Bad to the Crone Read online

  “And I know what you’re doing,” Gunner shot back. “It won’t work. We need to decide how we’re going to approach Mama Moon. She’s what’s important right now, mostly because she has information we might be able to take advantage of.”

  I tilted my head to the side, considering. “You said she’s a fortune teller,” I noted. “What building does she work out of? I don’t remember seeing a fortune teller sign on the main drag.”

  “Contrary to popular belief, not everything is located on the main drag … and that includes Mama Moon,” Gunner explained. “She’s got a place out on Plum Cove Drive. It’s close to the dive bar out there.”

  “There’s a dive bar?” Now I was officially intrigued. “Why didn’t tell me about the dive bar?”

  “You don’t want to go there.”

  I took offense to that remark. “You don’t know. I enjoy a good dive bar. They’re a breath of fresh air in Detroit, where everything old is new again and you need a theme if you want to go out and have a drink.”

  “Of course. That’s perfectly reasonable.” Gunner shook his head. “This dive bar is full of people who have lost hope and want to drink to the point of forgetting. They’re not a fun crowd.”

  I got what he was saying, but I didn’t appreciate him telling me what I would and would not like. “Yes, well, I expect I’ll be stopping in regardless at some point. Go back to Mama Moon. She can’t be as crazy as you say.”

  “She is.”

  “She’s really been married nine times?”

  “That’s what she says.”

  “And she has a bear for a best friend?”

  He smirked. “I’ve seen Barney with my own eyes. He doesn’t walk on a leash or anything, but he does follow her around. Legend has it she rescued him from a trap when he was a cub, and he’s been glued to her side ever since.”

  That was ridiculous. “And what about the story you told me about her actually flying a broom over the town on Halloween? That has to be made up.”

  “I saw it with my own eyes. I was eight at the time.”

  “Yeah, but ... .” I trailed off. “She sounds entertaining.”

  “You’ll get the chance to find out for yourself,” he said. “That’s our next stop.” He tapped the side of my plate. “Finish your chili.”

  “It’s only two bites. I’m done.”

  “Finish it.”

  I made a face. “It’s cold. I mean ... the chili was good, but it’s cold now. I’m fine.”

  Gunner glanced around and then lowered his voice. “Finish it or Mable will make a scene.”

  “You don’t want Mable to make a scene,” Brandon added.

  “Definitely not,” Gunner agreed. “Just ... eat it.”

  I stared at him for a long beat. “Are you serious?”

  “Deadly.”

  “Fine.” I heaved out a sigh and scooped up the last of the chili. “The more time I spend in this town, the weirder you all start to look.”

  “We’ll take that as a compliment,” Brandon said.

  “It wasn’t meant as one.”

  “You’ll learn to love us.” He squeezed my shoulder and smiled serenely at Gunner, who returned the expression with a dark glare. “Oh, you look glum. Tell Brandon what’s troubling you.”

  “I hate it when you refer to yourself in the third person,” Gunner fired back.

  “You need to get over that. Brandon likes talking about himself that way.”

  “Ugh.” Gunner made a disgusted sound deep in his throat and focused on me. “Finish that so we can get out of here. I can’t take much more of this.”

  He wasn’t the only one.

  MAMA MOON’S fortune-telling business was conducted in a building that defied explanation. The roof was purple, the walls pink, and the neon sign in the window green. It made for a disturbing ambiance.

  “Well, this is ... fun.” I rested my helmet on my bike seat as I stretched my back. The road leading to the fortune teller’s home turf was bumpier than I’d expected. “I like her signs.” I read them out loud. “Psychic parking only. Violators will be cursed. Talk to the hand ... with an actual psychic hand. If door does not open, do not enter.”

  Gunner chuckled. “She’s a peculiar soul.”

  I slid my eyes to him. “How well do you know her?”

  “Well enough that I’m uncomfortable having to talk to her about this,” he answered. “She’s not exactly my favorite person.”

