Shadow Witch Read Online Free Page A

up on our doorstep .
    Her musings were interrupted by a light tap on her door. A small, timid voice said, “Fred, can I come in?”
    “Sure.”
    Sammi stepped inside, gently closed the door, and hurried on tiptoes across the hardwood floor to Fred’s bed.
    Fred drew back the covers and felt a sudden swell of affection for the vulnerable little girl as she climbed in, and Fred scooted over to make room for her. “I thought you would be asleep by now,” Fred said, and pulled the lightweight blanket over both of them.
    “I’m too scared.” She pressed against Fred’s side, and Fred could feel her trembling.
    “There’s nothing to be afraid of here. You’re safe.”
    “You don’t know Mr. Gundy.”
    “That’s true, but if he shows up, do you want Jamie to blast him, like this?” Fred poked her fingers into Sammi’s ribs, and the little girl giggled.
    “Can Jamie make him go to that world where he put the two bad witches?”
    “You know about that?”
    “Unh hunh. I know lots of stuff.”
    Fred shook her head in the dark. “You might want to keep some of that to yourself, at least for now. My dad seemed a little ticked off that you’ve been listening to us. It’s not polite to eavesdrop, you know.”
    “I can’t help it most of the time. I hear stuff. I don’t try to, I just do.”
    “There must be millions of people talking in shadows all the time. How do you filter it all out?”
    “I usually only hear people talking about magic, or something that’s important to me.”
    “But there are probably thousands of people talking about magic at any given time.”
    “I used to hear so many people at once that I couldn’t pick anything out, but now I mostly hear certain things.”
    “Maybe it changes as you get older.” Fred absent-mindedly rubbed her cheek with one hand while she thought of her next question. “Can you tune in to whoever you want?”
    “Sometimes, kinda. Ever since I started hearing you and Jamie and everybody, I’ve been trying harder to focus on you. I’m getting better at it.”
    Fred inhaled deeply through her nose and chewed on a fingernail. “I wonder why you heard us in the first place. Do you really think it’s because it was important to you?” She felt Sammi shrug, and Fred said, “Jamie is going to want to talk to you about your magic the first chance he gets, so be ready for that. And I probably should tell Momma Sue about you.”
    “She’s the voodoo queen?”
    “Yes, and she’s going to want to meet you, I’m sure. Mrs. Malley probably will, too. Shadow Witches are extremely rare, from what I’m told.”
    “Momma Sue and Mrs. Malley are friends.”
    “Do you know that from listening in on them?”
    No, from you and Jamie talking about them. I can’t hear Momma Sue or Mrs. Malley ’cause of their magic.”
    “I’m not surprised. Maybe I need to learn how they block you so I can keep you from listening in on me and stealing all my secrets.” She tickled Sammi again, and Sammi shrieked until Fred shushed her. “You’ll wake my parents, and my dad will be mad at you.”
    Sammi was silent for a long moment before saying, “I don’t want your daddy to be mad at me. I want him to like me.”
    “I think he will. He loves kids.”
    “I know. So does your mommy.”
    “Yes. Jamie’s and Rollie’s parents do, too.”
    “Everybody here always sounds so happy when I listen to you, except when you fuss with your mommy.”
    “Yeah, I do that a lot, lately.”
    “You shouldn’t do that. Your mommy is a good person.”
    “I know. I can’t help it. It’s the way I am.”
    “You’re a firecracker.”
    “That’s me. Fred the Firecracker.”
    Sammi made a little happy grunting sound and rested her head on Fred’s shoulder. “Fred, I don’t want to go to another foster home. I want to stay here.”
    “Why?”
    “Because everybody is happy and everybody loves each other so much. Please, can I stay here?”
    “It’s not up to me, Sammi.”
    “But if