by Kali Harper
Chapter Seven
“You’re rearranging my books again?” Kat asked, walking up from the back office as I placed the Canundrum on the floor beside the register. Her smile quickly vanished, however, once she realized the books didn’t come from her store. “A competitor? You bought books from someone else? And don’t tell me they’re a gift, because—”
“They’re not. I didn’t go to another store, Kat. It’s… Lance called them a Canundrum.”
She frowned, then stepped behind the front desk for something I couldn’t see. Leave it to Kat to have a book on just about anything. The amount of stuff she knew about witches and magic could fill an entire library. A very big library.
Flipping through the pages of one book, she set it aside and scanned through the pages of another until she found what she was looking for. “I knew I’d read about these before.” Then, reciting what appeared to be a magic dictionary’s definition, she said, “A Canundrum is a magical talisman that can take on any form to match its surroundings. When used, the Canundrum protects those locked inside and can be reversed by speaking the correct name.”
“But Lance already called it by its name,” I told her, stooping in front of the books before opening them to the topmost page.
“Then he must’ve guessed wrong,” Kat said, joining me on the floor. “You’d think he’d know what a Canundrum was.”
Yeah, you’d think. “If Morpheus isn’t in there, who is?” And why had Lance left so abruptly last night once he told me it was Morpheus? He must’ve known the truth, so why did he leave?
“Morpheus? As in the troll?” She gasped, then took my hands and squeezed so hard I expected my fingers to turn blue. “You went to your first trial and you didn’t tell me?”
Wincing, I withdrew my hands and rubbed them until the tingling sensation went away. “Jeez, Kat. Remind me to never go against you in an arm-wrestling match.”
“No avoiding my question. How did it go?”
“It didn’t. Once we got there, Morpheus was gone.” I didn’t mention his banishment. For starters, we weren’t sure if that’s what actually happened, and the Canundrum clearly wasn’t who it claimed to be.
“Gone? Did he vanish? Oh! Was there a body?” Then, looking at the books again, Kat spoke right to them. “Are you Morpheus?”
“Yes,” I said after reading the Canundrum’s reply.
“It’s lying.” Kat crossed her arms over her chest and immediately closed the cover to the topmost book. “If you speak the right name, the Canundrum should lift.”
“It isn’t a curse, Kat.”
“No, but it is an illusion. Kind of. That thing isn’t Morpheus.”
“Lance said I had to ask the right questions.”
“Maybe because he knew it wasn’t telling the truth.”
“But I’ve had it with me this entire time. Shouldn’t it have said something else by now?”
She shrugged, then retreated behind the register again. When she met my gaze, she wrote on a piece of paper.
Because he didn’t want whoever’s really in there to overhear.
“But how—”
She stopped me from saying anything else by stabbing a finger on the paper, handing over the pen a moment later.
With the books down at my feet, I wrote back.
He could’ve warned me.
“Are you and Lance a thing now?” she asked, adding a small note on the page that read, Keep to normal topics.
“No,” I scoffed, shoving the paper aside as I wasn’t in the mood to have two conversations at once. “But he knows my number.” He’d texted me more than enough times last night to have his number forever ingrained in the back of my head.
And would you have freaked if he told you the truth last night? Kat wrote.
Ripping the paper from her again, I said, I have a set of demonic books at my feet. What do you think?
Which is why he didn’t tell you. Whoever’s inside those books could be one of two things, your suspect or a witness. She threw the paper in the trash once I’d finished reading it, then turned to her small coffeemaker so she could put on a fresh pot.
“Everyone in town knows,” she said, filling the silence between us. “You might not see it, but I’ve caught you staring at him.”
“You did not.” My cheeks burned under her gaze.
“Did so, and Sammy has as well. Right, Sam?” She glanced out her front window at the tabby who sat in the same spot he always did.
He’d come into Kat’s shop with me in the past but preferred to sit outside. He claimed it was so he could see what was coming, but today I knew it was because of the books. He didn’t trust him, and now I knew why.
