“The basement is a terrifying place. If you thought the attic was bad, well, look out, because it doesn’t have anything on the basement,” said Bethel.
“We don’t really have a choice,” I told her.
“I know,” she grinned evilly.
Lowe groaned.
“We have a way around that. A spell,” said Bethel. “Let’s go into the study.”
There were no large rooms in this old house, but the study was still my favorite. When we got there, Bethel gave us an order. “Here, you two stand on the couch.”
Neither Lowe nor I moved to do her bidding. When she realized we hadn’t, she snapped, “What do you think you’re doing just standing there?”
“Um, you told us to stand on the couch,” said Lowe. The couch was old and blue. There was nothing wrong with our standing on it in theory, except that we were adults in reality if not in practice. Even we didn’t stand on couches, whatever other mischief we might get up to.
“You have to get out of the way! Just do as you’re told! I’m your grandmother. I wasn’t supposed to be trying to raise children at my age,” she grumbled.
Apparently she was serious, so we hastened to stand on the couch. Bethel went and stood in the doorway, raised her hands, and then paused. “Jade, can you push the chairs and tables to the side of the room?”
I had climbed up onto the soft couch next to Lowe. Now we both climbed down again.
After we finished doing what we’d been told and returned to our precarious spot on the couch, my grandmother performed the special hand motion that meant a spellcasting. A huge rumble followed, and the entire house shook. Lucy, the bird who liked to ride in my grandmother’s hat, came shooting into the room. I heard nickering outside and knew that the unicorns were also expressing their displeasure at the noise.
But instead of lessening as the minutes went by, the noise only got louder. From below our feet I felt a sort of booming, as if the earth were being split in two. Bethel hadn’t done many spellcastings in front of me, for which I was now grateful.
With a loud popping sound and a cloud of dust, a collection of huge forms suddenly appeared in the living room. Lowe and I both fell backwards, then I couldn’t see anything for a few seconds. My mind was a worried jumble about whether to run away from danger or not.
The next instant Bethel’s voice rang out, “Take your pick!”
Chapter Seventeen
After several attempts at deep breathing, I gave up. There was too much dust in the room. That, and Bethel was taking up all the oxygen, cooing gleefully at having surprised us so effectively.
When the dust settled enough for me to make out what had happened, the sight I beheld took my breath away. There, crammed into the small study, were at least ten cauldrons, all old-looking and covered in dust. I had never seen such a collection before.
“Wow,” breathed Lowe, her eyes large. “That’s just crazy.”
“You’re telling me,” I said.
I pushed myself off the couch and went to examine what Bethel had produced.
“Are these all for me?” I asked.
“They’re all from the basement. After you choose one I’m going to put the rest back,” said Bethel with a gusty sigh. “They’re filthy, there’s no doubt about that.”
“You don’t say. Thank you for bringing them up,” I said, and she nodded once.
The cauldrons were all different sizes, but most of them were within range of the one I had been using during the training at the Flying Steps Dance Hall.
I couldn’t take my eyes off the cauldrons. My grandmother had a basement filled with treasure. Some were perfect circles, while others were more oval-shaped. The largest one had a chip in the lip. The colors ranged from steel gray to black. All of the vessels showed signs of wear except for two that still looked brand new. My eyes kept sliding among them and taking it all in.
After a few minutes I realized that I kept coming back and looking at one again and again.
“How about this one?” I asked, pointing to one in the back that looked older than the others. At first I thought that might be a negative, but really, that cauldron just stood out somehow as being of better quality than the others. Carved into the side of it was a collection of moons, stars, and suns. I liked it immediately, and even more as I looked at it for a while.
When I glanced over my shoulder at Bethel, she was smiling.
“Yes, that one. I should have known that might be the one you’d choose. It was my first cauldron, after all,” she said.
“Why don’t you still use it?” I asked.
