“Shouldn’t we visit Eudora?” I asked Alberta one lazy afternoon as we sunned ourselves in lawn chairs in the backyard of the Summers house. “I’m getting anxious waiting around.”
Alberta sipped what appeared to be lemonade, but her skin grew a shade darker every time she pulled from the straw. The potion acted as a tan enhancer. “I’ve already spoken to Eudora.”
I sat up and pulled my sunglasses off to see her better. “You have? Why didn’t you tell me?”
She conjured one of those reflective panels and held it below her chin. “I didn’t feel it necessary. When she informs me of your third task, I’ll let you know.”
“When is that going to be?” I demanded. “Before my birthday, right? What did she say exactly? I can go back to the lake if she wants to explain to me. I kind of hate that stupid wishing well, but if it’s necessary—”
Alberta shot a spell at me that I wasn’t able to dodge. My lips sewed themselves shut with her magic. “Be quiet, little fishie,” she said. “If I needed to pass on information, I would.”
Thankfully, Alberta’s spells weren’t as potent as her potions. I wiped my mouth with a deactivation spell to get rid of the magic stitching my mouth shut. “I just want to know what’s going on. Can’t you say anything?”
Alberta sighed and tossed the reflective panel aside. “She said your moon has to be in the correct position before you can enter the soul realm. If you attempt to enter it too early, you’ll get stuck between here and there, and I can assure you the sensation of such a predicament would not be sensational.”
“My moon? What does that mean?”
“Exactly what it sounds like.” She took off her watch, dipped her finger in the lemonade, and let the liquid drip across the pale skin that the sun hadn’t reached. As the lemonade coated her wrist, the white section darkened to match the rest of her tan. “Your moon, the one that existed at the time of your birth, needs to move into the position it was in when you emerged into this world.”
“You mean I have to wait until my birthday?” I asked. “That’s the last day! I won’t have time to finish the task.”
“First of all,” Alberta said. “Time moves differently in the soul realm. You may linger in it for what might feel like months, only to return home in a few hours. Secondly, the moon does not always align in positions at the exact time each year. It could happen a few days before your birthday. You should be prepared for when you least expect it.”
“How am I supposed to prepare?” I stuck my finger through the plastic strips of my lawn chair and spread them apart. “I don’t know anything about the soul realm. I combed the archives, but there’s no information about it.”
“Because no one’s allowed to talk about it,” Alberta answered. “It’s the best kept magical secret of our world.”
“Do you ever remember what it was like?” I asked her. “Or does everyone pretend it’s fancier than it is?”
She chuckled and shook her lemonade so the ice swirled around. No matter how hot it was outside, the glass cup didn’t sweat. “I guess you’ll find out after the third task. Want some of this?” She offered the cup.
“No, thanks. I’m going to cool off in the shade.”
I left Alberta to finish her tan and jogged along the tree-lined path that ran from the Summers house to the coven’s cul-de-sac and then into town. The canopy provided much needed relief from the hot sun. Unlike Alberta, I didn’t have olive skin that tanned in the blink of an eye. My pale, freckled shoulders turned pink then red if I spent too much time without coverage. I savored the cool breeze and slowed my pace to wrap my head around the third task.
“Still alive then, eh?” a sly voice called from the trees.
Aunt Thelma emerged from behind an oak’s thick trunk. Her skin shimmered with magic. She’d been crafting in the privacy of the woods, and my walk had interrupted her.
“What are you doing back there?” I jerked my head to the clearing behind her. “No doubt something Morgan would disapprove of.”
“On the contrary, it’s my weekly facial.” She turned to the side so I could see the glitter fill in the pores and lines of her face like a smoothing serum. “Not all of us invoke demons to tend our youthful visages. I doubt Morgan would bat an eyelash.”
“Uh-huh. Sure.”
“Oh, Gwenlyn.” She circled around me, arms crossed. “You’re such a suspicious little beast. Pray tell, what made you so untrustworthy?”
