Red Witch: Book Two of the Wizard Born Series (8 page)

“No. It had to be one of us, and it wasn’t me.” He winked at her. “So it had to be you.” He grinned and shifted the car into drive. “Maybe you really are the Dream Fairy.”

“Wait a minute!” Rollie said. “Are you saying Fred’s got some magic, too?”

Jamie shrugged. “Maybe some has rubbed off from me, or she picked some up from being in my backyard so much.”

Rollie frowned. “Well I’d better not have any. My dad wouldn’t like
that
.”

“Maybe you do and you don’t know it.”

“This is dumb,” Fred said. “I don’t have any magic power.”

Jamie steered the car around the first corner. “You might.”

“Hey, Fred,” Rollie said. “That means you’re a witch!”

Fred scowled. “I’m
not
a witch.”

“Technically, you are, if you really do have some power,” Jamie said.

Rollie grinned. “That means you’re not the Red Queen like we thought. You’re the Red Witch!”

Chapter 8

Rita was sitting at the bar with Cassandra when her bleached-blonde friend poked her thigh. “Look what the cat just dragged in.”

Rita turned to look at the front door, where she saw a medium-built serious-faced man in a dark blue police uniform, standing with his hands on his hips, surveying the room. He walked toward them and Rita whispered to Cassandra, “You don’t have anything illegal on you, do you?”

Cassandra shook her head as they watched the officer approach. He nodded to them when he reached the bar and Rita said, “Well, if it isn’t Deputy Fife himself. What brings you out here tonight? Lookin’ for some bad guys? Some wicked jaywalker, maybe?”

The uniformed man frowned. “It’s
Sergeant
Lambeau, ladies.” He held his hand up for the bartender.

Alphonse came over and said, “Hey, John Paul. What’s up?”

“Have you seen Ramon in here tonight?”

Alphonse shook his head. “Why.”

“He missed his court date today.”

“What’d he do?” Cassandra snickered. “Forget to pay his parking ticket?”

John Paul’s jaw muscles twitched and he said, “You know I’m not at liberty to discuss that.”

“At liberty!” Cassandra snorted. “Tell you what: why don’t you and I go out to your cruiser and have a little liberty in the back seat?”

Rita shook her head. “Watch it, Cass. He might try to charge you with prostitution again.”

“He can’t. I’m giving it away.” She slapped Rita on the shoulder and guffawed.

John Paul’s eyes were narrow. “That’s very amusing.” He looked at Alphonse. “If you see Ramon, tell him I’m looking for him.” John Paul turned on his heel without another word.

“My, how rude,” Cassandra said in a haughty, fake British accent. “He didn’t offer a proper goodbye.”

“Yes, Dahling,” Rita said in the same bad accent. “He should’ve at least kissed our hands and bowed.

“Or kissed something else,” Cassandra said, and they both howled.

* * *

Fred lay in bed, tossing and turning.
I’m not a witch. I’m not. Witches are hags with bad teeth and big noses and…something.

But what if Jamie’s right? Do I really have some magic power?
All day she’d tried little things, like moving her pencil with only her willpower or reading her teacher’s mind, but nothing had worked
. But I definitely talked to Jamie in a dream
. That feeling had been wonderful.
I wonder if I can do it again tonight. We could have a special thing, like nobody else has ever had.
She sighed and tried to imagine it, then she fluffed her pillow and rolled over.

But first I have to go to sleep!

* * *

Fred’s brain was humming from lack of sleep the next morning when she met Jamie at his car. Her eyelids felt like sandpaper and her head throbbed at her temples.

“You don’t look so good,” he said.

“Thanks a
lot
,” she huffed. “You’re not supposed to notice.” She opened the car door and dropped her purse on the seat, but didn’t get in. “I had trouble sleeping ’cause I kept trying to send my thoughts to you all night. Did you notice anything?”

“Not a thing.”

She made a smug face. “Maybe I’m not a witch after all.”

“Maybe not.”

“But right now I feel like one. A mean one.”

* * *

Fred and Melanie walked past the tenth grade lockers and a familiar voice called out, “Yo’, ladies! Wait up.”

“Not him again,” Melanie muttered.

Logan caught up with them and walked beside Fred, who barely glanced at him before turning her eyes straight ahead.

“How you ladies doing?” He got no answer. Fred and Melanie walked faster.

