Witch's Wheel Read online

  “You’re not going to die tonight, Grandmother,” he promised in a whisper. Butterflies fluttered in his stomach, and the uneasiness he’d felt all night seemed to dissipate as unconsciously his pace quickened. It was time to save her. But, as he neared the door, he looked down and was stopped in his tracks when he saw a black cat.

  Is that one of them? Teagan wondered. It seemed whenever he saw a cat, one of the sisters wasn’t far behind.

  He stood straight with his back against the wall and tried to make himself invisible, lost in the shadow of the dimly lit hallway. Then he heard a voice coming from the cracked door that led to the kitchen’s office.

  “That old hag! I hate her. Who does she think she is?” the woman’s voice was upset, strained.

  Who was in the room? Grandmother didn’t allow people in there, it was where she kept all the files and receipts for the kitchen.

  He strained to hear the answer, but he didn’t hear anyone talk back to her.

  Looking both ways down the hallway, and keeping an eye on the door to the wine cellar, he peeked through the crack.

  It was a woman, standing at the desk on the phone.

  “Well it’s done now!” the voice was a strained whisper. “I’ve done it.” Her voice cracked slightly. “And I don’t care. How am I supposed to live without a job?” she said. She sniffled, and her next words came out between sobs. “I don’t have any money saved up, and I don’t know where I’d be able to find another job.”

  She’s talking about my grandmother, Teagan thought. That must be Rose Avery. Grandmother has fired her.

  The woman switched the phone to the other ear, turning slightly, Teagan could make out her face. He recognized her as a woman he’d seen earlier in the afternoon. She’d appeared quiet, reserved even when he’d first seen her, but now with her words gushing out with fury, like an uncorked bottle of champagne, she seemed like a different person. “Her loyal staff, ha!” she snorted. “That’s why I was fired!” She sniffed back tears. “I know all about them. And he’s the only one loyal to her. We’ll see what happens now.

  “I’m not sorry I did it, either.” Teagan heard the woman say. He glanced down the hallway at the cellar door, then back to Rose. Her teeth clenched, she said it again, venom in her voice and tears in her eyes. “I hate her.”

  He wanted to burst into the room, and shake this woman. Tell her that his grandmother wasn’t any of those things, and that he loved her. But he couldn’t. Not now. He had to save her, not her honor, but her life.

  The door to the wine cellar wasn’t closed as he first thought. It was slightly ajar, but it didn’t cause him any alarm because he’d been watching it the whole time he’d been standing there. Still he looked from side to side to see if anyone was around. Maybe the last person hadn’t shut it all the way. He pulled the door open just wide enough for his girth, and slid through it pulling it completely shut after him.

  He clambered down the steps to the wine cellar with a sigh of relief. He was sure he’d made it before she’d come down. He headed down the wooden steps to wait for her to come.

  But what Teagan didn’t know, was that his grandmother was already dead.

  Chapter Twelve

  Teagan followed the path through the cellar heading in the direction he knew his grandmother would go to return the bottle. But a low murmuring of voices drifting toward him from the other end caught his attention.

  “Mrs. Bales is that you?” he called out, but no response came back. “Grandmother?” Still no one responded. “Who’s there?” he asked. “Is there anyone there?”

  He turned back toward the Antiquity Room, then back to look in the direction where he’d heard the noise.

  Who could be down here?

  No one was allowed in his grandmother’s wine cellar, and everyone knew that. And if she hadn’t made it clear, there was a big “KEEP OUT” sign posted on the door, and she’d even had a dead bolt lock installed. And although tonight it would be open because of all the traffic through it for the party, the house rules were the same.

  A scratching sound, and a low whine mixed with hushed voices compelled Teagan to find out what was going on. But, he wasn’t going to miss his grandmother, so he went down the hall to the Antiquity Room and stuck his head in. He wanted to make sure that his grandmother hadn’t arrived before him. All was quiet, so he turned and headed to the other end, glancing back up the steps as he passed to ensure she wasn’t on her way down.