She shrugged. “There hasn’t been much call for cauldron work from the Rhinestones in a long time. Besides, I upgraded to a slightly larger one. When you run a household you need to be able to make large batches of potions,” she explained. “You wouldn’t know.”
I was forming my witch arsenal. Someone better watch out. But who?
Bethel was the most subdued of us the next morning when it came time to go to Henry’s calling hours. Before we’d gone to bed the night before, she had said that Henry had a distant aunt, and that’s who we’d pay our respects to in the morning. After I chose my cauldron I wanted to start the experiments in the unicorn pasture right away, but shooed us off to bed, insisting that it was too late for that day. We all needed to rest, to be fresh for the calling hours the next day.
When I woke up and made my way downstairs I was craving yogurt. Luckily, we always had some on hand, so I added some fresh blueberries and had a fruit bowl for breakfast. The morning was slightly chilly, and it was only as I had finished eating that Lowe came wandering in. She was yawning, and at the moment she looked especially displeased to be awake.
“I’m not a morning person. If I die, have my funeral in the afternoon. Just because I’m dead doesn’t mean I shouldn’t be courteous to others,” she grumbled.
“That’s morbid,” I said.
She shrugged and grabbed some cereal while I went to change. Bethel had provided me with an old, solid-colored blue dress, a cap sleeve number that covered my knees. It was suitable for a funeral, while the color made it not completely dull. I picked up my heavy witch cape and slipped my feet into my pointed shoes.
Sometimes I still felt as if I were dressing up for Halloween.
Once I was ready, I glanced at myself in the mirror. All that was missing was the pointy hat. I kept my delicate shoe necklace tucked underneath my dress in a way that appeared to be the habit of most witches around here.
When I made it downstairs I saw that Bethel was already dressed and outside. She was at the gate speaking to our neighbors, the mother and daughter Lisa and Lucky.
“Lowe, you coming?” I called out to my cousin.
“I’ll be right there,” she yelled back.
Outside, the day was breezy and overcast. The fairies and pixies must have engaged in one of their half-hour truces, because at the moment they had retreated to their tomato plants.
Our neighbors were waiting for us in the road.
“Morning,” I said to Lisa and Lucky.
Both mother and daughter had flaming red hair. Lisa liked to dress very provocatively, but today even she had covered up. They both looked somber.
“Are you going to the calling hours?” I asked.
“Yes, we are. The whole town tries to turn out for these things. Jonathan’s was attended by everyone too,” said Lisa.
“Did you know Henry?” I asked. Since he hadn’t had any close family, it was unlikely that Lisa had connections from having gone to school with his sibling or something like that.
“We didn’t know him well. I saw him around from time to time,” said Lisa. “Sad business, especially with him not having any family to mourn him.”
Lowe came out of the house, closely followed by Spunk. The gray cat trotted along with us down the road for quite a ways, but when we reached the bend in Misdirect Way that meant he would have to cross into the trailer park, he turned around and went back
.
As other townsfolk emerged from their homes, we all formed a small procession to the trolley stop. I wondered what colors it would be today. We were headed for the Merigold borough, and as Lowe explained it, they’d have extra trolleys running all day to accommodate the crowds.
Instead of looking around as we walked, I simply kept my eyes on Bethel’s back. She was speaking quietly with Lisa and Lucky, but Lowe and I weren’t talking. This would be my first Twinkleford calling hours.
We reached the trolley, and for the first time I didn’t notice what color it was until we disembarked. I noted the orange and cream sides as we made our way out of our trolley car, but my mind was still elsewhere.
Poor Henry was never going to find out what had happened to his friend Kyle.
Quinn’s theory that Kyle was involved in what had happened seemed ridiculous; let’s get that out of the way right now. Sure, they were probably dealing in potion ingredients on the black market. But other than that, my gut told me they had done nothing wrong.
After the calling hours, I wanted to get home and try out my new cauldron. At least it was new to me, eve if I’d have to clean it up before I could use it.
We came to a stop and I looked up, but there were so many townsfolk in front of us that there was nothing for me to see.
