No, they shouldn't have, but I didn't blame them. It didn't surprise me that they felt my feelings for Daniel colored my view of the situation. I completely understood.
Millie lifted the grimoire from the coffee table and flipped to the appropriate page. "We’re ready and waiting for you. I prepared the spell while you were gone.”
Good thinking.
Millie folded her arms. “I suppose you'd like to be visible again."
Begonia elbowed Millie in the ribs. "Of course she would. Now do it already and stop dragging this out.”
Millie narrowed her eyes at Begonia. "You're not the boss of me, Begonia Spence.” She retrieved her wand and glanced around the room. “Stand right here in front of me. I put the spell on my wand again so I need to tap you. I’ll count to three.”
I did as I was told and waited for Millie to count. She reached three and tapped the top of my head.
A gust of cold wind blew through the cave and I knew I was visible again.
“Spell’s bells, Emma,” Millie said. “Your hair is a mess.”
"Millie, you did it," Laurel exclaimed.
Millie smiled, pleased with her achievement.
I threw my arms around her. "Thank you, Millie," I said. “You have no idea what this means to me."
"I hope Lady Weatherby is as appreciative as you are," Millie said. "I'd really like to graduate from the remedial program this year.” I knew it was a bone of contention for Millie that she was still there. In truth, she was a much better witch than the rest of us. Of course, the fact that I wasn't actually a witch was a factor. Not that the others needed to know about my true identity. Daniel and I had made a pact to keep the news to ourselves for my safety and the comfort of the rest of Spellbound.
"So what now?" Laurel asked. "I suppose we need to confirm what's in that vial."
I looked at Sophie. "Do you think your mother will do it?" Sophie's mother was a master mixologist in the coven. If anyone could break down the components of the potion, she could. It was a bonus that we trusted her.
"Absolutely," Sophie said. "Mom will be happy to help."
I examined the vial in my hand. “You know what? Let me show this to Mayor Knightsbridge first as proof of Elsa’s wrongdoing and then I’ll send it over to your mother. If I can get the mayor on board, we may not even need to make our own Anti-Obsession potion.”
Laurel looked skeptical. “You think the mayor will make Elsa stop giving him the potion?”
“She doesn’t want to see them married either,” I said. “She didn’t believe that Elsa would stoop to magic to win Daniel, but she’ll have to believe me now.”
“I guess that’s your next stop then,” Sophie said.
My hand flew to cover my mouth. "Stars and stones. Not quite. We need to get a message to Astrid." I explained what happened in the forest with the troll. I was so caught up in the wedding mess that I forgot all about the poor troll.
"You think he was murdered?" Millie asked.
I shrugged. "I'm not sure, but it seems unlikely that it was natural causes."
"It could have been an accident," Begonia said hopefully.
"Yes, of course. I’ll let the experts make that determination."
"I have my owl with me," Begonia said. “We can send a note to Astrid. Just tell me the location of the troll.”
“Good idea, thanks.”
While Begonia scribbled a message with the location of the troll’s body, Sophie decided to accompany Laurel back to the coven library so that she could return the grimoire unnoticed.
"What are you going to do now?" Millie asked.
"I'm going to meet Astrid in the forest and see if I can be of any help," I said.
"Really?" Millie asked, quirking an eyebrow. "I would've expected you to be making a beeline for the mayor.”
“I will, as soon as I finish with Astrid.”
“But a dead troll has nothing to do with you,” Millie countered. “The spell on Daniel is the priority. That affects you directly.”
“If there’s one thing I’ve learned from living in a small town, it’s that everything that happens affects everyone. Maybe we’ll only feel the effect in tiny ripples instead of waves, but we’ll feel it. And, yes, Daniel is my priority, but the troll was a member of this community and we owe it to him to figure out what happened. An extra half an hour before I speak to the mayor isn’t going to make a difference. It’s not like the wedding is today.”
Millie’s cheeks reddened. “I guess I never thought about it that way before.”
“There’s a saying in the human world—‘it takes a village.’”