“Sammy’s taking his job as serious as ever,” Kat said, returning her attention to me.
“I wouldn’t expect any less,” I said, taking a cup of coffee from her when she offered it to me. “Back when you first told me I was a witch, you mentioned what was or wasn’t forbidden. Problem is, those forbidden things keep happening.”
“You’ll have to be more direct than that. It’s too early for riddles.”
“You told me messing with time was against the rules.” Along with reversing death and changing the weather.
“It is, but I don’t see why that has anything to do with… that.” She gestured at the Canundrum and wrinkled her nose with disgust.
“Whoever’s behind all of this slowed it down. Back in Morpheus’ shop, everything was frozen. There were books on the ceiling, the floor, and the chair I tried to sit in. But you want to know the strangest part about all of this is? The hands on the clock still moved at a glacial pace.”
“You tried to sit down?”
Out of all the information she could’ve focused on, she decided to ask about how I found the Canundrum?
“The Canundrum appeared as I was getting ready to,” I explained.
Taking an entire pad of paper from behind the register, she started writing again. Time didn’t change here. What about the rest of Fairmount?
I hadn’t noticed. “Lance found me before I could go poking around.”
According to my readings, being able to slow time is extremely rare, especially to this extent. It would take a very strong individual to do so.
I took the pen from her and wrote, Like summoning a Canundrum.
Yes. The reason altering time is against the rules is because of its reach. However, if the spell was limited to Morpheus’ shop, then that could explain how nothing here has changed. You have to go back.
“What?” I yelled. “Are you nuts? I can’t—” I couldn’t go back.
If time is affected, you could take the Canundrum back and leave it there, Kat suggested, her eyes full of worry. We don’t know who’s inside that thing. It could be anyone or anything.
And what if they need help? I couldn’t stomach the idea of taking someone back to Morpheus’ shop only to get discovered by whoever banished him.
Don’t forget that thing could also be hiding your suspect Take. It. Back. Her last words were underlined three times. In fact, she pressed so hard, she tore through the paper.
Couldn’t I leave it somewhere else? It wasn’t like the books would follow me home, right?
As if she could read my thoughts, Kat wrote, Once a Canundrum bonds with someone—meaning you—you need to call it out by its name or it’ll keep coming back. Unless you can lock it in time! The last bit was underlined much like before.
“And because we don’t know who it is—”
“Exactly.” She took my hand in hers, arcing her thumb over the back of mine. “Please.”
“Lance isn’t going to like this,” I said, hugging her when she came around to my side of the counter.
“He’s probably expecting it.”
Figures I’d be the last to know. I’m not sure why I expected any different. “I’ll call you later.”
“Text me,” she said. “I have a thing I need to go to tonight and won’t have the ringer on.” Meanin
g she wanted to make sure we could talk without the Canundrum overhearing.
“Once I finish running a few errands, I will.” I wasn’t about to let the Canundrum back in my house.
As for the slowing spell, if it hadn’t lifted from The Magician’s Closet, then maybe I needed to pay Fairmount Square another visit.
Chapter Eight
“I need the chalk,” I told Lucy once I found her in Maggie’s garden.
“What in the world for?” She dusted her hands off on her pants, then stood to face me. In the brief amount of time she’d been in Emberdale, she’d already done more with the garden than I ever could. I honestly didn’t have time for it. Whenever I got the chance to pull a few weeds or prune the flowers, something else happened. “Please tell me you aren’t going—”
“Please give me the chalk.” I would’ve gotten my own, but no one used chalkboards anymore.
Lucy sighed with resignation, then rummaged through her purse for the piece of chalk she’d used yesterday. “It’s the only one I have.”
“Trust me, once I do this, I’m never going to use chalk ever again.”
Pleased with my answer, Lucy hugged me tight, then went back to her work in the garden which would likely be done by the time I got back. I’d never known her to garden, but maybe she did it when she was stressed. We all have our outlets. Mine was coffee. Lots and lots of coffee.
