spies and spells 01 - spies and spells Read Online Free PDF Page A

the park. The rustle of leaves danced across the sidewalk.
    “Damn,” I furrowed my brows, taking my first steps toward the sounds of footsteps.
    The moon lit up the Colonnade. The shadows of the thick, old grapevines hanging off the concrete structure danced in the grass, creating an ominous feeling deep within it. I glanced back at Vinnie, but he was gone. I scanned the perimeter of the park, first Fourth Street, then left on Park Street where I could see my familiar rolling along, keeping his sights on me. Confident I was okay, even though my gut pinged, I swept across the park, at lightning speed, and hid behind one of the columns at the end of the Colonnade.
    There was movement near the Shakespearean theatre. My eyes shifted toward the stocky shadow and I ran across the grassy lawn in the shadows so he wouldn’t see me. 
    Squawk , Lilith’s familiar and rare purple macaw landed on the back of one of the many wooden Adirondack chairs that was provided by the Historic Old Louisville’s newly formed Chamber of Commerce.
    “You can fly on back and let my dear sister know she needs to get home for some rest since she’s going to be pulling two shifts tomorrow,” I warned her familiar and wondered which chair had The Brew’s name stamped on the metal tag nailed on one of the wooden planks as I snaked my way down to the amphitheater. 
    I vividly remembered Auntie Meme giving a very generous donation when the Chamber of Commerce was recently formed and went around to all the businesses in Historic Old Louisville, which weren’t many, inviting them to join. They had all sorts of plans and ideas for Central Park and the community. The chairs were a nice, cozy added touch.
    Mick ran along the bottom of the stage, stopping on stage left. Behind him I could see Vinnie rolling back down Fourth Street. Stopping.
    Perfect , I smiled knowing I was about to do my thing, and run off into the night with a long day of the spa ahead of me.
    “Here goes nothing.”  I stepped out in the moonlight, setting my spell in motion for Mick. I drew my hand in the air and stared at his back. His hands were planted on the top of the stage floor as though he were about to jump up on it. I said, “From the ashes you will fall, making hourly kitty cat calls.”
    He turned around just as the sound of running footsteps came closer. I had to hurry and get the hell out of there. The man slowly turned around, dropping his hands off the stage and looked at me. He wasn’t Mick. It was the man from the diner. The man with Mick.
    He threw something in the wrought iron trashcan next to the stage. There was a terror-stricken look on his face. The white brow over his left eye glowed in the moonlight. His green eyes with golden flakes had a haunted look.
    A clap of thunder overhead caused me to jump, pulling my hands close to my body. The moonlight I had created slowly disappeared behind the blackest cloud, covering Central Park with a dark blanket.
    “Wait.” My jaw dropped. The sky opened up. The rain poured down. “You aren’t. . .”
    Like magic, the man, who was not Mick, scurried off on his new furry four legs.
    “Shit, shit, shit.” I stomped my feet on the ground and pounded my fists at my side. “How the hell did you get that wrong?” I asked, trying to cover my head from the rain with my arms.  “Shit.”
    I bent down to the ground, trying to see where the man ran, but the rain dripped down my face and into my eyes. The rain was so hard, puddles were forming around my hands as I tried to crawl around looking for the man.
    “Here kitty, kitty, kitty,” I called for him, hoping he couldn’t resist the catcall.
    The sounds of running footsteps got closer. I stood up; peeling my hair away from my ear to get a sense of how fast the person was running. The thumping of the rain wasn’t helping clear the audio.
    “Mick,” I gasped, knowing in my gut it was the man from the diner and the bar who was supposed to get the hourly kitty cat