Would-Be Witch (19 page)

“We have blood here. We can save her, if you put down your gun,” Bryn said.

“I don’t need to put down my gun for you to save her. Go ahead.”

Lennox walked over to a small stand-alone cupboard and took out a stash of medical supplies. “Steve, go to the small fridge and get two packets of blood.”

Steve looked unhappy, but he turned and hurried down the hall.

I stared incredulously as Lennox pushed up Georgia’s sleeve and expertly started an IV. A minute later, Steve was back with a packet of blood that was labeled like it had been stolen from a blood bank or hospital.

“Can you just give her that? Doesn’t it have to be, what do you call it, checked to be sure it matches her blood?”

“This blood is type O negative. It can safely be given to anyone,” Lennox said.

The gun in my hand shook as Lennox connected the blood to the IV and it started to drip into Georgia’s arm. Bryn lunged forward as the gun dropped to the floor and caught me just before I hit the ground.

The room spun around me for a few moments, and I felt distinctly sick as sweat popped out on my forehead.

“You’re all right,” Bryn said soothingly. “Steve, a wet cloth.”

A moment later, a cool rag was lying across my eyes, and I did feel better.

“How does he know how to start an IV?”

“He’s been sick. He’s had to take transfusions himself. He doesn’t like hospitals.”

“What’s wrong with him?”

“A blood disease.”

Like vampirism? I’d heard that some vampires who were too weak to drink blood had it poured right into their veins by others in their covens.

“He found her vein pretty darn easy,” I mumbled.

Lennox cleared his throat. “I had a small drug habit in the early eighties. Fortunately for your friend, I can always find a vein.”

I pushed the washrag up from my right eye and looked at him. “A small drug habit?”

He inclined his head. “Heroin.”

A real-live heroin addict in Duvall? And everyone said we couldn’t get any of the big drugs so far from the big cities. “You’re still using?”

“Not that it’s any of your business, but no. And why exactly are you here?” Lennox asked. “Aren’t you banned from fraternizing with us?” His tone was like he was talking down to a half-wit.

I glared at him. “What do you know about it?” I asked, noticing that Bryn was watching him intently.

Lennox shrugged. “What could I know about it? When the second bag goes in, she may regain consciousness, Bryn. We’ll need to get her out of here.”

I sat up slowly. “We’ll call an ambulance.”

Lennox ignored me. “I’ll take her back to the park and call an ambulance from the pay phone a block away. She’ll survive long enough for them to arrive.”

“You could have called the ambulance when you found her,” Bryn said.

“The ambulances don’t carry blood, and the house was closer.” Neither Bryn nor I said anything, and Lennox added softly, “And I owed her husband a favor. Debt settled.”

I noticed then that Lennox looked a little pale and sweaty himself. Did he need the blood he’d given Georgia Sue? What would happen to him without it?

“Bryn, put Georgia back in the car,” Lennox said.

“I’ll take her to the park,” Bryn said.

“No, my contact may still be in the vicinity. I’ll have a look around.”

“I’ll take care of it—”

“I want to keep you out of it.”

“That gets less and less possible,” Bryn observed, shifting so that I was sitting on my own. He stood and walked to Georgia Sue as Lennox hung the second bag of blood. It ran into her quickly, and she looked pinker.

“I’m going to the park. I’ll wait with her until the ambulance comes,” I said.

“No,” Lennox said.

I stood up, took Earl’s gun from the table where Bryn had put it, and dropped it into my purse. “She’s my best friend. I’m going.”

The phone rang, and Bryn walked over and picked it up. “Hello?” He paused. “Astrid, it’s not a good time.”

I chewed on my lip, glancing anxiously at Georgia Sue.

“I understand that, but you can’t come to the house tonight. In the morning if you like, but not tonight.” He paused again. “Cast a Garner-Stills. That should put them off.” He paused again. “No, he’s not here. He’s out. I’ll speak to you in the morning.” Bryn hung up the phone.

“She asked to speak to me?” Lennox asked.

Bryn nodded. “I don’t want her here tonight.”

“So you’ll leave her to the wolves?” Lennox said.

