by Sarra Cannon
“So, I’ve heard.” I glanced at Anna. “Still, I think I’ll stick around here for at least another week if I can. Just to get to know the area a bit more.”
Anna smiled at me, but then she tried to hide the smile, which was even more adorable.
“I’m sure Slade’s ready to get going,” Anna said. “I am starving.”
She grabbed my arm, but Gran stopped us.
“Not just yet,” she said. “Slade, where did you say your boss was located? What’s your permanent residence?”
“My boss is in New York City,” I said. “I live in New Jersey, but I go into the city when he needs to meet with me. Mostly, though, I travel around to scout new locations and get to know the areas where he might want to build.”
Gran nodded, seemingly satisfied with that answer. My shoulders relaxed slightly. There was no way this woman recognized me. She would have said something by now.
“And your family?” she asked. “Do your people also live there in New Jersey?”
“My mother passed away when I was young,” I said. “But yes, my father still lives there in New Jersey. He got remarried after my mother died, so I have two half-sisters who still live with them. I have my own apartment, but it’s pretty small since I spend a lot of my time traveling.”
“Gran, I think that’s enough, don’t you?” Anna asked.
Gran waved her hand in front of her face. “I guess you two better get going,” she said. “I don’t mean to pester you, but Anna is like my own daughter. I want to make sure she’s in good hands.”
“Of course,” I said. “I’m happy to answer any questions, and I understand how it must be in a town like this where you don’t get many outsiders. I promise I’ll take good care of her, though.”
“And you’ll have her home by midnight?” Gran asked.
Eva, who was still standing just behind Gran, laughed, but quickly covered her mouth with her hand.
Anna, on the other hand, looked mortified.
“You can just ignore that, Slade,” she said. “I’m a grown woman, and I’ll come home when I’m ready to come home.”
Gran took a deep breath and pursed her lips.
“Yes, yes. Go have fun,” she said, leaning over to kiss Anna on the cheek. “Just do me a favor and call if you’re going to be too late.”
“I will,” Anna said. She grabbed a small black purse hanging on the banister, smiled at her friend and mouthed something I couldn’t quite understand, and then took my hand. “You ready?”
“Definitely,” I whispered.
“Have fun,” Eva said.
“Good night,” Anna called out as she led me out of the house, down the steps, and toward my Jeep.
She let out a long sigh and then giggled.
“So sorry about that,” she said. “I know it’s a bit ridiculous to have to answer all those questions. It’s not like we’re teenagers, but she’s still under the impression that I’m a child who will never fully grow up.”
I opened the passenger-side door for Anna and helped her climb in. When I got in on the other side, I backed up and headed toward town.
“It’s okay, really,” I said. “My dad was really overprotective of me for a long time after Mom died, too. I think suffering that loss makes the people around us realize that life is fragile, you know?”
Anna nodded. “Yes, I do,” she said. “I’m sorry to hear you lost your mom young, too. That’s one thing I’d rather not have in common.”
“Me, too,” I said.
She reached for my hand across the center console, and we rode together in silence almost the rest of the ride toward downtown, both thinking of our mothers and the secrets they carried with them to the grave.
Fourteen
Slade
As we drove into town, I realized I had no idea where we were going.
I pulled over in front of the local library, a massive building with tall columns and stately steps leading up to the entrance. It was really the centerpiece of the town square, and even though I hadn’t taken the time to go inside, I wondered what secrets and magical tomes were housed in that building.
What if there were spellbooks in there for warlocks like me? Something that could teach me how to fight back against Elisha?
“Why did we stop?” Anna asked, glancing up at the library. “I don’t think we’re going to find dinner in there.”
I laughed. “No, I know,” I said. “But I don’t know this town very well yet. Where do you want to go?”
“I’m sorry to say there aren’t a ton of options,” she said. “Nothing too fancy, anyway. There’s Tempest Pizza, which is awesome, or we could head over to the Dark Horse Diner if you’re in the mood for burgers and fries.”
“Do you mind if we go to the diner?” I asked. “I’ve been eating takeout from Tempest Pizza every day since I got here.”
Anna laughed, and the sound filled the interior of my Jeep. I couldn’t help but smile at her. How was it possible for one person to always be so full of joy? Especially after all the heartache she must have suffered in her life?
“I don’t mind at all,” she said. “It’s just to the left here and around the corner.”
I followed her instructions and parked across from the diner. It was clear we weren’t the only ones who’d had the idea of coming here tonight, but when there were only a handful of options, I guessed these places were always busy.
We stepped into the diner, and it was like stepping back in time. The checkered black and white floors, the high stools and leather booths, it was set up like an old-fashioned diner, which had me immediately aching for a great milkshake. I hadn’t had one since I was a kid, but I bet this place had amazing milkshakes.
A woman with blonde hair and the most curious golden eyes approached us and pulled Anna into a hug.
“I’m so glad to see you here,” she said. She gave me a strange look. “And who’s your friend?”
