Sympathetic Magic Read online

  Sympathetic Magic

  by

  Sara Bourgeois

  Chapter One

  It was a dark and stormy night.

  Just kidding...

  It was actually a boiling hot afternoon. The kind where you walk outside, and it feels like you just walked into an armpit. Humid, and air so thick it's like walking through soup. Those analogies are gross together, but I could only hope it painted a picture of what we were dealing with in Coventry.

  The Skeenbauer Coven could have used some magic to make the clouds roll in to block out some of the sun or just summoned a breeze, but I was the new leader. I'd decided that it was in all of our best interests to only use magic when we really needed it.

  It wasn't a law per se. We weren't putting people in a jar for using magic to clean their houses or make their banana bread taste a little better, but it was a strong suggestion.

  Anyway, it was hot.

  And it was staying that way.

  Reggie spent the night at Hangman's House with me because the air conditioning in her little crackerbox house had gone out again. And by again, it was the third time in a week. She'd scraped together the money to fix it the first two times, and it had gone out again the very next day. She couldn't afford to have the HVAC guy come out again for an emergency call, so I'd let her crash at my place.

  "We'll go over there after work, and I'll fix it,” I said. "And next time, just call me. You don't need to pay repairmen."

  "But your rules," she protested.

  "Reggie, do you know what the low temperature was last night?"

  "No..."

  "It was eighty-five degrees. That's the coolest it got last night. I'd say that fixing your air conditioning isn't a frivolous use of magic. Plus, you spent all your savings, didn't you?"

  "Yes, but…"

  "No but, Reggie. You were going to use that money to buy a new car. When you got a more reliable car, you were going to be able to take your Grandma out of the nursing home for day trips."

  "I was,” she said.

  "Well, now you're just going to have to use my car on the weekends until you get money saved up again,” I said. "And after work today, we're going to your house to repair the air conditioning."

  "Thank you,” she said. "I miss having Jeremy in town to fix these things."

  Jeremy Corey was one of Thorn's deputies, but he was also in the National Guard. He was normally only gone one weekend a month and a couple of weeks during the summer, but that spring he'd been called up for a mission in the Ukraine. Six weeks before he left the country, he'd been in Washington DC doing some sort of specialized training, and then they'd shipped him overseas.

  Normally, Reggie didn't need my magic because if anything went wrong, she'd call up Jeremy, and he'd come running. With him out of town, she had a lot more free time in addition to her unmet repair needs.

  "What would you like for breakfast?" I asked as she emerged from the guest bedroom.

  She'd left the door open a crack so we could talk while she got dressed. "Oh, are you cooking?"

  "Yes, we've got time. I'll make some coffee too, but don't worry, we'll still drop by the Brew Station and grab lattes before we open."

  I'd moved the opening of the store to an hour later. We'd been opening up before the first ghost tour got done, but there'd been no point. No one came into my shop until that first tour ended. Sometimes it was even later than that because they'd go over to the Brew Station and grab a drink before wandering back over to buy souvenirs or pick up something from my selection of authentic magical tools.

  "Oh, I get breakfast and a latte. Maybe my luck is changing,” she said with a smile.

  Unfortunately, she somehow managed to drop her purse, get her ankle caught up in the strap, and fall face first onto the hallway floor as she came out of the bedroom.

  Reggie let out a chilling cry of pain, and when she pushed herself up from the floor with her palms, her nose was bleeding.

  "Oh, gawd, I think I broke my nose. It hurts so bad,” she said as her hand fluttered up to her face. Reggie flinched and quickly pulled it away as she got up onto her knees.

  I immediately knelt beside her and covered her nose with my palm. She halfway recoiled away, but I felt all of the tension leave her as I healed the injury.

  "What was that?" Meri asked as he came skittering up the stairs.

  He was so tiny that he almost missed the landing. I suppressed a chuckle at the sight of him struggling to make the last step, but I didn't hide it fast enough. He narrowed his eyes at me.

