All Spell Breaks Loose

by Annabel Chase

  Lucy clasped her hands on the table. “Our running theory is that someone gave you a potion at your bachelorette party.”

  “A potion that erased my memories?” How despicable.

  “It’s a distinct possibility,” Lucy said. “You were given numerous drinks last night. It would’ve been easy to slip a potion past you.”

  “Or someone did it to play a prank,” Lorenzo said. “Or someone simply harbors ill will toward you and decided to exact revenge. We cannot possibly know for sure.”

  “Ultimately, what matters is helping you recover your memories,” Juliet said.

  “In the meantime, we shall do our best to reacquaint you with the coven and our findings to date regarding the curse,” Lady Weatherby said. “And, of course, I still expect to see you at the academy for classes.”

  “The academy?” I repeated.

  “The Arabella St. Simon Academy,” Lady Weatherby said. “It’s where coven witches are educated.”

  A laugh escaped me and I clamped a hand over my mouth. The ASS Academy? Were they serious?

  “Arabella was an esteemed member…” Lady Weatherby began, but Lorenzo cut her off.

  “I think the rest of the gap filling can be done in the academy classroom or coven headquarters,” Lorenzo said. “Wouldn’t you agree?”

  “Emma’s condition affects us all,” Lucy said, visibly irritated. “It’s not simply a coven issue.”

  “It only affects us all if it’s connected to breaking the curse,” Lorenzo said, “and no one has managed to convince me that’s what we’re dealing with.”

  “I didn’t realize convincing you was a requirement,” Juliet said, gritting her teeth. “You seem awfully anxious to stop the inquiry. Perhaps you know more than you’re letting on.”

  Lorenzo growled. “I resent the implication, Montlake. I have an insanely busy schedule and it doesn’t serve my interest to take part in a meeting that doesn’t require my presence.”

  “You’re a member of this council, Lorenzo,” Lucy said sternly. “As such, any council meeting requires your presence.”

  Lorenzo stood. “Fine, then as a member of this council, I call the meeting adjourned.” He hopped from the dais with wolf-like grace and strode out of the room without a backward glance.

  The rest of the council members exchanged perplexed glances.

  “He really doesn’t like me, does he?” I asked.

  Wayne chuckled. “What gave it away?”

  If I only could remember more. “Did I do something to him?”

  “Nothing worth discussing now,” Lucy said hurriedly. “We’ve asked Sheriff Astrid to investigate the incident and, in the meantime, we’ll endeavor to get your memory up to snuff. I would also suggest that you keep this turn of events to yourself to the extent possible until we find out more.” She glanced around the room. “All in favor?”

  All hands went up, including mine.

  Lucy banged a sparkly pink gavel. “Meeting adjourned.”

  Chapter 4

  In the corridor, a Swedish lumberjack with gorgeous white wings paced the floor.

  “Daniel?”

  He turned toward me with hope in his turquoise eyes. Holy Caribbean Sea. Those eyes were mesmerizing.

  “You remember me?” he asked.

  I desperately wanted to say yes. “No, I’m sorry. You fit the description I was given.”

  He smiled wryly. “As the only angel in town?”

  “Something like that.” I dug my fingernails into my palms, not sure what to say to my perfect fiancé. Wow. I’d really lucked out. How did this happen? I never had luck with guys in the human world.

  “I wish I’d gone to your bachelorette party,” he said. “Astrid said it was up to me, and I decided to stay home so you could have fun with your friends.”

  “This might have happened anyway,” I said. “And then you’d blame yourself even more.”

  He laughed. “You know me so well for someone you can’t remember.”

  “I wish I could remember you.” Very much. He was the definition of a heavenly body.

  “We’re going to find out who did this to you and we’re going to fix it,” he said, a determined edge to his voice that only increased his sex appeal.

  “The council said Sheriff Astrid is investigating.”

  “I’m sure she is, but this seems to call for more than one lone Valkyrie.”

