by Tonya Kappes
I was shocked to see that she was right. It was closing time.
“Have you had any other thoughts about big blue?” Madame Torres appeared as I used the Cauldron Clean-Up to make my pot shiny and new.
Mr. Prince Charming barely lifted his head off the stool. He was all curled up and comfortable.
“Have I?” When have I not? I tossed the feather duster around the tables and bottles to get any dust off from the day. “Of course, but I can’t help but think the headlines had to do with him.”
Walking into the back of the shop, I grabbed a few pre-made potions to restock the shelves, plus straightened a few as I went along. Thoughts swirled around in my head like a tornado.
“I really wish I could get in touch with Kenny.” I hollered over my shoulder as I picked up the potion I had made for Faith, and then placed it in my bag. “For the life of me, I have all this spiritual power, but I have no clue how to reach him.”
Looking around, I searched for a fancy bottle to put some tap water in. I had to be sure to encourage everyone to take a sip as a new part of the ritual, as well as slip in the Mugwort when it was Faith’s turn.
With everything stocked and put away, I put Madame Torres in my bag. “Let’s go.” The bundle of sage and sweet grass was ready to be used. I glanced up at Belur’s bottle, but it was dark.
Meow, meow. Mr. Prince Charming jumped down and sat at the door.
“He must be asleep.” I nodded toward Belur, because I was sure if he were awake, he’d create some sort of havoc before we left, or insist he come with us, which was not going to happen, especially at a smudging ceremony. “I don’t know anything about genies and don’t want to know.”
I flipped the light off and locked the doors behind me. Petunia was sweeping the floor when I looked into Glorybee’s window on my way to the ceremony. The live tree in the back of the store was filled with green leaves and beautiful birds of all shapes and colors. The hedgehog and squirrel were taking turns batting a nut between the two of them as they sat under the tree.
There was no sign of the ostrich.
Tapping on the window, I waved at Petunia. Her hazel eyes had flickers of gold specs as she smiled and motioned for me to come in.
“You were busy today.” She shuffled around the store with the broom.
“It was a good day.” I grabbed the other broom that was leaning up against the counter and headed over to the cat aisle to help her out. “Did you find the ostrich?”
“The strangest thing.” She put down the broom and started to fill the bird feeders that were all over the store. A flock of blue jays flew behind her as she dragged the stepladder along. “That darn ostrich is gone. Again.”
“I don’t know much about ostriches, but where in the world did that come from?” I picked up a loose feather off the ground. I inspected it as I twirled it around in the air. “Is this an ostrich feather?”
Petunia put the stepladder away and came over to look at the feather.
“Naw, that’s the macaw’s.” As soon as she said it, the multi-colored bird flapped way up into the tree.
Ostrich, ostrich, bad bird, bad bird. Squawk!
“Don’t mind him.” Petunia scowled. “I have to learn to watch what I say around that darn bird. He’s one of them.”
“One of them?” I questioned, still twirling the feather. I had hoped it was one of the ostrich’s. Not that it would have helped me with the Mugwort tonight, but it might come in handy another time.
She leaned in, and so did her up-do. She whispered, “One of the ones that just showed up.” Her eyebrows lifted.
“Oh.” I walked over to the tree to get a better look at the big bird. “Hey there.”
Hey there, hey there. Bad ostrich. He flapped his wings in delight. Come to momma, come to momma. Things lookin’ up, lookin’ up.
“Poor guy.” I tilted my head and he mocked me. “He must be missing his mom. I’m sure the rightful owners will step up soon.”
I looked around for Petunia to answer me, but the door to the storage room was swinging.
“What did you say?” Petunia emerged with her infamous dog leash strapped on her wrist without a hint of a dog at the end of it.
“Good evening, June.” Gerald Regiula walked into the shop. He took off his top hat and tipped it to the side.
“Hi, honey.” Petunia locked one arm in Gerald’s elbow. “It’s a good night for a smudging ceremony. If you can throw in a little blurb about the owners of these animals, I’d be mighty appreciative.”
“We’ll see.” I patted my bag where the Mugwort and Madame Torres were deep inside. “We will see.”
I followed Gerald and Petunia out of Glorybee and up the hill toward the Gathering Rock.
She leaped forward as the leash tugged on her arm. “Stop that,” she spat at the leash. “I told the teenagers to keep an eye out for any unusual activity tonight. I’m not at all happy with the newspaper headlines today.”
Without saying a word, I too hoped that after Faith took a little sip of the ‘protection water’ the headlines would get much better.
The Gathering Rock was beyond the lake and right before the edge of the forest. It was where we held all of our ceremonies.
Eloise Sandlewood emerged from the woods with her incense swinging to the right and to the left. Smoke emitted from the tiny holes in the metal container on each downswing. Her emerald eyes stood out against the long red cloak and her short crimson hair.
