by Amy Boyles
I turned to those in the Order. “The Order is finished here. This woman has been defeated. No longer will you follow her. No longer will you invade towns and hold them hostage.”
Power coursed through me. It wasn’t even as if I was speaking anymore. I had given myself over to my magic, allowing it to take control.
I glared at the witches on the stands. “And if any of you want to challenge me, please do. I am ready. I am willing, and I am able to take you on.”
The witches stared at me. Their gazes locked on Lacy, who lay trapped under my magic. They stepped forward toward me.
I turned back to Lacy. “And to prove that this witch is no longer your leader”—I crossed to Lacy and placed a hand on her chest—“I will lock her magic so that she can never access it again.”
“What? No!”
Lacy screamed and wiggled, but for all she had done to harm others, it was over. I pressed my hand to her chest and pushed. Every ounce of magic she had retracted, became impossibly locked in a spell that could only be broken by me.
The loss of her magic was too much. Lacy fell back, fainting.
I whirled on the rest of the Order. “Who’s next?”
Then, as if I were dreaming, the witches that remained rose to their feet.
“All hail Pepper Dunn! She’s freed us from Lacy.”
I rocked back on my heels, shocked.
“All hail Pepper,” shouted another.
Then, one by one, the witches who I thought hated me, who I considered evil to the core, fell to their knees in thanks.
In that moment the magic I had tapped into petered out as I stared at a wave of witches kneeling before me.
My gaze snagged on Axel. I reached for him, and he ran from my family. He crossed the distance within seconds. I fell into him as his strong arms wrapped around my waist. My energy drained away. It seeped from me, retreating to the recesses of my body, where it had started from.
“I love you,” he whispered. “I was so worried.”
I gazed into his blue eyes. “I love you. I can’t hold on much longer.”
He smiled gently. “It’s okay. You can sleep.”
My lids closed and I did.
TWENTY-SIX
Axel’s face was the first one I saw when I awoke. I threw my arms around him and held tight.
I didn’t want to let go—ever.
“I’m here,” he whispered. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“Thank goodness,” I said. “I missed you so much.”
I lay on Betty’s couch. Axel sat beside me. He threaded his fingers through mine and kissed the back of my hand. “I brokered a peace deal between the witches and werewolves in the South, so the Order wouldn’t have had a leg to stand on.”
I smiled weakly. Using my magic like that on Lacy had taken most of my strength.
“What happened again? After I locked Lacy’s magic, I mean.”
A luscious smile curved on his lips. “Turned out, they hated Lacy. All of them, and wanted her gone. But no one could overthrow her. Or no one wanted to.”
I took Axel’s hand and pressed it against my cheek. “I don’t want to be their leader.”
He smiled. “I think you’re safe. I believe Hermit has taken that role now.”
“And Sherman?”
Axel smirked. “You’ll have to talk to Betty about Sherman. I think she’s still working on waking him.”
I sighed, and then another thought hit me. I bolted up. “Hugo!”
Axel patted my hand. “He’s back to normal. I heard that Lacy had spelled him. He’s okay.”
As if on cue, Hugo bounded into the living room, placed two paws on the cushion, rose up and licked my face.
I laughed. “All right, I understand, boy. You’re better.”
The rest of my family entered. Betty and my cousins smiled and offered me congratulations.
“We were so worried, Pepper,” Amelia said. “But we always knew you could beat Lacy.”
“Yeah,” Cordelia said. “None of us had any doubts.”
“Your training suited you well,” Rufus said.
My gaze flickered to him. I shot him a sad smile. “Thank you. But where is Lacy?”
“Whisked away by the Order,” Betty said. “I believe her punishment is banishment.”
“And Sherman?” I said.
“With Hermit,” Amelia said. “He’s trying to fix Betty’s almost-death potion.”
Betty sniffed. “It didn’t need fixing. I almost had him awake.”
I pushed myself up. “I want to see him.”
