Hidden Magic

by Melinda Kucsera

  Her nose was dirty—black. And right above the corners of her lips were dark whiskers.

  Oh no!

  “Roman. I think I’m in trouble.”

  He dashed to the front door and locked it. “I think we’re both in trouble,” he said, as another child turned around, revealing his black nose and whiskers that were so much like the first child. “I think the spell revealed their true form…and whatever magic caused them to grow tails has decided their true form is a fox!”

  Chapter Eleven

  Oh my, oh my, oh my.

  What was I going to do?

  Roman’s head sashayed back and forth as he watched me pace in the back half of my dark store, away from the people pounding on my windows and front door. All the second graders in this town now not only had big, bushy tails, but they also had a black nose and whiskers! And worst of all, some of that was one hundred percent my fault.

  “It was an innocent spell,” I muttered to Roman.

  “It’s not your fault. How were you to know? In fact, I supported your attempt.” He held his hand out to me. “Let’s go home.”

  I shook my head as a realization hit me. “If I leave, everyone will think I’m guilty.” Closing the shop and running had been my instinctual response, but that wouldn’t get me anywhere. I had to hang in here and face the witchy music. My pacing sped up, and I wrung my hands together. “At the very least, I need them to know the whiskers were from me trying to help.” I turned a sharp corner and headed to the front door. I pointed to Natalia and motioned her inside. She already had her notebook and pen ready to go.

  The crowd roared when I opened my door, but I pulled all the magic that remained inside me before it was completely exhausted, to produce a bit of magic wind to keep everyone out except Natalia.

  “What just happened here?” she asked. “I saw you do magic…then everyone grew whiskers. Why? What do you want from us?”

  “Nothing. I don’t want anything. I was just trying to help.”

  “Help them become a fox?”

  “No. I was trying to reverse the fox tails. I did this spell.” I pointed to the spell book still laying open on the floor.

  “I can’t read anything there,” Natalia said.

  “That’s because it’s in our native language—very similar to Latin.” The original language of my people. “I need you to write a story. The truth about everything.”

  “I only write the truth.”

  A big laugh came from the back of the shop where Roman stepped out of the shadows. “The truth? You wrote nothing but lies so far.”

  “There’s always two sides to the truth, depending on how you tell it. I wrote what the townspeople of Watersedge wanted to hear.”

  “And what’s that?”

  “That there is a witch in town and magic has historically always caused trouble.”

  I couldn't deny that. At least, it caused trouble in this realm.

  Natalia shoved her pen in spiral of her notebook, then pulled it out again, repeating the gesture. “The truth is, I don’t know you any better than I know the karate instructor in Frost Falls.”

  My muscles tensed. “Frost Falls?” I tilted my chin. Why would she use an example from my hometown that resided over a thousand miles from here?

  “Or any other town I haven’t been to,” she corrected.

  “You haven’t been to Frost Falls, yet that was the first town you thought of?”

  “I’m a reporter. I did my homework. I know you’re from Frost Falls.” There wasn’t any arguing with that logic. Natalia continued, “What I’m trying to say is that I don’t know what you stand for or what your true intentions are here in Watersedge, but what I do know is that you’re not wanted here. You weren’t wanted before anyone sprouted a tail. Either you caused the tail epidemic and should be forced to leave, or you didn’t cause it and someone in this town is framing you because they don’t want you here.”

  “Like the neighbor,” Roman said.

  “Brittany?” Natalia laughed. “She’d never hurt anyone.”

  “Really?” I laughed back. “Because I think she caused a tail to grow on her own son.”

  Officer Gates and her partner interrupted the silence that followed my accusation with the thumping of their fists on my front door. Beside them towered Mayor Raab with her big fish lips puckered like a Hollywood porn star.

  I moaned. I was in big trouble now.

  The crowd was happy to let the three of them in and my magical wind wasn’t needed—not that I could muster it up. My magic was as tired as an out-of-shape couch potato who had just run a 5K.

