A Charming Cure (8 page)

“June,
it’s a rule. A rule is a rule, and until we figure out what was in the sleeping
potion,” she brushed her hands down the sleeves of her cloak as if she was
wiping away the filth, “it’s no secret that Faith is not Professor Sandlewood’s
favorite student.”

What
did she mean by that? I didn’t see Eloise treat Faith any different than she
did the others in the class, but it happened in the first few hours of a very
long four days.

Hmmm.
. .only four days. What can happen in four days?
I thought about
my mantra. Evidently, a lot can happen in a few hours.

She
disappeared into Faith’s room. I looked in the window where Helena stood at the
edge of Faith’s bed. I opened my bag and grabbed a Ding Dong. If ever there was
a situation where I needed a Ding Dong, this was it.

I
bit down, relieving a little stress from the chocolaty goodness and sank down
on the bench. I wasn’t sure what I needed to do. There was no way I was going
to let Eloise take the blame for something my gut told me she didn’t do.

“Is
that good?” Raven stood behind me. The heat from her breath made the hairs on
my neck stand up. I turned to face her, and winced when I felt her fingernail
jab my arm. “You will regret laughing at Faith in class. Stay away from her.”

Oh,
I was definitely going to visit Faith Mortimer, but when no one else was
around. One way or another I was going to find out who was trying to frame
Eloise. . .on the down-low. And I only had a few days to do it in.

Without
a word, I watched Raven walk down the hall and around the corner. There was
something different about that girl. But I didn’t know what. It wasn’t like my
intuition told me to watch out, but my mind told me to keep a close eye on her.
Maybe it was my earlier run-in with her, and now this one that puts my
protection instincts on high alert. Especially since she sort of threatened me
to stay away.

The
faint amber glow coming from the small rectangular window caught my eye. Helena
had her arms outstretched over Faith’s bed. The yellow light circled Faith,
lifting her off the bed just a tad. Helena was chanting something, but I was
not a lip reader.

If
Helena is my aunt, and we are psychics, how could she do magic?
Hmm. . .

I
decided not to stay around. My intuition told me something was going on. .
.almost evil. I needed Madame Torres’ advice on where to go from here.

On
the way back, the students were still gathered in the streets, talking about
Eloise and the potion she gave Faith. There were even a few shared whispers and
pointing in my direction. It seems as if they had already connected the dots
between Eloise and me and thought I was just as guilty as she was.

Wands,
Potions, and Beyond was still open as I passed it on my way back to my room. If
there was one thing I knew I could do, it was make cures. And that was
something Faith was in desperate need of.

If
I could reverse the potion she drank, or even reverse the spell that someone
had bestowed upon her, then I could prove Eloise’s innocence.

Entering
the store was easy, but trying to find what I needed was a different story. The
aisles were labeled with everything that a Fairiwick, Dark-Sider, witch or
sorcerer would need, making me a wee-bit envious of all the cool items. Yes, I
was turning out to be a magic wannabe. But I was only good at one thing and one
thing only….potion cures.

Aisle
eight was where they kept the cauldrons. I knew I couldn’t get a big one, so
the little desktop one would have to do.

The
aisle over from the cauldrons had the ingredients I was going to need to start
off with. I ran my finger up and down the aisle until my intuition told me to
pick a few of the rarer spices. I hoped I was channeling Faith somehow, but
deep down I knew I was going to have to stand over her in order to get a real
reading on what her body needed to recover. And that was going to have to wait
until the University police and Aunt Helena completed their assessment of her.

Loaded
with my armful of goodies, the cashier told me that the items in the store were
free to the Dean’s family members. So taking advantage of my new title as
niece, I accepted it. I was eager to get back and start the cure. After all,
not only did Faith rely on it, Eloise did too.

Chapter Seven

After
getting back into my room, I took Madame Torres out of my bag while Mr. Prince
Charming stood at my feet watching every move I made.

Twisting
the cauldron up at all angles, I tried to figure out if it had a switch since
it was geared toward the newbie potion makers, but of course, it didn’t. Since
it was small, I would use it like my big one at home, with much less
ingredients.

I
grabbed a tissue off my desk to wipe it out, which reminded me to nab the
cauldron cleaner from Eloise’s classroom. Having something that worked would
really be nice.

Taking
each spice out of the bag, I lined them up alphabetically.

Meow,
meow.
I swore Mr. Prince Charming was mocking me.

“You
can never be too careful with these potions.” I wagged my finger at him. “See
what happened to Faith.”

He
paid me no attention. He jumped up on the bed, finding his way to my pillow,
and kneaded it a few times before he finally lay down and curled up.

“Allspice,
cinnamon, mandrake, rattlesnake’s rattle, and sage.” I tapped each one, hoping
to get some intuition on what to put in first. Nothing was coming which meant
that there was something missing, but what?

I
tapped my temple and really concentrated on Faith. There was no way I was
getting anywhere near her to figure out what I needed. This was so much easier
at Charming Cure when I could physically talk to the person. The only
interaction between Faith and I had been our first meeting, and that didn’t
turn out too well.

All
I could picture was her greedy little prissy self, grabbing the ladle full of
sleeping potion from Eloise and downing it like a shot.

“Seriously?”

I
spun around and clenched my chest. The voice had me jumping out of my own skin.

“Hahahhaa!”
Madame Torres cackled as she glowed a brilliant pink. She pointed her long red
fingernail at me and threw her head back. “I scared you!”

My
stomach clenched and my eyes narrowed. My own crystal ball mocked me.

