The Hoodoo Apprentice: Allure Part 17

I smile. "Oh there is." Reaching into the case, I carefully lift the dagger, then wrap it in a blank piece of paper from the desk and tuck it into my messenger bag.

Chapter Eighteen.

"You want to go back to Miss Delia's? Now?" Jack brow is creased with disbelief, but I think he's more upset that I made him return the study key to Beau's pocket.

"We have to. I can't work a Psychic Vision charm without the ancestors' mortar."

"But we don't have a car."

"We've got a golf cart."

He flashes me his best you're-a-gigantic-hypocrite look. I can't blame him. I've reminded him it's illegal to drive the main roads a million times, not to mention how terminally slow those carts drive. But that was before, when we could rely on Cooper for transportation. Now, he's nowhere to be found, his cell clicking straight to voice mail. And we can't exactly ask Dad to drive us since that'll raise more questions than we can possibly answer. Desperate times require even more desperate, and occasionally stupid, measures. The golf cart is our only option.

An hour later, after taking as many back roads as possible, we finally arrive at Miss Delia's. The fluorescent headlights cast a ghostly glow on the bottles hanging from the live oak in front of her house. The electric engine is silent so the only sound is the ground crumbling beneath the cart's small, fat tires.

The front light is on and Miss Delia's out on the porch, her chair midway down the ramp. She stops short. "Who's there?" Her voice is firm, but I could swear there's a there's a hint of fear there, too. "That you, Taneea?"

"It's me, Emma. And Jack," I call back, realizing this is the first time I've ever been here at night. We probably scared the c.r.a.p out of her.

"Lord, child, if I didn't know better, I'd say you were trying to end me. I thought I'd be alone this evening." She flicks the chair into reverse and rolls backward up the ramp.

"Sorry," I say as we climb the porch steps to meet her. "We didn't interrupt anything did we?"

"Never you mind what an old lady does at night. Now, what's brought you over this evening?"

"We found something important that couldn't wait. I need to do a Psychic Vision charm. Like now." I flip open my messenger bag and pull out the pirate's dagger, then point to the dried black substance that's embedded in the engraving on the handle and blade.

Her lips turn down. "I thought we were through with that thing."

"Me too." I reach for the screen door and hold it open for her.

Once inside, Jack plops on the couch. "Emma thinks that black gunk on the blade proves it was with Missy when she died."

I nod. "I'm guessing it was either Beau or Claude, heck maybe even both of them. Someone put it in Beau's study. A Psychic Vision might clear everything up."

Miss Delia's eyes turn hard. "I'd love to know what Claude is really up to. I got a bad feeling the moment I laid eyes on him. At first I though he was just interested in the missing artifacts, but now I'm sure he's the one teaching Taneea hoodoo. Ain't no way she conjured that gambling charm herself."

"But why would he do that? And what's his connection to Beau and Missy?"

She shrugs. "I don't know. Money? Power? Isn't that what most crime usually boils down to? Beau's got both of those in spades. If Claude is a conjurer, there's no end to what he could squeeze out of Beau if he framed him for Missy's death." She nods toward the kitchen. "You've got work to do while Jack and I have a little chat. Call me when you're ready."

Under the bright light of the kitchen's overhead fixture, I purify myself with the citronella oil and then a.s.semble the ingredients necessary for the spell and set the kettle on to boil. Laying out the ingredients, I yawn, deep and cavernous, as fatigue-laced tears spring to my eyes.

It's been the longest day ever between my sweaty bike ride here this morning, casting the Law Keep Away spells, the altercation with Taneea and being abandoned by Cooper, then the excruciatingly slow walk home with Jack. Not to mention our strange meeting with Beau. Even if I wasn't practicing hoodoo, I'd be exhausted, but astonishingly, thanks to my energy tea, I'm only slightly tired. Gold star for Emma!

Speaking of which, I need some more if I'm going to pull off this Psychic Vision. Glancing around to make sure I'm still alone, I slip my hand into my bag and retrieve the flask of tea that I refilled before we left. Flipping the top, I hold my breath and guzzle the vile, bitter concoction.

Yellow pulsing energy swells in my chest, then surges through my body, shivering down through my fingers and toes. My pulse rages and breath speeds as every centimeter of my skin comes alive. I feel my pores open, the pads of my fingers p.r.i.c.kle as they clutch the smooth bottle, even the eyelash that's about to tumble from its follicle. I'm literally bursting with energy.

A couple minutes later, hopping like the Energizer Bunny, I lunge through the swinging door. Miss Delia starts. "We're ready," I say and then zoom back into the kitchen. Sitting on my stool next to the mortar, my fingers rap the counter as I wait for her to wheel in. I stare, captivated by the sound and sensation of my nails clicking against the butcher block. My heart keeps pace with my tapping.

