by Lola Dodge
Outside, I gasped for breath and coughed out the smoke. When I wasn’t choking, I heard the screams. The building was totally engulfed and the wind whipped piles of burning straw.
Fire ate into the roof of the nearest barn. Animals screamed panic.
All because of me.
The man who’d accused me was still hauling Trevor, but he kept glancing around. Sirens wailed, coming closer.
I turned and ran with no idea where I was going. Anywhere but here.
I couldn’t be caught. Fires started with magic were first-degree arson.
Twenty years in prison.
Minimum.
Spots danced in front of me as I followed the nervous crowd dashing for the parking lots. I stumbled. I’d cast too much, letting the power control me. Now I could barely see straight. But I had to keep going. It didn’t matter if the fire was an accident when a witch was involved.
I saw Darcy’s car but kept running to the edge of the parking lot. A big SUV was parked in the spot closest to the exit. The need to get away bled over any rational ideas of how to fix this. I grabbed my ear as I sprinted, tapping into the power in my charmed earrings. Mom had given them to me for a reason.
This reason.
“Unlock.” Power whooshed past my ear to the SUV and the driver’s door flung itself open. I threw myself inside and slammed the door. “Start.” Magic flared again. The engine roared.
I tore out of the parking lot as the firetrucks flew in.
Chapter Three
I was halfway home before it hit me that I’d stolen a car. Slamming the breaks, I veered to the side of the road, dizzy, exhausted, and desperate.
Someone laid on their horn as they blew past me.
Stupid. I banged my head against the steering wheel. So stupid. Where was I supposed to go now? Home? With a stolen car? What if there were security cameras at the fair? Or that guy identified me? Did the police already have my name?
I wanted to drive between the trees and speed deep into the forest. Maybe become a hedge witch in some backwater Adirondack town.
My phone rang. I picked it up without checking the screen. Only one person ever called, and she tended to sense when I’d gotten myself into a mess. “Mom? I did the stupidest thing.”
“I doubt it, cupcake. Unless you’re pregnant by a drummer. That would be stupid.”
I blinked, then squinted at the screen. Area code 575? “Who is this?”
“Your great-aunt, apparently. What did you do that’s so stupid?”
“Agatha?” I squeaked. Months of summer and she called now?
“In the flesh. Or the voice. Now tell me. What have you done?”
“I…” Burned down the county fair and stole a getaway vehicle? I couldn’t say that. She’d never hire me.
“The truth.” Her voice was firm.
“I didn’t mean to.” Once I broke the seal, the story spilled through my lips from creepy Trevor to my accidental magic outburst and running from the scene of the crime. “So, I’m sitting on the side of the road, wondering if there’s any way to fix this.”
Agatha’s full-throated laugh was such a shock that I elbowed the horn.
“You sounded so boring in your letter. I’m relieved.”
“Relieved?” That I was about to get arrested? “I don’t understand.”
“Are you still looking for work?”
“At Agatha’s Bakeshop?”
“Well, I don’t own a shoe store.”
Was this really happening? Any of it? “I’ll scrub the floors. I’ll wash dishes if—”
“I already have a cleaning staff. I need a baker. How soon can you move to town?”
“Now. Right now.” Stolen car and all. Hell. I’d walk to New Mexico in Darcy’s flip-flops.
“Let’s say Monday?” A keyboard clicked in the background. “And do you have any questions, or are you busy running from the cops?”
Only a million. Why now? Why me? Would Mom even let me go?
I swallowed down the spring of curiosity. If I started asking, I’d never stop. “I’d better take care of my mess.”
“I’ll spring you from the slammer if need be. You’re my apprentice now.”
Apprentice.
My chest expanded like a birthday balloon. Agatha’s apprentice.
This was the best day of my life.
Or the best minute of my life.
Red and blue lights flashed. A pack of cop cars was tearing down the road.
Three guesses who they were after.
Chapter Four
It was the middle of the night by the time the cops let me call Mom. They’d hauled me out of the car and slammed me into the reedy ditch where I’d pulled over.