Bryn’s eyes were hard as sapphires as he stared at Lennox. Bryn said something in a weird language, and Lennox looked away. I held Georgia’s limp hand. What had happened to my happy little town? Once upon a time, there were only four people with magic in town, my momma and aunt, and Bryn and Lennox. And they were all real quiet about the other world. No normal people in town ever had reason to suspect it existed. Now we had corpses rising from graves, werewolves in our bars, and vampires in our parks. Crime sprees and the occult in Duvall. This wasn’t going to look good in the visitor’s brochure.

Chapter 18

Bryn put Georgia Sue in the back of the Mercedes, and I climbed in next to her. It was the second time that night I’d had to cuddle someone I loved and hope they didn’t die. A person could go on and get an ulcer from so much stress, and I know from the one or two hangovers I’ve had in my life that I can’t even swallow Alka Seltzer.

Bryn leaned into the open window. “If she comes around, don’t let her sit up. She’ll be better off lying down so the blood doesn’t have to travel against gravity.”

“Nearly bled to death before?”

“No, but I’ve been dehydrated a few times.”

Lennox cleared his throat as he slid into the driver’s seat. “Shall we continue to have social hour? Or are you interested in saving your friend’s life?” he asked, looking at me in the rearview mirror.

“We were waiting for you,” I said, making a face at him like I’d just started sucking on a lemon drop.

“Bring Tamara back with you when you’ve gotten help for her friend,” Bryn said to Lennox as he stood and took a step back from the car.

“It’s not up to him,” I called over the sound of the motor starting.

If Bryn heard me, he didn’t let on. He walked back to the house as Lennox swung the car around and headed down the drive. I smoothed back Georgia Sue’s damp hair. She was still pale and sweaty.

“So, Bryn said that you had an amulet stolen during the robbery at Georgia Sue’s house.”

“Not an amulet. A locket.”

“Valuable?”

“To me it is.”

He nodded, eyeing me in the mirror. “Was it yours or a family piece?”

“Why are you interested?”

“I’m good at location spells. If the locket has any magical properties, I might be able to help you locate it.”

“Why would you do that?” I didn’t like to sound suspicious, but Lennox hadn’t exactly been a goodwill ambassador to me and my family in the past.

Lennox coughed, and I could hear a slight wheeze. He took a couple of deep breaths and turned left on Sandstone Street toward the park.

“Bryn mentioned that you helped him work a healing spell.”

“Uh-huh? And you were thinking maybe I could let him steal some more energy from me to heal you?”

“Would it really be considered theft if you gave him permission?” he asked, tone light as a soufflé.

I didn’t answer. I was still kind of sore about that stolen power incident.

“But if the locket isn’t important enough for you to engage in that sort of bargain, it’s understandable.”

I pursed my lips, annoyed. Lennox was a Lyons, so also on the list, and spoiled milk’s got a sweeter disposition than he does, so I wasn’t at all tempted to make a deal with this particular devil.

“I have a good idea who was behind the robbery, and I’m going to handle it myself.”

“Solved the crime, have you? Let’s hear it.”

It was none of his beeswax. Lennox hadn’t had anything stolen since he hadn’t been at the party, so he didn’t have a stake in seeing the case solved. And I might still be negotiating with Johnny. I didn’t want to blab it around town that he was guilty.

“Here’s the park,” I said.

“So it is. If your theory proves wrong, my offer stands.”

Sure, I’ll take you up on that when the devil invests in long underwear
. “Well, I’ll sure keep that in mind, if things don’t work out.”

Lennox and I got out of the car and worked together to get Georgia out without jostling her too much. We laid her down on the top of a picnic table.

“You wait with her while I call emergency services and look around. We’ll leave when we hear the sirens.”

“Leave? I’m not going anywhere except on an ambulance ride with Georgia Sue. Now hurry up, and go call.”

“We’ll discuss this in a moment,” he said, walking briskly across the street. I sat in the dark, listening to Georgia Sue breathe quick, shallow breaths. I looked around at the trees. Boy, they looked sinister with only one streetlight casting shadows off them.

I fished Earl’s gun out of my purse and let it rest in my right hand. With my left hand, I stroked Georgia’s hair, which was stiff with gel and pointing at crazy angles.

“We’re going to be all right. With all the hairspray you wear, you wouldn’t taste good to any dumb werewolves. Nope, you’re going to be just fine sitting here with me.” I untangled her curls to give myself something to do besides shaking. “What they ought to be doing is shopping for some breath mints. Ugh. You would not believe how those muzzles stank.”

