“Why didn’t you use a spell?” Ange asked. She clasped my hands and checked them for abrasions before she took out antiseptic wipes and cleaned them. It stung a little where my skin was grazed.
“I don’t know. Maybe my subconsciousness decided it wasn’t worth spending so much mental energy, when I wasn’t in danger.”
“Or maybe your inner radar was pointing you right where you needed to be.” With a gesture of triumph, Ange shone her flashlight on a patch next to the puddle. “Here’s our yarrow.”
Harper, ever well-prepared, took out a Swiss Army Knife and cut a few stems that she wrapped in a tissue.
Slightly more careful of poison plants and hidden roots, we returned to the motel and rapped on the door of number 2. “We’re back,” Ange hollered.
The curtain in the window opened a few inches, and we saw a hand forming the V sign.
Back in my room, I headed to the sink and scrubbed my face. In the bright light, my palms were reddened and a tiny bit of blood was visible in one graze. The stinging had stopped though. This wound didn’t warrant so much as a band-aid. No wonder my inner witch had declined to step in.
When I appeared with a clean face, a cup of peppermint tea awaited me.
“What do we do with the yarrow?” Ange asked.
I took a long sip, savoring the minty flavor that ticked all the right boxes for refreshment and mental stimulation.
The two spells I’d studied today were somehow connected. I touched a clump of the small flowerheads. A pleasant warmth flooded my body. It was unlike the hot flash of The Change or my witchfire wave. This felt more like a gentle encouragement.
My friends waited for me to say something. I patted the bed. “If you sit here, I’ll try something.”
Silently, they took up their spots.
“Can you fetch your cauldron?” I asked Harper.
She raced to oblige.
I took the container from her and dropped the yarrow inside. My broom came next. I placed it next to the cauldron, with the bristles pointing to the same corner as before.
Reina grabbed Harper and Ange’s hands. All three were so silent I heard the sound of my own breath. Then I tuned that out too and let the spells take over my mind and guide my actions.
I clasped the cauldron and, with a sweeping motion, I let the yarrow fall out and disperse.
A soft, angry whisper arose in my head. Two people, in this room, having an argument. Tim’s face appeared in a flash and disappeared again. The other person I could not see.
Now the whisper faded and the broomstick moved. It slithered across the floor, until it had reached the corner of the room. For a few seconds, the bristles scratched upon the carpet.
My head went light as all motion stopped. The spell had ended.
“Steady.” Ange grabbed me as I swooned. “Take a deep breath.”
Reina handed me my cup with the remains of the tea.
I gulped it down. “No need to worry. I only need a breather.”
“I’d say. I’ll never forget the way the broomstick took off. Do you have any idea yet what it was trying to tell you?”
I rose slowly, in case my knees went weak. They didn’t. “Only one way to find out. What I know for certain is that Tim was here with another person, and it wasn’t too friendly.”
“Person?” Reina asked.
“I only got an impression, nothing specific.” I knelt on the floor. The carpet was loose where the bristles had been scraping the fabric. I lifted the flap. Underneath was a sealed envelope.
I picked it up and patted the carpet back into place. My fingertips tingled. Tim must have hidden the envelope. But why here?
“Harper, do you remember if Tim had booked the room for one night or two?”