  I could see that. “Well, I don’t see where we have a choice.” I took the practical approach and moved toward the door. “I’ll do the talking if you’re uncomfortable. I’ve got everything under control. I ... .” I broke off when I got a closer look at the small sticker on the front window. It read, “Don’t eat yellow snow.”

  Gunner moved behind me and chuckled. “Yeah. Mama Moon is ... there are no words.”

  “Now I’m doubly looking forward to meeting her.”

  “Remember you’re the one who said that, because odds are you’re going to change your mind.”

  WIND CHIMES JANGLED ABOVE the door as I pushed it open. They let loose a magical sound that would’ve been soothing under different circumstances. I’d been prepared for the worst in this particular case, so nothing could ease my nerves ... especially the woman sitting on a round sofa in the center of the room, her feet propped on a stool as she popped candy into her mouth.

  “What the ... ?”

  Gunner snorted as I absorbed the sight. Mama Moon wore an oversized blue dress that made her look as if she was drowning in yards of rayon, and a turban that wasn’t tight enough so it allowed tufts of gray hair to poke from beneath the ill-fitting band nestled around her forehead. Her makeup was garish, her features unnaturally pale and the smile she graced us with was right out of a Batman movie.

  “Hello, young lady. I’ve been expecting you.”

  I kept quiet and tried not to focus on the fact that she’d missed her lips when applying her lipstick. “Hello.”

  “You’ve been expecting her?” Gunner was more at ease with Mama Moon, and he grabbed a chair from the table in the corner and handed it to me before going back to claim a second seat. “Why have you been expecting her?”

  “The spirits are roiled,” she replied, her eyes heavy as they looked me up and down. “She’s been expected in this area for quite some time. Her coming is like a fulfilled promise. Finally, you’re where you belong.”

  Instinctively, I understood she was playing a part. People fell for her nonsense, believed she had divine insight and could point them in the proper direction to make their dreams come true. I knew better. At least I thought I knew better. I expected to come face to face with a con woman — and I was fairly certain I had — but there was an energy zipping around the room that I couldn’t quite identify. It wasn’t magic, at least as I knew it, but it was ... something.

  “You know me?” I forced a smile that I knew didn’t make it all the way to my eyes. “How so?”

  “Not you,” she corrected. “I know your tribe.”

  “My tribe? I didn’t realize I had a tribe.”

  “You lost them when you were young. So young that you have trouble remembering them. That’s not because of your age, though. They cast a memory spell on you as a form of protection.”

  She was so matter-of-fact it set my teeth on edge. “I ... you ... um ... .” I was at a loss, unsure what to say. Thankfully, Gunner decided to take control of the conversation. He seemed more agitated than me by the revelation.

  “If you know something, now would be the time to tell us,” he prodded. “If you don’t, stop playing games. We’re not here to feed your ego.”

  If Mama Moon was offended by the statement she didn’t show it. “Oh, Graham Jr., you’re always such a pill. Have you ever asked yourself why you manage to suck all the fun out of life? You’re like what’s left of a grapefruit when all the good stuff has been eaten.”

  “I didn’t know there was any good stuff in a grapefruit,” I
muttered absently, causing her to chuckle.

  “Good point.” She beamed at me. “As for what I said, Graham is right. Now is not the time to discuss that. There will come a time in the future when we will have no choice but to discuss the past ... but not now. You’re here for another reason.”

  “We are,” Gunner confirmed. “We want to talk about Hal Crosby. It’s come to our attention you were dating him.”

  “I was,” Mama Moon confirmed, bobbing her head. “It was a long time ago.”

  “I was told you were with him a few weeks ago,” Gunner countered.

  “That’s a long time to a woman well past her prime and on the down side of her life,” Mama Moon noted. “Still, if you want a definitive outline of the time we spent together, I can’t help you. When you get older like me, everything melds together. I don’t know how to explain it.”

  “Well, you still must have an idea of how long you were together.” Gunner refused to back down. It was obvious he didn’t like Mama Moon. I had a feeling she was used to that and didn’t hold it against him. The things she said about me, though, were fueling his current path through annoyance and doubt. He was angry on my behalf, which I found sweet ... and confusing.

