Witch You Were Here Read online

  When the light fades, the coffin with Night Shadow’s body is gone.

  Suddenly, the elf slumps to the ground. I run over to him and lift his head.

  “He’s gone from my mind,” Doc whispers and closes his eyes.

  Quick, Granny Maycomber’s voice calls from the cup I am still holding. Add a few drops of your blood to the cup. Make him drink it. He’s dying.

  I grab Alfie’s ax and push the palm of my right hand across the top. Immediately, blood oozes from the shallow cut. I hold my hand over the cup and make a fist. Blood drips into the cup until the bottom is covered.

  I quickly lift Doc’s head and put the cup to his lips and tilt it up. I watch my crimson blood run between his lips until the cup is empty. Nothing! It’s got to work! It’s got to!

  Slowly, Doc’s eyelids open and he is looking at me with his clear blue eyes. My heart swells with pride. I did it!

  Doc tries to sit up.

  “No, wait for your strength to return,” I caution.

  “How about us, Suzy! Have you forgotten us?” Alfie’s annoyed voice reminds me.

  Snowball hisses.

  “Yeah, yeah, I’m coming,” I say as I walk toward them, creating an unbinding spell. “Some rescue team you three made?” I add teasingly.

  “I brought the ax!” Alfie says as he sits up.

  “I brought Alfie and Broom Hilda!” Snowball says. “Do I still get all the unicorn milk I can drink?”

  18

  I’m stoked, more so than I thought possible. I’d done it. I’d vanquished Night Shadow—the real Night Shadow in his own deteriorating body. But I’m also tired. No, it’s not just tiredness. It’s exhaustion. I’ve been tied up, tortured, and forced to do battle. All I want to do is go home and fall asleep. I tell Broom Hilda to take me and Snowball to the cottage first and then fly Alfie to the library. Then she can fly home by herself.

  I want to tell Sheriff Dudley everything that’s happened tonight, but in addition to the way I feel, it’s way too late to expect him to be up. As soon as Broom Hilda drops off Snowball and me, I put on my pajamas and fall into bed. I don’t even have strength to pull back the covers. That’s how tired I am.

  In the morning, I still feel good about having accomplished something important. Just as Snowball and I are finishing breakfast, Alfie calls to say Sheriff Dudley is coming to the library and wants to talk with Sprout, and would like us to be there.

  “But didn’t you tell him about the doctor? That Night Shadow had taken over his body?”

  “I did, but after a little while he called back and said he still was coming to the library because Sprout wants to confess. Whatever that means,” Alfie tells me.

  “What has he done that he needs to confess?” I frown. I can’t imagine what Sprout wants to tell us. I’ll have to wait and see. Though the house can still do all the cleaning, I rinse off the breakfast dishes and leave them in the sink. I feel lazy and I can easily just let the house take over.

  “Finished with your unicorn milk, Snowball?” I ask.

  “Meow. I want to make it last.”

  “Yes, there’s enough for only one more time. But we have to get going.”

  Broom Hilda has completely recovered from Night Shadow’s attempt to burn her. There isn’t a single burnt straw on her brush anymore and she seems to be in a great mood—if brooms can even have moods. Once Snowball and I are on our way, I laugh out loud as Broom Hilda swings back and forth in the air, as graceful and playful as a young colt.

  At the library, I see no sign of Sheriff Dudley and Sprout but I’m surprised to see the doctor, whose face brightens so much that it almost shines when he sees me. He stands on the library steps.

  “Good morning, Suzy,” he says. “I think this is the very best day of my life.”

  “Oh?” Snowball and I climb the stairs.

  “You rescued me from Night Shadow.”

  I smile. “It’s my pleasure.”

  “For the first time in a very long time, I’m myself again. Nobody’s controlling my movements and making me do all sorts of things against my will. Oh, it was horrible.”

  My smile fades. “I’m sure it was terrible,” I answer as he holds the door for Snowball and me. Then I notice his hand. He’s holding open the door with the hand I cut off. “Oh my God! How can that be?”

  “What, Suzy?” the doctor asks.

