Spells A La Carte (Mystic Cafe Series Book 3) (16 page)

I followed Grandma Imelda over to the shelf. She pulled bottles down and handed them to me before grabbing a handful herself.

“I hope this spell works,” I said as I placed the bottles on the island.

Grandma Imelda grabbed a big pot and set it in the middle. “You have to have faith. If you think it won’t work then it definitely won’t.”

I knew she was right, but it was hard to think positive after everything that had happened. Grandma Imelda filled the pot with water and then started dumping the spices in. I handed her the bottles like a surgeon’s assistant.  

“I wish there was some way I could help,” Mary Jane said.

“Just being here with us helps,” Grandma Imelda said with a smile.

After adding about twenty spices to the water, Grandma Imelda began stirring. The more she stirred the more sparks flew up from the big pot. Mary Jane and I ducked to avoid being hit by the bright yellow lights. Grandma Imelda’s stirring slowed down and with it so did the sparks. She placed the big wooden spoon on the counter beside the pot. The energy flowed from the top of the pot, but the sparks had subsided.

We looked at each other as if we had no idea what to do next. Maybe that was because we really didn’t have a clue.

“We need to plan our attack,” I said.

Grandma Imelda tapped her index finger against her chin. “Well, like you said, they won’t drink this stuff, so we will have to dump it on them. That’s why I made the spell so strong.”

“So we should rush them when they come in the door. Just splash it on them?” Mary Jane asked.

I nodded. “I think so. We don’t even know how long we will have to wait for them to show up.”

“I don’t think we’ll have to wait very long,” Granma Imelda said. “Now help me carry this out to the front of the café.”

Mary Jane and I lifted the heavy pot and lugged it into the dining room.

“What if they come to the back door?” Mary Jane asked.

“We’ll leave the front door open for them,” Grandma Imelda said.

We placed the pot down on the floor.

“Stand by the door so that you can get them when they walk in.” Grandma Imelda gestured. “I’ll stand here so that they can see me.”

Grandma Imelda was acting as the bait. As soon as they looked in the door, they’d see her holding the spellbook.

Anxiety ran through my veins as we stood by the door. I wasn’t sure how long I would be able to handle the stress. Movement caught my attention. When I looked out the window, I spotted Meredith and Ron rushing up the sidewalk toward the café.

“Here they come,” I said a little louder than necessary.

“I’m so nervous,” Mary Jane said.

“It’s okay. Everything will be just fine,” I said.

“Are you ready, ladies?” Grandma Imelda asked.

Mary Jane and I lifted the big pot.

“I hope we don’t accidentally spill it on ourselves,” Mary Jane said.

I wished she hadn’t said that. Now I would be worried about that the whole time.

“Here they come,” I said.

My hands were shaking, not only from the weight of the pot, but from my nerves. The door swung open and Meredith and Ron ran in. Their eyes were wide and their faces fuming red. They were staring straight at Grandma Imelda.

“Give me the book,” Meredith yelled.

I nodded at Mary Jane and we tossed the contents of the pot on Meredith and Ron. They screamed as they slipped and fell backwards onto the floor. They were covered with the watery mixture.

“Run.” Grandma Imelda yelled.

Mary Jane and I had to avoid the wet floor or we would be lying there next to Meredith and Ron. They were struggling to get up, but they couldn’t get their footing because of the slippery tile. Plus, as I looked back, I noticed that their actions were considerably slower.

“I think the spell is working,” I said as we ran through the café and toward the kitchen.

We reached the back door and Grandma Imelda unlocked it and we ran out. She had the spellbook clutched in her arms.

“Give me the book, I can run faster with it,” I said.

Surprisingly she handed the book over and I took off running down the sidewalk. I wanted to get securely in the car before Meredith or Ron caught up with me. Although if the spell was doing what I thought it was, we would have plenty of time.

I reached the car and climbed in. Mary Jane and Grandma Imelda were right behind me. Mary Jane jumped in the back and Grandma Imelda got behind the steering wheel.

“Now what do we do?” Mary Jane asked.

“We wait,” Grandma Imelda said.

We stared at the front door of the café waiting for Meredith and Ron to come out.

A couple minutes passed and nothing happened.

“Do you think the spell worked?” Mary Jane asked as she leaned forward from the backseat.

“I think it was working before we even got out of the café,” I said.

“We should go check on them,” Grandma Imelda said.

That wasn’t something I really wanted to volunteer for, but I didn’t want Mary Jane or Grandma Imelda to go either.

“Hold the book, Grandma, I’ll go back and look.”

She frowned. “Okay, but be careful.”

“I promise I will,” I said as I handed her the giant spellbook.