“You
don’t appear when I want you to appear.” I pointed back. “You appear when
you
want to appear. Those days are over!”

I
stomped around the room trying to ignore the little snide remarks she was
making under her breath. There was an ingredient I was missing and I had to
figure out what it was, not fight with my crystal ball.

“Is
that right?”

“Yeah,
that’s right.” I turned back to the cauldron and grabbed the allspice. Opening
the lid, I shook a couple dashes into the pot.

“Fine.
I was going to tell you that you are missing the main ingredient.” Her voice
was snippy. “The one ingredient that has been shoved back in the back of your
brain.”

Was
she baiting me?
I thought, glaring at her. I couldn’t help but wonder why she had picked me to
own her. Did she only want someone that she could make fun of?

Who
was the psychic here? I waved my hand, ignoring her. But that was impossible.
Time was of the essence.

“Ugh!”
I turned toward her and planted my balled up fists on my hip. “Fine. What is
it?”

“So
now
you want me help?” Madame Torres spoke slowly, throwing her words
like stones.

“You
know what, you better tell me now before I take you to the Locust Grove flea
market when we get home.” I threatened. “You are my crystal ball. I tell you
when to work. I tell you when I want to see something. You don’t go around
deciding. I will sell you at that flea market and the buyer will never know what
you really are. I will silence you forever.”

“You
wouldn’t?” Her cheeks sucked in at the near mention of going to a flea market.

“Try
me.” I went nose to glass with her. “Now tell me the ingredient. Eloise and
Faith depend on this.”

“You
need something personal from the recipient. Just like you see them in person in
Whispering Falls and know exactly what they need. Only Faith is in a coma.” The
globe went black. Madame Torres’ feelings were hurt and she was only going to
give me what I asked for.

Something
personal.
I racked my brain.
Something personal
? What was more personal than
something from Faith’s room?

The
cauldron circulated and mixed on its own and wasn’t doing anything important,
so going next door to Faith’s room shouldn’t be that hard.

The
halls were empty when I opened my door, but I tippy- toed anyway. The police
tape was crisscrossed across Faith’s door to hinder visitors.

Taking
no chances, I used the edge of my shirt to turn the knob. I had seen in too
many movies how they can trace fingerprints, and that was the last thing that I
needed. I might only be a potion psychic, but I knew for sure that ‘breaking
and entering’, and ‘tampering with evidence’ charges were not in my future.

I
looked to my left and right to make sure the coast was clear before I went in,
because clearly, the police did not want anyone in there. I went in anyway, and
quietly shut the door behind me…using the hem of my shirt.

For
a moment, my ‘magic wannabe’ syndrome kicked in. I really wished I had Hili’s
gift of touch to light the candles, and since I didn’t, I was going to have to
feel my way around for a switch.

The
room was filled with earth-tone colors, which sent me into a bit of a shock.
Faith was not the muted type at all. Her laptop sat on the desk as if she was
just using it, and her room was neatly waiting for her to come back.

Wait!
I thought there were no electronics. Besides, wasn’t the computer the first
item the police takes?
I eyed the pink laptop, taking it under my arm in a
weak moment of knowing that I needed to learn all about Faith in order to
figure out who would harm her and why.

The
bed was neatly made and sat underneath the two large windows that faced the
front of the house. She had a wall of photos that I quickly glanced through but
none of them seemed unusual. A picture of what I assumed were her parents and
siblings hung in the middle. Faith was front and center in the shot, smiling
ear-to-ear next to a dark haired girl with pigtails. They looked to be about
the same age, which made me wonder where her sister was.

The
parents appeared to be prim and proper. The gentleman, dressed in a suit,
looked to be about six foot tall with neatly slicked hair to one side. The
woman had a modest calf-length red dress that hit at her calf and low-heeled shoes.
They all seemed to be celebrating something special. Maybe even a magical
achievement. Faith was holding up a small wand.

It
reminded me of something a mortal family would have, like a first communion or
preschool graduation. She was quite cute really, the cutest of the two.

Glancing
around, there didn’t seem to be anything out of place. It looked like she was a
typical college student. Some items hung on the wall that boosted the Hidden
Hall extra-curricular activities. There wasn’t any sign of a newspaper being
secretly produced, but that didn’t mean that it wasn’t happening somewhere else
in Whispering Falls.

The
manicure set neatly tucked on the edge of her desk nudged my intuition. . .DNA.
Sure, I could use hair from her brush, but something with her fingernails would
be the perfect ingredient. Or at least that was what my intuition told me.

Careful
not to damage the DNA ingredient, I didn’t touch it. My eyes followed the
fingernail file dust to the edge of the desk, and then down to the wastebasket.

No,
June. You wouldn’t.
My
subconscious mind told me I was a sicko, but I did it anyway. After all, it was
for the sake of Eloise. She would’ve done it to save Darla or me.

I
reached into the garbage and took the liner with Faith’s fingernail clippings
resting on the top. With the laptop and garbage bag in hand, it was time to get
out of there.

Once
safely back in my room, I pulled a chair up to the wall and unscrewed the air
conditioning vent. Faith’s laptop fit nicely into the hole and no one would find
it if they came looking for it.

My
intuition told me there was some important information on there, but first
things first. If I could find a cure, now was the time.

“Well,
well.” Madame Torres decided to make another appearance. There was laughter in her
eyes. “I see that you took my advice.”

“Flea
market!” I yelled over my shoulder as I replaced the screws and went to work
with my tweezers in the garbage bag.

Purrr,
purr.
Mr. Prince Charming didn’t even lift his head off my pillow.