The Witches of Dark Root: Daughters of Dark Root: Book One (The Daughters of Dark Root) (39 page)

“You still going?” Merry asked quietly, a streetlight illuminating her pretty but tired face.

“Not a chance,” I said. I took her hand and we walked back into Dip Stix.

Maybe I would still leave Dark Root, but it wouldn’t be tonight.

We returned to see Eve and Michael huddled close in the booth.

Eve was rubbing his shoulder and I was surprised that I wasn’t jealous. If Eve wanted him, she could have him.

“There, there,” Eve said, as Michael sipped from a white ceramic cup. “I’m sure she’ll have you. You just have to show her what an incredible man you are.”

Michael nodded and took a long swallow, finishing off his drink.

I shot Eve a what-the-hell-are-you-doing look, but she only smiled. Suddenly, Michael pounded a fist on the table, slid out of his seat, and stood up.

“Thank you, Eve,” he said. “I
am
going to fight for her!”

Merry gripped my hand and we readied ourselves, but Michael jostled past us and out the door.

“Where’s he going?” I asked as I heard the van roar to life. I was certain he was going to turn around, remembering that he had forgotten me, but he drove away.

“Well, ladies,” Eve said, straightening the sleeves of her shirt. “I not only know how to reel them in, I also know how to release them.” She raised Michael’s cup and winked.

“You used your special tea?” I asked, leaning forward to peer inside the cup. “The dose you were saving for...” I didn’t finish the sentence on purpose.

Paul was standing in the entryway to the kitchen, watching us.

“Yes,” she answered. “Well, that and the power of suggestion.” She pointed to a picture of an actress on the cover of a magazine in front of her. “Michael is now off to find some slut that got the role that could have made me a star because she sent the producer naked pictures of herself.” She shrugged, flipping over the magazine. “Karma’s a bitch.”

“Eve!” Merry said, aghast. “We don’t want that man stalking some poor woman!”

“Firstly, she isn’t poor. I hear she cleaned up with those photos. Secondly,” she said, turning to me. “The effects won’t last long. A week. Maybe two. Long enough for Maggie to see what a mistake marrying that guy would have been.”

“I think I already did.” I squeezed Merry’s hand. “But Eve, what about you? Don’t you still need the tea?”

Eve lowered her eyes. “No. If I can’t make the person I love, love me back without witchery, then I don’t think I’d be happy anyway.”

“How my little chicks have grown!” Merry slid into the booth and I followed. Merry wrapped her arms around the both of us. “Now, let’s have some real coffee.
Gaston!”
 

Moments later, Paul and Shane appeared. Paul carried a coffee pot while Shane balanced a tray of cups, saucers and whipped cream in his hands. Paul served us, smiling at me while he poured my cup. I could feel Eve watching us as she sipped her drink.

“This is the best coffee I’ve ever had,” I said, holding my cup up for a refill.

“That’s an espresso blend,” Shane informed me. “It’s got chocolate in it.”

“You should definitely serve these,” I said, licking the cream from the top of my lip.

“Well, I’m not great at making them. It’s more Paul’s thing.”

Paul smiled. “Maybe you should hire me or the secret will go to the grave.”

“Maybe I will,” Shane said.

Paul wasn’t going to Seattle, I realized, as I glanced around the room.
 

He had found his home.

Twenty-One: The Boys are Back in Town

In the past half hour, I had gone from grumbling spinster to respectable almost-married woman, then back again to spinster. Despite it all, I felt happy and alive. For the first time in my life, I wasn’t under anyone’s rule, physically or emotionally.

My future was really my own.

This revelation deserved a drink and so I had one. And another.

We stayed at Dip Stix late into the night––so late, in fact, that that I thought Shane was going to boot us out. But he kept the place open and the wine rolling. June Bug returned and we regaled her with tales from our childhood. She asked tons of questions, throwing us into fits of nostalgic hysteria.

“...Remember the time that Mother got into the fight with that old lady who used to rent the house down the road? Claimed the lady had stolen her familiar...?”

We howled at the memory of Mother shaking a finger at the poor, aged widow, threatening to make her go barren.

“...How about that time you two got into it over that carnie boy?” Merry added. “He was some prize.”

“I won, of course,” Eve said, blowing on her fingertips.

I laughed so hard I almost choked. “Yeah, and he stole your credit card. Lucky you.”

“Hey, a win’s a win. I only hope all those shoes that showed up on my bill that month were for his mother.”

At last, June Bug’s head hit the table, a signal that it was time to go.

Merry fumbled around in her purse for keys, found a lipstick instead, and declared that she was ready to take us home. We laughed raucously and Shane raised an eyebrow.