She took it and I got out of the car. I slowly walked toward the café’s door. I looked around to make sure they hadn’t come out the back door and were now waiting somewhere to attack me. I reached the door and peered inside.

Meredith and Ron were no longer on the floor. My adrenaline zoomed again. Where were they?

I sucked in a deep breath and opened the door. I’d have to go inside and find them. They could already be headed out the back door by now. I inched inside the café, stepping around the wet spot on the floor.

At first I didn’t see them, but when I looked to my left, I spotted Meredith and Ron sitting at a table. They were rubbing their heads. If the spell had worked correctly, then I should be able to ask them anything I wanted and get the truth out of them. I could tell by the way they acted that the spell had left them dazed and confused. I knew the feeing because they had done it to me and Tom. It wasn’t fun, but I guessed karma was coming back to them. Meredith and Ron hadn’t even noticed that I was staring at them.

Now I just had to get them out of the café and into the car with us. Mary Jane wouldn’t be happy that she had to sit in the backseat with them. I guessed I could get back there with them, but since Mary Jane was already back there… anyway, back to my mission.

I inched over toward the table. I felt as if I was approaching a lion—nice and easy, with no sudden movements. Meredith finally looked my way. Her expression remained blank. Even though I knew she was under the influence of the spell, it still seemed weird to see her this way.

“Hello,” she said in a sweet tone.

I moved a little closer, but I was ready to run if needed. “Can y’all get up and come with me?” I asked in a sweet yet stern voice. Kind of the way my mama used to tell me to clean my room.

“Where are we going?” Ron asked with a doe-eyed look.

“Well, that’s what we’ll find out when we get in the car,” I said.

He nodded. “Oh, that makes sense.”

Of course it did, the spell had left them loopy. Anything would make sense. I just hoped the spell lasted long enough for us to get the directions and get to Tom and Rory.

I motioned for them to follow me. They immediately pushed to their feet and started walking toward the door. Once on the sidewalk, I walked behind them. When I looked at the car, Grandma Imelda and Mary Jane were watching us with wide eyes.

“It’s the car right there.” I pointed.

If we managed to get Tom and Rory back, I hoped that we could get Mary Jane’s car back too. When we stepped up to the car, I opened the backseat and motioned for them to get in. They looked at me for a second, but then slipped into the car.

Grandma Imelda and Mary Jane looked at Meredith and Ron, but didn’t say anything. Once they were beside Mary Jane in the backseat, Grandma Imelda asked, “Where do we drive?”

“Take us to Tom and Rory.” I looked to Meredith for an answer.

“It’s an old house just outside of town. I don’t know the address, but I can show you how to get there.”

I hated that they had to ride with us, but it was the only way that we could find everyone who was missing.

After I got in the front seat, Grandma Imelda pulled away from the curb. “Just tell me where to go.”

Meredith gave directions toward the old house outside of town. I wasn’t sure I knew exactly which house she was talking about. We turned down a narrow one-lane road. Trees covered both sides of the road, making it appear as if it was almost night. I hoped that they weren’t tricking us and taking us somewhere to do bad things. I wondered if they knew that the book they wanted was right up in the front seat.

Soon an old white farmhouse came into view. A long porch covered the front of the house. It looked as if the place hadn’t been lived in for a long time. My apprehension grew as I wondered if we would really find Rory and Tom in this house.

“This is the place,” Meredith said.

She sounded a little less dazed. I wanted to get them out of the car as quickly as possible. Grandma Imelda pulled up in front of the house and shut off the engine. After grabbing the spellbook, I opened my door. I didn’t want them to see it, but I wasn’t about to leave the book unattended in the front seat either. I moved to the back seat and opened the door for them.

Grandma Imelda and Mary Jane had already gotten out of the car. Meredith and Ron weren’t nearly as unstable on their feet as when I’d gotten them to the car. Now I was sure that the spell was wearing off. We just had to get it to last long enough for us to get Rory and Tom. If they weren’t in the house, then we were in trouble. I hadn’t even thought of a backup plan.

Meredith smiled at me. Then she reached out and grabbed the book from my arms. Ron shoved me to the ground and they both ran off.

Mary Jane and Grandma Imelda had turned their backs to look at the house. They didn’t even realize that Meredith and Ron had taken the book from me.

“Elly?” Grandma Imelda called out.

“I’m down here.” I stumbled to my feet as Grandma Imelda and Mary Jane ran over.

“Are you okay?” Mary Jane asked.

Grandma Imelda touched my arm. “Nothing seems to be broken.”

“They got the book,” I said. “You two go in and check to see if anyone is in the house. I’m going after the book.” I took off running in the direction Meredith and Ron had disappeared in.

