Charmed and Dangerous: An Appalachian Magic Novel (Appalachian Magic Series Book 1) Read Online Free PDF

us, and there’s no telling how many witches work for him. But we thought you’d be safer here, close to the coven.”
    Callie crossed her arms. “I’m an adult, and he can’t make me do anything I don’t want to do.”
    “Okay, you’re forcing me to tell you this.” Grandma Jo ran her fingers through her gray moussed hair and sighed. “You remember how your mom was before you moved away.”
    “Yes. Aunt Mallory told me she had a total breakdown after I left.”
    “That night, while you played with the Ouija board, Ginnie had contact with Lucas. A purplish-black mist absorbed into her skin and raided her mind. His dark magic nearly undid her. He wanted to weaken her mind so she would give in and turn you over to him.” Grandma Jo looked out the dark window and was silent so long, Callie was afraid she wouldn’t continue.
    She had to know. “You can’t be sure he sent that mist.”
    “Yes, I can. And he nearly ruined all her psychic ability. Your mom was powerful. She could interpret signs and manipulate energy. Now the only thing she has left is her special touch with animals.”
    “But losing psychic ability doesn’t make you crazy.”
    “Don’t use the word crazy ,” Grandma Jo said, a sharp bite in her words. “Ginnie was fragile, and Lucas’s attack was enough to put her over the edge. For a witch to have all of her powers stolen isn’t like having your hair turn gray. Those doctors at the hospital didn’t want to do anything but drug her up and have her talk about her childhood.” Grandma Jo snorted. “I brought Ginnie home and nursed her myself. She slowly recovered, but her magical power is lost forever.”
    Callie knew how timid and withdrawn her mother was, even now. She could function, but life had clearly damaged her spirit. “I still don’t see why you’re both so sure it was my father who attacked her.”
    “The minute I walked in your room that night and smelled the wormwood, I knew.”
    Callie searched her memory. “You both came in and said something about the smell . . . but I didn’t understand the words you used.”
    “Artemisia absinthium. It means wormwood mixed in a drink called ‘absinthe.’ It was Lucas’s signature scent; one he could never mask.”
    “Does it smell like menthol and licorice?”
    Her grandmother nodded thoughtfully. “That’s a pretty good description. Nasty, vile stuff.”
    “So he came because of me.” It’s all my fault . “If only I’d never seen that stupid Ouija board.” Guilt washed over her. Callie squared her shoulders. She wasn’t going there, not tonight when she still reeled from learning her father was alive.
    Grandma Jo put an arm around her shoulders. “You can’t blame yourself.”
    They sat together in silence, each with their own thoughts and memories.
    “Do you have any photos of him?” Callie asked at last.
    Grandma Jo went to her desk, opened a drawer, and shuffled through some paperwork before pulling out an old photo. “There’s just this one,” she said, holding it out.
    She grabbed it and gazed into the eyes of a stranger. Her father. It was a faded print, but his charisma leapt through time. The eyes sparkled, and he smiled with confidence and charm. His short hair was combed back, and he wore a dark pinstripe suit with a little hanky sticking out of the front jacket pocket. Evidently, the über-preppy style back in the day.
    “Can I keep it?”
    “Yes, but don’t let your mother see it.”
    Callie hurried to her room to study his face in private. He didn’t look evil. She didn’t know what to believe. At the first light of day, she would walk in the woods again to work off steam and think it over.
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    I n spite of the morning’s gathering storm, James decided to hike Lavender Mountain. Sundays were pretty much a bust anyway since everything in town was closed.
    The wind swirled, and the sky was dark and gray even though it was already an hour past dawn. The smell of rain hung thick in the air as