Spellbound (11 page)

“Isn’t that wonderful?” said Eden, gesturing to her coven sisters, who had resettled themselves back on the sofas. “We are well suited to our tasks. And based on tonight, we have much to teach you. Get a good night’s sleep, for we begin tomorrow. And Serena,” she added with a wink. “It appears you’ll have wonderful dreams to give you a good head start.” I blushed again at the memory of Logan and me on the front porch. “You’ll remember why we’re working so hard when it gets difficult. So, off you go.

Good night, sweet twitch.”

Chapter Twelve

LOGAN

I dropped Serena off over at her house and drove over to mine. After I parked in the driveway, I got out and stood for a minute. Elizabeth said she’d conjured a spell of protection over both our houses. They didn’t appear any different. Did the spell cover the house only, or extend to the driveway as well? Should I put my car in the garage? Was I going a little crazy wondering things like this? I shook my head and went on into the house. It was late. I expected everyone to be asleep, but, wrong again. The kitchen light flickered and my mom sat at the kitchen table, a mug of coffee in front of her.

“Logan? Is that you?”

“Yeah, Mom. It’s me.” I tossed my car keys on the hall table and joined her at the kitchen table. I had to talk to her and tell her what had happened. I wasn’t sure if she would even believe me, but I had to try.

“How was the dance? Did you and Serena have a good time?” “Interesting.” I sat down on the opposite side of the table.

“Mom, I need to talk to you. It’s about Serena.”

“You care about her, don’t you?”

“Yeah, I do.”

“I’m glad. She’s a special girl.” You don’t know the half of it, mom, I thought.

“Listen, Mom. I need to tell you some things and I want you to be open-‐-minded.” I scooted my chair forward.

“Logan, you know I’m always open-‐-minded. Are you in some kind of trouble?” She went into mom-‐-mode, like I knew she would.

“Yeah. I mean, no. Well, yeah, but not the kind you’d think of. Listen, Mom, I’m not sure how this is going to sound, but you know I’m not crazy right?”

“Logan, what is this about?”

“Mom, just answer me. You know I’m not crazy, right?”

“Right.” But she started to sound unsure even of that.

“And if I told you something, you’d believe me, right?”

“In theory.”

“Okay, in theory. I’ll go with that. Okay.” I took a deep breath and just went for it. “Mom, Serena
is
special. She’s a witch.

Well, actually, since she’s not an adult witch yet, she’s actually called a twitch. And there’s this thing called the Council. And they want to take her away from here and they’re bad, evil in fact, and she doesn’t want to go. They could hurt her. And the thing about that is…well, I love her. I love her and I want to be with her, I’m supposed to be with her, I think it’s my destiny or something like that and because of that they kind of want to hurt me too. And I know all this sounds crazy, but I swear to you I’m not crazy, I’m just in love with a witch, that’s all.”

It all came out in a rush, and I didn’t even stop to breathe. I peeked over at my mom to see how this was being absorbed. I expected to find her eyes bugged out of her head or maybe catch her crying or something. I didn’t expect her to be sitting there so calm. I also didn’t expect to feel so relieved after I let all those words spill out of my mouth like a water faucet that someone left on by accident, just running unchecked. I guess I had been keeping the secret so long, it felt cathartic to finally tell someone.

“I know already, Logan.” My mom soothed. “I know almost everything. Elizabeth is here.”

“Elizabeth is here?” In our house? I twisted around in my seat. We had left Elizabeth at the gym, which, when I last peeked over my shoulder at it, had black cats, and demon rats, and screaming kids running all over the place. I suddenly had a keen interest in how she had cleaned up all
that
. And what had happened to Natalie. And what
might
happen Monday morning at school.

Elizabeth must have jumped my thoughts -‐- it would be fun to know how to do that – because she came around the corner just then. “Hi Logan. How are you doing?” She said it tenderly, like a sister would ask a brother. I guess that meant I was becoming part of the family.

“I’m okay. As well as can be expected.”

“I suppose so.” She moved around the kitchen table and went to the counter. I watched as she took a mug from the cupboard and poured herself coffee from the carafe. She moved with a familiarity that made me realize she had been here before.

More than once, it seemed. She took a seat next to my mother and they both regarded me coolly.

