South of Salem (2) by Janni Nell

Author:Janni Nell
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: Harlequin Enterprises
Published: 2011-05-30T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve

Mackenzie Revvan lived outside Boston in a tiny house—more like an English cottage, really—surrounded by an enormous herb garden and the fields of nearby farms. If you didn’t know she was a witch, the house would give it away. I’d bet the local kids dared each other to knock on her door every Halloween. My toe developed a dull itch before we even knocked on her door.

I had been expecting a slightly less wrinkled version of the malhag but Mackenzie was an elegant woman in her late thirties. She was beautiful in a retro way, with straight brown hair that parted in the middle and hung to her waist. Completing the retro look was a 1970s maxi dress in purple crushed velvet. If I had to sum her up in one word it would be long. Long and slender.

She greeted us with a cheery “Welcome, ladies,” and ushered us into a small living room with plump chairs, brightly patterned drapes and a cold fireplace. Overlaying the scent of herbs was an aroma of freshly ground coffee and chocolate chip cookies straight from the oven. I’ll go a long way for a choc chip cookie and these were pretty good, although they couldn’t match the ones I’d recently sampled in Loch Furness, which had been made by Scottish elves called brownies.

Wanda, who likes a good cookie as much as I do, barely ate a bite. In Mackenzie’s presence, she was totally starstruck. Not to mention tongue-tied. It was up to me to make small talk. Since that is my least favorite thing, I bypassed it altogether.

“Mackenzie,” I began.

“Call me Mac.”

Wanda’s eyes opened wide at the familiarity. “Gee, is that okay? I mean, you’re—”

I went on quickly, hoping to save Wanda an embarrassing memory. “Well, Mac, we’ve got this problem with a mal—” I noticed an enormous brown spider crawling along the purple crushed velvet of her should The creature was as big as my hand, with prominent fangs that were perilously close to Mac’s neck. This woman was my only hope of defeating the malhag. No way was I going to let a spider kill her. Leaping to my feet, I swept it off her shoulder and onto the floor. I raised my foot, preparing to squish it.

“No!” screamed Mac.

“It was going to bite you.” I began to lower my foot.

“Stop!” She lunged at me, pushing me away from the creature. “That’s Orlando.”

“Don’t tell me,” I guessed. “Orlando is a guy you’ve cast a spell on?”

Mac shook her head, but since she was kneeling and gently coaxing the creature on to her hand, I wasn’t sure I believed her. Maybe it was a boyfriend who had misbehaved. I wished I was a witch.

Wanda watched us from a corner of the room. She doesn’t much like spiders.

“Orlando won’t hurt you,” Mac said. “Come and make friends. He’s my familiar.”

Wanda edged closer.

“You can pet him if you like,” offered Mac.

Wanda reached out her fingers. We’d known each other since childhood and one thing I’d never expected to see was Wanda patting a spider.

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