“What’s she doing here?” Gerald cleared his throat before we approached the circle of villagers that had already gathered.
Normally Eloise didn’t come to the meetings. She was a Dark-Sider who was more than content to live in her tree house deep in the woods, taking care of her garden and doing morning cleansing rituals through the streets of Whispering Falls as the other spiritualists slept.
She was a Holistic Cleanser. She cleaned out the evils from villages as well as made many herbs that supplied A Charming Cure. In fact, Eloise and Darla were best friends until Darla moved me back to Locust Grove to have a “normal” upbringing.
With a knot in my stomach, I watched Isadora sweep across the crowd to greet Eloise. With a few hushed whispers between them, they glanced over at me. Turning to the Gathering Rock, I pretended to organize all the herbs and items I needed for the ceremony.
Trying not to notice them both coming toward me, I bent down and situated the emerald rock next to the match.
“June, can we speak with you?” Eloise asked with a motherly tone.
“Sure.” I stood up, brushing my hands down my jeans to knock off any debris from crouching down on the ground.
There was a crowd gathered around the Karima sisters.
“Oh, he’s a good one.” Constance rolled up on her toes as the glee in her voice escalated. “And we are getting paid for a full funeral when there isn’t even going to be one.”
“Full pay,” Patience nodded and repeated. “Mm-hmm…full pay.”
I felt sorry for the poor guy who was dead, but it was nice not to have the Karima sisters on my hiney about ruining their lives.
“We have something we need to tell you.” Isadora stood in front of Eloise. I glanced over her shoulder. Eloise’s hands were clasped together up by her nose as if she were praying. “It’s time, June.”
“Yes, I’m ready. I have all the bundles ready to go.” I pointed to the Gathering Rock where my pile of tools was laying.
“No, I mean it’s time for me to step aside and let the younger generation take over.” She planted her hands on my shoulders. “It’s time for you to take your rightful position as the leader of the spiritual village.”
“That is why I’m here with the incense.” Eloise gestured to the long chains dangling from her wrists. “I grew the special herbs to help ease the transition.”
“I will tell everyone about what is going on.” The crowd was getting bigger. “Then we can continue with the ceremony.”
“I’m not sure abo
ut this.” There was a deep tug at my gut. It wasn’t a good or bad tug, but a little nudge telling me that I had to proceed with caution.
“Are you kidding me?” Eloise’s emerald green eyes were electrified. “Your parents would be so proud and thrilled for you. This is an honor that doesn’t come along every day. Not in centuries in fact.”
Isadora’s wavy long blonde hair ebbed and flowed as she nodded her head while listening to Eloise explain the importance of the opportunity. It wasn’t that I didn’t understand what an honor it was. It was the fact that I had only been a spiritualist, a true spiritualist, for less than two years. There had to be more qualified villagers than me for the job.
Mr. Prince Charming darted around my ankles, doing his signature figure eights. Warmth, comfort, and a sense of security filled my soul.
“I’ll do it!” I yelped. Instantly I wanted to take it back. There was an instant message from my intuition, but it was cloudy. I gulped, trying to catch my breath.
“Great!” Izzy clapped her hands. “Everyone gather around. I’m sure you are wondering why we are having an emergency village meeting and ceremony tonight.”
“Are you okay?” Eloise touched my arm in a motherly way. “You look a little pale.”
“I’m fine,” I lied. I was far from fine, but I had already committed to this. Something was off now more than ever. “We need to start.”
The three of us joined the circle of villagers. I pulled the water and chalice out of my bag, slipping the vile of Mugswart into my pocket.
Slowly, I poured the water in the large cup.
“Tonight we are going to do things a little different. Then Izzy is going to make an announcement.” I held the chalice in the air. “Special, special drink tonight, protect us with all your might.”
As I walked around, I handed each of them the chalice, making sure Faith was last.
“Oops.” I looked into the chalice. “Looks like I need to refill.”
I slipped the vile out of my pocket and poured it into the chalice before handing it to Faith. She didn’t say a word, but her dagger stare was enough to let me know she hadn’t forgiven me for what I had said to her at Wicked Good.
She took the cup, and like a good Good-Sider, she drank it all.
The wind whipped overhead causing the leaves to do a tunnel dance around the meadow. It was nothing like I had ever seen. It was as if the wind had some sort of choreographed dance.
“Did you see that?” I asked Eloise, pointing in the direction of the dance.
“What?” Eloise strained her eyes in the direction I had pointed.
Shaking my head, I started to walk back over to the Gathering Rock to light the smudging bundle. “Nothing,” I said, fiddling with my wrist, I wished I had my charm bracelet.
If Eloise didn’t see it, no one else saw it either. A sure sign that Faith was right…something was brewing.
