A Witch of a Time Read online

  “What are you going to do?”

  “I’m going to order the girls to clean up the cabin and then send the other girls out on the lake with Twila,” Marnie said. “I have a feeling this spell is only going to get worse before it gets better … especially for some people.”

  Her gaze was fixed on Rosemary and Lila, who had their heads bent together as they energetically scratched their arms, necks and faces. They were obviously plotting, and that was only making their affliction worse. They didn’t realize the cause and effect.

  “Okay,” I said. “I won’t go too far. But be careful. Lila is going to be out for blood.”

  “I can handle Lila,” Marnie said. “It’s Rosemary who really has me worried.”

  Me too. The odd child was getting odder by the minute – and that was a frightening thought.

  “WHAT are we looking for?” Clove asked, taking the lead as our small expedition moved through the thick trees surrounding the lake. “Are you going to tie us to trees and leave us out here?”

  “Why would I do that?”

  Clove is the most nervous of the three girls. When they’ve done something wrong, she’s always the one who breaks first. Thistle holds on out of spite, and Bay refuses to squeal out of loyalty. She doesn’t care about getting punished herself, but she’s not fond of getting her cousins into trouble.

  “Because of what we did last night,” Clove said.

  Thistle reached over and pinched her. “Shut your mouth.”

  “I already know you guys are responsible for what happened last night,” I said. “Don’t worry about that. You’re not in trouble.” There was no way I could punish them for actions I set into motion.

  “We didn’t do anything,” Thistle said. “Clove is talking nonsense … like she always does.”

  “You’re dead to me,” Clove spat, taking a swipe at Thistle’s messy hair.

  I stepped between them, pushing their antsy bodies away from one another. “Knock that off. I already told you that you’re not in trouble.”

  “Yeah, but you could just be saying that,” Thistle said. “You’re the type who is smart enough to lie, and then when we own up to what you think we did, you’d punish us anyway.”

  That was a backhanded compliment. Kind of. “Why do you think I would punish you?”

  “I think you like it.”

  I couldn’t hide my smile. Despite her occasional obnoxiousness, Thistle has one of those personalities you can’t help but love. She’s has charisma. “I don’t like punishing you,” I said. “Besides, I can’t punish you because I’m the one who told Aunt Tillie to do what she did.”

  Thistle narrowed her eyes. “You did?” She obviously didn’t believe me.

  “I didn’t tell her to do that specifically,” I said. “I told her to make them cry. She didn’t do that.”

  “Give it time,” Thistle muttered.

  I stilled. “Time for what?”

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Thistle said, averting her gaze.

  “I’ll give you the leftover chocolate in the refrigerator when we get back to camp if you tell me,” I offered.

  Thistle rolled her eyes. “Are you really trying to bribe me?”

  Of course not. Thistle can’t be bribed. She’d rather go hungry for days than give in. “I was talking to Clove.”

  Clove’s dark eyes widened. “Really?”

  “I’ll curse that chocolate so it tastes like flies if you turn on me,” Thistle warned.

  She’s frightening sometimes. She’s like a tiny mixture of Aunt Tillie, Marnie and her own mother. It’s a terrifying combination. “Just tell me what the spell does.”

  “If you’re a good person, it doesn’t do anything,” Clove said, shooting a worried look in Thistle’s direction and cowering slightly at the scowl on her cousin’s face. “The worse you are … the more lies you tell … the more bad thoughts you have … the worse the spell gets.”

  I’d already started to figure that out on my own. “How long does it last?”

  “That’s up to the person infected,” Clove said. “If they try to make amends, they’ll get better. If they don’t … well … it never ends.”

  I sighed, running a hand through my hair as I studied the two girls. “It can only last until they go home. You know that, right?”

  Thistle shifted to me, her face unreadable. “You’re fine with the spell going on?”

  “I’m fine with karma working its own way out,” I said. “I’ll make sure Aunt Tillie ends the spell by the time everyone leaves tomorrow. The last thing we need is Lila’s mother coming out to the house on a rampage.”