  “Mrs. Sunward,” the male officer addressed me with his thumbs dug deep in his belt. I squinted at his badge, reading the name that I didn’t know, Officer Duncan. Did he like donuts? Why did I have inappropriate thoughts whenever I was stressed? Officer Duncan pulled his thumbs out of his belt and continued, “We’ve had multiple 911 calls in the last half an hour about kids growing whiskers. Some callers are telling us that they saw you do a spell that caused the issue.”

  “I wasn’t trying to cause an issue,” I said, taking a step closer to Roman who looped his arm around my back. “I was just trying to reverse the fox tails.”

  “So, you did cause the whiskers?” Officer Duncan went for his little notebook he kept in his breast pocket. “We were hoping it was just the paranoid town pointing their finger at you.”

  Mayor Raab cleared her throat. “Like I’ve been saying. We need to shut this place down.”

  Like she’s been saying? “What happened to innocent until proven guilty?”

  “We have about twenty witnesses that saw you do a spell,” the Mayor said.

  “And she admitted it to me,” Natalia added.

  “Yes, I did a spell. I do spells all the time. The whiskers were an accident!”

  “We don’t need any more proof than her confession.” Mayor Raab straightened her light grey coat. “Ettie’s confessed she’s behind the whiskers.”

  The group looked at me.

  I tightened my lips and gave a slight nod.

  “Well, until this is all sorted out, Ettie’s will be shut down until further notice. I told City Council to deny your shop’s permit, but they wanted to give you a chance. At this point, I’m not sure they’ll ever approve you opening again,” Mayor Raab grimly concluded.

  The muscle in my temple that connected with my jaw tensed as the mayor left, taking Natalia with her. The police officers stayed for my statement, where I admitted to everything but the tails.

  “Would you like us to escort you home?” Officer Gates asked with an unexpected compassion.

  Suddenly, I didn’t feel like the dirty criminal my mind was telling me I was. “Thank you, but we’ll be okay.”

  Officer Gates narrowed her eyes, waiting for me to change my mind, but I gave her a confident nod.

  “Before you attempt to head home, give us at least half an hour to break up the crowds.” Officer Duncan said before heading outside, leaving Roman and I with Officer Gates.

  “I support you,” she said. “My husband came here when you first opened. Bought me this charm.” She pulled out a necklace from beneath her uniform collar, showing a little jade pendant I recognized.

  “For protection.”

  She nodded. “I thought it was useless until late last week. A child had climbed up a tree and couldn’t get down. I went after her, but a branch broke beneath my feet, sending me down a few rungs, but do you know what happened? Instead of falling the three stories to the ground, my belt loop caught on a branch, catching me. I twisted over and continued back up the tree and rescued the child. I don’t think that was a coincidence. Without this charm, I really think I would have broken multiple bones…or worse. Thank you. There are a few influential voices in this town that are twisting what is going on, and I wouldn’t doubt one of them is sabotaging your shop. I’m working on the case and will bring the truth out, so hang in there. I’m rooting for Ettie’s.” She smile
d.

  I found Roman’s hand and squeezed. She wasn’t the only one that had faith in me. I had my wonderfully supportive husband. All I had to do was win over the other twenty thousand people living in Watersedge.

  Undoubtedly, there were some loud voices in this town and Brittany was only one of them. There were also Natalia and Mayor Raab, and that was only who I knew about. Someone was trying to sabotage the store, for that I was certain, and as of right now, they were succeeding. I hadn’t even had the opportunity to tell Natalia that there was no way I caused the tail problem because most of those children hadn’t even come to the shop…but after everyone saw me descend a spell on the whole city, I was certain that argument wouldn’t hold water.

