The Wizard Returns: Book Three of the Wizard Born Series (13 page)

“Why don’t you fellows step outside while we have a chat with these two ladies?” John Paul said, gesturing with the barrel of his gun. “Go on, now. We won’t be long.”

“Better do as he says, boys,” Cassandra said. “We’ll be okay.”

The three men shuffled off, grumbling as they went, and John Paul and Carl kept their guns trained on them until they were gone. Then the two lawmen turned their attention back to the women.

Fred got close enough to see the two witches clearly. She was immediately struck by how much they’d changed in just a few months. The gray in Rita’s hair was overtaking the red, so that she seemed to have a two-toned head, and Cassandra no longer had a beehive. Her locks drooped limply and were showing their own streaks of gray.

They look so old
, Fred thought. The lines in Rita’s face had deepened, especially around her eyes and mouth, and the skin under Cassandra’s neck sagged noticeably. Their clothes, the same they’d worn the night they’d been banished, were showing signs of wear and tear.

“So,” Rita said without offering them a seat. “Have you come to rub it in, Fred? To gloat at our misery?”

“No,” Fred said stiffly. “But you look fat and healthy to me. We just need to ask you a couple of questions.”

“I see you brought your wizard boyfriend. We’ve met a couple of wizards since we got here. Did you banish them here, too?”

“No,” Jamie said. “My former self did.”

“Your what?”

“It’s a long story.”

Fred turned to look at Jamie. She’d never heard him refer to Eddan as his former self before.
Strange
. Jamie’s face was hard, harder than Carl’s or John Paul’s.
He’s still mad at the witches, too
.

“You’re still alive, I see,” John Paul said. “You found a place to live?”

“The innkeeper’s giving us a room,” Rita said with a little shrug. “It’s okay, I suppose. Cass makes a potion for his arthritis, so he lets us have it for nothing.”

“It’s hard to find the right ingredients around here, though,” Cassandra said. “The local witches are kinda stupid...don’t know their herbs from their asses.” She barked a short laugh and poked Rita on the shoulder.

Fred cringed inside.
They haven’t changed all that much
.

“Well, we aren’t here to socialize,” John Paul said, his face as serious as ever. “We need some information.”

Rita crossed her arms. “Why should we tell
you
anything?”

Fred held up the bags she was carrying. “We’re offering a trade. Information for what’s in here.”

Cassandra’s eyes widened. “Walgreens? Is that...is that makeup?”

Fred shrugged, barely a twitch of her shoulder. “Could be. But you don’t get anything if you don’t have the answers.”

“Okay.” Rita leaned one elbow on the table and put her other hand on her hip. “I’ll bite. What do you want to know?”

Jamie stepped closer. “What do you know about demons?”

“Demons?” Rita’s eyebrows drew down sharply. “From Hell?”

“I don’t know where it’s from, but one has shown up near where we live and it’s killing hikers. It’s eating them.”

Rita’s mouth fell open, and she glanced at Cassandra. “I...I don’t know.” She eyed the bags in Fred’s hands. “But I know somebody who might.”

“Momma Sue?” Fred said.

“Maybe.” Rita gestured at the bags. “But let’s see what you got, first.”

Fred reached into one and pulled out a bottle of Jack Daniels. She set it on the table beside her and pulled out another from the second bag.

Rita and Cassandra looked at each other and nodded. “Now you’re talking,” Cassandra said. “What else?”

Fred pulled out two cartons of Marlboro Lights and set them next to the bottles of whiskey.

“Cigarettes!” Cassandra practically squealed. “I haven’t had a smoke in months.” She leaned forward and reached for them, but Rita put one hand on her arm and stopped her.

“Hold on,” the short witch said. “What else?”

Fred shook one bag. “Makeup. Lots of it. Everything you need. All you have to do is tell us where to find Momma Sue.”

“Hold on.” Rita narrowed her eyes and pushed the tip of her tongue slowly across her upper lip. “One more thing.” She glanced at Cassandra before looking at Jamie. “Let us go home. Make a doorway for us back to Thibodaux, and we’ll tell you where to find Momma Sue.”

“No way,” Fred said firmly. She turned to Jamie. “This is a waste of time. Let’s go back.”

“Wait!” Cassandra stood quickly. “It’s Trudeau Road, off of Highway 90 near New Orleans. Momma Sue lives at the end.”