“Yes, Logan, I have been here before.” She answered my unspoken question. “As you and Serena got, well, closer to one another, it appeared your mother and I had much to discuss.” She considered my mother, who nodded her approval. “I think I’ll let Lily take over from here.” My mom moved closer to me.

“Logan, Serena and I have something more in common than just you, son. I never meant to keep this from you this long. But then your father died, and I just didn’t know how to tell you.” She dropped her hands down in her lap and just stared at them.

Elizabeth placed a hand on her shoulder, trying to give her strength to continue. Finally, she did. When she lifted up her face, I noticed tears streaming down her face.

****

Seeing my mom cry shocked me. She cried that time she lost her wedding ring. The only time before that happened at the funeral itself. I remembered that now. They made it a closed casket because I overheard the funeral director saying that Dad’s body had been so mangled in the car wreck that he couldn’t work his usual tricks with the makeup and stuff. He called my mom and told her over the phone that an open casket “wasn’t possible.” I watched her take that call. She had just nodded numbly and handed the phone to my Aunt Janice, my Dad’s older sister. She listened for a minute and the blood drained from her face. She hung up without a word. The day of the funeral service they had to practically hold my mom up as we walked to our seats at the front of the church. She couldn’t stand on her own. And Jade was a mess.

Barely twelve at the time, I ended up carrying her like a four year old. They both sat next to me with tear-‐-stained faces. My mom reminded me of that now.

“Logan, my sweet son. There’s no easy way to tell you this.”

“Mom, just tell me. You’re starting to freak me out. And it takes a lot to do that to me now, trust me.”

“Logan, I’m a witch, too.”

No way could I be prepared for that.

“Wait. What?”

“I know you heard me, Logan. I’m a witch. And I suspect your sister Jade has my genes as well.”

“Did Dad know?”

“Of course he did. And he married me anyway.” She laughed warmly at the memory. “You get all your stubbornness from your Dad.”

“So, you get it now. They don’t just want Serena. Elizabeth and I believe the new guard of the Council thinks they may have some unfinished business with me as well.”

“And there’s more,” interjected Elizabeth. “It turns out Serena may not be the only powerful witch they have designs on.”

“Jade?” I asked. This couldn’t be more nuts.

“We think so,” answered Elizabeth.

I got up from the kitchen table. I needed to move, to think. I started pacing around the room.

“Are you sure we’re safe here? Mom? Are we?”

My mom got up and put her arms around me.

“Logan, I’m the one who put the spell of protection around the houses. Do you think for one minute I would mess around with the people I love? You and Jade, I gave you life, you’re my children, and you mean everything to me.” She gazed into my eyes. “Son, I know you love Serena. I love her too. She and Tabitha and Elizabeth, they’re family now, and I will do anything to protect my family. Anything. I promise you, as long as we are in these two houses, we’re safe.”

“Okay, Mom.” I started to laugh a little.

“What is it, Logan?”

“I just had a thought is all. Earlier, I was worried you wouldn’t believe me. Ironic, right?”

She ruffled my hair.

“Yes, Logan. Ironic.” She gestured to Elizabeth. “I think we should all get some sleep now. Or at least try to. Tomorrow will be a pretty interesting day. I still need to talk to Jade and you should get home and bring Serena and Eden and the others up to speed.”

Elizabeth and my mom embraced warmly, then she left. Wearily, I kissed my mom goodnight and left her at the kitchen table with her thoughts, watching her turning the now cold cup of coffee around and around in her hands. She wouldn’t be getting any sleep tonight. I didn’t think I would be either.

Chapter Thirteen

LOGAN

I woke up the next morning much later than I usually did.

My clothes from the dance were slung over the back of my desk chair and seeing them brought back the events of the previous night. I sat up and rubbed my head, trying to make sense of everything. So, my mom’s a witch too. Oh, yeah, and so is my sister. Jeez, did that leave me as the only one around here who wasn’t? I pulled on some jeans and a t-‐-shirt and went downstairs.

The sound of my sister and Tabitha laughing with my mom in the kitchen met me as I descended the steps.

“Hi Logan.”

“Hey, big brother.”

Both Tabitha and my sister called out morning greetings to me. “Hey, you guys.” I grabbed a glass of orange juice and sat down next to them.

