by Kali Harper
“I’ll be sure to remember that.”
“Winter might not be upon us, but keep a watchful eye around the first snow when the snatchers come out.”
“I remember.” I shivered, then dismissed the tale altogether. “Now, what’s this about a broom?”
Her eyes lit up and she took her mug in her hands, clutching it so hard I thought it would break. “It’s a most wondrous occasion. I didn’t get my first broom until I was almost twenty years old. Nasty business doing it alone and trying to find the right market. Never buy a knockoff, trust me.”
“Personal experience?”
“Unfortunately, yes. Did a nosedive right into the ground. Good thing I landed in a large leaf pile instead of the brambles a few doors down. No, Maggie was the one who introduced me to The Magician’s Closet.”
“She knew you were a witch?”
“Right from the start. We were college roommates, so once she knew for sure I was up to speed on my magic, she helped me get my first broom. And now, m’dear, it’s your turn.”
“Couldn’t they come up with a better name?” The Magician’s Closet sounded… wrong to say the least.
“Get your nose out of the gutter. It’s practical and says exactly what it is. There you’ll meet—”
“The head janitor?” I lost myself in a fit of giggles.
“This is serious!” She slammed her mug on the table, reminding me of the times she controlled the chaos when her house was full of screaming kids and arguing adults.
“Then what would you call him?”
She mumbled then, but I could’ve sworn she said head janitor. Now she did laugh, coughing once she was through. “His name is Morpheus and he’s been in charge of handing down brooms to new witches for more than a century.”
“How is that even possible? I didn’t think witches and wizards lived longer than anyone else.”
“Not a wizard, a troll. One of the best in the industry.”
“A troll as in hiding under bridges or—”
“Goodness no. Don’t confuse truth with fairy tales. Trolls are rather eccentric and work with things such as talismans and artifacts. They’re what we like to call the Keepers of Magic. No witch, wizard, or magical being can rise to their full potential without their say-so.”
“A magic pay-wall then?” That would explain why I couldn’t conjure things the way I wanted to.
“You can still cast magic, though its effects and timing won’t be as strong.” Which also explained why I couldn’t make a reflection of Maggie out of thin air.
“I thought all I needed was a spell book.” Which, as it turns out, isn’t really something a witch needs if she specializes in conjuration or telekinesis.
“As a conduit perhaps, but your broom, wand, and hat are where your true magic begins.”
Of course there was a hat… “As in the pointy kind?”
“Anything you like, really. Once you receive it, you can use an illusion to make it your own.”
“But I’m not an illusionist,” I argued.
“Conjure, then.”
“You know I hate flying.” Just because I climbed the tree in Maggie’s backyard every now and then, that didn’t mean I was willing to fly on a broomstick! It was at the top of my Nopes list, right above termites living in the walls of my old place before Maggie insisted I move into hers.
“You’ll get used to it. It’s the best way to travel and how I got here, in fact.”
“In the daytime?”
“Oh, Astrid, there’s so much you don’t know about our world. Don’t you worry. By this time next week, you’ll be soaring like a star.”
Chapter Two
“She asked you to do what?” Maggie seethed, her normally blue form (not to mention the lamp sitting on the coffee table) flickering as she strode across the room. “Who does she think she is?”
“I thought you’d be happy.” Up until this point, Maggie had been with me the entire way, so seeing her this upset over a tiny field trip with my aunt was completely out of character. “Lucy said I won’t be able to reach my full potential until I meet with this Morpheus guy—”
“Troll.”
“You know what I mean. Mags, if I do this, I’ll be able to conjure you a more physical form. You wouldn’t have to possess Ginger, Sammy, or any of the other cats ever again.” There were five currently living in her—now my house, but she’d taken a liking to Ginger as Sammy had other things to do (like look after me).