  He walked slowly to the other end as he followed the voices, trying to make out what they were saying and where exactly they were coming from. Looking in each room as he passed, the voices didn’t seem to get any louder or more distinguishable. He looked back a few times, preparing to see his grandmother come down and run to her aid. He wasn’t quite sure how he’d approach her, or how he’d explain to her what he was doing down there. All he knew was that he wasn’t going to let her put that bottle back by herself.

  The sisters had told him that he couldn’t save his grandmother, but why not? He’d supposedly travelled back in time. And if he wasn’t there to save her, why had they brought him back? They’d told him he would understand when the time came. Well, for him, that time was now. And he understood it perfectly.

  Teagan rounded the corner and was nearing the end of the cellar when he saw her.

  “Grandmother!” he yelled and rushed over to her.

  She was lying face up, her eyes wide opened, and her hand over the gash in her abdomen made by a protruding bottle. Still in her teal colored evening gown, her arms bare.

  “I thought you went upstairs to change. What happened?” he said in a panic, bending down he reached to pull the rack off of her.

  “You can’t lift that by yourself,” he heard someone say. He jerked around to see who had spoken to him, and it looked like he saw the tail end of that black cat going around the corner.

  “Get help!” It was another voice. Then he saw the white cat’s green eyes staring at him. “There isn’t any time.”

  “Oh my, God,” Teagan said. He grabbed his head and turned in circles, tears started streaming down his face. “Why is this happening?’

  “Go get help,” the voice was soft. Compelling.

  “I’m going to get help,” he said and ran from the room and back up the steps.

  But as he neared the top, the room began spinning around him. The lights grew dimmer, a haze covered him and then everything slowed down.

  “No!” he yelled. “Please, God, no! I need to get help.”

  Then he seemed to be moving in slow motion. He couldn’t lift his legs fast enough to make any headway up the steps. He screamed out for help, but his words seemed to get caught up in a fog, as if he was speaking through water.

  Chapter Thirteen

  “Teagan!” It was Uncle Teddy, the white dinner jacket replaced with a black tuxedo. “What were you doing down in that dusty basement?”

  “Uncle Teddy?” Teagan looked at him, confusion flooding his mind. It was Uncle Teddy. The Uncle Teddy that he’d seen just yesterday. Teagan looked back behind him, down the steps into the wine cellar. There were no lights on and a damp, musty smell emanated. “Grandmo-” he started to say. He looked back at Teddy, then down to Teddy’s hand. “Uncle Teddy, your hand.”

  “My hand?” Teddy wrinkled his brow and held out his hand. “My hand? What are you talking about?”

  “Your other hand.” Teagan reached out and grabbed it and turned it over, palm up. “You cut your hand.”

  “What?” Uncle Teddy said pulling his hand away. Looking down at it, he realized. “Oh, my boy. That night.” He let out a sigh. “That was a lot of years ago.” He put his hand on Teagan’s shoulder. “Are you alright?”

  “What’s going on?” A voice familiar from earlier in the evening asked, only the accent was mostly gone. Gustov, his hair now white was trimmed up above his shoulders, his face that of a much older man than the one he’d seen only minutes before, and his middle section filled out
enough to make the buttons on his chef’s jacket bulge.

  “I think our Teagan may have had a flashback,” Teddy said.

  “Flashback?” Gustov asked.

  “The wine cellar,” Uncle Teddy nodded his head toward the opened door.

  “Oh,” Gustov said quietly. He looked at Teagan and back at Teddy. “He wasn’t even here that night,” Gustov said.

  “It doesn’t matter, man. He’s never gotten over it.”

  Teagan closed his eyes and shook his head.

  “Where are the sisters?” Teagan asked. He held his head high trying to look over the crowd of people.

  “The sisters?” Uncle Teddy asked. “What sisters?”

  “The Frazier sisters,” Teagan said. “My grandmother introduced you to them earlier this evening.”

  “Ah, I see what you mean,” Gustov said.