Axel rose with me. “You need to go slowly.”
I shot him a wide smile. “I’ll go slowly if you take me to him.”
Axel brushed a strand of hair from my cheek. His hand slid to the back of my neck, where it lingered. “I’ll take you even if I have to carry you.”
Love wrapped around my heart and gave it a good squeeze. “I’ll go wherever you can carry me.”
I walked slowly, but I managed to get into Axel’s old Land Rover. Residents of Magnolia Cove filled the streets. The town had returned to life as the Order slipped away.
“Did I miss anything fun while I was gone?” Axel asked.
“I put on a glamour and went undercover,” I murmured.
His jaw clenched. “Glad I didn’t see that. I never would’ve let you do it.”
“Then it was a good thing you weren’t here. Axel, I—”
“Not yet.” He glanced over. His stern gaze made my throat close. “Not here. You’re not giving me an answer in my truck.”
I clamped my lips. “Fair enough.”
We arrived at the few tents left of the Order’s camp. We got out of the car, and I shied away from the stares of the witches.
Axel’s arm curled protectively around me. “They revere you. Few witches have that kind of power. Don’t be afraid of them.”
We reached the tent I knew to be Hermit’s and stopped. I squeezed Axel’s arm. “I would like to see Sherman alone. If that’s okay.”
He glared at the tent as if expecting it to reach out and snatch me away from him. “Let me look in first.”
I knocked on a pole, and Hermit’s voice filtered through. “Come in.”
I lifted a flap and showed Axel that it was safe. He nodded warily. “I’ll be out here. If you need anything, and I mean anything, get me.”
I kissed his cheek, letting my lips rub against his stubble. I took a moment and breathed him in—leather and pine, pine and earth—and was thankful that he was home, that he was back with us, with his family.
I released my hold on Axel and found Hermit over Sherman’s body. He didn’t turn around when I entered, and I suspected he knew it was me by some unseen force of magic the Order wizard owned.
My footsteps took me just behind and to the side of Hermit. I watched quietly as he stared down at Sherman’s body.
“It was a simple plan, really,” he explained. “There would be a skirmish, we would go South and your power would take us there. Your gifts would fuel us, give us more magic than we’d ever had before.”
He chuckled softly. “But you’re too smart for all of that, aren’t you? Too smart to be held and captured. Too smart to even let Lacy destroy you.”
A cold chill washed up my spine. Hermit was talking to me. He stared at Sherman, but his words were clearly directed toward me.
“And now my Lacy is gone, banished to a magical island where I’ll never see her again.”
This was bad. I’d been in this situation enough times to know that Hermit was about to engage me. I couldn’t do this alone. I was still weak from fighting Lacy. I needed Axel.
I glanced toward the tent flap.
“Don’t even think of having him help you. Once you stepped into my tent, you were sealed from the outside. Sealed off. No one can hear you.”
He laughed maniacally. “No one can help you.” Hermit pivoted toward me, pulling the cowl back from his head. Malice glittered in his eyes. “
You’ve destroyed everything I worked so hard to build.”
My face twisted in confusion. “Everything you built?”
He gestured to the small tent. “I built the Order into what it was, but no one wanted to follow me, Hermit. I was too quiet, kept too much to myself. So I created Lacy.”
He saw my look of surprise and nodded. “Created her, yes. Stole someone’s power and fueled Lacy with it. She was hard and evil. Witches and wizards loved to hate her. They adored it. She was relentless—you knew that. You’d experienced it yourself. And she came here to attain our ultimate prize—you.”
I clenched my fists as anger whipped through my body. “That’s not a prize—a witch whose powers were to be stolen.”
“No, and Bee was against it, of course. She didn’t want to do that to you.”
I shook my head sadly. “Which is why you killed her.”
“She told me her plan. Even Bee didn’t know my relationship with Lacy, didn’t know who I really was, so she told me. I couldn’t have her ruining my plans to attain your gifts. So yes, I killed her with something as easy as a fire stone. Her bumbling son could’ve even managed that.”
