Chapter 26

26

King paced the living room as he tried not to watch the clock. In just two more minutes, they'd know if the potion that Healer Whipple has prescribed had worked or not. It had been just about twenty-four hours since the first dose Sadie had taken in her office and about eight since she'd taken the second dose.

The clock on the wall ticked.

Sadie and King stared at each other.

Tick. Tick. Tick.

Five minutes went by and then ten. Nothing happened. Sadie's hand and arm were still red. The puff of smoke Healer Whipple had described never happened.

Sadie sighed and flopped down on the couch. She picked up her phone and called the healer, leaving a message to let them know the potion didn't work. After she ended the call, she said, "I guess we shouldn't be too surprised. Healer Whipple said it was a longshot at best."

"I guess you're right," King agreed, but as he continued to pace the living room, his ire grew. He had to do something. Anything. He knew he couldn't just let this be while his mother was out plotting more ways to mess with his life. He grabbed his phone and hit her number.

"Kevin. I've been waiting to hear from you," she said coolly.

"I just bet you have." He didn't bother to hide his anger. "Not looking to earn that mother of the year award, are you?"

She laughed. "You always were a dramatic child. Always getting upset after you eavesdropped on people's private thoughts. I figured you of all people would like it when someone was honest. That way you wouldn't have to skulk around their inner thoughts like a creeper."

King hated the woman on the other end of the line with the force of a thousand suns. He wasn't anything to her but a meal ticket, and they both knew it. The days of him trying to salvage some sort of relationship with her just because she'd given him life were long gone. "Where can I meet you? I'll give you your damned money but only if you neutralize that curse you cast on Sadie."

"I knew you'd see it my way." Her tone was dripping with condescension.

"The money in exchange for leaving us alone," he said.

"Fine. But the price just went up to one hundred thousand because you went to the police. How many times have I told you that family never narcs on family?"

"And what if I don't have a hundred thousand dollars?" He did, but that money was tied up in his retirement account. Contrary to what she thought, he didn't have a limitless bank account.

"Then that curse your girlfriend has will continue to get worse. If you think it's bad now, just wait until people start acting out every vile and evil thought they have after being around her. It will be her fault when that sappy little town you're staying in right now ends up being a horror show that no one ever visits because everyone has become the most toxic versions of themselves. On the other hand, that would make one hell of a reality show. You should get in on that before someone else does. You can thank me by paying fifty percent royalties."

King pulled the phone away from his ear and stared at it, wondering if his mother had been possessed.

But when he put the phone back to his ear, she said, "Remember when that neighbor crashed into your dad's car and then refused to pay for the damages?"

"You mean when dad cut him off and was T-boned?" King said, knowing that his dad was one hundred percent at fault for that accident.

"He had the right of way," she insisted. "Anyway, he refused, so I cursed him with a bad luck money spell. Do you know where that neighbor is now?"

King gritted his teeth and said nothing. He didn't want to know.

"He's living in a broken-down camper on his daughter's property without a dime to his name. Turns out he should have just paid for the car he smashed up, don't you think?"

His mother was truly evil. There was no other way to put it. "I just want this behind us. You come here and neutralize Sadie's curse, and I'll get you your money."

She let out a bark of laughter. "You think I'm going anywhere near you? Think again, little narc. I'll text you an address and a time. But I warn you… If you involve any law enforcement in this, you won't like what happens next."

The call ended and King squeezed the phone so hard he was surprised it didn't shatter right there in his hand.

"You're not really going to pay her, are you?" Sadie asked, studying him with concern in her gaze.

"I'll do what I have to in order to end this mess," he said.

"King, you can't keep giving her money," Sadie insisted.

He turned to stare at her. "Sadie, you don't know what she's capable of. I will not risk you for anything, let alone money. Do you understand? I couldn't live with myself if I just let this go. I have to finish this with her. Somehow, some way, it's got to end."

She blinked rapidly at him. "You are going to call Sheriff Baker, aren't you?"

"Yes. Of course. But I want to find out where she is first, get a read on her before I call in the cops. She'll flee the moment she suspects them. I just wish I had some idea how to do that."