  “Your hand. You don’t know how much I suffered at the thought that I’d had to cut it off.”

  “It’s the blood from a white witch. It restores the body!’ he answers. “As soon as Night Shadow’s spirit left, my hand started to grow back. Look!” He pulls up the sleeve of his white silk shirt. “No makeup anymore. And no hideous sores.”

  “I always thought you were a very handsome man,” I say and then am embarrassed that I said it. What would he think at my being so forward?

  His face turns red like mine. “You’re embarrassing me, Suzy.”

  “Sorry,” I answer, but I’m not sorry at all. What I told him is true. He is one of the most attractive people I’ve seen in Nightshade. But maybe not quite as handsome as Val.

  As soon as we’re inside the library, Alfie rushes over to me, jumping up and down like an excited child.

  “What is it, Alfie?” I ask. “Why are you so excited?”

  “Too much Irish whiskey!” Snowball announces.

  “Nope, I haven’t touched a drop,” Alfie tells Snowball.

  “Then what?” I ask.

  “You didn’t tell her yet?” Alfie asks Doc.

  “Who didn’t tell me what?”

  “The Doc, of course.”

  I roll my eyes. “Of course, it’s Doc. How dumb of me not to know that.”

  Doc laughs and Alfie frowns.

  “You don’t see anyone else here, do you?” Alfie’s tone is petulant.

  I frown and made a big show of looking around. “You’re right, Alfie. Not another soul.”

  Alfie starts jumping up and down again. “Tell her, Doc. Please go ahead and tell her.”

  “If you insist,” the elf says.

  “I do insist, all right!”

  “Well, then, I have no choice.”

  “What are you two talking about?” I ask, exasperated.

  “School!” Alfie says. “We’re talking about school.”

  I look from one of them to the other. “I’m lost.”

  Doc reaches out and takes both my hands in his. “Before you arrived this morning, your assistant librarian and I were talking. I told him I’m so appreciative of what you did for me that I’d love to do something for you.”

  “And guess what he wants to do, Suzy? Just guess!”

  I shake my head. “I haven’t the faintest.”

  “Send you to school!” Alfie blurts out.

  “Send me to school? What do you mean?”

  “Alfie told me that it’s very important for you to go to the Witches’ Academy in Hemlock. Since you had a late start at being a witch, there’s a lot you need to catch up on.”

  “Oh, Doc,” I say. “I couldn’t let you—”

  “After what you did for me… It’s a mere nothing. I’ve been practicing medicine for years and have no family. As you know, I’m the only elf left.”

  “I’m very sorry, Doc. That must be terribly difficult. I can’t even imagine what it would be like.”

  “Yes, it is hard, but let’s not talk about that. What I want to talk about is sending you to the school, all expenses paid.”

  “But—”

  “No buts! Since I have no dependents, I’ve managed to save quite a bit of money. It’s just sitting there. And if you don’t let me pay for you to go to school, I’ll be very, very upset.”

  “You mean it?”

  “I wouldn’t kid you about something like that.”

  I throw my arms around his neck. “Not only are you handsome, but you’re a very kind and generous man, as well.”

  “All I can say to that is I’m happy you accept. In fa
ct, I couldn’t be happier.”

  Just then the door opens. Sheriff Dudley enters, shoving Sprout ahead of him. He’s in handcuffs.

  “Oh, Sheriff!” I say. “There’s no need for handcuffs. He’s innocent.”

  “If you say so…”

  “I do say so! Night Shadow had taken over Doc’s body but we managed to banish his spirit.”

  “I certainly can testify to that,” Doc says. “After a long, long time, I’m me again.”

  “You do look different,” the sheriff says. “Younger, more vibrant.”

  Just then Alfie rushes up to Dudley. “I too was there when it happened. Suzy cast a spell that sent Night Shadow’s spirit…and his body off somewhere.”

  “Where?” Sheriff Dudley asks, as if he still has doubts.

  “To be honest,” I tell him, “I don’t know. I know only that he’s gone.”

  “And he won’t come back?” the sheriff asks.