  “We were together as long as our hearts asked us to be together,” she replied calmly. “They were in charge of our destinies.”

  “Oh, cut the crap.” Gunner swore viciously under his breath. “I know you get a charge from talking in circles — and on a normal day I might be content to listen to your nonsense as long as I had nothing better to do — but this is serious. Hal is dead.”

  I watched Mama Moon, gauged her for a reaction. She didn’t seem surprised ... although she didn’t appear worked up either.

  “Did you know he was dead?” I asked, my voice much quieter than I expected.

  Slowly, Mama Moon dragged her eyes from Gunner to me.

  “I knew,” she said after a beat. “I didn’t feel the exact moment he shuffled off the mortal coil. I’m still asking myself why, because I should’ve been privy to that information. But I knew he was dead. One minute he was there and the next he was ... poof. He was gone, and the world became a sadder place without him.”

  She almost seemed sad, which made me feel for her. I was suspicious about her motivations, though, so I held myself in check. “He was part of All Souls Church. Are you familiar with them?”

  She let loose a hollow laugh as she straightened. “I’m familiar with them. They’re not exactly what I would call upstanding citizens. They would refer to themselves in that manner, but the rest of us don’t feel that way.”

  “Did they give you grief for dating Hal?” Gunner asked, his voice free of recrimination. “I’ve seen them in action before. They’re pretty adamant about church members dating other church members.”

  “They are,” Mama Moon agreed. “I don’t think they realized that we were dating at the start. Hal was careful to keep me separate from them. I was fine with that, mind you. I’ve never trusted that group.”

  “I’m betting they’d say the same about you,” Gunner interjected.

  “Oh, I’m certain they would,” she agreed. “They’ve always disliked me, and I them. It’s one thing to cling to the life you know and another to shun the life you haven’t taken the time to investigate. The people at that church are the absolute worst.”

  “What about zombies?” I asked, going for broke. “Have you heard anything about them trying to create zombies?”

  “Zombies?” Mama Moon arched an eyebrow as her lips curved. “I don’t think they’re sophisticated enough to work magic like that. In fact, I’m almost positive they don’t believe in magic.”

  “I’ve heard things about them throughout the years,” Gunner countered. “This isn’t the first time something weird that has happened has been associated with them. We’re not sure what we saw in the woods was a zombie, but it had a lot of the same characteristics ... including a familiar face.”

  “A familiar face? Really?” She wrinkled her forehead and briefly closed her eyes. “Hmm. I can’t see beyond the veil. What familiar face are you talking about?”

  I braved a glance in Gunner’s direction, expecting to find him laughing ... or at least scowling. Instead, he looked intent. “Herbert Jones.”

  “Another member of the group.” Her eyes never opening, Mama Moon pursed her lips. “I don’t know what they’re doing,” she said finally, sighing. “Whatever it is, they’ve got their intentions on lockdown. I’m guessing that they’re purposely clouding the channels so I can’t figure out what they’re up to.”

  “Or they’re not up to anything,” I countered. “I don’t necessarily believe that entire group is to blame for whatever is going on. It’s much more likely that only one person is involved and he or she happens to be a member of the church.”

  “That seems a very practical notion,” Mama Moon agreed. “But I’m not sure I agree with you. That church has always been peculiar. I’ve never trusted Father Bram. He’s ... slimy.”

  “Is that your psychic powers talking?” I asked.

  “That’s my personal intuition talking,” she countered. “I might not know everything about that group. but I know enough to recognize I want nothing to do with them. You should feel the same way. They can bring you nothing but trouble.”

  “Yeah, well, I’ll take your opinion into consideration.” I got to my feet and looked at Gunner. “This was a waste of time. I ... .” Whatever I was going to say died on my lips when Mama Moon grabbed my hand.

  I was never okay with people invading my personal space — I had a thing about hands going places they weren’t meant to go — but this was even more invasive.

