Sticky Fingers

Chapter 1

"Hospitals creep me out," Kody told Laney as they walked down the white hallway,his cane clicking on the lenoleom floor. They past open doors with sick people lying in their beds, trying not to glance inside in fear of seeing something he shouldn't. He was accompanying Laney to visit her aunt who had just had surgery."I know what you mean," Laney said. "Every once in a while, out of the corner of my eye, I'll catch a glimpse of someone staring at me but when I turn to face them, there's no one there." "Ghost?" Kody asked, fear tinging his tone. Laney shrugged. "With my magical talents, I wouldn't be surprised."Kody smiled. "You mean because you're one-sixteenth necromancer?"Laney narrowed her eyes at her friend as the turned the next corner. "Did I or did I not bring a dead cat back to life?" And every other dead creature within a half mile radius. But they weren't supposed to talk about that."Beginners luck," Kody teased. He knew she had raw talent with the rare magic. He witnessed it first hand. She was powerful though woefully untrained. He was surprise that she would dare bring that up in public. He enjoyed seeing her eyes narrow as she looked at each room number they passed. Laney must've been living in her head by the way she went right past room 394. He pointed to a door on their right. "Isn't this your Aunt Amanda's room?"They stopped in front of the open door, hesitant to just walk in. When Laney didn't move, Kody knocked on the door frame to announce their entrance. He pushed Laney to enter first. "Aunt Amanda?" Laney called as the peeked around the first closed curtain.Sitting up in the bed was a beautiful woman with bright auburn hair and a smile spreading across her face as Laney and Kody stepped further inside. "Oh, Laney! How sweet of you to come." As soon as she saw Kody, Aunt Amanda fussed with her hair to make sure she looked presentable. "And who did you bring with you?""Sorry," Laney said, embarrassed about her bad manners. "This is my friend, Kody. He's fairly new to Salmagundi."Amanda held out her left hand to Kody, her good hand. "Nice to meet a friend of Laney's. And such a handsome one, too."Laney's face burned with embarrassment at her aunt's words and nearly burst into flames at the wink she gave her. She needed to change the subject before her aunt started planning their wedding. "How did the surgery go?"At the mention of her surgery, Aunt Amanda finally let go of Kody's hand. "It went fine. My wrist is sore, of course and that nurse out there keeps insisting that I take this one potion for the pain but I'm allergic to dandelion root . You know that."Laney nodded. Her aunt was allergic to many of the typical potion ingredients and had to rely mainly on charms and spells for healing her ailments. Laney's mom had spent months convincing her sister to allow the doctors to perform surgery when the nightly rituals weren't helping."What did they do, exactly?" Kody asked, nodding toward her right wrist wrapped in guaze. He sat in the chair on one side of the bed, resting his cane against the inside of his leg."It's quite amazing, actually," Amanda said. "When the doctor scooped out the cyst, it left a hole in my bone so he used cadaver bone material to fill it in." She hissed and clutched her arm to her chest. "The anesthesia wore off. It sure hurts.""Cadaver bone?" Kody asked. "That's kinda gross."Laney perked up at the mention of pain. "I learned a new spell at school this week that should help you feel better. I could cast it on your wrist, if you'd like." Excitement bubbled in her veins at the thought of actually helping someone out with her magic. During class, they practiced on each other with minor wounds. Now was her chance to wield magic in a real situation.Aunt Amanda's shoulders sagged in relief. "That would be so nice of you. Anything to avoid those darn pills." She held out her arm toward Laney."Are you sure you want to do this?" Kody asked, knowing his friend could sometimes mess up the easiest of spells. The memory of what she put that poor stray cat through before trying to resurect the dead made his shiver. Laney threw a glare his way while she rubbed her palms together. "This is a very basic pain spell that we were working on all week in class. I got this." Laney shook out her warm hands and then reached out to grasp her aunt's wrist. As soon as her fingertips brushed the bandage, a sharp tingle shot up Laney's arm, similar to an electric shock. Aunt Amanda yanked her arm back. "Ow. You need to remember to pick up your feet when you walk. I forgot how you used to always shock me when you were little." She frowned as rubbed her arm just above her elbow, as if contemplating whether or not to continue with the spell. "That was a doozy.""Sorry," Laney said, redness creeping up her neck. She tapped her fingers on the metal tray next to the bed before reaching out to take her aunt's hand again. This time there were no shocks when they touched. Aunt Amanda sighed and then nodded for Laney to continue. Kody watched watched carefully as Laney chanted the spell while waving one hand over Amanda's wrist. Once Laney was finished, Kody glanced around the room and peeked out into the hall for any signs that her magic caused anything other than what was intended. When everything seemed normal, he looked to her Aunt Amanda. "Any pain now?" he asked."No," she said in amazement as she moved her wrist, twirling it around. "It feels wonderful. Better than it did before I developed the cyst." Amanda reached out and placed her bandaged hand on Laney's arm. "Thank you, Sweetie. You really are becoming quite the talented witch. You know," she said as she lowered her voice to a whisper. "We were a little worried that you'd never get the hang of using magic.""You weren't the only one," Laney said, glancing over to Kody to make sure he wasn't going to make some comment. "I've been practicing everyday.""And it shows." The smile that spread over Amanda's face as she regarded her niece warmed Laney's heart. With all the powerful witches in the family, Laney was proud she wasn't dissappointing them.Kody cleared his throat as he stood, leaning on his cane. "It was real nice meeting you, Aunt Amanda, but Laney and I have some homework to get to."Amanda's brow wrinkled in confusion. "Homework? On a Friday ni—" At Kody's raised eyebrow, Amanda clued herself in. "Oh, of course. You got to keep up on those assignments. I wouldn't dream of holding you back."Laney leaned over and hugged her favorite aunt. "I'm glad you're feeling better. Give me a call if you need me to cast the spell again.""I doubt I'll need a second dose, I feel so good but you'll be the first one I call if anything changes," Aunt Amanda said. She gave Kody a hug, too with a conspiritory wink behind Laney's back.As the two of them walked back down the hallway, Laney glanced over at her friend. "What homework do we have to do?"Kody shrugged. "I just needed to get some air and I did't want to insult your aunt. Let's go get some coffee."