Miss Delia rolls in and dabs some citronella on her wrists and behind her ears. Her eyebrow hitches. "Are you sure you're up to this? It's been a long day. We can always do this tomorrow."

My head snaps in her direction. "No, I'm fine." The veins in my neck throb, stretching my skin with each beat.

"You sure? 'Cause messing up the spell will cost us three days, which is all we've got left till that boy's birthday. The mortar will need to rest before it can be used again."

I scoff and wave away her concern. "I know. That's why I want to get this over with now. The sooner we figure this out, the sooner we can get back to the Beaumont Curse."

"Okay." Despite the wary expression on her face, she scoots the chair up to the mortar and pulls her collier out from beneath her housedress.

I pull the spent teabags from the mugs and get to work on the rest of the spell, layering the herbs and roots until the kitchen smells like a musty old church perfumed with ancient incense. Through it all, my blood's tap-dancing through my veins. Gone are the usual magic-induced yawns, drooping eyelids, and crushing fatigue that made my arms and legs feel like lead weights. I've got more than enough zip to complete this charm. Heck, I could probably conjure all night if I had to.

Leaning over the ancestors' mortar, Miss Delia and I each grab an end of the pirate's dagger and hold it above the smoke. Then, with our free hands, we raise our mugs of steaming Psychic Vision tea, the ingredient to kick this spell into action.

"Bottoms up!" I laugh a little too loud and then tip the reddish-brown liquid down my throat as she does the same. Compared to my energy brew, the sour-cherry and burned-spinach flavor tastes great. Gulping it down, I smack my lips.

Miss Delia purses her lips in disgust. "You like that nasty stuff?"

I shrug. "It's kind of good."

I close my eyes and breath deep, waiting for my mind to clear and an incantation to spring from my lips.

Nothing comes.

Nada.

Not one single, solitary word.

I peek at the smoke above the mortar. There's no flickering lights, no mini-movie screen on which to watch the vision. Come to think of it, the wind hasn't blown, the rain hasn't fallen, and there's no clap of thunder, either.

Something's wrong.

My heart skips a couple beats, then trips into overdrive, propelling my panic. I clutch at my collier and rub the red and white beads, which are supposed to promote spoken word and prayer. Still, no words leap from my mouth.

Adrenaline dumps into my system, increasing both my heart and respiration rate. Sucking in lungfuls of mortar smoke, I beg my mind to quiet, to find a moment of stillness to allow the spell's words to come. But the more I try, the faster it races, and the more errant thoughts crowd in. Why am I thinking about the duck-billed platypus, the Pythagorean Theorem, and my grandfather's scuffed wing-tip shoes, all at the same time? Forcing those images from my brain, they're quickly replaced by even more random ideas.

"What's happening?" Miss Delia's voice is stern.

I lift my eyes to hers. "Nothing."

"I can see that. But why?" She points a bony finger at me. "You've done something to thwart this spell."

I shake my head. "No. Everything's here." I scan the worktable, making sure I haven't screwed something up. "The ingredients are right and I know I layered them in the correct order."

Her lips mash into a hard line. "Then why isn't the charm working?"

I tremble. "I don't know." My fingers shake as I lift them to my silent, treacherous mouth. "No matter how hard I try, the incantation won't come. I swear. I don't understand what's happening."

"I think you do." She drops the knife, causing the blade to dip down into the coals. I scoop it out and set it on the table.

I shake my head, as dumbfounded as before. "I don't. I promise. What could possibly cause this?"

"Some kind of shortcut." The words fly like a vicious accusation.

I recoil as they land like a jab to the chin. Guilty and caught, my shoulders sink and my chest caves. I wish I could crawl under the table and never come out. I glance up at her. "I was only trying to-"

"Outsmart hoodoo. Thinking that somehow, after only a couple months of training you've learned enough to outwit the laws of nature. What did you do? And tell me the truth."

Fighting off tears, I confess everything about the energy tea, including how I created my own recipe using her spell book, the weak first batches and the last, much-more-powerful brew. Though I've bared my soul, I don't feel any better. In fact, now that it's all laid out and the consequences are becoming clear, I feel worse.

She shakes her head. "I should have known. Bouncing around here, talking a mile a minute. You had my head spinning, girl. That energy you're feeling? It's not real."

How is that possible? My muscles are coiled, poised to spring. I could run a Lowcountry marathon in record time.

She must sense my confusion because she leans forward and points to my chest. "Oh, it's got your blood pumping, all right. Your cheeks are about as red as a clown's." My fingers fly to my face. She's right. It's swollen and as hot as a match. "But instead of adding to your power, that drink of yours has sucked it dry. No wonder the Psychic Vision wouldn't start. It's like trying to drive a car with a giant hole in the gas tank."

