For Witch's Sake (Bless Your Witch Book Five) Read online

  "And the other?" Reid blurted out.

  "Patience," Sera said.

  "I know, but I just can't help it. The suspense is killing me." She turned to Milly. "What? Why else would she come to Silver Springs? I have to know."

  We all turned to Milly. It seemed to take forever for the words to finally erupt from her mouth.

  "Like I told you before, Dylan. Every witch kid experiments switching places with someone. I knew LaRue when she was young and I was a bit older. We used to switch places all the time. All you have to do is mingle the blood once and then you can work the magic. The other person's blood stays with you forever, or as long as you live. LaRue is counting on that. The only thing is, she needs to see me to make it happen."

  Reid jutted out her bottom lip in a frown. "Not following. Make what happen?"

  Milly sucked in a long breath and finally said, "LaRue will come to switch places with me."

  The room gave a collective gasp. Except for Roman. I guess he was too cool for that.

  "You mean, like magically?" I said.

  Milly nodded. "She'll take my body and escape, leaving me trapped in hers."

  I swallowed. "You mean—"

  Milly chewed her bottom lip. "I'll be executed in LaRue's place."

  SEVEN

  "What?" I said. "How can you be sure that LaRue will even come here?"

  Milly stared at me blankly. "What would you do?"

  I tapped my chin. "Let me see…let me see… Yep. You're screwed. That witch is going to come here first thing. So what do we do?"

  Roman rose. He stretched, his toned thighs bulging at the outer seams of his jeans. "We go on red alert, is what. We need surveillance on the LaRue house. Nan."

  My grandmother's bodyguard jumped to attention. "Yes, sir!"

  "Can you take a spot watching the house?"

  Nan straightened her shirt and lifted her chin. "Give me five minutes to get my weapons in order."

  Roman nodded. "Good."

  "But she was supposed to watch my store," I said.

  Roman shook his head. "You may have to call someone else. We can't send Milly there, either. We have to protect her. Know anyone who might be able to help?"

  I sighed. "I'll call Jenny Butts. See if she can do it." I tucked a wave of hair behind my ear. "It's a stretch since she has her own store, but maybe she can get someone to watch hers."

  Roman nodded. "Worst-case scenario, you close for the week."

  My stomach crashed to my feet. There was no point arguing. I couldn't leave the house, and I sure as heck couldn't risk Milly getting hurt or even killed just for my business.

  "Okay," I said. "What else do we need to do?"

  Roman scrubbed a hand over his chin. "We need Titus to give us the cure."

  "Yeah," Reid said. "Before Adonis eats us out of house and house."

  "That's house and home," I corrected.

  "Whatever," she said.

  Sera rose. "Why don't I call Brock? See if he can spare some winged monkey guards. Get them to watch Milly's house?"

  Brock Odom was not only Sera's beau, but he was also king of the winged monkeys. I'd yet to see one of these said subjects, but one day I would see a winged monkey up close and personal. I was betting it would be interesting.

  Roman nodded. "Great idea. I'm sure Brock will help out any way he can."

  Sera exited to make her phone call. That left only a few of us.

  "Do you think we could go ahead and ask Titus?" I said. "I hate to push our luck or anything, but I mean, we've got to get moving on this. We need some leverage if Wanda LaRue shows up."

  Roman shook his head. "It's not if; it's when."

  "Dylan," Grandma said. "Do you want to call Titus?"

  I toed off my shoes and tucked my legs under the couch. "I thought that horn was for your use and yours alone."

  Grandma fluffed her hair. "You can't use magic to do it, obviously. But you can be the one to greet him when his majesty appears." She poked the air with a finger. "Why, I remember a time when I was summoned before all the great unicorn and winged monkey warriors. I'd just been doing an undercover job with naked mole rats down in Fairyland. Needless to say, I'd been naked for months when the summons came in. Of course, I had nothing to wear, but I managed to sew some leaves and ivy together to make a decent outfit. This couldn't be any worse than that."

  Really. I had no words. I took a deep breath and said, "You're right. It couldn't be. Go ahead and do it."