No handcuffs for me. I wore a pair of heavy lead manacles with caps that forced my hands into fists and stopped me casting any “dirty witch voodoo” on them. I’d never practiced voodoo in my life, and it wasn’t dirty magic because there wasn’t such a thing, but I kept my mouth shut. Nobody at the station would care about the distinction.
Now my arms ached from breaking my fall, I was caked with mud, and my chin had a gravel scrape that still oozed blood, but it could’ve been worse. Maybe it could’ve. I had to keep telling myself that or I’d lose the tears I’d been keeping back.
The only female cop I’d seen got stuck helping me make my call. She found Mom’s number in my contacts and held the phone to my ear with actual pity in her eyes. My throat closed up.
“Anise?” Mom answered on the first ring. “Why aren’t you home yet?”
“There was an acc—” My voice cracked.
“Accident? Are you okay?”
“I’m not hurt.” Not much. “But I did something…” I couldn’t say it.
“Is anyone hurt?”
“No.” I’d heard the cops talking. Trevor only had a few surface burns—which he fully deserved—and the firefighters had gotten there in time to stop the whole fair going up. Only the bakery pavilion was a loss. The one other injury was a 4H kid who’d taken a hard kick to the ribs when his horse panicked.
So again, the situation could’ve been worse. I was looking at charges for the fire and the car, but not for killing anyone. Maybe some civil charges from Trevor? “We might need a lawyer.”
“Where are you?” Keys clinked and a door slammed on the other side of the line.
I relaxed the teeniest bit knowing Mom was on the way. “County jail. I accidentally started a fire.” I made sure to emphasize accidentally. The cop holding the phone didn’t react, but I hoped she wouldn’t forget. I’d said it a hundred times already. The fire was an accident.
The only good thing about being “dangerous” was that I got my own holding cell. I sat on a hard bench trying to ignore my aches and the gagging mold smell crawling up the drain in the center of the floor. I couldn’t tell how much time passed without my phone, but it had to be at least another hour before one of the cops unlocked my door.
I didn’t dare move until he jerked his head to the side. “You made bail.”
That couldn’t be right. But the man stepped aside, ready to let me pass. Not wanting to miss my chance, I scurried out and followed his lead down a long corridor. Two officers undid my manacles before handing me the lead-lined bag that held my jewelry. I jammed the rings onto my fingers and stuck the studs back in my ears as quick as I could while eyeing the cops’ guns and batons. When I was out the door, then I’d believe they were actually letting me free.
Mom paced in the lobby. I ran to her and she squeezed me in a quick, crushing hug.
“Hurry.” She yanked me toward the door. I wasn’t going to argue.
Pulling me all the way, she speed-walked to the car. I slid in and buckled. Mom lifted a hand to my scraped cheek before shaking her head and gunning the car out of the parking lot.
“How did you afford bail?” They would’ve set it ridiculously high for a pyro witch. Tens of thousands. Maybe hundreds.
“I didn’t. Agatha did.”
> Uh oh. “I was going to tell you…” But I’d honestly forgotten. The news hadn’t seemed as important from the inside of a jail cell.
She threw the turn signal a little too aggressively. “After this mess, Taos might be for the best.”
“Really?” I wasn’t sure why Agatha had rung me up now after keeping me waiting all summer, but I needed an out of this town. Except for one problem. “Can I really leave? If I’m being charged…” My stomach roiled like I’d taken a few shots of dread potion. Leave it to me to ruin everything when my dream was finally right there.
“You can’t.”
Right. Of course I can’t. The police. The charges. It made total sense.
My hands shook. With exhaustion. With fear for the inevitable.
“Anise. Anise.” Mom reached out. Her squeeze to my shoulder reminded me to keep breathing. “Listen, sweetie. You’re not allowed to leave town, but you’re going to anyway.”
That…did not make total sense. “What?” There were magical ways I could hide myself from the police, but using them would prove I really was a bad seed. And running? For the rest of my life?
