Easy Magic (Boudreaux #5)

“You know who. Remember your talk with Sophia.”


And then it all comes back to me in a rush. The day at the cemetery, and the story Miss Sophia told me after.

“He wants to kill me.”

“Yes.”

“The way he killed you.”

“Yes.”

“Do you see him?” I ask her. She tilts her head to the side, as if in surprise.

“You can’t?”

I glance around again. “I only see the dead.”

“Oh no,” Larissa says.

“He’s coming,” Douglas says at the same time.

“What is happening?” I shout, terrified.

“They can help you,” Grandmamma says. “Larissa and Douglas can help, but you have to open yourself up completely. You have to accept what and who you are.”

“But I want to help them. This isn’t fair!”

“She’s right,” Larissa says to me. “Your grandmother is right. We can help.” She’s calm now, as if she understands something that once eluded her. “That’s why we’ve been here all along.”

“It wasn’t to find each other,” Douglas adds, as if he can hear Larissa. “It was to help you.”

“They should get each other,” I say softly to Grandmamma, who simply smiles and pats my hand.

“That’s not meant to be, child.”

“You’re living, Mallory,” Larissa says. “You have your love, who is also living, and ready to spend that life with you. Our love is already lost. Let us help you.”

“All you have to do is open your mind,” Grandmamma says. “But once you do, there is no going back. You’ll be permanently open, and you’ll have to learn to live with it.”

“But the alternative is to die,” I reply.

“Yes.”

I glance between Larissa and Douglas, then to my grandmother.

“It’s cold.”

“He’s so close,” Douglas says. He’s not afraid anymore. “I want to end this. I don’t want to be here anymore.”

“Live your life, child,” Grandmamma says and takes my hand. I feel her fear, her love.

“I miss you.”

“I know. And you’ll be with me, but not now. Not like this. Embrace it, and fight back. Don’t let him win again.”

“No.” I square my shoulders, tip my head back, and open my mind completely, then fall to the ground as the wind swirls around us. Larissa and Douglas vaporize, turning to blue mist that moves in a flash to the red, surrounding it completely, and then the red takes over again.

“They’re not strong enough,” I shout, trying to be heard over the roar of the wind.

“They are,” Grandmamma insists. Her hair is a riot around her head, her silver cloak swirling in the wind.

“We’re here!”

Miss Sophia and Lena?

“Evil be gone!” Sophia shouts, and takes Grandmamma’s hand as Lena takes mine. They chant, loudly and growing in volume, words I’ve never heard before. It makes the red light dim and the blue intensify, and just when I think the red will die, it explodes in anger, filling the sky and air around us, surrounding us, knocking us on our backs.

I can’t see the blue at all now.

“Join them,” Lena yells.

“I don’t know the spell!”

“Just say what we say!”

And so I do, listening carefully and learning the spell. By the third time they begin to chant it, I have it down and join in, my voice strong and loud. The four of us levitate off the ground, a storm of wind, railing against the red darkness that shrieks in pain and retreats.

The blue lights are back, stronger and brighter, and together we advance until the red light explodes, like fireworks, into a million sparks.

The wind is gone. It’s dead still as we return to the earth. The blue lights fly above us, then merge together and fly away.

“They’re finally together,” I murmur.

“And he’s finally dead,” Grandmamma says. She blinks fast, and falls to her knees. “Oh God, Sophia. I see the girls. I see the house. I know where they are.”

“Tell us,” I say, holding onto her hands. But she doesn’t have to. Instead, I can see everything that she sees. A dozen girls, maybe more, chained to the wall in a dark basement. They’re naked and cold.

One is dead.

The vision pulls back so I can see the whole house, and the street signs.

I know where they are.

“How?” I ask.

“Because you’ve opened yourself up,” Grandmamma says. “But don’t worry. This is not your life’s work, it was mine. And you’ve just helped me finish. You call Detective Williams and tell her where the girls are.”

“And that’s it?”

“That’s it. For now.” She hugs me tightly. “You’ll always see the dead. You’re a medium and an empath, Mallory. You can help them, the way you just helped Larissa and Douglas.”

“They saved me.”

“You saved them, too.” She smiles softly. “And you’re about to help me.”

“You? Why do you need help?”

“I need to move on,” she says and brushes a lock of hair off my cheek.

“Beau does that,” I say.

“I know. I like him.”

“You’ve seen him?”

“Of course. I told you I would be here.”

“I’ve never seen you.”

“You didn’t need me until now.” She cups my cheeks in her hands. “You are a beautiful, talented, wonderful woman, Mallory. I want you to live every moment of your life. I want you to enjoy it all.”

“I don’t want you to go.”

“I know.” She smiles gently and looks over to Miss Sophia and Lena. “But just like before, you’re in good hands. And your Beau will be a wonderful, worthy partner for you, darlin’.”

“I didn’t want to say goodbye before. And I don’t want to now.”

“It’s time, love. It’s time to let go. If you’ll let me go, I can move on, to be with your grandfather, and your parents.”

“And your Melissa.”

Tears fill her eyes and she nods, hope shining through her. “I’ve waited a long time to hold her again.”

My heart sinks. “I’m selfish.”

Miss Sophia and Lena are on either side of me now, and I can feel Beau with me, too. I take a deep breath and brush the tears from my cheeks.

“I love you, Grandmamma.”

“I love you, Mallory.”

I look up at the light that’s appeared behind her. “There it is. There’s the way.”

She turns to look and her face lights up. “Oh, look at that. Thank you, darlin’.”

And with that, she walks away. I can see the shapes of people waiting for her. They greet her with hugs and love, and then the light closes, and it’s gone.

“You’re brave,” Beau whispers in my ear. I glance around, but I’m alone.

Yet, I’m not alone.

And it’s time to go home.





Chapter Eighteen


Beau

“Where is she going?” Gabby asks as Mallory stands and slowly leaves the dining room.

“I don’t know,” I reply.

“She has the same dilated eyes that she had the night of the séance,” Gabby says as we all stand and follow her through the kitchen to the back porch.

She’s talking to someone, but I can’t make out the words. All I know for sure is, she’s not here. She’s somewhere else.

And I’m terrified.