“You don’t know that.” She released a long breath and collapsed on the sofa I’d recently moved in front of the living room window. “Not every witch reaches that point. The trials you’ll face to earn your first broomstick are harsh and not fit for a witch as new to magic as yourself. You need time—”
“I’ve tried to conjure you something tangible to use, but I can’t do it, Mags. I need this.”
“You think you do, but if you would just listen—”
“Is Maggie trying to change your mind already?” Aunt Lucy asked, walking in from the kitchen with an armful of oranges. “I thought she’d appreciate my help seeing as she’s been fostering you for the better part of a month.”
It’s been longer than that. “No one’s fostering anyone,” I said, taking an orange from Lucy. “Besides, Maggie wasn’t the only one who taught me while you were away. I had Sammy, Kat, and even Detective Lance to help.”
“Yes, well, a witch needs her broom if she ever hopes to—”
“Reach my full potential?”
“Or get away,” Lucy finished for me, placing the remaining oranges on the coffee table between us before plucking the one I had out of my hands. “These aren’t for eating.”
“They look fine to me.”
Lucy narrowed her gaze and with a flick of her wrist, sent the oranges flying in my direction. Instinctively, I placed my arms in front of me, shielding myself as the fruit stopped short of my barrier. “The dangers you’ve faced thus far are nothing compared to what you may experience down the line.”
“You make it sound like being a witch is a curse.”
Both Lucy and Maggie didn’t say anything for a long unnerving moment. By the window, Maggie busied herself by watching the birds outside. Lucy, on the other hand, peeled one of the oranges with her magic instead of her hands.
“You know telekinesis?” I asked, looking from her to the fruit when she finally offered me a piece.
“A witch can learn many things. Just because Maggie says mixing magic is dangerous, that doesn’t mean it’s wrong.”
I wasn’t so sure. I’d seen what combining different forms of magic could do, starting with enchantments and Black Magic. Granted, I’d cast a small charm of my own with Maggie’s help, but I never would’ve attempted it without her guidance.
“How much do you know?” I asked Lucy.
“Telekinesis is my forte, which explains your skill in conjuration. They’re very similar, you know.”
“So I’ve been told.”
“Once I mastered that, I moved on to small enchantments.”
“Such as the guidance spell on my car.”
“Yes. Now, you can choose to remain in the same school of magic if you like, but I find mixing it up keeps things fresh. As for Maggie’s current distaste in regards to Morpheus and your broom, it may be because she’s slowly losing you. You’re her pupil.”
“Like I said before, she wasn’t the only one who taught me,” I said, smiling in Maggie’s direction who was currently tuning out our conversation.
“No, but since I’m here, it gives her no reason to stay.”
The bottom fell out of my stomach as all the air rushed from my lungs. That can’t be right. I refused to believe it.
Ever since Maggie’s ghost first showed up in her living room, she’d told me it was because of some unfinished business she had to take care of. At the time, I thought she was referring to Sammy and I solving her murder or awakening my magic, but now I wasn’t so sure. Did my inability to con
jure her a new form mean she got to stay?
“Maggie?” I took my place at her side, waiting until she met my gaze before I continued. “Is that why you don’t want me to do this? What happens to you once I have my magic?” I had magic, but it obviously needed work.
She shook her head and averted her gaze. “It’s terribly selfish of me, I know. I’m just not ready to find out.”
“Find out what?”
“If you’re the one keeping me here,” she told me.
I collapsed on the sofa beside her and met Lucy’s worried gaze. “How important is it for me to get my broom?”
“Astrid, you can’t give up your best chance of getting away from danger to spare her feelings.”
