She looked at her aunt. “If you harm him I will kill you,” the glowing Sadie being said. It wasn’t a threat. It was a fact.
Liora’s mouth worked, opening and closing like a fish as she scrabbled backwards on the grass. Sadie stared at her unblinkingly until she got up and raced awkwardly to the house, her old gray housedress wrinkled and full of grass stains.
Sadie looked at her hands with wonder and saw Luke staring at her with wide eyes before she fainted.
Liora fumbled at the back door and slammed it shut behind her once she was inside. She was breathing heavily and her face was red from exertion. After taking a few calming breaths to steady her breathing, Liora was back to normal and smiling with satisfaction. She laughed out loud. Boris slid into the room and watched her cackling without emotion.
“It’s done!” Liora shrieked with glee and a hint of vindication. “Willow was right! Nothing unlocks power like desperation and fear. Nothing! Our vessel is complete!” Liora was so happy she was doing a small jig at the door.
Boris looked at Liora. “I don’t think you know what you are dealing with, Liora. Sadie is not Willow.”
“She’s a Kellar and that’s all that matters.”
“Willow is using you.”
“Of course she’s using me, you idiot. That was the point! The only reason we were born, our only purpose was to bring about the fulfillment of Willow’s hex if the heir was born and the timing was right. It’s done. There’s nothing else, Boris. There never was.”
“But the preacher’s line is incomplete. There are no more Browns. We’ve searched.”
“Nothing to worry about,” Liora said with finality, smoothing her frizzy hair back from her face.
“It’s not possible,” grumbled Boris.
“Oh yes, my dear cousin, it is. Willow has found herself a friend. A very powerful friend. Everything’s going to change. It’ll be the time of the witches soon.” Liora laughed and rubbed her hands together. “Time to make an important call.”
The Parker Residence
When Nathalie got home her father was still up. He waved cheerily at them from the front window and playfully made a shooting motion with his finger at Dean. Dean laughed nervously and only kissed Nathalie quickly before grabbing his bike.
“You’re kidding me,” Nathalie said with disbelief.
“You never know with fathers,” Dean said with a grin. “I’ll see you tomorrow, love.” He pedaled off.
Nathalie laughed to herself as she went into the house. Her father was smiling like a Cheshire cat—very pleased with himself.
“I won’t ask if you’re pleased with yourself because I can see that YOU ARE,” Nathalie huffed.
“I like that boy of yours,” he said, rubbing his hands together like he did when he faced his barbeque. “He’s respectful. That’s my ‘go away pesky boyfriend so I can have my daughter to myself’ sign. He got it. Smart kid.”
Nathalie snorted and flopped on one of the big comfy chairs in the living room. Her father was watching a horror movie on TV. It was an old monster story. People were running and screaming from something, and it was basically pandemonium on the screen. Kind of like Town Circle this evening, Nathalie thought to herself then wondered why she made the connection. Something wasn’t right. Things seemed so…lawless.
She looked at her father. Despite his occasional (okay, daily) silliness, her father was her rock. He was the one person she depended on that she knew wouldn’t let her down. She knew he loved her to the depths of his soul and would kill anyone who laid a hand on her or hurt her. Her daddy.
“Dad, have you been to Town Circle in the evening lately?”
“Me and your mom were there last night with Nick,” he said, eyes on the TV.
“It’s pretty wild. People were…are doing some, well, crazy things.”
“Just blowing off steam, I’m sure. That’s what weekends are for, honey.” He didn’t seem concerned.
“It’s Tuesday, Dad. There was a lot of drinking and none of the Sheriff’s men to be seen.”
“Vacation, then. Lots of people want to have a good time when they visit. No one wants the police around ruining their fun,” her father said, looking at her. “No law against drinking there, anyway.”
“It just seemed so out of control,” Nathalie said. A feeling of uneasiness haunted her.
“You’ve got to learn to relax, honey. Cut loose a little. A little partying never hurt anyone,” and as if realizing what he’d just said, clarified, “if you’re an adult, of course,” he said firmly.
