“In the eyes and in the blood.” Udora made a V with two fingers in front of her face. “They confuse your instincts, eroding everything good, until there’s nothing left but mud.”
“In the blood?” Evelina’s heart tripped. “How?”
“Udora! Stop frightening the child. For goodness sake!” Mrs. Segal turned to Evelina, but kept moving at a fast clip. “Not to worry. They never come out in daylight.”
“Except, when they take another form.” Udora’s voice echoed as dark as a dirge. “When they’re looking for someone.”
“That hardly ever happens.” Mrs. Segal scolded, breaking into a half run. “Not to worry. They usually come out at night, not by day. And then, by all means, stay away. It’s not good. Come quickly. Time to go in.”
With all the talk of Reef Hags, Evelina was relieved to finally reach the safety of the little pink beach house.
Udora had the place in lock down with a few flicks of her finger.
Curtains swished, locks clicked, and a big wooden bar fell into place with a thump against the door.
But, as Evelina slid betwixt the cool white sheets in her cozy azure bedroom in the loft, she shivered, remembering how the Reef Hag knew her name—how she knew about Frankie and her parents—how she knew everything about her.
***
The market at the pier bustled in the wild salty wind. Dozens of stalls lined the sandy park: bakers and farmers, selling buns and strawberries; jewelry makers and painters hawking their works; and exotic artisans of all description.
Evelina
scanned the crowd for the Reef Hag, determined not to be ambushed again.
She helped the aunties set up their table between a man selling pecan logs and a fortune teller named Ania, with a monster ‘fro’ and a pair of gold earrings as big as hula hoops.
It was a good place to hock your wares. The place was
rockin
’ with the pier right next to the surf shack, blasting music down the beach. Tourists stopped to check out the market and a string of little shops before hitting the beach.
Ania entertained a steady stream of customers. Her gold bangles jingled every time she swept aside the flap on her red and white striped tent.
“I’ve always wanted to have my fortune told,” Evelina said, watching the flap fly once again. “I wonder how much it costs.”
“Ha! That’s not for you.” Mrs. Segal sent forth a chortle of glee, while continuing to arrange her bath balms. “Only a Soul Sifter can do that.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re a witch,” Udora said out of the corner of her mouth. She reached into the trunk of their yellow dune buggy to retrieve a large black bag. “Mortals cannot read witches.”
“Oh.” Well, that was inconvenient, since there were so many unanswered questions about her past—namely the cause of her parents’ death. The closest she’d ever got to finding out anything was the clarifying pool. And, that hadn’t gone well. When she’d asked about the night they died, a pair of hands had reached out and tried to strangle her to death.
A shiver rattled through her.
She couldn’t resist asking, “Where do you find a Soul Sifter?”
“You don’t find one.” Mrs. Segal poked her head between them. “They find you. But only under the gravest circumstances, and that’s not likely to happen.”
“You’re quite safe with us.” Mrs. Segal reached over to pat Evelina on the shoulder. Not to worry. The Glaring can be most violent—much more so than Flurries, but we’re not about to let anything happen to you, my dear.”
Evelina sucked in a sharp breath. “So it is the Glaring?”
“Of course,” Mrs. Segal said, making it sound as though it was ridiculous to believe otherwise. “It begins at midnight. Everyone will be there.”
“It cannot be discussed.” Udora slashed Mrs. Segal a sharp glance. “Not here!”
“Oh yes.” Mrs. Segal clapped a hand over her mouth, eyes shifting right to left, as though fearing a member of the Witches’ Council might appear and fling her to oblivion. “Only on sacred ground. Yes, yes, quite right.”
Midnight? Evelina’s gaze shifted from Udora to Mrs. Segal. By then curiosity would have eaten her up. But, there wasn’t much she could do about it. As usual, the aunties were as tight-lipped as clams.
Udora unzipped the leather bag, drawing forth a stack of paintings.
Evelina couldn’t have been more astonished. “You paint?”
“Of course she paints,” Mrs Segal declared, propping open a small easel on the table for Udora to display her paintings. “She’s always painted. Where do you think you get it? Udora is a bit of a star in the artist community here. Her paintings sell like hotcakes.” Mrs. Segal’s blue eyes sparked. “You must sell some of your own while you’re here.”
“How can she paint?” Udora scowled. “When you’ve stuffed her schedule as tight as a snowbird’s bikini.”
“She wanted a job! You agreed! She requested it in her letter.” Udora turned to Evelina. “Didn’t you, my dear?” She turned back to Udora. “She’ll be with her friends. I made certain of that—Abby Jenny Roscoe and Tallula Banks are working there as well. I spoke with their parents. It’s all arranged.”
