Maudlin's Mayhem (Bewitching Bedlam Book 2) Read online

  “If it turns bright pink, you’re under the curse. If not, then you’re clear, at least from this hex. I had to go through twenty different tests with Bubba to find out just what kind of magic was affecting him.” Jordan sat down on a stool, spinning to face us. “This will take about twenty minutes, so you might as well get comfortable.”

  I put in a call to Aegis, but nobody answered. “He’s probably in the shower.” It occurred to me that we needed some test like this for the Bewitching Bedlam. “Can you use this reagent on a house to figure out if it’s under attack?”

  “No, but I can compound a powder. Once you get home, you can set the container in any room, open it, and twenty minutes later, if it’s turned bright pink, you’ll know the whole house needs to be cleansed.” He set to work on that while Sandy and I waited. I scooped Bubba into my arms and he began to purr and knead against my shoulder.

  “Will Bubba be in danger again if the house is under a general hex?”

  “No. By destroying the anchor for his curse, it will prevent him from being re-infected, so to speak. It’s like…think of it as though he’s been immunized to this particular spell. But, Maddy, once you do have your house cleared, you need to take precautions and beef up your wards every few weeks. You obviously have pissed off somebody. This hex wasn’t a teenage joyride, so to speak. This was serious business. Dirt Magic is dangerous.” He poured a white crystalline powder into a plastic petri dish, then covered it and taped it shut. “Here. When you get home, do as I told you.”

  “So things still could happen, then? Just not to Bubba.”

  “Right, though nothing that hasn’t already been set into motion. But you know how hexes like this are. Some effects have a long brew time, others are quick. You could wake up covered in spots tomorrow, because the hex is working on you even now.” He glanced at the clock. “Five more minutes.”

  “Yeah, I know.”

  He was right. Hexes like this one played out long term. Even though we had destroyed the anchor, if something had been triggered but not yet manifested, it would still go through the cycle until the hex was lifted. And it sounded like this was a doozy. If it hadn’t been so strong, I could have used the heart pin to destroy the entire hex, but apparently it was powerful enough that I needed a hex-breaker.

  “Okay, we have our results. Maddy—you’re infected.” He held up both vials. They were both bright magenta. “Sandy, you are, too. My guess is that everybody who was present that night, or who came into the house within twenty-four hours, has a good chance of having been slapped with the hex.”

  I turned to Sandy. “How has Max been doing?”

  She groaned. “He was there, wasn’t he? He’s had one hell of a week. Two big malls where he was going to sell franchises to his clothing store pulled out of their deals. I dread telling him the most likely cause.”

  “Nothing seems to be going on with Aegis. I wonder if the hex works on vampires.”

  “If Essie cast it, maybe not since she is a vamp.”

  I shook my head. “That guarantees nothing. Her loyalty doesn’t extend to anybody she thinks crossed her, and Aegis works with me. All right, we need to find a hex-breaker. I’m hoping that it won’t have infected the actual house. If it’s only us, it will be a lot easier to eradicate.”

  “What about Thornton? He was there,” Sandy said. “And Mr. Mosswood and Mrs. Periwinkle?”

  I paused. “Crap. I’ll have to call the latter two and see how they’re doing. Thornton’s the one Essie is really pissed at. I wonder if he received anything—” I paused as my phone rang. It was Delia. Holding my breath, I answered. “Hey, what’s up?”

  She paused for a moment, then said, “Maddy, I hate to tell you this, but we just found Thornton. He’s dead. His car skidded off the road and hit a tree.”

  And just like that, we had our answer.

  I TOLD DELIA I’d be coming over to the station the next morning. There wasn’t anything anybody could do to help Thornton tonight.

  “Listen, Sandy, if my house is infected, can Bubba stay with you? Even though he can’t be hit again by the spell, that doesn’t mean he can’t be hurt by collateral damage, like if the house burns down or gets hit by a fucking meteor.”

  “Of course.” She regarded her hand. “The salve Dr. Farrows put on my burn really helped. He promised it would heal faster than what the paramedics used.”

