Was it still a comfort to her?
“Granny, I’m wondering if you know a witch in town named Shannon Mercer.” Granny paused in the act of picking up her fork.
“Yes, I know Shannon.” Thea blew out a long breath.
“That’s such good news! How do you know her?”
Granny lifted the fork and examined it. “Hard not to know all the magical folk after living here for decades.”
“Sure,” said Thea. “What’s she like?” Granny poked at a fat raspberry with the fork.
“She always seemed nice enough. Is she in trouble?”
“Here’s the thing, Granny. Eileen, Marie Carpenter’s friend, pointed Shannon out as the leader of a secret magical group in town.” Granny rolled the raspberry over with the fork but didn’t spear it. Then she laughed, a dry sound like dead leaves skittering across the road.
“Thea, if there was a secret magical group in this town, I would know about it.” They ate in silence for a moment, punctuated only by Sybil’s loud purr as she finished off her chicken.
“Can you tell me anything about Shannon, Granny?”
“Not really, dear.”
“Well, I’ll have to talk to her at some point.” Thea closed up the plastic clam shell holding the remains of her salad and walked slowly to the refrigerator. Why is Granny lying?
Thea didn’t like to admit it, but the idea that Granny was hiding something, and hiding it from her, disconcerted her. She knew Granny had secrets—what self-respecting witch didn’t? But if Granny knew something that might help them find Marie...
“But I want Tiegen’s opinion of her before I show up on Shannon’s doorstep.” Granny’s head snapped up.
“Why?”
Thea turned from the refrigerator.
“Why what?”
Granny put her fork down and sat back in her chair.
“Why do you need her advice before you meet Shannon?”
“Because Shannon and this magical group might be mixed up in Marie’s disappearance. So, I’d like to know what I’m walking into.”
AND there’s a little boy with a broken heart who needs his Mom.
Thea held the fridge handle to steady herself. An inner voice told her not to speak her last thought aloud. Danny would be here soon, and Granny would see for herself.
“No matter what Tiegen says, you need to form your own opinion of Shannon.” Granny held Thea’s eye for a long moment, then plucked up her fork and resumed eating.
“I’ll do my best. You know me—I’m really good at forming opinions.”
“Even in the absence of facts,” said Sybil, and licked a dainty paw.
Thea watched Granny navigate around the nuts in her salad. How could I have forgotten that she hates walnuts?
“Thanks for sharing lunch with me, Granny.” Thea tipped her head toward the door and Sybil nodded. As they headed to the car, Thea texted Tiegen. “On my way to the Town Hall Office. Need to speak with you. Meet me there?”
Chapter 7
“Wow. Color me shocked,” Tiegen said with a grin, watching as Thea entered her office with a look of determination etched across her face. Shutting the book she was reading, Tiegen sat up straighter. “Ready for your magic lessons? This is the most animated you’ve been in a long while.”
Thea let out a huff as she planted herself in the seat across from her aunt. “I’m not here for that. I need to talk to you about something else.”
Despite Tiegen’s shoulders slumping in disappointment, Thea gave her a pointed look.
“This is serious.”
“Go on, then,” her aunt said, crossing one of her legs over the other. “I won’t interrupt you.”
“I wanted to ask you if you knew anything about Marie Carpenter’s disappearance. The police department is currently handling this case, but I just wanted to see if you knew anything about her that could help with the investigation.”
Humming, Tiegen narrowed her eyes in thought. “I think I’ve heard a bit about her. And I’ve heard about her recent disappearance. It’s a shame, really. I feel bad for the child involved in all of this.”
“We’re taking care of that, don’t worry,” Thea replied softly, noticing the curious glint in Tiegen’s eyes. “Do you know anybody who could have been responsible for what happened to Marie?”
“I don’t know anything concrete. To be honest, I thought that she was wrapped up in some gambling debts. And we all know what happens when someone is unable to pay off their dues.”
