“Spyin’?”
The tea kettle whistled.
“Well, yeah—for lack of a better word.”
“I do declare! I’d rather jump barefoot off a six-foot step ladder into a five-gallon bucket full of porcupines than see anything bad happen to y’all.”
“I don’t thinkthat’snecessary, but the situation scares me a little.”
Morgaine rounded the corner with a tray loaded with teacups, cookies, and a steaming tea pot. “You’re not talking about Sly, are you? Because we know he won’t hurt you. He looks scary and he hangs around here a lot, but he’s a pussycat.”
That brought a guffaw from Chad.“Interesting description. A pussycat who laps up blood instead of milk.”
Gwyneth stuck her hand on her hip and stared at the ceiling. “Chad, are you still here?”
“Yup.”
“Well, go away.”
“Make me.”
She rolled her eyes and looked defeated, mumbling, “Just remember that an arrogant bug is a cocky roach.”
Morgaine shook her head and sat beside Gwyneth. “Chad, will you at least be quiet so Gwyneth can concentrate on Merry’s reading?”
“I suppose…”Chad conceded with a sigh.
Hoo. Hoo
“You too, Athena.”
Merry glanced around. “Who’s that?”
“Just our pet owl, honey,” Gwyneth said.
Morgaine wiggled to get comfortable. “Okay, I think we’re good to go. Merry, drink your tea while thinking of your wish. You’ll need to imbue it with your thought energy.”
As Merry sipped, Morgaine clued Gwyneth in on things to look for that would indicate a covert situation or someone operating behind the scenes unbeknownst to them.
“The Ace of Spades pointing up, a bat, a bee, a duck… Of course, you have to see if it’s in close proximity to another symbol. There may be something positive to neutralize the negative or there may be bigger clues to indicate real danger like a knife or crossed bones.”
Gwyneth nodded. “Okay, but if I forget, I’d better ask twice than lose my way once.”
“How do you know all this stuff, Morgaine?” Merry asked and blew on her tea to take another hot sip.
Morgaine and Gwyneth looked at each other, some sort of communication passing between them. At last Morgaine said, “I think she can be trusted, don’t you?”
Gwyneth nodded. “If she can accept the existence of a ghost in her midst, she can probably accept a couple o’ witches.”
Merry’s eyes rounded. “Witches?”
Gwyneth reached over and patted Merry’s knee. “Oh, don’t worry, darlin’. We’re the good kind.”
“Actually,” Morgaine continued. “We’re what’s called hereditary witches. Our grandmother was that odd woman who lived in the woods at the edge of town, cultivating herbs and making healing potions for anyone who came to her for help. Some didn’t trust her, and their kids gave our mothers a hard time in school, saying they were Devil worshipers and things like that. Nothing could be further from the truth.”
“Oh. Is that why you moved up here?”
“Well, that, and I attended college here. I wanted to study herbal medicine. The money ran out long before I got to graduate. Still, I learned why Granny’s medicine worked so well.”