  “I think we should cast the spell on her, too,” Thistle said.

  “Maybe if you’re really bored when school starts up,” I said, grinning. I reached over and tweaked her nose. “Enjoy the spell while you can. For now, though, we need to get back to the camp. I’ve left my sisters to their own devices for far too long. Where is Bay?”

  Thistle shrugged, and a quick scan of our surroundings caused my heart to drop. “Bay!”

  She didn’t answer.

  “Bay!”

  “Take a chill pill,” Bay said, moving into my line of sight. She’d wandered into the trees and was picking flowers as she looked around. “I’m right here.”

  “Don’t wander off,” I said.

  “I didn’t wander off,” Bay replied, irritated. “I’m right here.”

  “Come on,” I said. “We need to go back to camp.”

  “We can’t go back until I find the ghost,” Bay argued. “She needs help.”

  “We can’t make the ghost come to us, Bay. She’ll have to come when she’s ready. Are you even sure it’s a woman?”

  “It’s a woman,” Bay said, her nose wrinkling. “She’s sad.”

  “I know she’s sad, Bay. There’s still nothing we can do until she’s ready to be helped.” That was true of the living as well as the dead. “When she wants help, she’ll ask for it. Now, come on. You guys didn’t get breakfast and I think we could all use some lunch.”

  “But … .” Bay wasn’t ready to give in.

  “Come on,” Thistle said. “Don’t you want to see how bad Lila looks? She probably looks like a giant zit that needs to be popped. I’m not missing that.”

  Bay brightened considerably. “Okay.”

  Funnily enough, Thistle is the one who always knows how to cheer Bay up. That was another part of her charm.

  Eight

  “Is anyone else glad this is our final night here?” Marnie asked, handing the hot dog platter to Twila and gathering the utensils so we could wash them back at the cabin. “In twenty-four hours, we’re going to be back home with only three teenagers to deal with.”

  “Don’t forget Aunt Tillie,” Twila said.

  “I could never forget Aunt Tillie.”

  “How are the infected girls?” I asked, lifting my head so I could study the crowded field where Terry was taking advantage of the limited light left in the day to play freeze tag with all of the kids. Well, to be fair, it wasn’t all of the kids. Lila, Rosemary and a few of the others who were still struggling with poison oak symptoms were hanging around the bonfire pit.

  After a few hours under the watchful eyes of Bay, Clove, Thistle and Aunt Tillie, most of the girls figured out pretty quickly that they felt better when they stopped casting verbal – and mental – stones. Only five girls were still sick, and Lila and Rosemary looked like rejects from an episode of The X-Files.

  Their faces – which were hideously spotted – were enough to keep all of the boys (and most of the girls) away. Lila was spitting nails by the time Terry showed up for dinner, and she gave him an earful about wanting Bay arrested. After listening to her complaints – from a safe distance, mind you – and asking her a few questions, he informed her there was no evidence of Bay’s guilt.

  Lila didn’t take it well. She’d spent the past hour conspiring with her limited group of cronies, and I had a feelin
g we weren’t quite out of the woods yet. No pun intended.

  “They’re crabby,” Marnie said. “Only three of the girls agreed to clean up the cabin. They were the ones who felt better first. Their faces cleared up before they were even done.”

  “Did the other girls notice?”

  “The smart ones did,” Marnie said. “I’m betting you can guess who the stupid ones are.”

  “Rosemary is the one who surprises me,” I said. “She knows about magic. Aunt Willa isn’t a practitioner, but Rosemary still knows … something. She should have figured it out first.”

  “Maybe she has. Maybe she just doesn’t care how she looks.”

  “I don’t think anyone could ignore those big pus balls on their faces,” I said.

  “Maybe Rosemary is more interested in revenge,” Marnie suggested.

  That thought occurred to me, too. “We have to watch them tonight,” I said. “We just have to get through tonight.”

  “Maybe we should split up and sleep in the cabins with the girls,” Twila said. “If one of us is in each cabin, they’ll be forced to behave themselves.”

