by TJ Green
Avery sipped her wine, grabbed a pen and paper, and started to make some notes as she read. She shook her head and frowned, hoping this would be a last resort. To cast a spell so big as to encompass the town was one thing, but to maintain it for a period of time would be something else. And actually, she reflected, it would be no better than casting love spells. It would still influence someone’s willpower.
Her phone rang, disturbing the silence, and picking it up Avery saw it was Genevieve’s number, the High Priestess of the Cornwall Coven.
“Hey Genevieve, how are you?” Avery greeted her.
“Worried,” Genevieve said, forgoing niceties. Her soft Irish voice was surprisingly abrupt.
Avery’s heart sank. “Why?”
“Beltane bloody magic. Can you feel it?”
“Yes, we can actually. We were just talking about it today, but thought it was just White Haven—you know, because of the Green Man.” Genevieve knew all about their experiences with crossroads magic.
“Well, unfortunately, it’s pretty strong here too, and the other covens are reporting it as well.” She sighed heavily. “While normally I love Beltane, of course—it’s a brilliant time of year, things just feel—” Genevieve paused, and silence fell.
“A little odd?” Avery suggested.
“To say the least. Emotions seem a little heightened. There are petty jealousies and arguments between couples, or overt and desperate flirting among strangers. It’s all very unnerving. ”
Avery leaned back in her chair and gazed through the windows to the night sky beyond. “Same here.” She told her about what Briar had reported, Alex’s dreams, and about the woman who had cried in her shop, and then Avery summoned her courage and told her what she and the White Haven witches had been debating for weeks. “By the way, Genevieve, I’m not sure if we’ll join the coven celebrations for Beltane. We might celebrate here, instead. We thought we’d observe it in Ravens’ Wood.”
Avery was expecting a complaint, but instead Genevieve sounded disappointed. “I expected as much, and that’s okay. But it would be good if you celebrated the solstice with us—please think about it.”
“Of course, I’ll talk to the others.”
Genevieve rushed on. “I’ve decided to hold a coven meeting to discuss some of this Beltane oddness that’s going on. We’re meeting on Wednesday at Oswald’s place. I know it’s short notice, but can you make it?”
“That sounds great, I’ll be there,” Avery assured her, and after another few minutes of chatting, Genevieve rang off, leaving Avery thinking about what else had been happening in White Haven, and whether she’d missed anything.
She saw her tarot cards on the shelf next to her pots of dried herbs and roots, and picked them up, shuffling them as she sat back at the table. The cards were warming already to her touch, slipping alongside one another easily, and Avery focussed only on the feel of them beneath her fingers while trying to decide her question. Should she ask if someone was casting love spells? Or if Beltane meant trouble? She decided to keep her question broad.
Would the Green Man and the Goddess bring problems to White Haven?
As she placed the cards out in the Celtic wheel, she felt a shiver run through her. Major Arcana cards were everywhere—reversed cards, royals of the suits, and finally a reversal of The Lovers dominating the whole reading. It was a powerful spread that she needed to analyse. But one thing was clear. Passions were running wild, and would only get worse.
3
When Avery walked into the shop the next morning, Sally, as usual, was already making coffee in the small kitchen, which also served as a stock room and meeting place. She turned to greet Avery, trying to plaster a smile on her face.
“Morning, Avery!”
Avery frowned. Sally was normally bright-eyed and cheerful, but today she looked flushed and her eyes were swollen. “Sally! What’s wrong? Are you upset?”
Sally quickly turned away. “I’m fine, sorry, just ignore me!”
Avery rushed over to the counter and turned Sally around, her hand resting gently on her back. “You are not fine. What’s happened?”
Sally started to cry again, tears welling up and pouring down her cheeks, and she whipped a tissue out and wiped them away. “I had an argument with Sam, that’s all.” She shook her head. “It was so silly! I don’t know what came over me.”