Millie’s face lit up. “Yes, we say ‘it takes a coven.’”
“But that mindset is part of the problem right there,” I said. “It doesn’t just take a coven. It takes everyone in the town. We all matter. Every single one of us.”
Millie stared at me, the words sinking in. “So do you need a ride back to the forest?”
Chapter 5
It wasn't as easy to land between the trees as it was to land in an open field, but Millie handled it with aplomb. Thanks to a healthy dose of anti-anxiety potion that morning, I managed to endure a second ride without spilling my guts. Literally.
The second my feet touched the ground, I was off the broom. I always felt better when I was attached to the earth. Gravity was my friend.
"Boy, you weren't kidding," Millie said, moving closer to examine the troll. "The stiff is truly stiff."
"I told you," I said. "Do you know of a spell that freezes people?"
Millie gave a dismissive flick of her fingers. "There are dozens. I can think of several right off the top of my head."
"Are they easy to perform?" I asked. “Maybe it's something that a non-magic user could look up in the library and do successfully.”
Millie frowned. "It's possible, I suppose. I really don't know. Most spells come so easily to me. It's hard to gauge whether these would be easy or difficult for anyone else.”
The sound of footsteps alerted us to Astrid and Britta’s arrival. The Valkyrie sisters smiled when they saw me.
“Emma Hart, we have to stop meeting like this," Astrid said.
"You got my message?" I asked.
"Well, it wasn't Sedgwick delivering the message, but as soon as I saw the words ‘dead body,’ I knew you were somehow involved," Astrid said.
"I'm worried that I’m beginning to develop a reputation," I joked.
Astrid kneeled beside the body. "Yep. He's dead all right.”
“Are you sure he’s not mostly dead?” I asked.
“That’s a reference to something I don’t get, right?” Astrid asked.
I dug my toe in the dirt. “The Princess Bride,” I mumbled.
Britta began scanning the area around the bridge.
"Anything of interest over there?" Astrid asked.
Britta shook her head. "Not yet, but I want to give it a good, thorough once-over."
"Look for footprints in and out of the area," Astrid advised her. "I can see where the body was dragged a little.” She pointed to marks leading away from his shoulders.
"So he may not have died in this spot,” I said. Interesting. Was it possible someone went to a lot of trouble to leave him where he would be difficult to find?
“Hard to tell,” Astrid said.
"How busy is this section of the forest?" I asked. I only came this way because I was going to the secret lair in the foothills. I wasn't sure why anyone else would use this particular path.
"I don't see many footprints," Britta confirmed. "I imagine these two sets belong to you and your friend."
"Millie," Millie said. It seemed to rankle her that Britta didn’t know her name.
"Sorry, Millie," Britta said. "I meet a lot of witches."
Millie put a hand on her hip. "And what? We all look alike? Is that what you're trying to say?"
Britta bit back a smile. "Not at all. It just means my memory sucks.”
"I f
ind it ironic that someone descended from a small pool of blond, blue-eyed Vikings would comment on the indistinguishable nature of witches. At least we have varying hair and eye colors.”
Astrid positioned herself between Britta and Millie. "My sister sometimes speaks without thinking. Chill. She wasn't trying to insult you."
Millie backed down, although I could tell she was still annoyed. Not that that was anything new for Millie. She seemed annoyed when the wind blew in the ‘wrong’ direction.
“Hmm,” Astrid said. “Whatever froze Walter seems to have killed this flower too.”
I peered over her shoulder to see a dead flower on the ground. “What makes you think so?”
Astrid touched it. “The petals are wet. Like it had been frozen to death and then thawed.”
Weird.
“Let’s get this body to the lab,” Astrid said. “Maybe there’s a slim chance we can thaw him out like the flower.”
“But the flower’s dead,” Britta reminded her.
“Will you let me know when you have an ID?” I asked.
“Sure,” Astrid said.
"You’re doing a great job, by the way. Everyone in town seems to respect you.” That was so important after enduring Sheriff Hugo’s reign.