  That was an idea. Still … . “Who wants to sleep in Lila’s cabin?”

  Marnie and Twila immediately started shaking their heads.

  “I think that should be your job,” Marnie said. “You’re the one who let Aunt Tillie off her leash.”

  “I’m not sleeping in that cabin.”

  “You could sleep in the hammock,” Twila said. “It’s right by the cabin.”

  “I’d rather do that,” I said. “Let’s just watch things. Maybe Lila and Rosemary will give up before things really get out of hand.”

  “You’re giving them too much credit,” Marnie said. “If they haven’t figured out what’s going on yet, they’re not going to.”

  “I just keep hoping there’s a decent person deep down in both of them,” I said. “At this point, it would have to be really deep. Something has to be there, though. They can’t be this … empty.”

  “I think they’re exactly this empty,” Marnie said. “Keep your rose-colored glasses on, though. They look good on you. I’m going to take the dishes back to the cabin. Why don’t you get the fire started? We only have to get through tonight and an afternoon of kayaking tomorrow. Keep telling yourself that. That’s how we’re going to survive.”

  I smiled. “Well, for now, Terry has them all busy playing tag.”

  “Have you noticed that the boy who came to Bay’s defense last night keeps chasing her when it’s his turn?” Twila asked.

  Indeed, I had noticed that. “I think he might have a crush on her.”

  “Have they even talked, though?”

  “Bay, Clove and Thistle haven’t talked to anyone but themselves,” I said. “I think that boy just likes blondes. I wouldn’t worry about it. He’ll have a broken heart for five minutes when he leaves tomorrow and then he’ll move on to another blonde.”

  “Those rose-colored glasses might need an updated prescription,” Marnie teased. “I’m not saying they’re going to fall in love and spend the rest of their lives together. It’s just kind of cute to see them discovering boys.”

  “I’m guessing we’re all going to feel differently in two years.”

  Marnie shrugged. “Maybe. It’s fun for now.”

  “I’ll give you that,” I conceded, smiling as the boy chased a squealing Bay. “It’s definitely fun.”

  “CAN we hear a ghost story tonight?”

  “Sure,” Aunt Tillie said, leaning forward.

  “Absolutely not,” I said, wagging my finger in her direction. “No ghost stories.”

  Aunt Tillie rolled her eyes. “You’re such a downer.”

  “I can live with that.”

  “Even as a child you were a downer,” Aunt Tillie said. “You were the one who told on me when I snuck you candy.”

  “That’s because we weren’t supposed to have more than one piece before dinner.”

  “See? Downer.”

  Aunt Tillie was playing to her audience, and she was having a good time doing it. Whispers spread throughout the campers that she was the one responsible for the “plague” earlier in the day. Since then, the girls couldn’t stop themselves from sucking up to her. That’s exactly how Aunt Tillie liked to live her life: with fans.

  “We’re going to make s’mores again,” I said. “Then we’re all going to go to bed early. It’s been a really long couple of days.”

  “You’re just getting old,” Thistle teased. “You don’t have enough energy to keep up with us.”

  “I think that every day of my life, Thistle,” I said. “Three of you is bad enough. Forty of you is … too much.”

  “Mom says I’m too much on my own,” Thistle said.

  “In your case I’d say that was true.” I tousled her hair affectionately as I moved past her. “Just try to be good tonight.”

  “I’m always good.”

  “I hope you’re grading yourself on a curve,” I said. “Otherwise I might think your nose is growing.”

  Thistle scowled. “Are you calling me a liar?”

  “Watch the fire, Thistle.”

  I joined Terry a few feet away. He was leaning against a tree, his arms crossed over his chest, and his face was thoughtful as he watched the kids.

  “Are you going to be happy to send them on their way tomorrow?” I asked.

  “They’re a good group of boys,” Terry said. “They haven’t been any trouble.”

  “That must be a nice experience,” I joked.

  “Yeah, it looks like you had another eventful night,” he said. “What’s the deal with Lila’s face?”