“Marla, this is Slade,” Anna said. “He’s here in town on business, so I thought I’d show him around.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Slade,” Marla said. “Just pick any booth that suits you and I’ll be right over to take your order.”
“Thank you,” Anna said.
She took my hand and led me past a booth with two other couples who kept their eyes locked on us as we walked by.
Anna nodded to them but kept walking, finally settling on the booth farthest away from the door.
“Gosh, you weren’t kidding when you said people were always staring at you,” she said with a laugh.
“Showing up here with you probably just makes them even more curious about me,” I said, leaning across the top of the table to take her hand. “But I don’t care about them. I’m here to get to know you better.”
“Well, Marla, the woman at the front, pretty much runs this place. She’s an old family friend, so she’ll make sure to take care of us,” Anna said. “And hopefully she won’t pry too much. A lot of people here in town have kind of taken to me as one of their own. I think it’s because they all know I lost my mother when I was so young.”
“Do you want to talk about it?” I asked. I still didn’t know just how much Anna had been told about her mother’s death. She’d been so small when she escaped that I couldn’t imagine she really had any memories of her own.
“Maybe later, but talking about her just makes me sad, and I’m determined we both have a good time tonight,” she said. “You already know so much more about me than I know about you, anyway. You have two half-sisters? How old are they?”
We got lost in conversation for a while, me mostly telling her a bunch of lies and half-truths about my family and my life. It felt all wrong, and every word out of my mouth made me feel terrible.
I wanted to be able to tell her the truth about my life. About the things we shared.
Marla took our orders and soon brought me the largest chocolate milkshake I’d ever laid eyes on in my life.
“Wow,” I said, wide-eyed. “It’ll be
a miracle if I can drink this whole thing.”
“You’d be surprised,” Anna said. “Just taste it before you make any judgments about how big it is. The milkshakes here are amazing.”
And she was right. I’d never tasted anything so creamy and delicious in my life. The perfect summer treat, and the more I sat there talking to a true summer child, the happier I felt.
And the farther away the Disciples of Light seemed.
Once our burgers came, I’d nearly pushed all thoughts of my former life out of my mind. I’d never had so much fun just talking about nothing. We talked about silly stuff like our favorite kinds of music, TV shows we both loved, and what books we wished we’d never read.
Anna had me laughing harder than I ever remembered laughing before tonight.
“So, tell me what it’s really like living in a town like this all your life,” I said, leaning in. “Do you know what everyone in here is? Or is it all a secret?”
She smiled and leaned toward me, a fun glimmer in her eyes.
“It’s different for everyone,” she said. “Some people are more open than others about what they are or what they can do, while other people are much harder to figure out. Okay, so take that booth over there with the two couples? All four of them look like normal humans, right? Three of them have powerful abilities, and one is human. Any guesses as to which three and what they are?”
I laughed nervously. I’d never played this kind of game before, but it was fun and challenging. Guess the magical creature.
I looked over at the two couples, trying my best not to be too obvious as I studied them.
There was no doubt the woman with long blonde hair streaked with orange was powerful. It was something about her eyes that gave it away. Their blue-green color was as deep and beautiful as the ocean.
“The one with the orange streaks in her hair,” I said. “She’s some kind of water creature? I don’t know enough about the types of magic you’d find in a beach town to recognize what she is, exactly, but I can feel the power radiating from her all the way over here.”
Anna raised an eyebrow and nodded, obviously impressed.
“That’s Delpha, and she’s an Oceanid and a sorceress,” she said. “What about the others?”
I stared at the brunette woman for a long moment, but I couldn’t sense anything supernatural about her. Human, for sure. But the guy she was with seemed different in some way I couldn’t quite place my finger on.
“The guy sitting with the brunette,” I said, sitting back. “I can’t for the life of me tell what he is, but there’s definitely something about him.”
“Pierce,” she said. “He’s a true shapeshifter, which is extremely rare.”
“True shapeshifter?” I asked. “What does that mean?”
“It means he can shift into anything he wants, instead of being limited to just one type of animal or creature,” she said. “There’s been some animosity in the past between his family and the werewolves and other shifters here in town, but I think most of that’s calmed down since Mattie came to town.”
“Mattie’s his girlfriend?” I asked. “The human?”
“She and Delpha both work at the library,” Anna said.
“I recognize the guy sitting with Delpha,” I said. “He runs the pizza place, right?”
“Yep, that’s Cad. He owns it,” she said.
“Amazing pizza, which makes me think he has some powers of his own,” I said. “I’ve gotten the vibe from him before that he’s like me. A warlock of some kind, though not the same types of powers I have.”
Anna laughed. “I don’t know that he uses his powers to make pizza, but yes, he is powerful.”
“What about you?” I asked. “Does everyone here know you’re a witch?”
She shrugged. “Not everyone, I’m sure, but it’s no secret that if people in this town need a specific type of potion created, I can usually whip something up for them,” she said. “Like that girl over there?”
She nodded toward a pretty girl with long, dark hair and striking green eyes.
“Her name is Brooke,” I said. “I bet you’ll never guess what she is.”
