I found an entry in the index for tracking and looked it up. The spell would enable me to track the path of any living thing. The only drawback was that I had to have something the person or animal had touched in order to reveal the path.
I frowned, running a hand over my chin. As I glanced over at my purse on the hook by the door, it hit me.
“Her wand!”
But could I do a spell on the wand itself? I set my lips in a line. It was worth a shot. This particular spell had a verbal incantation, probably because it required specific physical information about the person or animal being tracked. I also had to be at Theresa’s last known location.
Jade sat up, her expression grumpy. Where are you going?
“I’ve got a lead on Theresa. Gotta go.”
The parking lot at Deena’s was fairly empty. I felt glad, not wanting anyone to see me waving a piece of wood and muttering to myself. With a deep breath, I looked down at the incantation for humans in the book and raised the wand.
“Let my ears and eyes not fail, show me Theresa’s latest trail.”
I waved the wand, focusing on the wand itself in my mind. When I looked out of my car window, I saw a very faint line of green leading out to the road.
“Yes!”
I punched the air with my fist and put the car into gear. Driving slowly, I followed the line of green down the street, then made a left turn. The line extended along the road, then stopped briefly at a house. It was an ordinary-looking bungalow. Perhaps it had been where Theresa was staying while in town.
I debated for a moment knocking on the door, but decided against it. The lights were off and there were no cars in the driveway.
Looking at the driveway, I noticed that the green line extended away from the house, moving away from me towards an intersection. I followed it and took a right this time, heading back to the town center.
The trail led me to a small fast-food place called Fiesta Tacos. The green ribbon extended to a parking space, so I waited, but nothing happened. The line stayed put, even after ten minutes. The trail had gone cold.
I frowned. Was this where Theresa had been kidnapped? It must be if the trail refused to extend any further. A chill crept up my spine. Whoever got Theresa had made sure to cover their tracks against such a spell.
With no other leads, I went back home. Jade wasn’t there, so I opened my computer and hopped onto WitchNet. A series of security questions popped up, but they weren’t like any questions I’d ever seen. It was more like a test, asking for my surname, my birthplace, and even my zodiac sign. The website opened, so I must have passed.
It was kind of like Amazon, but witchy. There was a section for buying wands, potion ingredients, cauldrons, and even custom spells. I found a group chat forum, and even a newspaper of sorts.
I browsed the potion ingredients, putting the low stock or out of stock items in my cart. Excitedly, I looked at the wands. I couldn’t borrow Theresa’s wand forever. Most of them were some shade of brown or gray, but I stumbled on a beautiful white one.
Aspen wood, with a spells affinity.
Zooming in on the picture, I saw that it was carved with vines and leaves. I didn’t care how much it cost; I wanted that wand.
After I purchased my items, I clicked on the newspaper section. It was a sort of archive of witch news across the country, stretching back from the news today to over a hundred years ago. Each year showed highlights of the most important things that happened in the witch world.
I caught the name “Willa” on one article from about forty years ago, and clicked on it.
Willa Black, 30, of Woods Crossing, and Sterling Cannon, 33, have perished in a duel with Chandra Farrow, a long-standing family enemy. The Black Family refused comment, while the Farrow Family assert that Willa intended to harm another member of the family. The case is still being investigated by the CRWA.
I clicked out of the article, scrolling back through previous years to see if anyone had written about the drama leading up to the duel. All I found with the name “Black” was a short mention in the OWitchuary section.
It is with great sadness that I, Celeste Black, share news of the passing of my husband, Alder Bishop/Black. He died of heart failure at Woods Crossing Hospital, surrounded by myself and our two sons.
Chapter Twelve
Sudden tears stung my eyes as I continued to read.
Alder was a devoted husband and father, a talented witch, and a hard worker. He loved his family and spent his whole life looking after their welfare. He was kind, thoughtful, quiet, meditative, and wise. I love him with all my heart, and look forward to the day when I will see him again.
I pressed a hand to my mouth, trying to hold back the tears that seemed to lurk so readily behind my eyes these days. I’d always felt more attached to Grandma since I didn’t know much about Grandpa. Her obituary made it clear, though, that he was a good man and that she’d loved him a lot.
I strained my memory, trying to recall if Dad had ever mentioned anything about Grandpa.
My mind came up with a faint memory of asking Dad about his parents. He’d told me their names but nothing else. Then later I’d asked to visit Grandma and Grandpa, and he’d told me that Grandpa had passed away before I was born.
It was getting late, and I still hadn’t eaten. I shut the computer off and headed to bed after a quick meal, my mind reeling with everything I’d learned in one day.
I felt no closer to finding any leads on Theresa, but I’d learned more about my family, at least.
***
I felt glad, the next day, for the distraction of the shop. Though I didn’t have as many customers as opening day, I had a steady stream of people all day until closing. Around three, I heard a scratching at the door and opened it to see Jade sitting primly on the step. She walked inside, jumped up on the counter and curled up in a ball.
“Where have you been?”
Ignoring me, she began to clean herself. I noticed then that her ear had been scratched.
“What happened to your ear? This is the second time in a week!”
Jade stopped her preening and looked up at me, an almost defiant expression on her face. I like to go walking in the woods sometimes. There’s a Tomcat who is…interested. I made it clear that I am not interested, and he got mad and swiped me. It happens all the time.
I frowned as I made notes on inventory. “Can’t you just avoid him?”
A laugh reverberated through my head. He’s in my territory. I have to chase him off periodically, no big deal. If you think I look bad, you should see his eye. I’m surprised I haven’t gouged it out yet.
I wanted to say that I was surprised she hadn’t murdered him, but it felt like a low blow, so I kept my mouth shut.
“Hey Jade, I found an article on WitchNet about Willa’s murder. Do you know what caused her to duel with Chandra?”
She blinked a few times, then turned away. I don’t want to talk about that.
Gritting my teeth, I forced myself to hide my sigh of impatience. “What about Grandpa Alder? I knew he had passed away before I was born, but I had no idea he died so young. He would have only been in his fifties or so.”
She sprawled out on her side, her gaze traveling to the ceiling. Why so many questions?
“It’s only natural to be curious about my family!” I snapped.
He died of heart failure. The stress of the feud, combined with the stress of keeping his family safe, just wore him down.
It wasn’t much information, but it was better than nothing. I still felt frustrated, but it occurred to me just how long Jade’s association with my family stretched back. Those losses must have been hard for her, too.
“Jade…how long have you been a cat?”