  Before we had left, Jordan had examined both our hands. Mine, he had cast a little healing spell over and I could tell the sprain was already relaxing a bit. He had changed Sandy’s bandages and pasted her burns with a thick, gooey salve that stunk, but that had immediately gone to work, bubbling up over the burns.

  We arrived back at the house. The lights were off. Thornton wasn’t at home, obviously, because Thornton was dead. But Aegis should be around. Cautiously, we approached the kitchen. The door was locked, and there was no sign of any problems.

  I set down Bubba’s carrier down right outside the door. “Give me twenty, Bubs, until I know whether it’s safe to leave you here by yourself, or if you have to go spend time at Sandy’s.”

  “Mrow.” He didn’t sound happy.

  “I know you’re hungry, but just be glad you’re back in your own form.”

  “Purp,” was the immediate response. Which meant, Yeah, I’m happy.

  As we entered the kitchen, I flipped on the lights. Nothing looked out of place, but there was no note. “I wonder where Aegis is,” I said. “Can you set up the powder on the kitchen table? I’m going to check the basement.”

  “Sure.” Sandy took the petri dish from me and began to arrange it according to Jordan’s instructions.

  I headed to the basement. The door was over to the side of the kitchen, and it was closed but not locked. I was starting to get worried. Aegis was always up right at sunset, though he sometimes took a shower, which meant he might be upstairs in my bathroom. I opened the door and flipped on the switch. We had finally gotten the railing fixed and the basement level mostly cleared out. At least it didn’t resemble the Munsters’ home anymore.

  We had also been through a number of the old trunks and furniture that had come with the house, and donated a good share of what we found to thrift shops. We had even sold a few pieces to antique dealers. But there were several pieces we had yet to touch.

  The basement had three rooms. The main one was quite large, with the furnace in the far corner. The second was a pantry, though I wasn’t about to use it for that. I was thinking of converting it into a suite for vampires looking for a room, but hadn’t decided yet whether that was the best course of action.

  The third room was Aegis’s lair. We had painted the long, narrow chamber sky blue with a white ceiling. The room held his coffin, a reading nook, and a small refrigerator filled with bottled blood. He also had a craft table that held his jigsaw puzzles. He was a fiend for the large, sprawling ones, and down here, Bubba wouldn’t be likely to knock it over. Plus, if Aegis had spare time before going to sleep for the day, he could sit and work on the puzzle and not just twiddle his thumbs, waiting for the sunrise to drag him to sleep.

  I tapped on the door. There was a soft squeak from the other side. What the hell? It didn’t sound like a dragging shoe or anything like that. I cautiously opened the door and ducked as a bat swept out and over my head. A very large, black bat. The bat circled me, then hovered in front of my face. He didn’t look very happy or friendly.

  I started to shoo him away, but then stopped. Oh, hell.

  “You aren’t…”

  Again, a loud squeak.

  “Aegis?”

  The bat let out another series of squeaks, very high pitched and almost out of my hearing range.

  “Oh, crap. Aegis, is that you?”

  He flew around the room quickly, clearly agitated, and then once again hovered in front of my face.

  I wanted to ask what had happened but I didn’t speak “bat” and Aegis was obviously in th
e midst of some sort of crisis. I cleared my throat.

  “If you can’t turn back into your human form, fly over to the puzzle and back.”

  Bingo. The bat flew over to the puzzle and then returned.

  “Can you turn into any other form?” I knew that Aegis could turn into a rat if he chose, and sometimes, he could turn into a wolf, though he seldom did. “If you can, fly over to the puzzle. If not, over to the fridge.”

  He flew over to the fridge and back. Cripes on a platter.

  “Okay, you can obviously understand me, so listen. Sandy and I found out what’s going on. Fly upstairs and we’ll find a place for you to hang out. Then I’ll explain what we learned.” I turned and dashed up the steps, grimacing as I jammed my thumb on the railing.

  Sandy was staring at the powder. “We still have fifteen minutes to go. Where’s Aegis?” she asked as I appeared at the basement door.

  I stood aside, waiting for him to fly through.

  “Right here.”