"Thank you," Astrid said, beaming. "That means a lot. I appreciate the vote of confidence."
"Like I said, let me know if you need help with the case," I said.
"Don't you have a case of your own to handle?" Britta asked. For a brief moment, I thought she meant the situation with Daniel, but I quickly realized that she meant my role as public defender.
"Not yet," I said. "But with Spellbound’s love of rules and regulations, there's sure to be one tomorrow."
I hitched a ride with Astrid and Britta back into town and walked the rest of the way to the Mayor’s Mansion. I didn’t want to push my luck on Millie’s broom. Twice in one day seemed more than enough.
I took the steps two at a time and pounded on the oversized door. I steadied my breathing. I needed to remain calm when I spoke with the mayor. Even though she didn’t want this marriage to happen either, Elsa was still her daughter. I couldn’t rush in with guns blazing.
The door opened to reveal the mayor’s right hand and my good friend, Lucy.
“Hey, Lucy. I’d like to speak with the mayor, please,” I said, struggling to maintain a calm exterior.
Lucy grimaced. “Oh no! Who died this time?” she asked.
Okay, so not such a hot job with the whole calm exterior part. “Nobody died.” I hesitated, realizing my mistake. “Well, actually someone did die. A troll, but that’s not why I’m here.”
Lucy frowned. “A troll died? Who?”
“Not sure yet. He needs to be identified.”
Lucy assessed me. “If you’re not here about the troll, then what’s the emergency?”
I paused. I couldn’t burden her with this information. I had to speak with the mayor first. “Lucy, you’re a good friend, but this is a private matter between the mayor and me.”
She narrowed her eyes. “You two seem to have had a few private matters recently. Care to share?”
“I wish I could.” I really did. I hated hiding things from my friends.
Lucy consulted her planner. “Well, the mayor’s hosting a fairy tea party right now. Can it wait until, say, five o’clock?”
“A fairy tea party?” I queried.
“She hosts a monthly event with a different paranormal group in town. Last month was a werewolf barbecue.” She paused. “I don’t mean we cooked the werewolves. We fed them. This month is a fairy tea party.”
I craned my neck to see down the long hall all the way to the back patio. I saw streamers in a rainbow of pastel colors and lots of white serving dishes. “Looks like a nice event.”
Lucy flapped her pink wings. “She does tend to throw in a little extra pizazz for our kind. So come back at five?”
“No, sorry. This can’t wait until five.”
Lucy chewed her lip. “Okay, fine. Go ahead, but as far as the mayor’s concerned, I never saw you. You breezed right in while I was in the bathroom.”
“Works for me.”
Lucy fluttered into a front room and I headed straight to the back patio. There were roughly thirty fairies fluttering around the back of the mansion. It was a lovely day for a tea party. The air was pleasantly warm and, more importantly, perfectly still so that napkins and streamers weren’t blowing around and the fairies’ skirts stayed put. The mayor stood by the cookie table, in the middle of a conversation with a trio of fairies I didn’t recognize. Her lips pursed ever so slightly when she saw me.
“Emma Hart, what a pleasant surprise. Who would have expected a witch to turn up at the fairy tea party?” She beckoned me over. “Have you met my dear friends, Cindy and Ken Applewhite and their daughter, Anya?”
Anya was a carbon copy of her mother. They both had white blond hair and distinctive grey eyes. Their wings were a soft lavender that I’d never seen before. With his dark hair and dark eyes, Ken Applewhite appeared more shifter than fairy, but his orange wings gave him away.
“Nice to meet you,” I said. “Do you go to Spellbound High School?” And, if so, why wasn’t she there now in the middle of a school day?
Anya lowered her gaze. “I go to the Fairy Charter School. At least I did.”
Ken cleared his throat. “Anya’s taking some time off.”
From the expression on Anya’s face, it appeared that the time off was involuntary.
“She’s not badly behaved or anything,” Cindy blurted. “She just needs to hone her craft. Not everyone excels in a classroom setting.”
