by Sarra Cannon
I’d fallen in love for the first time in my life, and I would lose her now no matter what I did. Even if I managed to save her life, I could never come back here. She would never forgive me.
Standing on the beach that first day with her had given me a glimpse of the life we might have had here. A life where I could be free to live as a better man, spending every day by her side, enjoying the mystery and power of the ocean. A life of adventure, discovering each other and ourselves with no secrets left between us.
I mourned the loss of that dream as the gate that led out of Willow Harbor and marked the city limits came into view.
I held my breath, terrified of losing all memories of the time we’d shared. Terrified that I might spend the rest of my life remembering someone I couldn’t have.
My foot hit the pedal, speeding up as I crossed the border.
Only, several feet outside the city limits, I slammed on the brakes, tears in my eyes.
I allowed the Jeep to idle there for a moment as I took several deep breaths, my hands trembling against the steering wheel.
I hadn’t forgotten Anna at all. I remembered every detail of Willow Harbor. Every supernatural creature, every moment I’d spent with Anna. I remembered it all.
And I had never been so relieved in my life.
What was I doing?
Back there was a library full of information. If there was any hope there was a book in there that could lead me to an answer, I had to at least try. If I wanted to keep Anna in my life, then I would have to fight for her.
I spun the Jeep around and headed back into town.
A town where I belonged. Anna had said it herself. If I didn’t belong here, I would have forgotten.
For some reason, this town was a part of my fate, and I wanted to hold onto that dream of how life might be if I could stay for as long as I could.
My steps quickened as I parked and walked toward the library, clinging to the smallest thread of hope.
Twenty
Anna
I reached a hand out from under the comforter and turned off the alarm on my phone. For the first time in months, I didn’t feel like springing out of bed to get everything ready for the day’s work at PRESTO!
I didn’t want to get out of bed. Period.
I pulled the covers over my head and groaned.
I was usually the first one up, ready to face the day with excitement and joy, but last night had changed everything.
I’d been waiting my whole life to know the truth about my father and what this mark on my hip really meant, but in all my dreaming, I had never imagined anything so horrible.
Gran had been trying to protect me from that horror, holding in her own sorrow for so long, but now it was all out in the open. And there was no ignoring it.
Slade was probably half-way home by now, either trying to come up with some lie that would appease Elisha or trying to get an army together to invade Willow Harbor and take me by force.
I tried to tell myself I didn’t care what Slade did, but I knew that wasn't true at all.
I desperately wanted to believe that he had at least been telling me the truth about how much he cared for me and wanted to keep me safe.
But if that were true, how was he going to keep his sisters safe, too?
I turned over in bed and let out a huge sigh. What were the chances I could have Gran make me a sleeping potion and just go back to bed for the next six months?
I laughed at the thought. I could turn myself into a real life Sleeping Beauty and let everyone else deal with this mess.
Except that I had never been the type of person to shy away from the truth or from helping other people. I would never forgive myself if something happened to Slade’s younger sisters because of me.
I glanced at the clock and sighed again.
There was no way I could muster the energy to serve food today, but I had to at least get up and try to figure this out.
I forced myself out of bed and carried my empty teacup down to the kitchen. Gran was already up, and I was surprised to find three of my mother’s sisters and five of my cousins sitting at the expanded oak table with her.
“Good morning,” I said, embarrassed now that I was still wearing the pink dress I’d had on last night. I’d forgotten to change into PJ’s before I drifted off to sleep.
From the looks of sympathy and determination I got from the ladies in the room, I guessed Gran had already filled them all in on my exciting date.
“Oh, Anna, I’m so sorry,” Aunt Rachel said, standing to throw her arms around me. “I wish you hadn’t had to find out the truth this way. Gran said you were so excited about your date last night. How awful.”
“It was pretty much a nightmare,” I said. “Glad to know everyone in the family has already heard about it.”
“Don’t get upset with me, now. This is a family matter,” Gran said, standing to start another pot of coffee brewing. “We need to be prepared to face whatever might be coming our way.”
“And we’ve got the festival this weekend, too,” my aunt Laura said. “There’s still a lot to be done there.”
“I don’t think anyone’s worried about the festival,” Rachel said. “Not now. What’s the worst that could happen? So the Tillmans don’t show up with their special summer brew. Who cares?”
Laura scoffed. “Everyone cares,” she said. “It’s not a proper solstice version of Sunday on the Square without our brew.”
“Don’t you think Anna’s life is more important?” Rachel asked. She and Laura were always bickering.
“Well, of course, I do,” Laura said. “I’m just saying that we still need to think about the festival. We don’t even know for sure that this man is going to come here looking for Anna.”
“We have to be prepared either way,” Gran said.
“Unless we decide to take the fight to him,” I said, sitting down with a fresh cup of coffee.
Everyone stared at me, their mouths open in surprise.