A few minutes later, Lennox strolled back up.

“You called?”

He nodded.

“And did you find your friend?”

He sighed and shook his head. “Not a friend. A blood-and-bones witch’s apprentice.”

“What’s a blood-and-bones witch?”

“One who specializes in magic of the flesh, life-and-death magic, usually healing spells. It’s an exceptionally rare talent. I spent a fortune in money and promised power to get one here, but it looks like the ongoing wolf attacks have scared him off.”

“I’m sorry,” I said.

“So am I. Now, why don’t you come and sit with me in the car while we wait for the ambulance to pick Georgia up?”

“Not going to happen. I go where she goes.”

“Are you aware that ninety-eight percent of werewolves drive trucks and SUVs? It wouldn’t take many of them to surround and stop one ambulance.”

My heart kicked up a fuss in my chest, but I stuck my chin out stubbornly. “There’s something you might have heard about,” I said with false sweetness. “It’s called loyalty. My friend is not going to die, but if she was going to die, she wouldn’t be doing it alone on a beat-up picnic table. Wherever she’s going, I’m going with her. So you can just run along because my ride will be here in a minute.”

“Remember the Alamo,” he murmured.

“Got that right.”

“Good night then. I sincerely hope you don’t get ripped to pieces, because I look forward to seeing how my son plans to handle you in the future.”

I frowned. “Your son’s not going to be handling anything.”

“I’ll pass that along to him. Good night.” He walked away, and I was left sitting in the dark, hoping I could live up to all my tough talk.

The ambulance siren was still so faint I could barely hear it when Kenny’s black Trans Am screeched to a halt at the edge of the park.

Kenny’s door jerked open, and he scrambled out and ran across the park, stumbling once and getting a huge grass stain on his jeans.

“What happened?” he stammered, dropping to his knees on the bench of the picnic table and gathering Georgia in his arms.

“I don’t know. I found her,” I mumbled.

Kenny’s face was so full of anguish that the bubble of shock and disbelief I’d been in popped like it’d been made of soap. My eyes welled up, and tears spilled down my face again.

He rocked her in his arms. “Wake up now, Georgia. C’mon.”

I put my head in my hands and sobbed.

“What happened? She said she was going to see about your necklace. What the hell happened, Tammy Jo? What were you girls up to?”

I gulped back another sob and garbled out, “My necklace?”

He nodded, looking at me and then back down at her.

“She didn’t call me. I don’t know what she was doing,” I said, rubbing the heel of my hand over my cheek.

The ambulance pulled up, and the guys hopped out with an orange rolling stretcher. They rushed over to us and knelt down with their special equipment to check her vital signs.

“Her heart’s racing, but she’s got a good pulse,” Marty, one of the EMTs, said. “Let’s package her up and take her to Dallas.”

“Dallas?” I croaked.

“Sure, you think Doc Padovny can handle this at the urgent care center?” Marty asked as they put Georgia on the stretcher.

I shrugged. I hadn’t thought. She probably would be better off in a big city hospital, but would she survive the drive? Well, they were going in an ambulance, so it would be as fast as possible. Yeah, she would definitely make it, I told myself.

“Okay,” I said, following them.

“There’s no room for you in the ambulance, Tammy Jo, if Kenny comes.”

“I’m coming,” Kenny said.

“I’ll follow you,” I said.

“No,” Kenny said, turning to me. “I need you to go back to the bar. I didn’t lock anything up. I just ran out of there.” He pressed his keys into my hand.

“I’ll take care of it. Will you call me as soon as she wakes up?”

He nodded, gave me a fierce hug, then climbed into the ambulance.

I didn’t hesitate. I hopped into Kenny’s Trans Am and peeled away from the curb and drove to Jammers. I was on a mission, and God help anyone who tried to so much as steal a bowl of wings while Kenny and Georgia Sue were on their way to Dallas. I was loaded for werewolf, but that didn’t have to stop me from firing a couple of warning shots if people got rowdy.

When I hurried into Jammers, I found that there was no mayhem at all. Zach had rolled up his shirtsleeves and was behind the bar. I was sure glad to see him looking okay, given the werewolf bite.