  He flew into the room, flipped upside down, and took hold of the curtain rod, hanging there.

  “Uh-oh.” Sandy glanced at Aegis, then back at me. “Stuck in that form?”

  “Twenty points to the woman with the burned hand.” I sat down, staring at Aegis. Slowly, I began to explain everything that had happened. “So, Thornton’s dead. Sandy and I are both hurt. But Bubba’s okay. I’m going to leave him over at Sandy’s if the house itself was cursed.”

  Aegis let out a loud screech, then a series of chattering noises. He spread his wings a couple times, flapping them loudly. Obviously, he wasn’t thrilled about the situation.

  We waited, staring at the dish of powder, until twenty minutes passed. The powder remained white. Another five minutes and I let out a loud sigh of relief.

  “Okay, the house itself is all right. The hex must have been aimed at me, and unfortunately it sideswiped everybody else who was here that night. It’s probably been radiating out from me to affect others.” At least one thing had gone right today, which—given the extent of things that had gone wrong—was actually a relief.

  “Now what?” Sandy asked as I brought Bubba in and let him out of his carrier. He scampered around, then raced over to his food dish, letting out a plaintive yowl.

  “Thank gods for electric can openers,” I said, managing to position the can properly so that I could open it without hurting my thumb. As I shook out the food into a dish and put it down for Bubba, along with clean water, I ran over various options in my mind.

  “We have to find someone who can reverse Dirt Magic hexes, which means we either find a very powerful multi-elemental witch, or we find a Dirt Witch. I still think Auntie Tautau is the best one to ask.”

  “You know, there’s somebody else who might know how to deal with this. Remember Garret James? He’s a snakeshifter and I think he has a background in Dirt Magic.”

  “It’s too late to call him now, but tomorrow, I’ll contact him. Since the house is clear, but we’re both infected, it won’t matter if Bubba stays here or goes with you. I guess I’ll just keep him here tonight.”

  “All right,” Sandy said. “But be careful. We know that Essie’s on the warpath. Don’t trigger her into trying anything worse. I love you, woman, but sometimes you can really pull stupid stunts. It’s that impetuous, fiery nature of yours.”

  I gave her a long look. “Oh, really?” But my bark had no bite. I knew she was right.

  She snorted. “I know you. And I know what I’d be tempted to do. Together, we’ve gotten ourselves in more trouble than a pack of hyenas in a room full of laughing gas.” With that pithy advice ringing in my ears, she headed out for home, and I turned to face my boyfriend the bat.

  Chapter 11

  THE NIGHT PASSED fairly quietly. Having a bat hang over my bed watching me was a weird experience, but Aegis seemed intent on keeping an eye on me. Come early morning, I made sure he was back downstairs in the basement. He didn’t want to go into his coffin, and given that, in bat form, he wouldn’t be able to open it when he woke up, I understood. He settled down on top of it and fell asleep as soon as sunrise hit. Given there were no windows in his lair, I figured it would be safe to leave him there.

  I slowly returned upstairs, thinking about the coming day.

  By eight a.m., I stood at the door of my closet, wondering how the hell I was going to make it through the day. Today was Ostara, so tonight I’d be leading the town ritual. That meant making sure the Moonrise Coven had everything covered.

  With Thornton dead, I was out another housekeeper, which entailed taking out another classified ad and explaining to prospective applicants why my turnover rate was sky high.

  And I needed to find a Dirt Witch to break the hex. I also decided I should draw up a detailed plan so that my house and land weren’t ever this vulnerable again, and that meant scheduling regular sessions to ward the house and everyone in it.

  I finally shimmied into a pair of jeans and a tank top and brushed my hair back into a high ponytail. I slapped on some makeup and then dashed downstairs.

  Damn it. No Thornton meant no coffee. Aegis in bat form meant no breakfast. I grumbled my way over to the refrigerator and pulled out ham and bread and mayo, slapping together a quick ham sandwich. I didn’t bother wrestling with the espresso machine. I’d pick up a mocha on my way to the sheriff’s office. Finally, I warned Bubba to keep an eye on things and hide if anything bad happened, and then once again, I headed out the door, on my way to see Delia.