  “There!” Teagan said pointing over to a corner of the room. He tried to push past his uncle. “There they are. The red head, and the one in the black dress.”

  “Hold on there, boy,” Teddy said. He and Gustov turned and looked where Teagan had pointed, then at each other. “There’s no red head over there.”

  “Yes it is,” Teagan said.

  “No, it’s not,” Gustov said.

  “Yes it is. They’re over there. I have to get to them. I have to get back.” Teagan looked pleadingly into his uncle’s face. “Please.”

  “Back where?” Gustov asked.

  “To my grandmother,” Teagan said.

  “Look, Teagan,” his uncle said. “Look over there. No women there. No red heads. No one. Whoever you’re looking for is not there.”

  Teagan turned and looked and sure enough he no longer saw them. He ran his hand across his face. “They were just there.”

  “Yes. I’m sure they were,” Uncle Teddy said. “And we’ll help you find them, but for now we need to get you a drink.”

  “I don’t want a drink. I just want to go home,” Teagan said deflated. He tried to push past Teddy. “Excuse me, Uncle Teddy.”

  “Whoa there!” Uncle Teddy said. “You’re not going anywhere until we figure out what’s wrong with you.”

  “Nothing is wrong with me,” Teagan said. “I just need to go. There are things I need to do.”

  “Can’t it wait, Teagan? What could be so urgent?”

  “It can’t wait,” Teagan said, anger rising up in him.

  “Well, it will just have to. C’mon,” Uncle Teddy said. “It’s almost time for your speech.” He grabbed his arm and dragged him alongside him. “We’ll get that over with and then get you home. Maybe it wasn’t such a good idea you coming here tonight. You’ve been acting funny all night.”

  “I haven’t been here all night,” Teagan mumbled.

  Teddy looked at Gustov and shook his head. “I don’t think this was such a good idea.”

  “Tell me about it,” Teagan said as his uncle led him off.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Teagan walked out of his grandmother’s house into the darkness of the night. A full moon hung low, sat in the midst of stars that glittered against the black sky.

  He had had to convince his uncle that he was okay, and that he didn’t need any help getting home, it was the only way he’d let him leave.

  He saw his car waiting for him. Charles holding open the door, but he was reluctant to go. He didn’t want to leave the house. Leave his grandmother. But he knew she was long gone. Although the last he’d seen of his grandmother – dead – was what he had lived through all these years, still he wanted to be where she was.

  Teagan turned back toward the house, and felt a lump rise in his throat.

  Why wasn’t I able to save her?

  “Are you ready to leave?” Charles called over to him.

  Teagan turned and looked at his driver, and back at the house. “I guess,” he said not looking at Charles.

  “Whenever you’re ready, sir.”

  “I’d like to stop back by that watch shop,” Teagan said as he walked to the car and climbed in.

  “Certainly, sir.”

  “I want to talk to those women who are doing the repairs.”

  Charles shut the door and went around the car and got in. He glanced up in the rear view mirror and saw Teagan, concern etched in his bosses’ face.

  “Do you think they’re still there?” Charles asked. “It’s awfully late.”

  “They were at the fundraiser,” Teagan said voicing his thoughts. “I don’t know if they’ll be there.” Teagan blew out a breath. “But I need to talk to them.”

  Charles stared at Teagan’s reflection. “Is everything alright, Mr. Bales?” he asked.

  “No. Everything is not alright.” Teagan glanced out the window at the house and wondered how he could get back. Back to the time his grandmother was still there.

  I’ll make those sisters send me get back.

  The night was quiet and Charles made his way to the watch shop without a word between the two. It seemed to Teagan to take much more time to get back than it had when he left it to come to the house.

  As they neared it, Charles slowed the Bentley.

  “Looks like they’re closed,” Charles said.

  But Teagan had been watching from the time Charles had turned onto the street. Nothing had been lit on the small block, and the watch shop seemed the darkest.

  “Stop right in front, Charles,” Teagan said. “I just want to try the door.” Charles pulled over and started to get out. “Just wait here, Charles. I’ll just be a moment.”

