Roman smiled. “That’s the Ettie I know!”
“My first stop is getting rid of the tail epidemic. After that, I’m going to win over the people of Watersedge.” I flung my purse over my shoulder, wiped my eyes one final time on my sleeve, and took Roman’s hand. “Care to come along?”
“I’m beginning to discover that life with you is a bit of an adventure.” He laughed. “An adventure I didn’t even know I needed.”
I nudged him with my hip. “An adventure like all those old movies we watch together?”
He shook his head, grabbing me and pulling me in for a kiss. Before his lips touched mine, he whispered, “Better than any movie I’ve ever watched.”
“Just wait,” I teased, the wobbliness of my voice gone and now filled with determination. “Our life is going to be more than an adventure. It’s going to be epic.”
He flashed me his dimples. “I can hardly wait.”
Chapter Twelve
Roman and I followed a police car to Watersedge Elementary School. Officer Gates escorted us into the first of the second-grade classrooms.
The room was different than what I remembered as a child. Little desks were pushed together to form pods with tiny chairs I was sure I’d tip over. The walls were lined with shelf after shelf of books, games, and supplies. An adult-sized desk was at the head of the classroom in front of a huge whiteboard that nearly covered the entire wall. What happened to good old-fashioned chalkboards? A cup of pens and pencils, more books, and piles of papers were scattered on the teacher’s desk.
“Notice anything magical?” Officer Gates asked, folding her arms over her chest and leaning against the doorframe.
“No,” both Roman and I said, nearly simultaneously while walking around the room and running our hands over many of the items, trying to sense for even the tiniest bit of magic.
After we did our best to assess the first room, Officer Gates took us across the hallway to the next second grade classroom. This area looked a bit different from the first. The pods of desks were larger, the shelves a bit more organized, and the teacher’s desk had nothing on top other than their cup of pencils. It was interesting how a teacher’s personality came out in their classroom setup.
“Still nothing,” I said, dragging my finger across a desk surface. Nothing here gave me the sensation of magic.
“Officer Gates, I didn’t expect you to be back.” A woman in her late forties with a nice blazer and jeans stood in the open doorway.
“Principle Prusa,” Officer Gates said. “Do you know Ettie and Roman Sunward?”
The principle wrinkled her nose, then nodded. “Of course. They’re the new local ‘celebrities,’ but I wasn’t aware they had children.”
“We don’t…at least not yet,” I said. “Officer Gates brought us down here because of the tail fiasco. We were looking for something that could have cursed all the children.”
“Matthew Fleming had it first,” Principal Prusa said. “Didn’t the paper report it was contagious?”
Roman stepped forward. “Magic isn’t contagious. I mean, it can be if the spell is laid right, but if it was contagious, all the children’s parents would have a tail as well, and their siblings too. It seems whatever is causing these children to grow a tail is confined to these two classrooms. Or perhaps, their playground. Or a bus they all took.”
I leaned back on the teacher’s desk, sending the container of pencils scattering across the surface. I sprang up, scooping each pencil up and righting it in the cup. Once they were all in there, I tried to recreate the order of the teacher, but failed as one pencil didn’t want to stay in place.
Come to think of it, it had that tingle…like that of magic.
I pulled it out, laying it flat in my hand. The eraser end was much heavier than the pointed part. Odd for a regular old pencil. I snapped it in half, seeing exactly what I thought.
Beneath the eraser was a small, enchanted stone. “Look in their desks.” The cover of the first desk opened with a squeak of the hinge to reveal the same lime green pencil. I cracked it open, confirming another stone hidden inside.
“You figured it out!” The smile on Roman’s face was ear-to-ear, showing off nearly all his teeth.
“See, I am innocent!” I said. “These pencils are what caused all the kids to grow a tail. Where did they come from?”