I’d go crazy looking over my shoulder.
“I’ll take care of the charges. You’re going to Agatha’s. Tonight.”
“Tonight… Wait. Take care of them how?” This was moving too fast. Maybe I wasn’t understanding.
Mom’s jaw clenched tight. The last time I’d seen that look, she was going door to door, determined to find a new job without using her magic.
I sucked air through my teeth. “You’d spell them?” It went against everything she’d taught me.
Witches needed to stay out of the spotlight. No risky spells. No magic in public. And absolutely, never, ever, ever, ever any magic-fueled manipulation or compulsion. The witches who broke that rule were half the reason we had to hide. The other half… Losing control and setting an accidental bonfire isn’t doing the craft any favors, either.
“I’ll negotiate.” The stubborn tone of her voice said I wouldn’t be changing her mind.
“You don’t have to. I’m an adult. I’ll stay and—”
“No.” She braked hard at a red light that must’ve snuck up on her. I jerked, thrown against my seatbelt. She let go of the wheel to rest both hands on her chest. “I’m sorry.”
I should be the one apologizing. “No. It’s my—”
“No, sweetie.” She smoothed my arm. “This was inevitable. Your powers are growing. It’s time you had a better teacher.”
Mom had never been that interested in her magic. She’d taught me enough of the basics that I wouldn’t fry myself. After that, I’d been teaching myself from books and the few reliable sources online. We used to fight about casting all the time in junior high, but since dropping out, I’d realized how much work it was just to keep the apartment and more food in our fridge than condiments. “You did your best.”
Her bitter laugh made my stomach muscles clench.
“My best?” She rested her head on the wheel. The light was green.
“Mom?” I touched her shoulder. Her chest heaved up and down, but she wasn’t laughing anymore.
A car whipped out from behind us, letting out a hate honk that hung in the air. Mom finally lifted her head. Her cheeks were damp.
Fumbling, I reached for one of the glove compartment napkins. She took it, dabbing off her face as she started the car moving again. It was my fault, but seeing her cry made it hard to think how to apologize. A “sorry” wouldn’t fix the trouble.
“Hold on. I can’t drive and tell you what I have to tell you.” Mom veered off into a gas station and parked at the back of its lot.
I fiddled with the seatbelt. What did she have to say that made her so afraid she’d rear-end someone?
“Did you ever wonder why I wouldn’t teach you more? Why I never cast?”
“You’re not interested in magic.” I’d always known that.
“I’m a better actress than I thought. I always thought you suspected…” She pulled her earlobe, tugging at the row of enchanted studs. “Those bad witches I told you about? Those power-seekers who flocked to the vortexes? Every story I told you, I was talking about myself.”
I felt a pinch between my eyebrows. If I was frowning that hard, it was because Mom’s words didn’t track. “How could you be a power seeker? You never even cast.”
“I don’t let myself cast.”
“But…”
Mom folded her arms hard across her stomach and clenched her fingers tight. “I grew up in Taos. Went to school there. Nana owned the jewelry shop, and I was supposed to inherit. I loved the craft, but I started going behind her back, taking orders for dangerous spells from people who shouldn’t have that kind of magic.” What kind of magic is that? Mom kept going before I could ask. “Maybe she knew all along, but once I crossed the line… Some things can’t be fixed. The Syndicate cast me out of town, and my own mother wouldn’t stand up for me.”
“Nana wouldn’t?” That didn’t make sense either. Nana passed when I was five, but I remembered her kindness and warmth. She’d baked the first enchanted cookies I ever tasted.
“I hated her for a long time. Now I’d sacrifice anything to get those years back. She was trying to protect me, but I was too wild to notice. Or care.”
Mom, a wild child? My mom?
“I kept you away so you wouldn’t be tempted to repeat my mistakes. You’re so driven to learn, and once you taste real power…” Mom shuddered so hard, her body rolled from her shoulders to her toes. “But you have the discipline I never did, and hiding you from other witches has been hurting you more than anything. It’s time. I’ll deal with the police and whoever’s bringing charges. You go. Agatha sent me an email. Said you’re on the red-eye leaving tonight and you’ll start working on Monday.”