“We’re at the cemetery?” I asked.
Lowe blanched. “Certainly not. We aren’t invited there. You saw what it was like. No, this is more the wake part, where we pay our respects. The undertaker is a very powerful vampire in town. Don’t do or say anything to get his attention.
I nodded. This was something I hadn’t heard of before. Mostly I’d heard of the Coven Council and the queens who were in charge of it.
“A powerful vampire? What is he going to do if I draw his attention?” I asked skeptically. Lowe could tend toward dramatics.
“Nothing good,” was all she said.
“Quiet back there,” Bethel ordered, only partially turning her head. Lowe and I stopped talking immediately.
We were on a street lined with old stone buildings, which I thought must have been terribly difficult to build. Then I remembered Bethel’s work with the cauldrons and decided that they might have been easier than I imagined at first glance.
The building we were headed for had the biggest front lawn in the neighborhood and a large sign out front. We joined an already long line of townsfolk waiting to get in. While we waited, I looked around to see if I could recognize anyone, but after a few minutes of studying faces I decided that so far no one I knew had shown up.
We took a few steps forward so that we were actually on the path to the house. Townsfolk were streaming slowly out of a side entrance, and the line waiting to get in moved forward at the same slow pace.
“Hey, there’s Jackie,” I said as my friend emerged from the house. She was wearing large sunglasses, which did nothing to hide her bright blue hair. She wasn’t with her mother, probably because when the mayor arrived there would be quite a commotion, and Jackie would want no part of that.
Jackie saw us, waved, and came over. She too was wearing her witch’s cape, her shoes, and even her hat. She looked hot, and as she came near I noticed the sweat on her upper lip.
“Hi,” she said. “You going in?”
“Yes, we’re here to pay our respects,” said Bethel gravely. “As should every coven witch in town.” Despite the fact that we were barely still accepted in the coven, Bethel took the conventions seriously.
“Who are we paying respects to?” Lowe dared to ask. She hadn’t heard Bethel’s explanation this morning.
“He had a distant aunt who is receiving visitors,” said Jackie. “I should get going.”
“Okay, we’ll see you later,” I told Jackie.
By the time she wandered off the line had moved enough so that we were nearly to the front door. I could feel wafts of cold air from the air-conditioning, and the interior looked dark and a bit gloomy.
“Do you think Taylor or Hannah will be here?” I asked Lowe.
“They probably came earlier if they came at all. No way they stood in line. That’s so beneath them,” said Lowe.
“You have a point there,” I said, and sighed in relief as we entered the shade of the house. Even in late August the weather still hadn’t cooled down.
Once we were inside I could hear the whispers of voices. We were behind two ghouls, who kept turning around and trying to smile, but their effort to look less intimidating only made them look even scarier.
Finally we could see into the visitor’s room where Henry’s aunt was receiving the guests. The whole house was imposing, with everything of the highest quality. There was just enough decoration, all in lush dark colors, so that the place felt well-designed without appearing cluttered. It was the kind of house where I’d be terrified to knock something over or break something fragile.
“It’s our turn next,” said Bethel, turning to us as Lisa and Lucky went to say how sorry they were.
“I don’t want to be talking to the likes of you! You aren’t even in the coven!” came a shrill voice from inside the next room. Lisa and Lucky reappeared, taking a step back as the invisible woman raged on. “Get out! You don’t have any right to talk about my nephew Henry! Who invited you anyway!”
Lisa and Lucky hastened away out the side door, but I knew they’d wait for us outside. There was a stunned silence, and for a few breaths nobody moved. Then Bethel squared her shoulders, stuck her nose in the air, and started forward.
Still in shock, Lowe and I followed, Lowe fiddling with her hair. She had chosen to place bright pink ties all over her head today, and she was now trying to smooth them out and make them look normal, an effort that couldn’t actually succeed.