“What on earth are you talking about?” Laura said.
“I don’t know, but I don’t want to sit here while Slade goes home and potentially risks the lives of his younger sisters in an effort to hide my existence from my own father,” I said. “If he goes home without me, my father is going to punish either him or those girls in one way or another, and I don’t want that on my conscience.”
“I’ve been thinking about that since you mentioned it last night,” Gran said. “But without knowing Elisha’s particular strengths and weaknesses, we’d be going in blind. One wrong move, and we could put all the children there in danger. Not to mention our own lives.”
I sipped my coffee and listened to the Tillman women discuss the issue. No one was getting anywhere, though. Mainly, they were just talking in circles.
The truth was that no matter what we did, someone was going to get hurt. Someone was going to be in danger.
But if Gran’s main argument about not wanting to go and fight was that we didn’t know enough about Elisha, there was a slight possibility there was someone still here in town that knew everything about Elisha.
If Slade hadn’t left last night, maybe he was still in Willow Harbor. If he could tell us Elisha’s weaknesses, give us a map of the compound, tell us where the children lived and how best to keep them safe, we might be able to devise a plan that would work.
While the women continued to bicker, I downed my coffee and placed the empty cup in the sink.
“And just where do you think you’re going?” Aunt Rachel asked.
“I’m going into town,” I said. “You ladies can continue to argue your opinions all you want, but I’m going to see if Slade is still here.”
“Why would you even want to see him again?” Aunt Laura asked. “After the way he treated you?”
“Because he’s the only one we know who has all the information we need about Elisha,” I said.
Before anyone could stop me, I grabbed my car keys off the counter and ran out
the back door.
Twenty-One
Slade
The inside of the library was cold compared to the sweltering heat outside.
A large, wood-paneled front desk took up a large portion of the entrance, and as I approached the older gentleman sitting there, I realized I had no idea how to ask for what I wanted.
I was certain there were magical tomes here in the library, but how likely were they to just hand them over to an outsider?
“Hi,” I said, my mind racing for some kind of explanation. “I was hoping to speak to someone who might know about the special collections here at the library.”
“Yes,” the man said.
Which wasn't really an answer, except that his eyes lifted to a woman crossing in front of the staircase nearby. I immediately recognized the quiet, dark-haired woman from the Dark Horse Diner last night.
I searched my mind for the woman’s name, but I couldn’t quite remember.
“Megan?” I asked.
The older man shook his head. “Mattie.”
I smiled. “That’s it, thank you.”
He nodded to me, and I ran after the woman whose arms were full of books. Her eyes widened as I approached, and I wondered if news about what happened between Anna and I had already spread across this town like wildfire. After all, Mrs. Finnygood was definitely a gossip, so there was no telling who she’d spoken to since last night.
“Hi,” I said, motioning toward the books. “Can I help you with those?”
“I have them,” Mattie said. “What can I help you with?”
I cleared my throat. “Well, I don’t really know how else to say it, but I was hoping maybe you would have some books here that explained spells and rituals regarding cults or groups being controlled by a magical tattoo or mark.”
I was having trouble explaining what I wanted, because the truth was I had no idea if the magic I wanted to find even existed.
Mattie set the pile of books onto a cart in the center of the stacks.
“A mark?” she asked. “Like what?”
I glanced around, embarrassed about doing this in the public library, but I needed this woman to understand what I was looking for. I was running out of time, and I would need her help if I was going to find anything I could use against Elisha.
I lifted the corner of my shirt, showing her the mark. She leaned down, studying it for a moment before shaking her head.
“I don’t recall ever seeing this specific mark before,” she said. “You said that this is related to a cult?”
“They don’t call themselves a cult,” I explained. “They are called the Disciples of Light, but the leader of this group brands everyone, including infants, with this mark.”
I lowered my voice, unsure if it was safe to talk about this in here. So far, though, I hadn’t seen anyone else here besides Mattie and the guy at the desk.
“It contains some sort of magic that protects this leader. It makes those of us in the group unable to attack or harm him in any way,” I said. “I want to find a way to either remove this mark or get rid of the protection that keeps this man safe.”
Mattie stood straighter, her eyes searching mine.
“This is a pretty serious request for a stranger,” she said. “How do I know you’re not asking this to try to hurt someone who is innocent?”
I shrugged. “You don’t, I guess.”
She gave me a strange look and then walked toward the steps, shaking her head.
I had no idea if she was walking away from me or wanting me to follow her, but when she started talking, I ran to catch up with her.
“I heard you had an argument with Anna last night after dinner,” she said. “Did it have something to do with this mark?”
“Word travels fast in this town, huh?”
She didn’t answer. She just stared at me, waiting for me to explain.
“Yes, our argument had something to do with this mark,” I said. “The man who gave me this mark is trying to hurt Anna. I want to stop him before he does that.”