“Tonight?” It was the second time I’d heard how soon I’d be leaving, but I still couldn’t process it. And after Mom’s truth bomb, I wasn’t any closer to comfortable with the new reality. At least Mom could visit. Wait. Could she? “Can you visit me in Taos?”
She reached to smooth my hair. “When I say the Syndicate cast me out of town, I mean they cast me out. I had to cut off contact with all family and my best friends with very few exceptions. After I drop you at the airport, I’ll see if I can sneak a few texts past the binding. Peggy and Vanessa both have girls your age.”
A binding? Leaving was sounding more and more like a bad idea. “You never mentioned the Syndicate. Are they really that mean?” I knew about the Spellwork Syndicate because every witch did. Taos had the most active vortex on American soil and the internet swirled with rumors and legends about the women who ran the town.
But all I knew were the whispers. Mom had lived with them and never said a thing. And not just lived with them. She could’ve been one of them.
“They’re never mean unless you piss them off. Which I did. Royally.” Mom shifted in her seat. “But the Syndicate exists to self-police the witches. They won’t hold my sins against you as long as you follow the rules, and if you do find yourself in trouble, Agatha’s sits on the inner circle. She’ll vouch for you. I wish I could say the same, but my word is dirt and I’m not sure I could reach them if I tried.”
“But I can contact you?” I’d always wanted to go off on my own, but I’d never once imagined that would mean leaving Mom behind. We were all we had.
“Yes. The binding won’t affect you so you’d better call me every day.” She leaned to wrap me in a hug.
We sat there in the flickering gas station lights and I may have leaked a few more tears. Finally, Mom pulled away. “You have to pack. Just throw what you need for a few days into a bag and I’ll ship you the rest.”
She sped toward the apartment. My breath fogged the window.
This is really happening.
I wouldn’t know what to think until I made it to Taos.
Chapter Five
I gripped my armrests the whole flight. Every bump set me f
antasizing about plummeting to a splat. My pulse was still hyperactive when it was time to pull my bag down from the bin, and the pounding kicked up as I stepped into the terminal.
So, I wasn’t afraid of flying. Just terrified of my new life.
By the time I made it to the baggage claim, my T-shirt clung to my back with nervous sweat. The air already tasted different. Much drier, with hints of jet fuel, and a strange vibration that made me jittery. Knitting my fingers together was the only way to stop the creeping urge to cast.
Was it the vortex? We weren’t even that close. It was at least a two-hour drive from Albuquerque to Taos.
If I could find my ride.
I passed a set of revolving doors where drivers stood holding signs with names on them, but none of them seemed to be looking for Anise Wise. I dragged my suitcase toward a bench and set down my backpack to grab out my phone. Before I could unlock the screen, someone tapped my shoulder.
“Anise?”
I jumped. “Yes?”
“I’m Lonnie. Agatha’s assistant?” Her smile warmed me like a hearth fire, filled with kindness and power, and her blue eyes sparkled with the same. The voices and airport bustle that had put me on edge faded to nothing, leaving only the vibration of her power—a pale, green energy like a field of flower buds.
It had been so long since I met another witch that I’d forgotten the feeling. Like we were the only two people in the room tuned to the same frequency.
“I’m Anise.” I stuck out my hand.
She eyed my palm with a curl in her lip. “Not in public, dear.”
Oops. I’d really forgotten.
“Come along.” She adjusted the floppy blue hat over her bobbed blond-gray hair, then grabbed my suitcase handle and started rolling.
I slung my backpack over my shoulder and hurried after. People parted in front of Lonnie but not because of witchcraft. Tall and wide with a flowing print dress, she took up space, and everyone seemed to recognize she wasn’t a woman to mess with. This lady could be running her own empire, but she was Agatha’s assistant?