“That could have been the case,” Thea said, musing about all of the potential suspects. “There’s also a possibility that a woman named Shannon Mercer could be involved.” Glancing at Tiegen, she raised a brow. “Do you know her?”
With the scowl that appeared on her face, it was clear that Tiegen knew exactly who she was talking about. Her aunt crossed her arms over her chest, letting out a deep exhale through her nostrils.
“Of course I know of that woman. She’s nothing but trouble,” Tiegen remarked, sneering briefly. “I wouldn’t be surprised if she was the one responsible for all of this.”
“From what we know, she’s the head of a magical group. Like a secret society of the sorts.”
Her aunt rolled her eyes. “They call themselves ‘the rebels’ funnily enough,” she said, putting air quotes around the words and laughing inwardly to herself. “It would be interesting to find out what they’re even rebelling against. Seems like a pointless movement to me.”
“I don’t understand. What’s this group all about?”
“They’re a small group of people in this town who want to reveal the fact that magic exists to the mundane population,” Tiegen explained, cracking the knuckles in her dominant hand. “For the most part, they’re harmless. They wouldn’t actually do anything to threaten the stability of Ardensville... but there have been issues with them before.”
“Aren’t the goals of this group a bit reckless?” Thea pointed out, leaning her head on her hand in thought. Tiegen let out an amused noise. “I mean, we’ve already seen what happens when the mundanes are introduced to magic. It’s a volatile mix.”
“And you wonder why I’m not impressed whenever I hear someone mention this group? Just recently, we saw that mundane girl Annie kill someone once she was able to learn a bit of magic. You give these people a crumb and they’ll bite your entire hand off.”
Thea nodded, acknowledging her aunt’s feelings. “I also remember that one murder that happened a while ago. The mundane boyfriend who killed his girlfriend after she showed him some magic. He said it was an accident.”
“Accident or not, it’s clear that this group and their leader haven’t done a good job at considering the consequences of their actions,” Tiegen said bluntly. “And if it’s true that Shannon is responsible for Marie’s disappearance, I’ll make sure she gets what’s coming to her. Without a doubt.”
“Jail time?”
“The maximum penalty, if necessary.”
Thea sighed, rubbing a hand across her face. Whatever the case, she just wanted to find Marie and make sure she was alright. Danny’s situation reminded her of what she went through at one point, so many years ago.
Tiegen cleared her throat. “Don’t worry, Thea. I’ll make sure to look into this further. I’ll see what else I can find about the group and see what they’ve been up to recently. If I find anything suspicious, you and Blaine will be the first ones to know.”
“Thank you, Aunt Tiegen,” she responded softly, sending her a smile. “I appreciate that.”
“And make sure to be careful.”
Thea stilled. “I thought you said that the group was harmless.”
“They haven’t done anything violent yet. None of us know what they’re truly capable of. If they’re planning something, it’ll wreck havoc throughout the town without a doubt. You should do your best to stay clear of that.”
“I’ll do my best,” Thea reassured, getting up from her seat and heading towards the door.
Although Tiegen would have preferred her to stay a bit longer to get some practice in, her aunt decided to let her go without a fight. They could focus on magic another day. Thea’s performance against Annie at the haunted house left her with a positive impression.
“Aunt Tiegen?” Thea asked, hand resting on the door handle. “Do you... Have you heard anything about a man named The Sorcerer? He’s a warlock. A powerful one, actually.”
Her aunt scrunched up her face in confusion at the mention. Gradually, she shook her head. Even though Thea’s heart sank in her chest, she couldn’t say that it wasn’t surprising. Everything happened so long ago. The chances that she would find someone who actually remembered what occurred was slim to none.
“Why do you ask?” Tiegen asked, snapping her out of her daze.
Thea managed a weak smile. “It was just out of curiosity. I read something in a book about him. It seemed pretty interesting and I wanted to see if you knew anything. That’s all.”
At that, her aunt sent her a sympathetic look. “I’m sorry, Thea. I haven’t heard of that man before. By the sound of his name, he seems like someone important though.”
