Cookie Dough, Snow & Wands Aglow

by Erin Johnson

  "Imogen." Junie smiled, her blue eyes twinkling. She stood and ushered me over, into an empty chair between her and Minette. Then she bustled off to get me a cup of tea.

  Minette stared down at her lap, where she wrung her hands with their long, deft fingers. "Imogen. I'm sorry." She looked up at me, her brows creased and dark eyes wide. "When Lady Cordelia used the mirror, I didn't know at the time. But when she came back through, she broke the one on the tower and the mirrors always act as pairs—the one in my dressing room broke, too. And from then on, I knew. I knew it was her and I didn't tell anyone. I even disposed of the broken mirror."

  That explained the shard I'd found in the alley.

  She shook her head. "It was eating me up. But I kept it quiet, because if I accused Cordelia, I'd have had to admit to having the mirror. And not only is that illegal, but it would have exposed the truth about me and my friends—and I feared we'd all be resettled, or worse." She dropped her eyes. "But I'm ashamed of myself. I almost let her get away with murder."

  I licked my lips, and searched for the right words. "I understand why you did all that. And I know that you've all been through a lot."

  Minette squeezed my shoulder as Junie returned and set a steaming mug of peppermint tea in front of me. "You've been through a lot too, Imogen."

  I nodded and cupped the mug in my hands, savoring the heat that warmed my cold fingers. I took a deep inhale and felt my nose clear. "I guess I have been. I'm just lucky to have been young enough not to remember." I'd always thought it a curse to not remember my family, not remember who I was. Now that I knew, I saw that that ignorance had been a protection, too.

  I bit my lip and felt my eyes sting, and my throat grow tight. "Junie… I don't think there is a way for me to thank you enough for what you did for me. You saved me."

  The old woman scooted her chair closer and wrapped me in her arms. I turned my face into her shoulder and let the hot tears trickle down my cheeks and into her shawl. Minette and the others talked politely among themselves of the new council and the changes they hoped to make. I breathed in Junie's scent of beeswax and pine needles and felt a strong urge to stay in this warm, cozy shop with this warm, soft woman forever.

  "Junie." My voice came out muffled against her shoulder. "Would you want to come to Bijou Mer with us? I'm so sorry to leave right after I found you again."

  The old woman eased me off her shoulder and used her thumb to wipe the tears from my cheeks. "Thank you, Imogen. And I can't tell you how happy I am to see you again, alive and well and as beautiful as your mother." Her throat bobbed. "But I've just gotten a place on the new town council."

  I nodded. "I heard. Congratulations."

  She smiled, though her eyes were tight. "I plan to make this town's history known, come drought or earthquakes." She pounded one fist into her other hand. "We're going to make the memorials visible to everyone and make sure they all know what happened here."

  "Aren't you worried? What if the government tries to relocate you?"

  Minette lifted her chin. "We've talked to the other councilors, those who weren't survivors. They're tired of hiding their pasts as well. It's time for a clean slate—we've decided we're all in this together—settlers and survivors."

  I grinned. "That's great."

  "If they come for one of us," Junie said, "they come for all."

  I sighed. "I'm happy to hear it."

  Junie took my hand. "I have work to do here, Imogen. This is my home."

  I nodded and looked down.

  "But it's your home, too."

  I lifted my face till I could see her sparkling eyes.

  "And I want you to come visit me any chance you can, okay? You can stay here, in my spare room above the shop, and we'll get to know each other better."

  "I'd love that. I'll keep in touch," I promised.

  "You'd better." Junie winked.

  I chatted with her, Minette, and the others for a while longer. Junie told me my mom had loved me and Horace, and her work. That my dad was scholarly—he worked at home keeping books for some of the business owners and farmers, but mostly reading and studying for his own pleasure. She said that he took care of Horace and me, while my mom was busy crafting magical mirrors for kings and queens and the rich and famous. But also for the common folk, too. She gave them as gifts to those who couldn't afford her.

  “Junie. Last night you said the monsters seemed to come from the center of town.”

  She looked at her folded hands and nodded.

  “Could they have come from the mirror shop?” I swallowed. “Through the mirrors?”

  Her lips quirked to the side. “I’ve had many years to look at it from all angles, and I can’t say I’ve come to any conclusions. If they did, it would have been a first.”

  I nodded and thought that over. The governments had banished the monsters to the Badlands using portal mirrors, so it was possible, in theory. Were the monsters more intelligent than I’d imagined, and learned to use the mirrors to attack us?

  When the grandfather clock chimed the half hour, I rose and said my goodbyes and gave Junie one last big hug on my way out. "Take care of yourself, Imogen." She smiled and stood at the door and waved until I'd disappeared across the square.

  At the inn, my friends all milled around in front. The horses had been bridled and attached to the sleighs, as well as to the sledge with all of our baggage and supplies. The guards with their golden lances and bows and arrows sat atop their restless horses. Soon, we were all loaded up and pulled away from the inn. We took an easy path through bright, snowy fields and back through the overgrown forest path. When we came to the fork in the road, Hank and I stepped out with Iggy to burn away the monster vine, only to find it already cleared. Only charred, twisted black branches and ash remained.

  Goose bumps prickled up my skin and Hank and I exchanged glances. There was only one other person, one other swallow, who could have done this. "Horace," I muttered, my chest cold. "Hank, I'd like to gather everyone."

  We returned to the sleighs and Hank asked the guards to spread out a bit and give us space. My friends circled up around me, stamping their feet and blowing warm breath on their hands.

  Rhonda shivered. "Horace must've cleared it, right? But why?"

  I nodded. I knew I had to explain. I wanted to as well, but couldn't shake this feeling of dread.

  "What's up?" Rhonda asked.