“It’s not that…” Taking a breath, I considered my next words carefully. “For over five years, Maggie’s looked after me. She took me in, gave me a job, helped me secure a house, and even gave me her magic and Sammy, who I couldn’t see living without. Mom may be gone, but Maggie took her place. I’m sorry, Aunt Lucy, but if this pains Maggie, I won’t do it.” A pang of guilt tightened in my chest as I saw my words take effect. Lucy should’ve been the one I turned to, but instead, she’d sent me away. To be honest, being around family for the first year after I sold my childhood home was hard, so if Lucy had taken me under her wing then, it probably wouldn’t have mattered. “I realize now why you couldn’t be there for me so soon after Mom and Dad passed away, but Maggie was, and while keeping her ghost around might be for my own selfish reasons, she wants to stay. If I can prolong her time here with us, nothing else matters.”
“That’s a terribly noble thing to do,” Lucy said, crossing her arms over her chest, “and reckless. The magic Maggie left you is a gift. You may be able to guard yourself from flying fruit, but what about werewolves, vampires, demons, and the Wintersnatch?”
“Vampires and demons, seriously?”
“Not nearly as bad as the witch hunters, mind you. They’re foul, dark creatures who will hunt you down for whatever magic you have. As we speak, they could be sniffing you out. New witches are easy prey, and one so defenseless as yourself—”
“Stop it, stop it, stop it!” Maggie screamed, getting to her feet as the house shook around us. Her next words came from my mouth, scaring us both. “You can’t ask her to do this. Those demons and hunters will grow even more powerful the stronger her magic becomes.”
“Do you remember the one we ran into on campus?” Lucy jutted out her chin. “If it weren’t for my studies, we wouldn’t be standing here today. The strongest magic is knowing your opponent’s weakness, but Astrid won’t be able to use anything of the sort without Morpheus’ approval.”
A chill ran down my spine, and when I looked at Maggie, she turned away. “Why do I need a troll’s approval?”
“Keepers of Magic,” Lucy reminded me. “They make sure the strongest spells go where they belong.”
“But isn’t the book supposed to control the chaos?”
“To a point, but that’s child’s play compared to what you could accomplish if given the chance.”
“And the time,” Maggie added, though Lucy couldn’t hear her.
“Maggie says we need more time, and I think I have to agree. My own two feet work just fine if I have to run from something.”
“Even if it flies?”
I hadn’t thought of that. “Was your witch hunter able to fly?”
“Ours never did, though I’m sure they can. They appear to us as a cloud of dark smoke, swirling and expanding into whatever form they choose. Once they find their target, they won’t stop until they have what they want.”
“My magic, I get it.”
“Magic is a part of the soul, Astrid. If stripping your powers was our biggest concern, I wouldn’t be as adamant about your lessons. No, if you ever cross paths with a hunter and can’t defend yourself, your time here will end. You’ll have no afterlife, no haunting as a ghost like Maggie has done. Nothing.”
Lucy had always been great with stories, but this one was new. “These sound way worse than a Wintersnatch.”
“They can be, but the Wintersnatch targets all things.”
“Then I guess I don’t have a choice.”
“I’m afraid not.”
“I’ll agree to this on one condition,” I said, looking between them. “Maggie’s going with us.”
The amount of bickering those two were capable of was almost as bad as when Ida and Connie got into one of their screaming matches. By the time we left the house, it was mid-afternoon. Sammy had spent the entire time outside, likely hearing every word but keeping to himself. As he walked beside me, I could tell he was worried, possibly for the same reasons I was. I didn’t like the idea of seeing this troll any more than Maggie did, and it wasn’t because of what he was but because of what he did. If Maggie really was stuck with us because I was new to magic, did that mean she’d leave once the lessons were through?
“There are always things to learn,” Sammy purred, reading my thoughts. He’d been doing it on a regular basis ever since he realized his mental chanting for food usually got me off the couch and in the kitchen. According to him, not all witches and familiars could talk mind-to-mind, but for whatever reason, we could. It made for some very interesting, if not accidental conversations.
“You need to stop doing that,” I told him, shoving my hands in my jacket pockets as Lucy and Maggie walked far ahead of us.
“What? You think I enjoy hearing when you have to pee or when you do your silly hair flip because Lance might be looking at you?”
