The Wizard Returns: Book Three of the Wizard Born Series (15 page)

“You don’t need any,” Momma Sue said. “Just tell that lady behind the cash register that it’s for Momma Sue, and she’ll let you have it, no charge.”

“Are you sure?”

She answered him with a steady gaze, so he shrugged and said, “Okay. I’ll go.” He turned to Jamie. “Time me. I’ll be right back.”

Rollie left, and when Jamie heard the front door slam, he pressed the start button on his watch.

“How long you reckon it’ll take him?” Momma Sue said.

“Well, let’s say it’s ten miles, round trip. If he runs a hundred-twenty-miles an hour, that’s thirty seconds per mile, so...five minutes. Add a couple minutes to get in and out of the store, so...we should see him again in about seven minutes.”

“Can’t drive there that fast, unless you’re one of them race car drivers.” She smiled, but then her face became sober, and she turned to Fred. “I’m real sorry ’bout what them two witches did to you down in Thibodaux. I knew they was hurtin’ you, and I tried to intervene, but I couldn’t get through.”

“I know.” Fred looked at her feet and scuffed at the floor with the toe of her red sneaker. “Nobody could. Rita put wards around the house. There was nothing you could do.”

“Rita might not be the smartest witch ever, but she’s still got some power. Not as much as Isabella had, and not near as much as you, Child, but she’s got enough to cause problems.” She and Fred locked eyes and something unsaid seemed to pass between them. Momma Sue crossed her legs and said, “I can’t pick up a feel a’ those women no more. What did you do to them...did you kill ’em?”

“No ma’am. Jamie banished them to another world.”

She looked at Jamie. “You don’t say? With one of your magic doorways?”

“Yes ma’am.” Jamie cleared his throat. “Seemed like the best solution.”

She studied him intently, as if probing his soul, before nodding. “Good. Serves them right. But if I had got a’ hold of ’em, I woulda punished them worse than that, for sure. They’d be wishin’ they’d a’ gotten banished instead.” She narrowed her eyes and clenched her jaw. “I warned them about misusing’ that voodoo doll, but they didn’t listen. There’s a price to pay for disobeyin’ Momma Sue.”

Jamie winced inwardly
. I’d hate to find out what it is
.

Some kind of realization seemed to dawn in Momma Sue’s eyes as she looked back and forth from Jamie to Fred. “Fred, these two boys...they’re part of your triad, aren’t they? You already were bonded ’fore them women snatched you.”

“Yes ma’am. We...we call ourselves the Crew. We even have our own chant.”

Momma Sue laughed heartily, a warm, happy sound. “The Crew! I like that. I want to hear that chant before you go.” Her face grew serious again as she regarded Fred. “Rita and Cassandra definitely picked the wrong witch to be in their triad. I don’t think the blood bond woulda’ worked on you. You’re already bonded with these boys.” She gave a tiny nod and smiled knowingly. “How long you been bonded?”

“Since we were eight.”

“Amazing. I never heard a’ such a thing, a witch and two sorcerers in a triad. That’s something new.” She grinned again. “This
is
my lucky day.”

Jamie turned his head when he heard the front door open, and he checked his watch. Rollie entered the room, holding the bottle of soda aloft like it was the Olympic Torch. “That was fast, Rollie. Not even four-and-a-half minutes. Did you fly?”

“Don’t know how.” Rollie handed the cold drink to Momma Sue and she set it on the floor beside her chair. “I opened up the throttle and found another gear. I could’ve gone faster, but I had to watch out for holes in the road.”

“Good, Rollie.” Momma Sue sat up straight and gripped the ends of both armrests, a queen on her throne. “That’s enough playin’ around. It’s time to get down to business. So, before we go any further, do you have something for me, if I have your answers?”

Fred pulled the envelope out of her back pocket and showed it to the old woman. “All we have is fifty dollars. If that’s not enough, we’ll have to go back and try to get some more. I might be able to borrow some from my mom.”

Momma Sue took her time responding, eying Fred and the envelope. “Maybe you can trade a favor as your payment. I do something for you, you do something for me.”

“Like what?”

Momma Sue looked at Jamie. “Make me one of them doorways to another world. I wanna see one, a
wild
one. Not too many folks can say they’ve ever done
that
, no doubt.”

“I can make a doorway to Waikiki.”