  I greeted Titus when he appeared. "Greetings, Dylan Apel and family."

  "Greetings," we answered.

  "How's young Adonis?"

  Something shattered in the kitchen. I threw Reid a go check look. She stopped crocheting a human jumpsuit and left. "Um. He's quite a handful."

  Titus chuckled. Oh, great. So he'd done this to us on purpose. "You've had enough of the young prince, I take it."

  "No," I said. "Of course not. It's just that there's been a new development."

  Titus shook out his mane. "And what is that?"

  I explained the situation, with Roman helping to fill in certain details. Titus listened quietly until we finished. "So the thing is, we need the cure. We need leverage so that when LaRue shows up, she'll tell us what we want to know and leave."

  "That won't keep Milly safe," Titus said.

  "Don't worry about me," Milly said. "I'll be safe enough."

  Titus nodded toward her. "Very well. You can have the cure."

  I clapped my hands. "We can?"

  "Hold out your hands."

  I cupped my hands and pressed them forward. Titus dipped the tip of his horn into the well of my palms. Electricity flashed, and a jolt snaked up my arms. When everything dimmed and I could see again, I found a cloth bag lying in my palms.

  "This is it?" I said.

  Titus nodded. "That's it. When you need it, open the bag and place what you find on the skin of the person requiring healing. It will heal."

  "Thank you," I said.

  "You're most welcome. If there is nothing else, I would like to speak to Dylan alone."

  My eyes widened at that. Titus wanted to talk to me? About what? Was I in trouble? I suddenly felt like a schoolgirl walking toward the principal's office.

  My family, including Roman, shuffled from the room.

  "You've lost your power," Titus said.

  "Yes."

  "And does it bother you?"

  "No, not really," I lied.

  Why did I lie? Like it was bad to admit I liked something, needed it even. I mean, I was human. It was okay to feel things, want them. To be me. After all, I'd asked Gladiolas to help me. But talking to Titus felt different. He was a majestic creature. For some reason I didn't want to appear weak in front of him.

  Titus nickered. "It's a funny thing—magic. You lived a long time without it, most of your life, and now it's been taken from you."

  "Not by my choice."

  "Your heart misses it, Dylan. It's remarkable, isn't it—to feel the void for magic you haven't even had your entire life? I can sense the emptiness in you."

  I bit down on my lip. "Can you give it back to me?"

  He shook his head. "I can't give back what isn't missing."

  I frowned. "What do you mean? You just said I lost my power. I don't have it. I've tried reaching for it, and it's gone."

  Titus flicked his tail. "You've lost it, but at the same time you haven't."

  "That makes no sense."

  He whinnied softly. "Gather your family and please bring Adonis."

  Sera captured the baby unicorn and handed him over. "Here you go."

  Titus glanced down at the face of his son. Adonis blinked up at him. The unicorn king tapped his horn against Adonis's flank. Titus vanished in a blip of light. I blinked the glare away and saw Adonis still standing there.

  "What's going on?" I said. "He was supposed to take Adonis with him."

  Grandma laughed. "Doesn't look like he's going to. Looks like he's left the little
tyke with us. Dylan, fetch him some water. He looks thirsty."

  "Yeah, eating all the outfits I've crocheted and knitted took a toll on him," Reid said bitterly.

  I rubbed her head. "Ah, it'll be okay, little Reid. Don't worry. You'll have plenty of time to make more hideous outfits."

  Her jaw dropped. She opened her mouth to protest, but Sera cut her off. "What do we do now? Titus gave us what we needed, right? Do we go and use it?"

  Roman drummed his fingers over his slim hips. "No. We wait." He glanced over at Milly, who'd been scary silent for the past while. "You staying here for the night?"

  Milly rose from the recliner, pushing off her cane. "No. I'm sleeping in my own bed."

  Roman threw a look to Sera. "Did you hear from Brock? Will he send some guards?"

  Sera nodded. "He's sending them now. Said he'd have her house secured within an hour."

  Roman scratched the two-day stubble on his chin. "Want a lift to your house?"

  Milly rolled her eyes. "No, but I'm not going to have a choice, am I?"

