Putting on the Witch by Joyce and Jim Lavene Read Free Book Online Page A

It’s not there now, but I talked to you.”
    â€œThat’s strange,” Elsie told him. “I wish you could come with us, but you know those witches on the council have sharp noses. They’d smell a werewolf a mile away.”
    â€œI don’t want to go to something where I’m not welcome anyway, sweetie.” He carefully kissed her. “I’ll see you when you get back. Have a good time. But keep the dress, huh?”
    Elsie laughed and said good-bye, not bothering to explain that it was temporary. I called for the car, and Dorothy checked her makeup again in the mirror behind the counter.
    â€œWhere’s Mom?” she asked, her eyes toward the ceiling, as Olivia frequently floated up there.
    â€œShe’s here somewhere.” I nodded toward the staff that was in the corner. “She couldn’t leave without it.”
    â€œShe’s been practicing, you know,” Dorothy explained. “She says other ghosts don’t need a physical prop, so why should a witch? It’s not going to be long before she can go wherever she wants. She can levitate stuff easily now too.”
    â€œSounds like our witch is really becoming a ghost,” Elsie remarked.
    I looked for Harper but didn’t see him either. “They might be downstairs.” I peeked down the opening into thecave below where we conjured and held training for Dorothy and Brian, calling for Olivia. The cave connected directly to the Cape Fear River, an old rum run for pirate smugglers. “But I’m not attempting those stairs in these heels.”
    â€œYeah. Me either. They don’t hurt my feet, but I feel like I’m going to fall over.” Dorothy glanced down at the intricate gold sandals on her feet. “I guess she’ll be okay. I wish I didn’t have to leave her. I don’t understand why witches don’t like ghosts.”
    â€œIt’s just one of those things.”
    â€œLook. I must’ve left my bracelet here.” She picked up her mother’s bracelet. “Maybe I’ll wear it to remind me of her.”
    â€œLadies!” Elsie’s voice was edged with excitement. “The car has arrived.”

CHAPTER 6

    Both times we’d been invited to the Fullers’ castle, a car and driver had been dispatched for us. Tonight, it was the same black limo in front of Smuggler’s Arcane that had picked us up the last time, and the same driver.
    This visit was much more auspicious. The last time—I couldn’t even bear to think about it. The circumstances weren’t something that I’d ever want to do again. Just thinking about it made me want to cry.
    It seemed no one drove or otherwise arrived at the castle. We’d speculated that this was because it wasn’t in our world. Elsie thought it might just be in another country, but I wasn’t convinced that was true. Whatever the location, the Fullers were very conscious of their security. Sending a car for each visitor took a lot of magic, but they could keep out the riffraff that way and keep the location of their home a secret.
    The driver was stiffly polite as he helped us into the car. Unlike the messenger with the invitation to the birthday ball, the driver was a real person. He still wore the Fullerlivery well with his height and broad shoulders. When the door was closed behind us, he assumed his position behind the wheel and we were off.
    I tried to see out of the windows, but they were too heavily tinted to view anything moving in the darkness. I finally sat back with nervous butterflies in my stomach, not at all sure we should be attending Brian’s birthday bash. The last time we’d been at the castle, I’d felt like a stranger in a strange land. We all had. We were housewives, mothers, teachers and librarians. Hobnobbing with celebrity witches wasn’t fun or relaxing.
    I was sure Olivia would have fit right in. As I’d said to Dorothy, her mother had