“I have a job?” Evelina’s heart picked up speed. “With Abby and Tally?” How amazing was that! She hadn’t seen them since summer vacation when their tribe,
Lake
of the Isles, had won the Flurry. She wasn’t sure if they’d be coming or not. Of course, she wasn’t sure of a lot of things—like what role novices played in the warlocks’ Glaring. “Where is it? When do I start?”
“They’re expecting you at the Coconut Shack any time.” Mrs. Segal pointed behind them over the top of the yellow dune buggy. “Here’s one of your friends now. Off you go!”
Evelina looked up to find Abby striding toward them across the sand. She appeared taller, but other than that, hadn’t changed in the past four months. If anything her long lean frame looked stronger and harder. Her long black hair shone in the bright sun like squid’s ink. She wore the same cocky grin on her face.
“Thank you, thank you,” Evelina said, kissing both aunties on the cheek. She threw her straw bag over her shoulder, then ran off to meet Abby.
“Woo hoo!” Abby gave her a high five, then crushed Evelina in a big bear hug. “What’s
shakin
’, babe?”
“Not much.” Evelina smiled back. “I just got here.”
“Good.” Abby flashed a devil grin. “I’ve signed us up for surf lessons.” The challenge in her gaze stifled any protest. “Ready to make some snow cones?”
“Sure.” It sounded like the perfect job on a hot day—something to keep her mind off being crushed by a giant killer wave. “I might need a lesson or two.”
“No problem.” Abby pointed her thumb at the grass-topped hut up ahead, across from the Surf Shop. “Better than grilling weenies in the Hell Hut with a couple of Swamp Hags like the Cheetums.”
Judy and Suzie Cheetum glared from behind the counter of their red hut as Abby and Evelina strode by.
Abby gave a crisp salute. “Morning!”
“Hi!” Evelina waved, offering a tentative smile. “How’s it goin’?”
Judy’s green eyes narrowed beneath her low brow. A growl reverberated between her thick lips. Suzie’s pinched features contorted like a freckled prune under the crown of her bright red hair.
If the Swamp Hags were here, that meant all of the novices were taking part in the Glaring.
How, remained to be seen.
Tally was up to her elbows in ice shavings and raspberry syrup when they reached the Coconut Shack. But she looked happy as a clam, blue eyes sparkling, sandy pigtails bouncing up and down as she raced around. She gave Evelina a quick smile and a wave before dashing to the counter to serve another customer. There was a confidence about Tally, Evelina had never seen.
“Hey, Robinson!” Abby called. “Bon fire tonight at the cove!”
Evelina looked up to find Cliff Robinson, Abby’s main squeeze, and Frankie Holler coming up the beach lugging surf boards.
One bronze, one golden, both over six foot—Evelina wasn’t the only one staring.
Evelina’s heart gave a thump.
Frankie’s burnished hair appeared longer blown back from his tanned face. Though bare—excepting a pair of royal blue surf shorts—every sleek muscle exposed, he appeared his usual inscrutable self. A mysterious something clung to him, as it always did.
Evelina thought she knew him once. But time had erased all that. She hadn’t heard from him in four long months.
“We’re on patrol tonight,” Cliff called back, smiling as they strode closer. Evelina’s pulse raced.
“What does that mean?” Abby barked a laugh. “You’re going to shut us down?”
Cliff chuckled, teeth blinding white against his dark curls and bronze skin. “We might stop by.”
Evelina’s gaze strayed to Frankie.
Frankie’s gold eyes met hers with a smack.
A quiver rattled clear to her belly.
“Hey,” she managed to croak.
“Hey.” Frankie gave a smile and a nod back.
She stared back at him, tongue frozen to the roof of her mouth.
“See you later.” He waved, heading for the surf shop.
Her chest tightened as he strode away.
“Well,” Abby said with a grimace. “That was awkward.”
“Sorry, Evelina,” Cliff said, appearing contrite. “Frankie wants to see you, but you know...”
What did that mean? Evelina continued to stare at Frankie’s retreating back. Know what? She didn’t know anything.
“Cliff’s right.” Abby put a hand on her shoulder. “It isn’t Frankie’s fault. Well, it is his fault. He just can’t do anything about it now.”
Tally, who’d finished with her customers, leaned against the counter, giving Abby a long look down the length of her nose. “Could we have that in English please?”
“About what?” Evelina felt the frustration build in her chest. “What do you mean?”
Abby’s hazel eyes bugged. “You don’t know?”
“Know what?”
“Remember last summer, when you and Frankie went AWOL, on your little time travel expedition?”
Evelina nodded. It was hard to forget. They were almost killed.
“Well, Frankie made a deal with the Witches’ Council, so you wouldn’t both be expelled.”
Evelina licked her dry lips. “What kind of a deal?” she said, knowing the answer before she spoke.
