Looking for Mr. Good Witch (26 page)

“That's right.” Elsie clapped her hands. “I remember that one back in the nineteen seventies. Molly knew three days before the weatherman that the tropical storm was going to become a hurricane.”

“What about you, Brian?” Dorothy asked.

“I don't know. I can tell when someone is cheating at poker. Does that count?”

We laughed at that. Dorothy didn't have a physical manifestation of her magic yet either. But they were both very young, just getting started in their lives.

Elsie and I took the lead, the sea witch subdued and silent between us as we started walking across the island toward the lighthouse. The wind whipped foam on the water as people visiting the lighthouse struggled to keep their souvenir hats that said SHRIMP FEVER on their heads.

I smiled at Olivia as she stood in the shade of the old lighthouse. “We'll be back before you know it.”

“Just be careful out there, Molly. You know that the Bone Man is more than he appears to be—although goodness knows that's frightening enough. Don't let him talk you into anything you don't want to do.”

“I won't. Don't worry. I have plenty of backup.”

She nodded, and I could tell she wished she could go back there with us too. But she was too vulnerable. Maybe some other time, if her ghostly abilities kept growing. It was ironic that she'd spent her whole life trying to be a better witch only to find herself learning to be something else.

“When you're ready,” I said to Brian and Dorothy, who were kissing again near the woods.

“We're ready,” Brian replied. “The Bone Man doesn't scare me.”

Elsie shushed him. “Be careful what you say.”

Her words were blown away by a sharp crack of lightning over the sea. Rain gushed from the dark, swirling clouds above us.

“We have to follow the path through the woods to the old cemetery!” I shouted at them to be heard above the weather.

Elsie was right beside me. Dorothy and Brian were behind us. Following the well-worn path, we trudged through the wet sand between the trees. The storm came down hard on the island. It was hard to see anything that wasn't right in front of me. I kept my eyes open for the first of the old settler's tombstones.

I reached the center of the cemetery. This was where the Bone Man usually made his appearance. I tried to still the rapid beating of my heart by taking deep, slow breaths. I looked back for Elsie, but she wasn't there. Neither was Brian or Dorothy. I forced myself to stop clutching the sea witch's arm.

The rain suddenly stopped and the wind grew quiet. It was as though I were standing in the eye of a hurricane. The sky above me was blue and birds were singing in the trees.

I called for Elsie, Dorothy and Brian. That inner sense that usually told me they were close by was gone. I felt alone and disoriented. I started to retrace my steps through the woods.

“Molly.” The Bone Man suddenly appeared—as he always did—from behind a tombstone. “You brought her to me.”

“I did, but we have to talk.” My voice trembled and I fought to get hold of myself. “Let me find my friends . . .”

He grinned, black teeth showing in his red mouth. “No need. They've returned to the lighthouse. You weren't clever to bring them with you. We don't need them.”

“I brought her to you, but she must answer to the Grand Council of Witches for the deaths of the witches.” My voice shook despite my best intentions.

“The witches' council means nothing to me. You've done well, Molly. You saved your friend, and honored our agreement.”

“One of those young witches was the son of a friend of mine. Magic won't bring him back. His family requires justice.”

“Human life is fragile and short,” he mused. “Even a witch's life.”

I didn't like how this was going, even though I had expected it. I knew there was nothing I could do, as Elsie had said. “Easy to say that when you're a sea god, eh, Manannan MacLir?”

When I said his name, an immediate transformation took place. His frightening shape as the Bone Man was only glamour too.

In his place stood an average-sized man with very pale skin and long black hair. He was amazing to look at, like no one I had ever seen. His eyes were constantly changing color from blue to green to gray. He exuded magic that was stronger even than what I'd felt from the sea witch. My amulet grew warm and animated as he changed.

“You know my name.” He smiled and took my hand. “You are indeed worthy of that amulet, Molly.”

The sea witch changed at the same time. She was the beautiful, red-haired woman who'd been in my dreams, the one who'd been burned at the stake as a witch hundreds of years before. The magic net slewed off her to the ground. She stood tall and proud at his side, her hand on his arm.

“I thank you for returning me to my home, Molly,” she said with a graceful nod of her head. “I was lost and could not find my way back. Only here am I safe. Only here can others be safe from me.”

My heart thudded in my chest and my breath came faster. I was caught in a net of magic just as the sea witch had been, the passionate emotions between these two people swirling around me. What was I going to do? How could I force the Bone Man to give her up to the council?

Easy answer—I couldn't. I wasn't even sure it was the right thing to do.

“That's right.” He looked at his mate again with love in his eyes. “I could not give her back human life, you see. All I could offer was shelter here with my magic. We were separated. I couldn't find her.”

“I swear I meant no harm to you or your kind,” she assured me. “The magic is too strong for me to contain unless I am here.”

“Why didn't you use your magic to go get her?” I asked in the throes of conscience.

The sea god put his arm around her. “I am punished here forever for my deed after her death, as she is punished with me for our love.”

I thought about the deaths of the colonists that I'd seen in my dream. I looked at the two lovers, who were doomed for what they'd done to be together. I knew I wouldn't tell the council what had happened.

I felt sorry for him and the sea witch. It was better to have
Joe for a human lifetime than to live so long going into and out of the spell MacLir had cast.

“And now you know my secret.” He took both my hands in his. “If you agree to keep my name to yourself, I vow to always protect you and your family, as I vowed to protect your family when I gave the amulet to your ancestor.”

I had no intention of telling anyone that I'd had a conversation with an Irish sea god. Who would believe me? It was an easy deal to make. “From this day forward, I won't tell anyone your real name.”

“Then the deal is made.”

I knew it was time to go. I smiled at the handsome couple, wondering how I would ever explain this to Belinda and her sisters, or to the council.

“One last word of warning,” he said. “Never give that amulet to anyone not in your family. It could be dangerous in the wrong hands.”

I started to speak, but he was gone. I took a deep breath and made my way back through the trees. As he'd said, everyone was waiting for me at the lighthouse. There were too many questions to answer. The storm had stopped as soon as I'd vanished. Dorothy, Elsie and Brian had looked for me. They swore I hadn't been in the old cemetery.

“Did you give the sea witch to the Bone Man?” Elsie asked. “Should we call the council now?”

“She's with him,” I told her. “I'm not volunteering any information to the council. I'll explain later. Let's catch the ferry before it leaves without us.”

We discussed plans for training Brian and Dorothy on the way back to Wilmington. Though Brian refused to admit that he needed some help in that department too, he grudgingly agreed to let us show him a few things.

“I think this is a new golden age for us, Molly,” Elsie said as we reached Smuggler's Arcane. “I can feel all that young magic coming together with ours. Gives me goose bumps all over.”

Olivia laughed. “Are you sure you're not thinking about Larry?”

I started to open the door to the shop—it was already open despite magic and mundane locks.

“Let me go in first,” Brian volunteered. “It's probably someone from my family. I hope having me around isn't going to be too much of a problem.”

Cautiously, we made our way into the shop, noticing that
there was a stranger sitting at our table. He got to his feet. He was tall, lean, handsome and dressed like a pirate. “You must be Dorothy,” he said, walking right up to her with a broad smile. “Yes. I'd know you anywhere.”

Olivia's jaw dropped. “Drago? Is that really
you?”

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