Southern Karma Read online

  The ghost saluted Axel. “Well if it isn’t Captain Axel. What can I do for you?”

  Paige skirted behind my boyfriend. He put a hand on her shoulder. “This little girl wanted to meet you.”

  “Aye, and a bonnie lass she is, too,” growled Redbeard in a friendly sort of way.

  Within minutes Redbeard had Paige giggling like a little girl should. We said our goodbyes and sauntered down the street. I couldn’t help but smile as Paige explored town with childlike wonder.

  “What do you think her story is?” I said to Axel. We stood off to the side as Paige greedily chewed black cotton candy spiders from a stick.

  Axel shook his head. “From what it looks like, Mythica kept her more as an employee than a child.”

  “But her powers?”

  His jaw clenched. “Mythica exploited them.”

  His anger took me by surprise. It also made my heart swell that he could feel such passion for this little girl. I squeezed Axel’s bicep. “You okay?”

  “She’s just a kid,” he said. He inhaled a deep breath and exhaled. “So.”

  I leaned my head on his shoulder. “So.”

  “Is it okay if she stays with you tonight?”

  “Excuse me?”

  Paige licked ebony crystalized sugar from her fingers. She smiled at us, black teeth shining.

  Axel raked his fingers through his hair. “She can’t stay with me.”

  “Why not?”

  “I would prefer she doesn’t.”

  “Because of the werewolf thing?”

  “Yes.”

  “Perfect excuse.”

  But really, this little girl didn’t need to be exposed to Axel as a werewolf. The transformation wasn’t supposed to happen until the next night. But I figured it was more that Axel wasn’t comfortable with a little girl living in his house.

  Clearly since I was a woman, I was much better equipped to deal with a quiet mind-reading child.

  Sure. Why not?

  Axel escorted us to Betty’s house. When we were outside, he turned to Paige. He knelt, and the girl stared at him with saucer eyes full of wonder.

  “Can you stay here tonight? With Pepper?”

  Paige dragged her gaze to me. She studied me with that quiet intensity of hers. Finally she nodded.

  “I’ll see you tomorrow,” Axel said. “First thing. I’ll be here.”

  Paige nodded again.

  I extended my hand, and her warm palm slipped over mine. Axel’s lips grazed my forehead. “I’ll come over first thing. For breakfast.”

  “Okay.”

  We exchanged a long look that made my stomach squirm. A faint smile tugged at my lips. Axel kissed the corner of my mouth. “Good night.”

  “Good night.”

  I led Paige up the front porch. “This is Jennie. She’s a guard-vine.”

  Paige extended a timid hand. Jennie unwound and bobbed a pink bud over Paige's palm as if the plant were sniffing. When the vine had deemed Paige was okay, the bud lowered. I patted it.

  “Jennie’s just like a dog, isn’t she?”

  Paige smiled shyly.

  “Come on. Let’s go see what the ladies are up to. It’s a pretty full house, but I think you’re going to like it.”

  I opened the door. Amelia and Cordelia sat on the couch reading, and Betty was in her rocker, shotgun slung over her knees.

  “Finally, you’re home,” Amelia said. “We were worried about you.”

  Cordelia sniffed. “I wasn’t. I know you can take care of yourself.”

  My grandmother glared at me. “Would you like to explain why you didn’t tell me that Rufus Mayes was in town?”

  My stomach dropped to the floor. My voice became high and whiny when I said, “Because he made me promise not to?”

  “Not a good excuse. Listen, kid, that man is dangerous. As soon as you saw him, you should’ve run for the hills and came looking for me.”

  I just didn’t have an answer so I ignored her. “Everyone, this is Paige. Paige, this is my wonderful grandmother, Betty, and my cousins, Amelia and Cordelia.” Their eyes settled on the girl. Before they could start asking questions, I gave them a pointed look. “Paige arrived with the gorgon, and she was very, very hungry.”

  Amelia, who was probably the least intimidating of the group, came over. “Paige, do you have any parents? Anyone we can call for you?”

  She shook her head.

  “Was Mythica your mother?” Amelia said.

  “No,” Paige said. “Not my mother.”