Sadie let out a long breath. "I think I know someone who can help."

He raised his eyebrows. "Who?"

"Imogen's sister." Sadie grabbed her phone and made the call.

King checked his phone for what felt like the thousandth time. His mother still hadn't sent him a meetup point or instructions for whatever she had planned. Not that it mattered. If he had his way, he'd know where she was within the hour anyway.

Sadie pulled her car into a long driveway in front of a large farmhouse out in the woods. The pretty porch was decorated with pumpkins and gourds and a fall wreath. It looked just like all the other carefully cared for homes in Keating Hollow. Peaceful. Welcoming. Homey.

All it did was make King more determined to stop the madness his mother was promising. He'd come to love Keating Hollow in the short time that he'd been there. The thought of his mother ruining it to fill some deep hole in her soul was unacceptable. He'd no sooner risk the town than he would Sadie's wellbeing.

"Hey," Imogen said as she stepped out onto the porch. "Harlow and Cash are inside getting the circle ready for you."

"Thanks, Imogen," Sadie said, giving her friend a hug. "I appreciate you setting this up for us."

"There's no guarantees. And ghosts do lie sometimes, so take it all with a grain of salt, okay?" She glanced back at the house with a worried expression. "Why don't you two go on in. I'm going to take off."

"You're not staying?" King asked.

"Ghosts really aren't my thing. At all," Imogen said and then hurried over to a green Jeep and took off, spinning the wheels like she couldn't get out of there fast enough.

"I guess she really doesn't like ghosts," King said.

"That's an understatement," Sadie said as she knocked on the screen door.

"Come on in," Harlow called from inside.

King followed Sadie into the house and stopped dead in his tracks when he saw a giant salt circle and what seemed like a hundred candles all set up in the room. There was a pentagram in the middle of the circle as well as a bowl with a sage stick.

"Welcome," Harlow said as she hugged Sadie and then held her hand out to King. "It's nice to finally meet you. I did hear your song. It's really something special."

"Thanks," King said. "We like to think so."

Cash walked up behind her and shook King's hand, too. "Sorry to hear about the trouble with your mom. But hopefully we can get some answers for you today."

King thanked them. Harlow and Cash were an attractive couple who seemed to move in sync with each other. It was the type of teamwork that made him think that they'd been doing this a long time. It was also obvious by the way they were always touching, either in passing or while standing next to each other, that they were crazy about each other. It's what King wanted for him and Sadie.

"Okay," Harlow said to King. "So we're going to ask our guides and yours to chime in and let us know if they can pinpoint where your mother is."

"Guides?" he asked. While King was familiar with spells and potions, ghosts weren't really something he'd paid much attention to. As far as he knew, he didn't have any medium abilities.

"Yes, your spirit guides. Whoever watches over you in the afterlife. Hopefully, we can contact them and they'll have something to tell us today."

"Okay. What do you need me to do?"

Harlow gestured to the circle. "Stand in the middle of the pentagram. Did you bring something that can connect us to your mother?"

He pulled the envelope she'd taped to Brigg's door out of his pocket. While he'd taken the letter to the sheriff, he'd left the envelope on his dresser and was grateful he'd still had it.

"This is her handwriting?" Harlow asked.

He nodded.

"Perfect. Okay, take your place." She turned to Sadie. "We'll want you to stand on the circle with us. Do you have much magic?"

"A little. I'm an empath, so I don't do spells or anything," she said.

"No problem. That will do."

Harlow led Sadie to her spot on the circle and then Harlow and Cash formed sort of a triangle.

Both Harlow and Cash picked up the candles at their feet and indicated that Sadie should do the same. Cash met King's gaze. "You just hold that envelope. We'll do the rest."

"Okay." King stood in the center of the circle and waited as magic started to swirl around him.

Harlow and Cash both chanted, "Spirits of the shadow world, we seek guidance from our loved ones. We need help finding a path. We seek knowledge and peaceful contact."

The magic became more intense as it crawled all over King's body, sparking with tiny pricks of light.