Nathalie’s father’s lack of concern was a bit of a concern. Today she had felt there was no adult supervision around at work or in Town Circle, and she missed that sense of security. The candy factory was a mess with Shaemus gone, but was the fair always this way? Had she been too young to notice before? She wasn’t sure, but nobody seemed to care.
“I’m going to bed,” she said with a yawn, getting up and giving her father a quick kiss on the top of his head.
“Goodnight sweetie,” he said, his eyes trained on the TV.
The Croft Residence
When Dean arrived home everyone was in bed. There was a strip of light under Ella’s door so he knocked softly and went in when she answered. As the eldest and closest in age they were the closest siblings. Only a couple of years separated them, and they got along well. Ella adored her older brother, and Dean appreciated his smart and practical sister. They were an unbeatable pair when they banded together. Ella was lying on her bed in an obviously grumpy mood.
“Uh oh,” Dean said out loud, sitting on the edge of her bed. Her hair was still very long and Dean groaned inwardly. He had completely forgotten about the wishing eyelashes with Nathalie’s incredibly hot body around. How could he have forgotten? This was important! And now it was too late to call. He made a note to tell her tomorrow before he allowed himself his first kiss of the day.
Ella sighed loudly, looking pointedly at her brother.
Pulled out of his reverie, he apologized. “Sorry, I got distracted.”
“What, did I accidentally say your girlfriend’s name causing you to daydream? I don’t believe I said the ‘N’ word. I’m not that stupid,” she grouched.
Dean grinned sheepishly. “I care, sweetie, I do. Tell me what happened.”
“Nothing happened.”
“Now don’t be like that…”
“I’m not ‘being like that.’ Nothing happened. That’s what happened.”
Dean looked confused. “I’m trying to care here,” he said carefully.
Ella rolled her eyes and sat up, flinging her long hair back. “I went back to the fair to get another wishing eyelash and this time it didn’t work.”
Dean felt relief rush through him. He hadn’t realized how much stress he had been ignoring as his brain struggled to accept the idea that magic was real and that reality was not as he’d always expected. He couldn’t put it plainer than that.
Dean looked at her. “Are you sure?”
“Absolutely.”
“What did you wish for?”
“Not telling,” she said mulishly.
“Maybe I can tell what went wrong if I knew what your wish was,” he wheedled in his most sympathetic voice.
“No way in hell I’m telling, so forget it.”
Ella could be a vault when she wanted to be. The trait had its pros and cons. Right now it was a con.
“Fine.” Dean yawned and stretched. It was time for bed. He had to work the next day. “So you got a dud. Maybe your hair growth was a fluke.”
Ella looked confused. “No, that worked,” she mused.
Dean sighed. Back to square one.
“How’s Nathalie?” Ella inquired.
Dean grinned foolishly. “She’s awesome. An angel. Hey, I haven’t seen Max in a while. How’s he doing?”
Max was Luke’s younger brother by a couple of years, the same age difference as Ella and Dean, and Ella’s best friend.
“
Oh, he’s the same,” Ella said in a disgruntled voice.
“Good, good. Well goodnight,” Dean said tiredly as he got up to leave. He didn’t notice the sad look on his sister’s face.
Wednesday, August 14
The Limerick Candy Factory
When Nathalie arrived at the office the place was in complete disarray, starting with the receptionist, who was flirting with a handsome man in a suit instead of guarding the door. She didn’t even glance at Nathalie when she walked by.
Hmmmph, Nathalie thought to herself. She headed upstairs to put her and Dean’s lunch away, but there was no space in the fridge. It was full of beer. “Hmmmph,” she said, loudly this time.
Nathalie went in search of Emma. Her friend always knew the office gossip these days, so Nathalie was sure she could give her the scoop. She found Emma asleep at her desk.
“Emma! Are you in your pajamas?!” Nathalie asked, horrified. It looked like one of those frilly baby doll styles and it didn’t cover much.