Sam was Sally’s husband; they had been married for years and had two small children. They were childhood sweethearts, and Avery had never heard of them having cross words before, at least nothing significant.
“This is so unlike you two,” Avery said, voicing her concerns. She tried to reassure her. “You’re my role model for happily ever after! I’m sure it can’t be anything really bad.”
“It was! I got so jealous last night, and we had this massive argument this morning! It was just the way he looked at her—as if I wasn’t there!”
Sally burst into fresh tears and Avery hugged her close, feeling Sally trembling against her. A horribly slow, insidious fear began to creep though Avery, and she stroked Sally’s hair.
“You two are the happiest couple I know! This doesn’t make sense, Sally.”
Sally pulled away, sniffing. “I know!”
Avery directed her to a chair at the table, poured coffee for both of them, and then sat next to Sally. “Tell me what happened.”
“We went out for dinner last night with friends—old friends, really good friends—and everything was fine at first. And then Sam just seemed to be flirting with Laura—and she flirted right back!”
Avery frowned. “But friends do flirt, it’s harmless! Reuben flirts with me constantly, and it doesn’t mean anything. Alex flirts, too. He flirts with you!”
Sally met her eyes. “I know. It’s usually just harmless fun. But this didn’t feel harmless, and I couldn’t brush it off. I got home and it ate away at me all night. I barely slept! So I brought it up this morning, and he told me I was overreacting and we had a massive row! He stormed out, and I got the kids to school and came here.”
Avery fell silent while she watched Sally sip her coffee in between sniffs and tears. Was this Beltane magic? Or a spell? Two women crying in two days in her shop was unusual. Especially since one of them was Sally. Or was it really just an argument? People had them all the time...
“How do you feel now?” Avery asked her. “I mean, are you still jealous? Do you look back at last night and think you overreacted?”
Sally thought for a moment. “Yes, I still feel jealous. Like I have this twisting knife in me. But I know it’s irrational, too. I trust Sam—I really do. But he did seem odd last night, both of them did.”
“What about Laura’s husband?”
“I think he was fine.” She covered her hands with her face. “I don’t know! I feel like an idiot now.”
Avery sipped her coffee and came to a decision. “Sally, I don’t think this is entirely normal.”
“What do you mean?” Sally asked. Her hands dropped and she looked at her wide-eyed.
“I think Beltane magic is playing with people’s emotions. The Green Man and the Goddess are rising, their energies are spilling over into everything. At least, I hope that’s it. My other sneaky worry is that there’s some kind of love spell going around.”
“This is what love spells do?” Sally looked horrified.
“Love is a strong emotion. If you subvert it, or try to replicate it, all sorts of horrible, unforeseen things can happen.”
“Who would do such a thing?”
Avery shrugged. “I don’t know...and I could be wrong. It could be Beltane magic on overload.”
“But if it isn’t, is this spell directed at me? Is someone trying to break up my marriage?” All of a sudden, Sally had gone from tearful to furious. “I’ll kill them!”
“Slow down! There’ll be no killing! I don’t think you’ve been targeted deliberately—at least, I hope not. I did a reading last night, and the tarot certainly suggested h
eightened emotions, and Alex is having strange dreams. I spoke to Genevieve last night, and it sounds like this unusual behaviour is happening all over Cornwall—arguments, jealousies, and exaggerated flirting. The coven is meeting tomorrow, and I’ll know more then.”
Sally sighed and leaned back in her chair. “That actually makes me feel better. I’ve never felt like this before. It’s sort of uncontrollable, but to know it’s a fake emotion helps.”
“It’s not a fake emotion,” Avery warned her. “It’s very real, though the reasons behind it are fake. But you and Sam are amazing. You’ll work it out.”
“How are you and Alex?” Sally asked. “Anything weird going on with you?”
“Not at the moment!” Avery grinned. “It’s awesome living together—even if he makes me tidier than I want to be. And he’s a great cook.”