Principal Prusa shook her head. “I’m not sure. Anywhere, I suppose. Let me call Mrs. Tate.” She pulled a phone from her pocket and had it up to her ear in no time, stepping into the hallway for privacy. Roman and I gathered all the pencils from each desk. Soon, I held a wad of them in my hand, saying the magic words, “In hoc magicae removere leporem.”
I laid the charm-free pencils on the desk and collected similar pencils from the other room, repeating the spell reversal. And it was that simple. Everyone should be tail-free…and hopefully, whisker free, as well.
The principal found us in the other room. “I called both second grade teachers and neither of them knew where the pencils came from. They said they just appeared in each desk this past Tuesday,” she looked at me as she said the next part, “like magic.”
I ground my teeth. So, I found the hexed pencils. Probably lifted the curse on the children as well, but it didn’t truly prove my innocence.
“What’s wrong?” Roman asked.
“I just wish we could figure out who did this.”
“Do you have any suspects?” Officer Gates asked. “It appears we know the day the pencils were delivered, and I believe this school has a surveillance system outside. We can watch who came and went.”
I nodded. “You bet I do. It’s a long shot, but my neighbor Brittany Fleming—Matthew’s mother—is clearly against having an enchanted object shop right beside her church. Then there’s Natalia Young, the reporter who keeps twisting my words in the paper. Also, it might not be good to accuse the Mayor, but she’s made it clear she didn’t want Ettie’s Enchanted Effects in Watersedge.”
Principal Prusa shook her head. “I don’t think we need to watch the tape. This past Tuesday was career day. We had both Mayor Raab and the newspaper here.”
“Do you know which reporter came from the newspaper? And how about Mrs. Fleming?”
“Mrs. Fleming drops her son off at school every day. I’m not sure if she came inside. And I’m not sure which reporter was here.”
“Then we watch the tape,” Officer Gates said.
Soon we were all huddled around a computer monitor in a back room off the principal’s office, watching at triple speed, people come and go from the school.
“It’s important to let me know anyone you recognize,” Officer Gates said with a notebook in her hand.
The first person we saw was Mrs. Fleming, and she did indeed step inside the school. She had a large enough purse to be hiding anything in it. Still a suspect. Officer Gates wrote her name down along with the exact time she appeared on the recording.
Next, the Mayor arrived as well as the reporter I suspected, Natalia Young. Each had big bags.
“Everyone brought props and giveaways for the kids to get them excited for career day,” Principal Prusa said.
I nodded, watching the screen intently, pointing out a few people I recognized from the shop, including the overly tall, handsome older man who had purchased the jade keychains to rekindle his relationship with his son.
“Wait,” Roman said, with his jaw agape. “What’s my father doing here?”
“Your father?” both Principal Prusa and I asked at the same time.
I turned to Roman and asked my question again. “He’s your father?”
Roman nodded. “Clear as day. He’s been coming to your shop?”
“Twice. Only bought something once.”
“Hmm…Months ago, I invited him to come over and meet you, but he ignored me. Instead, he secretly visited you at your store. Peculiar, but he’s always been a bit eccentric.” Roman looked at the principal. “Any idea why he came to this school?”
“Um,” Principal Prusa fluffed her curly hair. “I’ve been dating him.”
Roman’s eyes bugged out. “He’s been dating you?”
She nodded. “I didn’t know he was a warlock. I mean, he must be because you’re one.” She took a deep breath. “Not that it matters to me.”
“And he’d be angry if word got out that he was a warlock. He’s big on keeping it a secret. It’s why he stays away from me,” Roman said.
“He came to see you last Tuesday?” I asked.
“He picks me up every Tuesday and Friday.” Principal Prusa’s eyes narrowed at the screen. “And he always has that messenger bag.”
Officer Gates wrote his name down on her pad of paper. “I guess we have to add him to the list of suspects.”
“Joe wouldn’t do anything like that,” the principal said.
“Really?” I raised my eyebrow. “You didn’t even know he was a magic practitioner.”