“Good morning sleepyhead.” sang out my mom. She stood at the stove frying bacon and flipping pancakes. She had already made a pile of them for the girls. “Pancakes, Logan?”

Suddenly, I was starving.

“Yes, please Mom. And make it a giant stack with lots of bacon. I could eat a whole pig.”

“Gross, Logan.” My sister made a gagging sound and stuck her finger in her mouth. She and Tabitha made faces.

“What? That’s not gross. What do you think bacon’s made of?” To demonstrate, I grabbed a couple pieces off her plate and stuffed them in my mouth.

“Mom!” she wailed in protest. “He just took my bacon!”

Before I could stop her, she raised her hand and waved it over me.

Suddenly the chair I’d sat in went out from under me and I fell to the floor with a thud.

“Jade!” Tabitha shook her finger. “I told you; you’re not supposed to do it from emotion. You have to control it better.”

“She’s right, honey,” my mom said. “And try not to use twitchery on your brother. It’s not fair to him.”

“Darn right it’s not fair!” I jumped up, rubbing my backside and mumbled a curse under my breath.

“Logan!” My mom used her mad voice. “I know a lot of things have changed around here in the last twenty-‐-four hours, but one thing hasn’t. You are still not allowed to use
that
kind of language in my house!”

“Sorry, Mom.”

“Jade, apologize to your brother.”

“Sorry, Logan.”

“Now, let’s all have a nice breakfast together, shall we?”

“I hope things aren’t going to be like this all the time now, since it seems I’m the only one around here’s who’s NOT a witch.”

I complained to my Mom.

“Logan, don’t be so melodramatic. And Jade, if you can’t be nice with your powers, I’m not going to allow you to use them. Do the two of you have to act like toddlers all the time?” My Mom sounded pretty exasperated for this early in the morning. We were saved by the sound of the ringing phone. Caller ID announced my buddy Dave.

“What’s up, Bud?”

“Hey, Dave. What’s up with you?”

“How ‘bout that dance? Crazy or what?”

Shoot. What the heck? I thought Serena’s sister would be spinning the web of forgetfulness or some stupid thing. And now here Dave was talking like something went down last night. What should I say? I almost blew the whole thing when Dave solved my mouth problem for me.

“When the drummer fell right off the stage? Wasn’t that crazy?” “Yeah,” I agreed stupidly. “Crazy.”

“So, why did you and Serena leave so early? Didja have other things to do, Loverboy?” He must have thought Serena and I left early to go make out somewhere. While I didn’t like him thinking things like that about Serena, the alternative could have been so much worse. I thought she’d probably forgive me.

“Something like that. You and Tamera have a good time?”

Maybe changing the subject would work. It did. Talking about Dave happened to be Dave’s favorite subject.

“Well, she and Patty got into it about some lame thing which pretty much sucked for me and Sully since we
double-‐-dated in the
same car
. When we left the dance they were barely speaking, but by the time we got halfway home, they had made up with each other and we ended up at Look-‐-out Peak, if you know what I mean. We thought we might run into you there, but I guess we missed you.”

Dave said it as though Look-‐-out Peak qualified as the only place in town to go parking, which, sadly, it did. If Serena and I had gone anywhere, we
would
have gone there. Interesting thing about Dave’s recitation? Nowhere in there had he mentioned rats, cats, or bats. So Elizabeth’s spell had worked after all.

“You there, Bud?” I must have drifted out of the conversation, because Dave had commenced to yelling to get my attention.

“Oh, yeah. Sorry.”

“I asked what are you doing later? Sully’s dad said he would pay us to help unload a big shipment at the warehouse. Sully asked me to call.”

“What time?”

“Around six.” I thought about it. I
could
use the money. I wanted to take Serena out on a real date sometime and I needed funds for that. Plus, sometimes Sully’s dad gave us first pick of whatever came in on the trucks and some truly cool stuff could be had.

“Lemme check with my mom.” I covered the mouthpiece.

And waited a couple minutes in silence.

“Okay, I’ll meet you at your house at 5:30.”

“Cool.” said Dave and we hung up.

I walked back into the kitchen with the phone and hung it up on the cradle. I had no sooner done that than it rang again. I stared at it and snatched it up a second before my sister lunged across the counter for it. She made a face and stuck her tongue out.