“Cassie!” Rita shouted.

“It’s
makeup
, Rita!” Cassandra reached over and snatched one of the bags from Fred. She stuck one hand in it and rummaged through it gleefully, withdrawing a tube and holding it aloft as if it were a prize. “Red lipstick! Oh, thank you, Fred.”

Cassandra seemed to be in heaven, but Rita looked deflated, sagging against the table like a punctured balloon from the Macy’s parade. “We’re never going home, are we?” the pudgy woman said.

“No,” Jamie replied. “Not after what you did to Fred. You’d probably do it to another girl if you had the chance.”

John Paul gestured with one finger. “And the crime rate in Thibodaux has dropped noticeably since you’ve been gone. I’m sure that’s no coincidence.”

“But....” Rita closed her eyes for a moment and seemed to age another five years.

“Looks to me like you’re doing okay here,” Carl said. “You’ve got a place to stay, and you’re probably selling potions to make a living.”

“We are,” Cassandra said without looking up, still sorting through her new trove of makeup. “We got a decent customer base. We’re the best witches around here.”

“Thanks a lot, Cass,” Rita said miserably. Her eyes were pitiful when she looked at Fred. “Can we at least have our clothes? Are they still at our house?” She fingered the sleeve of her dress. “This one’s about to wear out, and most of the women around here make their own.”

Fred glared at her for a long, hard moment, before turning to Jamie. “What do you think?”

Jamie pressed his mouth tight while he regarded the two witches, then glanced at his watch. “Can you have a wagon here in about half an hour?”

* * *

Rachel set her glass of iced tea beside her plate and joined Jamie and Carl at the table. “Carl, why couldn’t John Paul stay for dinner?”

“He had to work tonight. He switched shifts with another guy so that he could go with us today.”

“Where’s Rollie?” Jamie said.

“He’s eating at Bryce’s house.” Rachel passed a bowl of green beans to Jamie. “Did the witches tell you what you needed to know?”

“They didn’t know anything about demons, but they told us where to find that voodoo queen, Momma Sue. She might know something.”

“When are you going to see her?”

“Not ’till Saturday,” Carl said firmly. “That’s the soonest both John Paul and I can get off.”

“We’ll be okay without you, Dad.”

“I want to be there with you, just in case.”

“That’s almost a week from now. What if another hiker gets killed before then?”

“I’ll take that chance. Right now, your safety is more important to me.” He drew a deep breath and looked at Jamie for a long moment. “I was proud of you today. I was afraid you’d give in when Rita begged you to let her come back, but you didn’t. You held firm.”

“I’m still angry with them for what they did to Fred. They don’t deserve to come back.”

“It didn’t look like they’re doing too badly on that other world. It’s not much of a punishment.”

“I wasn’t doing it as a punishment when I banished them there. I just wanted to get them out of Thibodaux, away from Earth, really, before they did more harm.”

Rachel furrowed her brow. “What’s to stop them from causing mischief where they are now?”

“There are enough wizards and other witches there to put those two women in their place if they go too far.”

“How did Fred react to seeing them again?”

A look of concern spread across Jamie’s face. “She’s pretty worked up. She especially hated going back to Rita and Cassandra’s house afterwards and gathering up their clothes. I think it brought back some pretty bad memories.”

“I’m not surprised, considering what those witches put her through. But I bet a little TLC will make her feel better.”

“That reminds me...can she and I watch a movie in the family room tonight?”

“Sure,” Carl said. “Is it something I might like?”

Rachel gave Carl a stern look, and he seemed to realize what Jamie was really asking. He cleared his throat and said, “Uh...never mind. Your mother and I will watch TV in the basement. Tell Fred she can come over.”

Chapter 12

Evelyn pulled into the driveway behind Jamie’s car and found Rollie, standing beside his bicycle, staring at his house across the street. He shook his head with a start when he saw her, then he waved and smiled weakly.

She grabbed the Tupperware box full of brownies from the seat beside her and stepped out. “You look lost in thought, Rollie,” she said as she gave him a hug.

“Yeah,” he mumbled as he took off his helmet. “Just checking my house...you know.”

“I see the For Sale sign is still there. Have any potential buyers come to look at it?”

“Not that I know of. Fred’s mom said she talked to the neighbors, and they haven’t seen anybody go in it yet. One car drove up, but they didn’t get out. They left pretty quick, I heard.”