I watched as she and her friends talked, but I couldn’t sense anything in particular coming from her.
“I give up,” I said.
“She’s a siren,” I said. “Very beautiful and alluring, but also very dangerous to men at times. Earlier this year, I helped her out with a potion that dampens her siren magic and makes it safe for her to be around others.”
“Wow,” I said. “That’s incredible. How did you learn to make all these potions? Did your Gran teach you?”
“Oh, almost all the Tillman witches know how to make potions of one kind of another,” she said. “As hedgewitches, we all are skilled with herbs of different kinds. I’m just one of the only witches in the family who doesn’t mind sharing my gifts with the people in town. If you stick around for Sunday on the Square this coming weekend, though, you’ll see more of my family in action. My aunts love bringing out their special potions and elixirs for the festivals here in town, and this weekend is close to the summer solstice, so everyone will be there. It’s always a lot of fun.”
“Incredible,” I whispered.
“What?” she asked.
“You just seem so...free,” I said, unable to find a better word for it.
“Don’t get me wrong, Willow Harbor isn’t always a safe place to be,” she said. “There are arguments and tensions between different families that go back for centuries. There are creatures who live in the sea that try to steal women from the beach this time of year, and it can be dangerous. And sometimes, outsiders find their way here and bring dangers of their own. But for the most part, we’ve all learned to live in harmony. Besides, there’s a group of local Hunters who are well-trained when it comes to fighting the darker side of the supernatural.”
She nodded to a cop who was waiting at the counter for a takeout order.
“See that guy? His name’s Cole. He’s a cop, but he’s also one of the Hunters,” she said. “Some people don’t even know about the Hunters, but like I said, I’ve helped a lot of people out with potions, so I probably know a bit more about people here than they want me to know.”
“You’re truly incredible,” I said, and I meant it.
I never wanted this night to end, but considering we’d finished our food and had just been sitting around taking up a table for the past hour and a half, I figured it was time to move on.
“So are you,” she said softly, and the honesty in her eyes made me want to believe her.
She made me want to be the kind of person she thought I was.
“Do you want to get out of here?” I asked. “I have no idea where else to take you, but I don’t want the night to end just yet.”
“Me, either,” she said. “How about we walk down to the Boardwalk? It’s not really a great time of year to be walking out on the darker parts of the beach at night, but the Boardwalk itself is well-lit. We could at least walk out there for a bit. Maybe stop by and grab a cup of coffee at Urban Grind before they close?”
“Coffee at this time of night? You really are the perfect woman, aren’t you?”
She laughed. “Everyone loves coffee,” she said.
I paid for our dinner, thanked Marla for taking such good care of us, and led Anna out into the warm, summer evening.
“The Boardwalk isn’t far,” she said. “I say we just leave the car where it is and walk down there.”
I took her hand, and she smiled up at me.
“I really am having a nice time tonight,” she said. “You’re so easy to talk to.”
“I’m having the best time,” I said.
And even though that was true, I was also having the worst night of my life.
I’d finally found a woman who made me feel like I was truly alive, and she was the one person in the world I could never have.
Fifteen
Anna
The sh
ort walk down to the Boardwalk was quiet and peaceful. I didn’t know why I’d been so nervous about this date with Slade, because so far, everything had been perfect.
I could have sat at that table talking to him for hours, just staring into his dark eyes and laughing until they kicked us out.
But being out here alone with him in the dark made my nerves kick up again.
His thumb caressed my hand, and the night had suddenly turned more intimate, as if we were the only two people here in Willow Harbor.
“Was that true about you ending up here on accident?” I asked as we stepped into Urban Grind.
They were closing in fifteen minutes, and the place seemed deserted, but I was hoping Loran would come through for us.
“Yes,” he said, but I sensed there was something he wasn't telling me.
What reason could he possibly have to hold back why he was really here?
“You’d never heard of this town at all?” I asked.
“Never,” he said.
That wasn't a strange answer, of course, because most people had never heard of Willow Harbor. Despite being on the beach, we almost never had tourists unless there was some other reason for them to be here.
Sometimes they were drawn here by the magic of the willow tree, and other times, they passed through only to forget most of their visit the minute they left.
But I got the distinct feeling Slade wasn't being entirely honest with me.
Before I could press him on it, though, Loran appeared from the back. As usual, he was dressed impeccably, and he smiled when he saw us.
“Good evening, Anna,” he said. “And Slade, it’s nice to see you again.”
I raised an eyebrow, surprised to see that Loran knew Slade’s name.
“You guys know each other?” I asked.
“Oh, sure, Slade’s been coming in every day for the past couple weeks,” Loran said. “You guys want me to get you the usual?”
“That would be great,” I said. “Sorry to barge in last minute, but coffee sounded so good right now.”
“Always more than happy to help you out, Anna. You know that,” Loran said. “When you first approached me with the idea of serving my coffee on your food truck, I wasn't so sure it would be good for business, but you were right. Profit’s tripled since you got started a few months ago.”