“There was a big party here last night after the band stopped playing at The Rotunda. What day is it? Is it morning?” Emma jumped up in a panic. Nathalie was aghast. The girl didn’t know what day it was and she smelled like a brewery.
“My God Emma, just go home,” Nathalie said in a shocked voice.
Emma didn’t respond. She just grabbed her purse and ran. Unfortunately it was open and things fell out of it in a trail behind her.
Beth glided by and stared at Nathalie in a knowing manner and smiled at her in a satisfied way. Nathalie was chilled. With her were two office girls who had become her permanent cronies, Lilith and Selena, both tall, willowy blondes. Nathalie had made a point to learn their names. Know thy enemy.
They were all carrying factory stock, boxes of chocolate and candy.
She looked at Nathalie and said the strangest thing. “You going to record this, Parker? You gonna write down every little thing you see?” she asked.
Nathalie was taken aback. “What? No, why would I?”
“You just seem the type.” She shrugged. “A goody little two shoes.”
“I might report you for stealing, though,” Nathalie said primly.
“Go ahead,” Beth said carelessly. The three of them assessed her, laughing softly before moving on.
“She’s such a BITCH,” Nathalie said decisively, “and a thief.”
Dean ghosted up behind her. “I’m not sure what’s going on here, Nathalie, but something’s very wrong.”
Nathalie nodded, taking a good look around her. Most everyone had shown up for work, but no one was actually working. “I don’t understand what’s happening here.”
“The fridge is full of beer,” Dean said quietly.
Nathalie lifted up their lunch bag. “I know,” she said.
“Where’s Mr. O’Malley?”
“I have no clue. I haven’t seen him since I got back from vacation. I assumed he was on vacation, but now I’m not so sure. Kelly said he was partying, but I haven’t seen him at The Rotunda. He’s disappeared.”
“Not much for me to do. I have orders to fill but all the stock is spoken for and the production line has stopped. The only thing coming out of this place is that chocolate drink.”
No Wednesday candy day, Nathalie thought sadly.
“He’s gone away before and this has never happened,” Dean said with confusion as he watched a coworker playing on-line poker.
“What do we do now—?” Nathalie asked and then sputtered in astonishment as she watched the office manager, Bobby, walk by her with a box of printer paper, seemingly heading to his car.
“We maintain order,” Dean said firmly as he ran to stop Bobby.
It ended up being a tough day for both of them. Beth and her girls roved around the office like a gang, picking on the less attractive office girls. Some of them cried and went home.
“This is getting old. This isn’t high school you know!” Nathalie said in outrage to the office thugs. “This is a professional office!” Beth’s cronies made rude gestures at Nathalie, but Beth just gave her a sly smile and made a small hand gesture towards Nathalie. To her surprise, her amulet heated up briefly. That witch! She’d tried to hex her!!
The men were no better. Dean broke up two poker games and forbid the use of the boardroom video conferencing equipment for daytime soap operas and sports. By early afternoon everyone was gone. Even Beth had left with her followers in tow. Probably to the fair, Nathalie thought. She had secured the keys to the office from the receptionist and had convinced a grumbling Bobby to disable the electronic passkey system.
“Sorry Bobby,” Nathalie had said. “Things are a bit too out of control with Mr. O’Malley gone. You saw the office.”
“Fine,” he said. But he was obviously not pleased. Nathalie suspected that the fridge was filled with his beer for late night card games with his buddies. He only turned over his keys when Nathalie gently reminded him that he would be held responsible if anything should happen to the office.”
“S’not my fault!” he had responded heatedly, slurring his words a little.
She had sighed inwardly at his boozy breath. Unbelievable. But Nathalie had looked at him with her newly created, wide-eyed and vapid “I understand” stare and had replied, “exactly, and it would hurt me terribly to see you blamed for someone else’s carelessness.” She pushed aside the urge to talk in a southern belle accent. She would have put her hand on his arm, but she didn’t. He looked unwashed.
Dean just rolled his eyes with disgust as Bobby shuffled away. “He was very easy to manipulate,” Dean said with a frown.