  Teagan got out of the car and walked up to the door. He turned the door knob, but it didn’t budge. Cupping his hands, he leaned in and peered through the glass on the door. It was dark inside, not even a night light on. He couldn’t see a thing. Had he really been there earlier? Maybe he’d just imagined being there.

  Maybe he’d imagined the whole night.

  Teagan stepped back from the door and looked up at the sign overhead. He hadn’t noticed before, but right underneath Altered Times, the name of the shop, was a byline. It read: Keepers of Time.

  Teagan walked slowly back to the car. Not wanting to leave without seeing the sisters, he stopped and turned back to face the building, then looked up and down the street.

  “Here, kitty, kitty.” He called to a cat that wasn’t there.

  He reached his hand down in his pocket. It was empty. He looked back at the shop. His grandmother’s brooch was in there. He’d been in there. The place was real and so were the sisters. But Teagan wasn’t exactly sure what had happened to him.

  Letting out a long sigh, he got back in the car. He laid back on the headrest and closed his eyes. “Okay, Charles,” he said, not bothering to open his eyes. “We can go.”

  As Charles pulled off, Teagan’s cell phone rang and the shrill noise jarred him, he opened his eyes and fished in his pocket for his phone. He checked the Caller ID and it read, “Unavailable.” That was the kind of number that he’d usually let go to voicemail so the caller could leave a message and Caroline could handle it the next day. But something prompted him to answer.

  “Hello,” he said and was greeted with static. “Hello,” he said again, more pronounced, a little louder.

  “The fundraiser went well tonight, don’t you think?” a woman’s voice was on the other end.

  “Grandmother?” he said.

  Noise came from the other end.

  “Speak up,” Teagan said. “I can’t hear you.” He heard nothing. “Is this you, Grandmother?”

  His eyes met with Charles in the rearview mirror.

  “Hello!” Teagan said again, shifting in his seat, he turned toward the window, lowering his voice and trying to shield his words.

  “No. I’m sorry to say, your grandmother’s passed on,” the voice came through crackled. “And you can’t change that.”

  “Who is this?” Teagan demanded.

  “We’re calling about your timepiece.”

  “My watch? Layah, is that you?�
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  “Your timepiece will be ready for pick up on Wednesday morning.”

  “I can hardly hear you,” Teagan said. “Did you say I can pick it up Wednesday?”

  “Yes. In two days’ time. That should give you enough time.”

  “Time for what?” There was no response. “Hello. Are you there? I need to talk to you before then. You, and your sister.”

  “We’ll see you on Wednesday,” a faint voice came through the line. “Until then remember there’s no such thing as lost time.”

  Then the line went dead. Teagan pulled the phone down from his ear, and stared at it, then put it back up. “Hello?” he said, but the caller was gone.

  What was that about? he thought.

  How did they get my number?

  He stared out the window, and rubbed his eye trying to get it to stop twitching. He thought about the night’s events and then swallowed back tears.

  He had seen his grandmother. Touched her. Smelled her perfume. It was real, yet he was having a hard time understanding what happened.

  He hadn’t been able to save her. He’d tried, and he couldn’t do it. He closed his eyes and wondered what kind of nightmares would he have that night.

  ͽͼͽͼͽͼͽͼͽͼͽͼͽͼͽͼͽͼͽͼͽͼͽͼͽͼͽͼͽͼͽͼͽͼͽͼ

  Teagan bolted up from a fitful night of sleep. He sat straight up and looked around the room. Then in the bed next to him. No one was there. He swiped his hand across his face.

  “Holy crap,” he said. “Did I just dream all of that?”

  He felt like Ebenezer Scrooge waking up after being visited by his three ghosts.

  “No. It wasn’t a dream,” he said looking around the room. “I was really there.”

  “Sheesh!” He ran his hand over his hair. “I must be a big disappointment to my grandmother,” he said and fell back on the bed and pulled the covers up over him. “God. All those good things she said about me. All the faith she had in me. Even my father was proud of what I’d accomplished with my grandmother.”