Read Online creepy hollow 05.5 - scarlett by rachel morgan - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: rachel morgan
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Malena said, waving a whole lot of used apparatus into the air and across the room to the sink.
“Isn’t that sort of … wrong?”
“Have you met a sprite, Scarlett?”
“No.”
“Nasty little things. Worse than rats. They’re of far more use to the world as a collection of ingredients than they are alive.”
“Oh.” Beth added that to the long list of things she’d learned since arriving here. “Will I be able to do spells like this once I’ve learned to properly manipulate my magic?”
Malena gathered her scattered herbs and tied them together. “Not all of them—not the spells that specifically require witch magic—but some, yes.”
Flipping back to the watcher spell and hoping it wasn’t too out of line to ask, Beth said, “Why did Madame Lucia want this spell done on her son?”
Malena groaned. “She’s a paranoid, overprotective mother. She’s purchased numerous protective charms from me before, but now she believes that someone wants to kidnap her son. We put a tracking tag on him yesterday, and today’s spell will allow the mother to see and hear what her son sees and hears whenever she looks inside that book. Poor child will have absolutely no privacy.” She shook her head, then added, “But that isn’t my problem. She is my client, and I must keep my clients happy.”
Beth nodded, though she wasn’t entirely sure she agreed with that. “Can I ask what the payment was for this spell, or is it confidential?”
Malena smiled knowingly, almost as if she’d been waiting for Beth to ask that question. “It wasn’t too expensive a spell. A single memory was all I required from her.” A memory? Beth opened her mouth to ask if that really meant what she thought it meant, but Malena said, “Time for lunch now.”
It was then that Beth remembered why she’d come to the workshop in the first place. “Oh, Tilda sent me to ask you for a small wooden block. For an … expunging spell?” she added hesitantly, hoping she’d got the name right.
Malena sighed. “Very well.” She headed to the back of the workshop and bent down to open one of the cupboards. As Beth watched her, something in the far corner caught her eye. She hadn’t noticed it before, perhaps because of the plants that had been hanging in the way, but something had since moved and she could now see a pedestal standing in the corner. A large glass case with a closed window sat upon the pedestal, and within it was a glass bell jar balanced on a cushion. Something floated inside the bell jar. A flower? Beth walked slowly around the workbench, wanting to get a better look. It was a flower. A water lily, perhaps. Its petals were white with a pale blue tinge at their base, and it remained frozen in place in the air. “What is—”
“Come, Scarlett, it’s lunchtime.” Malena strode past Beth with a small block of wood in her hands. She opened the door and looked back, her nails tapping impatiently on the doorknob. “We don’t want to keep the others waiting.”
CHAPTER NINE
“Scarlett, look! I did it!” Tilda waltzed into Beth’s room the next morning and spun around, her long skirt billowing around her. A skirt made of—
“Smoke!” Beth exclaimed. “It worked. That’s amazing.”
Tilda, almost glowing with pride, placed her hand on her hip. “I may not be a qualified clothes caster, but I can whip up a good enough dress when I’m feeling inspired.”
“This is more than just good enough.” Beth bent to take a closer look at the way the smoke of the skirt blended into the fabric. “Seamless. But won’t you get cold with nothing to keep your legs warm?”
“I’m wearing stockings and boots under here. Besides, the smoke provides more insulation than you’d think. And even if I do end up cold, who cares? Not me when I’m dressed in something this amazing.”
“Hopefully that thought will keep you warm then,” Beth said with a laugh.
“And guess what else,” Tilda added. “I made
“Isn’t that sort of … wrong?”
“Have you met a sprite, Scarlett?”
“No.”
“Nasty little things. Worse than rats. They’re of far more use to the world as a collection of ingredients than they are alive.”
“Oh.” Beth added that to the long list of things she’d learned since arriving here. “Will I be able to do spells like this once I’ve learned to properly manipulate my magic?”
Malena gathered her scattered herbs and tied them together. “Not all of them—not the spells that specifically require witch magic—but some, yes.”
Flipping back to the watcher spell and hoping it wasn’t too out of line to ask, Beth said, “Why did Madame Lucia want this spell done on her son?”
Malena groaned. “She’s a paranoid, overprotective mother. She’s purchased numerous protective charms from me before, but now she believes that someone wants to kidnap her son. We put a tracking tag on him yesterday, and today’s spell will allow the mother to see and hear what her son sees and hears whenever she looks inside that book. Poor child will have absolutely no privacy.” She shook her head, then added, “But that isn’t my problem. She is my client, and I must keep my clients happy.”
Beth nodded, though she wasn’t entirely sure she agreed with that. “Can I ask what the payment was for this spell, or is it confidential?”
Malena smiled knowingly, almost as if she’d been waiting for Beth to ask that question. “It wasn’t too expensive a spell. A single memory was all I required from her.” A memory? Beth opened her mouth to ask if that really meant what she thought it meant, but Malena said, “Time for lunch now.”
It was then that Beth remembered why she’d come to the workshop in the first place. “Oh, Tilda sent me to ask you for a small wooden block. For an … expunging spell?” she added hesitantly, hoping she’d got the name right.
Malena sighed. “Very well.” She headed to the back of the workshop and bent down to open one of the cupboards. As Beth watched her, something in the far corner caught her eye. She hadn’t noticed it before, perhaps because of the plants that had been hanging in the way, but something had since moved and she could now see a pedestal standing in the corner. A large glass case with a closed window sat upon the pedestal, and within it was a glass bell jar balanced on a cushion. Something floated inside the bell jar. A flower? Beth walked slowly around the workbench, wanting to get a better look. It was a flower. A water lily, perhaps. Its petals were white with a pale blue tinge at their base, and it remained frozen in place in the air. “What is—”
“Come, Scarlett, it’s lunchtime.” Malena strode past Beth with a small block of wood in her hands. She opened the door and looked back, her nails tapping impatiently on the doorknob. “We don’t want to keep the others waiting.”
CHAPTER NINE
“Scarlett, look! I did it!” Tilda waltzed into Beth’s room the next morning and spun around, her long skirt billowing around her. A skirt made of—
“Smoke!” Beth exclaimed. “It worked. That’s amazing.”
Tilda, almost glowing with pride, placed her hand on her hip. “I may not be a qualified clothes caster, but I can whip up a good enough dress when I’m feeling inspired.”
“This is more than just good enough.” Beth bent to take a closer look at the way the smoke of the skirt blended into the fabric. “Seamless. But won’t you get cold with nothing to keep your legs warm?”
“I’m wearing stockings and boots under here. Besides, the smoke provides more insulation than you’d think. And even if I do end up cold, who cares? Not me when I’m dressed in something this amazing.”
“Hopefully that thought will keep you warm then,” Beth said with a laugh.
“And guess what else,” Tilda added. “I made
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