  “What the ... ?”

  “Let her go,” Gunner ordered, hopping to his feet. “What are you doing?”

  “Just taking a look,” Mama Moon replied, gripping me tighter. “I just ... I ... that is amazing.”

  “Let her go!” Gunner tried to wrench Mama Moon’s fingers from my wrist, but he didn’t have the strength. Mama Moon’s mouth dropped open in amazement as a magical burst of energy coursed through me.

  “Look at that,” she enthused, her eyes going wide as saucers. “Look at that!”

  “Look at what?” Gunner was beside himself.

  At the same moment he asked the question, a bolt of magic I didn’t realize was building inside of me broke free and careened into Mama Moon. It knocked her back, forcing her to give up the hold she had on my wrist. The blow was so strong she tumbled off the side of the round couch and hit the floor with a terrific thud.

  When she managed to regain control of herself and look in our direction, the turban was askew and hanging from a few clips as she stared at us, dazed.

  “Now that right there was impressive,” she murmured, her voice dreamy. “I’ve never seen a barrier spell like that. You, my dear, are something special. Where exactly did you come from? No, seriously. Where are your people? I would very much like to meet them.”

  I didn’t have an answer, so I merely stared at my hands, my mind busy as I thought about the burst of magic. I had no idea where it came from. I certainly hadn’t summoned it. So, why did it pick now to appear? And what exactly was it protecting?

  I had no answers ... no idea if I honestly wanted to learn the truth. This was more than I expected and it made me want to turn tail and run.

  Fourteen

  “Are you okay?”

  Gunner knelt in front of me, his face etched with concern. I sucked in a breath to calm myself ... and then another ... and then another. No matter how hard I tried, my heart continued to pound and my mind refused to clear.

  “Scout.” Gunner lowered his voice and leaned forward, cupping my chin and forcing me to look at him. “Are you okay?”

  He looked genuinely concerned, fearful even. That was enough to send me careening back to reality.

  “I’m fine.” I swallowed hard and frowned at how squeaky my voice sounded. I cleared my throat and tried a
gain. “I’m fine.” This time I sounded stronger. I didn’t feel it, but I sounded okay, which is all that mattered.

  “You don’t look fine.” He pushed my hair away from my face and scowled at Mama Moon. “What did you do to her?”

  “I tried to see the part of her that’s hidden,” Mama Moon replied, her tone dull and unfocused. “I knew it was there. You could see it shimmering under the surface. But it’s untouchable.”

  “What is she talking about?” I asked, confused.

  “I don’t know.” Gunner appeared troubled as he continuously moved his hand over my hair. I didn’t know if the motion was meant to soothe me or him. “I don’t ... what did you feel when she touched you?”

  I shrugged. “I don’t know. I ... felt invaded. I didn’t want her to touch me.”

  “So, you sent that bolt of energy out to get her.” He looked hopeful. “You were cognizant of what you were doing, right?”

  Well, not so much. “Not exactly,” I hedged, shifting on my chair. “I don’t know what happened. I don’t think I did that. I think she did.”

  “No, that definitely came from you.” He pressed the back of his hand to my forehead. “You’re warm. That wasn’t the normal fire magic you tend to rely on. That was something else. It came from somewhere else.”

  “If it didn’t come from me, it had to come from her.” That had to be true. It was the only thing that made sense. “She did it. She’s putting on a show.”

  He slid his eyes to Mama Moon, who had about as much color as a Hanes T-shirt, and shook his head. “I don’t think so. It’s not important right now. We need to get you out of here.”

  “Sure.” I stood on unsteady feet, something in the back of my mind registering that I was a bit hazy and probably should take things slow. “I’ll meet you out front.” I spun on my heel and headed toward the door, causing Gunner to hiss something unintelligible.

  “I’ll want to talk about this later,” Gunner warned. I heard him getting closer to me, which was good, because my fingers didn’t want to work correctly and I couldn’t turn the doorknob. “You are going to tell me what just happened.”