OH MY GODDESS.
She was a ghost.
She was dead.
HOLY SHIT. OH MY GOD.
“—I wish I could help more—”
“You’ve done great!” I jumped forward with a wide grin. “So sorry to disturb your holiday, we’re gonna go now.”
I grabbed Gigi by the arm and half-dragged her toward the street. I glanced over my shoulder and saw Landreia holding her wand up to the man. What are you up to, ma’am? When I got to the cobblestone sidewalk, I pulled Gigi back over to my car then all but pushed her inside.
“Savannah, what are you doing?” She hissed as she slammed her door behind her.
I turned the truck on just as Landreia climbed in the passenger seat. “What did you do to him?”
Landreia grimaced. “A minor memory spell so he won’t remember this. Just better for him.”
“SAVANNAH,” Gigi yelled. “Why did you drag me away? What’s going on?”
“Yes, that. You figured something out, what is it?”
I spun sideways in my seat and pushed my hair back. “Y’all. Y’all. Saffie is the Death Card in The Coven…”
Gigi scowled. “Yes, we know this.”
I nodded and waved my arms. “And what magical talent comes with the Card?”
Landreia cocked her head to the side. “Communication with the dead.”
I stared at them, waiting and willing for it to click. But all I got was blank stares. “Y’ALL DR. TROY WAS A DAMN GHOST!”
They both gasped.
Landreia’s face turned sheet white. “Oh my…”
“NO.” Gigi’s eyes were wide as she shook her head rapidly and shivered. “No way.”
“Yes way! Think about it…have either of you ever SEEN Dr. Troy?” I leaned forward. “Landreia, Saffie said this therapist came to her in the hospital and shit, right? So it was that convenient that she only ever came by when no one else was in the room? I bet if you call that Dr. Allen friend of yours he’ll tell you there was no Dr. Troy there. I BET YOU.”
Landreia leaned back against the seat and fanned herself despite it being twenty degrees outside. “Oh my…oh my…”
“Think about it. I don’t think either of you need a refresher on the night we did the séance.” I arched one eyebrow and waited. They both shuddered. “Exactly. Dr. Troy was a damn ghost. Not living. A spirit. Saffie just never realized it because she doesn’t know she’s the Death Card.”
Gigi put her hands on her head and shook herself. “I don’t like this. Nope. Don’t like it.”
“In hindsight it really is obvious,” Landreia said softly. “Although it doesn’t explain where she is now.”
“Now we call The Coven.” Gigi leaned forward and pulled my phone out of my front coat pocket then placed it in my palm. “Call Cooper.”
I nodded. I didn’t want to call them and get Saffie in trouble. Or waste their time. But this was getting weirder by the minute. I found Cooper Bishop’s name in my contacts and hit to call him, then hit speakerphone. As the ringing filled the truck my stomach tightened into knots. I felt queasy and my pulse pounded.
It rang six times before the answering machine picked up. “This is Cooper Bishop. Leave a message or text me.”
Normally I was definitely the text me option, especially with Cooper because the sound of his voice did unexpected things to my pulse that I both loved and hated…but this was not a message for text. When the machine beeped, I tried to be as calm as possible. “H-hey Cooper, it’s uh…it’s Savannah Grace. Saffie’s friend in Salem. Um, need a bit of your assistance at the earliest possible chance you get so if you could call me back when you get this that’d be great. It’s very important, quite pressing in fact because…uh…Saffie’s missing. OK. Thanks, bye. Happy Christmas.”
I hung up and a tingling sensation went down my spine.
“What do we do now? While we wait?” Landreia stared worriedly out the windshield. “I need to keep looking for her—”
“I know, I have an idea.” I threw the truck in drive and took off down the street. “I know this spell for tracking a person and I want to try it.”
Landreia scowled. “Which spell is it?”
“Ancient silver mirror soul spell.”
She gasped. “That’s black magic.”
I shrugged. “A bit.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Gigi grumbled.
“Well you’re not a witch so I guess that doesn’t matter.”
“Savannah,” Landreia said in that motherly tone.
“Listen, I’m not waiting around. If Cooper calls back before I start then great. But it’s three in the morning on Christmas, I’m not expecting it.” I turned onto my street. “This spell is a one-person thing anyway, so if you’re not comfortable with it then go on home. That’s fine. But imma do it.”
Neither of them said a thing as I parked my mom’s truck in the driveway and hopped out. My dad’s sedan was gone which meant he was driving my mom to the hospital for her shift…and the house was empty. The timing was perfect.
“I am going to watch, for Saffie.”
Gigi scoffed. “I’m watching in case something goes wrong and I have to tell The Coven what you did so they can fix you.”
“Thanks for the love, G.” I unlocked the door and let them in. Once it was locked back up, I sprinted for the stairs. “Come on, follow me.”
I threw my bedroom door open and two pairs of pale green eyes popped up from within a black pile of fur. They blinked then curled right back to sleep. “Good kitties.”
There were some spells, black magic or not, that always just stuck with me. For some reason, this was one of them. I hurried across my room to the table under the big window where I kept all my supplies my parents knew I used.
“Hey, Landreia, can you go in my closet and find the pewter chest full of Devil’s Roots?” I pointed toward my closet with one hand but with the other I snapped my fingers. “Gigi, grab my candles please? And the lighter.”
I bent down and grabbed the basket I used for transporting my stuff. I filled it with my black moonstone bowl, onyx athame, fresh new moon water, black salt, and cinnamon oil. The cauldron sat on my table, so I grabbed it then spun around just as they both gathered the stuff I’d asked for.
“This way.”
I hurried down the hallway to where our balcony stuck off the back of the house. It was a private little terrace with ivy wrapping all of the beams. There was a spot at the very far end where I could sit in the moonlight almost all points of the night. The wooden floor was stained with a faint circle from where I did all my outdoor spells and rituals.
“Okay, just put what you’ve got in the middle of that circle then get back inside. This part of it must be solo.”
I stepped to the side and let them drop what they were carrying for me, then they both scurried inside but not far from the balcony. I sat in my spot with my legs crossed under me and all my ingredients almost in my lap. There was a process for this, one I couldn’t screw up or the consequences would be dire.
Black magic was dangerous, too dangerous for most witches to even pretend to play with. But I’d learned from one of the smartest, most gifted witches I’d ever met. And safety was always priority number one. If it wasn’t nearing four in the morning I would have called Lennox just to be sure, but I knew what I was doing. I knew how to do this spell. I knew black magic.