“Elly, you can’t go by yourself,” Grandma Imelda called out.

I didn’t stop. I just hoped that Mary Jane and Grandma Imelda did as I asked them to. I didn’t want them to follow me.

I focused on the area in front of me. I didn’t want to fall. The ground was uneven and there were a lot of fallen branches on the ground. The trees blanketed the area in darkness. The occasional ray of sunshine peeked through the tree branches.

I hadn’t made it far when I spotted Meredith and Ron up ahead. They weren’t even running and as far as I could tell they didn’t know that I was behind them. I slowed down.

Fallen branches snapped under my feet and they immediately looked my way. What had I been thinking? There were two of them and one of me. I wouldn’t be able to get the book from Meredith and they looked as if they wanted to kill me. Now I had no choice but to turn around and run away. I had to make it back to the car.

I took off and ran as fast as I could. My lungs and legs burned. I panted for air. It was hard to see where I was going. I couldn’t slow down to look back and see how close they were.

I took one more step and my leg twisted. I fell to the ground with a thud. My face landed in leaves and other debris. I was in trouble now. There was no way I could get away from them. I tried to get up, but the next thing I knew there was a hand wrapped around my leg. Ron had a hold on me. He pulled me and I slipped across the damp earth. The smell of moss and earth filled my nose. What was he going to do to me?

Meredith stopped behind him with a smirk on her face. She still had the book in her arms.

“Take care of her,” she snapped.

My stomach twisted. What did she mean by that? I was sure it meant bad news for me.

Ron pulled me to my feet. “Get up.”

I stumbled as he pulled on my arm. Meredith took off at a quick pace. She was leaving with the book and I knew I would probably never see it again. Now I was worried that I would never see Grandma Imelda or Mary Jane again either. I should have never left them. 

It was too late to think about that though. There was nothing I could do to change what had happened.

Ron’s eyes narrowed and an evil smile spread across his face. He tightened his grip on my arm and led me through the trees, further away from the house. I hoped that Mary Jane or Grandma Imelda didn’t come to look for me. I didn’t want Ron to get them too. Where was he taking me? What would he do to me? What I couldn’t do right now was give up. I had to try to get away from him.

I knew that I couldn’t go back to the house if I got away. Ron would chase after me and I didn’t want him to be anywhere near Mary Jane and Grandma Imelda. But if I got away, would he just go there to look for me anyway? Maybe I did need to go back to the house so that I could make sure that they were okay. If I could get back to the car then we could drive off. I wondered if they had found Rory, Tom or Reagan.

“You didn’t think you would get away with the book, did you?” Ron said as he pulled me along.

I didn’t answer him. There was no way I wanted to speak to him.

He turned me to the left and guided me down a path. We’d gone quite a distance when he stopped. He looked back and then to his left and to his right. Ron pulled on my arm. “Come on.” We went to the left again. After just a few steps, he stopped again and looked around. What was he looking for? Did he expect to find Meredith? He just stood there.

When I looked at him, he said, “I don’t know which way to go.”

A noise sounded from somewhere nearby. It seemed to come from directly behind us. When Ron turned around he didn’t see anything. I thought it might have been Meredith, but she was nowhere in sight.

I now realized that Ron was nervous about being in the woods. Was he more creeped out by it than me? He pulled me over to a big tree. Was this when he was going to kill me?

“Be quiet,” he whispered. His eyes were wide and he looked as if he was terrified. What was he hiding from? He peeked out from behind the tree.

Maybe I should try to scare him even more. He might run away and leave me here. Okay, that was wishful thinking. There was no way he would do that. I had to find a way to get away from him. Now that he was distracted maybe it would be easier. If only that noise would come back. I would use that as my chance to get away. I could run. He didn’t know where he was, so maybe I could lose him. Apparently Ron had a terrible sense of direction. I knew that this was my only chance to get away.

While Ron peered around the side of the tree, I decided to try to break free from his grip. I yanked my arm and to my surprise, it came free. It occurred so quickly that I didn’t think what happened registered with Ron for a couple of seconds. I ran as fast as I could away from the tree. I darted to my left in the hopes that he wouldn’t see where I went. I tried to look down so that I wouldn’t fall again. One wrong move and this would all be over. The next time he wouldn’t be so careless as to let me get away.

I was shocked that he hadn’t caught up with me again. The thought had barely left my mind when Ron grabbed my arm again. He yanked me and I fell back.

“You’re stupid if you really thought you were going to get away.”

Not so much stupid as desperate.

He pulled me up again. “Now tell me how to get out of here.”

