by Tonya Kappes
“Yea.” He nodded toward the edge of town. “Even the wooded area has gotten a lot sunnier.”
“That’s great.” I laughed, recalling the time I had snuck over to Raven Mortimer’s to spy on her when I was a student. She is a Dark-Sider and her sister is a Good-Sider.
That was taboo back in the day, but this was a new day and everyone needed to get along, good or bad.
“You did a good thing here.” He swept his hands in front of him like the models on the Price Is Right game show. “Enrollment is up. Morale is up. Everyone is happy, including your Aunt.”
“I hope she’s in a good mood today.” I winked.
Aunt Helena had always been a hard nut to crack, so anytime I could find her in a good mood in my favor, the better. She was my only hope.
“There is something different about you, June Heal.” Gus stopped and rubbed his chin. He stared at me. I looked away. I didn’t want him to see into my soul.
“I’m not sure what you are talking about.” I said looking up, but he was gone.
Without hesitation, I made my way down past the library where the administration offices were. Aunt Helena’s office was there, but she rarely was. A lot of the time, she was substituting for a class. She believed it kept her in tune with the students, when the students would have rather stayed in bed if the teacher was absent.
The sun was always the brightest over the library. It was a great place for all the spiritualists to learn harmony. After all, the books in there told everyone everything they needed to know about each other and their gifts.
“Hello.” I nodded and smiled as I passed the students running up the library stairs.
I never saw myself as the college type since I didn’t have the opportunity to go to college since Darla died, but after being here and taking classes, I did enjoy it.
Mewl, mewl. Mr. Prince Charming was sitting next to old Elory, the dog that lived in Whispering Falls.
I couldn’t help but smile. Anywhere else, it would be strange to see a pristine white cat sitting next to a dog that wore a long scarf that covered his head and wearing a couple of strands of pearls around his neck. But not here. It had become the normal way of life for me.
My mind drifted back to Oscar. My gut told me things were going to be rocky for us. If there even was an ‘us’.
“June!” Aunt Helena was walking out the door of the administration building. “I was expecting you, but not so quickly.”
She wrapped her arms around me, and guided me back toward the campus. The students suddenly stirred clear of our path, not making eye contact with my Aunt or me.
“I’m assuming you are figuring out all the new gifts you are getting.” There was pride in her voice.
“I don’t really know of any but the whole disappearing thing.” I fluttered my hands in the air. “The smoke I could do away with.”
“Smoke?” She stopped in the wheat field just shy of the sign with several long wooden arms, each with a finger pointing in a different direction. Each wooden arm had a different school on it.
“Yes, the whole teleportation thing that you do.” Looking at her, something clicked in my mind. She had no idea what I was talking about. A more terrifying realization swept over me. If she didn’t know what was going on with me, who did?
Without a word, she tapped the sign toward Potion School. Then magically, a pathway appeared across the wheat field.
My eyes followed as the path gained momentum and ended at a small pink cottage that had window boxes under each window overflowing with Geraniums, Morning Glories, Petunias, Moon Flowers and Trailing Ivy, leaving a rainbow of colorful explosion.
Unable to enjoy all of the lovely flowers, I hurried alongside of her. Her long cloak flapped behind her, creating a very eerie sound.
“Aunt Helena?” I questioned with fear in my voice. She knew something and was not telling me what it was.
“It can’t be.” She hurried into the cottage where there were a handful of students silently waiting for class to begin. A hushed gasp came from them.
“Yes, yes.” Aunt Helena tapped the cauldron on the table without looking up. The cauldron started to bubble before she even put anything in it. The foam rose just shy of the top so not to spill over. “This is June, my niece.” She turned toward me. “Everyone knows who you are. Especially since you took over as Whispering Falls Village President.”
I didn’t know whether that was good or bad, until I saw the latest issue of UnHidden Hall, the University newspaper, or should I say smut rag?
The headlines read: Former Hidden Hall Prodigy On House Arrest!
There was a picture of me doing a smudging ceremony to accompany it.
“I…” I grabbed the paper and quickly read through, fully aware that all eyes were on me, including Aunt Helena’s. Nervously, I laughed and held my wrists out in front of me.
I need my bracelet. If there were ever a time I could use some good luck and protection, it would be nice if it were now. I didn’t want to risk anyone turning me in if they knew they could get a price for it. “I’m obviously not on house arrest. See?” I shoved my wrists in the air. “It’s all a misunderstanding.” I smiled, making sure I looked each of them in the eye. I wanted to see if I could tap into my intuition to see if any of them were going to rat me out.
All I smelled was fear. Good.
Aunt Helena cleared her throat. “Now that that is out of the way we can start our lesson on level twenty-eight.” She drew her long pointy finger out in front of her. “June, you can sit there.”