  “That I can’t tell you,” I say. “But remember, he’s a very powerful warlock, and he is in cahoots with a demon.”

  “If he comes back after what he tried to do to Suzy,” Snowball says, “I’ll scratch out his eyes.”

  “Well, let’s not even think about that now,” Doc says.

  “All right. Since you’re all telling me the same thing, I believe you.” He takes out the key to the handcuffs and unlocks them. “All right,” the sheriff says. “I think that wraps everything up.”

  Sprout turns quickly to face him. “No, no, no! I want to explain some things. For starters, why I’m so ugly.” He glances at Alfie. “This may take a little while. So let’s get comfortable.”

  Alfie takes the hint. He and Doc collect five chairs and we all sit down.

  Sprout looks from one to the other. “I wasn’t always like this, you know.”

  “I’m sorry but I didn’t know that,” the sheriff says.

  “It’s a long, sad story involving a love triangle.” He glances at me. “It involves your grandmother, so maybe you’d rather I don’t continue.”

  I hesitate for a moment. “No, go ahead. I never knew my grandmother well. She left me on the other side when I was barely two. The closest I’ve come to knowing her is through her cup of life.”

  “The cup of life?” the sheriff asks, looking puzzled.

  “If you’ll allow me to go on,” Sprout says, “I’ll explain.”

  “Sorry for interrupting,” the sheriff answers with a hangdog expression.

  “Two of us were in love with your grandmother,” Sprout tells me. “Or at least that’s the way it appeared.”

  “Who was the other person?” Doc asks.

  “The warlock. The one you know as Night Shadow, whom I’ve been informed is no longer in Nightshade.”

  “Yes, I sent him away, Sprout,” I tell him, “and I hope he never returns.”

  “That’s certainly what we all hope,” Doc says. “I, especially.” He glances at Sprout. “Go ahead with what you were saying.”

  “This is around the time you were born, Suzy,” he continues. “Though in ways, it seems an eternity.” He glances at each of us in turn. “I was deeply in love with your grandmother,” he tells me. “But apparently so was the warlock.”

  “Why do you say apparently?” Sheriff Dudley asks. “You’re either in love or you’re not, right?”

  “I’m getting to that,” Sprout tells the sheriff. “I wanted more than anything to spend the rest of my life with her. You see, I was a warlock, too.”

  “A warlock?” I ask. “Then why didn’t you—”

  “Work a spell to make her love me?”

  I nod.

  “There’s a reason.” Again, he takes time to glance at the others before continuing. “You see, Night Shadow was courting her at the very same time. At first I didn’t know that. If I had… no, I doubt I’d have done things differently. I wanted her to love me on her own, not because of a spell.” His eyes are moist.

  “The gist of it is…your grandmother chose him over me. Oh, he was a handsome man. And to tell the truth, and being immodest, I wasn’t all that bad-looking either. But he was a grand wizard; much more powerful than any of the others. I like to think he charmed her—and I mean that in the magical sense; that he cast a spell over her so she’d choose him instead of me.”

  He pauses for a moment, looking down at his hands. “It’s a hard thing to admit, even all this time later. But it stung me far worse than anything else ever could have. I was disconsolate, depressed, not wanting to face life without her.” He takes a deep breath and expels it.

  “This is the part I’m ashamed of. As I said, I was a warlock.”

  “You are a warlock, right?” I ask.

  Sprout’s laugh is filled with self-mockery. “As if it matters.”

  “What happened?” I ask.

  “I cast a spell.”

  “What sort of spell?” Alfie asks.

  “A suicide spell. I wanted to die.”

  “But you didn’t die,” Alfie says.

  Sprout looks directly at me. “Your grandmother saved me. She was a very powerful witch. Not many others could have done that.”

  “And somehow during all of this, your appearance was changed?” Dudley asks.

  “That’s exactly what happened.” Again, he glances at each of us. “Your grandmother’s spell left me changed.”

  “Granny couldn’t change you back!”

  “Oh yes, she could have.”

  “Then why—”

  “I wouldn’t let her.”

  “Why not, for heaven’s sake?” Alfie asks.