“Leaving without me?” Maggie asked, currently possessing Ginger, her orange tabby. “I can help you know.” She stalked one of the robins twittering nearby, then pounced short of hitting it.
“Taking your love of cats to a whole new level, I see.”
“Yes, well, I need to do something to fill the time.”
She never would’ve hurt the birds. She adored all wildlife. Still, watching her prance around the way Ginger usually did, it was almost like she was finally turning into a cat instead of simply borrowing one.
“So what’s the plan?” Sammy purred once we were far from where my aunt might overhear.
“I’m taking it back,” I told them both Sammy and Maggie, immediately falling on my face when the Canundrum became too heavy for me to carry. “Seriously? You’re throwing a tantrum now? It isn’t my fault you’re in this mess,” I told the books.
The top cover flew open, the pages turning so fast they were a blur. Then, on the back of the very last page, it finally spoke. Wrote. Whatever.
NO!
Stuck in the middle of my front lawn with two cats and a pile of books that probably weighed more than one of Felix’s statues, I stood next to the Canundrum and took out my phone. Sammy sat next to me while Maggie groomed her fur.
“Who are you calling?” she asked, paying particular attention to the end of her tail.
“Who else?” I put the phone to my ear and started to talk as soon as Kat picked up. “I’m stuck.”
“What do you mean stuck?” Something rustled on the other side of the line, and when I heard the chime of her register, I realized she’d closed her shop.
“No, stay there. The Canundrum knows I’m trying to take it back.”
“I told you not to say anything with it around.” She exhaled hard. “How are you stuck?”
“I can’t pick it up.” I kicked the books as if you prove my point, then grimaced when I almost broke my toe. “What is this thing made out of? Stone?”
Kat was quiet for a long moment, and when she spoke, it was in a light whisper. “Felix let you borrow his truck before, right?”
“It can’t hear you, Kat. As for Felix’s pickup truck, I’m not sure letting the whole town know about this is such a good idea.”
“Still, it might help.”
“Oh yeah, sure, and driving a truck through the side of Harris’ bakery is perfectly normal.” That would definitely get someone’s attention!
“Hmm, I see your point. So what are you going to do?”
“I have no idea. I was kind of hoping you’d have one.”
“Sorry. Want me to call Lance?”
I hated to ask for his help but… “Make it quick. I’m not sure how long I can stare at this thing before I light it on fire.”
“You can’t burn—”
I ended the call and glared at the Canundrum, pointing my cell at it as I spoke. “Start talking.”
“Yes and no questions, dear,” Maggie reminded me.
“Ugh, I don’t have time for this!”
“Where are you going now?” Maggie asked, walking behind me.
“For a walk.” I stomped off and left the Canundrum behind.
At least I didn’t have to worry about someone stealing it. I also didn’t get far. As soon as I crossed the property line, it materialized in front of me.
In my rush to get away, I forgot the Canundrum was bound to me. No matter how far I walked, the stupid thing would follow.
“What do you want?” I seethed, resisted the urge to kick it again.
I’d heard of dogs following you home, but this was nuts. I might’ve felt differently if it actually said anything. Unfortunately, unless I agreed to play a game of twenty questions (or more!), there wasn’t much else I could do.
“Yes and no questions, right?” I asked once I got my blood pressure under control.
NO.
“No? Then why not say something? And don’t tell me it’s because you’re being watched because I know it isn’t true.”
NO.
“Oh my god. Sammy, pee on it,” I ordered, gesturing at the fake pile of books.
“And get zapped? Pass.” He kept a few paces behind me.
“Maggie?”
“That’s not very ladylike,” Maggie said.
“You wouldn’t be doing it.”
“Ginger’s as much a lady as I am.” She plopped at my feet, refusing to budge. “It is fascinating though, isn’t it?”
