It Takes a Witch: A Wishcraft Mystery (11 page)

I winced as I opened my eyes. Dennis was kneeling over me, his eyes intent on my face. They were nice eyes, I decided. Kind. Maybe there was more to him than an egomaniacal jerk.

“Hold still,” he said smoothly.

He needn’t have worried. My head hurt so bad that I
didn’t want to move. Lord, I hoped there wasn’t any blood. I couldn’t stand the sight of blood. I usually fainted if it amounted to more than a nick.

Over his shoulder, he said, “I told you having her here was a bad idea.”

I winced in pain.

“Now is not the time, Dennis,” Cherise chastised.

Dennis rubbed his hands together and slowly lowered one palm to my forehead. His lips moved, and his left eye twitched twice. Warmth flowed across my forehead, fizzing its way over my head, down my face, through my whole body.

“Is the pain gone?” he asked.

I nodded. Suddenly, I liked him a whole lot better.

“Good. Now it’s time for you to go.”

And just like that, he was a jerk again.

“No!” Laurel Grace cried. “I need to give her my tooth!”

Cherise helped me stand up (the wings were a little unwieldly), and I realized I felt better than I had in a long time. No wonder Dennis’s medical practice was doing so well. I wondered if he could cure broken hearts, and if he could, maybe I should make an appointment with him for Ve.

Dennis rolled his eyes and motioned me over to the bed. Laurel Grace was fairly bouncing with glee. If she’d been affected by the head bumping, she showed no signs of it—or she’d been healed before me, when I was out cold. “I lost another tooth!”

“So I heard.” Turning to face my audience, I said to them, “May I have a few moments alone with Laurel Grace?”

“I don’t think—,” Dennis began before Amanda took hold of his arm and forcibly pulled him from the room.

I had a little chat with Laurel Grace, explaining how from now on, I (as the tooth fairy) would visit her only when she was asleep, and that even though she wouldn’t
see me, she’d know I had been there when she woke up and found her special coin pouch. And that I wouldn’t visit at
all
if I suspected she was pulling her teeth on purpose just for a visit. I stressed the importance of that last fact, and how fairies
always
knew the truth.

She looked at me solemnly, her eyes wide with wonder.

“Now it’s time for you to go back to sleep,” I said softly.

Snuggling under the covers, she said, “I’m glad I didn’t make you dead.”

I smiled. “I’m glad, too.”

From beneath her pillow, I removed the tooth-shaped pillow, and I pulled from my velvet pouch the special coin pouch embroidered with Laurel Grace’s name. I handed it to her. “Remember what I said.”

She nodded and clutched the pouch, her tiny fingers gripping the fabric tightly.

Glitter rained down on the carpet as I waved good-bye and backed out of the room, closing the door behind me. In the hallway, Amanda and Cherise awaited. Dennis was gone, but I could hear him downstairs, moving around.

Quietly I explained what I’d told Laurel Grace. I handed Amanda the tooth pillow and a small bottle of glitter. “For more coin pouches, just call Laurissa at the Spinning Wheel. You might want to have several tucked away.” From now on, Amanda would be taking over my duties.

“I’m going to hide these and then go check on Laurel Grace. Thank you so much, Darcy, for everything.”

I said, “You’re welcome.”

I couldn’t say I’d miss the tulle. Or the tights. But I’d definitely miss Laurel Grace’s smile.

“Come,” Cherise said, leading me downstairs.

Dennis sat sullenly at the kitchen table, his hands wrapped around a steaming mug. Dunking a tea bag, he gave me a sideways glance and scowled.

Cherise frowned at him as she reached for her checkbook.

His petulant scowl was unnerving, so I turned my back to him. “Can I ask you a question, Cherise?”

She searched a drawer for a pen. “Sure thing.”

“Can Curecrafters heal broken hearts?”

Her gaze drifted over my wings and settled on, I assumed, her son. “Unfortunately, no. Only true medical ailments.”

I wanted to argue her point, because there was nothing more painful than heartache, but I knew it was useless. The Curecrafters had to abide by their own laws, and if it said no healing broken hearts, then there would be no healing of broken hearts.

“Whose? Yours?” Cherise asked, an empathetic warmth in her eyes.

Though my heart was still bruised, it was nothing like what my aunt was going through. “Ve.”

Her forehead dipped into a deep frown. “This business with Sylar?”