“Yeah,” Thea mumbled under her breath, already making her out the door. “Right.”
Chapter 8
Thea jumped as her phone buzzed next to her. She had been staring out the window, absently stroking Sybil who lay next to her on the couch. She kept going over the conversation with Aunt Tiegen in her head. How was there a secret rebel group in Ardensville she had never heard of? And why had Aunt Tiegen never mentioned it?
Thea sat up and reached for her phone, displacing Sybil who jumped away with a disgruntled mew.
“Blaine,” she said, answering the phone. “Everything alright?”
“Yeah. Fine,” Blaine said. “Are you alright? You sound jumpy.”
Thea took a breath and sat up straighter. Blaine wasn’t wrong. Ever since hearing about Marie’s disappearance she felt on edge, waiting for something else to go wrong.
“I’m fine,” Thea lied. She wasn’t about to give Blaine any more reasons for canceling the wedding. “We’re still going to the diner, tonight, right? To finalize the catering plan?”
“Yeah. I wasn’t sure you remembered,” Blaine said. “Fred says Eleanor’s been cooking like crazy all day. Should I pick you up?”
“Sounds great. I’m at the house. I can fill you in on my conversation with Aunt Tiegen.”
“Perfect. See you in twenty.”
Blaine and Thea spent the evening in Witt’s End Diner, enjoying plate after plate of food that Fred placed in front of them. It was enough to feed ten people, and Thea wished she had invited Pippa and Jesse along so the leftovers wouldn’t go to waste.
“I thought we agreed on three menu items,” Thea laughed, as Fred came out of the kitchen balancing not one but two versions of Eleanor’s famous macaroni and cheese and a lemon-thyme chicken Eleanor had been experimenting with.
“Tell it to Eleanor,” Fred said. “I’ve been telling her all afternoon she’s going overboard.”
“You can’t fault a girl for being excited!” Eleanor called from the kitchen, and the group laughed together, enjoying the moment with a few diners who were finishing up their meals.
After the last plate of comfort food was finally brought to their table, Fred sat down with Blaine and Thea to finalize the head count and nail down a price. Business was winding down in Witt’s End, leaving Fred free to relax for a bit after a long day of bustling around the diner.
“Sounds like we’re settled, then,” Fred said.
“Thanks for everything,” Blaine said as he wrote out a check for the upcoming meal.
“Thanks to both of you,” Thea added, loud enough that Eleanor could overhear.
“Eleanor’s so excited she’d probably pay you to let her do it,” Fred said, rolling his eyes.
“Fred, I wanted to ask you something,” Thea said, looking around to make sure they wouldn’t be overheard. Even so, she dropped her voice a bit and leaned closer. “Have you heard of a rebel group here in town? A magic rebel group.”
Fred looked a bit surprised at the suggestion.
“Hey Eleanor, come on over here for a sec,” Fred called into the kitchen. “I’m in touch with folks around here, but Eleanor’s been around longer.”
“Around longer?” Eleanor said in mock offense as she joined them at the table. She was wiping her hands on a red and white checked apron. “I may not look it, but I’m actually younger than Fred, you know.” Eleanor poked Fred in the shoulder before taking a seat at the table.
“You look great,” Fred assured her. “Not a day over a hundred.”
“Don’t listen to her,” Thea said, smiling at Eleanor. “You’re still young.”
“Plus, you have the energy of a chef half your age,” Blaine chimed in.
“Alright, alright. Enough with the compliments. What’s up?”
“Thea’s asking about some rebel group.”
“It’s a magic group,” Thea explained. “Made of some people who want to reveal magic. You know, to the mundane people.” She looked over to Fred and added, “I mean, those who don’t already know about it.”
“I haven’t heard about them in ages,” Eleanor said, raising her eyebrows. “Not since your parents were around.”
“My parents?”
“So the group exists?” Blaine asked. “They were active when Thea’s parents were alive?”
