Page 59 of Bewitched By the Headless Horseman
“The rest are cats in the garden. I’ll make a brew for them later, but right now we’re going to Ginger’s to break your spell. And then from there, we’ll find Levi and Clara which will be easier after this new information. For the finale, we save your Horseman.”
“What about Inferno?” Stevie yelped as Lucia carried her toward the door. “He’s still in the glass case and will be tagging along with Kit to the Hollow if we don’t help him!”
“At the moment we need to stay focused on the things that could change this town. Helping Kit will help him.” Lucia looked toward the glass, and even though she couldn’t see him, she said, “We’re going to save your master.”
Inferno lifted his head and silently whinnied.
Lucia held up Stevie close to her face. “Let’s get you out of this Thumbelina-like state now, shall we?”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Stevie sat on top of Lucia’s shoulder, releasing one high-squealed whistle after another as her sister-in-law sped the car through the streets. If Levi and Clara had snatched Roxy, then they could easily use the fox against Stevie. Not many people or cars were out and about, the town’s population most likely either getting ready to go to the cemetery tonight or staying behind warded doors. Which the second might be the best option at this point.
“Roxy will be fine. She was at your parents’ after I left to come for you,” Lucia soothed.
But Roxy might’ve still ventured home at some point, then wanted to see what all the fuss was about when the evil duo entered her home.
Lucia’s phone rang, and she sighed in relief as she answered with the speaker on. “Finally! I called and thought you were kidnapped!”
“I’m at my parents. What’s going on, babe? Do I need to kick some ass?” Gideon asked.
“No! Stay where you are until I say to leave. There are some dangerous shenanigans afoot and we can’t afford a distraction. Your pain tolerance is horrendous and these asshats would easily get something out of you. It’s too risky,” Lucia rushed out.
“What about Stevie?” Worry filled his voice.
“I have a story to tell you later, but at the moment I need to get her back to normal size after a nefarious encounter she had since Maxine could easily eat her.”
“Someone is about to be dead,” he ground out.
“Don’t worry, they already are, but this will make time number two. Go take care of your parents, keep them safe, and I’ll see you soon. I love you.” Lucia ended the call just as sheturned down Ginger’s street, and shrill, familiar barks sounded. Stevie couldn’t see through the fog, but the barks were coming right behind the car.
“Roxy’s behind us!” Stevie shouted.
“She can meet us at Aunt Ginger’s. There isn’t time to stop for a single second.”
Stevie agreed. Things were about to completely spill from the cauldron—there’d been no answer at the council, and if anything, she bet the duo had turned them into some sort of small critter. Ginger was home, working on more brews to bless the land, but Lucia had only told her to be ready for them.
As Lucia threw the car in park, Roxy met them, hopping up and down in a frenzy.
“Good girl, Foxy Roxy,” Stevie squeaked.
The front door burst open and Ginger bounded toward them, her gray braid in disarray. “Charms and hexes, Lucia, what’s going on?”
“So much!” Lucia took Stevie from her shoulder and held her out to Ginger.
The witch gasped. “Get to the basement and tell me everything as we work!”
“It was too risky to go to my house, so I came here,” Lucia said while rushing toward the basement. She fled down the carpeted steps, and Stevie held back nausea from how the room spun around her.
Lucia placed Stevie on one of the shelves as Ginger spelled an empty glass jar into a chair that was fit for her doll size. While Lucia took a few jars from another shelf and poured their contents into the far-left cauldron, she told Ginger what had happened. Roxy lingered beside them, listening too. Levi inside of Reese, Clara taking Adelia as her own, Kit in their grasp to be used as a sacrifice, Stevie being the next, Lucia’s body to become Clara’s if the witch got her way.
“I’ll turn them into cockroaches and crush them,” Ginger seethed.
“Unfortunately, their ghosts would slither right out,” Stevie said, but her voice was too meek to be heard from across the room.
Lucia dipped a teaspoon into the cauldron and poured the small amount into a silver thimble. She then rushed it to Stevie, who clasped the large thimble and drank down the liquid. A flavor of spiced cake caressed her taste buds, and she held out the polished-off thimble toward Lucia.
“Grab her from the shelf!” Ginger bellowed as Stevie’s muscles twitched, her hands looking like clown hands compared to the rest of her.
