Prin rubbed her hands together in a gleeful manner, taking the sting from Sara’s words. “I think I’m going to like this.”
Sara said, “Tell us your story. Start when you were young and when you first ran into trouble and ran away to become a sailor.”
“Well, it didn’t happen like that, or not all at once. But small things happened and over time. Stories started to be spread.” Brice talked as he looked off into the distance and remembered. “At home, there was a boy who didn’t like me when we were growing up. I avoided him most of the time, but when he did catch me, he would beat me just because he was bigger and he enjoyed it.”
At the long pause, Sara filled in, “Then one day, something different happened.”
“When he swung, it was like his hand hit a wall. He wore a bandage, and after that, his fingers were twisted. He said I did it to him and people hardly talked to me.”
“Your mind protected your body. Understandable. What else?”
“There were a few other things, and stories got around, but nothing serious. But a little over a year ago, our family farm was drying up in a drought. I was worried, like everyone else, and one night I woke and there was rain. Our crops were saved.”
Prin said, “That sounds like a good thing.”
“It only rained on our farm.”
Sara said, “I take it the other farmers were not happy with you?”
“They decided I prevented the rain from falling on their farms so our crops would sell for more. They came in a crowd one night just after dark, carrying pitchforks and knives, and one brought a rope to hang me. They destroyed all we grew.”
“You got away?” Prin asked.
“I wanted to stay there and tell them I had nothing to do with any of that, but my father sent me away and told me to get to Dinsmore and beg for a job as a deckhand on any ship that would take me far away.”
Sara said, “Skipping ahead, things happened on the ship?”
“A few times, all of them things that helped the ship like a wind that helped us, but other ships were becalmed. The finger was pointed at me. They said I used magic.”
“And they were probably right. I think that some people can almost see that fuzziness, or they have the impression from it. Maybe they feel it when around you.” Sara paused and then said, “We have to find out how to keep people from figuring out who you are, and that means you have to learn to control your powers, at least enough to shut them down.”
“Do you know how to do that?” he asked.
“No. But we have some books.” She took a pen and paper from her sea bag and began making a list. She used the notebooks she had been studying for more and finally handed it to him. Read each of these to me.”
Brice hesitantly read them, stumbling on several, correcting himself a few times and asked for help on others. He was clearly a better reader than Prin, but not accomplished. After reading through the list once, she made him repeat it, and he got them all right. Sara slipped several coins into his hand and sent him to the market after offering advice on the items, and a stern warning to skip the effort if anyone watched him, or if he felt they were taking too much interest in him.
He placed his hat on his head and left.
Prin tasted the soup again, and agreed spices were needed especially more salt. She turned to Sara, who was reading a page she’d just marked. “Find something?”
“I remembered a spell from reading this book on the ship. It has to do with hair. If they are searching for a blonde girl and one with black hair, or two without hair, we can change that. I think I can turn our hair brown, and we can let ours grow out, so we don’t look so strange.”
“But spells weaken over time. Our hair will turn the natural color as it grows.”
“All true. But nothing says we can’t repeat the spell.”
Prin said, “When you cast a spell for a woman to make a man fall in love with her, it gets weaker over time, like the no-see-me spell Evelyn gave me. When that spell wears off, what happens?”
“Well, you’re right. But the man never hated her, he just hadn’t looked at her in the same way. As for the woman, she always believes she can change him and turn him into what she wants, which is beyond any spell I’ve ever heard of.”
They laughed at Sara’s comment, but when Prin considered her finger drawing heat from the rest of her hand, she wondered where the love was drawn from.
Sara listened to the question and said, “If I know the man loves dogs or cherry pie, I pull some from there, so he likes dogs and cherry pie instead of loves it. The extra affection is given to the woman.”
Prin said, “Do you ever question what you do?”
“No. There have been times when I didn’t think a woman should love a particular man, and I either refused to make the potent, or lied and said I did. Why? I know you’re going to ask me that, next.”
“Nope. I think I understand. At least I’m beginning to. Tell me about the hair spell.”
“I have part of the things needed. One of the ingredients will be harder, because it is a hair, and neither of us has any, which is almost a bad joke. We want to color our hair, but cannot because we don’t have any of the colors we want.”
“Eyebrows?”
“That might work. Want to try it?” Sara asked.
“Tonight?”
“Now.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Sara gathered the materials she needed for the spell, including a spoonful of brown mud from plant container. She measured carefully and placed a pinch on Prin’s head, then repeated the process with her own head. She read from the notebook, slowly and carefully, making sure to say each word correctly.
Prin waited, and nothing happened. She looked at Sara questioning her silently.
Sara said, “Almost funny, but not. Our first spell together and I just realized we won’t know if it worked until our hair grows out.”
Prin ran her hand over her bald head. “I feel the problem. If it worked, I didn’t feel anything like a spell. Those words you said, rhymed.”
“They usually do. It makes it easier to remember the enchantment.”
“Can I do one?” Prin asked. “I’m still not convinced of any of this.”
“Let’s find a small spell you can do.”
Sara thumbed through the notebook and paused. “Evelyn put a no-see-me spell on you?”
“Well, sort of. What she did was give us a powder, and when I didn’t want people to look at me, I sprinkled it over my head. It wore off before the end of the day.”
“That makes sense. I think I found the same or a similar spell. We just need to gather a few more things, all common enough.”
“I like that. The spell lets people look past me, but what if we used less of it? Would it mean people would ignore us? Or maybe just not pay attention to us?”
“Why would you want that?”
“Well, if we went shopping and I wore the no-see-me spell, I couldn’t buy anything because the vendors couldn’t see me.” Prin shrugged as if that explanation told all.
Before Sara could respond, the door crashed open, and Brice entered, out of breath and scared. “I heard a man yelling and making threats at the rental place where the woman that rented this to us works, so I moved closer and listened.”
His speech was broken by gasps for air. Sara motioned for Prin to wait before asking questions. He managed to draw a deeper breath. “Mrs. Lamont. A man wearing a green shirt was asking her about renting rooms to anyone with a girl.”