  My family looked at me. Betty heaved herself from the chair, clapped her hands and in no time flat, she’d whipped up a dish of biscuits and gravy in the cauldron on the hearth.

  Betty led Paige to the table. “Sit and eat, kid. You’ll like it.”

  Paige broke the biscuits with her hands and shoved a hunk in her mouth. She paused a moment and then shot me and Betty a wide smile. We left her and retreated to the couch.

  They all looked at me expectantly as if I held the answers to the universe. Yeah, right. “Mythica referred to Paige as her employee. The girl can read minds, I think.”

  “Mythica, that was the gorgon,” Cordelia said.

  “Yes.”

  “One of you girls better tell me what the Sam Hill is going on before I blow my top,” Betty fumed.

  I inhaled a deep breath and told her the whole story about Rufus and the time watch and the gorgon.

  “And Mythica just dropped dead? Turned to stone?” Amelia said.

  I nodded. “Deader than dead. Paige says a second gorgon killed her.”

  All their eyes widened.

  “Oh my God,” Amelia said, her voice kicking into full panic mode. “Are we supposed to lock our doors? Worry that we’re going to be killed by a gorgon?”

  I shook my head. “I don’t think so. It was a revenge killing probably. That’s what Axel suggested. I mean, why else would it happen? And on Halloween? The good thing is, tomorrow Halloween will be over and anyone who isn’t a witch will be forced out.” I shot a look to Betty. “How does that work, anyway? When Uncle Donovan was here and we had people in town that weren’t witches, Garrick made them all stay until he finished investigating whoever had murdered that Johnny Utah guy.”

  Betty pulled her corncob pipe from her pocket and clamped her teeth over it. “Those who’re regular folks, who aren’t witches, will simply forget about our town. They’ll leave without remembering anything about us. But other people—werewolves and vampires and such—the magic sort of pushes them out. They are forced to leave no matter what. Even if they want to stay.”

  “Speaking of staying,” I said, “you need to figure out what’s wrong with the spell that’s supposed to keep Rufus out because it ain’t working.”

  Betty chewed the pipe stem. “I’ll discuss it with Sylvia, but we may need to bring one more witch to the fold. Add an extra layer of security. You said that Garrick has Rufus?”

  “He’s got him, all right.” A wave of nausea flooded through me.

  Cordelia grabbed my arm. “You okay?”

  “Yeah, I’m fine. Probably something I ate.”

  Amelia gave me a sympathetic look. “Or stress. That can make you feel bad.”

  “Probably so.”

  “And the time watch?” she said, her face shining with hope.

  “Oh, yeah. I think Garrick has it? You know it sort of became evidence since that’s what Mythica was after.”

  I didn’t know how to tell Amelia it had broken. I needed a night to think about that, to prepare myself for her anger. Because once my cousin realized the thing was destroyed, she’d kill me.

  Frustration filled Amelia’s eyes. “You weren’t supposed to let her have it.”

  I pointed to Paige. “She knew I had it. That’s what I’m saying.” I lowered my voice. “She knows things.”

  Amelia exhaled in frustration. “Erasmus is going to kill me! I’ll be fired! Maybe jailed! This is terrible!”

  “Calm down,�
�� I said. “I’m sure we can figure out a way to get the time watch back, right, Betty?” My grandmother didn’t respond. “Betty,” I prodded.

  Betty watched Paige. “She’s a head witch, like you Pepper.”

  “I can’t read minds.”

  “But you hear animals talk. You hear their voices. Maybe she just hears human voices.”

  Cordelia dragged her gaze from Paige. “I know one thing. We’d better keep the food coming because she’s got quite the appetite.”

  Amelia tugged her spiky blonde hair. “Surely she’s got parents. I can’t stand to think that poor girl doesn’t have anyone.” She snapped her fingers. “I know. I’m going to figure out who her parents are. See if we can connect them.”

  “What if they’re horrible people?” Cordelia said.

  “Can they be worse than a gorgon who starved her?” I said.

  “Yes,” Betty answered.

  “For the sake of her safety, let’s hope not. Amelia, I say you search for them. Betty, can you help us get the time watch back?”