“I grew up with a bunch of jerks. Therefore, I don’t like jerks.”
A smirk turned up one side of Thelma’s face. “Ah, you think I’m a jerk for doing what I think is best to protect the coven.”
“You invoked the ancient power of the yew tree,” I reminded her. “If you hadn’t, I wouldn’t have lost my part of the Summers’ power. We wouldn’t be dealing with demons running amok or ice cream showers in the square.”
Thelma’s smile disappeared. “You don’t get it, do you? You don’t deserve a piece of the Summers power, because you’re not one of us. That power should be distributed amongst the true members of this coven.”
“So what I’m hearing is that you’re butthurt about not having as much power as I do, is that right?”
She wrinkled her nose. “The language you young people use these days is absurd. What on earth did you just say to me?”
“Get. Over. Yourself.”
The rest of Thelma’s glitter disappeared before it fixed the lines in her forehead, leaving the top of her face looking twice as old as the bottom. She wagged a finger in my face. “Listen here, you little brat. I’ll admit I’m impressed you survived the first two tasks, but the third one won’t be such a walk in the park. The soul realm is no joke. I hope it eats you alive.”
“Since I’m such a brat, you won’t mind if I do this.”
I lunged forward and chomped on her finger like a two-year-old. She shrieked and yanked her hand away.
“Anyone who acts like such a child shouldn’t have so much power,” she said, clutching her digits to her chest. She put more trees between us. “Mark my words, Gwenlyn Bennett. You will never become one of us.”
I smiled and waved, standing my ground as she fled. “I can’t wait to call you family, Aunt Thelma.”
“You bit her?”
Karma chuckled with glee, but Malia and Laurel were horrified. Morgan, whose sense of humor often mirrored Karma’s, attempted to hide her laugh behind a weird choking sound. It was another family dinner filled with hilarious conversation.
“At the time, it seemed like a good idea. Besides, she shouldn’t be waving her finger in people’s faces like that.” I mimicked Thelma’s annoying posture and shook my finger at Karma’s nose. “She’s lucky I left it attached.”
“I’m not saying she didn’t deserve it,” Morgan began, “but I recall telling you not to antagonize her. You still have one more task to complete. Don’t make it more difficult for yourself by inviting Thelma’s wrath to your table. Succeed silently. That’s what Cassandra always said.”
“I’ve never been particularly silent,” I said.
Karma snorted. “Oh, we know.”
I pelted her with a baby carrot. “Thelma wouldn’t be stupid enough to mess with me while I’m in the soul realm, right? There’s gotta be a rule about outside interference.”
“My high school sweetheart kissed my physical body while my soul was in the other realm,” Laurel said. “It nearly yanked me in half. My soul tried to return to my body before the task was complete. I felt like someone had cleaved my head in two.”
I leaned forward to better listen. “What happened?”
“Karma brought me back.”
Karma examined her nails, unwilling to provide an explanation. Her voodoo magic was dangerous stuff. Laurel must have been in major trouble if Karma was willing to use her ability to save her little sister.
“It was the scariest experience of my life,” Laurel added. “Except for when we lost Mom.”
Mali
a scooped another plateful of salad for me. “When you go into the soul realm, we’ll protect your body.”
“Yeah, if Thelma tries anything, we’ll be there to stop her,” Karma added. “We’ve got your back, Gwen.”
“I guess that’s all I can ask for.”
The days ticked by. Most of the time, I sat at the house and bit my nails, every muscle tensed as I expected the next second to deliver news of my third task. Every once in a while, one of the Summers sisters took pity on me and drew me out of the house to help watch the witchlings or contain the magic popping up all over Yew Hollow. After almost two weeks’ delay, we finally hosted the surprise party for Chief Torres at one of the nicer restaurants in town. It was Malia’s job to get Torres to the right place while the rest of us waited with the lights out.