Hermit chuckled. “I set Slug into action and planted the wand and the fire stone in Sherman’s belongings to confuse the situation even more.”
“But why did you care? If you owned the Order as you said, why would it matter that you killed Bee?”
Hermit paused. A look of humanity filled his face, and for a moment I understood—guilt. This was about the face Hermit showed the outside world and the true face he wore behind closed doors.
He pretended to be good, wanted to be loved. He’d needed Lacy to be the bad witch while he pulled the strings from the background all along, keeping himself looking pure.
He was a fraud.
“I couldn’t be tarnished,” Hermit explained. “They couldn’t suspect me. Hermit is too gentle to do such a thing. Once you are in the Order, you follow whoever is your leader, and Lacy never did anything without justification. Coming here to you was justified. Dealing with the werewolves in the South would be justified as well.”
He took a threatening step forward. “Even taking your power would have been justified. The Order called you to fight, and you ignored us, spitting in our faces. Rufus believed I was good, one of the few left, so he asked me to train you.”
“And all the while you were setting me up for disaster,” I murmured.
He shrugged. “You did manage to pull your magic together without my help.”
I rubbed my forehead. “But your technique—to turn an inanimate object into something else—it’s nearly impossible to do, isn’t it?”
He cackled. “Nearly. But you managed. I wondered if you would,” he said wistfully. “I thought—if anyone can do it, you can, Pepper Dunn.”
His expression filled with wonder. “And you did. You turned dust into ice. You out-magicked my Lacy.” He reached for my hair, and I ducked. “You are a worthy prize. Even though you’ve shattered everything I’ve built, I will still have you. You will join the Order and take Lacy’s place.”
He laughed. “See? I will still have my prize.”
Hermit lunged for me. I jumped from his reach. “Playing hard to get, huh?” he sneered. “It won’t help you.”
He was right. I glanced left; I glanced right. There was nowhere to go, and I was tired. Adrenaline fueled me now, but how long would it last?
I raised my hand. A spiral of magic shot from me, wrapping around Hermit.
He threw back his head and cackled. “You may have beat Lacy, but you don’t have the strength to take me on. I’m filled with the power of several witches. I can last for days.”
He flexed his arms, breaking the magical bands as if they were made of tin foil.
He grabbed for me. I dodged again, throwing myself to the back of the tent. “You will surrender,” he growled.
“Never,” I yelled.
I threw another line of power at him. Hermit easily dodged it, hitting my magic with his hand and throwing it across the room.
The realization of what was going on sank in—he was incredibly powerful, and Hermit hadn’t lied. Whatever witch’s powers he had eaten or absorbed had made him nearly indestructible. I had beaten Lacy, but it hadn’t been easy and I was tired. Fatigue had settled into my bones.
Hermit was fresh. He could fight for days while I only had minutes left inside me.
I dug deep, throwing everything I had left at him. My magic bounced off, dissolving in puddles on the floor.
“Enough of this.” Hermit extended his hand, and a rope of power wound around me.
I struggled. I fought. I did everything I could, but his magic held me fast.
“You won’t get away with this,” I screeched. “I will fight you. I’ll never give up.”
Hermit smirked. “My dear, you’ve already lost.” He cupped my chin. I jerked my head away, but he grabbed me fiercely, forcing me to glance directly at him. “Let me look in your eyes one more time, once more to know the anger burning inside you. In a moment that will all be gone and in its place will be submission.”
He raised his hand. Power swirled in his palm. It was coming for me. I cringed. I didn’t want to see what would happen next.
Then a loud thunk shattered the humming sound of magic. Hermit released me, and I heard something slump to the floor.
I blinked my eyes open. Standing where Hermit had been was Sherman, the giant pillory in his hands.