The air was thick and silent as the villagers waited with anticipation for Izzy to speak. You could have cut the tension with a knife. Each pair of eyes told a story of worry. That was what had come from having a newspaper in Whispering Falls and a Clairaudient being in charge of it. They focused on Izzy’s words. We all know that we can’t change the outlook of our future.
“It’s been a great pleasure being the leader of such a wonderful community of spiritualists.” Izzy’s cloak dragged behind her, leaving a trail of dust clouds as she walked around the circle. Gently, she reached out and touched every single person who had gathered. The crowd was so big that it was hard to hear what she was saying from the other side. “We have seen a lot of changes, going from being a community of Good-Siders to a community of all spiritualists, including the Dark-Siders.” She grabbed Eloise’s hand. The two friends smiled at one another. Their affection was apparent.
“It’s all because of our very own June Heal, who was born into this community.” She gestured toward me. I shuffled my foot in the grass, hoping they couldn’t see my red face in the dark night that had fallen upon us. “It’s time. Time to pass the torch to the younger generation. June Heal is going to be our new council leader who will take us into the future.”
A round of applause and shouts sounded out into the night sky. The fireflies fluttered about, creating a flurry as they shot into the sky forming a thumbs-up.
“Are you kidding me?” Petunia Shrubwood shrilled as Gerald put an arm around her to console her.
She shrugged away so fast, Gerald’s arm flung up into the air.
“Um…Petunia!” I yelled. “Just a few months ago you said I’d make a great Village President!” My mouth dropped open and slammed shut. I turned to Eloise. “I think she’s mad.”
Eloise curled an arm around my shoulder, as the entire community watched Petunia stomp down the hill toward town.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a flash. Looking in the direction of the woods, a big figure stood with his arms crossed. The shadow of the feather headdress lay on the grass as the moon created a spotlight.
Like a deer, Kenny gracefully leapt and jumped down the hill toward A Charming Cure.
“I’ve got to go!” I held a hand up, knowing I had to catch him to give him Belur. It was my only opportunity to give him back until the next time he blew into town. My little whisper in the wind must’ve summoned him and he came!
“No! Don’t follow them!” Bella cried out, almost sounding in pain.
I did it anyway.
The fog was starting to roll in for the night. It was hard seeing in front of me as I ran after him. The only light was the small streetlights that dotted Main Street. The only sound was the stampeding of the crowd running after me.
“You can stop following me.” I stopped walking and turned around to face the villagers. “I’ll be back before the ceremony.”
“But you are the village leader. We thought you were taking us somewhere.” Constance Karima shouted from the group.
“You are supposed to dismiss us, like Izzy does.” Chandra Shango held her perfectly manicured hands in the air, reminding me I needed to go to Chandra’s shop, A Cleansing Spirit Spa, to get my nails done.
“Dismissed!” I threw my hands in the air. Not only did I have to figure out the level twenty-eight potion, now I had to learn and abide by all the rules of Whispering Falls. Little did they know that I was good, no, great at altering them to fit my own spiritual needs.
I was going to have to rethink this whole village leader thing.
“Help!” Someone screamed from the direction of A Charming Cure. “Murder!”
Murder?
I darted off in the direction of the blood-curdling scream with Mr. Prince Charming on my heels.
Hiss, hiss. He took off in front of me, leading the way with the crowd not too far behind.
“What is with all this fog?” I swept my hands in front of me. The fog parted. We saw Adeline standing at the steps of A Charming Cure along with Petunia and Gerald. A pair of feet were sticking out from the opened front door of the shop… Kenny’s feet.
“Sister, it’s our lucky day,” Patience gasped, “it looks like we got us another one.”
Chapter Nine
“Let’s go over this one more time.” Oscar stood over a distraught Petunia, who was sitting on the stool next to the counter. I wasn’t sure if she was crying from finding Kenny in the doorway of my shop, or from the pain of the crow’s claws that was perched on her shoulder. “You got upset at the smudging ceremony and ran down the hill to get away.”
She nodded and a few twigs fell out of her messy hair.
“And you tripped over his feet as you were running to Glorybee?” Oscar wrote on his little notepad.
Anxiously, I paced back and forth, getting a couple of glimpses of Kenny. There was a crowd gathered outside of the shop. Isadora and Eloise watched the Karima sisters as they did their thing to prepare Kenny’s departure from the doorway of A Charming Cure. I had to wonder if there was some sort of ceremonial procedure this community needed to do befor
e they whisked him away.
“We will be back.” Constance assured us as Patience tripped over Constance’s feet. “Sister! Can you please stay at least one foot behind?”
“One foot behind.” Patience repeated and opened her hands to span one foot between her and her sister.
There was a faint glow from Belur’s bottle. Did he know? Did Belur really belong with him?
“I’m just a customer of June’s.” Adeline threw her hands up in the air. “I walked up and saw her,” she pointed directly at Petunia and then at Gerald, “and him standing over him.” She pointed back to Kenny.