Shadow Witch (36 page)

He knew he had to do something, though. He knelt beside his wife again, scooped her up in his arms, and lifted her limp body from the floor. Then he carried her toward the back door.

* * *

Fred, Melanie, and Nova were relaxing in lawn chairs in the shade of a cherry tree at the stone house in Rivershire. The river sparkled just a few yards away, and they each had cold cans of Diet Sprite from the small ice chest next to Fred. Mrs. Tully had offered to make tea, but the girls had opted for sodas instead.

Jamie and Carl were inside, installing the refrigerator, while Fred and her friends waited for Sammi and the others to return from the school. Fred and Melanie were employing the special block to hide their emotions from Nova’s power, and Nova seemed completely relaxed and unguarded for the first time since Fred had met her. Nova talked openly about her life, growing up with a single mother and feeling like an outsider because of her magic.

Fred and Melanie related their adventures of spring break, staying in the stone house. They told Nova about meeting Mrs. Tully, and how she’d changed, especially after Aiven arrived. They talked about the long, tedious search through the magic books, their visit to the marketplace, Eddan’s ruined tower, and the Founders’ Festival.

Melanie described Jamie’s performance that April night in front of the crowd, the magic swoops through the air and the exploding fireballs of light. When she told Nova about the finale, with Fred and Jamie dancing in the air, Nova nodded.

“Now that sounds romantic,” Nova said. “Wish I could’ve seen that.”

“What was really romantic was Brinna dancing with John Paul,” Melanie said. “History’s first interplanetary romance. It seems so unlikely, but when you see them together, it seems so inevitable, like they were made for each other.”

“Jamie thinks the Big Hand of Fate had something to do with that,” Fred said. “But when you meet her you’ll understand why John Paul is so crazy about her.” She glanced over her shoulder at the house. “She should be here soon.”

Nova pointed at the new stone building that stood about thirty yards away on their left. “What’s that for?”

“Jamie’s library. He had it built so he’d have a place to keep all of the magic books that were inside the house.”

“They were everywhere!” Melanie said. “Floor to ceiling, every wall, every nook and cranny. There must’ve been over two thousand of them.”

“Most of them were books that Renn stole from the other wizards that he murdered,” Fred said.

Nova squinted as she looked at the small building. “What’s to keep somebody from stealing them now? You could just smash a window and climb right in. Probably don’t have security systems on this world, do they?”

“I put a hex on it,” Fred said. “Nobody gets in without a countercharm. You can’t even tunnel into it.”

“What happens if you try? Would it kill you?”

“No, but you’d get so weak and sick to your stomach that you couldn’t move.”

Nova nodded again. “I gotta learn that spell. Then I can put a hex on my room and my mom won’t be able to come in and bug me anymore, or snoop through my stuff.”

“You’re only going to be there a few more weeks, then you’ll be at Western Carolina with the rest of us.”

“I am
so
ready for school to start.” Nova gave her head a tight shake. “Hey, uh...you think Rollie will be home when we get back? I feel like shootin’ baskets today.”

“I don’t know what time he gets off work. You can call him and leave a message. There’s a phone in this house now.”

“Can’t I just text him?”

“There’s no cell reception here.”

“Why?” Nova looked at her blankly for a moment and then laughed. “Oh, I get it. There’s probably not much of anything here.”

Fred heard the back door slam and they all looked to see Sammi race across the yard toward them. Sammi squealed, “Nova!” and Sammi ran to her and hugged her first.

Nova patted her on the back and said, “You’re a sight for sore eyes. Did you just get here?”

“Unh hunh. I walked from the school with Mrs. Wallace and Mrs. Sikes and Mrs. Moore and Mr. Pete. Aiven went to get Brinna in the carriage. They’ll be here in a few minutes.”

“How was school, Sammi?” Fred asked.

“It was fun. Miss Duffy brought her violin and she played a song for us. Daisy knew the steps to it, and she danced in front of everybody! Daisy is usually too shy to do something like that. She showed us how to do it, and then me and Leora and the other girls did it with her.”

“What about the boys?”

“They were too chicken. They wouldn’t even get out of their seats.”

Fred chuckled. “How is Miss Duffy doing? Is she going to be a good teacher, you think?”

Sammi bobbed her head. “After lunch we worked on reading, and Miss Duffy taught the lesson while Mrs. Wallace and Mrs. Sikes and Mrs. Moore watched, but Miss Duffy acted all nervous, so the other ladies left her alone with us. Then she did better, like a real teacher.”

“So do you think she’s going to work out okay?”