  This situation had been going on long enough, and it was time I got serious. I kept being questioned and accused of bad magic, but maybe it was my turn. I took a breath and squared my shoulders to Officer Gates, pulling out of the comfort of Roman’s arm. If I only had one ally in this town who could make a difference, it would be her. “What can you tell me about the affected children? The newspaper said they were all in second grade, but three dozen are too many to all be in the same classroom. Were they all from the same school?”

  “Watersedge only has one school. It appears both the second-grade classes were affected.”

  “But nobody else?”

  “Yes. Two more people—their teachers.”

  I rubbed my chin. “Hmm. The news didn’t report the adults. I wonder if there is something in their classroom.”

  “I can take you to look, if you think it would help. Heck, I wouldn’t even know what I’m supposed to be looking for. I’ve only studied this magical world of yours at the academy years ago and don’t have any practical experience.”

  “That would be great.” I smiled, trying to convey my gratitude, but this was one of those things that nothing could repay.

  “Meet me there in an hour. I need to help with crowd control and do some paperwork first.” With that, Officer Gates joined her partner outside, dispersing the remainder of the crowd.

  “This is promising,” Roman said. “Maybe we’ll have this all wrapped up in time for dinner.”

  I turned to my big, positive hubby. Seeing all the hope on his face. “I’m sorry,” I blurted out.

  “For what? I thought performing the true identity spell was a good idea, too.”

  “No. Not for that. I’m sorry that Ettie’s Enchanted Effects has been nothing but a disaster.” The floodgates opened. “We’re going to lose our house. Your secretary told me about the collateral deal you made with the owners of Watersedge Architecture Group. I wish you would have told me! From now on, every major financial decision made by either of us needs to be discussed, no matter how good our intentions are.”

  Roman took me in his arms and smoothed back my hair. My nose pressed against his chest, inhaling his fresh mountain air scent. “I’m sorry. I was so used to being completely independent that I saw an opportunity to make you happy, and I jumped on it. I had the house before we met, and I didn’t think twice about putting it up for collateral to help you obtain your dreams. I know marrying you, satisfied all my dreams.”

  The argument on my tongue fell flat.

  Roman continued, “Right now, Love, losing our house is the least of my worries. I know that wherever we end up, we’ll be just fine.”

  “Your life was so much easier before you met me.” Tears continued to escape, no matter how much I tried to control them. “I’m so sorry. If you would have known the hassles I would put you through, I’m sure your choices would have been different. Four months of nothing but applying and being rejected for jobs, complaining about this town to you over and over again. Now this…I really don’t think I belong here.”

  Roman pulled me out of his arms and placed a hand on each of my shoulders, staring at me with a weight in his expression that made me cringe to look at him, but he waited until I gave him eye contact. “Listen here, Ettie Sunward, I don’t regret a moment of our time together nor do I regret my decision to marry you. If we can’t make Watersedge our home, we’ll leave. It’s as simple as that. I don’t care where I live, as long as it’s with you.”

  My stomach twisted. What faith he had in me, and why? What made me so special? “Well, I’m not done with Watersedge, yet. Sure, it’d be easy to leave, since I’m obviously not welcome here, but I’m also quite stubborn. They’re going to love me. I’ll make sure of it.”

  Roman smiled. “That’s the Ettie I know!”

  “My first stop is getting rid of the tail epidemic. After that, I’m going to win over the people of Watersedge.” I flung my purse over my shoulder, wiped my eyes one final time on my sleeve, and took Roman’s hand. “Care to come along?”

  “I’m beginning to discover that life with you is a bit of an adventure.” He laughed. “An adventure I didn’t even know I needed.”

  I nudged him with my hip. “An adventure like all those old movies we watch together?”

  He shook his head, grabbing me and pulling me in for a kiss. Before his lips touched mine, he whispered, “Better than any movie I’ve ever watched.”

  “Just wait,” I teased, the wobbliness of my voice gone and now filled with determination. “Our life is going to be more than an adventure. It’s going to be epic.”

  He flashed me his dimples. “I can hardly wait.”