“I’m trying to talk to you.” He grabbed Fred’s arm but she jerked it free. “Don’t do that,” she said in a level voice, eyes hard. She started walking away, but he grabbed her arm again.

Fred stopped and turned, then stepped into him and drove her knee into his groin. He dropped to the hall floor like he’d been shot, holding his crotch with both hands, face turning deep red. Fred leaned over him and pointed one finger. “You’d
better
hold ’em, ’cause if you ever touch me again, I’ll kick ’em all the way up to your throat.”

Then she turned and strode away; Melanie walked with her, wide eyed. “Wow,” Melanie said. “That was awesome!”

“Sorry about that,” Fred said without looking at her. “I lost control. I just don’t feel like being messed with today.”

“No, that was perfect. I don’t think we have to worry about him bothering us anymore. I couldn’t have done that.”

“Yeah, well just so you know, my nickname used to be Fred the Firecracker.”

“I can see why.”

Fred scowled. “And to make matters worse, I have to ride the bus home today.”

“How do you usually get home?”

“I get a ride with Donna Fitzpatrick, but she’s got a doctor’s appointment, and Jamie has cross country practice.”

“I can give you a ride. I don’t have cheerleading practice today.”

“You don’t have to do that.”

“It’s no trouble. As long as you don’t mind being seen in my old clunker of a car.”

Red fingered her chin for a moment while she regarded her new friend. “Okay. Thanks. I’ll meet you in the parking lot.”

* * *

“That’s Jamie’s house.” Fred pointed to her right as Melanie drove down the road. “Rollie’s is right across the street. Mine is two houses down from his.” She pointed to her left. “The orange brick one with the white trim.”

Melanie pulled her old car into Fred’s driveway and stopped. “I can see why you guys are such good friends. How long have you lived here?”

“I moved here when I was five. Rollie moved here when he was four, but Jamie’s been here since he was born. Rollie and Jamie were already best friends when I showed up.”

“Do you remember the first time you met Jamie?”

“Uh huh. I tried to kick him.”

Melanie laughed. “You don’t still do that, I hope.”

“No, but I give him a pinch every now and then to keep him in line.”

Melanie looked at her and shook her head. “You are the funniest person.” She put her hand on the gear shift. “Well, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Wanna go inside for a minute and get something to drink?”

Melanie seemed to ponder it for a second, then shrugged. “Why not?” She switched the car off, and she and Fred got out and walked up the steps.

Fred unlocked the door and opened it. “You want a soda or tea or something?” They walked into the living room.

“Whatever you’re having.”

Melanie sat on the sofa while Fred went into the kitchen. Melanie said, “Do you have any brothers and sisters?”

“No, just me.” She grabbed two soda cans from the refrigerator and went back into the living room. “How about you?”

“I have an older brother in college. He’s out in California so we don’t see him much.” Fred handed her a soda and Melanie said, “I like your house. What does your room look like?”

“Girlie.” She laughed. “That’s how Jamie describes it.”

“He’s been in your room?”

“Not since we were younger. My dad would have a fit if he went in there now.” Fred stood. “Come on up and I’ll show you.”

Melanie followed Fred, and as they walked up the stairs Fred said, “My dad has gotten super-duper over-protective since Jamie and I started dating, but when we were little, we spent tons of time together. I practically grew up at Jamie’s house.” She put her hand on the door knob to her bedroom. “I even spent the night over there once.”

Melanie arched her eyebrows. “Really?”

Fred pushed open her door. “We camped out in Jamie’s clubhouse while his dad slept in the bottom part. Jamie has a really cool clubhouse and backyard. You should see it sometime. I spent an awful lot of time there.” She paused for a moment and thought,
and that may be why I’m a witch now, if I really am one. That’s where the old wizard died.

“It’s funny,” Fred said, “but my two best friends have always been boys — Jamie and Rollie.”

“Those are two good friends to have.” Melanie surveyed Fred’s room, a shrine to all things Fred. The colors were red, pink, and white. A couple of posters of women tap dancers were on the wall and there were little figurines scattered among the books on the shelves. One beside the bed caught Melanie’s eye. “That’s pretty.”

Fred picked up the small glass sculpture and showed it to Melanie. “Jamie gave me this a few years ago. We call it the Dream Fairy. I kiss it every night before I go to sleep.”

“I bet you’re sending him kisses.”

