by Carla Caruso
A shiver ran down Mina’s spine. Could the cat/witch actually be onto something? Could all those things somehow be fatefully connected? But how? Mina didn’t know, but she suddenly felt compelled to find out. Urgency hung in the air. She couldn’t let things bubble away cauldron-like in her brain any longer.
She shot to her feet, swiping at her clutch. ‘I’m going to go freshen up,’ she murmured before sprinting off, leaving half her cake. She couldn’t promise that she wouldn’t be long; she just hoped Lotta wouldn’t notice her missing the couple’s first dance.
It was only when Mina had run out into the velvety night, chiffon swirling about her, that she realised she didn’t have any transport. She’d arrived via limo with the other bridesmaids, dammit! Needing guidance, she stared up at the glowing crescent in the sky. It was the night of a Balsamic or dark moon, the final phase in the lunation cycle. Somehow, it seemed fitting.
‘No,’ she yelped at the sky, the answer resounding in her head. ‘Please. Not that.’ But the sliver of a moon just stared back at her as though playing a game of ‘who blinks first’. She cursed. ‘Bugger it to hell!’
Fishing her glasses from her bag, Mina shoved them on and dashed back into the castle. The idea was old-school and scary but, admittedly, convenient and speedy. She searched down the secluded hallways for what she needed. Nearing a narrow cupboard, she ditched her clutch on the carpet and gingerly opened the door. Bingo. Her hand closed around an item at the back. Quickly, she muttered an incantation. It flew out of the cupboard, tipping sideways and hovering in the air—
‘I was wondering when you’d come out of the broom closet.’
Sutton! Damn the footstep-deadening carpet!
Mina swiped at the broom and spun around to face her colleague; Sutton had coordinated her strapless metallic number with her green-streaked bob that evening. ‘Oh, ha, hello. You caught me! I was just about to sweep up a, um, broken vase. Don’t tell Mr Eder, though.’
Sutton stepped closer, her stare as unrelenting as the moon’s. Mina gulped. ‘You don’t need to lie to me anymore. I guessed a while back that you were the real deal.’
‘The real deal?’ Mina squeaked.
Sutton sniffed, waving a hand around. ‘A witch, an enchantress, a sorceress, whatever you want to call it!’ Then, before Mina knew which way was up, she’d reached to bat the broom from her grip.
Helplessly, Mina watched it drift back to its original position, unassisted. Giving her away.
Sutton just smiled as she flinched. ‘For so long, I desperately wanted to be Wiccan, like you. Now, I know I should respect the craft and leave it to those born that way, like Lady Gaga sings. Admire your type from afar—the good kind at least. Don’t worry, of course; I’ll keep your secret. I’m happy to stay an “honorary” witch.’
Mina’s mind reeled. The past half hour couldn’t have been more bizarre, surreal, the shocks continually dropping. Sutton knew about her? Amid her brain fog, something clicked into place, and a coldness swamped her.
‘You’re not wearing that necklace,’ she said, ‘by Amantha.’
‘Nope.’ Sutton shook her head vehemently. ‘I had the feeling you were funny about Gardenia’s clique, and you were right. It’s best to steer clear of them.’
Mina swallowed hard. ‘What was inside that pendant?’
Sutton raised her eyebrows, looking sheepish. ‘Let’s just say, there’s a reason the exclusive, first-edition necklaces come with a hefty price-tag. The vials contain more than essential oils. The promise is, if you swallow some of the liquid, you’ll feel superhuman for the night.’ Sutton twisted her mouth. ‘I only tried a bit from mine; thought I’d love it. But, surprisingly, it felt like too much power in my fingertips. Dangerous. And I was worried about getting addicted, the inevitable comedown. So, I actually dumped the rest, which shocked even me.’
‘Fake magic,’ Mina whispered. Like that other song, at the strip club, by Peking Duk. Huxley, in his fake fur, must have been in cahoots with Gardenia and Amantha! She’d been wrong to think she could trust him with Sutton. She’d been wrong to trust Gardenia and co, full-stop! While Mina herself had erred in cashing in on simple, mild spells, this went way, way beyond that.
