For Tatiana.
“Maybe an old girlfriend?” I suggested. I hadn’t heard her name mentioned in the office. I wondered whether it was the woman Linnea had mentioned. The one Alec and the sheriff had fought over years before. I’d have to dig around and find out.
“Is Ben picking you up?” Marley asked.
“No, I’m meeting him at his place so we can explore the parts of town I haven’t seen yet. I need inspiration for the tourism board.”
“You really need a car,” Marley said.
“I’m aware of that. Aunt Hyacinth says she’ll take care of it. In the meantime, walking is good exercise.”
“Not when you’re already running late,” Marley replied.
I pinched her chubby cheek. “Stop making sense.”
I quickly changed my clothes and ran a brush through my hair. I opted for comfortable shoes under the circumstances. It wasn’t like I was interested in impressing Ben.
I blew a kiss at Alec the Frog and gave Marley a goodnight hug before hustling out the door.
“Don’t forget to walk PP3 before bed,” I called over my shoulder.
Although it was dark, there were so many fireflies blinking around me that I had no trouble finding my way to the main road. I knew it would be more convenient once I had a car, but I honestly didn’t mind the walk into town. With the roar of the ocean in the distance and the nighttime serenade of the cicadas, it was downright heavenly to walk around in Starry Hollow in the evening. Even the stars seemed brighter here, probably because there was less air pollution. This place would still seem magical to me even without magic.
Without magic.
An image of Robina popped into my mind and I felt a pang of sympathy for the ex-criminal fairy. At least she managed to turn her life around by helping Ben establish his magical barbershop, although technically her fairy friend was responsible because Robina was banned from practicing magic. Ben’s words flashed in my mind—her magic changed my life…Mastermind.
My breathing hitched as I passed by the library.
I checked the clock on my phone. Okay, I was late, but I could squeeze in a hot minute to stop by Robina’s. She lived in Ben’s building, after all.
I arrived at the apartment building and wiped the sweat from my forehead. I was pretty sure I had on enough deodorant to protect the entire Eagles football team, so the only smell emanating from me should be a soothing lavender.
Luckily for me, the occupants’ names were listed on the mailboxes. Starry Hollow apparently had zero trust issues. It was both nice and unsettling. Robina’s apartment was listed as 3E. I had to ask her. I knew I wouldn’t be able to focus on anything else tonight if my mind was preoccupied with Robina.
I took the elevator to the third floor and easily located her apartment. I knocked on the door, my stomach knotting. For a brief moment, I debated calling the sheriff first. What if she turned out to be a raging maniac and I’d voluntarily put myself in her apartment?
I inhaled deeply and quickly calmed my nerves. No, I only had a simple question. What kind of journalist would I be if I was too scared to knock on the older fairy’s door?
Robina answered the door with a ready smile. “Miss Rose, what a lovely surprise. Are you lost? Ben lives upstairs. He has the whole penthouse suite to himself, you know.”
“You don’t need to sell me on Ben,” I said. “I’m here because I have a quick question for my investigation.”
“Of course,” Robina said, gesturing me inside. “What is it?”
I stepped into the modest apartment and noticed the sparse furnishings and impersonal artwork on the walls. It seemed like Robina had never really embraced the place as her own. Maybe it was her years in prison that made it difficult to personalize the space.
“I’ve been thinking about the magic in Snips-n-Clips,” I said. “What was the name of your fairy friend who infused it with magic?”
Robina clasped her hands together—a nervous gesture. “Josie.”
“Josie what?”
“She’s not local anymore,” Robina said quickly. “She moved a few years ago.”
“To where?”
“Cincinnati. She wanted to try the human world for a change.”
“No one chooses Cincinnati as the place they want to live in the human world,” I said, folding my arms. “Robina, be straight with me. Are you the one responsible for the shop’s magic?”
Guilt seemed to envelop her. "I was originally, but I haven’t done magic in years. I swear. I only helped Ben set up the shop because I wanted to repay him for his kindness. If it weren’t for him, I’d be unemployed and homeless.”