I didn’t mention that Anna also had the same mark. I wasn't sure she wanted the people in this town to know, and I certainly didn’t want to make her life any harder than it already was.
“There are some books in the collections down in the basement that might give you the information you need,” Mattie said. “But you have to promise you’ll be careful with the books. Nothing leaves this library. Am I clear?”
“Crystal,” I said.
She took a deep breath, looking me over one more time, as if still trying to decide whether to trust me. Finally, she took out a key and walked me down to a series of basement rooms deep beneath the library.
Mattie stopped in front of a large door, slipped her key inside, and opened it.
“The books on coven magic and magical marks and symbols are in this room,” she explained. “Don’t take it personally, but I’m going to sit in here with you while you look over these books. You have an hour before I have to get back to my work.”
“An hour?” I asked, staring at the dozens of books in the room. “I don’t suppose you’d be willing to help me look, then? I mean, if you’re just planning to sit here.”
I gave her a hopeful smile.
She narrowed her eyes at me, but finally, she nodded and took a book from the shelf. “Only because you’re a friend of Anna’s,” she said. “She’s one of the happiest people I’ve ever met, and I’d like to see her stay that way. If finding this information could help her in any way, I’m happy to help for as long as I can.”
I let out a sigh of relief. “Thank you,” I said.
We spent the next hour pouring over the ancient books, looking for anything that might be able to release the magic of this mysterious mark.
When the hour was nearly up, Mattie stood and starting putting all of the books back on their shelves. My heart raced as I carefully turned the pages, terrified if I moved too fast I would either miss something or rip a page and suffer this woman’s wrath.
If I could just have a few more hours in here, maybe I could find what I was looking for, but there just wasn't enough time to go through everything.
I closed the book, ready to give up when Mattie straightened and pulled a slim leather book from the shelf.
“Wait,” she said. “I don’t remember ever seeing this one before, but it looks like it might be relevant.”
Goosebumps broke out across my skin as she turned the book toward me so that I could read the title.
Witch’s Mark.
Twenty-Two
Anna
I parked in front of the Willow Harbor Inn and ran up the steps, praying Slade hadn’t left town yet. It was after ten in the morning, though, and I knew my chances of finding him inside were slim to none.
Mrs. Finnygood stood on top of a stool behind the front desk, writing in her ledger with a long fountain pen that held a peacock feather. She smiled when she glanced up at me.
“Dear Anna. It’s so nice to see you again. I take it you’re here looking for Slade?” she asked. “Why, after that argument you two had last night, I must say I’m surprised to see you.”
She shook her head, clicking her tongue against her teeth in disapproval.
“Is he still here?” I asked.
“He’s not,” she said.
The words brought tears to my eyes, and I told myself there was no other reason besides my disappointment that he wouldn’t be able to tell me more about Elisha. The tears had absolutely nothing to do with me actually wanting to see him again.
“Okay, thank you,” I said, trying to keep my voice carefree as I headed toward the door.
“He said he was planning to leave,” she said. “Checked out and everything. Only, a few minutes later, guess who I saw drive up to the library and go inside?”
I stopped.
“You mean, he didn’t leave town?” I asked.
“Not yet, but if you ask me, it might be better if he did,” she said. “I’ve never
known anyone in my life as joyful as you, and it broke my heart to see you crying on my doorstep last night.”
I tried to hide my smile, but this was the best news I’d had all day.
“Thank you,” I said.
I ran out the front door and looked toward the library.
My heart leapt as I saw Slade emerge from the front doors. He glanced over, his eyes meeting mine across the distance.
I pushed back tears of gratitude, not wanting to admit how happy I was to see him again. That he hadn’t left town angry last night.
Still, I didn’t want him to know how much I cared, so I blinked several times, holding back any sign of tears as I plastered a smile on my face.
“Hi,” I said as we met up somewhere in the middle on the grass of the town square under the willow tree. “I wasn't sure you’d still be in town.”
“I was worried when I didn’t see the food truck out this morning,” he said, the concern in his eyes turning my knees to jelly. “Are you doing alright?”
I suddenly realized that I’d left the house in the same pink dress I’d been wearing last night, but it didn’t matter. All that mattered was figuring out what we were going to do next.
“I’m doing a little better now that the initial shock has worn off,” I said. “I talked to Gran about the whole thing when I got home last night. It’s all just a big mess, honestly. We’re trying to figure out what our best course of action is now that Elisha most likely knows I’m here.”
“I swear, I haven’t told anyone the name of this town, and I won’t tell him,” Slade said. “I’ll do everything I can to keep him from ever finding you.”
“And how is he going to react to the news that you failed again?” I asked, shaking my head. “He’s going to punish you or your sisters, right? And he’ll keep doing it every time you come back without me. He’s never going to let you go or stop punishing you. And you’d said something about a full moon? What significance does that have?”