Before taking my little stool at the front table, I noticed that everyone in the class was much different from the classes I had taken before.
“What? I guess you think all witches have warts and pointy hats?” A plump girl snarled making the freckles on the bridge of her nose come together forming the shape of a bat.
“Um. . .witch?” I jerked around looking at all the students, and then to Aunt Helena.
“Yes, June.” She put her hands together, bringing them down to her waist. “A level twenty-eight is potions using witchcraft. They are very tricky spells and only the village president’s can know them outside of the witchery world.”
I listened intently as Aunt Helena explained the first stages of level twenty-eight, but I believe it was for my benefit since all the other students groaned and rolled their eyes as she continued to talk.
To me it was fascinating to hear about different hexes and spells that I would have never dreamed existed. The possibilities were endless in the ways I could help customers, and more importantly, Oscar.
There had to be a way of helping him get some part of his memory back. Hopefully, the most important part he would remember would be me.
“I want everyone to work on a return hex for homework.” Aunt Helena walked around the room giving details of what she wanted from them. A collective groan filled the room.
I don’t even know what a return hex is. I flipped through the manual that was sitting in front of me, trying to figure out this mumbo-jumbo.
“Really? Because you have got some really bad ju-ju following you around.” The plump girl eyed me up and down. “Which means someone has put a bad hex on you.”
My brows furrowed. I didn’t realize I had said that out loud.
“You didn’t say it out loud. I can read your mind.” She tapped her temple, leaving a small indent in the fleshy skin. “Bad hex.”
“Bad hex?” Fear knotted inside my gut as my intuition lit fire. Never in a million years did I believe someone would put an evil spell on me.
Was this the reason for the murder? The break-in at Wicked Good? Or worse, why was someone framing me?
I tried to concentrate on all the things Aunt Helena was teaching, but my mind continued to go back to the last couple of days and the realization that I’ve got to do whatever I can to figure this mess out.
“June?” Aunt Helena tapped the edge of my tabletop. “Class is dismissed.”
I loo
ked around at the empty tables behind me. I was so consumed with my thoughts that I didn’t know everyone had left.
“I’m assuming you aren’t staying.” Aunt Helena sat down on the empty stool next to me. Her cloak swished around her. She put her hand on my knee.
I nodded. “I have to get back to Eloise’s and try to stay out of trouble while I figure all of this out.”
“Though I’d love for you to stay here, I know you are bull-headed and won’t. My only advice is to rely on your stable gift of intuition to guide you. The level-twenty eight talents will come when you need them. You must stay safe. Be a good girl and play by their rules.” There was some caution in her voice. “You will figure this out.”
“I hope so.” I glanced out of the window at the passing students wearing smiles on their faces, without a care in the world.
There was no time to waste. I gathered up my bag and gave Aunt Helena a quick hug.
Mr. Prince Charming was waiting on the steps when I walked out.
Mewl, mewl. He batted at a spiderweb that was wrapped between the spindles on the steps.
“No time to dilly-dally.” I shook my finger at him.. “We’ve got to go figure this thing out.”
I picked up Mr. Prince Charming and held him close to my body. If I was going to do this teletransporting, I didn’t want to do it without him.
I envisioned us sitting on the couch in Eloise’s tree house before I plunged my free fist the ground.
Chapter Nineteen
“I’m not about to ask where you have been,” Eloise called out from the deck of the tree house. “But if you do it again, I won’t be able to cover for you.”
“Why didn’t you tell me about Oscar?” I asked. Finding out what happened to him and our life together was more important to me than being framed for murder or thievery.
“I had no idea that most things happen until after they happen.” Eloise walked into the house and held her hand out. “Brunch is waiting.”
Eloise had the best gardens in any spiritual community around. Lanterns hung from the trees dotted the gravel pathway with beautiful flowers planted on both sides. I ran my hand along the vibrant purple, green, red, orange and yellow flowers. Wisteria vines provided a fragrant canopy leading to a clearing.
There were rows and rows of herbs, neatly planted and perfectly proportioned on the way to the gazebo where Eloise had brunch ready. Mr. Prince Charming’s tail waved above the rows as he darted in and out of the herbs ahead of us.
Each row had a painted wooden sign with the names of the herbs that followed in line. Herbs I had never heard of. I walked in front of each row, touching each herb sign.
“Rose petals, moonflower, mandrake root, seaweed, shrinking violet, dream dust, fairy dust, magic peanut, lucky clover, steal rose,” I whispered, remembering the simpler times I had spent here.
The mismatched tea setting was perfect for the occasion. Everything was mismatched these days. Quickly I counted five chairs, five china cups, five saucers, and a large assortment of pastries from Wicked Good.
“Are we expecting company?” I was in no mood for chitchat with anyone.