  “I’ll do whatever I can to help,” I said. “Obviously, I want my memories back more than anyone.”

  He raked a hand through his blond hair. “We’re supposed to go to the registrar’s office and fill out paperwork for our marriage license.”

  “Um, okay.” What could I say? We were clearly scheduled to be married next week. Why let a little amnesia disrupt the course of true love?

  “The office is just around the corner,” he said, and offered his hand. It felt warm and reassuring. A wave of calm flooded me.

  “Do you always have this effect on me?” I asked, as we entered the registrar’s office. If so, I could understand why I wanted to marry him.

  “I’m not sure what effect you mean,” the angel replied, “but I’ll go out on a cliff and say yes.”

  The elf behind the desk seemed pleased to see us. “Bang on time for your appointment. I do love punctual paranormals.”

  I laughed when I noticed the painting on the wall above his head. “Those are werewolves playing poker, instead of dogs.”

  The elf craned his neck to follow my gaze. “That’s right. It’s a classic.”

  “You play poker,” Daniel told me.

  “I do?” I thought about the game for a moment. “Yes, I remember how to play. Isn’t that a funny thing to remember? I’m an okay player. Not great, but not terrible.”

  “That’s what I’ve heard,” Daniel said. “Lucy Langtree’s usually the winner.”

  “Right,” I said. “The mayor. She seems nice. Why don’t you play poker with us?”

  “It’s a girls’ night thing,” Daniel said. He gestured to the elf. “Do you remember Stan?”

  “Not really,” I admitted. “But I don’t get any negative vibes when I look at you.” Not the way I did when I looked at Lorenzo Mancini.

  Stan wiped his brow. “That’s a relief.” He pulled a clipboard from a drawer. “Here are the forms you need to complete. And the quills are here.” He tapped the counter.

  “Quills,” I repeated. I remembered the one in my office at home. “No computers?”

  “Not in Spellbound,” Stan replied. “Maybe someday, if the curse is ever broken. Technology seems to be a wonder.”

  “Spellbound is a wonder,” I said. “Who needs technology when you have magic?”

  “They serve different purposes at times,” Stan said. “A computer would be a fantastic addition to this office. I’m an elf, so magic isn’t in my nature.”

  Daniel and I sat across from each other at the nearby table and began completing the forms.

  I scanned the long list of questions on the parchment. “Type of paranormal? There isn’t a box for sorceress.”

  “Probably because there hasn’t been one in Spellbound,” Daniel said. “You’re an outlier.”

  “So are you,” Stan said from behind the desk. “The only angel, I mean.”

  Daniel reviewed the form. “You’re right. I don’t get a box either. I guess I’ll tick Other.”

  I smiled. “We’ll be Others together.” I squinted at the page. “They want a lot of personal information. I’m not sure I’ll remember all of it.”

  A look of concern flashed in his turquoise eyes. “I guess answer as many as you can, and then we’ll see if we can do the rest together.”

  I tapped the quill on the edge of the table. “It’s asking what generation in Spellbound I am. Technically, I’m first generation, but that would imply I’ve been here since the spell took hold.”

  “Good point,” Stan said, adjusting his glasses. “These forms were designed for the masses, not for a sp
ecial case like yourself.”

  I glanced up to find Daniel watching me. “What’s wrong?” I asked. “Do I have ink on my nose?” I touched the tip of my nose and checked my finger.

  “No,” Daniel said. “I’m just wondering whether we should put our plans on hold until your memory has been sorted.”

  My chest tightened. “You want to call off the wedding?” Even though my mind didn’t remember him, my emotions seemed to jump into overdrive at the mere idea of canceling the wedding.

  “Not permanently,” Daniel said. He reached across the table and covered my hand with his. “It doesn’t feel right going ahead with it. I’d feel much better if you remembered everything.” He swallowed hard. “If you remembered me.”

