Small Town Witch

by Kristen S. Walker

  Glen cleared his throat. “The new moon is all we need, but the sunset will make it even easier,” he said. “I’ll try and set up a spell to call us back at dawn. There’s no guarantee it will work, but the sun is the best way to keep track of the time.”

  Ashleigh and I stood outside the Grove and watched Glen work. Glen couldn’t use a lot of Fae magic because his blood was mostly human, but he’d been studying sorcery at school as his elective. Remembering what they’d explained earlier about all human magic being related, I looked closely at what he was doing and tried to figure it out. Could I learn sorcery, too? Did I even know how much of what I knew was witchcraft and what was actually something else?

  Glen’s spell involved drawing things in the air with his hands, where they shimmered, but I couldn’t make out what any of the symbols were. Then he knelt and traced the same symbols on the ground with a stick. He kept glancing up at the sky and changing the angle that he was working at, and muttering under his breath. It was very different from the type of magic that I did at home—no real props or even incense.

  Finally Glen straightened up and brushed the dirt off of his pants. “That’s the best I can do,” he said. “We’ll just have to take our chances and see what happens.”

  Ashleigh nodded and then looked at me. “Are you ready?”

  I took a deep breath and nodded. “As ready as I will be. Let’s go.”

  Ashleigh held out her left hand to me and her right to Glen. We both took her hands and the three of us stepped forward to cross through the ring of rowan trees into the Grove.

  There was no resistance as we stepped from one world into the other. Mist blew across my face, obscuring my vision for just a moment, and then we were standing in the Grove, but somehow everything felt different. When I looked up at the sky, it had the faint glow of twilight, but I couldn’t see the sun or the moon. Around us, the ring of rowan trees was taller and wilder, and they looked confused by the season: some had bright red berries, others had fresh green leaves, and all of them seemed to be flowering at once. Past them were more types of trees that I didn’t recognize at all, stretching off into a vast forest as far as my eyes could see. One kind of tree looked like a giant sequoia, but the needles had an odd blue tint to them; another twisted tree had branches that shimmered as if they were made of living silver. When the breeze passed through them, the trees seemed to murmur and whisper with a strange musical tone.

  I stepped away from the reaching branches and into the center of the Grove, but then I stopped short. The same stone altar was here, but it was covered in a garland of spiky purple flowers, and the stone was stained a dark reddish-brown that I was afraid might be blood. I shrank away from it.

  Glen grabbed my arm and pulled me to one side. “We need to find the path.” He looked around, eyes narrowed.

  His nervous grip on my arm made my stomach knot. If the faeriekin wasn’t comfortable here, then how safe could I be?

  Ashleigh looked much calmer. She scanned several openings in the trees and pointed off to the right. “I think that one is safe.”

  The path was narrow, so we had to walk single file. Ashleigh led the way, stepping carefully over the tangle of roots on the ground. I went behind her, and Glen brought up the rear. I expected it to get cooler as I walked under the trees, but it was warm.

  The trees around us were strange. Like the rowans, they seemed to be in every season at once: half of the leaves were red or yellow as if it were fall, but other branches had flowers, and others had fruit. The fruit gave off a sweet, heady smell that made my mouth water. Some of the fruit hung close by the path, just within reach, tempting: but I remembered what Ashleigh had said about not eating anything, and didn’t touch it.

  We hadn’t gone far when we heard the sound of running water. Ahead of us, a stream crossed the path we were on. Ashleigh stopped at the bank and looked at it warily.

  “I’m not sure if it’s a good idea to cross this,” she said.

  The stream was tiny. It would be easy for us to just step over it without even getting our feet wet. “Why?” I asked.

  “Running water is a barrier for a lot of magics,” Glen said behind me. “If we cross it, we may end up somewhere that we don’t want to be, or we might not be able to come back.”

  Ashleigh turned around and looked back the way that we’d come. “Did you see another path anywhere?”