“But how does the magic keep going if you don’t do it?” I asked. “Don’t the spells wear off?”
“Some do. Some don’t.”
I arched an eyebrow. “So how do you manage the ones that do if you’re not practicing magic?”
She gave an exasperated huff. “I taught Ben how to do certain spells.”
"But how?" I asked. "He's an elf. I didn't think they could do magic."
"In my experience, anyone can do magic with the right teacher," Robina said. "And Ben was a keen student."
“Robina, that could be considered a violation of your parole. You could go back to prison."
“I’m aware of that,” she said. “There didn’t seem to be a reason for anyone to know. He treats me like his own mother. I only wanted to help him.”
“And did you also want to help him find a wife?” I asked. “Maybe you decided to take matters into your own hands and eliminate the competition?”
“No, no.” She waved her hands excitedly. “I would never do that. Those frogs have nothing to do with me.”
As much as I wanted to believe her, the evidence seemed stacked against her.
“I’m sorry, Robina, but I think I should call the sheriff," I said, and moved to retrieve my phone.
A voice behind me stopped me in my tracks. "You'll do no such thing."
I jerked my head toward the sound of Ben's voice. “Ben! How did you know I was here?” I asked.
“You’re late, so I went to see if you’d gotten lost,” he said. “You should know that your voice carries. You may want to work on your volume now that you’ve left New Jersey.”
I cleared my throat. I did have a tendency to speak loudly.
“Why did you lie about Robina practicing magic?” I asked. “You’re the one who told me a friend of hers helped you with the shop.”
“Why do you think?” he asked. “To protect her.”
I looked from Ben to Robina, the realization dawning on me. “And to protect yourself,” I said quietly.
“Protect myself from what?” Ben queried.
“You didn’t want the sheriff or me to know that you could do magic,” I said. “Under normal circumstances, you’d have been proud of mastering a skill like that. I bet it’s not easy for an elf.”
His jaw tightened. “Put away your phone, Ember. I’m warning you.”
"Turn them back," I demanded. "Turn the frogs back into men and I won't say a word."
"You won't say a word because you won't be able to speak," he said, advancing toward me.
"I don't understand," I said, stepping backward. "I usually read people pretty well. You seemed like a nice guy."
His eyes narrowed dangerously. "I am a nice guy. That's the whole problem. Don't you see? Day in and day out, I would wait on clients who were spoiled for choice when it came to the opposite sex. Meanwhile, I couldn't get any girl's attention. Do you know how many times I tried to gather the courage to ask out Dakota?"
I nodded in sympathy. "I hear you on that one. She's a real catch."
"And yet she was willing to try her luck with three of the most notorious bachelors in town," he seethed. "Why do women fall all over themselves to be with guys like that? They come into my shop and boast of their conquests like these women are nothing more than slabs of meat. I would treat them like the goddesses they are. They deserve be
tter.”
I heard the pain of rejection in his voice and my stomach clenched. “But Dakota didn’t reject you, if you didn’t even have the courage to ask her out.”
“She would’ve said no,” he blurted. “How could I compete with those other guys? Florian lives in Thornhold and I live on the top floor of an apartment building.”
“But it’s the penthouse,” I reminded him. “The whole top floor. And you own the building.”
“It isn’t enough,” he said angrily. “I’m never enough.”
"What about Alec? He didn't do any of the things you’re accusing the others of. He didn’t even go out with Dakota."
Ben fixed me with his hard stare. "No, but he certainly held your attention at Elixir. You were supposed to be on a date with me."
Someone had a serious case of the green-eyed monster. “To be fair, I didn’t consider it a date,” I said. “And I thought we had a nice time that evening.”
"You had a nice time because you nearly had your tongue down Alec Hale's throat. I don't blame you, really. He's everything I'm not."
I didn’t argue with that statement. "What was your plan, then? Turn every bachelor in town into a frog? Clear the decks so that you were one of the few options for all the single ladies in Starry Hollow?"
"Something like that," he mumbled.