Sammi didn’t answer. Her face had gone slack and her eyes were unfocused.

“Sammi?” Fred said.

“What’s wrong with her?” Nova jerked upright in her lawn chair and clenched the armrests with both hands, as if she were ready to launch herself from it.

“I think she’s having a vision,” Fred said and stood up, “or whatever you call it when she uses her magic.”

Melanie swung her legs to the side of her chair and watched Sammi carefully. “Somebody must be saying something that’s important to Sammi.”

Nova stood, too, and flapped her hands. “Are you sure? What if it’s not a vision? What if it’s a seizure or something?”

Fred held up one finger, her eyes still on Sammi. “Just give her a sec, okay?”

They waited with Sammi and watched her silently, and after a couple of minutes, she blinked rapidly and her eyes refocused. Then she wailed and threw her arms around Fred.

“That’s not a good sign,” Melanie said.

Fred gently rubbed Sammi’s back until the sobbing leveled off to a few heavy sniffs, and Fred said, “Can you tell us what happened?”

Sammi let go of Fred and wiped her eyes. “Mr. Gundy hurt Mrs. Gundy! They had a fight about money, and I think he hit her. She’s really hurt bad this time!”

“Tell us what happened.”

Sammi repeated what she’d overheard with her magic, how Mrs. Gundy had come home and argued with Mr. Gundy about him losing his job. “And then he lost his temper and hit her!”

“Did you hear that?”

“I think so. I heard a loud smack, and then a thump, and then she didn’t talk again.”

Fred shook her head and sighed. “We’d better go inside and tell Mr. Sikes.”

They walked to the house and opened the back door, where they found Jamie and Carl in the kitchen, standing in front of the new refrigerator, admiring it like proud parents of a newborn child.

“It’s working, Fred,” Jamie said with grin. “The ice maker’s hooked up and everything.” His smile vanished when he saw the sober looks on the girls’ faces. “Something wrong?”

Fred closed the door behind them after they were all inside. “Sammi had a vision just now. She overheard Mr. and Mrs. Gundy fighting.”

“And he hurt her real bad!” Sammi said. “You gotta do something, Mr. Sikes.”

Carl held up one hand. “Hold on. Tell me exactly what you heard, Sammi.”

Sammi reported the fight between her former foster parents, and when she finished, she nodded earnestly. “That’s what they said, word-for-word. I didn’t make any of it up.”

“She’s telling the truth,” Nova said. “I can tell because she’s not using the block right now.”

“I believe her.” Carl crossed his arms and sucked in a slow breath between his teeth. “So what do you want me to do about it, Sammi?”

“You gotta go there and take Mrs. Gundy to the hospital, and put Mr. Gundy in jail!” Her little face turned down in a determined scowl.

“Um...I’m not sure what I can do. It’s a domestic disturbance issue, and the police can’t get involved unless somebody reports it.”

“We can call and report it! There’s a phone here in this house, isn’t there?”

“Yeah, but the caller ID will show that it’s coming from Hendersonville, since it’s connected to our house there. How would I explain that?”

“But you could block the ID, or...or go yourself. Jamie could make a doorway for you to the Gundy’s house.”

“And do what, Sammi?” Carl said. “Mr. Gundy is probably still there, so what am I going to say when I knock on his door?”

“But you’re a policeman!”

“With a Hendersonville badge.” He shook his head grimly. “It’s way out of my jurisdiction, and it would be really suspicious if I called it in to their local sheriff as a Hendersonville detective.”

“Is there a chance that a neighbor could’ve heard them?” Jamie asked.

“No,” Sammi said glumly. “The neighbors don’t live close.”

“Didn’t you tell us that something like this has happened before?”

“Yes, but...but not like this! This was worse.”

Carl rubbed his face and stared at the wall for several seconds, then he turned back to Sammi. “I’ll tell you what we can do. I’ll call the sheriff’s office, block the caller ID, and leave an anonymous tip. I’ll tell them that I heard what sounded like a bad fight between the Gundy’s, and that Mrs. Gundy might’ve gotten hurt. Then we’ll give it a day or two to see what happens. Do you hear the Gundys with your magic most every day?”

“Sometimes,” Sammi mumbled. “Not always, though.”

“If you don’t hear Mrs. Gundy by then, maybe Jamie and I can go over there and have a sneaky look around. We’ll have to go when Mr. Gundy’s not there, though. We don’t want him to see us,” Carl said, but Sammi wouldn’t look him in the eye. Her brow was wrinkled and her lower lip thrust out, and when she gave a disconsolate sniff, Carl patted her gently on the shoulder and said, “I promise, Sammi. We’ll do whatever we can, but our first priority is keeping you safe. Do you understand?”