  I peered through the trees, but they all seemed to grow close. “I can’t really tell. It’s so dark. Should we go back?”

  Glen looked at Ashleigh. “Can you make a light?”

  She held her hand out, palm up, and a ball of light appeared. She made the hobby lantern look easy.

  Above our heads, there was a sudden rustle of wings in the branches as a bird took off and flapped away. Something else fell down and landed next to me on the ground with a loud thud.

  I was startled and took a step back, bumping into Glen with a yelp. He put one hand on my arm to steady me.

  Ashleigh took a step back in the opposite direction and there was a splash as one of her feet went into the stream.

  The thing that had landed shook itself. It was a ball of matted gray fur with purple streaks. Then it moved and a face appeared, looking up at us with huge golden eyes. It was narrow and pointed, a little like a fox or a weasel, and I saw the glint of teeth. It turned its head to Ashleigh’s ball of light and growled low in its throat.

  “Sorry,” she said, closing her hand. The light disappeared.

  The creature went quiet again. It stretched out its nose toward her, sniffing and rising up on its hind legs. In the mass of fur I saw that its front paws had large, sharp black claws. Then it sat back down again and said in a gruff voice, “Apology accepted. Just be careful where you go shining that thing.”

  I just stood there, shocked and frozen, because I hadn’t expected it to speak.

  Ashleigh bowed her head low to the creature as if it were a lower-ranking noble at Court. “I’m sorry for disturbing you,” she said formally. “We were trying to find our way.”

  The creature turned its head to one side. “Are you looking for your mother?”

  “No, I—I don’t know if I’m ready to see my mother right now,” she said, and even in the dark of the trees I could see the blush spreading across her face. “I was just hoping to find a friend to help us. My friend, Rosamunde, needs protection from a spell.” She gestured to me.

  The creature turned around and looked at me. It sniffed in my direction. “The witchling is lousy with spells. I thought she would want to stay that way. Besides, why would anyone want to help you, Lady Ashleigh? All of your friends are really your mother’s, and you know she’ll be upset if she finds out that you didn’t ask her first.”

  I stared at the small furry animal. I’d only been called witchling by one person, and that person lived in Faerie—and he liked to play tricks. “I have my own friends here,” I said. “Maybe one of them would be willing to help me for a kiss.”

  One of the big golden eyes closed in a wink. Then the small furry animal stretched until it grew taller than me, and the matted multi-colored fur fell away, revealing a Fae with a mischievous grin. He was wearing a purple and gray suit. He leaned close to me and said in a low, sultry voice, “You must be promising quite a kiss in exchange for my services, my dear witchling.”

  I laughed and threw my arms around him. “My friends will make sure that you don’t take advantage of me. Are you still Dandelion?”

  He hugged me back warmly. “I was thinking of going as Lavender now. Dandelion sounds like a fop.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Naming yourself after any flower makes you sound like a fop or a girl,” I said. “Why don’t you ever stick to a normal name?”

  “That would be boring!” he replied, stepping back and pulling himself up indignantly. “Besides, you’re named after a flower. I thought you would appreciate the homage.”

  Glen and Ashleigh had both been just standing there watching us. Ashle
igh cleared her throat and said, “I don’t think I’ve ever met you before.”

  Lavender turned to her and bowed. “I’m sorry. I don’t usually introduce myself to the nobles.”

  I glanced at Glen, who shook his head. “I’ve never seen you, either. What’s your real name?”

  “Seriously, you guys?” I said. “He’s been at, like, every single party at the Court. He always hangs out with me. You’ve never even seen him with me?”

  They shook their heads.

  Lavender straightened up from his bow. He shifted forms again, this time making his face look older and his body grow stockier. “I am sometimes called the Man with Many Faces, or just the Stranger, because everyone knows that you should never talk to strangers.”

  Ashleigh’s eyes narrowed. “But what house are you from? Do you have a title? What do they call you in the Queen’s Court?”

  “When I first met him, he told me his name was Bob, and that he was a janitor,” I volunteered.