  “I’m not sure if the marriage would be valid if her mental capacity is compromised,” Stan said. “You’d have to consult a lawyer. Maybe Rochester…”

  “Maybe this is what the culprit wanted,” I said. “Maybe it has nothing to do with breaking the curse and everything to do with breaking up our wedding.”

  “Let’s not jump to conclusions,” Daniel said. “The most important thing we can do right now is try to recover your lost memories. Then it doesn’t matter what the motive is because we can get married and you can help break the curse.”

  “Lorenzo seems to think the curse can be broken without me anyway,” I said. “Why does everyone else think I’m so important?”

  “Lorenzo wants to minimize your importance because he’s a steaming pile of minotaur shit,” Daniel said. “He’s resented you since the moment you stepped foot in Spellbound.”

  “Why?” I asked. “What threat do I pose to him?”

  Daniel shrugged. “I don’t know that he sees you as a threat. Some males simply don’t like an independent, competent female, which you clearly are.”

  Stan made a noise at the back of his throat. “If you don’t mind me saying, I also heard you accused him of a crime a while back. He most likely took that sort of thing personally.”

  Daniel slapped his hands on the table. “That’s right. I’d forgotten about that.” He scraped back the chair and stood. “Come on, Emma. Let’s try a memory exercise.”

  “What kind of exercise?” I asked. It seemed that adding personal information to forms was a reasonable way of regaining knowledge about myself.

  “I’m going to take you somewhere special and see whether it jogs your memory.” The angel glanced over my shoulder and said to Stan, “Will you keep our forms safe until we come back?”

  The elf nodded. “Absolutely, Keeping forms is what I do best.”

  Daniel grinned at me. “I should’ve thought of this sooner. Come along, Emma Hart. Consider me the Ghost of Christmas Past.”

  “That guy was spooky,” I said.

  “No, the future ghost was the scary one,” Daniel argued.

  “At least I remember the story,” I said brightly. “That’s a start.”

  Daniel clasped my hand. “Now let’s add a middle and an end.”

  We followed the path out of town, to an area where the trees grew taller, wider, and more frequent.

  “This place is enchanting,” I said.

  “You didn’t always think so,” Daniel said. He stopped in front of the two white birch trees and I followed suit. “This is where you tried to knock yourself unconscious.”

  “Excuse me? Why would I do a crazy thing like that?”

  He pointed to the empty space between the two birch trees. “You made a run for the border and failed miserably. For some warped reason, you thought a running start was the way to break through the invisible boundary wall.”

  I stepped closer to the birch trees until the tip of my toe hit the invisible wall. “That seems pretty foolish.”

  Daniel chuckled. “You were desperate.”

  I glanced back at him. “To get away from you?” That seemed highly unlikely.

  “No, you were scared, that’s all. Spellbound was new to you and you were trapped here. You thought vampires and witches weren’t real.”

  “I’m not so sure I believed in angels either.”

  He flapped his enormous white wings. “No, you didn’t until you tried to keep one from jumping off a cliff.”

  “What?”

  He closed his eyes, appearing to get lost in the memory. “You thought I was trying to commit suicide. You jumped from your car to save me and nearly died. I flew down and caught you before you ended up at the bottom of Swan Lake.”

  My gut twisted. “I can’t swim.”

  “I know. Of course, by bringing you to safety, I accidentally got you trapped here.”

  “And I was so freaked out about this whole thing, I tried to make a break for it?” I asked.

  “I warned you that it was a bad idea, but you…you have a stubborn streak.”

  That sounded about right. “So I was your guardian angel and you were mine.”

  He grinned. “Something like that.”

  “And that’s when I discovered I was a sorceress? The fact that I was trapped here?”

  “At first, we thought you were a witch, but the short version is yes,” Daniel replied.

  “What’s the difference between a witch and a sorceress?” I asked.

  “Not a whole lot,” Daniel said. “Subtle differences. You don’t need a wand to use magic, for example, but you can use one if you want to. Helps you focus.”

  I needed to remember to ask Gareth about my wand.

  “That’s handy.” I hesitated, contemplating the empty space between the birch trees. “Were you really going to kill yourself?”