"I can see how you managed to curse your clients,” I said. "You had access to pieces of their hair from the barbershop. But how did you manage to curse Alec?"
"I went to his office to get my books signed. You weren’t there at the time.”
I nearly slapped my forehead. Of course. The books on Alec’s desk belonged to Ben. The Final Prophecy I took from the office was part of Ben’s collection.
“It was simple enough to pluck a stray hair from his expensive suit jacket." Ben smiled. “He even thanked me."
"And you rewarded his good manners by turning him into a frog," I said hotly. "What about Robina? The woman you consider to be a mother figure." I glanced at the wingless fairy, who stood silently in the corner, keeping a safe distance from us. "Don't you realize that you've endangered her?"
"The only way I’ve put her in an awkward situation is if someone discovers the truth," Ben said. "But that’s not going to happen."
Fear gripped me as he reached for a strand of my hair. I smacked his hand away.
"Ouch," he cried.
"Did you think I was just going to let you take it?" I asked, my eyes blazing. "Do I look like a pushover to you?"
He inhaled sharply. "Fine then. We’ll do it the hard way. I don't need your hair to curse you." He retrieved a wand from his back pocket. It was Barbie pink with glitter on the star at the end of the wand.
My eyes widened. “It really goes with your outfit," I said.
"It's my old wand," Robina said quietly. She seemed surprised to see it in Ben’s possession.
“I thought your wand was taken away,” I said.
"That’s the one I trained with as a girl,” she said. “I turned in my adult wand, but not that one. Every fairy gets a starter wand.”
"How does no one notice a grown elf carrying around a sparkling pink fairy wand?" I asked.
“That’s sexist,” Ben said. “Anyway, I used a cloaking spell on it.”
That made sense. If my father was able to use a cloaking spell on me to hide my location, then Ben could certainly use one on an object as small as a wand.
“Listen, you don't want to hurt me, Ben," I said. "It isn't worth it." As always, my first thought was of Marley. I couldn’t let anything happen to me. At least this time, if something bad happened, she wouldn’t be alone. She would have cousins to raise her. It was a small consolation.
“Bippety boppity,” Ben began.
He pointed the wand in my direction. Before he could finish uttering his fairy phrase, I focused my will on the wand and tried pulling it toward me. It was heavier than a feather, but lighter than an apple. Thank goodness for practicing magic at Linnea’s and Haverford House. The witches were right—it really was like exercising a muscle. The wand wiggled in his hand and the small movement gave me the confidence to continue. In my mind, I wrenched the wand free.
"To me," I yelled, and the wand shot into my outstretched hand.
Ben and I stared at the wand, equally shocked by the outcome.
“You’re telekinetic," Robina whispered.
Ben stared at me, dumbfounded. “But you don't know how to do magic yet. You came from the human world." He looked ready to cry. I wouldn’t have been the least bit surprised to see him stomp his foot next.
"You seem to forget one thing, Ben," I said, and pointed the wand back at him. "I'm Ember Rose, first of her name. Daughter of Nathaniel and Lily. Descendant of the One True Witch. Plus, I’m from New Jersey. My badassery knows no bounds."
Okay, maybe that declaration was overkill, but the power was coursing through my veins and there was no stopping it. I had no clue what to do with the obnoxious pink fairy wand, but I couldn’t let Ben see me hesitate. I opened my mouth for a phony incantation when I remembered the fairy spell Tanya had used on Alec in the office.
“Super duper, Ben-in-stupor,” I said, waving the wand.
Ben froze in place.
“That’s excellent work for a beginner,” Robina said from the corner.
I shot off a text to the sheriff and gave him the address.
“How long will the spell last?” I asked Robina.
“Long enough for the sheriff to arrive,” she replied.
I eyed her carefully. “You’re not going to try and stop me?”
She shook her head sadly. “No. A good mother knows when her child needs to learn a valuable lesson, especially a mother who’s served time.”
I gave her a sympathetic look. “Tough love is tough on everyone.”
Robina nodded and crossed the room to stand beside me. “I didn’t realize he’d become so jaded,” she said. “I should’ve noticed. Some mother figure I am.”