I stared at him. Was he serious? Did he actually think I would tell him how to get out of there? Then it hit me. I would tell him where to go, but it wouldn’t be the direction he wanted.

“I think I know how to get out of here. You have to tell me where we are going,” I said.

He narrowed his eyes. “Why should I tell you that?”

“Because otherwise how can I get you to where you want to go?” I shook my head.

He smirked as he realized I had a valid point. “I want to go back out to the road. We know this leads over to the main road. Meredith is having someone pick us up out there. If I’m late she will kill me.”

I didn’t know if he meant that figuratively or literally. Either way, I wasn’t taking him to the road to find out. I could lead him back toward the house, but I’d rather just lose him altogether. I moved forward and he had no choice but to move with me.

“Come on, let’s go this way.”

“Are you really taking me to the road?” he asked.

“Of course,” I said in a sweet voice. “Why wouldn’t I?”

This was just too easy. I couldn’t believe how dumb he was. As we moved forward, Ron kept looking around. I could tell he was nervous. That same sound of movement came from the right.

Ron turned to look. Maybe this wasn’t the smartest move, but now that he was distracted I decided to make my move. Running wouldn’t be enough. In one swift movement I lifted my leg and kicked him in a not-so-nice area of his body.

I felt a little bad for the pain he would endure, but not bad enough that I didn’t do it. My life was in danger, so I had to do what I had to do. Plus, he would recover in a couple minutes… or hours.

My foot made contact with his body. He clutched his area and fell to the ground with a groan.

That had worked out quite nicely. Why hadn’t I thought of that sooner? I ran away from him as quickly as possible. He was still on the ground when I looked back. But that was when my plan hit a wall. I hadn’t expected to hear the noise again. And this time I knew for sure that I was hearing footsteps. Since Ron was still back there on the ground, it wasn’t him. For all I knew, it could be Meredith coming back to see what was taking us so long. I couldn’t let her find me.

I ran over to the biggest tree I could find and hid behind it. I was disappointed because I could have gotten away. Now I was stuck behind this tree. As soon as I thought it was safe to run again I would give it my best shot.

My body was pressed against the trunk. A rich earthy scent of moss and grass surrounded me. The sound of brush crunching under feet came from somewhere nearby. After a few seconds passed, the sound hadn’t returned. I had to take a quick peek to see if Meredith had found me or if Ron had gotten up.

I poked my head around the tree. I was shocked and excited when I saw Tom behind a tree across the way. He looked right at me and smiled. I motioned toward where I had left Ron. Tom shook his head. Apparently he was well aware of Ron. What would we do now? I was so happy to see Tom and to know that he was safe. I motioned in the direction of the house to see if I should turn in that direction. Tom held up his finger, indicating that I should wait a minute. I hoped that he would give me the signal when I should go.

I needed to make sure that Grandma Imelda and Mary Jane were okay. What about Rory? Where was he? I heard a sound again. My heart beat a little faster. I knew that it wasn’t Tom because I was still looking at him. I prayed that it wasn’t Meredith or Ron.

When I looked to my right I spotted Rory. He looked tired but he smiled the brightest smile at me that I’d ever seen. Rory looked like his normal self. He didn’t have that strange look on his face like he’d had over the past couple days. 

Tom looked to his left and saw Rory. They nodded at each other and now I knew that they had come together. Tom motioned toward Ron and I knew that they had a plan to get him. What they were going to do with him I didn’t know. I just wanted to get out of there.

I peeked around the tree. Ron was just sitting on the ground. Rory and Tom didn’t have to sneak up on him. He looked as if he was tired and didn’t even want to fight. I knew that Ron was totally lost.

Now he could tell us where to find Meredith. We had to get the books back.

When Rory and Tom approached Ron, he held his hands up. Tom wrapped an arm around Ron’s neck and drew him upright. After Ron stumbled, Tom managed to get Ron steady on his feet, then turned him around to face them. I watched them talk for a few seconds, but I wasn’t about to go over there. I had had enough of dealing with Ron.

Tom and Rory led Ron toward me. I stepped out from behind the tree, but I was still ready to run if I had to. I didn’t want to deal with any more tricks from Ron. He still looked exhausted though and like he didn’t want to be there anymore.

Rory ran over and hugged me. He held me as if he would never let go.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

He pulled away slightly and looked at me as if it had been years since he’d seen me. “I’m okay now.”

I glanced at Tom who was still holding Ron by the arm. “Are you okay?”

He smiled. “Never been better. Let’s take this guy back to the house so we can find the books.”

“She’ll never let them go,” Ron said as we started walking.

“We’ll see about that,” Tom said.

Rory reached out and grabbed my hand. He smiled again. I still had a lot of unanswered questions.