Murderous Matrimony(12)

The fortune teller sighed. “Our options are limited. There are spells that can scrape a spirit away from another, but that would mean wishing Wanda on someone else. Are you prepared to do that?”

I thought about it—I really thought about it. How could I wish an evil, naked, blue dead woman on someone else and ruin their lives? At least I understood what she was all about. She could make someone else have a heart attack, or worse.

“I can’t do that, as much as I might want to. Isn’t there something else?”

Madame Lucinda smiled at me. “I can’t do anything more for you, but there might be someone who can. I’m expecting him soon, in fact, he may be here already.”

“Who is it?” I tried to think of anyone who could help with the Wanda problem. My list of friends and family, even on Facebook, didn’t include someone with Ghostbuster qualifications.

“He is a powerful sorcerer. Your friend, Wanda, met him long ago. He gave her a trinket that she cherished until she died. He won’t leave it here with anyone else. He’ll be back for it, and when he comes, you can ask him to take Wanda away. He’ll know what to do.”

The whole sorcerer angle of that plan left me a little unhappy. I’d known sorcerers since I’d started coming to the Ren Faire when I first got out of college. As far as I could tell, they specialized in BS, and trying to get free meals and rides out of town. I didn’t believe there was one who would take Wanda anywhere with him.

“Well, thanks anyway. I guess I’ll keep looking into it.” I got up from the little table. It’s not like I hadn’t asked her before, and the answer was never forthcoming. She might have a dragon, but she either didn’t know how to get rid of a ghost, or she wasn’t telling.

“Do you have the trinket, Jessie?”

“Oh! I have some change that might have some silver in it.” I reached into my pocket. There was an older silver dime in there.

Her eyes got big and greedy when I held it out, and she snatched it from my hand.

“Thank you.” She smoothed back her hair and wiped her hands on a small towel as though she’d just eaten. “But I was referring to the trinket the sorcerer gave to Wanda. Is it in your possession?”

“If you’re talking about Wanda’s enchanted bracelet, I have it. I have all of her personal possessions. The police gave them to me because there was no one else to take them. We weren’t friends, but I hated to just throw them away.”

She nodded and smiled. “Then the sorcerer will find you. When he does, he’ll ask if you wish a boon for the return of the trinket. You know what to say.”

It was hard not to believe in the dragon. She was sitting right there looking at me like I was a snack. But a sorcerer? Not so much.

“Don’t make the mistake of treating this request lightly,” she warned. “He is powerful, and will take what you say quite literally.”

“Sure.” So much for her help. “A sorcerer is coming to take Wanda away.” Yeah, right. “What’s his name?”

“That I cannot say. He rarely uses the same name or form twice. I dare not speak his real name. I cannot afford the cost.”

I thanked her, and eyeballed the dragon one more time. As much as I loved the Renaissance world, there were definitely some whackos in it.

I walked back outside into the blinding morning sun. Chase was approaching the tent. Someone was playing a dulcimer at the Main Gate, and a few of our bawdy ladies were welcoming visitors into the Village.

Fred, the Red Dragon, was pretending to breathe fire and giving out tickets to a fire eater’s show at the Dutchman’s Stage. I shivered thinking about Buttercup.

“You’ll never get rid of me, dearie,” Wanda purred. “I’m with you like snakes in the gutter. You’d best get accustomed to it.”

I stared hard at her, and wished I could shoot her with an arrow. Maybe it was mean, but I was really frustrated. And it wouldn’t have mattered anyway. I could shoot her with a hundred arrows and they would pass right through her. Arrgghh!

“Are you okay, Jessie?” Chase hugged me and gave me a lingering kiss. “You were staring really hard at Fred. Is something up?”

I held on to him tightly and closed my eyes. I wished it could always be this way—just me and him. Nothing bad could happen and Wanda could never get between us.

I wasn’t sure he believed me about Wanda. He hadn’t said he didn’t believe me, but he kind of didn’t treat it as seriously as I wanted him to. He didn’t seem at all nervous or uncomfortable about the idea that she was watching us when we were alone together.