  AFTER A QUICK stop at Bouncing Goats Espresso Shack, where Gillymack greeted me again, I had my quint-shot mocha. I hightailed it over to Bedlam Town Hall.

  The sheriff’s office was part of a large building on the other side of Bedlam. The massive brick structure housed not only Delia’s department, but the county clerk, the courthouse, the fire department, the utilities office, the mayor’s office, and the library. Over a hundred years old, the Bedlam City Hall had been a mammoth undertaking of stonework and masonry. Outside, the building looked like a grave, stern structure, but inside, everything was all updated and calm. The halls might as well have formed a labyrinth, but signs directing visitors to where they wanted to go were clear and unmistakable.

  As I strode past the library and City Hall, I realized that the hallways were so empty because most of the offices were closed for Ostara, which was a government holiday in Bedlam. The library was still open, but it looked like most people were out enjoying the sudden bout of balmy weather that had greeted me when I left the house. It was already in the low sixties, and while the sky was overcast, rain wasn’t predicted for another twenty-four hours.

  I continued through the hallways until I reached the back wing, which housed the fire department, courthouse, and the sheriff’s office. As I pushed through the swinging doors, Bernice, the receptionist who was also the dispatcher, waved at me. She was talking into her headset, and she held up a finger, pointing me toward the waiting area. I nodded, taking a seat, listening as she attempted to field the caller.

  “I’m sorry that you have an infestation of snails in your garden, Mrs. Chumalug, but we can’t arrest your neighbor for cursing your garden. Snails are common around here. Might I suggest you set out bowls of beer for them? … No, I am not being facetious. You set out the bowl, let them get in, then throw the slugs and snails away with the beer.… Yes, I understand you don’t approve of alcohol, but—all right then, why don’t you… No, I am not being flippant.”

  Delia peeked out into the waiting room, saw me, and motioned me back. Silently wishing Beatrice the best in dealing with Mrs. Chumalug, I followed the sheriff down the hall, through a maze of desks, into her office. She closed the door behind me and motioned for me to sit down. I was nursing the last of my mocha. The surge of caffeine had done a world of good in waking me up.

  “So…Thornton’s dead.” I spilled out the story about the hex and Bubba and everything else that had happened, ending with, “I have a bunc
h of Thornton’s things at my place. Should I wait for his family, or do you want me to bag them up and bring them in?”

  She shrugged. “We looked for family but couldn’t find anybody. You can keep them, if you want, or bring them here, I guess.”

  I glanced around her office and finally asked what was on both of our minds. “Given he was Essie’s boy toy, are you certain this was an accident? Could it have been murder?”

  “We’ve found no evidence, but who knows at this point?” Delia opened a file folder and shoved a couple pictures across the desk.

  I picked up the photos, studying them. The car was a crumpled mass of metal. At least I didn’t see Thornton in the picture. I had seen a lot of people die over the years, but I really wasn’t feeling up to seeing such a sunny, helpful man crushed by two tons of metal crashing into a tree. The other picture was of skid marks. He had suddenly veered off the road, so quickly there were scraps of tire on the asphalt.

  “Tire blowout?”

  “No, we checked for that. He skidded so quickly that it actually ripped some of the tread off the wheel. He must have been driving like a bat out of hell. See how wide of a swing the skid marks make? As totaled as the car is, he must have hit the tree at around seventy miles per hour.”

  “That doesn’t sound like Thornton.” My stomach lurched. “There must not have been much left.”

  “No, there really wasn’t. I’m afraid that what’s left of him is probably better off at the crematorium.”

  I was about to ask who was responsible for taking charge of his remains when Delia’s phone rang. She answered, her expression changing from somber to guarded.

  “No, really? All right, put her on.” A pause, then she continued. “Good morning, Shar-Shar. To what do I owe the pleasure of this call?” Another pause, then Delia let out an exasperated sigh. “Really? Are you fucking kidding me?”

  I leaned forward. I knew the name from somewhere, but couldn’t place it.