  “I felt I didn’t deserve it. Suicide is a very serious thing. It was wrong of me to try.”

  “What does that have to do with…. with the way you are now?” Doc asks.

  “I felt I deserved to do penance for what I’d attempted.”

  “But you were desperate!” I tell him.

  “That’s true. But I still wouldn’t let your grandmother cast another spell. For a time, I became a recluse; rarely showed my face.”

  “But now you do,” the sheriff says.

  “I decided that it wasn’t penance if I simply hid away. I had to face people. But what could a person who looks like me do with his life? Well, I’ve always loved plants, so I applied for the job as gardener here at the library.”

  “But why the poisonous plants?” I ask. “Why not roses or daisies?”

  Sprout is clearly embarrassed. “I put a spell on all the poisonous plants, Suzy. They could never hurt you…or Alfie or Snowball.”

  “But why even have them around?” Alfie asks.

  “As protection.” He sighs. “Rachel was one of my favorite people. And Night Shadow killed her. I’d tried to protect her, too, but obviously my spell wasn’t strong enough.” He looks toward me. “So when you took the job as librarian, I decided nothing like what happened to Rachel could ever happen again. If anyone tried to harm you, the plants would release their poison.”

  “But how could that be?” Alfie asks. “The plants are outside. Suzy spends most of the day inside.”

  It suddenly dawns on me. “Sprout, you’re the one who’s been sending me poisonous plants!”

  Sprout shrugs. “Keeping the plants only outside is too risky. But if they’re inside, as well…”

  “The protection spell can take effect more quickly,” Doc says.

  “Exactly,” Sprout answers.

  “So that explains the mystery,” I say. “But why did you keep it secret?”

  “If you’d known I was the one who sent you the plants, you might have thrown them out. You’d think I had evil intentions. An ugly little man like me.”

  “Oh, Sprout, you’re much too hard on yourself,” I tell him.

  “Okay, but that doesn’t explain what you said about Night Shadow’s intentions toward Suzy’s grandmother,” Doc says.

  “It quickly became apparent that Night Shadow didn’t love your grandmother. He was just waiting for the perfect time to kill her
. Dead dead! And he almost succeeded.”

  “What happened?” Snowball asks, caught up in the story. For once, she’s stopped washing her favorite paw.

  “As you know,” Sprout continued, “Night Shadow is extremely powerful. And often those with power hunger for more.”

  “What does that have to do with Suzy’s Grandma?” Sheriff Dudley asks.

  “She was a white witch.”

  “Of course. Like Suzy is,” Alfie says.

  “And one way to become more powerful is to drink a white witch’s blood.”

  “So he pretended to love Granny just because he wanted her blood!” I’m astounded.

  “Yes, but I didn’t know that when I cast the suicide spell. It was only later that your grandma told me she was terribly afraid and explained what was going on. She asked me what she could do. I didn’t know. Besides, after what I’d gone through, I was in no shape to help anyone. Which I regret to this day.” He shakes his head.

  “And so they had this terrible battle. Both could cast the strongest of spells. When he cast a spell, she countered it. On and on and on…for days. Finally, it was too much for her. She tired out. But just before he killed her body, your grandma cast a spell that took his spirit away from his own body. She knew it wouldn’t last forever and that he’d try to come back.” He shakes his head. “And so he did. He was not able to go into his own body and so had to choose other bodies, other people.” He glanced toward the elf. “The last one, of course, was the Doc.”

  Sprout looked at me. “The only way, as you know, for him to revive his own body is to drink the blood of a white witch. That was his plan from the time you arrived in Nightshade, Suzy.”

  “Yes, and after what he did to Granny…and especially to my mother and father, I think he’s the most despicable of men.” I sigh, my heart heavy with emotion. “I hesitate to ask, but how did he kill my parents?”

  “He wanted your grandmother’s blood because she was so powerful, but he thought if he could drink your mother’s blood, that would also work.” He took a deep breath. “Your grandmother wasn’t home. She’d gone to a witches’ meeting. When she was gone, he sneaked in and killed them—your dad first.”