“Fred’s spell must be working. It’s handy having a witch around, sometimes, isn’t it?”

“I guess.” Rollie looked across the street again, his face thoughtful. “Mrs. Wallace, do you think that things happen for a reason?”

“Of course. I’ve told you that many times.”

“I know, but....” He scratched his jaw and glanced at his feet. “Do you think...do you think that maybe my...power, or magic, or whatever it is, started coming on right now for a reason? I mean, at about the same time as when the demon showed up?”

“Could be.” She nodded. “Could very well be. Maybe you’re part of the solution.”

“I wish,” he said quietly, and looked at his house again, his eyes sad. “It’s just...I dunno.”

“Rollie?” She put one hand on his arm. “Things are going to work out, I promise. I’m sorry about what happened between you and your father, but he’ll come around. He might have some strong convictions, but he loves you, he really does. I’m sure he’s having a hard time right now, too.”

“My mom said he’s not sleeping well.”

“See? He’ll change his mind soon, I’m sure.” She patted his shoulder. “Did you just get off work?”

“Yes ma’am. Feeding dogs and cleaning cages, same as always.”

“I imagine that you’re hungry. I made you a little something.” She handed him the Tupperware box and his mouth and eyes formed delighted
ohs
.

“Is this what I think it is?” He pulled up one corner of the lid and looked inside. “It is! Brownies!” He smiled dreamily. “Mrs. Wallace, you are an
angel
.”

“I thought you needed some of these.”

“I did! How did you know?”

“Because you always do.” She grabbed his elbow. “Now let’s go inside and have a few. That should make you feel better.”

“I don’t know.” Rollie shook his head gently. “I’m feeling pretty low right now.” He gave the box a little shake. “This might not be enough.”

“Let’s go see, Rollie,” Evelyn said as they walked up the front steps. “We’ll take this one brownie at a time.”

* * *

Jamie found his father on the deck Tuesday night after dinner, sitting on the wooden steps with his elbows resting on his knees, facing the yard.

Jamie sat beside him and Carl said, “Have you had any time to look through any more of Fred’s spell books?”

“I don’t think we’re going to find anything about demons in there. It’s all dumb witch stuff.”

“Witches probably don’t think it’s dumb.”

“I dunno, Fred thinks so, sometimes.” He sighed and leaned back against his hands. “If I have to read
one
more spell for getting rid of some bodily infestation or rash, I’m gonna scream.”

Carl chuckled and leaned back, too. “Head lice were probably harder to get rid of back when those books were written.”

“Still, it’s tedious, and that’s all that seems to be in those books, practical spells for curing stuff or love potions or whatever. No serious discussions about magic, like in the books Eddan used to read.”

“Too bad there aren’t any of those around. You might find something in one of them about demons.”

“Could be. The only ones I know of are the ones Eddan had in his cave, but he burned them all right before he came here.”

“That’s a shame, burning books.”

“He had to. He didn’t want Renn getting his hands on them. A good magic book is a valuable commodity to a sorcerer.”

“I can see why. I’d pay good money for one right now if it described what to do about demons.”

“Unh hunh. Talk about an infestation.” Jamie picked thoughtfully at the wood grain of a deck board with his thumbnail. “Any more attacks on hikers?”

“No, but Hank said they’re going to try bringing in another trap.”

“That demon isn’t stupid. He’ll probably just avoid it altogether.”

“I just hope he doesn’t make his way down to a populated area. If he were to show up in a town, like Mars Hill, all hell would break loose.”

“Literally.”

Carl inhaled deeply and held it as he looked across the yard at the tall pine trees in the back. “I hope he can find enough deer and other game to keep him satisfied until we figure out what to do.”

“I don’t think it’s just about eating, Dad. Demons delight in causing pain. It’s one of the things that make him a demon and not just an animal.” Jamie pressed his mouth tight and nodded. “He probably enjoys killing people.”

“Man.” Carl shook his head. “What an awful way to die.”

“You can say that again.”

* * *

“This better be worth it,” Jamie said on Thursday afternoon, standing in his family room next to Rollie. “I’m skipping track practice for this. Fred, do you have the envelope?”

She pulled it out of the back pocket of her jeans and held it up. “Fifty dollars. That’s all we managed to scrape up. I don’t know how much we’re supposed to pay her. Rita never said.”