I nodded. “He was arraigned this afternoon.”

Letting out a breath, she said, “It’s terrible. Just terrible.”

“For me, too,” Dennis said.

I turned to face him as Cherise said, “Not everything is about you.”

He scowled at her, too. Glad his bad attitude wasn’t reserved just for me.

“A good portion of my clients are Alexandra Shively victims,” he said. “My practice is going to see a loss of profit now that she’s gone.”

Victims. Such a strong word. It reminded me of Griffin Huntley, the car salesman who lost his hair. How many others were there? And had any of them sought revenge?

I heard footsteps on the stairs as Cherise said to her son, “Only you would turn a woman’s death into a tragedy for yourself. You didn’t even know her.”

Dennis stood. “It would be a tragedy if my practice failed. How would I pay for this house, this mug,
her
?” He pointed at me.

Hmm. Seemed to me, Cherise had paid for As You Wish’s services.

“Please,” Cherise countered. “You have a waiting list three months long for new patients. Your profits won’t wane in the least. You’re missing the bigger point. Life is not about money, Dennis. It’s about family. It’s about
love
.”

He was scoffing as Amanda came into the kitchen. She’d obviously heard what he said. The naked hurt on her face made my chest tight.

“Is that so?” Amanda asked him, her voice cracking.

Dennis pulled his shoulders back. “I don’t see you cutting up your credit cards.”

Tears filled her eyes.

Cherise said, “That’s enough. You’re never going to learn what love is until it’s gone.” She faced me. “I wish Dennis would learn exactly what it’s like not to have Amanda and Laurel Grace in his life for a while.”

My heart pounded. I looked between the three of them and winced as I said, “I wish I might, I wish I may, grant this wish without delay.” I blinked twice.

Amanda vanished. I spun around, looking for her. “Where’d she go?” My hands started to shake.

“You don’t know?” Dennis demanded.

I shook my head. She’d been standing there within arm’s reach; then she was gone. Just. Like. That.

Panic seeped in. Where had she gone?

Cherise, I noticed, was smiling. How could she be
smiling
?

Dennis ran for the stairs, took them up two at a time. A second later he was back, out of breath. He got right in my face. “Laurel Grace is gone, too.”

My stomach cramped.

“Bring them back, right now.” Fury shone in his eyes.

“I c-can’t.” How could I? I didn’t know where they went.

He closed his eyes tightly; then they popped open. “I
wish
they’d come back. Right this minute,” he said through tightly clenched teeth.

Absolutely, this was the last fairy job ever. How did I get myself into this position?

Quickly, I said, “Wish I might, wish I may, grant this wish without delay.”

Nothing happened.

Dennis took a step back, looked around. “Where are they?”

I shrugged. I had no earthly idea.

“Why didn’t the wish work?” he demanded to know.

My guess was because it wasn’t pure of heart. I glanced at Cherise. I had a feeling she knew it, too.

And I wasn’t surprised to see her still smiling, not the least bit worried.

I, on the other hand, was scared to death. Because I had no idea if I could ever wish the mother and daughter back.

W
hite twinkle lights lit the front porch as I pulled into As You Wish’s driveway and cut the engine.

It was a little past ten, the village green was quiet, and I was still shaken. Dennis had stormed out of the Goodwin house when his wish hadn’t worked, and Cherise had simply handed me a check and bidden me a good night.

Moonlight guided me up the walkway toward the back of the house, through the small picket gate, and up the steps and into the mudroom. I hung my wings on a hook by the back door, and greeted a sleepy Missy, who gave two halfhearted barks when I came in.

Tilda sat on the kitchen counter, eyeing me warily. I cupped her face and scratched behind her ears. She pushed her head into my palm and a purr vibrated against my hand. I couldn’t help but smile.

Hearing steps on the back staircase, I turned and found Harper coming down. She wore long loose lounge pants and a T-shirt as pajamas—with her short stature and delicate features, she looked about fifteen years old, not twenty-three, a fact I knew she detested. In her hand was the forensics book, which had been copiously dog-eared.

“Whoa,” she said when she saw me. “You look like someone stole your magic wand.”

I pulled the tiara off my head and picked out a few long dark strands of my hair stuck in its combs. “Worse.”

“What happened?”

Ve’s snores drifted down the stairs. I motioned upward. “Has she been out this whole time?”