“Yes he was. That’s a problem,” Nathalie replied as she locked the front door to the office. It looked so barren with its empty parking lot in the middle of the afternoon.
“Why?” Dean asked curiously. Nathalie was smart and observant. She also made connections to things that were not obvious to others.
“He’s the adult, Dean. He has the authority at this factory. If he doesn’t care, and he can be manipulated by a teenager like me, that’s a problem. We sneer at them but adults maintain order. Their maturity and experience is supposed to keep us in check. Sometimes their authority is the only thing protecting us from danger, and well, chaos.” Nathalie looked worried.
Dean’s face took on a worried look as well, but then his cell phone rang. He flipped it open and barked “yep” into it and within a few seconds was frowning. “We’ll be right there.”
Nathalie looked at him questioningly.
“It’s Sadie. Luke wants us to come over immediately.”
“Let’s go,” she said, taping up a sign that read CLOSED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. They crossed East Road and headed towards Barrington Manor.
The Barrington Estate
When they arrived, Luke answered the door before they could ring and rushed them upstairs to his room. It was actually a suite with a bedroom, a small sitting area and an on-suite bathroom. It looked like a mini-hotel room, but larger. The Barrington house had been built to house many people. Now it allowed each individual of the eight-person family to live in luxury.
Nathalie walked in and saw Sadie sitting on the couch in the sitting room. She looked very pale and sad. She was not her usual cool and composed self. Her hands were wringing a small handkerchief and her black dress was dirty and torn at the hem. Nathalie could tell instantly that she was very upset and on the verge of tears.
Nathalie looked at the boys, who were hovering just outside the door. Luke looked a little wild-eyed. “Help me,” he mouthed.
“Guys, we need drinks and snacks. Both of you—go rustle something up. And don’t come back too quickly,” Nathalie said quietly. With obvious relief they scampered off down the hallway to the grand staircase and down into the kitchen.
Nathalie closed the door softly behind her and went quickly to the couch where Sadie mumbled a small “thank you” before bursting into tears.
Shocked, Nathalie sat beside her and hugged her tightly, letti
ng her cry until she couldn’t cry anymore. She had never seen Sadie break down—ever.
“You know, I’ve never had a friend,” Sadie said in a small, muffled voice. “I’ve never had a boyfriend. I’ve never had any family or anyone I thought loved me even a little. I was used to it. I didn’t feel much either.” Sadie sat quietly for a moment and Nathalie watched Sadie overcome her fear of opening up and letting another person see inside her.
“Then there came Luke, like a freight train. You can’t avoid him. He smacks right into you and worms his way into your affections, your heart, your life, and then you realize that you can’t live without him anymore. You can’t live without his love because it’s such a wonderful thing. It warms you up and makes you want to live life to the fullest, and without love, life would be too bleak, too unbearable. You realize you are vulnerable and you wonder why you allowed it in the first place.”
Nathalie was nodding. Her family and Dean were her weak spots. Sadie shifted away and sat closer to the edge of the couch so she could look at Nathalie. Despite the storm of tears, Sadie’s beautiful face was like white porcelain without one red spot. Only her tear filled lashes showed otherwise. Beautiful even in misery.
“I tried to break up with Luke this morning,” Sadie said quietly, looking away, her gaze drifting towards something in the middle of the room.
Nathalie gasped audibly. That’s big. That must have been terrible for Luke.
Sadie nodded at Nathalie’s gasp. “Needless to say, it did not go over very well.”
“You obviously…decided against it,” Nathalie said carefully.
Sadie smiled sardonically. “Oh, I wanted to. I was determined.” She sighed. “I was wild in my room last night. I paced and cried and pulled my hair like a crazy person agonizing over what to do. I decided it was for his own good and protection…” Her voice trailed away. “But I couldn’t do it,” she said softly. “I’m weak now. His obvious anguish was like a sword in my own heart. So I didn’t go through with it. Not only for him, but for me too. I’m selfish. I want him.” She shrugged her shoulders.
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