Jack and I exchange looks. Cooper Scooper? Seriously?
Cooper steps aside. “Like I said. It’s over. Your power is gone.”
She gawks at Claude, mystified. “But it was supposed to be unbreakable.”
He bores into her with his stare. “I’m sure I don’t know what you’re talking about. You best learn to still that tongue of yours lest you insult those around you. We’re due back at the museum. I expect to see you there shortly.” He stomps to the Lincoln without so much as a good-bye, clearly miffed that she tried to drag him into this. But it doesn’t matter because we already knew he was involved. After roaring his engine to life, he throws the transmission in reverse, and peels out of Miss Delia’s yard.
Straightening her shoulders, Taneea strolls toward us.
Cooper crosses his arms. “Don’t ever try it again. If you do, Jack, Emma, and I will crush you in ways you never thought possible.”
Defiant, she stares him down. “Sure. Whatever you say.”
“And I want my mother’s locket back. Now. It was never intended for you.” He extends his palm.
Her eyes turn down and her bottom lip quivers ever so slightly as she lifts her arms to unclasp the chain. “Fine. I wouldn’t want to keep a piece of junk like this anyway. I was just wearing it out of pity.” She slaps it in his hand.
She takes a few steps but then pulls up short. “Oh, Emma, I almost forgot. I’ve got something for you, too. Obviously I don’t need it anymore.” She digs her hand into her purse and tosses something small at me.
It’s a tube of her stinky hand cream. Gross. “No thanks. I don’t like the smell.”
“That’s because you’re not a guy. Trust me, rub a little of that into your hands and he’ll do whatever you want. Worked like a charm for me.” She spins on her heels and strides toward her truck.
Of course. Why hadn’t I realized it earlier? That lotion of hers was just another coercion charm. I drop the tube on the ground. As far as I’m concerned it’s as toxic as poison.
Desperate for understanding, I charge after her. “Why did you do it?”
She climbs on the running board and tosses me a hateful scowl. “You’re so perfect, it makes me sick.”
Whoa. That’s the last thing I expected. Despite how screwed up she is, and how horrible the allurement was, I laugh. “Obviously, you don’t know the first thing about me.”
“Really? Look at you. Smart. Pretty. You’ve got my great-gran wrapped around your skinny little finger, your brother’s sort of cool, and you’ve got Cooper. I don’t think it’s fair that anyone should get everything they want. Plus, it was sort of my duty. Cooper’s superhot. Way too hot for you.” She opens the door and climbs into the cab.
“That’s so warped.”
She shrugs. “Maybe. But it was still worth it. He and I had a lot of fun together.”
Chapter Twenty-nine
Jack, Cooper, and I race back to High Point Bluff to carry out Miss Delia’s instructions. I’ve got a Psychic Vision to pull off. With any luck, the mortar will have rested enough and it’ll show us what we need to prove that Claude was involved in Missy’s death. And maybe even that he’s a boo hag.
After I take a purifying bath and brew a fresh batch of Psychic Vision tea, we pull up to the cemetery and then trudge down the now-familiar path through the kudzu-infested landscape, making our way to the crypt where Jack and Cooper stored the supplies to work the spell.
The crypt air is cool and smells kind of musty like my grandmother’s old basement. One of the side walls is lined with sealed cement vaults that contain the caskets of several of Cooper’s distant relatives. There’s a low bench on the opposite side of the room. I wipe it off as best I can, then pull out my supplies and arrange them on top.
Jack hovers in the crypt’s doorway, blocking some of the streaming late-afternoon light. Cooper’s right behind him. “Em, is it okay if we watch this time? Coop and I never got to see the visions that helped you figure out The Creep. We think they’re really cool.”
I have to think about that for a second because I don’t want to break any of Miss Delia’s rules. After the energy-tea debacle, I’m pretty much done coloring outside her lines. So long as I don’t reveal any secrets about how to conduct the spell or its ingredients, I think it’ll be okay. There’s more than enough Psychic Vision tea to share.
“Um, sure. But just so you know, you have to listen to everything I say. Because if we mess up, we’re going to have to wait another three days.” Which we don’t have, considering the boo hag is likely to strike again before Cooper turns sixteen at midnight.
Jack smiles. “Got it. No problem.”
But then another thing occurs to me. “You know what, on second thought, you might not want to watch.”
“Why?” Cooper asks.
“The spell pulls the last memory of whatever object is being used. Since the dagger was covered in boo-hag blood, I’m guessing it’s going to show us the last few minutes of Missy’s life. I know we didn’t love her, but she was still a person. And if her passing was painful, it’ll be difficult to see.”
Cooper nods as his shoulders droop. “I see what you mean. Except, if the boo hag was there, shouldn’t I see what it’s capable of? Since, you know, it’s coming after me next.”
“He’s got a point. Maybe the vision will give us a clue how to fight it, or at least how to stop it from possessing Coop,” Jack says.
They’re both right. We’ve got to watch, no matter how bad it is. I nod. “Okay, but no puking in the mortar.”
Jack salutes me. “Yes, ma’am.”
A few minutes later, we’re sitting cross-legged on the crypt floor around the ancestors’ mortar. When the charcoal chips are ready, I layer the herbs and roots on the burning coals as I’ve done so many times before. To my relief, the wind whips up outside, blowing through the leaves on the live oaks. A cool burst of air sweeps through the crypt.
I pull the thermos from my messenger bag and pour enough to fill up the cup and pass it to Cooper. “Now for the hardest part. This stuff tastes nasty, but you’ve got to drink it down in one gulp. No cheating. Otherwise it won’t work. Oh, and another thing. The vision will start as soon as we’ve all had a drink so keep your eyes open and alert and don’t let go of the knife until the vision fades.”
He takes a deep breath and chugs. Gagging a couple times, he clamps his lips tight and forces it down.
Jack’s face is filled with horror. “Is it really that bad, dude?”
Cooper nods.
I pour a refill and hand Jack the cup. “Drink.”
Pinching his nose, he tilts back his head and guzzles. He shudders as the reddish-brown liquid slides down this throat. Then belches a sour-cherry and burned-spinach-flavored burp.
“Gross.” The scent is so strong, I nearly taste it myself.
Cooper laughs, but it’s high-pitched and kind of woozy so he must be starting to feel the effects of the tea.
It’s my turn. As usual, it’s terrible, but it’s nothing compared to my vile energy tea.
The sky darkens and thunder rumbles in the distance.
I grasp the hilt of the pirate’s dagger and direct Jack and Cooper to each grab hold of some part of the metal.
A wave of fatigue hits me as the spell begins to take hold. The sensation feels good. It proves I’m doing hoodoo the right way, allowing the spell to drain my energy, without taking any shortcuts. The knife suddenly feels like it weighs ten pounds.
The spell incantation slips from my lips.
“Smoke and mist reveal the past