Spellbound Read Online Free Page B

car. Enough to be annoying. Not enough to actually make a pit stop to buy an umbrella.
    The people lined up outside the theater weren’t happy about the weather either, not when they had another twenty minutes before the doors opened. The marquee read WORLD-RENOWNED SPIRITUALIST JAIME VEGAS. ONE NIGHT ONLY. A banner across it announced that the show was sold out.
    Jaime always sold out. If she didn’t, she’d book herself into a smaller venue the next time. She figured that as long as people knew it wasn’t easy getting tickets to her show, they’d keep coming, and she’d have a reason to keep touring, which she loved.
    We walked along the line. When we turned to head into the theater, a middle-aged woman stepped into my path.
    â€œThe line starts back there,” she said, pointing.
    â€œNo, actually, it starts right there.” I gestured to the front. “Which is where we’re going.”
    As I circled past her, Adam whispered, “That’s why we’re supposed to go in the back door.”
    â€œThis makes me feel special. Right now, I really need to feel special.”
    â€œYou’ll feel really special when you’re fighting a lynch mob without your spells.”
    â€œNo, I’ll leave that to you. One spark, and with all that polyester, the whole mob will go up in flames.”
    I walked to the glass doors and peered through. Inside I could see a few security guards.
    Adam swung open the door and held it for me.
    â€œHey, Steve,” he said to a burly bald guy.
    I didn’t recognize the guard, let alone know his name. Adam would say that’s why I needed to pay more attention. I’d point out that the guard didn’t recognize Adam either. His gaze had gone right to me, and he smiled.
    â€œSavannah, right?” he said.
    I nodded.
    â€œI didn’t see you guys on the list,” Steve said, reaching for a clipboard on the podium.
    â€œWe aren’t,” I said. “It’s a surprise visit.”
    â€œSure. I’ll buzz Kat and have her take you to Jaime.”
    I could have said that Jaime’s assistant really didn’t need to be playing guide an hour before curtain time. But this was a polite way of saying he needed confirmation before letting us in.
    A few minutes later, a young woman with a clipboard, earpiece, and cotton-candy pink hair zoomed through the auditorium door.
    â€œHey, guys,” she said. “Good to see you. Come on through.”
    We picked our way through a hive of buzzing workers. Kat alternated between barking orders and chatting with us. She knew Jaime had popped down to Portland to visit us, so she wasn’t surprised to see us here.
    Actually, Jaime had come to check on me in the hospital, and relay her side of the events that had played out in Columbus. My mother had been hunting Leah from the afterlife, with Jaime helping out on this side. Leah had been clever, though, alternating between bodies and keeping Mom and Jaime chasing the other one, while she cozied up to me through Jesse.
    When we arrived outside Jaime’s dressing room, I could faintly hear her voice through the door. A one-sided conversation. That’s not surprising for someone who can speak to the dead. Also not surprising that Jaime opened the door with her cell phone to her ear, pretending to be carrying on a conversation with an actual person. The surprising part was that she was fully dressed. And, as it turned out, she was talking to an actual person.
    â€œIt’s Hope,” she said to me. Then, “Can I put you on speaker?”
    Jaime set the phone down on the table and disappeared behind a screen to dress. If Adam wasn’t there, she wouldn’t have bothered hiding. Jaime definitely hadn’t been one of those high school girls who’d ducked into a bathroom stall to change for gym. I guard my privacy a little more closely, but if I have Jaime’s figure at forty-seven, I might not hide