Momma Sue sniffed and waved one hand before her face as if she were clearing away second hand smoke. “No, no. Too ordinary. We’ll figure it out later, long as you agree to make that part of the deal.”

“Sure...yeah, Momma Sue. I’d be glad to.”

“Okay then. What is your question today? What do you need to know from me?”

Jamie took a deep breath before saying, “What do you know about demons?”

“Real demons, or the kinds in people’s heads that make them do crazy things?”

“Real ones.”

“Why do ask that?”

“Well, a demon has somehow managed to slip through a natural doorway or crack, and it’s in North Carolina, near where we live. It’s killing hikers... and eating them.”

Momma Sue grunted and continued to stare at Jamie. “That’s a tough one.” She gave a low, whistling breath. “Real tough. All I know about demons is that they’re hard to kill and harder to get rid of. Have you tried blastin’ him?”

“He’s immune to my magic. That’s why we came to you, to see if there’s anything a witch can do.”

She scratched one ear and looked at her lap for a moment, finally shaking her head and saying, “I don’t know of any witch magic that’ll work. I’m sorry.” She shook her head again, slowly. “I can’t help you.”

Jamie turned away and let out an exasperated sigh. “Dang.” He glanced back at Momma Sue and then turned to face his friends. “Well...we’re back to square one, then.”

“What are we going to do?” Fred said.

“I don’t know.” He ran a hand through his curly hair and set his jaw tight. “I really don’t know. Keep looking through your spell books, I guess. Maybe spend more time on the Internet.”

“Jamie?” Momma Sue said, and he turned to face her. “I’m real sorry I couldn’t help you, really I am. But....” She pressed her lips together and took a deep breath through her nose. “I was wonderin’ if you’d consider doin’ something for me anyway, as a down payment on a future favor from me. In case you ever need something from me and you’re low on money.” Her eyes were pleading, much different than her normal queenly glare.

“Uh, sure, I guess. What do you want?”

“I want you to make me a doorway. I want to see a different world. Can you do that for me, right now?”

Jamie glanced at Fred and Rollie and shrugged. “Sure. Why not? Where do you want to go? Do you want to see the world where I banished Rita and Cassandra?”

“What’s it like?”

“It’s a lot like Earth, only way more rustic.”

She wrinkled her wide nose and shook her head. “Too ordinary. I want to see someplace unique. Someplace out of this world.”

“I know just the place.” Jamie knelt and began drawing the glowing outlines of a doorway.

Rachel was waiting with Carl in the family room when the kids got home that night. Carl was determined to be mad at them. Fred, however, would have none of it. She used her non-magical powers to calm him down.

She put her hand on his arm and gave him her best puppy-dog eyes. “So you see, Mr. Sikes? Momma Sue would not have let us get close to her house if you and John Paul had come. She told me so.”

Carl scowled. “I still don’t like it. Jamie, you disobeyed me! I told you not to go.”

Jamie looked at Fred and widened his eyes as if to say
help!
Fred patted Carl’s arm. “I take full responsibility. This was my mission, not Jamie’s.”

“Mission?” Rollie said.

“Well, what else do you want me to call it? A social visit?”

“Can we stay focused here?” Carl said, an annoyed look in his eyes. “Did you learn anything, at least?”

“Not much,” Jamie said. “But Momma Sue did give me some suggestions that I think will help me search online more effectively. She doesn’t know much about demons, but she does know an awful lot about supernatural stuff.”

“What did you think of Momma Sue?” Rachel said. “Was she as scary as you thought she would be?”

Fred smiled. “She’s pretty intimidating when you first meet her, but after you get to know her better, you can tell she has a good heart. She’s not like Rita and Cassandra at all.”

“She offered to give Fred witching lessons,” Rollie said.

“Uh...oh.” Rachel shook her head. “Your parents aren’t going to like that, Fred.”

“I’ll talk to them, because I think it’s a good idea,” Jamie said. “The more Fred knows, the less likely she’ll mess up a spell. And the better chance she’ll know the right spell in case of an emergency.”

“When would you go see her, Fred?”

“I’m going this Sunday, if Jamie will make a doorway.” She picked up a saucer-sized mirror from the end table. “Look what she gave me.” She flipped it open and showed them. “She has one just like it. Tt5hey’re paired, magically. If I focus on Momma Sue in my mind and say something into this mirror, it’ll send the message to the one she has. Next time she picks it up and does this little spell, she’ll see my face and hear the message. It’s like voice mail for witches!” Fred giggled. “She also wants me to try to talk with her in a dream sometime.”