  Betty snorted. “Do I look like it’s my first day at witch school?”

  “Nope.”

  The look in her eyes cried mischief. “Kid, this body might be ancient, but I’ve got ways and means that’ll knock your britches off and make your tongue wag.”

  Whatever that meant.

  “We only want the time watch,” Cordelia said. “We don’t need you to seduce the entire police force.”

  Betty wiggled her brows as if that was exactly her intention.

  I clapped my hands and rose. “Great. First thing tomorrow we get the time watch and start figuring out who Paige's parents are. Sound like a plan?”

  Amelia smiled. “Sounds like a perfect sweet tea witch plan.”

  “Paige, do you want to come upstairs and sleep in my room?”

  Paige wiped her mouth with her sleeve and nodded.

  I smiled brightly at her. “Have you ever seen a dragon?” She shook her head. “Well then, you’re in for a treat.”

  Amelia and Cordelia magicked up some bedclothes for Paige before I took her upstairs. I opened the door and introduced her to Mattie the Cat and Hugo the Dragon.

  Mattie gave a meow, and Hugo thumped his tail happily. Paige held out her hand. Hugo sniffed it and lowered his knotted, scaly head to allow her to pet him.

  She gave him a good pat and smiled up at me.

  “You like him?”

  “Yes.”

  “Great. He’s wonderful. Maybe we’ll take him out for a walk tomorrow. He’ll enjoy that.”

  I pulled back the covers and motioned to the bed. “Can you share with me?”

  “Yes.”

  “Don’t say much, do you?”

  The girl shrugged.

  Whatever that evil Mythica did to you couldn’t have been good.

  I hoped we found her relatives soon. “Come on. Let’s get some rest.”

  Paige crawled into the bed with a little hesitation, but within minutes she was snoring.

  I snapped off the light and thought that a little daylight on the situation might bring new developments. It would also mean the gorgon would be gone from town. One less thing to worry about.

  That was last thought drifting in my head when I awoke. I blinked, thinking it was very dark, but didn’t focus too much on it. I glanced to my nightstand to check the time. It read eight. Crap. The alarm was supposed to have gone off at seven. I must’ve whacked it off and fell back asleep.

  I crawled from the bed. My brain was foggy, like a thick film was covering my synapses. I was processing everything slowly. Nothing a cup of coffee wouldn’t fix.

  I opened the blinds and was greeted with pitch-black. My eyes widened. This wasn’t right. It was morning. Had to be. I felt like I’d slept for hours. I yanked the cord and raised the blinds all the way.

  “It’s the time watch.”

  I recognized Paige's voice and turned to her. “What do you mean?”

  She nibbled her bottom lip as if afraid to speak.

  I sat on the bed. “Tell me. It’s okay.”

  Paige's gaze held mine. My heart knocked against my ribs. Something wasn’t right.

  She swallowed. “When the time watch broke, it stopped time in Magnolia Cove. We’re stuck in Halloween.”

  Holy shrimp and grits.

  EIGHT

  “What do you mean the watch is broken?” Amelia shouted.

  “Well, um. It broke. Last night.”

  “You knew?” Her decibel range was way off the scale. I think if she hit another octave, she’d shatter glass.

  I cringed. “Yes. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, but I knew you’d be mad.”

  She fisted her hands. “I’m furious.”

  Her voice had shifted from high and screeching to deep, throaty and full of warning. Whew. I’d never seen Amelia like this. She was severely ticked off and rightly so. I’m not going to say she was overreacting. She’d trusted me, and I’d broken that trust.

  “Yes, I know.” I shot a help-me look to Betty and Cordelia. “Anyway, it’s broken and now we’re stuck in Halloween. How do we fix it?”

  Betty dropped a cast-iron skillet full of fried potatoes on the table. “First, we need the watch.”

  I poked the air. “Police station.”

  The doorbell rang. “It’s probably Axel.”

  I crossed to the door and opened it. My breath hitched at the sight of him. His dark hair was wet from a shower. It was pulled back, but a few rogue droplets splashed onto his shoulders. His tight T-shirt revealed swelling biceps and a wide chest.

  “We’ve got a problem,” he said.