“I am! Good guess.”
Now I send him dreams. Strange.

“I love this.” Melanie put her hand on one of the posts of the canopy bed. Stuffed animals were neatly arranged on the red satin comforter and the white bed skirt was trimmed with lace to match the canopy. She looked around the room and her gaze settled on Fred’s dresser. She walked to it and leaned closer to inspect some photos tucked into the mirror frame. “Is this you?”

Fred joined her and said, “That’s me, Jamie, and Rollie when we were about ten or so. It was after one of our shows.”

“You tap dance, right?”

“Yeah. You can see Rollie’s ventriloquist’s dummy — he calls it Rufus — and Jamie’s got his magic wand in hand.”

Melanie looked closely. “Y’all look so cute. I’ve never seen one of your shows before. Do you have any coming up?”

“The Talent Search is next Saturday, but it’s in Asheville.”

“I’ll come.” Melanie nodded emphatically. “I’ll make Michael drive so I don’t have to take my clunker.”

Fred regarded Melanie’s earnest face
. She really is a nice person. Wish I’d figured that out sooner.
“Hey, um, you’re taking Latin 2 this semester, aren’t you? Do you want to study together for the test?”

“The one on Monday? Sure. When?”

“Why don’t you come over late Sunday afternoon and we can study for a while and you can stay for dinner.”

“You sure that’ll be okay with your mom?”

“No problem.”

* * *

“Fred, are you kidding?” Lisa said, eyebrows lowered in a look of total disbelief. “Melanie?
The
Melanie? Melanie who kissed Jamie? Your mortal enemy Melanie?”

“She’s not that bad, Mom. In fact, she’s kinda nice, and she’s really smart, so she’ll be a big help as a study partner. Is it okay if she stays for dinner?”

“Of course, but it seems so strange. Just over a month ago you were ready to strangle her.”

“Yeah, well I got over it.”

“I never knew you to be so forgiving.”

“I’m maturing Mom. Get used to it.”

* * *

The road workout that day was the hardest Jamie had ever attempted, and when they finished, he felt like he’d been drained completely dry, a washcloth that someone had twisted and squeezed until every last drop had fallen into the sink. It seemed to take a toll on Bryce, too, because he was limping on the way to the locker room.

“You okay?” Jamie asked as he trudged beside him.

Bryce grimaced with every other step. “Yeah, just a little case of the shin splints, that’s all. Probably time to buy some new running shoes.”

* * *

Jamie heard Fred’s voice in his head. “Jamie, are you asleep?”

“Huh?”
I must be
, he realized. “I think so. How are you talking to me? We’re not on the couch.” A moment later, he found himself lying on his back with his head in Fred’s lap, only they were in a meadow somewhere. The sunlight was warm and soft. Flowers and tall grasses swayed in the gentle breeze and a butterfly fluttered nearby.

“How’s that?” Fred said.

“How did you do that?”

“I don’t know. I just thought about it and…I’m not sure.” She giggled. “It’s wonderful, though, isn’t it?”

“Yes.” He watched the butterfly light on his knee, folding and unfolding its wings as if it were waving a silent hello. “How did you send your thoughts to me?”

“I don’t know. I remember going to sleep thinking about how I hardly got to see you at all today, so I guess my subconscious somehow reached out to you.” She laughed and put her hand to her face. “Now I’m starting to sound like you.”

“Fred, I think you definitely have power. You really are the Dream Fairy.” His smile was whimsical. “Isn’t that funny?”

She frowned. “Not if that means I really am a witch.”

“Fred, it’s not that bad. There were lots of witches where Eddan came from, and they weren’t like the witches in the movies. They were normal-looking women who just happened to have power.”

“When I think of a witch, I think of and old hunch-backed crone with bad teeth and a big warty nose.”

“I don’t think there are any like that.” He reached up and stroked her cheek. “But they might as well be, compared to you. You’re the most beautiful witch ever.”

“Thanks, I guess.” Fred’s lower lip was out. “I don’t want to be a witch.”

“Do you want to keep talking to me in our dreams?”

“Of course I do!”

“Then be happy. It’s fitting, anyway. I’m a wizard, and you’re a witch. We were made to be together.”

At that Fred’s face brightened, and she bent to give him a kiss.

Chapter 9

Jamie watched another East Henderson High School runner pass on his right, and he stole a glance at Bryce, running on his left, his face tight with pain.