Spells (Bayou Magic 2)

She blinks as she studies the stones. “I’m going to pick one up.”

“I don’t want it to hurt you.”

She smiles softly. “I’m safe.”

She picks up a stone and holds it in the palm of her hand, covering it with the other hand. She takes a deep breath and closes her eyes. A moment later, she sets it down again.

“It didn’t shock you,” I say. “And you don’t look like you’re about to be sick.”

“No, I feel fine, but I did learn quite a bit.”

“Tell me.”

“The stones are a gift for Millicent.”

“A gift she can’t touch.”

Miss Sophia nods. “Absolutely. As you know, a bloodstone is mainly for cleansing and protection. He’s cast a strong spell on the stones, covering them in magic for Millicent. He doesn’t want her to touch it because he doesn’t want her to diminish the strength of the spell.”

“He cast a spell on me to throw up?”

“Not exactly. He’s determined to keep Millie safe from you. He wants you gone, Lucien. The spell is to keep Millie safe and to cast you aside.”

“Yeah, well, good luck with that.” I drag my hand down my face in agitation. “He should know after a millennia that I’m not going anywhere.”

“I don’t know how much he remembers,” she says, thinking it over. “I know you remember, and that Millie is beginning to. But, Lucien, for all we know, Horace is a tortured soul, reborn over and over again with the desire to kill. To taunt. To hurt. He feels a driving need to do it. But maybe he’s not even aware of the why of it all.”

“If you expect me to feel sorry for him—”

“Not at all. I’m simply pointing out that you may be expecting too much from him. He knows that, in the here and now, you’re standing in the way of something he wants with Millie. And he wants you gone. He’s also using you as a tool to hurt her.”

“Which only pisses me off more. What else did you see when you held the stone?”

“Only the spell,” she says. “I can’t see where he cast it. Whether he remembers previous encounters or not, he’s incredibly strong and gifted at his sick craft, Lucien.”

“I know. And I feel as if something’s coming soon.”

She smiles like a proud mother. “Because you’re strong and gifted, as well.”

“I’ve done nothing but study for this since I was old enough to read,” I remind her. “And yet, I still don’t feel ready.”

“You will be, when the time is right. But if the six aren’t together in the end, it will all be for nothing.”

Another reason to feel frustrated. “I know. We’re working on that. Daphne is a stubborn woman.”

“Like her sisters. She has to come to terms with her feelings on her own. She can’t be forced. If the six aren’t assembled of their own free will, coming together with pure love and peace, it won’t work.”

I nod and then pull the small woman in for a hug. Miss Sophia has always made me feel loved, as if I’m a member of her family. “For being so little, you sure are a powerful thing.”

“What a lovely thing to say.” She laughs and pats my chest. “I have other things to tell you, things you need to know, but I can’t share them until I have you and Millie together. Come to my cottage tomorrow for lunch?”

“We would love to, but she’s preparing for a Halloween street party in front of the café tomorrow night. I don’t mind that this is taking all of her attention right now. She needs something happy, and this street fair is the perfect distraction. She goes all out, and it’s her favorite day of the year. She’s like a kid on Christmas morning. She’s always loved Halloween.”

“Even before?” Miss Sophia asks.

“Always.”* * *“You’re going to wear this tomorrow night.”

Millie’s holding a red devil costume on a hanger.

“Uh, no. I’m not.”

“You have to,” she says. “Brielle, Daphne, and I are going as the Sanderson Sisters. You know, from the movie Hocus Pocus? And we need you to be Master. It’s hilarious. You remember that movie, right?”

“I don’t know that I’ve had the pleasure.”

“Oh, we’re watching it tonight then. Gary Marshall plays this guy just dressed up as the devil for Halloween, and the sisters think he’s the real devil, so they call him Master. It’s a hoot and a half.”

“Did you just say hoot and a half?” I tap her nose with my finger, delighted with her.

“Seriously, you have to do it. Or, I guess Cash can wear it, and we’ll call him Master.”

I narrow my eyes on her and lean in to whisper in her ear so those around us, who are currently helping us set up for tomorrow night, don’t overhear. “You’ll call no one Master in this, or any other life, a stór mo chroí.”