"I was just so tired." My voice trembles. "And my resistance was building so slowly. I was afraid I wouldn't have enough strength to break the Beaumont Curse."

"You kids are all the same. Impatient. Headstrong. Thinking you're so clever you can take the fast, easy route instead of putting in the work and time required for things to happen as they should. Well guess what? You can't shortchange hoodoo."

Her not-so-veiled comparison to Taneea stings worse than a hot poker to the skin. "I'm sorry," I whisper.

"You should be," she snaps, showing me no mercy. "Because of your little stunt, we've lost three good days. And we might run out of time all together."

"I know the ancestors' mortar needs to rest, but we can still do magic with your old mortar can't we?"

Her brow creases. "I can. But you're out of commission."

"What?" A tear trickles from my eye. "Are you banning me from doing magic? Please don't. Not with Cooper's birthday so close. Once his soul is safe, I don't care if I never work hoodoo again. But please don't keep me from it now."

She scoffs. "If only it was up to me. I'd punish you longer just to teach you a lesson. But your suspension has nothing to do with me. You've got to wait for that concoction of yours to work its way out of your system. You'll be lucky if it only takes a couple days to restore your natural balance. For all I know, it could take another week."

The room spins as the enormity of my mistake begins to sink in. Gripping the table to keep from fainting, I fight back tears. "I know I screwed up. But I didn't mean to. I really just wanted to do something good. Doesn't that matter for something?"

She c.o.c.ks her snowy white head. "Sure, if this was a fairy tale. But this is here is real life and no matter how good your intentions, there are consequences to your actions. Those Law Keep Away spells we worked this morning? I've got no idea how strong they are because you weren't working at your full strength. And did you even stop to think about what you might do to yourself with that drink? Each of those ingredients is strong on their own, but together, you're lucky you didn't drop dead of a heart attack. And then where would your boy be? Left with only your clueless brother and a paralyzed, old woman to save his soul."

A wave of clammy sickness rolls over me. A moment ago I didn't think I could feel any worse. Now, I wish I could dive into a swamp and bury myself in the muck.

"I'm so, so, sorry." There's nothing else I can possibly say.

"So am I." She looks away and shakes her head. "You best leave before I really get angry."

Chapter Nineteen.

Without another word, I slip off my stool and gather my messenger bag and slink out of the kitchen. If this is semi-angry Miss Delia, I don't want to be here when she blows for real.

I duck through the living room. "Come on, Jack." Then push open the screen door and run out onto the porch.

"What's going on?" Within seconds he's followed me outside, down the steps, and through the garden.

I jump into the golf cart. "I don't want to talk about it, okay? Let's just go. Now."

He stands beside the pa.s.senger side of the cart. "Huh? I don't understand? Did you see something weird in the vision? Was it Claude? Did he do something to Missy?"

"Will you just shut up and drive?" I snap, sick of hearing his annoying voice and dumb questions.

He throws up his hands. "Whoa. Back off, sis. I'm just trying to find out what happened."

"What happened is I totally screwed something up and now Miss Delia hates me and Cooper's probably going to lose his soul. Oh, yeah, and Claude is probably a total master hoodoo psychopath but I'll never get to find that out either, all because I. Screwed. Up." Tears stream from my eyes and sear my already scorching cheeks. "There, are you happy? Now will you get in the frigging cart and drive?"

"Uh. Okay." Jack races around to his side and climbs behind the wheel. He turns the key, starting the silent electric engine and clicking the headlights on.

Slipping the gear into reverse, he backs up under the bottle tree, then heads down the long driveway to the main road. A full minute of blessed silence elapses during which I meditate on my colossal transgressions.

Jack clears his throat. "At the risk of getting hit, can I say something?"

Oh my G.o.d. I swear, if it's got anything to do with being emo, I'm going to push him out of this moving cart.

"What?"

"I don't exactly understand what happened in there or what the heck you mean by all that stuff, but I'm reasonably sure you're wrong about Miss Delia. She could never hate you. Whatever is going on, it must be some sort of mistake."

"There's no mistake. I did something bad. And now there will be horrible consequences."

"Come on. This is you we're talking about, not me. You don't do bad."

A bitter laugh leaps from my lips. "Well, I didn't mean to, but I did." I stare into the dense live oak forest. The Spanish moss casts creepy shadows on the ground but even they don't scare me as much as what might happen thanks to my adventures in brewing energy tea. I force those truly horrific thoughts from my mind.

"Aha! See? I knew it. You couldn't be bad if you tried. Even the museum robbery was for a good cause. Face it, Em, you're just not hardcore enough to do hard time. And Miss Delia knows that, so there's no way she hates you."

"If only that was true."