Plus, the same witch had put a spell on Zoey’s mom too. She had made her mom only have an appetite for raw meat and had no taste for vegetables or fruit and was getting so thin and sick. It was disgusting. No, Mandy, the witch had to be stopped. Who knew where it would end? Too bad she was able to sink her teeth into Zoey’s hand just moments before she went flying down those stairs. But the good news? All the spells dissipated the moment that witch hit the floor. Zoey knew, cause when she got home her family were all better and back to normal.
She saw the sign reading ‘Occult History and Practices’ and after a while picked up a book labeled, ‘Spells and Remedies for the Modern Witch’. She checked and ‘Modern’ in this case actually referred to 1963, but hey, most spells and witch history were ancient anyway.
In the index of that large thick book, she saw a chapter named, “Protection from Witch Attacks”. Now that sounded right, so she took the book over to the nearest table and perused for a bit. “How lucky can you get?” she said softly to herself because right there, in that particular chapter was information on witch’s bites.
Her eyes narrowed though when she found out what an unattended bite could do. Now she really had to get to work, as this was getting urgent. She read for about half an hour and then decided just to check the book out and take it home.
Zoey was spending a few weeks with her Aunt Lorrie until the heat died down from the dead witch. She eventually told her mom what happened and both of them decided it would be best for her to go to the city and stay with her aunt for a while.
Aunt Elise played a prominent role in Zoey Foster’s life ever since her dad’s untimely death when Zoey was only fourteen. Her Aunt and the rest of the family stepped right in to help with the grief and made sure they were around on family holidays that would cause them pain.
But time does heal and now that she was grown at 18 years old, they saw her Aunt Elise and grandmother, etc. a little less often. However, she did share a bond now with Aunt Elise that they knew would be there forever.
And Aunt Elise had a sad history too - several years ago she got married and her new husband died in a freak accident where he worked. He fell into some machinery at his plant. It was after that tragedy that Zoey and Lorrie became even closer. But tragedy does that, doesn’t it?
When she got back to her aunt’s house, Zoey poured over the book- it really did have some excellent remedies in it. It was worn and tattered but Zoey learned to trust those older remedies as they were often tried and true. Even her dad used to recommend them as responsible tools and guides.
She went back to the section that mentioned witch bites. It stated that if she didn’t get the bite seen to properly, she would keep getting weaker, and could eventually die or just remain in that shaky, exhausted, bed-ridden state her whole natural life! The bite would suck the virtual life out of her.
“Well, what’s the remedy?” Aunt Elise blurted out, getting more and more anxious, as she waited for Zoey to tell her.
Zoey slapped the book closed. Exasperated, Zoey told her that unfortunately, all the specific remedies were in the second volumeand that this first volume just ended short of naming them.
“I’ll have to go to the library tomorrow and get it. There’s not a lot of time.”
“I’ll go with you, hon.” her aunt smiled and gave Zoey a hug.
A DISCOVERY AT THE library.
As they sat in the glorious, all-enveloping silence and solitude of the library, Zoey’s turquoise-blue-painted fingernail scanned the page of the second volume.
“Oh no—guess what?” Zoey almost yelled, “It says that a witch has to kiss it—!” and she looked up quickly, her long lashes curling up, almost to her brow, “No, seriously. A witch bit it and now a witch has to kiss it! Kiss it better! And then it has to be wrapped in a special cloth and soaked in Valerian tea for a few days. That’s it! That’s all! I just have to get a damn witch to kiss it,Aunt Elise. That’s a cinch!” she said sarcastically, but with a definite tone of desperation.
Her aunt put her arm around Zoey’s shoulder and patted her arm.
“We’ll get a witch to kiss your hand if that’s what we have to do. And I already have the Valerian tea. We will!”
“And don’t worry; we have a little power over witches—right?” Aunt Elise continued, “Your grandpa, my father, was victorious and so were you. You already know that once you kill a witch, that strength goes down the family ties, right? I won’t have it really—as it goes down the line and has strengthened you—but maybe I have it a little bit. But for sure, I have the conviction, like my brother Victor- your dad did!”
And then Aunt Elise looked at Zoey and said, “Oh yes, I have the conviction.” And Zoey knew she had a lifelong ally in Aunt Elise and felt comforted.
“And besides,” she continued, “you killed a witch of your own on top of it! This will be a walk in the park!”
“A walk in the dark is what it will be.” Zoey smiled, lamely, rolling her dark eyes, “Where can we find a witch in the first place?
“I’ll do some research on the Internet tonight, hon. Right after dinner.” Aunt Elise smiled her cheerful smile, showing her perfect white teeth. “We’ll find you a witch!”
Zoey looked down at her hand where the bite was located. It still looked red and infected.
“There was something funny about that librarian,” Zoey said suddenly.
“She smelled funny—musty or something.” She looked at her aunt, who looked surprised.
“Anyway,” Zoey went on, “I feel so tired. I’d love to go home and lie down. Would you start the search for witches?
Aunt Elise? I just need a little rest.”
“Sure thing, I’m going to start by looking through those books, you got. I’ll see if smelling funny means anything! Wouldn’t that be lucky? “Aunt Elise said. She was beginning to be concerned about Zoey’s weakness.
But when they walked by that same librarian on the way out, Zoey stopped short and looked at her. Aunt Elise picked up the cue and went over to talk to this seemingly ordinary woman. There was indeed something strange about this librarian.
“Here we go, we’re taking out another book on witches!” and Aunt Elise really emphasized the word. “We need a remedy.” And she smiled ever so sweetly at the older woman. And when she looked down she saw that this otherwise ordinary-looking librarian’s hand was shaking and that her nails were excessively long and painted an ugly purple.
They checked out the book with her, but when they got to the parking lot they stopped abruptly to talk.
“Oh my God!” Zoey exclaimed, “She stinks to high heaven of rot or something! It’s stronger now than it was when I first met her. “
“I didn’t smell that, Zoey, but I felt drawn and repelled at the same time. But she’s just an ordinary...” and then she added, “Or is she? Did you see her nails?” And with that question, they both looked at each other.
They went into Aunt Elise’s little red car and perused the index. “Here!” she exclaimed- pointing to something on the index page. “The odor of witches.”
And Zoey went to the page indicated and read aloud, “To the ones that are born and live here as witch warriors they will be able to smell the smell of death and evil from the witches. They must take care and approach with caution.”