  “Well, are you a janitor?” Ashleigh demanded.

  “Sometimes I clean up the mess after a big party,” he said with a wave of his hand. “Otherwise, I don’t really go visit the Queen very often. I don’t really care for the Court. It’s too—formal.”

  Ashleigh let out a sigh of exasperation.

  I shrugged. “I’ve never really been able to get a straight answer out of him. But he’s always helpful. Besides, he’s the one I made my pact with.”

  Ashleigh and Glen glanced at each other in shock, but they didn’t say anything.

  I looked back at him. “You know, Lavender Bob, you’re partially responsible for me figuring out about the spell in the first place. You pointed out to me that Akasha doesn’t belong at Crowther, and you were right, it’s just that my mom’s spell wasn’t letting me see the truth.”

  Lavender clapped his hands together. “That’s right, I’m supposed to be helping you with a spell! I knew you wouldn’t just come to see me for the pleasure of my company. Why don’t we go to my house and you can tell me all about it?”

  Glen looked around nervously. “Where is your house?”

  Lavender pointed behind us. When we turned around, we saw a path that hadn’t been there before, and between the trees we could see a snug little cottage sitting in a clearing.

  “Oh, that’s really close,” I said, and started walking towards it.

  Glen grabbed my arm and pulled me back. “I don’t know if we can trust this strange—thing,” he whispered in my ear. “How well do you really know him? I swear I’ve never heard of him before. He could be Unseelie.”

  “I’ve known him my whole life, and I swear to you that I’ve never had cause not to trust him,” I whispered back. “Besides, I have you two with me. If something happens that you don’t like, we can leave. Let’s at least listen to what he has to say, okay? We don’t exactly have anyone else lining up to help us.”

  “The fact that he showed up to volunteer so conveniently is what makes me nervous,” Glen grumbled, but he let go of my arm.

  Lavender led the way ahead, I followed, and Glen and Ashleigh came up behind us. I was disappointed that they were so nervous about Lavender, but I relaxed. It was good to see a familiar face—even one that kept changing—in this strange place. Surely he’d be able to help us.

  The inside of Lavender’s house looked larger than I’d expected. Outside, it barely looked large enough for all of us to fit inside, but when we stepped in, there was a lot of space, a sort of combination living room, kitchen, and dining area. The furniture was hand-carved with elaborate designs of flowers and leaves, piled high with colorful cushions, and there were brightly colored silks hanging over the windows and along the walls. Even the windows and lamps were covered in stained glass designs of plant life, which filled the room with different colors of light. It was like we’d just stepped inside a rainbow.

  “Please, sit anywhere you like,” Lavender said, gesturing to the multitude of chairs and couches. “Can I get anyone refreshments—food, drink? I wasn’t prepared for company, but I’m sure I can find something.”

  Ashleigh and Glen sat down on the edge of the nearest couch and shook their heads. “You know we can’t have anything here,” Ashleigh said.

  “Of course,” Lavender said. He chose a large easy chair across from them. “I don’t often have visitors from the other side of the Veil. I wouldn’t put anything in the food for you.”

  “Still, it’s better if we don’t,” Glen said.

  I sat in the chair next to Lavender, but Glen glanced at me and shook his head. He tried to subtly point at a chair closer to him and Ashleigh without Lavender seeing.

  I stood up again and crossed the room, sitting near my friends. I glanced at Lavender, who smiled indulgently. “Well, tell me about your problem,” he said. “I know there are a lot of spells on you, Rosa, so which one is bothering you?”

  I explained my suspicions about my mom and the spell that I thought she was using to control my family. When I finished, Lavender looked me over and frowned. “You have the sigil with you still?” he asked.

  Glen pulled the paper out of his pocket and handed it over.

  Lavender stared at it and then tore the paper in half. There was a flash of light. Suddenly my heart was pounding and I felt flushed, as if a wave of heat had passed over me. I nearly jumped out of my chair. “What did you just do?”