Another memory hit her. She stared at Sutton. ‘Oh my gosh, that guest at the shop dinner party! The woman with the snake-buckle belt! Were you the one to make the snake move? I worried I’d done that.’
Smaller moments from that night came flooding back. Like around the fruit bowl on the table … she’d thought it’d contained real fruit, only to touch the items and discover they were artificial. Then there was a petit four that’d seemingly turned into a ‘coughing’ cake, rather than a coffee cake, making one guest’s lungs erupt. At the time, Mina had just written off the incidents.
But Sutton’s guilty half-smile gave her away. ‘I might have been mucking around that evening.’
Mina’s mind exploded with more flashbacks, stretching beyond the dinner party … of Gardenia sashaying towards Katy’s book club on the plains, when Mina had been worried about Gardenia seeing her! Of the vial pendant hanging around Wizzy’s neck at the massage parlour!
She breathed in. All this time, she’d been tarring herself when she should have been looking in other, more obvious places. Seen who was hiding in plain sight. She’d never imagined the dark witches going to such lengths for their own gains!
‘I have to go,’ Mina said decisively, reaching again for the hovering broomstick.
‘Ooh, sounds serious.’ Sutton cackled, doing a pretty good impression of a witch right then. ‘I sense a showdown. Need any backup?’
‘Thanks.’ Mina smiled gently. ‘But I think I’d better go it alone, seeing as you’ve hung up your witch’s hat and all. Although, maybe you could help me up onto a window ledge in a sec?’
‘I’d love to. And I want all the goss later.’
Mina fought to maintain her smile, hoping ‘later’ was even a possibility. Nothing could be put past Gardenia and co anymore. But she couldn’t let fear squash her, especially on Epiphany Eve. She might not be handing out gifts and lollies to children, like in times gone by, but she would be doing good, all going to plan.
Chapter 22
Moments later, Mina stood on a window ledge in the turret room, where she’d once slept with Jadon, her thighs gripping the broomstick. The room was high up enough to make her flight path out of sight of the guests, though she didn’t need the painful reminder of the man she’d soon bid adieu. Sutton was hanging onto her clutch, but Mina had kept her glasses in place.
Refusing to look down, she shakily readjusted a spaghetti strap. She loathed escalators, ladders to big water slides, observation towers … anything with height basically, Jadon aside. Yet somehow, she had to do this.
‘Go get ’em, tiger,’ Sutton encouraged from ground level, which only reminded Mina of the bloody cat again.
Squeezing her eyes shut, she dragged in a breath and made herself push off the ledge. The wood made way for air underfoot amid Sutton’s excited whoops behind her. Wind also rushed in her ears, chiffon flapped around her, and hair jammed in her mouth. She spat it out, now knowing why witches ordinarily wore hats en route.
As the broom pulled her ever higher, she dared to open one eye a crack, then the other. Yup, she was really and truly flying. The hills and beyond stretched out before her like a blanket studded with precious stones. The castle and its grounds now appeared in miniature, as did the botanic garden and the church where Lotta had wed. If she just imagined she was squashed in cattle class on a plane, she might almost enjoy it. People would pay for a thrill ride like this … which was exactly what had led her to this point.
She zeroed in on a plume of white smoke, billowing from the rubbish dump’s vicinity. Again, the place was a hive of activity when it shouldn’t have been and when garbage-burning wasn’t legal at such sites in Australia. Compressing her lips, she pointed the broomstick in the dump’s direction. She still didn’t know what to expe
ct when she landed there, but she couldn’t stop now.
In mere minutes, she was circling above the dump site. Broomstick-riding did have some perks over usual air travel, though she didn’t plan on making a repeat performance. The stench of garbage rose up, filling her nostrils, smelling more potent than Riley could ever have imagined her breath to be. Her gown would need a few rounds of dry-cleaning after this, if she made it out alive.
The smoke she’d seen was pouring from a chimney attached to a massive warehouse on-site. She wasn’t about to fly down it Father Christmas-style, though. Instead, she encouraged the broomstick lower, navigating around piles of rubbish towards it. The sadness of once-loved treasures that’d been kicked to the kerb, like ex-partners, rose up, almost overwhelming her. But she was distracted by a half-opened sliding door into the warehouse. Fluorescent light and the smell of burning spilled out. She flew closer, peering in—
‘Mina! Fuck!’
