Spells (Bayou Magic 2)

“She was the most talented witch I’ve ever known, even to this day. She just knew. She always had the answers.”

I smile up at Lucien. “You just said that about your own great-grandmother this morning.”

Miss Sophia’s eyes sharpen. “Which one?”

“Well, it would have been Sabrina’s great-great-grandmother.”

“Esther?” Miss Sophia asks.

“That’s right.”

“Oh, I’d heard stories,” she says with a small laugh. “To talk about people long dead with you is so refreshing. It’s as if they’re still here. Nanna, that’s what I called Sabrina, often spoke of Esther’s grimoire and wondered where it was.”

Lucien and I exchange a look of surprise, and then he reaches into his briefcase and pulls the book out, setting it on the table as he smiles.

“I found it just this morning.”

Miss Sophia gasps in shock and covers her mouth with her hands. “You’re kidding.”

I reach over and open the front cover. “It’s two hundred years old.”

“Oh my goddess,” she whispers, lovingly running her hands over it. “This is my four-times-great-grandmother’s grimoire.”

“I suddenly feel really old,” I say with a laugh.

“You’re not,” she replies. “You’re a thirty-year-old woman. Our DNA won’t match. Nothing links us biologically. It’s all spiritual.”

“It’s fascinating,” Lucien adds. “I can tell you that I don’t think anything like this has happened in any of my other lifetimes.”

“That doesn’t surprise me,” she says. “Your Power has grown stronger as time passed. Your link to each other became more powerful. From what I was told, your death was sudden and had nothing to do with Horace, but that evil was escalating, and you feared that he’d get to Millie. You needn’t worry, because he did not.”

“Thank the goddess,” Lucien whispers.

“And now, here you are, back to live out your destiny again. May I keep this book to read through and study?”

“Of course,” Lucien agrees. “It’s why I brought it today. I spent some time with it this morning. There are some fun things in there. Esther was pretty funny.”

“I can’t wait to read it,” she says. “Now, back to Sabrina. She married at twenty years old. A fine, upstanding gentleman from New Orleans named Charles Patterson. They had three children. Their youngest baby died at birth from a defect. That would have been around 1945 or so. I’m the eldest child of her eldest child. My mother’s name was Millicent.”

I shake my head, completely overwhelmed.

“I’m so happy we came here today,” I whisper, and then my eyes snap to Miss Sophia’s. “Do you have photos of her?”

“Of course.” She grins and reaches over to the counter and passes us a photo album full of black and white pictures. “She was beautiful. She had red hair, and deep brown eyes.”

I look to Lucien. We’d talked about this. Everything I remember is true.

Of course, it is.

I brush my finger over Sabrina’s face and wish I’d lived long enough in that lifetime to know my daughter.

“Don’t do that,” Miss Sophia says. “Don’t wish for it to be different. Because if it was, you wouldn’t be here now with your man. If you’d lived longer without him, you most likely wouldn’t have been reborn in this time, and none of this would be happening.”

“It’s hard not to wish for it,” I admit. “But you’re right. I’m so happy that she was happy. That she was loved and had a beautiful family.”

“She did have those things,” Miss Sophia agrees. “Her Charlie was devoted to her until his dying day. She lived a long, full life.”

I nod and smile at the photo of Sabrina on her wedding day. “Good. That’s good.”* * *“Okay, I’m obsessed with this house,” Brielle says as she walks inside ahead of Daphne. “This place is gorgeous.”

“Thank you. I made you guys spaghetti tonight. I hope that’s okay. Lucien and I were gone most of the day.”

Learning about our long-lost daughter.

Talk about a weird day.

I was sad earlier, but now I feel at peace knowing that Sabrina led a happy life. It’s still weird to know that Miss Sophia is my great-granddaughter, and it’s something I have to chew on for a while.

I’m not ready to share it with my sisters. Not quite yet.

“I’m so hungry,” Daphne whines. “I’ll eat anything you’ve got. And I brought dirty martinis.”

“I love me a dirty martini,” Brielle says. “Where’s Lucien?”

“He went into the lab for a while. He said he’d give us some alone time. He’ll be back later to give you guys a ride home.”

“Good, because Cash dropped us off.” Brielle steals a piece of garlic bread. “Let’s eat first, and then we need the full tour.”

“You got it.”

Dinner is quiet as we all shove the pasta and red sauce into our mouths, eating like we haven’t had a meal in a week.

“I guess we were hungry,” I say as I stare at our empty plates.

“Yeah, I’m gonna have a second helping after the tour.” Daphne pours vodka into a shaker and gives it a shake. “Let’s take our martinis with us.”