Maudlin's Mayhem (Bewitching Bedlam #2)(43)

I cleared my throat. “I’m Maudlin Gallowglass—”

“Oh, the new leader of the Moonrise Coven.” He let out a soft snort. “What do you want? You here to make me move on? To get me to rethink my ways?”

I frowned, not sure what the hell he was talking about. “I have no clue what you’re going on about, but this is a personal matter and I’m hoping you might have some advice for me.”

That brought a look of surprise to his face. He paused, tilting his head, then he opened the door. “Come on in, if you like.”

I followed him in to find myself in a neat, tidy room. The cottage was as small as it looked on the outside. I could see a kitchenette from where I stood, and two other doors, which I figured probably led to the bathroom and the bedroom. The living room was fairly generous, with one side given over to a small table and chairs, a sofa, TV, and a desk. The other side held what I recognized as a magical workbench and an altar. A wall of books stretched halfway around the room. Everything was neat, everything was orderly.

“You keep a tight ship, Mr. James.” I motioned to the table. “May I sit down?”

He nodded, taking the opposite chair at the small table. “What do you want?”

“I heard rumors you may be fluent in Dirt Magic. I thought I’d come ask you myself.”

“You may have heard correctly. I work roots and dirt. I know the Moonrise Coven doesn’t take kindly to that, but it’s what I learned from my grandma and it’s what I’ll practice till the day I die.” His words practically flowed out in song, and I found myself mesmerized by the tone of his voice. Then another veil lifted and I caught a glimpse of his eyes. The pupils were slits, running vertically, dark against a flame-colored background.

“Snakeshifter.”

“So you do have full use of the sight. Not many can tell at first, though I know rumors run the town.” He eased back in his chair, grinning at me. “I know my kind aren’t always welcome.”

I laughed at that. “Garret—over the years I’ve found over that most of us are unwelcome at one point or another. I’m really not here to complain. If Linda had a beef with you, well…until I see a problem, I’m not looking for one.”

“What do you need, Mad Maudlin?” He leaned forward, his eyes bright. “You see, I’ve heard a little about you, too.”

There was no way to ease into it. If he was working with Essie, she’d know I was on to her after this, but that wouldn’t be the first time I had to play a hand at face value.

“Somebody cast a hex on me and I need to know how to break it. It’s a Dirt Magic curse. They didn’t hit my house with it, but they managed to tag a few of my friends and it’s caused a lot of heartbreak and difficulty. And you know as well as I do that to break certain hexes, you have to go to the core of the magic involved.”

He held my gaze for a moment, then tapped the table three times with his knuckles. A faint light appeared in the air, like a wispy veil, and it floated over to surround me. The moment the light met my aura, it began to glow a faint red. Red as blood.

“You certainly know how to piss off people, don’t you? You’ve been hexed by a Dirt Witch, all right. A queen, it looks like. If you don’t break this curse, I can tell you that it will kill you and your friends.”





Chapter 12





A DIRT WITCH? A queen?

“I hear tell the local queen of the vampires was a Voudou priestess before she was turned.” There was no way to pussyfoot around it.

Garret raised his eyebrows. “I hear so, too, but it’s best to steer clear of the undead unless you have some control over them. And nobody has control over Essie Vanderbilt.” He motioned for me to stand up. “I hope you don’t mind, but I want to make sure you aren’t being spied on.”

I nodded and stood, holding out my arms. He ran his hands around my aura. I could see the energy flare here and there, but no holes, no telltale voids to indicate that somebody had a psychic phone line jacked into me.

“That good enough for you?”

He nodded. “Yeah, that’s fine. Come over to my station.” He led me over to his magical worktable and motioned for me to take a seat on the bench next to it. “So yes, there’s a Dirt Witch Queen somewhere around. That much I can read from the hex cast on you. I’m not sure if Essie knows Dirt Magic as well as Voudou, but I wouldn’t put it past her. Whoever did this to you is a powerful woman. The most powerful workers of roots and twigs are always women.” He paused. “So, what do you know about Dirt Magic? I mean really know. Not what you’ve been spoon-fed about it.”

I shrugged. “It’s shadow magic. Heavy in nature.”

“That’s because it’s tied to the soil, to the Earth. Of course it’s heavy. But seriously, Dirt Magic can be a harsh mistress when she wants to be. She’s not clean and neat, like the magic you work. I can smell the singe of fire wafting off your aura just like I can smell your perfume. You reek of smoke and bonfires and autumn, Maddy. And it’s a good scent—I love that time of year. But you’re steeped in just as much of a shadow as I am.”

I nodded. “True. There isn’t a power alive that can’t be misused if the wrong person gets hold of it.”