“I never said—”
“Didn’t have to. Do a better job at it, okay? Having you share things with me is all well and good, but when you don’t filter your thoughts, important information gets lost in that mess of yours you call a brain.”
“Okay, I get it. I’ll try harder.” Jeez. You’d think he’d have something better to do like take a catnap.
“I heard that.”
“Only because I wanted you to.” I had to work harder at keeping my thoughts to myself. “I wonder if this troll can help.”
“Possibly, though it’s best if you do so on your own. Fortunately, I’m the one hearing them instead of everyone else.”
“That can’t happen, can it?”
“Depends on who you’re around. The Whisperer in Lance’s office could hear your thoughts.” The Whisperer being Adelle, a feline shifter who happened to question Sammy shortly after Maggie’s death. “Just be careful. You don’t need a hunter inside your head.”
“Are they as bad as Lucy says?”
“And worse, but you don’t have to worry about that. Your aunt doesn’t have a familiar of her own, which explains her immense concern for your wellbeing. So long as I’m around and my wards are in place, the hunters will never find you.”
“What about my own shields?”
“You exhausted yourself by placing a barrier between yourself and those oranges this morning. Don’t say you aren’t because I can sense it. Keeping a shield around yourself at all times is not only draining but extremely dangerous. You’d be better off without a shield at all because at least then you could still run.”
“But I have you,” I reminded him, keeping my voice low as Lucy waited for us to catch up.
“Yes. Leave the wards to me. You worry about proving yourself to this troll your aunt’s so keen about.”
“I thought Maggie met with him before.”
“Who, Morpheus?” Lucy asked, stepping in line beside me. “Of course she knows him. She introduced us.”
“And where we’re going is how you and Mark met. Why did you go back?”
“I needed a new one. A broom, I mean.” She shrugged and gestured with her hand, smiling when a broomstick materialized in front of her. “My other one was so used and tattered, the wood had started to splinter.”
I couldn’t believe a broom just appeared out of thin air. “You can conjure things too?”
Lucy laughed. “Of co
urse not, but summoning your broom is second nature once you’ve bonded with it. Same with your wand and hat. Once you’re fitted with the right ones and have earned the ability to use them, all you have to do is think of them, and they appear.” As if to prove her point, Lucy waved her hand again, and the broom was sent to whatever world it had come out of. “In any case, Mark was there to help his niece earn her first broom. Poor thing’s parents can’t help her as they’re only human.”
“Must be nice having an uncle who takes a role in her awakening,” I told her, my voice sharper than it needed to be.
“I already told you, I couldn’t say anything until after you awakened. Darby came about her magic another way.”
“No dead parents. Sounds nice.”
“Yes, well, she decided to look into the stories many of us tell small children. One thing led to another and—”
“Are you seriously approving the use of Dark Magic? Humans aren’t supposed to know about our world, much less have a part in it!” It was one of the first things I’d learned after inheriting Maggie’s magic. It was the reason why she’d enchanted me to see the town as nothing but ordinary. If news about our world ever got out— “Without a book to help her, she won’t be able to control it.”
“Yes, if she were any other human, she’d be meddling with magic such as this, but she isn’t. Her curiosity and determination in learning whatever she could about our world brought on her awakening, which, might I add, would’ve happened anyway.”
“But not until another witch died. There’s a balance, you said so yourself.”
“Yes, well I don’t have all the answers.”
This could be bad, I thought, glancing at Sammy who met my eyes.
He pinned his ears back, but whatever he had to say about Darby, he kept to himself.
According to Lucy, The Magician’s Closet was in town, but the longer we walked, the more I wondered if we should’ve taken the car. Don’t get me wrong, I love to walk. I did it all the time when Maggie ran Every Last Crumb, but if we were planning to get back before dark, a car might’ve helped. Not that I knew what to expect once we met Morpheus, but if I had to prove myself, I was pretty sure it’d take longer than a few minutes.