The principal tightened her lips but gave a nod as she sat back in the plastic chair. Officer Gates hit play on the video again, but we didn’t find anyone else I recognized.
Officer Gates clicked her pen closed and slipped it into her pocket. “I have lots of people to check alibis on and do some investigation. Ettie, Roman, I appreciate your help on this case. I think it’s a good thing to have witches in town. Nobody would have ever suspected the pencils.” She stood and shook both Roman’s and my hand.
As we left the school, Roman looked at me with a little mischievous look on his face. “Where to next?”
I smiled. He had to have known what I was thinking. “The church. I need to confirm Matt is tail-free.”
Roman smiled with a twinkle in his eye, laying on the dry sarcasm. “I didn’t expect this epic adventure to be over already.”
Chapter Thirteen
When we pulled into a parking spot outside Ettie’s Enchanted Effects, Brittany Fleming was hard to miss. A long, aluminum ladder leaned against the front of her church, ending right where her giant billboard hung. One by one, Brittany plucked each black letter from the sign. Down went her most recent warning to protect your children from the devil’s hex.
Her tail- and whisker-free son knelt on the church’s top step, pushing a toy car along the railing and my chest filled with pride. I had reversed the curse.
The car door clicked closed behind me, and I called up the ladder, “What are you going to put up there now?”
Brittany twisted around, giving me and Roman a full view of her scowl. “Maybe, Witch Reverses her Curse.”
“That’s good,” I laughed. “Smooth.”
“How about, Witch Saves the Day?” Roman suggested. “You can check with Officer Gates. Ettie figured out how to fix the children.”
“It’s easy to reverse a spell you caused,” Brittany snapped back, reaching to take down another word. “My son might be back to normal, but it’s only a matter of time until the town sees the truth.”
“And what’s that?” I asked.
“That you don’t belong here.”
I wrapped my arm around Roman and leaned my head on his shoulder. “Oh, I think I found exactly where I belong.”
“Let’s go home,” Roman coaxed. “We’re not going to change her mind. Besides, we need to get in touch with Mayor Raab to open Ettie’s up again, and we should alert Natalia Young to run a new story.”
I shook my head. “Not that reporter. They have to have a different one. In fact, perhaps I’ll write my own newspaper article. Never rely on someone else to get your story out.” I headed towards the shop’s glass entrance, needing to grab a few items to take home. Ettie’s might stay closed for a few days while this situation was sorted out, but it wouldn’t be the end. I hadn’t had a big grand opening event, and now, with a few free days, it was time to plan a massive witchy party to celebrate that Ettie’s Enchanted Effects was here to stay, no matter who didn’t want it. All that mattered was that I was going to make this home.
Behind me, soft footsteps fell on the sidewalk.
“Mrs. Ettie,” Matthew said. “Are you really going out of business?”
I shook my head. “No. Not if I have any say in it. I’m just getting started.”
“Hmm. My mom says she’s going to find a way to shut you down.”
I laughed. Was it as good as a confession? Not quite. It was in that moment that Brittany noticed her son had left the front porch and was within feet of Ettie’s entrance.
“Matthew, come back here! We don’t talk to the neighbors.”
“Mom, you were just talking to Ettie.”
Brittany twisted on the ladder, but then her foot slipped. Her collection of black letters flew up into the sky as she attempted to right herself, clutching onto the rungs. The ladder slid across the front of the church, falling edgewise down on its side. Brittany’s ear-piercing scream filled the air as she clung on tightly as it fell.
I waved my hand, pulling all the magic I could to freeze the ladder in place, despite the exhaustion I still felt. Beside me, Roman snapped his fingers in the air with the same idea.
Brittany now dangled from the cocked ladder that was suspended in the air.
“Mom!” Matthew exclaimed, rushing beneath his mother.
“Matt, stop! Stay away.” I rushed forward, taking the boy in my arms. I spoke softly. “It’ll be okay. Roman and I have this under control.” I called over my shoulder. “Shall we let her down?”