"We offer our love with only good intentions," Harlow called out. "Please help guide us to the one we seek. The offering is given freely. It's only knowledge we seek."

The candles flickered and the floorboards creaked. An eerie otherworldly feeling consumed King, and he had the intense desire to bolt from the house. Summoning ghosts definitely hadn't been on his bucket list.

The envelope flew out of his hand and shot straight up in the air, flipping and turning all different directions until finally floating gently down to King's feet. Once it hit the hardwood floor, the envelope burst into a ball of flames, quickly turning to black ash.

King stared at it, wondering if the two ghost hunters had failed. Disappointment settled in his chest, but then suddenly, just like that, a pretty female ghost with auburn hair and a kind smile appeared before him.

"Damn. You're hot," she said, eyeing King. "You can't be from Keating Hollow. I'd have remembered that handsome face and chiseled jawline."

"No, I'm new in town," King said, staring at the ghost with wide eyes. "Are you really a ghost?"

The spirit snorted. "Yes, I really am a ghost. And I was busy spying on the cast of Island Boys while they were filming, so this better be good." She twisted and looked at Cash. "Is he my present?"

"You've been watching too much trash television, Aunt Jane. We need a favor," Cash said.

"Of course you do, darling. That's the only reason you ring these days," she said flippantly, sounding more hurt than anything else.

"To be fair, it takes quite a bit of energy to summon you," he said impatiently. "We both know you can pop in anytime you want to."

"I know, but it's nice to be invited." She winked at Cash and then turned to Harlow. "How can I help you?"

"Not me, King," she said, gesturing to the man in the middle of the pentagram. "We need to find his mother. Can you use the ashes of the offering to find her location?"

"Is she hurt?" Aunt Jane asked, suddenly looking serious.

"No. She's hurting other people, and we need to stop her," King said.

Aunt Jane's expression turned stormy. Then the wind picked up and the ashes started flying around the circle, faster and faster, until finally Aunt Jane walked right into the windy vortex. The ashes fell to the ground again as Aunt Jane stared past King and said, "The Seacomber Inn, Room 207."

King didn't have any idea where that was, but he was sure he could find out.

Aunt Jane shook herself slightly and blinked twice. Then she looked into King's eyes and said, "Go. Now."

The air picked up in the room one more time just before Aunt Jane vanished again.

"Well, that was a success," Harlow said, grinning. "You heard Aunt Jane. Go. Now. Who knows how long your mother will be there?"

King shook Cash's hand first and then Harlow's. "Thank you. You have no idea how much I appreciate this."

"We do," Harlow said. "Now get moving. We don't want this to be for nothing."

Sadie, who'd been silent and awestruck during the entire ritual, reached out for King's hand. "Let's go."

He nodded, and together they hurried out of the house.

The moment they were back in Sadie's car, King googled the Seacomber Inn. "It's in Blue Lake. Looks like it's about twenty miles from here."

"I know the place. Hold on." Sadie made the turn onto the highway and pressed onto the gas, handling the curves like an expert. Or someone who had grown up on these roads.

King pulled his phone out and called Sheriff Baker. "We've found her." He relayed the details.

"Okay. Nice work, King. Now let us do our jobs. We'll bring her in," the sheriff said.

"We're already on our way. Besides, I want to see this."

Drew Baker put on his sheriff voice when he said, "Go home, King. Leave this to the professionals. We'll call you as soon as we have her in custody so that Healer Whipple can neutralize the curse. Understand?"

He looked at Sadie. "Sheriff Baker wants us to stand down."

"That's an order, King." The sheriff ended the call, leaving King a little bit regretful he'd called him at all.

King just had a gut feeling that they were running out of time, and he was loath to turn and run from a woman who'd been a problem his entire life. This time, he was going to get justice. Justice for Sadie, but also for the young man who'd been kicked out of Cindy's house for having an unusual ability.

"Are we turning around?" Sadie asked.

"No. I have to see this through," King said.

And much to King's surprise, Sadie just nodded and tightened her grip on the wheel as she sped along the dark mountain highway.