“You will be seeing a lot of us, dearie,” Mary Lynn floated above the table. She stretched out her gloved hand, reaching out to grab a scone.
“Stop that!” Mary Sue appeared next to Mary Lynn and smacked Mary Lynn’s hand away. “That’s rude.”
“Don’t tell us what’s rude!” Mary Ellen appeared next to the table in a hot pink tutu and wearing a tiara nestled in her black hair. “You are the queen of rude in how you treat people.”
“I knew the day you were chosen that it was a mistake.” Mary Sue and Mary Lynn took their seats at the table.
“Can’t we all get along?” Mary Lynn adjusted her fox stole and picked at her curls.
“Well it was.” Mary Sue wasn’t going to let any of the younger elders tell her what was what. “She is entirely too young to be an elder and she is entirely too young to be a Village president.” She pointed her sharp nail toward me.
“Leave me out of this.” I pulled a seat out and sat down. The faster we got this over with the better. Eloise rolled her eyes and started to fill the teacups with delicious dark tea.
“This looks good.” Mary Ellen leaned over her cup and took a whiff of the steam. “Naughty, naughty.” Mary Ellen waved a finger in Eloise’s direction. “Trying to disguise different herbs to achieve harmony.” Mary Ellen referred to the tea. She knew Eloise was trying to keep the peace.
“What? Blackberry is for healing. We need the healing.” Eloise made sure she had the perfect combination for all of her guests. “Now, let’s all get along and figure out how to get June out of this mess and my nephew back to where he belongs.”
“Oh my.” Mary Lynn grabbed the napkin and lifted it to her mouth as she shook her head.
“He will never be back the way he was.” Mary Sue reached over and patted Mary Lynn’s hand.
“What do you mean?” A spark shot from Eloise’s finger when she point toward the unfriendly Mary.
Mary Ellen jumped up and stood between a sitting Mary Sue and a standing Eloise. “Like you said, we all need to get along.” Mary Ellen put her hands out as Eloise came closer. “You know what happens when someone denounces their powers.”
“He only denounced it until the crimes are solved.” Eloise glared back and forth between the Mary’s. If looks could kill, there would be three more murders on my hands.
“You only have one time to denounce your powers, and that is forever.” Mary Sue snapped her fingers. A book appeared in her hand. She placed it on the table and used her finger in the air to flip the pages. When it stopped, she pointed to a page. “Right here.”
Eloise leaned in closer. With her eyes squinted she let out a loud gasp. Slowly, she turned toward me. Her eyes were set back in her head, dark circles quickly forming around them.
“No, no, no.” I stood up, knocking the chair on the floor. “No! I did not sign up for this!”
“Whether you signed on the dotted line or not, this is your life.” Mary Sue jabbed at the page. “He was told the consequences of what would happen if he denounced his powers in order to come back here and help you.”
“Yes, he erased of all his spiritual memories and of even living here.” Mary Lynn twisted her hand in the air and Oscar appeared in a cloud of gray smoke.
“I have to help her! I don’t care if you erase my memory and I don’t remember being a spiritualist. I love her and love conquers all. We will come back together because we are destined to be together.”
My heart broke watching the conversation he had before the Marys had stripped him of his powers.
“I have to go back and help her. She needs me. Take away all of my spiritual gifts and memory!”
“No!” I screamed, reaching out to the gray cloud right before it disappeared into mid-air. I scurried over to Eloise who was bent over clutching her stomach. She and Oscar had just found each other after years of her searching for him after his evil uncle had kidnapped him. “I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry.”
She pushed me away and scrambled to her feet. In silence, I watched as she ran back down the cobblestone walk toward the tree house.
“Look what you have done!” I scolded the Marys. “After everything she has done for you. You should be ashamed.”
“She asked.” Mary Sue shrugged. “We aren’t in the business of sugar-coating things. We are in the business of fixing the spiritual world when our leaders screw up.”
“And you couldn’t talk him out of it?” I walked around the table, glaring at each one of them. Mary Lynn’s eyes were filled with tears and Mary Ellen wouldn’t even look at me. Mary Sue was the one who was responsible.
The sky filled with dark clouds and a clap of thunder was loud and clear followed up by a vicious bolt of lightning.
“Time to go.” Mary Lynn put her thumb and finger together as if she was going to snap her way out.
I grabbed her h
ands. “Time to go where?”
“The funeral.” Mary Ellen twirled her finger in the air instantly changing her outfit into a black tight mini-dress and a large brimmed floppy hat.
Kenny.
Chapter Twenty
I didn’t go back in the house to see if Eloise was okay. I knew she needed space and I needed to give it to her. After all, it was because of me that Oscar gave up his spiritual life. But he was right. We would come back together because we were destined to be together.