Free wicked witches 06.9 - you only witch once by Amanda M. Lee Page A

mouth.”
    “I already know you guys are responsible for what happened last night,” I said. “Don’t worry about that. You’re not in trouble.” There was no way I could punish them for actions I set into motion.
    “We didn’t do anything,” Thistle said. “Clove is talking nonsense … like she always does.”
    “You’re dead to me,” Clove spat, taking a swipe at Thistle’s messy hair.
    I stepped between them, pushing their antsy bodies away from one another. “Knock that off. I already told you that you’re not in trouble.”
    “Yeah, but you could just be saying that,” Thistle said. “You’re the type who is smart enough to lie, and then when we own up to what you think we did, you’d punish us anyway.”
    That was a backhanded compliment. Kind of. “Why do you think I would punish you?”
    “I think you like it.”
    I couldn’t hide my smile. Despite her occasional obnoxiousness, Thistle has one of those personalities you can’t help but love. She’s has charisma. “I don’t like punishing you,” I said. “Besides, I can’t punish you because I’m the one who told Aunt Tillie to do what she did.”
    Thistle narrowed her eyes. “You did?” She obviously didn’t believe me.
    “I didn’t tell her to do that specifically,” I said. “I told her to make them cry. She didn’t do that.”
    “Give it time,” Thistle muttered.
    I stilled. “Time for what?”
    “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Thistle said, averting her gaze.
    “I’ll give you the leftover chocolate in the refrigerator when we get back to camp if you tell me,” I offered.
    Thistle rolled her eyes. “Are you really trying to bribe me?”
    Of course not. Thistle can’t be bribed. She’d rather go hungry for days than give in. “I was talking to Clove.”
    Clove’s dark eyes widened. “Really?”
    “I’ll curse that chocolate so it tastes like flies if you turn on me,” Thistle warned.
    She’s frightening sometimes. She’s like a tiny mixture of Aunt Tillie, Marnie and her own mother. It’s a terrifying combination. “Just tell me what the spell does.”
    “If you’re a good person, it doesn’t do anything,” Clove said, shooting a worried look in Thistle’s direction and cowering slightly at the scowl on her cousin’s face. “The worse you are … the more lies you tell … the more bad thoughts you have … the worse the spell gets.”
    I’d already started to figure that out on my own. “How long does it last?”
    “That’s up to the person infected,” Clove said. “If they try to make amends, they’ll get better. If they don’t … well … it never ends.”
    I sighed, running a hand through my hair as I studied the two girls. “It can only last until they go home. You know that, right?”
    Thistle shifted to me, her face unreadable. “You’re fine with the spell going on?”
    “I’m fine with karma working its own way out,” I said. “I’ll make sure Aunt Tillie ends the spell by the time everyone leaves tomorrow. The last thing we need is Lila’s mother coming out to the house on a rampage.”
    “I think we should cast the spell on her, too,” Thistle said.
    “Maybe if you’re really bored when school starts up,” I said, grinning. I reached over and tweaked her nose. “Enjoy the spell while you can. For now, though, we need to get back to the camp. I’ve left my sisters to their own devices for far too long. Where is Bay?”
    Thistle shrugged, and a quick scan of our surroundings caused my heart to drop. “Bay!”
    She didn’t answer.
    “Bay!”
    “Take a chill pill,” Bay said, moving into my line of sight. She’d wandered into the trees and was picking flowers as she looked around. “I’m right here.”
    “Don’t wander off,” I said.
    “I didn’t wander off,” Bay replied, irritated. “I’m right here.”
    “Come on,” I said. “We need to go back to camp.”
    “We can’t go back until I find the ghost,” Bay argued. “She needs