“Momma Sue seemed to like you, Fred,” Rollie said. “I think she wants to make you her little protégé.”

Jamie nudged Rollie with his elbow. “She seemed pretty taken with you, too, Romeo. I think she wants to be your girlfriend.”

Rollie rolled his eyes. “Man, I thought I was gonna die when she was talkin’ that stuff. Calling me a piece of caramel candy and...ugh!”

“Relax, Rollie,” Fred said. “She was just playing. We’re lucky she likes us. She doesn’t like everybody, you know. What did she say to you right before we left? You talked for quite a while, seems like.”

“She gave me a pep talk, kinda. Told me about what it was like when she was a girl, growing up a witch and all, and how hard that was. She basically told me to keep my chin up and everything will work out.”

“In other words, don’t be a baby.”

Rollie lowered his brow. “That’s not how she put it.”

“Fred?” Rachel said. “Do you have to pay for your witching lessons?”

“No ma’am. All she wants is for Jamie to make a doorway to a different planet for her now and then. She really enjoyed it when we took her to the three moon world.”

“She was kinda funny,” Jamie said. “She said ‘who cares about Paris when you’ve seen three moons shining at the same time?”

Rachel smiled at Jamie.
I don’t think she meant the moons in the sky. I think she meant you, Fred, and Rollie
.

Chapter 13

On Sunday afternoon, after it quit raining, Jamie decided to take a break from searching the Internet for demons, and go for a run. He stretched on his front porch, then trotted slowly down the steps and away from his house.

Jamie turned north out of his subdivision, jogging at an easy pace until he warmed up. There were a few puddles in the road, but the clouds had cleared away and the March sunshine felt warm on his face.
This is exactly what I needed, a nice long run to clear the cobwebs out of my brain
.

Before he knew it, he was miles from home, near the corner of Kyle’s Creek Road and Green Mountain Road, where development was sparse and the scenery was nice.
This is where I came on Christmas Eve, back when Fred was missing. I saw that old Cherokee guy somewhere around here
.

When he found the wooden fence running beside the broad, grassy valley, he stopped.
This is it, I think
. He paced for a few moments while he caught his breath, looking for any sign of the old man, but Jamie was alone.

I don’t know why I thought he’d be here
, he thought with a touch of disappointment
. Oh well. This is still a nice place to stop
. He put one foot on the bottom rail of the wooden fence, rested his forearms on the top, and admired the view. The ancient tractor was still in the weathered barn, just as it was when he last visited. The grass was starting to turn green, and the creek that cut across the field from the hills on the other side was swollen with the weekend’s rain, sparkling in the brilliant sunshine and laughing at the Carolina blue sky.

“It’s even nicer up here than the last time,” came a voice from behind him.

“Huh?” Jamie turned to see the old Cherokee man sitting on the same stump as before, smiling softly, a carved walking stick lying across his lap. He wore faded, patched jeans and a denim shirt embroidered with spiraling white designs, scuffed cowboy boots, and his long gray hair was tied back in a ponytail. Jamie said, “How did you get here?”

“My daughter dropped me off. She came to see a friend down the road.” He gestured with one thumb. “I like this spot. It’s a good place to think.”

“Yeah, it is. But I didn’t hear you come.”

“You weren’t listening. You were thinking.” He smiled knowingly. “I saw on the news that your girlfriend, the one who dances with fire, is back home, safe and sound. They said she escaped from her kidnappers and ran to the police station, but I don’t think that’s what happened, is it?”

Jamie shook his head.

“It also said that the kidnappers were never caught. Somehow I don’t believe that, either.”

Jamie knew from his previous encounter with the old man that there was no use lying, that the ancient Cherokee knew things, that by all rights, he shouldn’t. It was if he had magic of his own. Jamie felt no power in him, though. “We made that story up to hide the truth. She was being held by two witches, and Fred gave them nightmares until they slipped up and let her know where she was. Then she told me in a dream, and I made a doorway with my magic and rescued her.”

“Ahhh.” He nodded. “Her dream-talking power. So what happened to the witches? Did you kill them?”

“I banished them to another world.”