Morgan had kept me busy the entire morning. We decorated the space, went over the menu with the caterers, and confirmed RSVPs, but my head was never really in the right mindset. All day, I gave in to nervous eating, stealing mini hot dogs wrapped in croissants from the caterer’s plates until one of the servers smacked my hand away. Apparently, there was a limit to how much you could “sample” before the actual event.
At long last, it was time for the party. The guests showed up early to get there before the chief. There were a lot of cops in and out of uniform. Sometimes, I still got nervous around the boys in blue, having had a little too much experience with them during the course of my childhood. I took a deep breath and reminded myself that my life had changed since then. I was no longer a delinquent on the run.
Karma crashed through the restaurant’s doors, out of breath. “They’re coming! Malia and the chief are on their way! Everyone hide!”
The lights went out as everyone scrambled to crouch behind a table. Morgan and I huddled way in the back by the entrance to the kitchen. Adrenaline made my head buzz. The anticipation, more than anything, was the worst part of any surprise.
The restaurant’s doors opened. Someone walked in. The lights came back up and every jumped out of their seats. People pulled party poppers and sent confetti everywhere.
“Surprise! Happy retirement—oh.”
It wasn’t Chief Torres, but Alberta, who was late to the party as usual. She shushed everyone and motioned for them to return to their previous positions. When she spotted me and made a beeline for our hiding place, my heart shot into my throat.
“It’s tonight,” she whispered in a hushed voice. “Your moon rises into the correct position.”
Chief Torres walked in and looked around. “What’s all this?”
The guests, who had not had enough time to reset, hastened to redo the surprise. It came out half-hearted, but the chief chuckled and bowed his head in thanks anyway.
“Did you hear me?” Alberta hissed. “Your third task begins tonight.”
Tonight. The day before my birthday.
17
Despite all of Alberta’s vague warnings about being prepared, it turned out there was no way to truly prepare for the third task. The soul realm was such an immense secret that you couldn’t possibly know what lay in wait for you once you entered it. Since the experience was different for everyone, no one else could prepare you either. The Summers sisters, however, were determined to try.
“Keep your wits about you,” Karma said that night over dinner. As usual, we’d made a meal to share, but the food went untouched. Everyone was too busy giving me advice to eat. “The soul realm has a way of twisting reality. Don’t let go of what you know is true.”
“And follow your instincts,” Malia added. “The craft is all about instinct. If something feels wrong, don’t do it. If something feels right—”
“Do it?” I finished.
“Of course not!” Malia chided. “Make a pro/con list, and then decide whether or not it’s a wise choice.”
“Like she’s going to have time to make a pro/con list,” Karma said. “Go with your gut, Gwen. You’ve always been great under pressure. Don’t doubt yourself now.”
“Pay attention to your surroundings,” Laurel jumped in. “Sometimes, the soul realm will give you clues to show you how to solve your impossible task. Listen to the earth and the animals. They behave differently there.”
“You’ll know when it’s time to come out.” Malia patted her chest above her heart space. “You’ll feel a pull right around here.”
“But if you’re nervous or scared or something’s happening in the real world, you might feel the pull earlier,” Karma supplied. “In that case, don’t come out, because you could end up leaving part of yourself in the soul realm. That wouldn’t be good.”
“How am I supposed to know the difference?”
“You’ll feel it.”
“You won’t.”
“Hush, Karma. Don’t scare her.”
Karma drained a glass of what looked like pink lemonade, but if I knew Karma as well as I thought I did, the beverage was mixed with homemade moonshine. “I’m not trying to scare her,” she declared to Malia. “But I won’t sugarcoat things either. No matter what we tell her, we don’t know what’s going to happen to her in the soul realm. She should get everyone’s perspective, not just the nicest one. Just because you made it through the third task in fifteen minutes doesn’t mean—”
“Enough,” Morgan said quietly. Karma fell silent, and everyone turned their eyes to Morgan, who had yet to offer any advice. “If no one’s going to eat, I’d like this food to be put away so it doesn’t spoil.”