  He smiled. "No, you're not."

  "Then take me home."

  Roman fished his keys from the bowl we kept in the foyer. He crossed to me and planted a kiss on my cheek. "You'll be okay until I get back?"

  I hugged my arms to my chest, wiping away a chill that had set in. "Yeah. I'll be okay."

  He studied me as if not believing what I'd said. "Your grandmother will protect you if LaRue shows up."

  I cocked a brow. "You trust her?"

  He laughed. "More than you know. She'll protect you."

  "This is the same woman who couldn't get a giant flower under control."

  He tipped his head from side to side. "That was a flower. You're her granddaughter. You'll be fine. I'll drop Milly off, grab some clothes and come back. If you need anything, call me."

  I nodded. "Okay."

  He cupped his hand around my neck and gave me a knowing look. "Promise?"

  "Cross my heart."

  Roman nodded and pulled away. "I'll be watching my phone if anything comes up."

  "Okay," Reid said. "Can you bring back a bale of hay for the little monster?"

  Adonis stood in the living room munching on an unknown substance.

  Roman smiled. "I'll see what I can do."

  As soon as he and Milly were gone, I turned to Grandma. Reid had followed Sera into the kitchen to help with the baking for the store the next morning, leaving me and my maternal grandmother all alone.

  "Can you call someone for me?"

  Grandma eyed me. "Who would you want me to call for you?"

  "I need to speak to Jonathan Pearbottom."

  She clutched her chest. "Thank goodness."

  Confused, I said, "What?"

  She waved the air. "Oh, nothing. I just thought you were going to ask to talk to the sprite queen. You know the sprites will be coming out from the earth soon. They only do that for a few weeks a year. Nasty little things. Have a toxic drink they call death water. Awful stuff. Anyway, I thought you might be wanting to talk to them."

  I held my head to stop her whirlwind speech from making it spin on my neck. "Um. No. It's Pearbottom I need to speak to."

  Grandma clicked her tongue. "Should I ask why?"

  "I'll tell you after I talk to him."

  Grandma set about straightening some magazines on the coffee table. "Go to your room. I'll have the call sent from there."

  I bounced over to her and kissed her cheek. "I owe you one," I said. It took all of five seconds to get to my bedroom. As soon as I entered, I closed the door and brushed my hair. I wanted to look good for this. If nothing else just so I didn't look like a hot mess when I requested my favor.

  The air in front of my bed crackled and hummed. A silver cloud appeared. It was thick like a fog, but it cleared quickly. The cloud brightened, and an image snapped to attention.

  Jonathan Pearbottom—exactly who I was looking for.

  He appeared to be at home working from his desk. His signature bowler cap and tweed cape were gone, revealing a thin man with a receding hairline and beady eyes.

  "Dylan Apel, you must be enjoying your house arrest."

  Yeah, if you like sitting on an ant bed and being stung. "It's been challenging."

  "It's only been two days and you've already set off your ankle alarm."

  My face crimsoned. "I know. Look, that wasn't my fault."

  His brows shot up to the ceiling.

  "Okay, so it was my fault. Listen, I didn't call you to go over my shortcomings."

  "Why did you call me?"

  I exhaled a stream of air. "I'm under house arrest and I deserve it. I need to be punished for being careless with magic. I know that. I accept it. Here's the thing, though. My family is in trouble. There's a witch who may be coming to harm us."

  "Oh?" he said skeptically.

  "Yes. I can't go into all the details, but I'm afraid for us. I need a favor—keep me under house arrest, but please return my magic."

  Pearbottom gently laid down the sleek lacquered pen he was holding. He leaned back in his office chair. The springs creaked as he steepled his hands beneath his chin.

  Good. At least I had him considering.

  "What is it you're afraid will happen?"

  "I'm afraid Wanda LaRue, who just broke out of prison, will come looking for us."

  "And what makes you think Miss LaRue is interested in any of you?"

  Oh yeah, I really didn't want to tell him about it. That story might get me into more trouble—deals with unicorns, switching bodies with Milly—yeah, I'd be in a heap of hurt if Pearbottom knew about any of that.

