Page 56 of Heal Me

Aubry: Yes, but I’m not going to.

Me: ????

Aubry: Because, little grasshopper, you don’t need my help. Have faith in yourself AND your magic! You’ve got this!!!

Reaching for the beginner witchcraft book for a spell idea, I toss it down. “No, I’ve got this.”

Doogie watches as I adorn my altar, a.k.a. my dresser, with dollar bills and a few quarters I fished out of my wallet. Grabbing my knife, I carve the word money into the green wax of the candle.

Casting my circle, I anoint the candle with a mixture of Frankincense, bergamot, and sweet orange. Lighting it, I chant:

This summer money comes easily to me.

Envisioning myself taking the summer off from working, or from studying, or from stressing about working or studying, I picture dollar bills falling from the sky all around me.

Letting those good feelings wash over me, I close my circle, leaving my candle to burn out overnight.

Doogie climbs in my lap as I write down my spell in my book of shadows. Flipping to the dedication page—Charlotte’s Book of Shadows—I smile triumphantly, no longer feeling like a fraud.

Chapter 24

Charlotte

“Gabe and I are going to visit my dad this weekend,” I tell Doogie as I finish packing, zipping up my duffle bag. “Jen’s going to look after you, but I’ll make sure you have extra food and plenty of water left out just in case.”

“Are you sure you can trust her with Doogie?” Gabe asks, now seated on the foot of my bed.

“You’re about to get kicked out of the temple,” I tell him, my hand over my heart.

“I’ll make it up to my goddess,” he says, pulling me to his lap and giving me a quick kiss. “What’s that?” Gabe points to the manila file folder on my bed.

“Harvard deferral paperwork. We’ll call it a peace offering.”

“Well played. If you ever change your mind about midwifery, there’s a bright future for you in demonic law.”

“I’ll leave that to you supernaturals.” Doogie hops up on bed beside us, wanting attention, and Gabe and I both give my cat a scratch. “Are you ready for our four a.m. flight tomorrow?” I groan. “We’ll need to leave here no later than one.”

My planning is put on hold by the sound of someone pounding on the back door. I walk downstairs, but Gabe teleports, beating me there. He’s having an intense conversation with a man I’ve never seen before. There’s a dangerous edge to this stranger; not only can I feel it, but I can also see it in his hard, amber-colored eyes. Good-looking, the man appears to me in his late twenties, with dirty-blond hair, and is wearing a black T-shirt and black jeans. His muscles are absolutely ripped and he has a wicked-looking tattoo on his right forearm of a snake swallowing an eyeball.

I do the only reasonable thing under the circumstances, and that’s slam the door in his face.

I’ve never heard Gabe laugh as hard as he does now. He opens the door, and the scary-looking man is still there, except now he looks even scarier, because he’s annoyed. “Charlotte, this is Sam. I’d just like to say for the record that was the best thing I’ve seen in a long time,” he says.

“Charlotte.” Sam nods. “Cupid, you might want to get your eyes checked if that’s the best thing you’ve seen. Or maybe it’s Charlotte who should have her eyes checked. You’re really with this guy?” Sam says, giving Gabe a hug with a violent back thump.

“Sam, nice to meet you. And yes, I’m really with this guy,” I say, taking Gabe’s hand and giving it a squeeze. So this is the leader of the Watchers. It might not be fair, but a part of me automatically dislikes Sam for hurting Gabe.

Sam extends the snake tattoo arm out and I just look at it, worried the snake might come to life and swallow me instead of the eyeball. Gabe laughs again. “Sam’s going to get a complex. I love it. Charlotte, Sam’s going to teleport you to our destination, and it would be easier if you take his hand. I’ll be right behind,” he says, now holding our bags.

I must have given them a nervous look. “I’ve never lost a passenger,” Sam says.

“Colombia?” Gabe counters.

“Misplaced, not lost.” Sam waves away the accusation.

“‘Misplace’ Charlotte, and you and I will have a serious problem,” Gabe threatens in a dangerous tone I’ve never heard him use before.

“Relax,” Sam tells Gabe. He turns those cold eyes to me. “Charlotte, are you ready?”

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