“Robina, don’t beat yourself up. Ben probably hid it from you because he didn’t want you to be accountable. Deep down, he didn’t want you to get tangled up in this.”
Robina heaved a sigh. “I suppose he cares for me in his own way.”
I studied the frozen elf. “It’s a shame, really. He seemed to have everything going for him, but he let his own feelings of inadequacy get in the way.”
“Drop the wand and put your hands up,” a familiar voice said.
I held the wand over my head as Sheriff Nash bolted into the room. "Rose, for Nature’s sake. What are you doing with that fairy wand?”
“This wand did the frog curses,” I said, wiggling it. “Ben’s the one you're after. I froze him for you.”
“Froze him?” the sheriff queried.
I inclined my head. “Like an elf popsicle. Check it out.” I flicked my fingers on Ben’s arm. “Ouch. That actually hurt me.”
The sheriff mangled a laugh before focusing on Robina. "You’re sure Ben is the culprit? I assumed I was here to arrest Robina."
I shook my head. "You don't want her. Ben is solely responsible for this. She didn’t know it was him.”
The sheriff studied Ben. “Can you unfreeze him? It will make it easier to arrest him.”
I bit my lip. “Um, I don’t know how.”
Robina raised her hand. “I can help her, Sheriff, if you want me to.”
He stood with his hands on his hips, deciding. “Tell her what spell to do, but don’t do it yourself.”
Robina whispered the magic words and I channeled them through the wand. Ben’s body jerked as he became unstuck. The sheriff wasted no time slapping a pair of glittering handcuffs on the elf.
"Why are your handcuffs bedazzled?" I asked.
"I have special handcuffs for certain paranormals,” he explained. "These are my fairy handcuffs. It stops them from using their hands to do magic."
"But Ben is an elf,” I said.
"An elf who knows fairy magic, a
pparently," Sheriff Nash said. "I'm not taking any chances."
I stared at the wand in my hand. “So can I reverse the curse with this wand?”
"I can help you with that, and the protection spell as well,” Robina said. “Now that I know he used my old wand, I’m pretty sure I know the spell he performed. It's one that I learned as a young girl. He must’ve found my old school primer.”
“In your closet,” Ben admitted. “I found them both when I came to repair the shelf, remember?”
Robina pressed her lips together, her disappointment evident. “So you stole them?”
“I borrowed them,” Ben said. “I always planned to return them.”
“When? After I’d gone back to prison?” Robina asked. “Benjamin, your behavior has disappointed me greatly.”
Ben hung his head in shame. “I’m sorry, Robina. I never intended for you to get caught up in any of this.”
“Let’s go, Ben,” the sheriff said. “You’ll have plenty of time to offer apologies from your prison cell.”
“Won’t you need the fairy wand as evidence?“ I asked.
“Use it to reverse the curse first,” he replied. “Then I’ll log it in as evidence.”
Once they left the apartment, Robina placed a grateful hand on my shoulder. "I don't know how to thank you. You could easily have thrown me under the broomstick. Why didn't you?"
“Because you’re innocent. The only one who deserves the blame here is Ben,” I said. "You put your trust in the wrong person. That isn’t a crime.”
Robina moved toward the kitchen. “Let me get my phone and I’ll text you the spells you need to restore your cousin and the other gentlemen.”
“Thanks, Robina,” I said. “I guess your life just got a heck of a lot busier, now that you've got a barbershop to run single-handedly."
Robina’s eyes widened. "I hadn’t even thought of that." She clamped her hand over her mouth. “Goodness gracious. There will be a million things to do before tomorrow."
“And you’ll manage them all without magic,” I said. “I’m happy to persuade your customers not to leave once they hear the news about Ben. If I can convince Florian to stay, I bet a lot of others will, too.”
“I’d appreciate that,” she said, her thumbs moving on her phone at a rapid pace. “Despite what happened, I’m proud of what Ben and I built together. I don’t want to be the one to destroy it.”
Magic & Mystery: Starry Hollow Witches, Book 2 Page 16