He dragged his gaze from the floor, where Hermit lay unconscious, and leveled it on me. Sherman smiled broadly. He tapped the wooden pillory.
“You know, I figured this would come in handy for something. I just didn’t know what until now.”
Hermit’s hold on me vanished, and I threw my arms around Sherman. “You were right, Sherman. And when it came down to it, you knew exactly what to do.”
“No two left feet for me,” he said proudly.
I smiled. “Nope. Looks like your two left feet might be gone.”
He nodded to Hermit. “Come on. Gather every witch you can. It’s going to take all of Magnolia Cove to hold him.”
I raced for the tent flap. Sherman didn’t have to ask me twice.
TWENTY-SEVEN
So the entire town of Magnolia Cove, along with what was left of the Order, got together and secured Hermit Mage. The wizard fought, but the combined powers of so many witches stopped him from breaking his bonds.
Garrick Young tipped his fedora at me. “We’ve already heard from the council. Those who worked with Hermit and Lacy have been kicked out, so the council is on our side once again. He’ll be transported to them for his punishment.”
I rubbed away a shiver that raced down my arms. “Thank goodness you’re not going to keep him here, in the prison caverns.”
Snaking underneath my town was a prison. I knew I would never sleep well at night knowing that Hermit was so close by.
Garrick scrubbed a hand down his cheek. “No, ma’am. This man’s crimes are too severe. The council will deal with him. They may well seek to banish him like what was done to Lacy. Hard to say.”
I thanked Garrick as he carted Hermit away. Most of the sheriff’s department would escort Hermit themselves. Betty offered to go with them to keep the spell strong.
I hugged her and said my goodbyes. She clipped my chin with her knuckles. “You did good, kid. I’m sorry he fooled us.”
“All of us,” I said.
She nodded and joined Garrick and his men. Rufus stood off to the side. He had offered to help as well. I approached and gave him a big hug.
“Thank you for everything.”
He scoffed. “I almost got you killed.”
I shook my head. “You didn’t know, Rufus—about Hermit. He hid his evil side well.”
Rufus nodded curtly. “Make sure the wolf takes good care of you.”
A weak smile wobbled on my lips. It was emotional saying goodbye to Rufus, but it had to be done. �
�I will.”
Rufus nodded toward Axel and joined Garrick and the others. I noticed my cousin Carmen approached Rufus and watched them talk for a moment.
I wondered if something had sparked between them—something that hadn’t been there before.
Sherman strode up to me. “Pepper Dunn, because of you I’ve become the new leader of the Head Witch Order.”
My jaw dropped. “You’re kidding.”
He shook his head proudly. “Voted in unanimously—even by the witches who had already left. Thanks to you I’ve finally earned their respect.”
“No, Sherman. Because of yourself you did. It had nothing to do with me.”
He raked his fingers through his mop of curls. “Doesn’t matter. Either way, I will bring the Order into a new day. No longer will we seek to prove we’re better than others. Our mission now will to be to find other head witches and help them learn their powers. We will be a refuge for those who need us, a safe haven.”
I couldn’t help but grin from ear to ear. “Sherman, that’s the best news I’ve heard all day.”
He shot me a lopsided grin. I watched as his gaze drifted to the side. I twisted my head and noticed that his attention was pinpointed on Amelia.
I elbowed his ribs. “You might have a shot now. I think you should go find out.”
Excitement flared in his eyes. “Thanks, Pepper. I can only hope.”
After Sherman left, I drifted over to Axel, who had been watching me from the side, his arms crossed and a proud smile on his face.
When I reached him, Axel draped an arm over my shoulder. I laced my fingers through his, and we slowly walked from the camp, heading back to Betty’s cottage.
We were silent for a few minutes until I finally broke it. “You know, I almost feel bad for Lacy. She was Hermit’s puppet.”
Axel stiffened. “She was only his puppet because she allowed herself to be. Don’t feel badly for her.”
I thrust my hip into his. “Why? Because it makes me soft?”