Laure Donavan 2 - Ghouls Night Out (30 page)

“
I can’t believe I have to
ride in the trunk,” Anthony’s muffled voice said from the back of
the car.

He was lucky he was getting to tag
along after that caper he pulled with the fake crossing over
thing.

We pulled away from the curb. No sign
of Becky or Mindy. And Callahan had closed his shop for the day a
few hours earlier. I wondered where he was and if he was safe. We
headed away from town, I guessed to Dixie's house. Please let us
not be headed to the wooded area again. The last thing I needed was
for my father to show up again. Speaking of which, he’d tried to
call, but I hadn’t answered. I didn’t have the patience to talk
with him until I got a handle on all the other chaos in my
life.

Chapter Forty-Four

“
Do you feel that?” I asked
no one in particular. I didn't care if Dixie or Martha answered, as
long as someone acknowledged me.

“
Feel what, dear?” Dixie
asked.

“
That strange feeling? It's
in the air. I've felt it for some time now. And it seems to be
growing stronger.”

“
Magic,” Martha said in her
steady even tone.

“
Excuse me?” I
asked.

“
It's magic you feel. It's
all around. This town is full of it. And not just witchcraft. I bet
you'd be surprised at the hidden talents people of this town
possess.”

“
What do you
mean?”

“
I think you know what I
mean. You have a hidden talent, no?” She winked.

I paused and glanced over at Mae and
Seth.

Mae shrugged her shoulders and gave me
her typical sassy look. I looked toward the front of the car at the
women.

“
How did you know?” I
asked.

“
Never mind that. Just…I
know. You're an open-minded person. Open your eyes more and you'll
see what I mean. Karyn told us about your witchcraft talent, and we
can see for ourselves.”

I didn't answer. I rolled her words
around in my mind. Perhaps I did need to open my mind more. I mean,
look at the magic in town. I had no idea about the witches until
recently. And I needed to decide what I wanted to do about Karyn’s
offer…if she got better.

“
Where are we headed?” I
asked, looking out the window at the passing trees.

“
We’re going to the woods.
The usual spot.”

Not again. Just what I’d been afraid
of. I’d had enough of this spot recently. I’d never go on a nature
hike again.

“
They love the earthy
stuff, huh?” Mae said.

I didn't know about any of this. It
seemed like we were up against a power we couldn't fight this time.
But I guess Martha knew her stuff, so I had to trust
her.

As we moved along the road, the magic
feeling increased. Almost as if eyes were focused on me. I glanced
over my shoulder out the back window. A car followed close to our
bumper.

“
What's their hurry?” I
asked.

“
I just noticed them,”
Dixie said, looking in the rearview mirror.

“
Are they crazy?” Seth
asked.

The ladies couldn't hear his question,
but I assumed they might be thinking exactly what he said. I turned
around again to get a better look at the car. It was a white car,
but I couldn't make out the style, although I saw one thing
clearly…the occupants of the car. Becky was driving and Mindy was
in the passenger seat.

“
It's her,” I
said.

“
Who?” Dixie
asked.

“
Becky,” Martha answered
for me.

“
How did she know? Why is
she following us?” I looked out the back window again.

“
She's brave. She knows
we're on to her. She wants to stop us and she thinks she can.”
Martha seemed calm considering the speed at which we whizzed down
the road.

The car bumped us.

“
What the heck,” I said, my
body moving forward in the seat. “She's trying to run us off the
road.”

“
What the hell is going
on?” Anthony asked from the trunk.

Dixie swerved the car. She sped up,
but so did Becky. We raced around the curve. The turn-off point was
just ahead and the dirt path came into view.

“
Looks as if we may have a
fight on our hands.” Dixie had a death grip on the steering
wheel.

“
I can take her down,” Mae
said.

“
Hardly,” I
said.

“
Hardly what?” Dixie
asked.

“
Oh, nothing. Talking to
myself,” I said.

We screeched around the turn and onto
the dirt path with Becky right behind us. She followed as we
barreled down the road. Mud flew everywhere.

“
You women drivers are
crazy. I swear if I wasn’t dead already, you’d for sure kill me
back here,” Anthony said.

When Dixie pulled up to the spot, the
parked cars lined the path, waiting for us. No one was in sight and
I didn't know what we were going to do with the crazy person
following us.

Chapter Forty-Five

I didn't know what Becky would do. If
she’d been capable of strong magic with Mindy, I knew she could use
it on us. As soon as the car was in park, Martha jumped out. Was
she a stunt person for movies? I’d kill myself jumping out of the
car like that.

Dixie lunged out from the car right
after Martha. At that point, I thought, what the hell. I couldn't
stay in the car like a big chicken while the other women jumped out
to fight for maybe their lives, and mine, too. I pushed the door
open and leapt out. I felt like maybe I should shout
Geronimo.

Becky screeched her car to a halt
right behind ours. Martha and Dixie stood shoulder to shoulder
behind the car, waiting to see what move Becky would make next. I
inched my way up behind them, forcing myself to stand in the line
beside them. How we'd gotten to this point, I had no idea. Why was
I fighting witchcraft? I just wanted a normal life, but it didn't
look as if a normal life was in the cards for me. Becky leapt out
of her car and Mindy followed her lead. My heart thumped. What
would they do?

I soon found out.

Becky didn’t say a word as she lunged
forward and, in one fluid motion, grabbed my neck. “Give me the
necklace. It’s mine,” she screeched.

Apparently, Becky didn't believe that
whole ‘rule of three’ thing. Meaning whatever bad energy she put
out, she’d get back three times as bad. The next thing I knew, she
was on top of me and we were on the ground, rolling around. She
wrapped her hands around my neck and squeezed. I grasped my hands
tight around her arms, trying to break her grip.