  "An old feud," I lied. "I may need to help my grandmothers."

  He shrugged. "Your grandmothers have been working craft longer than you. From what I gather, you've never even liked being a witch."

  I tried not to roll my eyes. "I wasn't born into this culture. I was brought in when I was older—you know that. I'm not like the rest of you, used to witchcraft and witches trying to steal each other's power. Y'all aren't my people."

  Pearbottom stiffened. "I might be your people more than you know. That's the thing with you newmagics," he mumbled. "You look down on our traditions and our culture. Yes, we have a queen and there are fairies and winged monkeys—it's strange, but you see us as different, as less than you. Until you need us. Then you're begging for help. Learn to live with your choices, Dylan Apel. Learn to embrace us, and maybe we'll accept you first without needing your approval to be a part of our culture."

  "You twisted what I was saying. You don't understand."

  "Oh, I understand exactly," he spat. "Request denied."

  "But wait—"

  The screen winked out. Pearbottom had broken the connection.

  Darn it! I sank onto my bed, trying not to be thoroughly disappointed.

  My phone buzzed from my pocket. I fished it out.

  ROMAN flashed on the surface. I hit the green ACCEPT button.

  "Hey," I said.

  "Hey, beautiful," he replied. I swear, he always knew what to say to make me smile. "Everything okay?"

  "Yeah, we're fine."

  "Hold on. Another call coming in."

  I listened to silence until Roman dropped back on the line a minute later. "Anything important?" I asked.

  "My aunt. She's been trying to come down and visit."

  "Oh. Is that a problem?"

  "I still don't want anyone to know about Boo."

  "Not even her? She did raise you."

  After Roman's family was killed, he went to live with his aunt and uncle. He'd lived with them from the age of thirteen until he graduated high school and went off to college. His uncle had died a few years ago, leaving his aunt all alone.

  "I'm not ready to tell her about it yet. I will. Soon. But not yet. Anyway, I dropped Milly off a few minutes ago. I'm at home now. I'm going to take a shower and head back. Call me if anything happens."

  "I will."

  We hung up
, and I decided I needed some fresh air to clear my head. I slinked out of the house because I didn't really want to tell Grandma about the Jonathan Pearbottom fiasco. I opened the front door since everyone seemed to be out back in the kitchen.

  My anklet bleeped when I crossed the threshold. I glared down at it. "Stupid cuff," I murmured. Yes, I know that darning the stupid thing wasn't going to solve any of my problems, thank you very much. But saying it made me feel better anyway.

  I plopped onto the porch swing and stared down the street. Lamplight glowed, creating pools of light that dotted the road and splashed into some of the yards, ours included. I inhaled, feeling my chest inflate, and pushed off the wood floor, swaying softly.

  All was still. All was quiet.

  Except for something coming from a row of giant hedges that lined our walkway. Probably just a squirrel or rabbit. Seriously. These were tall hedges. Grandma loved azaleas and had let the flowers grow without trimming. The bushes had taken off and needed a decent pruning to get them back into manageable condition.

  The rustling sounded again, this time much louder.

  That was no squirrel.

  I edged to the lip of the seat. The porch swing's chains stopped creaking. I toed the floorboards, waiting to see if the sound came again.

  Swoosh.

  I rose. My heart hammered against my ribs. A fleeting idea of getting my family outside crossed my mind, but I pushed it aside. It could be nothing. I pulled my phone from my pocket, ready to use it as the only weapon I had. I could throw it; I could even bang it against something's head.

  It was my only defense.

  I quietly stepped from the porch onto the walkway. That darn anklet bleeped, but I had lots of room before I reached the barrier. It wouldn't blare for at least twenty more feet.

  No sound came from the hedge. I leaned forward, trying to see if any shapes or hulking masses lay waiting to spring out at me from the dark.

  I reached the bushes and jumped into them. "Ah-ha," I yelled.

  Something tumbled to the ground on the other side.

  My anklet bleeped a little louder. I lurched back, waiting to see if something was going to attack. When nothing rocketed out at me, I peered across the hedge to see what had fallen out.