She gave a reluctant nod, and they all turned when they heard voices in the next room. “We’re here!” Brinna said and came into the crowded kitchen with Rachel, all smiles, but her expression quickly changed when she saw the serious looks on everyone’s faces. “What’s wrong?”

“Is everybody here now?” Carl asked.

Rachel gestured at the open door behind her. “Mom and Aunt Connie and Mrs. Tully are in there, and Pete went with Aiven to take the carriage around back to the stable.”

“Let’s go into the main room,” Carl said. “Everybody needs to hear this, and it’s too crowded in here.”

* * *

Fred and Jamie were watching television in her living room that night when her parents came home. “How was your class?” Fred asked.

“Long,” Lisa groaned. “But we’re over halfway there. Four more nights of that and we’ll be finished. Certified foster parents.”

Larry dropped his keys and wallet on the end table by the couch. “Is there anything for dinner? I’m starving.”

“Mrs. Wilkins made a casserole. It’s in the ’fridge. Sammi and I already ate.”

“Speaking of Sammi.” Lisa set her purse next to Larry’s keys. “Where is she?”

“She’s upstairs, sulking in the bathtub.”

“Why is she sulking?”

Jamie sighed and shook his head. “She’s still mad ’cause I wouldn’t go with my dad to Bicksby and help Mrs. Gundy.”

“Oh, boy.” Lisa frowned. “How long has she been in the tub?”

“About forty-five minutes,” Fred said.

“Forty-five minutes? Are you sure she didn’t drown?”

Fred shrugged, and Lisa walked into the foyer, cupped her hand to her mouth and yelled up the stairs, “Sammi? Are you okay?”

A muffled
yes
came back as a reply.

“Don’t stay in there much longer. I’ve hardly seen you all day.” Lisa stepped back into the living room and said, “I’m a little worried about Mrs. Gundy, too. Sammi thinks that Mr. Gundy hurt her very badly.”

Jamie crossed his arms and stared at the coffee table in front of him. “I don’t know what more we can do about it. My dad called in the anonymous tip, but he said the deputy who took the call didn’t seem all that concerned. I can’t go to their house and check on Mrs. Gundy, ’cause I can’t let Mr. Gundy see me. He might recognize me and put it together that I might be connected to Sammi’s disappearance.”

“How could he possibly recognize you?”

“There are a several videos of our shows on YouTube,” Fred said. “And Jamie’s picture has been in the paper a couple of times, at least.”

“And Bicksby is a small town where everybody knows everybody else,” Jamie added. “A stranger like me would stand out like a sore thumb. My dad said it’s too risky, and our first priority is Sammi, right now. We can’t take any chances.”

“Especially if Mr. Gundy is as crazy as Sammi says he is,” Fred said. “If we have to choose between what’s best for Sammi or Mrs. Gundy, I choose Sammi. That may sound hard-hearted, but I can’t help it.”

“I agree,” Lisa said. “I’ll go talk to her.” She cupped her hand to her mouth again and faced in the direction of the kitchen. “Larry! Heat me up a plate of food, too.” Then she disappeared upstairs.

Chapter 18

Jamie hurried down his front steps the next morning with a plastic shopping bag in one hand, on his way to Fred’s house across the street. He stopped when the familiar-looking old Ford pickup truck rolled into his driveway. In the driver’s seat was Uncle Charlie.

“Where you headed, Magic Man?” Uncle Charlie said through his open window, a broad smile on his leathery face. He turned off the motor and the truck hiccupped one last time, a plume of gray smoke erupting from the tail pipe like a burp from an ancient dragon.

“Going to Fred’s so I can take Mom and Gramma and Sammi to the school in Rivershire. I’m installing a phone there this morning, but I left it in my house and had to go back for it.” He raised the plastic bag and nodded toward it. “Everybody’s already at Fred’s waiting for me.” Jamie shook the old Cherokee’s hand when he stepped out of his truck. “What brings you out so early, Uncle Charlie?”

“I’m on my way to my daughter’s shop. I promised her I’d help her do inventory. She thinks I’m lazy and need to get off my butt once in a while and be useful, and since I was in town, I thought I’d drop by and bring you something.” He leaned back inside the open door of his truck and retrieved a long thin object. He offered it to Jamie and said, “Your walking stick. Sorry it took so long to make it, but I got carried away with the design.”