  "I thought maybe someone had let an elephant in the house and it died," he snarked.

  "Meri, that's mean,” I said. “Reggie fell and broke her nose.”

  But Reggie was laughing. "I'm fine, thank you,” she said and stood up. "But really, thank you, Kinsley. I can't believe how much that hurt. If not for you, I'd have spent the morning in the emergency room in agony waiting to be seen."

  "Well, we've got no time for that,” I said. "Still feel like breakfast?"

  "Of course,” she said. "How about maple sausage and cheddar biscuits?"

  "Deal, but only if you promise to use the railing when you go down the stairs."

  "I feel like you're being a smart... aleck, but it's good advice. So, I'll follow its" she retorted with a grin.

  I wasn't sure if I should go down the stairs before her to catch her if she fell or behind her so I could grab her if she took a tumble. I had no reason to believe Reggie would fall again, but for some reason, I was worried about her. Seeing her bleeding and in pain had shaken me up. I felt like a mother hen clucking over her chicks.

  "What can I do to help?" Reggie asked once we were in the kitchen. "You know, I did help cook sometimes at the diner. I'm not totally incompetent in the kitchen."

  "Then why are you always letting me cook for you?" I playfully wagged my finger in her direction.

  She smiled mischievously. "Because you always offer."

  "Okay, then. Why don't you do the sausage. You can add the maple and the spices to the ground pork while I work on the biscuit dough."

  "Sounds simple enough,,” Reggie said.

  But apparently it wasn't simple at all. When she got into the cabinet to get the spices, she knocked half of them off the shelf. The cayenne pepper broke open and spilled everywhere. There was a cloud of the red spice in the air. It burned our eyes and made us cough.

  I waved my hand in the air, and it quickly found its way back into the container. "Why don't you just keep me company," I said. "I'll just use a little magic to make this go faster."

  Reggie tripped again on the way to the table but caught herself on the counter. "Oops,” she said and then apologized to the chair when she kicked the leg.

  "Are you all right?" I asked.

  "Yeah. I just seem to be clumsy which is not something I've ever been. You can't be a clumsy waitress. Maybe I'm having a run of bad luck. Is that a thing?"

  It was then I consciously noticed what had probably made me worry about Reggie earlier. She had sort of a dark aura around her. My subconscious had most likely picked up on it upstairs after she fell, but it had gotten darker. I doubted it was visible to anyone but me, but I could see it.

  "Have you been in a bad mood lately?" I asked as I kneaded the dough.

  "Not really. I was super sad when Jeremy left for a few months, but I've been feeling better about that lately."

  "And right now, you don't feel sad or angry? Nothing like that?"

  "No, why? What aren't you telling me?"

  "Nothing,” I said because I really wasn't sure what I was seeing, and I didn't want to freak her out until I knew.

  "Stop lying to me this instant, Kinsley Skeenbauer. I can see right through you.
When you lie to me, I can smell it like a fart in a car."

  "Nice analogy,” I said.

  "Don't try and deflect. Tell me what you see."

  "You have a dark aura," Meri said as his little booty sashayed into the room. "You're surrounded by black energy, but my guess is that Kinsley doesn't know why."

  "Do you know why?" I asked Meri. "Because if you do, you should tell us."

  "I would tell you if I did know, but I do not. I can tell you that whatever it is, it's not coming from inside her. It's wrapped around her. Like bubble wrap. Only not fun bubble wrap you can pop. It's more like bubble wrap of doom."

  "So, it's a curse,” I said.

  "Or it's demonic oppression," Meri said casually.

  Reggie's face blanched.

  "Well, if it's demonic, then get rid of it,” I said to Meri.

  "You want me to blow her up?" he asked and sat down. "’Cause I can do that."

  "No!" Reggie and I both exclaimed at the same time.

  "Absolutely not,” I said. "Isn't there anything else you can do besides blow her up?"

  "Fine,” he said with a sigh. "Let me give it a shot."

  "Is he going to blow me up?" Reggie asked nervously.