I picked up the full bowl of pasta salad to take inside, but Morgan took it and handed it off to Malia.
“Not you, Gwenlyn. Come with me.”
“Where are we going?”
“For a walk.”
She stepped off the porch without waiting for me. I shot an apologetic look at the three sisters as they began clearing the table, but Malia waved me off. As I hurried after Morgan, knee-deep in wildflowers, the lightning bugs flickered above the grass, illuminating the path.
Morgan didn’t say anything when I reached her side. She linked her arm through mine and kept walking all the way into the woods, where the trees hid the moon’s position from us. As it disappeared, she sighed deeply.
“I’m worried for you,” she said at last. “I haven’t been able to admit it, but I can’t lose you, Gwen. You’re the closest thing I have to a daughter.”
I squeezed her tightly. “I know.”
She leaned her cheek on my shoulder. “When my mother sacrificed herself, I never thought I’d have to go through something like that again. Dominic was gone. Yew Hollow was no longer under fire. But recently I’ve realized as long as you love someone, you always have something to lose.”
“I’m not going anywhere, Morgan,” I promised. “I’ll complete the soul task, come home, and you can make me an official part of the coven.”
A teardrop landed on my shirt, but I pretended not to see as Morgan wiped her face.
“That’s good,” she said. “I’m counting on it.”
“Your sisters all got in a good word,” I said. “But do you have any advice for me?”
She sniffled and turned her eyes skyward. “Be yourself. That’s the best way to get through the soul realm.”
We walked for a few minutes longer, enjoying the last moments of peace before I had to enter the soul realm. Then a tiny orb of orange light landed on my shoulder like one of the lightning bugs.
“It’s time,” said Alberta’s voice from the orb. “Meet me at the wishing well.”
I arrived at the wishing well with the Summers sisters as my posse. Alberta was already there, standing at the water’s edge. For the occasion, she’d dressed in all black.
“Not anticipating my funeral, are you?” I questioned as I parted the moss curtains to let Morgan and her sisters into the hidden clearing.
Alberta smoothed the front of her black dress. “Of course not. Tradition says it’s good luck to wear black when so close to the soul realm.” She peered at the Summers
sisters. “I see not everyone got the memo. I didn’t realize we’d have an audience.”
“This is my family,” I announced. “I wanted them to be here. Besides, if Thelma tries anything—”
“Thelma won’t be able to find the wishing well,” Alberta said. “You’ll be safe.”
Morgan approached the wishing well and peered into the water. “We didn’t want to take any chances. How long have you known this was here?”
“Forever,” Alberta replied curtly. “I suppose you’ll report it to the council now.”
“I’m obligated to.”
Alberta waved Morgan away from the edge of the water. “Then you better not fall in before you have the chance. Guinevere, come here. We don’t have much time before the moon moves.”
I took Morgan’s spot next to Alberta. The water twinkled innocently. “Am I going in again?”
“Yes.”
“But my physical body is supposed to be safe while I’m in the soul realm,” I said. “What if it takes me too long to complete the task and I end up drowning?”
“You won’t drown,” Alberta assured me.
“How do you know?”
“Because I’m here.” Alberta produced a silver chalice, knelt down, and scooped a cup of pond water into it. “Here you go.”
I accepted the chalice and looked into it. The water was silver and opaque, like molten metal. “You want me to drink this?”
“It’s the way in.”
“Are you sure about this?” Morgan said, stepping forward. “What if it’s not safe?”
Alberta puffed her chest out. “Are you her mentor?”
“You know the coven leader can’t mentor for rituals, but if I could—”
“A simple no would suffice,” Alberta snapped. “If the four of you are going to be here, you must agree not to interfere with the ritual. I can’t risk you all panicking if you see something you don’t like.”
Morgan crossed her arms and frowned. Malia pulled her back into line with Karma and Laurel. I turned from the wishing well to face them.
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