  I swallowed against the lump in my throat. "I didn't tell you everything from last night. The graveyard we found Junie in—it was a graveyard for survivors of a massacre… survivors of Monsters Rise."

  Maple's jaw dropped. "But you said—that's where your adopted mom said—"

  I nodded. "It's where I'm from. This is my home."

  "Ooooh." Yann's face was almost comically shocked, his big nose glowing red from the cold.

  Annie grinned. "Well, no wonder you're such a talented baker." She waggled her brows. "She's an Earth girl like me. Runs in our blood." She shot Hank a look and he chuckled. Oh, the Earth/Water rivalry—going strong, even at a moment like this.

  I gulped. "That's not all. I found my parents' grave."

  "Imogen." Maple, beside me, squeezed my hand.

  "They were Thomas and Penny Merriweather… and I wasn't their only child."

  "You had a sibling?" Wiley looked aghast. "Imogen, are you all right?"

  I nodded. I just needed to get through this. "Horace… Horace is my brother."

  Jaws dropped. I swear I could hear the snow falling in the silence that came after. And it seemed to last forever. My skin crawled. "Well. Somebody say something."

  Sam cleared his throat. "Imogen. That must have been a ssshock. How are you feeling?"

  I shook my head. "How are you guys feeling? I mean, I just told you that my brother is a murderer and a terrorist."

  Wiley gave a dry chuckle. "Yeah, well, my dad's a real scoundrel, and white-livered to boot. We can't help who we're related to."

  I lifted a hand. "Yeah,
but your dad hasn't personally wronged us. My—my brother has attacked us."

  "You are nothing like Horace, Imogen." Francis looked down his sharp nose. "We would never hold anything he did against you."

  I gave a shaky sigh. "You guys really don't care?"

  I looked around the circle. My friends smiled and shook their heads.

  "We only care if you're okay?" Maple searched my face and then wrapped me in a tight hug.

  "You guys are the best."

  I straightened and wiped away a few tears.

  "And Sam," Amelia said, throwing an arm around his shoulders. "We love you, too. I could kill those boys for what they did, but you need to know they're idiots. No one here thinks you're a monster." She pointed at me. "Or thinks it of you, Imogen, for being related to one."

  "That's right." Annie nodded. "We are a family. And we love each other."

  We gathered into a group hug, with warm feelings all around.

  "Oh, so we're all fine with group hugs, but team high fives are lame?" I lifted my brows.

  "Not that again," Wiley grumbled.

  "What is she talking about?" Rhonda asked.

  Wiley shook his head. "You guys were on a trip. It was when we baked for the Mermaid Kingdom. She wouldn't let those high fives go."

  We all climbed back into our sleighs and moved on, past the acrid smell of smoke and the charred debris, toward London. Hank took my hand under the plaid blanket we'd draped across our laps.

  "When we get back, I'm going to look into the Water Kingdom's history just after the treaty and see if we had any resettlement programs, like here in Earth. I promise to make things right if we did."

  I nodded. What a good man.

  Hank looked down and he shifted in his seat. I'd never seen him look so uneasy. "Also… I have to admit I'm a bit rattled by Horace being your brother." He lowered his voice so that Maple and Wiley up front couldn't hear. "It's just—he's my enemy. He's killed people, innocent people, and now that I know how personal all of this is to him, how directed at you… I'm worried." He lifted his eyes to mine. "But I will do everything in my power to keep you safe. I'll contact the pirates when we get back, and get as much information about the Badlands Army as I can. When we get back I'll teach you some more defensive spells. We will stop him, and we will protect you."

  I gulped. "Thank you." I squeezed his hand and then snuggled close. But I turned my face from him and looked out at the forest.

  I knew that Hank wanted me safe and everything he'd said about Horace was true. And yet… I put my hand in my coat pocket and found the little sliver of magic mirror I'd found in the alleyway. My mother had made this. Her hands had touched it. I rubbed the smooth glass with my thumb.

  Maybe it was foolish, but learning that Horace was my brother had made me less afraid of him, instead of more. He'd loved me, Junie had told me so. And he'd saved my life as a child, risking his own. As soon as he'd learned of my existence as an adult, he'd tried to talk to me, to get to know me. If he'd wanted me dead, he'd had hundreds of opportunities to kill me. But he hadn't.

  I suddenly realized what I'd been afraid of when it came to telling my friends. I was grateful that they loved me and that they didn't think I was a monster. But I was no longer so sure that Horace was one. And I didn't feel ready to share that thought with anyone just yet. I rubbed at the mirror and thought things over. What had happened to the loving, bright little boy who'd hidden me in the snow to keep me safe? How had he become the leader of the Badlands Army, and what did he want? Did it have something to do with the Earth Kingdom covering up what happened at Monsters Rise?

  I squeezed the little shard with my gloved hand and snuggled against Hank's shoulder. As we sped through the bright, snowy forest, over the clear, broad path, I scanned the line of tall pine trunks, wondering if my brother was waiting for me among them.

  <<<<>>>>

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  Seashells, Spells & Caramels

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  A note from the author

  I’ve always dreamed of being a published author, and to realize that dream, and have people like you actually read my book—I can’t tell you how much it means to me. So, truly, thank you.

  If you enjoyed the story, and you’d like to help me as an author, please leave me a review on Amazon. It doesn’t matter how long or short, a review is the very best way you can help me stay in business and keep writing. Plus, you’ll help other readers discover Imogen and her adventures.

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  About the Author

  A native of Tempe, Arizona, Erin spends her time crafting mysterious, magical, romance-filled stories that’ll hopefully make you laugh.

  In between, she’s traveling, napping with her dogs, eating with her friends and family, and teaching Pilates (to allow her to eat more).

  Erin loves to hear from readers! You can find her here:

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  erin@erinjohnsonwrites.com

  Copyright © 2017 by Erin Johnson

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