Twisted Magic (23 page)

I rolled my eyes. “Just like the rest of Cherry. She doesn’t know what she’s talking about. He’s not like them.” I wasn’t about to battle this weird woman over Slade and whether or not he was some lost soul.

She turned back around dropping a rope,
and
some sort of
sage
on the counter pushing it toward me. She acted as if I had the
plague,
and I was growing rather sick of it.

“What good is a rope?” I lifted it off the counter.

“The rope is part of the spell you will do
to ward off your little problem,” h
e
said,
raising
an eyebrow. I scanned my
wits
trying to make sense of it.

“Her,”
I said
,
referring to Audrey. If I strangled her with the rope I probably had better odds of getting rid of her. I didn’t get it.

“A binding spell is very powerful. It will keep whoever you cast it on from hurting others and themselves.” She explained. “But this could all well be a mistake.” Her eyes dropped to my wrist again. I dropped the rope and dropped my arm below the
counter,
so she wouldn’t stare at it anymore.

I knew a few people this could work on. I wondered if I should ask her for more ropes. And
wondered why
nobody else
was
doing
this. The
world would be a better place.

“That sounds simple enough,” I said to myself looking at the rest of the stuff on the wall.

“
Not
hardly
, o
n
a human maybe, on someone with their own power it can prove difficult.
” Hutch handed over the rope and dropped his hands on the counter. “Jane, I know
you’re
concerned, but I really could use your help.”

Jane’s penciled eyebrows
lifted;
she drew in her bottom
lip,
and with a soft exhale spun on her heels. She looked around the shelves and finally settled on a couple of different herbs. She put them in a small black bag and secured the string.

“This should do it,” she pushed it across the counter, her rings catching my eye. Black stones and shiny silver gleamed in the rather dank
environment. It
was odd.

Hutch gladly pocketed it, and pointed past her to something else. “What’s that?”

Jane turned
,
taking the feather off the shelf. She ran it across
her
fingers. “This is the feather of a very old crow said to have been around for hundreds of years. They say it only came around when evil was near and those who carried the feathers were protected.”

Hutch extended his
hand;
she placed it in his palm. He turned to me, his fingers slipping through my damp hair.
“A gift for you.”

I smiled
,
accepting the large feather. Smiling at Hutch’
s thoughtful gift, he ignored Jane’s gaping stare at our forbidden attraction—it was something similar to West side story or Romeo and Juliet the way this woman was making me feel.

Jane raised a hand stopping us from leaving. “Hutch
,
I hope you think wisely about taking what is not yours.” She warned
,
pocketing the bills he threw on the counter
.

I spun around. “Look lady, I know you don’t like me, but you have no idea. This guy is not my keeper.” I crossed my arm
s
offended for the third time since I walked into the place.

She blinked, unruffled by me. “It is not you that I dislike.”

I scoffed, that was amusing.

“
It
follows you and what you
are;
y
ou are new to power, to magic
.
It will eat you alive if you let it.
” She looked at
Hutch. He
touched my arm. “I see her
aura. It's
blue, but it’s being blotted out by black.”

I raised an eyebrow startled. Hutch tugged me toward the
exit;
it seemed he had heard enough to. He pushed into the door taking us from darkness back to light and fresh air again. I already felt a million times better.

“What was she talking about my aura is blue?”
Like my
mood,
I thought to myself.

“Don’t listen to her. She’s an old witch that believes some lines should never be crossed. She’s old school like many others, but I’m
not,
and I said I would help you.”

“But what exactly is a blue aura?” I asked, following him through the sand. I wondered what color Karsen’s
was, maybe
Zebra striped or leopard.

“A blue aura, one that is spiritual, loyal, creative, sensitive, kind and moody. All things that you are,” Hutch teased.

I wasn’t laughing. “If I was loyal I wouldn’t have
almost
slept with you last night.”

Hutch stopped walking and turned
at
my
remorse
. “If you weren’t loyal you wouldn’t be beating yourself up over it. It’s human nature, Doll. You can’t help who
you’re
attracted to and who is attracted to you.” He dropped down in the sand close to the water.

“It doesn’t bother you. That you
almost slept
with me, the queen of the dark side. The girl promised to the devil himself?” I raised an
eyebrow;
it was funny yes, but true in ways.

Hutch
grinned;
I dropped down on my knees watching him sort through the contents of the small pouch.

“What we are about to do, yet
cool, may be a little disturbing. Are you up for it?” He shot me a crooked grin, waiting for an answer.
“And to answer your question, it doesn’t bother me one bit, because I think
you would be
worth it.”