“He said he’d stay away from you. You know—hands off, if you weren’t expelled.”
Evelina’s throat closed.
Pain filled her chest.
So that was it.
That was why she hadn’t heard from him.
He’d made a deal with the Witches’ Council never to see her again.
Chapter Three
The bonfire glowed orange and red against the night sky, snapping and popping and shooting up sparks. Music and laughter swirled on the breeze. The rush of the surf buffeted against Evelina’s ears as she stared into the twisting flames.
She’d come hoping to see Frankie, but now she was having second thoughts.
If it was so easy for him to obey the Witches’ Council and forget her, maybe she should forget him too. After all, he was doing it for the right reasons, she reminded herself—for both of their futures. He was a stand up guy. That’s what she liked about him.
But somehow it didn’t make her feel any better, which, could only mean she was incredibly selfish, or wildly infatuated.
Whatever it was, she had to shake it off.
Maybe it was all for the best—meant to be, as Grammy Crimm would say.
Evelina sighed. Too bad she’d already used up her Cosmic Call for the month. Grammy Crimm would know what to do.
She’d patched the big hole in Evelina’s heart when her parents died. But, it never truly mended—at least, not until she met Frankie. Meeting him sealed the cracks. The dull ache in her chest seemed to lift. The world seemed happy again.
But now Frankie was gone and the old loneliness was creeping back in.
At least, she still had Grammy Crimm—the only family she knew, since the age of five when her parents died, until last summer when she met the aunties. They stood in for Grammy Crimm, since she passed over to the other side and took her seat on the Witches’ Council.
“The Glaring starts tonight,” Abby said, close to Evelina’s ear.
Evelina snapped out of her trance.
“Mum said, ‘be at the pier at midnight.’ It’s the same as before, all the hush, hush and whispering.”
“My parents too.” Tally edged closer. “I got the word. Home before
, or else.”
“Me too,” Evelina said. “The aunties want me at the beach house.”
“It’s happening,” Tally breathed, the old fear clouding her eyes.
“I can’t wait to see it.” Abby gave a gleeful chuckle. “They say it’s quite the spectacle—violent even.”
Tally nodded. “The warlock competitions are more physical.” She sounded quite the expert. “According to my mentor.”
“Their trainers are certainly intense.” Evelina shivered remembering the ominous warning from Leviticus Wilkes, Frankie’s trainer. He seemed determined to keep them apart and protect his charge at all cost. Apparently this time he’d succeeded. Frankie didn’t want anything to do with her.
“But...” Evelina shrugged. “We’ll be on the sidelines. We won’t be involved.”
“I know. It sucks!” Abby wore a look of disgust. “We’re benched.”
“Novices don’t see much action.” Tally didn’t sound disappointed, as she continued in the same pragmatic tone. “We’re there to observe and perform menial tasks as necessary.”
“Like what?” Abby scrunched up her face. “Better not be cleaning. I hate cleaning.”
“Next year,” Tally continued as though she hadn’t heard. “As apprentices we’ll act as pages, and the next year, when we’re mentors, we’ll be security.”
A slow, wide grin spread across Abby’s face. “Can’t wait for that.”
“Can’t wait for what?” Cliff Robinson strode toward them out of the gloom. Evelina’s flesh tingled as she peered past him into the darkness, knowing Frankie couldn’t be far behind.
“Power,” she said with a laugh. “She’s hungry for it.”
“That’s my Abby.” Cliff slung his arm around Abby’s shoulders and grinned. “She’s a fighter, not a lover.”
“Nice.” Abby gave him a jab in the ribs with her elbow. “Very romantic, Robinson.”
Evelina spotted Frankie chatting it up with a curvy blonde in tight, white shorts. Her spirits sank. She could almost feel herself growing taller and skinner as she watched them through the crackling flames.
She turned her back on the amber glow of Frankie’s tan amidst the sparks, slipping through the humming crowd.
The tightness in her throat eased as she wandered down the beach under the moonlight, while the wind whipped her hair and the tide pulled at her feet under the wet sand.
It wouldn’t have worked anyway. Wasn’t that what people were always saying? Time Keepers and Water Witches led different lives. They weren’t meant to be together.
That’s why her parents were dead.
It would be crazy to make the same mistake.
She stopped to gaze out at the rolling ocean, wondering where they were and if they were really watching over her as Grammy Crimm promised. There had been no Cosmic Calls. If they loved her, why hadn’t they attempted to contact her yet?
Sometimes she felt angry with them for leaving her here alone. But it wasn’t them she blamed. It was the forces behind the black magic that took their lives, and ruined hers.
A glint of light in the waves jerked her back to reality.
It disappeared, then flashed again as it bobbed closer to shore.