  “She woke up with poison oak this morning.”

  “That’s inconvenient,” Terry said, nonplussed. “She just woke up with it? Out of the blue?”

  “She must have accidentally rubbed against it while out in the woods yesterday,” I said evasively.

  Terry barked out a coarse laugh. “That girl hasn’t set foot in those woods since she got here,” he said. “I’m guessing she got the poison oak by other means.”

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  “The kids have been talking,” Terry said. “The rumor is that Bay, Clove and Thistle cursed the people in Lila’s cabin. I notice most of the girls look fine, though. Just a handful of them are suffering. How does that work?”

  I felt he was putting me on the spot. “Why are you asking me?”

  “Because I saw the look on your face last night when Lila went after Bay,” he said. “I have a feeling you know what happened.”

  “I didn’t do anything.”

  “I didn’t say you did anything,” Terry said. “In fact, I’m guessing Aunt Tillie is the ringleader, and she dragged Bay, Clove and Thistle along for the ride.”

  “I guess anything is possible.”

  Terry smirked. “Are the ones still scratching the ones who refuse to apologize?”

  “The ones still affected are the ones lying and plotting,” I said. “If they stopped both of those things, they would go back to normal.”

  “That’s an interesting punishment,” Terry said, rubbing his stubbly chin. “It would teach most kids a lesson.”

  “Most,” I agreed.

  “Was that Aunt Tillie’s idea?”

  “I told her to do whatever she wanted,” I admitted. “If you think I’m proud of my actions, I’m not.”

  “I’d be proud of it,” he said. “It’s kind of like the best of both worlds. You get to see the ugly within on the outside. If everything in life was like that, it would make my job a whole lot easier.”

  “They’re still just kids,” I said. “I kind of feel … guilty.”

  “Don’t,” Terry said. “A lesson learned is a valuable thing. A lesson ignored is also a valuable thing. Lila is going to learn something here this weekend. We don’t know what it is, but I guarantee she learns something.”

  “I’m worried Bay, Clove and Thistle are
going to learn something, too,” I said. “I’m worried I’m teaching them that revenge is the way to go.”

  “Sometimes it is.”

  “Not always, though.”

  “No, not always,” Terry agreed. “In this case, though, revenge is the only weapon they have. Let’s just see how it all plays out.”

  “You’re being awfully calm about this,” I said. “Usually when we talk about … this stuff … you like to pretend you can’t hear us.”

  “Did you say something?”

  “I … .” I rolled my eyes, realizing what he was doing. “You’re a funny guy.”

  “I am,” Terry agreed, pushing himself away from the tree. “Let’s get this show on the road. I realize I’m starting to feel my age. Long days watching twelve boys who have boundless enthusiasm is making me feel old.”

  “I think we all feel that way,” I said.

  “DO we have any more chocolate?” Thistle asked, scanning the area around the campfire. “I want another s’more.”

  “You’ve had three,” I said. “You don’t need another one.”

  “I’m on vacation,” Thistle said.

  “You’re at camp.”

  “That’s still a vacation for kids,” Thistle pressed.

  “What are you getting at?”

  “When you’re on vacation, you get to eat whatever you want,” she said. “I want chocolate.”

  She’s such a pain. “If there’s more chocolate, go nuts. You’re still going to bed early, and if I catch you out of bed I’m going to make sure you don’t see a bar of chocolate for two weeks once we get home.”

  “You really are a downer,” Thistle muttered.

  I turned to Twila. “She’s your little bundle of joy,” I said. “Can’t you make her behave?”

  “Not if history is any indication,” Twila said. “She’s her own person. I can’t change it, and I don’t want to.”

  “You don’t have to change her,” I said. “Can’t you … I don’t know … gag her or something?”

  Twila smiled. “I think she’s cute.”

  Of course she did. I turned my attention back to the campfire, counting heads. When I came up two short, I started over again. The outcome was the same. Two girls were missing, and I didn’t even have to conduct a roll-call to figure out which ones.