  "No. He's not,” I said. "He's not going to blow you up."

  Meri stood up and walked over to the table. After jumping up into the middle of it, he sat down and stared at Reggie. He let out a loud meow and then began to purr like an engine.

  "That feels weird,” Reggie said. "It feels like ants crawling under my skin."

  "Hush," Meri said as Reggie began to squirm and scratch at her neck and arms. "And sit still."

  "I'm trying,” she said.

  This went on for another minute or so until Meri jumped down off the table. "Not demonic,” he said as he started to saunter out of the room.

  "Then what is it?" I asked.

  "I don't know. All I know is it's not demonic. I could blow her up anyway. It would solve the problem."

  "No, thank you,” I said through clenched teeth. "That won't be necessary."

  "Let me know if you change your mind."

  "We'll just eat breakfast, and then once we get into the shop, I'll try to discern what it is. It can't be that hard to get rid of, Reggie. I promise. I'm, like, the strongest witch in the world or something. I can fix this."

  Halfway to the shop, my car broke down. I tried to use magic to get it started again, but it was dead.

  "You can't fix it?" Reggie asked.

  "Apparently not,” I said.

  "It's a brand new car. It can't just be dead."

  I'd recently traded my ancient Subaru in for a new electric Volkswagen Microbus. Electric cars were the thing, and it was time for me to get on board with it. There were actually only two pumps left at the gas station at that point, and the rest were electric charging stations.

  "It shouldn't be,” I said. "And even if it was, I should be able to bring it back."

  "You’re trying to necromancy your car,” Reggie said with a chuckle.

  "Well, I'm glad you've got a sense of humor about this,” I said.

  "Are you mad at me?"

  "Not at all. I really am glad you're taking this well,” I said.

  "But I killed your car. Your really cool new car."

  "I'm sure it will be fine,” I said. "I'll put in for a self-driving tow truck to bring it to the shop. Once we get you fixed up, I'm sure the Microbus will come roaring back to life."

  Her comments about necromancy made my heart ache in a way I hadn't expected. I just hoped Reggie hadn't seen it written across my face.

  I love your darkness.

  It figured that Azriel would say something like that and then completely disappear. At least it had made things less complicated.

  There was a part of me that was still chaotic and could, if I wanted to, control the shadow things. I knew that it called out to him, but he never answered. That made it easier for me to just enjoy my relationship with Thorn. It wasn't like I was torn between the two of them. I couldn't be. Azriel was gone.

  That's what I'd wanted, right?

  "So, we're walking then?" Reggie asked.

  “It’s not that far,” I said. “I think it’s actually the easiest option right now.”

  It only took us around ten minutes to walk to the Brew Station. We didn't have a car, but we were still stopping for coffee.

  "You guys look a little... sweaty,,” Viv said as we approached the counter.

  It was true. While it was still fairly early in the morning, it was already hot outside. Reggie and I both had our hair half-plastered to our heads.

  "The car broke down and we had to walk about halfway from my house,” I said.

  "You drove in together?" Viv asked.

  "Yeah, my air conditioner is out again, so I crashed at Kinsley's place last night,” Reggie said.

  "Again?" Viv asked. "You should totally sue that guy who keeps charging you for emergency visits. He’s obviously not fixing the issue."

  I wanted to agree with her, but given what I knew about Reggie's current state, I knew it wasn't the guy's fault. She was breaking everything she touched.

  "Well, we're going to figure out something else after work. We're not going to call him again,” I said and gave her a wink.

  "Oooh! Right,” Viv said with a smile. "Gotcha."

  "Dagnabbit!" Hank said.

  That was followed by the sound of a metal container hitting the floor. We all looked in his direction and found one of Viv's espresso machines spewing steam.

  "Oh, no,” Reggie said.

  "Hurry, Hank. Unplug that thing!"

  "I'm just going to wait outside,” Reggie said before rushing out the door.

  "Wait, is she..,” Viv started to ask.