Roman rubbed his chin. “I’m not sure. She can’t cause trouble while up there.”
“Don’t toy with me,” Brittany snapped. With the strength of her determination, I bet if she was on solid ground, she’d be shaking her fist at us. “Get me down.”
“Hmm,” I said. “I could help you, but it’ll involve ‘devil’s magic.’” A few people stopped on the sidewalk, seeing the oddly angled ladder. I knew Roman and I playing with her might have been viewed as irresponsible from the passersby, but in reality, we had the situation under control. Only the mortals of Watersedge, who didn’t know enough about magic, might be a bit nervous by the half-cocked ladder Brittany hugged like a long-lost relative.
Brittany’s glare softened, and her eyes widened. “You want me to make a deal? Fine. I won’t put anything up on this bulletin board relating to magic or Ettie’s anymore, but the war isn’t over.”
“I didn’t know we were at war.”
I could now see the whiteness of her knuckles. That was probably enough. “Let’s let her down.”
Roman and I snapped our fingers in unison, slowly lowering the ladder down onto the sidewalk. Brittany righted herself, brushing off her jeans.
“I think your mom could use a hug.” I guided Matt in his mother’s direction. Once Brittany had her arms around her son, I pulled the keys from my purse to unlock the shop’s door. Somehow, I didn’t think that would be the last of Brittany, but at least I had something to hang over her head. Maybe it’d soften her some.
I laughed.
That’d be nice.
Before Roman and I stepped foot inside, a man cleared his throat as he stepped around the corner.
Both Roman and I froze in place, seeing the tall gentleman.
“Nice of you to let me know you’re visiting Watersedge, Dad.” A tendon in Roman’s jaw pulsed.
“Yes. My only son got married. Of course, I wanted to meet your new wife.”
“All you would have had to do was knock on our door.”
“What would be the fun in that? This way, I had the opportunity to get to know the true Ettie, and Roman, I approve.” He turned towards me, outstretching his hand. “Joseph Sunward at your service.”
I shook his hand and smiled. “You already know who I am.”
The tension on Roman’s face softened.
“Don’t take my approval of your wife too far,” Roman’s father said. “I might approve of your bride, but I don’t approve of how you’re living your life with magic out in the open like this. It’s only a matter of time until some
fanatic does something to all of witchkind.”
“Sometimes, you need to stand up for a cause you believe in,” Roman said, pulling me at his side.
“Well, only time will tell.”
“How long are you visiting Watersedge?” Roman asked, and I could feel the tension in his muscles.
“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. I’ve been staying at Slumber Inn right outside the city limits, but I’d like to make this stay a bit more…permanent. I mean, you two will be having little ones soon, right?”
I looked at Roman. Sure, that was why I became a mail-order bride. It was our duty to keep the pure-blood magic going, but it was too soon. “We’ve only been married four months,” I said. I had barely started sleeping in the same bed as Roman within the last few months, not that Roman’s dad needed to know that.
“Nonsense. Ruth and I had Roman before our one-year anniversary. I thought I’d stick around to make sure things go well with you being…well, out of the broom closet so to speak, but I need a place to stay until I find something more permanent. Something homier than the hotel.”
Roman glared at him.
His father added, “I’ll pay rent.”
Rent? A bit of cash to take the pressure off Ettie’s succeeding? Even without that, Joseph was family, no matter what a mess his and Roman’s pasts were. My mother had taught me to be a welcoming host. “We’d love to have you stay with us. It’ll give us a chance to get to know each other better and we have the room.”
“Is that okay with you, Roman?” Joseph asked.
Roman didn’t say anything, but I tapped his foot with mine. “Yes. That’s fine. Short-term only.”
Roman’s father clapped once. “Good. It’s settled then. I’ll be over tomorrow night.”
He turned and disappeared behind the corner he had come from, probably transporting himself back to the motel…or to Principal Prusa’s house for whatever relationship they had going on.
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