  Chapter Twelve

  Roman and I followed a police car to Watersedge Elementary School. Officer Gates escorted us into the first of the second-grade classrooms.

  The room was different than what I remembered as a child. Little desks were pushed together to form pods with tiny chairs I was sure I’d tip over. The walls were lined with shelf after shelf of books, games, and supplies. An adult-sized desk was at the head of the classroom in front of a huge whiteboard that nearly covered the entire wall. What happened to good old-fashioned chalkboards? A cup of pens and pencils, more books, and piles of papers were scattered on the teacher’s desk.

  “Notice anything magical?” Officer Gates asked, folding her arms over her chest and leaning against the doorframe.

  “No,” both Roman and I said, nearly simultaneously while walking around the room and running our hands over many of the items, trying to sense for even the tiniest bit of magic.

  After we did our best to assess the first room, Officer Gates took us across the hallway to the next second grade classroom. This area looked a bit different from the first. The pods of desks were larger, the shelves a bit more organized, and the teacher’s desk had nothing on top other than their cup of pencils. It was interesting how a teacher’s personality came out in their classroom setup.

  “Still nothing,” I said, dragging my finger across a desk surface. Nothing here gave me the sensation of magic.

  “Officer Gates, I didn’t expect you to be back.” A woman in her late forties with a nice blazer and jeans stood in the open doorway.

  “Principle Prusa,” Officer Gates said. “Do you know Ettie and Roman Sunward?”

  The principle wrinkled her nose, then nodded. “Of course. They’re the new local ‘celebrities,’ but I wasn’t aware they had children.”

  “We don’t…at least not yet,” I said. “Officer Gates brought us down here because of the tail fiasco. We were looking for something that could have cursed all the children.”

  “Matthew Fleming had it first,” Principal Prusa said. “Didn’t the paper report it was contagious?”

  Roman stepped forward. “Magic isn’t contagious. I mean, it can be if the spell is laid right, but if it was contagious, all the children’s parents would have a tail as well, and their siblings too. It seems whatever is causing these children to grow a tail is confined to these two classrooms. Or perhaps, their playground. Or a bus they all took.”

  I leaned back on the teacher’s desk, sending the container of pencils scattering across the surface. I sprang up, scooping each pencil up and righting it in the cup. Once they were all in ther
e, I tried to recreate the order of the teacher, but failed as one pencil didn’t want to stay in place.

  Come to think of it, it had that tingle…like that of magic.

  I pulled it out, laying it flat in my hand. The eraser end was much heavier than the pointed part. Odd for a regular old pencil. I snapped it in half, seeing exactly what I thought.

  Beneath the eraser was a small, enchanted stone. “Look in their desks.” The cover of the first desk opened with a squeak of the hinge to reveal the same lime green pencil. I cracked it open, confirming another stone hidden inside.

  “You figured it out!” The smile on Roman’s face was ear-to-ear, showing off nearly all his teeth.

  “See, I am innocent!” I said. “These pencils are what caused all the kids to grow a tail. Where did they come from?”

  Principal Prusa shook her head. “I’m not sure. Anywhere, I suppose. Let me call Mrs. Tate.” She pulled a phone from her pocket and had it up to her ear in no time, stepping into the hallway for privacy. Roman and I gathered all the pencils from each desk. Soon, I held a wad of them in my hand, saying the magic words, “In hoc magicae removere leporem.”

  I laid the charm-free pencils on the desk and collected similar pencils from the other room, repeating the spell reversal. And it was that simple. Everyone should be tail-free…and hopefully, whisker free, as well.

  The principal found us in the other room. “I called both second grade teachers and neither of them knew where the pencils came from. They said they just appeared in each desk this past Tuesday,” she looked at me as she said the next part, “like magic.”

  I ground my teeth. So, I found the hexed pencils. Probably lifted the curse on the children as well, but it didn’t truly prove my innocence.