“Methinks the fair ladies have had a bit too much to drink,” he said, shaking his head.

“I can drive you girls, and we can pick up Merry’s car tomorrow,” Paul offered, removing the keys in his apron pocket.

We thanked Shane for his hospitality, promised to stop by sometime in the next week to help him clean up, and then huddled up for warmth as we stumbled towards Paul’s car.

“It’s cold,” I said, blowing frost circles into the air.

“No shit,” Eve said, her voice teasing.

“Yes, Fall has come to Dark Root,” Merry agreed, laying June Bug in the back seat. She crawled in beside her, leaving Eve and I to fight over who would get the coveted middle seat up front next to Paul. I was quicker and gave Eve a smug look as I put on my safety belt. Just because we had made our peace didn’t mean either of us was going to back down on Paul. Eve should have saved some of her tea leaves.

She took the window seat and pinched my knee. I pinched hers back.

“I’m telling Mom,” I teased. She stuck her tongue out at me.

“Maggie,” Paul said. “Will you find us some good music on the radio?”

I nodded, fiddling with the cigarette lighter, disappointed that no music was coming out.

“It’s not working,” I said.

Paul moved my hand onto the radio knob.

“You’re a genius,” I said, playing with the hairs on the back of his neck. He patted my head and cranked up the heat.

“He’s not only a genius,” Eve cut in. “He’s cute, too. A cute genius. How often does that happen?”

“Almost never,” I agreed.

Eve leaned across me towards Paul. Looking up at him with large doe eyes, she said, “...And the funniest thing is, he doesn’t even know it.”

“That’s one of the things that makes him so cool,” I added.

Eve and I spent the next few minutes trying to outdo one another on the reasons Paul was so great.

Finally, Merry spoke. “I don’t know about all of you, but I’m wide awake.”

“Me, too!” I said. That was an understatement. I was so hopped up on sugar, wine, and caffeine that I could do most anything––swim a lake, climb a mountain, build a pyramid. If I had springs in my shoes, I could probably launch myself to the moon. Then I had a sobering thought.
 

“Aunt Dora’s going to kill us if we stumble in like this.”

“I have an idea,” Merry said, who had consumed a little wine herself. “Let’s go to Sister House.”

Eve and I looked at each other, mouths opened. “Are you kidding?” I asked. “With the monster still in there?”

“That monster,” Merry said, tapping my shoulder repeatedly from the backseat. “Is precisely the reason we go. Look at the moon!” She motioned towards the yellow ball that hung motionless in the dark sky. It wasn’t full yet, but it was getting close. “Perfect night for an exorcism, don’t you think?”

“What about June Bug?” I said, trying another approach.

“We can drop her off with Aunt Dora. Problem solved.”

“I’m in,” Eve said, surprising me. “It’s about time we had some fun. Whoo!” she yelled, opening her window and sticking her head out to face the wind, begging Paul to drive faster.
 

He looked us over. “I think you girls need sleep more than anything.”

“I’ve been sleeping my whole life,” Merry said, her eyes still on the sky. “Please, Paul. For us?”

Paul shifted in his seat. “Well, two have weighed in so far. Maggie?”

I looked at Eve. Her eyes were closed and she was mouthing the words to the Bob Seger song playing on the radio. Behind me Merry was giving me her sweetest smile.

“I can’t let them have all the fun,” I said, reaching for the crystal around my neck. I should have given it back to Michael, and maybe one day I would. For now, though, it offered me comfort.

“In the words of our great sister, Merry,” I said. “‘Let’s send that thing back from where it came.’”

Before we went to drop off June Bug, we made a quick pit stop at our mother’s shop.

Paul waited in the car while the three of us plundered the store. I hadn’t seen the place in over a week, but I could tell that Eve had made some real progress. For starters, there was electricity, for which I was grateful. If there were any rats running about, I wanted to be able to see them before they saw me.

“Nice job,” I said to Eve, as I made my way through the store.

There were still a few boxes, but they were organized neatly against the walls. The shelves had been dusted, the floors swept and the windows cleaned. I wondered how she had found time to tackle all of this and help out at Dip Stix, too.

Merry dug through the bins beneath the counter, pulling out herbs and sniffing them. She frowned. “These are a bit old and diluted, but they will have to do.”

“Too bad we can’t schedule the exorcism for next week,” Eve said, pulling several candlestick holders from a low shelf. “The new stock will start arriving about then.”

I watched my sisters, unsure of how I could help. I had never been much for ‘the craft,’ but I was suddenly fascinated by the process.