“We are so sorry, Gracious,” said Bethel, extending her arms to hug the large woman seated in the chair. Gracious wrapped her beefy arms slowly around my small grandmother. Gracious wasn’t just large, she was abnormally circular, so much so that the undertaker had obviously had to find a special chair to hold her. Even so, I couldn’t see her feet below her thick legs.
As she responded to Bethel, her mud-colored eyes flicked toward Lowe and me. “I see the Rhinestones are still hanging on in the coven, not for lack of trying to get you out, of course. Who knew you had a secret granddaughter up your sleeve, eh?” she asked, smiling slyly at Bethel and inviting my grandmother to join in the joke.
“As a matter of fact, I knew I did,” said my grandmother. “I spent years waiting for her to return, and now she finally has. We have a lot of work to do together as a family now,” she added.
“We’re very sorry for your loss,” I said.
Gracious shrugged. “Yes, as am I,” she said. “Henry was the last male in the family and now the name is going to end with him. His father would have been so disappointed. But I suppose that’s what you can expect when young warlocks turn to a life of crime.”
“Was he a criminal?” I asked.
“He was murdered, wasn’t he? Out in the woods, with his friend still missing and probably having sold him out? Yes, I’d say he was a criminal,” sniffed Gracious.
This woman was odious, and I could tell that Lowe thought so as well. My grandmother was just too well bred to give anything away, but I hoped she agreed with me on that point, even if she wouldn’t let on at the moment.
“You’re holding up the line,” someone called from behind us. Bethel said she was sorry one more time and started to move on.
“Do you have any idea what he was doing in those woods?” Gracious asked as we started away. “The sheriff’s office won’t tell me anything. If Henry was involved in something illegal, I’d like to know. I don’t want them to come after me next.”
“We have no idea,” said Bethel. “I’m sure everyone realizes that the two of you weren’t close. Where did he live?”
“Boarding house in Midnight. The place suited him. He could come and go as he pleased and that’s where he met a few other lads. No way
was he ever going to be able to live with me, after all. I need my space. Besides, it wouldn’t have done him any good.” She shook her head as if Henry had been a lost cause. Sadly, he now was.
With that we were out of the uncomfortable conversation and the stuffy house and back into the heat of the day. Lisa and Lucky were indeed waiting for us, along with a handful of other visitors who were lingering. Several vampires had gathered around them to comfort them. Lisa looked angrier than Lucky, spitting out words as we walked up to them.
“This is why we shouldn’t have come! It’s always something like that! There’s always disrespect. I want to go home and I want to go home right now,” she said.
“Don’t worry about that woman. You shouldn’t let her ruin your day,” said Lucky, who sounded fine. I did think that under her makeup she looked a bit paler than usual, but no one who didn’t know her well would have noticed.
While we all stood around and talked, my mind wandered to Henry’s room in the boarding house. Quinn would have searched it by now, and I wondered if he had found a supply of black market goods. If he had, he hadn’t let on at dinner the night before.
But maybe Henry hadn’t kept his stuff in his room, knowing that it would be an obvious place for it to be discovered. It occurred to me that he and Kyle might have had another hideout; I’d have to think that over and talk to Kelly. She might know, or be able to think of some clues.
“I want to go home,” Lisa repeated through gritted teeth.
That was fine with me. The undertaker’s house gave me the creeps, and we hadn’t even seen the vampire himself.
Chapter Eighteen
Back home, I changed out of my formal witch clothing into some comfortable old jeans and a T-shirt. I hadn’t worn them for long and they needed a good washing, so I wouldn’t be upset if they got ruined by cauldron work. Then I set about cleaning my cauldron, a task that took longer than I thought it should.
Also, to my surprise, Bethel now wanted to help with the experiments that Lowe and I were going to conduct. I told her that Professor Burger had said we must do them one at a time, but Bethel said she’d use her cauldron so that we could have two experiments going at once. She agreed we should use a corner of the pasture, far enough away so that if something went wrong the unicorns wouldn’t be impacted.
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