew Jamie’s feelings were hurt as she sat beside him on the dream-sofa in her parents’ dreamscape living room. She pushed his lower lip in with her fingertip. “I’m sorry I have to make this visit so short, Sweetie,” she said. “It’s just that I need the rest of the night to give nightmares to those horrible women.”

“I thought you said they went to bed late,” he said, eyes still sulking.

“Not tonight.” She laughed. “They’re exhausted, both of them. And I plan to make sure they stay that way.”

“But then they’ll probably torture you even more with that doll! That bothers me. A lot. I’m afraid you might…I don’t know…crack.” He looked at his knees. “You might give in and give them what they want. That’s what most people would do, eventually.”

She put her hand gently under his chin and lifted his face so that she could look into his blue eyes. “But I’m not like most people, remember? I’m a
firecracker
.”

“Well….” His face brightened. “People who mess with firecrackers sometimes get hurt.”

“Right.” She kissed him. “So I gotta go. I gotta teach a couple of women not to mess with firecrackers, especially the red-headed kind.”

Jamie’s form dissolved and she reentered the dream world, flying directly toward the sleeping witches, pondering what nightmares to give them.
Something awful. Something that will make them wet themselves in terror. Something….

She paused in mid-flight.
What am I doing? I’m getting as bad as them, aren’t I? Wanting to punish them?… and get revenge?

That’s what it was, and she knew it. Revenge.
I’m not like that, am I? All I want to do is get away from them, not turn into one of them…mean and wicked.

She started to turn back to her body, but a thought occurred to her.
I have to do this. It’s my best chance of escaping. I have to give them nightmares and ruin their sleep.
She flew on toward Rita and Cassandra’s sleeping forms.

Just try not to enjoy it too much.

Chapter 35

Jamie stepped into the noisy back room of his cousin’s veterinary clinic to find Rollie already there, feeding a dog in one of the cages. The other dogs barked hellos to Jamie, and a few cats meowed.

Rollie looked up as Jamie entered. “Sorry I’m late.” Jamie said as he pulled a light blue scrub top over his long sleeved T-shirt. “Bryce and Melanie were at my house. Still are, actually.”

Rollie scratched the gray-and-white mutt on the head and closed the cage door. “Isn’t it weird that they’re always together? Don’t their significant others get jealous?”

“You’d think.” Jamie scanned the sheet on the wall to see which animals still needed tending to. “Bryce doesn’t seem to ever talk about Sally anymore.”

“If I were Sally, I’d be worried. Bryce with Melanie all day long? I mean, Melanie, she’s, you know….”

“Almost as pretty as Fred.”

“Right. And almost as pretty as Tanisha, too.” Rollie grinned. “Let the record show that we both said that.” He nodded firmly. “In case our girlfriends ask.”

“It’s okay, you’re safe.” Jamie chuckled. “But I know what you mean. She’s really pretty. Smart, too.”

Rollie opened another cage. “Did you see the yellow ribbons on all the trees by the park?”

Jamie pulled out a scoop of dry dog food from the large plastic bin on the floor. “What’s the story on that?”

“That was my idea. Me and some of the kids from my church youth group are doing it. Ten ribbons for every day Fred’s gone. That’s a hundred now.”