Eleanor looked to Fred and then to Blaine, clearly unsure if she should continue. Thea could only stare at her, feeling a churning in her stomach that wasn’t from all the food she had just eaten.
“What is it?” Thea asked.
“Your parents. They definitely knew about the group.” Eleanor paused. “They were a part of it.”
“What?”
Eleanor nodded and clasped her hands on the table. Blaine put a hand on Thea’s back.
“They wanted to stop hiding their abilities. They thought they might even be able to use their abilities to help.”
“To help the mundane people?” Blaine asked. Thea felt her mind racing back to the memories she had of her parents. She thought back to her conversations with Granny and Tiegen. Did they know about this? Had they kept it from her?
“Exactly,” Eleanor said to Blaine. She looked at Thea and reached out to put a comforting hand on top of Thea’s. “They wanted to do good.”
“Tiegen says the group is trouble,” Thea said, pulling away. She wasn’t sure why she felt angry. And she knew Eleanor wasn’t the one to take it out on, but Thea couldn’t help herself.
“She would say that. Tiegen is trying to run the town,” Eleanor said, treading carefully.
“And what does that mean?” Thea asked. She felt the need to jump to her Aunt’s defense, though she wasn’t sure why, and her tone was more biting than she intended.
“Thea,” Blaine said gently. “Eleanor’s trying to help us.”
Thea looked up across the table and saw her friends looking back at her. Blaine was right. Fred and Eleanor were only answering questions that Thea herself had asked them.
“I’m sorry,” Thea said with a sigh. “It’s hard to find this out about my parents. It’s been so long without any information. What were you saying about Aunt Tiegen?”
“She’s the mayor,” Fred said, speaking for Eleanor. “It makes sense that she wouldn’t want some major change coming along.”
“Exactly,” Eleanor nodded. “Telling all the mundane people about magic would be huge. You can’t blame her for wanting to uphold the status quo.”
Chapter 9
“First, I find out this rebel group exists, which is unsettling enough.”
Thea and Blaine were parked outside her house. They had driven home from Witt’s End Diner in silence, both taking in what they had learned from Eleanor. When they arrived, Blaine put the car in park and turned to Thea, taking her hand and inviting her to speak.
“Then I
find out Aunt Tiegen thinks they’re bad news.”
“Which is just one opinion,” Blaine reminded her.
“That’s what Granny said,” Thea remarked, suddenly remembering Granny’s words when they had their first discussion about the group. “Granny said I should form my own opinion about this secret society. But how can I form any opinions when I don’t have all the information?”
Blaine was tentative with his next question, uncertain he should broach the topic.
“Do you think Granny knew? About your parents?”
“I think she must have. I’m certainly going to ask her about it.”
“And your Aunt Tiegen. What else did she say about the group?”
“She thinks they’re trouble. She said they’re mostly harmless, but they’ve caused some problems. She definitely doesn’t like them.”
“I can see why. It’s a difficult task to keep the peace in a town with magical and mundane residents.”
“And it’s pretty clear Aunt Tiegen thinks telling the mundane people about magic is dangerous. Remember that girl Annie? She was mundane, and she used magic to kill. And there was that guy. His girlfriend revealed she was magical, and he killed her.”
“Okay but being mundane doesn’t make you a murderer, Thea. Look at Fred and Eileen. They’re mundane and they haven’t killed anyone.”
“Not yet,” Thea said, eyes wide.
“Is that a joke?” Blaine asked. Thea broke into a smile, and they laughed together. He put a hand to her cheek. “It’s nice to see you smile. It’s okay to relax, you know. You don’t have to be so serious all the time.”
“I know,” Thea said, taking Blaine’s hand from her cheek and holding his hand. “Thanks for being with me today. And for reminding me not to bite Eleanor’s head off.”
“Well, with all the food we ate tonight I knew you wouldn’t have room for it,” Blaine joked and Thea groaned at him. They took a moment to sit quietly together, enjoying holding hands and staring out as night closed around them. Thea found her mind drifting to her parents again, so she was surprised when Blaine spoke.
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