Harper lifted herself onto a counter stool. “Completely. I don’t think she’s even rolled over.”

It had been a long twenty-four hours for Ve. Rest could only be good for her.

“I can’t imagine what she’s going through,” I murmured. I went to Ve’s liquor cabinet and looked inside. I didn’t see anything that looked the least bit good.

Harper hopped off the stool, went to the freezer, and pulled out a York Peppermint Patty and handed it to me. I set my elbows on the counter and leaned on them as I peeled the wrapper and nibbled on frozen chocolate.

“Are you going to tell me?” Harper asked.

My eyes drifted shut and I groaned. “It’s bad.”

“How bad?”

“Bad bad.”

There was lightness in her tone as she said, “Did the little girl get tangled in your tulle?”

“You’re making fun, but this isn’t amusing. I think…I, well—”

“What?”

“I made Amanda and Laurel Grace Goodwin disappear.”

Her dark eyebrows dipped as she frowned. “Disappear?”

“Vanish.”

“No one just vanishes.”

“Into thin air. Right before my very eyes. Well, Amanda at least.” Tilda came over and sniffed around the peppermint patty. I explained about Cherise’s wish.

Harper’s eyes grew wide. “Where did they go?”

“I don’t have a clue. I need to talk to Ve.”

Tilda
rreow
ed, and nudged my chin with the top of
her head. I scratched under her chin, wondering if she was lulling me into a false sense of security. Again.

“I don’t think Ve’s going to be coherent until morning.”

My stomach churned. I was afraid of that. “I don’t know what else to do. Who else to talk to. I suppose the Elder would know.…”

“Do you know how to reach the Elder?”

“No.”

“Marcus Debrowski came back after you left for the Goodwins’. He’s a Lawcrafter, so he might know something, right?”

“I don’t know. Maybe. Why’d he stop by?”

“He wanted to make sure Ve was okay. And he dropped off some papers for her.”

“What kind of papers?”

She shrugged. “They’re in a sealed envelope. He stayed for coffee.” She rubbed the countertop. “He seems nice.”

I studied her carefully. “How nice?”

“He asked me out for coffee.”

I smiled. “And you said?”

“I’d think about it. I’m not sure he’s my type.”

“Only one way to find out.”

She shrugged. “I suppose.”

I couldn’t help but get the feeling she was disappointed that Vince hadn’t been the one to ask her out.

“What are you going to do about the Goodwins?”

I shook my head, feeling fairly useless. Taking a deep breath, I said, “Cherise didn’t seem the least bit worried. Maybe I should take that as a consolation. If something bad was happening, she’d be worried, right?”

“You’re asking the wrong person. I don’t know the first thing about all this witch stuff. Honestly, I don’t think I want to know and be the cause of people disappearing.”

I narrowed my eyes at her.

“Sorry,” she said, shrugging.

Missy let out a little yap. She sat in the doorway of the mudroom. I’d closed off her doggy door for the time being, until I could figure out how she kept escaping.

“I can take her,” Harper said.

“No, no. I’ll go. The fresh air will help clear my head.”

Running upstairs, I peeked at Ve as I passed her room. Sure enough, she hadn’t moved. I shimmied out of my tutu and into a pair of jeans.

I hadn’t found Missy’s collar yet, so I rigged a temporary slipknot with her leash, making sure I left enough slack so she wouldn’t choke. Tomorrow I’d go to the pet shop, the Furry Toadstool, and buy her a new collar.

It was a gorgeous night, warm and breezy, and I wished I could enjoy it. My chest was tight, and I could feel anxiety thrumming below the surface. I hadn’t felt this way since Troy had walked out. No, scratch that. Not since I found out he had remarried and his new bride was pregnant.

I took deep, even breaths, and tried to tell myself everything would be okay. If I could get through my divorce, I could survive just about anything.

I hoped.

Missy trotted along. She stopped to sniff anything that interested her—plants, park benches, trees, a stray piece of litter. She hadn’t seemed the least bit affected by her adventure this afternoon.

I tried not to worry about the Goodwins. Once Ve woke up, I’d find out what I could do to bring the pair home. I thought about calling Cherise to see if she knew how to contact the Elder, but my gut instinct told me that she wouldn’t tell me. Cherise was happy about this turn of events. And apparently
her
wish had been pure of heart. I thought about that for a moment.