“That’s not the word I’d use.” In fact, there were a million other things I’d called the Canundrum starting with a huge pain in my a—
“Astrid, come quick.” It was Lucy’s voice, and the way she sounded then, whatever she had to say wasn’t good.
Looking at both Maggie and Sammy, we ran toward Maggie’s house with the Canundrum disappearing and reappearing a few paces in front of us. I’ll worry about you later, I growled, glaring at the books once we reached Maggie’s porch. Hers was in far better shape than my own, though the paint could use another coat before the snow set in. I’d meant to get Felix on it, but I’d been so busy. And it doesn’t look like that’s about to change, either.
“Astrid, it’s Darby. She’s gone!” Lucy cried out, throwing open the front door when we didn’t run inside.
It took me a moment to think back to what she’d said about Darby yesterday. She was a relatively new witch, a human working with Dark Magic, and Mark’s niece.
“The poor child,” Maggie said before I had a chance to do the same.
“Are you sure?” I asked, shaking my head once I realized it wasn’t the best thing to ask. “I mean, she’s a teenager, right?”
“She’s hardly a teenager. She’s seventeen,” Lucy said, still holding her phone in her hands. “It isn’t like her to run away.”
“Seventeen means she’s a teenager,” I pointed out, cut off by Lance running up the front lawn before I could say anything else.
“How long has she been gone?” Lance asked, already sounding out of breath. “Lucy, how long has she been missing?”
“She doesn’t live in Emberdale. What difference does this make to you?” Lucy snapped, then averted her gaze and apologized.
Lance shook his head and took out his pen and paper. “She’s a witch and that’s all that matters. Did she know about your appointment with Morpheus?”
“I… I don’t see why she would. I spoke with her uncle, but she lives with her parents.”
“So she’s keeping to her human life?” Lance asked, his tone harder than I liked given the circumstances.
“What are you getting at exactly?”
Lucy stepped off the porch and walked right up to him, jutting out her chin.
“Nothing, I just think it’s risky is all. There are ways we could make her parents forget—”
“You wipe minds?” I asked, looking between them. “You’d make a family forget about their own daughter just so she could be in our community?” Lucy had stayed outside of places like Emberdale and no one ever knew.
“It keeps everyone safe,” Lance explained. “Besides, very few humans are strong enough to become a witch.”
“Which isn’t what happened,” Lucy told him. “How do you know all of this anyway?”
“We live in a small town,” Lance replied.
“Meaning he overheard.” I joined Lucy at the bottom of the front steps and watched as Lance jotted down some notes. “What are you thinking?”
“Hmm?” He lifted his gaze in my direction, his brows pinched above his eyes.
“You obviously have an idea, so why not share it with the rest of the class?”
“When did she first go missing?” Lance asked.
Lucy considered his question a moment. “Night after last. Her parents tried calling around to see if she was staying with anyone, but no one’s seen her. She also isn’t the only one who’s missing.”
“There’s another one?” Lance hadn’t said as much, but I knew his biggest concern was someone getting into Emberdale who had no right being here.
“Yes, her best friend.”
“Then they’d be together,” Lance decided.
“But where in the world would they go?” I asked. Having to find a missing witch was one thing, but having to find her along with a human companion? They could’ve gone anywhere.
Beside me, the Canundrum hummed and glowed, making quite a scene as Lance and Lucy compared notes. Lucy had a photo of Darby in her phone, which would’ve helped if we knew where to look. As for her friend, I zoned out once the Canundrum moved away from Maggie’s porch. It stopped every once and a while to make sure I followed after it.
“What’s it doing?” Sammy asked, joining me as we went back over to my house. Lucy’s panicked cries erupted behind us as Lance did his best to calm her down.
“I’m not sure.” But the Canundrum clearly wanted me to follow it. It wasn’t until we reached the end of the cul-de-sac when it stopped teleporting and opened to the front page. “I think it’s ready to talk to us now. Isn’t that right?”