Read Online Casting Spells by Barbara Bretton - Free Book Online

She didn’t speak very often, but when she did, we always listened. “I did a little research this morning and found out Suzanne Marsden was seeing a married politician in Massachusetts.”
    For the first time all evening the room fell silent.
    Renate slid off the globe and landed on the floor with a thud as she expanded to human size. “Please don’t tell me she was seeing Teddy Kennedy.”
    “His name is Dan Sieverts,” Lilith went on. “According to my sources, he plans to announce his run for the governor’s office in March and his people want to make sure there’s nothing about Ms. Marsden’s death that can derail his campaign.”
    “Seems to me a dead mistress would be a whole lot less trouble than a live one,” Cyrus Pendragon observed.
    A swirl of blue smoke floated down. “Never underestimate the dead, darling,” Simone whispered as she entwined herself around him. I hadn’t seen anything like that since my free preview of Naughty After Dark.
    “Get off my husband, you slut!” Lynette launched herself across the room but Simone was too fast for her. By the time Lynette reached Cyrus, only Simone’s mocking laughter remained.
    “Ow!” Cyrus yelped as Lynette’s beringed fist made contact with his upper arm. “She’s gone, Lynnie!”
    “I know.” Lynette whacked him again. “Next time don’t enjoy it so much.”
    I’m not prone to headaches but a wicked bad one was building behind my right eye. Isadora was watching me with a combination of pity and amusement that set my teeth on edge. She didn’t like me, and the feeling was mutual, but her criticisms had found their mark just the same.
    “Come on, people,” I said, rapping the gavel again just for the heck of it. “Let’s get back to our rent-a-cop problem.”
    Herding my cats was easier than trying to bring everyone back to the matter at hand after Simone’s display.
    According to Lilith’s political contacts, once the rent-a-cop was sure that Suzanne’s death was nothing more than a tragic accident, he would be replaced after a decent period of time by someone local who would be voted in by Sugar Maple residents at a special election.
    “Six months,” Lilith said. “That’s the time frame they’re looking at in Montpelier.”
    Janice shook her head. “The spell will be broken by then. Three months is all we’ve got and even that’s dicey.”
    Sharp-edged purple glitter rained down on me.
    “Stop it,” I snapped at Isadora. “Even if I got pregnant tomorrow, I wouldn’t give birth in time to make a difference.”
    “The Book is wasted on you as it was wasted on your mother,” Isadora said, favoring me with the kind of withering glance that destroyed lesser mortals. “You’ll never be more than you are today.”
    “Take that back,” Lynette demanded.
    Isadora was undeterred. Her attention was riveted to me.
    “You owe us.” Fae anger was spoken about in whispers and it was easy to see why. The air around Isadora shimmered crimson and purple. It crackled with electricity seeking ground. A dark mist loomed behind her then disappeared as quickly as it had come. I drew back instinctively and she smiled. “We didn’t have to take you in.”
    “You didn’t take me in,” I reminded her. “Sorcha did.”
    “Only because we allowed it. The last thing this town needed was Guinevere’s half-breed daughter.”
    “Isadora!” Lilith sounded distressed. “Enough!”
    “It’s not enough. It’s not nearly enough. Am I the only one who remembers that her own mother didn’t love her enough to stay here?” Her words seemed to circle my head, pounding to get inside my brain. “Am I the only one who remembers what it cost Sorcha to stay?”
    I saw myself as a terrified six-year-old. I felt Sorcha’s love all around me like an embrace. The thought that I might have caused her pain was almost unbearable and I looked away.
    “Chloe was a child,” Janice said in my defense. “She didn’t ask Sorcha to stay in this