Sally smiled, and Avery saw her shoulders drop as the tension seeped out of her. “Good. He makes you all glowy.” She pulled her phone out of her pocket. “I’m going to phone Sam.”
Avery stood up and carried their cups to the sink. “Good luck. I’ll leave you to it.”
As Avery entered Happenstance Books, shutting the door to the back room firmly behind her, she sighed and leaned against it with relief. What a start to the day! She took a few deep breaths and then walked through the shop, spelling on lights, burning incense, and reinforcing her spells. She paused at the window, admiring the bunting that was hanging across the road. There were only a few pedestrians at this hour—it wasn’t even nine o’clock yet—but they stopped to admire the decorations, taking photos and posing together. The tourists were filling up the town, and the cafés would be full later.
Maybe she should add another spell to the shop, something to provide calmness and serenity. It would protect the staff, as well as the customers. Avery nodded to herself as she unlocked the door. She’d do that later.
It was a busy morning, and it was almost time for lunch when Avery, Dan, and Sally were able to pause and share a coffee at the counter.
Sally pulled out a packet of shortbread biscuits from a drawer and handed them around, and Avery was pleased to see she looked more like her usual self. Avery was reaching for her second biscuit when the door swung open and Shadow walked in, gazing around imperiously before finally settling on the three of them.
Shadow was the fey who’d been stranded when the Wild Hunt had broken through the veils between worlds at Samhain the year before, and she now lived with Gabe and the six other Nephilim. She headed towards them with a broad smile, as usual clad in skinny jeans and boots, and as usual Dan smiled dreamily as his eyes travelled over her enviable figure.
She helped herself to a biscuit. “How are you three in these wild and unusual times?”
“Wild and unusual?” Dan asked, puzzled. “Why? What have you done?”
“Me? I never do anything!”
Her violet eyes challenged them to disagree, but Avery wasn’t buying it. “You’re always up to something. I hear your new business is proving interesting.”
Shadow’s lips twitched. “It’s certainly given us some interesting ways to earn money.”
Avery leaned forward and lowered her voice. “Are you stealing things?”
“We call it liberating things, actually.”
Sally laughed. “Same thing!”
Shadow tossed her long, caramel-toned hair that was likely to change colour frequently due to her fey ability to add glamour to herself. “Actually, it’s not. We are hoping to find things that have been lost for a long time. And yes,” she conceded, “some of those may have been lost in certain dusty collections.”
“I knew it!” Dan said, narrowing his eyes. “You’ve been a very bad girl.”
“But that’s what you like about me, Dan!” She flashed him her biggest smile, and he wilted.
Avery interrupted their flirt fest. “What were you saying about wild and unusual times? Do you mean Beltane?”
“I mean many things! Our new employer is very unusual, and yes, Beltane as you call it, has given the town a restless energy.”
“You mean the Green Man and the Goddess?” Avery suggested.
Shadow nodded. “I must admit, their wildness is coursing through my veins acutely. Do you feel them?”
“Them?” Avery asked, alarmed. “We can feel him! Do you feel the Goddess, too?”
“Oh yes! She has to meet him with her own strength and power. They are equals. If you can’t feel her yet, you will.”
Shadow said this with such a tone of finality that Avery didn’t doubt her. And actually, it made perfect sense. But it was unnerving. “Briar tells me Eli is having trouble with his harem.”
“Lucky bugger,” Dan said.
“Not lucky!” Shadow told him, laughing. “It’s his own fault. He’s being stalked by one of them.”
“What?” Sally said, shocked.
“I know!” She leaned forward to share her gossip. “She hangs around the shop all day, and tries to follow him home. I offered to scare her off, but he refused.” She looked disappointed.
“Probably wise,” Avery told her. “Any suggestions as to what we can do about this rampant energy?”
Shadow crunched on her biscuit as she thought. “Not a lot, actually. As spring rises, so do they. He’s a nature spirit who’s reaching his zenith and feeling very sexually charged, and so is the Goddess! They are reaching their sexual peak together.”