I felt an immediate pang of sympathy. So Anya was a remedial fairy.
“That’s so true, Mrs. Applewhite,” I said. “I know a few amazing witches who can’t necessarily perform on command in a classroom, but they’re smart and very capable.”
Anya beamed at me. “Really?”
I nodded. “Absolutely. I also knew plenty of people in the human world who didn’t do well in school, but they still managed to find their niche in life later on.”
“I don’t want to learn fairy magic,” Anya confessed. “It’s boring and I’m not good at it.”
“Thank you for the pep talk,” the mayor interrupted, clearly annoyed by the conversation. “I take it there’s a reason for this unscheduled visit.”
“Yes, Madame Mayor. There certainly is. Could I steal you away for a few minutes?” I asked.
“Of course.” Although she smiled, her eyes formed dangerous slits. “Why don’t we step into my office? Excuse us, please. Try the cucumber and basil muffins. They’re divine.”
As soon as we crossed the threshold into the house, the mayor glared at me. “You’d better have a good reason for crashing the fairy tea party. I take these events very seriously.”
“Trust me. It’s a good reason.”
We entered the office and she closed the door behind us. She didn’t bother to sit behind her desk like she usually did.
“Out with it,” she demanded, fluttering in front of me.
“I told you I thought Elsa was using an Obsession potion on Daniel.”
She rolled her eyes. “Yes, I recall that you shared your absurd theory with me.”
“Right. Well, now I have proof.” I produced the vial of potion from my pocket. “I took this from her kitchen cabinet.”
Mayor Knightsbridge stiffened and the color drained from her face. “So you claim. You could have concocted that yourself, dear.”
“It was hidden in a ceramic canister. The ugly heart one. She keeps it on the shelf above the tea.”
The mayor’s eyes rounded just enough that I knew she understood. This was real. This was the truth.
“And how did you manage to obtain this evidence?” she asked. “I don’t suppose my daughter willingly handed it over.”
“I took it when she wasn’t home,” I said, leaving out the invisibility spell. We’d save tha
t part of the story to impress Lady Weatherby.
“And what do you intend to do with this information?” she asked, examining me.
“I intend to give Daniel an Anti-Obsession potion to counteract it.”
She arched an eyebrow. “And what about Elsa?”
“You’re the mayor and on the town council. What do you think should happen to Elsa?”
“How should I know? I’m also her devoted mother.” Mayor Knightsbridge sighed and flew around the room, thinking. “She’s my only child. I owe it to her to protect her. You’ll understand that one day when you have children of your own.”
If I had children of my own. I’d learned the hard way that there were no guarantees in life.
“What Elsa did was wrong,” I said. “She was manipulating Daniel’s feelings with magic.”
The mayor waved a dismissive hand. “And how is that any different from manipulating a man with clothes that hide your flaws or offer imaginary enhancements like a push-up bra? Or using sex, for that matter?”
“Because the potion is different. It makes him feel a way he doesn’t actually feel,” I said, my cheeks flushed with anger. “Those pretend feelings have consequences, not just for Daniel and Elsa, but for other innocent people like Jasper.”
The mayor gave me a pointed look. “And like you?”
“Of course like me,” I shot back. “You don’t even like Daniel. I would think this is happy news for you. Now we can stop the wedding once and for all.”
“But at what cost?” the mayor asked. “I won’t have my Elsa’s reputation tarnished. We must preserve the good Knightsbridge name.”
“I don’t see how we can get around that,” I said. “She committed a despicable act. She needs to be held accountable.”
The mayor’s large blue wings stopped fluttering and her feet dropped gracefully to the floor. “What if I made a deal with you?”
My conscience was on high alert. “What kind of deal?”
“You’ve been wanting to create this committee to revise the sentencing guidelines, correct? You think the Spellbound laws are too harsh on its citizens.”
I swallowed hard. I already knew where she was going and I didn’t like it. Not one bit.
Cast Away Page 3