Her heart stopped as a big yellow loader filled her vision, Arlo standing on its steps in a hard hat, safety glasses and hi-vis. She let her broom clatter to the ground and her feet thud down, but it was too late.
‘You’re a … witch?’ Arlo cried, covering his face with an elbow as though that might protect him. ‘Far out. Please don’t, like, put a hex on me because I cheated on you when we were dating. I beg you. My family needs me.’
Spool back … he’d cheated on her? Somehow, the revelation felt more momentous than him seeing her stripped bare, so to speak. Her he-loves-me-not spell, her heartache—it had all been for nothing. He never could have loved her. Not really.
A weird urge to laugh overtook her, along with a feeling of cool relief, knowing that she no longer cared what he thought of her … the witch bit aside. But she’d sort that out later.
Ignoring what he’d said, she stepped closer. ‘Arlo, tell me, what’s going on? What are you doing here at this hour of night?’
She prayed he wouldn’t throw the question back at her. But he just kept peering at her fearfully over his arm, like she might turn him into a sewer rat at any moment. Which, okay, could happen and was fair.
‘I’m just making some extra cash, that’s all,’ he grunted. ‘Hustling for my family. A few entrepreneurial women put a proposal to me about making health supplements and I’m helping them. Not that it’s anyone else’s business, including Dad’s.’
‘Health supplements?’ Mina echoed. Surely, he couldn’t have bought that?
‘Look, I don’t ask too many questions,’ Arlo retorted. ‘I’m just here for the shovelling in rubbish bit. Sure, it’s a bit woo-woo and out there—’ His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed, ‘—but I guess you’d probably understand that—’
‘Who are you talking to, Arlo?’ a familiar voice carried down from the warehouse’s depths, beyond the loader.
Mina blew out a breath. Show time. Thinking on her feet, she pointed a finger at Arlo and ‘paused’ him like an episode of Sabrina the Teenage Witch. Unfortunately, he was freeze-framed with his eyes rolled back in his head and a hand near his groin. No matter. He didn’t need to get any further involved in things. Fingers crossed she could rewind him later so he wouldn’t even remember their interaction.
Steeling her nerves, she stepped around the loader and into the light. At the far end, beyond more neat rubbish mounds, Gardenia and Amantha stood beside an old industrial furnace and a wind machine. Eek. For some reason, Mina hadn’t thought they’d both be there that night. It was like a scene out of Hansel and Gretel. A twisted, horrible scene.
Gardenia appeared unruffled as her gaze swept Mina’s way, her voice reverberating around the warehouse. ‘Well, well. I was wondering when you’d come over to the dark side, despite those librarian glasses.’
Adrenaline propelled Mina’s feet forward. She could only cling onto hope that she’d make the duo, in their sexed-up workwear, see reason. That she could make them aware of just how deadly the game they were playing was. Because, unfortunately, she couldn’t match them with magic alone. The prim click of her heels contrasted with the dusty, gritty surrounds.
As she drew closer, she zeroed in on the oversized pot plant on a hand-truck trolley beside them. The botanic garden’s corpse flower, now in bloom, like so many people had been waiting to see! Sadly, putrid fear oozed from the plant.
‘What are you doing with that?’ she exclaimed, unable to help from wafting a hand over her nose. Maybe the dark witches were wearing invisible nose clips …
Gardenia didn’t answer, instead barking her own question at Mina. ‘Where’s your ex?’
‘I-I paused him.’
Gardenia shot her a smile like a Cheshire cat, all business again. ‘Good. Right, well, I gather you’ve worked out why we’re here.’ She tugged at the cuff of her safety glove. Clearly, she didn’t think Mina was anything to worry about travelling solo.
She pushed on. ‘As you might have guessed, we’re turning waste into energy. Tangible, magical energy through chanting, yada yada. Burning this corpse flower, though, will take things to the next level. It’ll be the crème de la crème of synthetic magic. Much purer and more high-grade than just garbage. We’ll be rolling in it; we can go international!’
Amantha nodded as though adding emphasis to Gardenia’s words.