  Daniel’s expression darkened. “That cliff was my safe place to think. Just because I entertained certain thoughts didn’t mean I intended to act on them.”

  “You’re only human, right?” Er, actually he wasn’t.

  “I was tired of being stuck here,” Daniel said. “But that all changed when you came.”

  “Did we fall in love the moment we met?” I asked. It seemed plausible under such dramatic circumstances.

  “I think we both felt a strong connection right away,” he said. “Then there were obstacles.”

  I tilted my chin toward him. “What kind of obstacles?”

  “Nothing we need to revisit now,” he said, gazing down at me. “Only know that we overcame them.”

  “Except now I have no memory of it,” I said. “Another obstacle.”

  He leaned down to kiss me, but then seemed to think better of it. “We’ll get through this, too. Like we always do. We’re meant for each other, Emma. I believe in us.”

  I stared into those dreamy turquoise eyes. “You’re really handsome. Do you know that?”

  Daniel burst into laughter. “Same old Emma. They can take away your memories, but they can’t take away who you are inside.”

  “Someone who appreciates handsome angels?” I could hardly be alone in that.

  “Maybe if I kissed you, you’d remember more?” he suggested.

  I wasn’t opposed to the idea. “Worth a shot.”

  He brushed his lips against mine. “I’ve missed you, Emma.”

  “You don’t have to miss me, silly. I’m right here.”

  He wrapped his arms around me and squeezed. I felt safe there, although his wings tickled.

  “The council said an enchantress cursed the town,” I said. “Were you here for that?”

  “I lived here at the time, although I don’t remember how it happened.” He shrugged. “It’s a mystery that we’ll probably never know the answer to.”

  “How can no one know?” I queried. “It seems like a big deal. Something that would end up in the history books.”

  “Some think an enchantress was spurned by her lover and cursed the town as revenge,” he said.

  I shuddered. “Ooh. I’d hate to be that guy. Responsible for cursing a whole town?”

  Daniel gave a nervous laugh. “Yes, it would be terrible. There have been other theories over the years, too, though. I never really bel
ieved the spurned lover story.”

  “Yeah, that seems overkill because of one bad love affair. I mean, she wouldn’t have trapped generations of paranormals because of a one guy, right? Yikes.”

  He inclined his head and I got the sense he wanted to say more, but couldn’t decide.

  “Why do I feel like you know more than what you’re telling me?” I asked.

  He pressed his lips together. “There are recent developments regarding the history of the curse, but only you and I know.” He paused. “And Gareth because he eavesdrops on every conversation that doesn’t involve him.”

  “You say that like it’s a bad thing,” I joked. “What’s the recent development?”

  Daniel placed his hands on my shoulder. “It’s too complicated to explain now. The important thing to know is that we’re closer than ever to breaking it, thanks to you.”

  Hearing it again made me feel uncomfortably important. “Why thanks to me? Do sorceresses possess powers that others don’t?” What was the plural of sorceress? Sorceresses or sorceressi? Not a word I ever needed to know the plural form of in the human world.

  He nodded. “They do, but I’m not certain how much of your help has been the result of sorcery skills and how much has been the result of being you.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “You retrieved the sacred unicorn horn that the coven discovered could be used to break the curse. It wasn’t easy. You had to endure a set of trials to get it, but you managed.”

  “And my sorcery skills weren’t the reason I succeeded?”

  He held me close. “You were the reason you succeeded, Emma. You always come through. Your courage is inspiring.”

  I laughed. “To an angel? I’m nothing special. Just a lawyer that stumbled in here from her shoebox apartment in Lemon Grove, Pennsylvania.”

  “Who came here and found out you were a powerful sorceress. You’re still learning magic, though. It takes time.”

  “Good to know. That means I can hex your butt if you get out of line, right?”

  “You use your powers for good, not for evil,” he said.

  “I’ll take that under advisement.” I paused. “Anything else I should know?”