  “Whoa, take it easy,” he said. “I just negated it. This one was simple, actually pretty sloppy work, and I don’t think it was having any effect on you. Stick to witchcraft, dear, because you can’t really handle sorcery.” He handed the two pieces of paper back to me. “I thought you might like to keep it as a reference so you could find out what it was.”

  I held the torn halves of the sigil in my hands, which were shaking, and looked at it again. Other than a jagged gap down the middle, the image hadn’t changed. And he was right, once I took a deep breath and calmed down, I didn’t feel very different, either. Maybe I’d just fooled myself into thinking that it was helping me change my feelings about Lindsey.

  I looked back up at him. “What other spells are on me?”

  “Well—do you mind?” He scooted his chair closer to mine and held out his hand.

  I took his hand. Lavender said a word, and suddenly the air around me was sparkling full of colors. I was covered in a woven mesh of threads. Some of them covered my hands, some wound over my heart, others draped over my body—it was crazy.

  “I find it easier to visualize things like this,” he said, looking me over. “Here are the ones that you already know about, the tracker spell and the, ah, other one. There’s a protection spell on you, and a spell for good health. But those spells are passive—they won’t really affect your actions.”

  He reached out with his free hand and traced a shining thread that looked like a green, thorny vine wrapped all the way around me. “This one is the vicious one, and it’s strong. You’re right—it can change the way that you think and feel. It’s trying to work against you even now, despite you being aware of it, and not to mention this is pretty much as far away from your home as you can get. I think if you went back to your house, it would probably take over again without you even remembering what had happened.”

  I swallowed hard. That was the proof I’d been looking for. Now I was staring at the twisted thing. My anger and sadness were gone—I was terrified. I thought I’d known before how strong my mom was, but this was beyond anything that I’d guessed, and it was so—so malicious.

  Seeing the thing that my mom had made to control me made me sick to my stomach. I wanted to cry and scream and throw up, or to wake up and find out that it was all a dream. I couldn’t truly believe until that moment that my own mother would do something deliberately to hurt me—and especially that she’d done it my entire life, and it had taken me this long to figure it out.

  I bit my lip hard to hold it all back. Lavender squeezed my hand. I looked at him—away from that thing—and asked,
“Can you get rid of it?”

  He looked very sad as he shook his head. “Not from here,” he said. “I’d have to go to the source, and even still, I’m not very good at altering human magic. And this is witchcraft, by the way, not sorcery, so it’s definitely not the same type of thing as the little spell your mom helped you do. Ironically, since you’re her daughter, you’re probably the person with the best chance to break this thing.”

  “Is there anything you can do to help me?” I asked. “Ashleigh thought maybe there was something you could do to block the spell, so it wouldn’t affect me anymore. Otherwise, when I get close to it, it’s just going to change my mind again and I won’t know what I’m doing.”

  Lavender dropped my hand, and the swirling colors around me disappeared, including the vine. He stood up and walked over to a cabinet where he started pulling out jars and scrolls and various oddments. “I’ll have to see what I can cook up,” he said. “I don’t want to do anything that will tip your mother off, because she could notice that the spell isn’t affecting you anymore and then try something else. I don’t want to block all of her spells, because that will definitely set off red flags.” He paused, looking at the things he’d already pulled out, and then turned to another cabinet. This one held jewels and stones. “Give me a little time.”

  “Be careful with the time,” Ashleigh said, speaking up at last. “We wanted to get back by dawn—hopefully in this decade. Otherwise, the spell won’t be our only problem.”

  “Yes, I know.” Lavender waved his hand dismissively. “I’ve been keeping track of your world’s time for a while now. How else would I show up to your parties?”

  We all sat there and stared at each other while he moved around the room, pulling some things out and putting others away. I stopped feeling curious about what he was going to do, since I couldn’t make sense of it anyways, so I didn’t pay attention. Ashleigh saw my unhappy face and reached out to put a hand on my shoulder again.