Mina lowered her hand, slowly growing accustomed to the plant’s pong, if not the garbage Gardenia was spinning. ‘You can’t do this. If other witches find out what you’ve been up to, you’ll be the one who’s toast. Both of you. It’s wrong. Dangerous. You’re putting the entire community at risk.’
Gardenia shot her a look as poisonous as oleander. ‘But they won’t find out, will they? It’ll be our little secret, as fellow hillbillies.’ Mina tried not to baulk at Gardenia’s description, leaving the witch to plough on. ‘We’ll give you a cut of the business. Then you can leave that stupid antique shop behind for good.’
‘Yeah, that stupid shop,’ Amantha repeated like the ultimate sidekick.
‘But I don’t want to leave it,’ Mina asserted. Nor Jadon. But Gardenia was obviously so used to imagining everyone had an agenda, she thought she could coerce anyone, even a red witch. Mina swallowed. ‘You need to think about the vulnerable humans you’re selling to, as well. The side-effects. I know that people have been hurt by your actions already, that people have died.’
‘Oh, stop being such a goody two-shoes,’ Gardenia snapped, her eyes flashing. ‘That’s life. Do you think party drugs come with safety warning labels? Fast cars? No, people use them at their own risk. As they say, you’re here for a good time not a long time, especially if you’re a mere mortal. We can’t be responsible for how each user reacts, only for the fun they had. Everyone wants magical powers. Everyone wants to be a witch for a day.’
Mina shook her head, her voice quiet. ‘Who says everyone wants to be a witch? I don’t. I just want to be normal.’
Gardenia rolled her eyes like she’d had her fill. ‘Oh, you’re boring me with your sob story now. For a moment, I thought you might have changed, but I was wrong. I’ll deal with you later. Time is money. This flower won’t stay at its peak forever.’ She nodded at Amantha. ‘Let’s get this show on the road.’
Mina’s stomach hardened as Amantha rested her hands on the trolley handle and Gardenia swung open the furnace door. Raging heat radiated from inside and smoke curled out, scratching at her throat. The thing reminded Mina of the gaping mouth at Luna Park.
No matter what the retribution might be, she had to try to stop the pair. To be the spanner in their craft work until she came up with a Plan B. Just because she was outnumbered, she couldn’t give up. She focused on the furnace, willing the door to clank shut again, free of Gardenia’s gloved hand. It did.
‘Enough with the fun and games, Mina,’ Gardenia said wearily. ‘We can do this the easy way or the hard way. Your choice.’
She sounded like she was in a bad movie.
‘The hard way,’ Mina returned, playing to the theme. She’d rather
be banished from Hilforest for eternity than stand idly by this pair. For her next trick, she made the furnace lever glow red-hot so it couldn’t be touched.
‘Amusing.’ Gardenia simpered, like a cat being entertained by a mouse. She spun around accusingly, but then her glare drifted beyond Mina’s shoulder. ‘Goodness, not another notch on your belt.’
‘Ha.’ Mina snorted. ‘Like I’m going to fall for that.’ But then, her ears pricked up, detecting footsteps behind. Obviously, it was just an illusion, care of Gardenia—
‘Did … did you do that?’
Mina’s fists clenched, hearing the familiar male voice behind her. Gardenia still had to be toying with her, though. Jadon couldn’t truly be there. Arlo catching her out had been enough. Even so, she angled her head a fraction to the right, desire and fear clashing inside her. She lost her breath.
It was him. Really. He strode towards her, looking larger than life in his black wedding suit. Handsomer than anything Gardenia could have conjured up. He must have snuck in sometime during the commotion, ducked around the mounds of discarded furniture and toys.
How he’d found her, she didn’t know, but it didn’t really matter. He’d borne witness to all that was unfolding around her, and he’d likely wind up a victim of it. Fear lodged in her throat. Gardenia and Amantha, meanwhile, just tittered as though enjoying the show. Seeing her comeuppance.
Too soon, Jadon stood mere centimetres from her, his hazel eyes not leaving her face. ‘D-did you stun that guy out there? And make that lever hot, and that furnace door shut through … sheer willpower?’
All Mina could do was dumbly nod. Why play pretend at this late stage? Owning up to things might even provide some relief, albeit temporary. Keeping her lie from him had been killing her anyway. ‘Something like that.’