  “Looks like.”

  Paige, who’d been picking at the potatoes, jumped from her chair and ran over to Axel. She threw her arms around his waist.

  “Hey, there. Did you have a good night?”

  She nodded and my heart melted. Axel seemed to have really taken up with Paige. A fiercely loyal streak ran through him. That’s one of the things I liked so much about him. My heart lurched.

  Whoa, tiger. He’s only known her twelve hours. It’s not like he’s offering to adopt her or anything.

  Axel took my hand. “We need to get to the police station.”

  Betty grabbed her purse from a peg. “Let’s get going. We’ve got a time watch to fix.”

  “We can’t all fit in your vehicle,” I said to Axel.

  He grimaced. “No driving. It’s a madhouse out there. The ghosts have gotten loose from the haunted house and throwing whipped cream pies at people.”

  I laughed. “That’s just ridiculous.”

  “But it’s true. It’s easier to stop them while you’re walking than driving.”

  “Fair enough,” Betty said. “Besides, I’ll put a force field around us that should stop a dessert from splatting us.”

  The six of us—yes, six of us—set out for the police station. Betty was true to her word. A buzzing purple shield encased us as we strode through town.

  The magnitude of the situation hit me when I noticed the people. It wasn’t just that it was dark. Oh no. That would’ve been easy to deal with.

  It was that people, regular nonmagical ones, were still milling about. All the haunted elements in town were still doing, well, haunted sorts of things.

  Mint and Licky ran up to us. “This is amazing,” Licky said.

  Betty rolled her eyes. “You would think so.”

  “No, what Licky means is that it’s extraordinary,” Mint said.

  Licky nodded. “I tried to send the ghosts away, but they didn’t’ leave. I even used magic, but their contract says they stay until November first. I swear it should be November first but they’re still here.”

  “Could be you don’t actually know how to use magic,” Betty said.

  “Not funny,” Licky said. “We are super awesome at all things magical.”

  “If by super awesome you mean mayhem and destruction, then I would agree.” Betty fisted her hands to her wide h
ips. “Girls, at least you can say this catastrophe wasn’t your fault.”

  Mint clicked her tongue proudly. “You got that right.”

  “We’d better go,” I said.

  Amelia’s gaze was focused on the sky. “Yeah because I see ghosts with pies.”

  Sure enough, three ghosts with cream pies aimed straight at us. Oh no. This was not going to happen. I was not going to wake up to Halloween night and have to deal with a mischievous ghost who thought it was cool to hit me with a pie like this was an episode of The Brady Bunch.

  I raised a hand. “Oh no, I don’t think so.”

  The ghost, who was more wispy strands of cobwebs with a skeletal face than anything else, paused.

  “If you even think for one minute you’re going to hit me with a pie, you’re wrong.”

  The ghost touched his fingertips to his chest. “I am?” It said in a quivering voice.

  “You sure as heck’s bells have that right. You leave us alone, or else I’ll tie you into a knot and wrap you around a pole.”

  The apparition’s face fell as if that was a real thing. Tie him up like a pretzel? Who was I fooling? I couldn’t do that.

  Or maybe I could.

  The ghost dropped the pie and zipped away. I brushed my hands together. “Well, that was cool. I didn’t know I could do that.”

  Something very wet and gooey hit the top of my head and slid down. I cringed. “Don’t tell me.”

  “Pie,” Cordelia said.

  I looked up to see another ghost fly by.

  Betty hoisted her pants to just below her boob line. “Sorry. The shield dropped when Mint and Licky showed up. They mess with my magic sometimes. Come on. This is worse than we thought. Let’s get to the police station before all heck breaks loose.”

  “You’re telling me that because the time watch was broken, we’re stuck in Halloween?”

  Garrick Young scowled something fierce. He might look like an irresponsible fraternity boy with brown hair that was a touch too long, but when it came to crime, he was all business.

  “Yes?” I said.

  Garrick glanced at Axel. “What else do you know, Reign?”

  Axel’s fingers scraped down his jaw. “That it needs to be fixed if we’re to stop this. If we want to see sunlight again, we have to get that watch fixed.”