Dan sniggered at that, and Sally smacked his arm. “This isn’t funny!”
“Yes, it is! I might actually get laid.”
Sally smacked his arm again. “Dan!”
“What? I can feel my blood stirring, too!”
“By the great Goddess,” Avery muttered. “That’s all I need! A randy assistant. You’re as bad as Reuben. He keeps talking about phallic symbols!”
“That’s what the maypole is! He’s quite right about that.”
Shadow looked intrigued. “We have such symbols and celebrations in the Otherworld. Our traditions have obviously mingled. We celebrate our spring with more magic, though, and it’s when many fey choose to wed under the eyes of the great Goddess—in the open, you understand, under the sky. We don’t have churches.”
Avery frowned. “Do Gabe and the others feel the change in energy?”
“Of course. Although, as you know, they have a little more resistance to magic than most. El has asked us to come to dinner, so me and Gabe will see you on Friday night.”
“Great!” Avery felt relieved. It would be good to get their perspective on things, and it would be good to see more of Gabe. He was always so elusive.
“Anyway, I need a few books,” Shadow said brightly, “on John Dee.”
Sally frowned. “Who’s that?”
“The Virgin Queen’s magician!”
History wasn’t Avery’s best subject, but the name did seem familiar. “Didn’t he talk to angels?”
“Amongst other things!” Shadow said, raising a speculative eyebrow.
Dan was already making his way around the counter to her side. “Interesting! Let me take you to the history section, Madam. Any reason why you’re researching him?”
“Just brushing up on my history,” she told him as she followed him into the stacks and their voices faded.
Sally snorted. “Brushing up on history, my ass! That woman never does anything without good reason.”
Avery had to agree. Shadow was surely up to something.
4
Avery sat across the table from Alex, sipped her wine, and looked around the room at the crowded pub.
“I don’t get why this place is so popular,” she said. “Your pub is much nicer!”
Alex grinned. “Oh, I don’t know. It has its charms. There are hordes of women here!”
She pretended to be outraged. “You shouldn’t be looking!”
“To be honest, I can’t help it. They’re not wearing much, either!”
Avery had to concede he was right. They were in The F
lying Fish, and it was well known for being a place where singles went looking for action. The women were dressed in strappy dresses and heels, or skin-tight jeans and plunging t-shirts, and the men were showing off their muscled arms and wearing very well fitting jeans. And the whole place smelt strongly of perfume, aftershave, and hormones.
“It all feels a bit obvious, though!” she said, wrinkling her nose.
“Just think,” Alex joked, “if you hadn’t rescued me from singleness, this could be me, desperately trying to find a woman so I wouldn’t die alone.”
“I think it’s less about dying alone than having to sleep alone!” she pointed out. “The real question is, though, can you sense any magic?”
“Only yours, my love.” He picked up her hand and kissed it.
Avery laughed. “You really are full of it tonight.”
“I mean it! You are more beautiful than any other woman here.” He held her gaze with his dark eyes that were starting to smoulder with desire, and Avery felt heat radiate from his touch, sending a shiver though her. “Maybe we should skip food and just go home.”
“We’ll be home soon enough,” Avery said, fighting a strong urge to lean across the table and snog Alex. She fanned herself. “You’re making me hot!”
“Good. But you’re right. Business before pleasure. What do you suggest?” They were on the upper floor, and he nodded towards the bar. “I could ask the bar staff about their recent bookings.”
“Would they tell you?”
He shrugged. “I know a couple of them, but not well. But if not, a little glamour wouldn’t hurt.”
She’d already told him about her phone call with Genevieve, and she asked, “Have you felt anything in your pub today, or seen anything strange?”
Alex frowned. “I guess everyone does seem a bit more flirty than usual, but that could be because I’m looking for it now. One of the customers was coming on a bit strong to Kate earlier. I was going to intervene, but she set him straight quickly enough. Of course, that could have been anything, though.”