“
You’re crazy,” I gasped
out.

I mean, Brianna was evil and had tried
to kill me, but Becky was determined to finish the job. Mindy
looked on with a blank stare. Martha and Dixie struggled to free me
from Becky’s grasp, but to no avail. Becky must have lifted weights
or been a freak of nature. She was strong and they were having a
tough time of it.

“
I’m not going to let you
take my position in the coven, you stupid bitch.” She spewed venom
with each word.

I tried to scream, but only a whimper
escaped my lips. A loud thud echoed and the pressure on my neck was
gone. What the hell had just happened? Becky fell off me and I
rolled to my side. I looked to Martha and Dixie. Their mouths hung
open.

Who had hit Becky? During the
struggle, I hadn’t been able to make out much other than her face
in front of mine. Now, Becky lay motionless. Her long brown hair
fell over her face. I hoped she was okay, even though she would
have loved to have seen me in the same position. And not just hurt
either, but dead. Mindy still had the same dazed look on her face.
There was no weapon in her hand so, if not her, and not Dixie or
Martha, who had hit Becky?

My legs wobbled as I tried to
stand.

“
Here, let me help you.”
Martha put her arms around me.

“
Who did that to her?” I
asked.

“
I don’t know. The man ran
out, hit her with the stick, then ran away again.”

A shadow emerged from behind the car.
Had the person been in the woods all along? He walked toward us and
my heart raced. Had he been the one to clobber Becky? Would he hit
us, too? The need to run washed over me. Darkness surrounded us,
making anything beyond our cars nothing more than blackness. As the
dark figure drew near us, I recognized him. The big stick he’d
obviously used as a weapon was still in his hand.

“
Who is that?” Dixie choked
out.

“
It’s my
father.”

He had saved my life. Dizziness
overwhelmed me as the adrenaline rushed through me. I leaned
against the car for support. He hurried toward me.

“
Are you all right?” He
touched my arm.

“
Do you always hang out in
these woods?” I asked.

At least I hadn't lost my sense of
humor.

“
No, of course not. I
followed you. I didn't know if you were fully aware of the danger
you put yourself in. Someone has to watch you.” He wrapped his arm
around my shoulder.

Anger and happiness hit me at the same
time. Finally, for the first time in his life, he was there when I
needed him. But it was a little too late to be a father
now.

Becky moaned and rolled over. Mindy
leaned over her and lifted her to a sitting position.

“
She’s going to have a
whopper of a headache,” I said.

“
Yes, she will.” He
nodded.

“
She was trying to kill
me.”

“
I know. I hated to hit her
like that, but she was messing with my little girl.”

Little girl? Oh, please. “You did what
you had to do, but why did you run away?”

“
Just in case I needed to
get my gun.”

“
Well, I’m glad you didn’t.
You’d probably have accidentally shot yourself. No
offense.”

“
None taken, I
guess.”

“
Come on, Larue, you should
have a seat.” Martha led me back to the car and I plopped down in
the backseat, leaving the door open. Mae and Seth stood beside the
car. This was the first time I’d seen them shocked silent. Anthony
paced again. Mindy moved closer to me, away from Becky.

“
You hurt her,” she
yelled.

I didn’t answer. She wouldn’t listen
to anything I said anyway. I wanted to grab her and tell her to
snap out of it. Would the spell release now that Becky had been
weakened?

“
What will happen now,
Martha?” I asked, looking away from Mindy.

“
We'll perform the spell
now. Becky’s magic will fade and won't have a powerful hold now
that she’s injured but, to be safe, we'll do a spell. Come on, we
have to hurry. The police will be here soon and they’ll want to
speak with us.”

“
Don’t they know there’s a
coven in town?” I asked.

“
Yes, they know,” Martha
said as she walked toward the trees.

“
Are they all right with
that?” I followed along behind them.

“
Yes, you could say
that.”

“
There are members of the
coven in the police department, aren't there?” I asked.

“
Yes. Now come on. Dixie,
call the police,” Martha said over her shoulder. “And stay here
with Mr. Donavan until they arrive. We’ll be back soon.”

I cringed as I looked back at Becky.
As mean as she was, and I knew she wanted me dead, I couldn't help
but feel bad for her. However, I couldn't dwell on it, though. I
had to help Callahan, Mindy, and Karyn. The coven had heard the
ruckus, but didn’t question us about what had happened.

I moved to what was now becoming my
usual spot around the circle, lit the candles, then placed them on
the ground. The flickering glow cast an ominous feeling around the
group. My hands shook, but I had to remember these people were here
to help me. I added the salt along with the other mixture. The wind
whipped wildly. I repeated the words Dixie had given me. As the
incantation left my lips, the wind stopped. It was as if the night
had been put on pause. No trees swayed, the mist ceased, and the
sounds of nature quieted to an inaudible level. Peace settled over
us…until the sirens rang out.

“
Come on. Let’s get this
taken care of, once and for all,” Martha said motioning for us to
follow her lead.

We moved past the trees and out toward
the road. At least we wouldn't have to explain why twenty people
had been hiding in the woods—the police already knew of the
witchcraft around Magnolia. I wasn't looking forward to talking to
the police, though. I’d had my fair share of those conversations in
the past few days. I just wanted away from all of the madness. What
I wouldn’t do for things to be back to normal. My normal…ghosts and
all.

My shoulders ached from the weight of
the tension, and my throat hurt every time I swallowed. I walked to
the end of the path, looking at all the expectant faces staring
back at me. The ambulance had reached Becky.