  "I'll tell you all about it later, I swear,” I said. "For now can we get a large hazelnut iced coffee and a large iced chai latte?"

  "Hank, will you get those drinks? I'm going to see about that espresso machine. I can't be down one today. Tourists are going to flock in here to get out of the heat."

  "It's fixed,” I said and waved my hand past it casually. "Give it a shot. I'm sure it's fine."

  Hank ignored what I said, because that's what people in Coventry did, and went about making our drinks. Viv plugged her espresso machine back in and gave it a try.

  "Well, I'll be... thanks!" Viv said.

  "No, problem,” I said. "I mean, you're welcome."

  Hank handed me my drinks and Viv said, "On the house, hon. I hope your day gets better."

  "Thanks. Thank you so much."

  "Call me later?"

  "You know it."

  I walked out of the Brew Station and spotted Reggie sitting on one of the benches in the square. A bird nearly pooped on her, but I used just a touch of magic to divert it. The dark aura around her had already grown stronger too.

  "Here's your coffee,” I said making sure she had a tight grip on the plastic cup before I let go. "I got the iced versions."

  "Thank you,” she said and took a long draw from the straw. "It's good."

  "You ready to head into work?" I asked.

  "Am I going to die?" Reggie responded.

  "What? No,” I said.

  "Because I almost got hit by a car walking over here. I had plenty of time, but the woman driving stomped on the accelerator. You should have seen her face. She was just as stunned and confused as I was."

  "I'm not going to let that happen, Reggie. I promise."

  We were nearly as protected inside the shop as we were at Hangman's House, so I left Reggie to run the cash register and help customers at the front counter while I gathered what I needed.

  At worst, I thought, she might hurt herself, so I told her to stay behind the counter. A few people meandered in after a ghost tour, and I kept an eye on her while I grabbed candles, herbs, and a few crystals from the shelves.

  Once I had everything I needed, I went into the back room and closed the door. I had to act quickly be
cause I wasn't comfortable leaving her alone. A couple of times I heard a thump or a clang and held my breath waiting for a scream, but it never came.

  The hair on the back of my neck stood up as I poured a salt circle around myself for protection. I heard the water in the bathroom start to drip slowly, and it told me the ghost had shenanigans on her mind.

  "Not now,” I said.

  The dripping increased at first, and the toilet flushed out of nowhere, but eventually, she backed off. The static in the air receded, and I finished setting up my circle.

  I wasn't quite sure what I was doing, but what I did know was that I wanted answers. Basil is mildly hallucinogenic when it's burned, so I wrote "answer" on it and lit the leaf on fire. It was supposed to serve two purposes. The first was that it was a wish, and the second was that I hoped the smoke from the burning leaf would induce a vision.

  When nothing happened, I held the burning leaf up closer to my mouth and nose. After a few huge inhales, I felt the floor fall out from underneath me.

  When I opened my eyes, I was drifting through some sort of magical cosmic soup. There were lights and sounds everywhere, but it was nearly impossible for me to grab onto any of them.

  Finally, I was able to latch onto a sound somewhere off in the distance, drums and chanting. Then, layered on top of that, the sound of a rooster crowing drifted through my mind.

  I stopped floating and found my feet on the floor of my stockroom, but the rest of the space around me was still darkness punctuated with pinpricks of starlight.

  Then the pinpricks were poking me. It hurt a little, but I was so dissociated from myself that it was bearable. I felt it as more of an idea or a nuisance than as actual pain.

  Somewhere from above, a mirror descended. It landed in front of me, and I saw myself as a doll. But I wasn't just any doll. I was a Voodoo doll stuck with dozens of black pins.

  I tried frantically to pull them out, but I was no longer a Voodoo doll. Instead, a life-sized doll stood in front of me. The mirror was gone, and I was just face to face with the massive poppet.

  "Kinsley!" a voice called from somewhere off in the distance. "Kinsley!"

  The voice got closer and began to sound more familiar. Suddenly, I was standing in the middle of the stockroom with Meri at my feet. He was pawing at my foot.