My cheeks warmed.

I watched as Hutch laid out the contents of the pouch
strange Jane
had given him.

“I never told you where I’m from,” Hutch said, looking up at me as he lit one of the herbs, I wasn’t sure what it was, the strong
peppery
aroma wafted past my nose disappearing in the breeze.

“So tell me,” I smiled
,
watching him rub the remaining as
h
in his palms. He reached for me. I offered my hand. Hutch grinned.

“I grew up in Maine with my grandparents after my parents left.” He tugged
on
my pointer
finger. I
watched him closely
,
concentrating on his story rather
than
what was happening.

“Once a coven grows so big they break apart into what we call a hive.” He dropped his gaze.

I yelped in pain pulling away from Hutch. He dropped the culprit—a thorn
,
in a hole he dug
earlier
. “Three drops of blood.”

I hoped he wasn’t talking to me. I had a weak stomach, but he was. I gave my hand back letting him milk me of my plasma. Three perfect beads of blood dropp
ed
in the sand.

“What are you doing?” I asked
,
watching him cover my blood with bits of sand and more herbs.

“I am enhancing your abilities, g
iving you a chance to fight if it comes down to it.” He wiped my finger clean.
“I'm fusing
you with nature.”

If
you say
so
.
“Does that mean I can talk to the trees and those cute
squirrels
outside my window in the morning?”

Hutch’s expression changed. He didn’t find my joke
funny. I
had to remind myself this was serious and his way of life. “Everything in life is
natural. Everything
comes together,
and this
will help you, believe me.”

I pursed my lips. If I was going to start somewhere I figured belief was the best road to travel to get there. “Okay, so what do I do now?”

Hutch sat back, collecting the remaining
ingredients
. “Believe in yourself.”

“That’s it?” I asked, disappointed there wasn’t a big ordeal that needed to take place filled with sparkles and potions.

“Think of the spell as a stepping stone
,
it will lead you down the path, but
it’s
up to you to get there.” He sat back,
resting
his arms against his knees and stared at the water. “When our coven got so large we split. And because my parents were of such great importance they traveled
,
leaving my brothers and
I
behind.”

This made me sad,
to lose
your family because of
who
you were. I could never imagine losing my father over magic.
Nevertheless,
it seemed Hutch accepted it.

“Where are they now?” I asked, watching the seagulls dive
into
the water in search of a bite to eat.

“I’m not quite sure. It’s been some time since any of us heard from them. My grandparents passed
on,
and that’s when I
was
responsible. 
It was a lot of responsibility at first
,
but I learned to accept it.” Hutch sighed.

“Then why do you travel?” I asked
,
if he held such an important
role,
I didn’t understand why he was always on the
road, never
in one place.

Hutch looked over at
me,
“even
those who mean well go of
f
course
occasionally."

I held back my shock. He had me
believing
he was
honest;
I hated to think h
e was hiding something sinister, s
omething just as evil
as everyone else around me
.

“Our coven was attacked one night during a ritual. It was a
mess,
and the three of us took off. I abandoned our kind and several lives were lost. I was
young. I
didn’t know what I was doing, but that doesn’t mean I don’t feel like shit everyday about it.” He pushed my hair behind my ear, lifting my chin.

“I’d never mislead you. I hope
you’re
not thinking that. But I do have a past that haunts me quite a bit.” His eyes were
dark. I
nodded that I understood. I felt for him and
his
problems.

“I guess even the ones you think are so perfect have their flaws huh?” I said, producing a small
smile. I
leaned into
Hutch;
he wrapped his arm around me.

“Nothing is perfect, doll.”

“Then why risk pissing off another coven?” Some things weren’t
perfect,
but they could be tolerated if you just didn’t rock the boat.

“It wasn’t something I planned. I saw a beautiful girl on the beach that night. Apologizing for
everyone else and I felt like saving her.” He touched my
face;
his
knuckle's
grazing my skin.

He kissed the corner of my mouth. I lifted my chin accepting his kiss.

The wind crawled through my
hair. I
pulled away
,
suddenly realizing we were out on the beach a spectacle with the chance of being seen.
And I knew I shouldn’t be kissing him.

Hutch elbowed me. “When you go
home,
I want you to do a spell. I think this will help with
Blondie
.”

I agreed. A
nything would help with Audrey. I was going up a
gainst a
very clever and
devious
witch.

“Do you have any spells for
pissed-
off fathers
?” I
cringed. I
was gone
since last night. I prayed he figured I was at
work,
or that he was immersed in his life with Lynette
,
for once that didn’t sound so
awful
.