Evelina hurried up the beach following its progress, keeping it in sight.
The bouncing spark of light angled to shore, then disappeared.
Evelina scanned the shore as she jogged along, but couldn’t find it. Whatever it was must have sunk, or melted away. It was gone.
Her toe hit something hard.
“
Oww
!” She bent down to discover a green bottle jutting out of the wet sand. A green slimy film encrusted the once smooth surface. Barnacles and other small mussels poked out, like the bristles on an old hairbrush.
She held it up to the moonlight.
There appeared to be something inside—paper.
Her pulse quickened.
A message in a bottle.
She sucked in a deep breath, then pulled the cork.
Pop!
A white mist snaked out.
The force of it flung the bottle from her hand.
It dipped and looped, beginning to write in the air above the surf, against the inky starlit sky.
Count the coins at Cutthroat Cove.
The words floated above her like wispy ghosts.
Then, just as suddenly, they melted away.
Evelina reached down to retrieve the bottle in the sand. She tipped it upside down, then gave it a shake. She lifted it up attempting to peer inside.
But there was nothing else.
Frankie appeared out of mist. “Where did you get that?”
Her mouth went dry.
It was difficult to make out his sun-kissed features in the dark with the battering wind tearing against them like salty fingers. “I found it. It washed up on shore.” She pointed to the spot. “Right there.”
“You don’t find Wave Wires,” Frankie deep voice rattled up and down her spine. “They find you.”
“Oh.” A Wave Wire. So, that’s what it was. “You mean, like a heat seeking torpedo or something?”
He smiled. “Something like that.”
“Really?” The whole thing was a bit much to swallow. “Sooo, it knew I was here and it just shot out of the water?”
He shrugged. “It’s a pretty good spell.”
“Wow!” She turned the bottle around in her hands. It was easier to examine it than look at him. “It certainly is. Yup. It’s a good one.” She shifted from one foot to the other, mind racing, but for the life of her didn’t know what to say. “Well, good to see you. I’d better get back now. Abby and Tally are probably wondering where I am.” She turned to go.
“Aren’t you going to tell me what it said?” He didn’t sound insistent, only mildly surprised.
She stopped, then slowly turned back around. For all intents and purposes, he’d abandoned her. It was stupid to trust him, but as usual her heart overruled her head and before she knew it, the truth blurted from her lips. “It said, ‘Count the coins at Cutthroat Cove.’”
His brow furrowed. “That’s in the
Old
City
, down by the fort. There’s a fountain that people toss coins into.”
She’d seen it when she got off the bus, or at least the heritage sign pointing its way. It was one of the main tourist attractions. Which meant a
kazillion
people must throw coins into it. How could she possibly count them? Unless, it meant something else.
His expression turned from thoughtful to intense. “Who do you think sent it?”
“I don’t know.” But then, she didn’t know why she was talking to him either, or why he cared. He’d cut her loose like a snagged anchor.
“It looks pretty old.”
“Yup.” There was a lot of crud on it, that’s for sure—enough to form an artificial reef, which meant, it had been in the ocean a long time. Who knew who sent it or why. It was difficult to think with Frankie standing at arm’s length, gazing at her with such intensity.
“We should check it out.”
She blinked in surprise. “Okay.”
“How about tomorrow? I’m done work at five.”
“Perfect.” Her skin grew warm at the thought. “Good… Well, gotta go.”
He opened his mouth as though he might say something, but must have thought better of it, then smiled. “Okay.”
Evelina turned on her heel to head down the beach, brushing the barnacles off the bottle as she went.
Had she actually agreed to meet him?
She must be nuts.
The rest of the night passed in a blur.
She was still clutching the green bottle as she tramped up the steps of the beach house a few minutes before
.
Still thinking of Frankie.
That’s probably why she failed to spot the cloud of blue and silver sparkles before it was too late.
An outraged screech jerked her awake.
She gazed down to find the sparkling cloud spilling over the side of the stairs.
Plop!
Kamaria landed in the sand like a strawberry into a bowl of cereal.
Evelina groaned. She should have known. Only a Moon Fairy screeched as high as church bells.
“Are you okay?” Evelina peered down at her, examining
Kamaria’s
ten inch body for damages. Her glittering red swimsuit appeared intact, as well as her silver wings and extravagant coif of platinum blonde hair. “Sorry. Didn’t see you there.”
Kamaria flew up and…
Zap!
... pinched Evelina on the ear.
It stung like an electric current, traveling up the back of her skull to ignite every follicle hair. “Ouch!” She put a hand to her throbbing lobe. “Stop that!”
“Watch where you’re going next time!” Kamaria buzzed off to land on the railing of the stairs. “Can’t a girl do a little moon bathing without being flattened like a pancake?”
“Sorry.”