by Lily Webb
“That’s what I’m trying to understand,” I said as I looked Madame Astra directly in the eyes. “Spill it.”
She ran a hand through her hair. “It’s a long story, but the short version is that I’d just come back from speaking to Carter Norwood when the attack happened.”
My heart caught in my throat. “What were you two talking about?”
Madame Astra cleared her throat. “Our negotiations. Or rather, the end of them.”
A ringing noise started in my ears. “I’m sorry, what?”
“It might be difficult to understand, but now that Rowena is no longer with us, I didn’t feel like Norwood Creative would be a good home for me and my tech. I told Carter as much.”
“I’m sure he didn’t take that news well.”
Madame Astra chuckled and shook her head. “Not as poorly as you might think. But he couldn’t have done anything about it, even if it had upset him.”
“Why not?”
“Because I signed a deal with Starforce Technologies this morning. Without my crystal, however, I’m not sure the deal still stands.”
All at once, the pieces fell into place. Carter must’ve known that securing Madame Astra’s app would be critical to the future success of his company — especially in the wake of his sister’s death — but he didn’t realize he’d already lost. Maybe he stole her crystal to make sure the deal with StarForce fell through in a “if I can’t have her, no one can” style attack.
Or was it just his way of punishing her by taking away the thing she most valued? More importantly, why hadn’t she seen it coming? Wasn’t she supposed to know, well, everything?
“Are you saying you think Carter had something to do with this?”
Madame Astra shrugged. “It seems too personal an attack to be a coincidence.”
“But why would he want to take your crystal?”
Her eyes narrowed, and something flashed across her face. “There are some who would stop at nothing to prevent the truth from bubbling to the surface.”
“And what truth would that be?” Heath asked, but I already knew exactly what she meant because Derwin had told me. Carter didn’t want the news about Rowena ousting him to reach anyone else, and he must’ve feared Madame Astra for that reason.
“Rowena wanted to fire him,” I said, and Madame Astra nodded with an impressed look on her face. She didn’t need to know how I learned about that, but her expression confirmed it. “So, what? He took your crystal hostage to keep you from telling anyone else?”
“I don’t know why anyone would want the ball. Frankly, it’s just for show. None of the magic of Divination happens inside it.”
So not everything about her business was as it seemed, though that didn’t surprise me. I knew there had to be some level of smoke and mirrors involved, but even that didn’t take away from Madame Astra’s powers.
“It was a warning shot then. He wanted to tell you in no uncertain terms to keep quiet,” I said, and she nodded again. “But how do you know it was Carter? I mean, how likely is it he’d show up to trash your shop immediately after you spoke to him? He seems too smart for that.”
“He could’ve hired someone to do the dirty work for him,” Heath suggested, which had already occurred to me.
“Maybe, but it still seems sloppy. I can’t imagine the COO of a successful company acting so rashly and on such a brash plan. Don’t you think he would’ve spent more time plotting it out to cover all the bases?” I turned back to Madame Astra. “Are you sure it couldn’t have been anyone else?”
She laughed. “Oh, child, I assure you: There’s no shortage of people in my past who might want to hurt me. Telling people things they don’t want to hear brings out the worst in them.”
I didn’t doubt that at all, but given that she couldn’t think of anyone in particular, that left me with Carter Norwood — and since I was already on my way to talk to him about what Derwin told me before the attack on Madame Astra’s shop, my interest in him had only doubled.
“I’m confident in my magic, but we should probably still have someone escort you to Willowvale to check your injuries,” Heath said as if he’d sensed I needed time alone with him. Thankfully, Madame Astra didn’t object. “We’ll make sure you’re closely guarded.”
“Thank you both,” she said as she swung her legs from the desk to the floor and tried to stand. She stumbled slightly, but Umrea caught her and helped her steady herself.
“Umrea, would you take her, please? Heath and I need to talk,” I said, and Umrea walked Madame Astra to the door.
Before she left, Madame Astra turned back to me, her eyes alight with what looked like fear. “Be careful, child. I have a feeling we’re dealing with something much bigger than any of us realize.”
She wasn’t alone.
Chapter Ten
As soon as Madame Astra left, Heath and I locked eyes. He lowered himself onto a corner of my desk and exhaled slowly as if he were deflating before my eyes. “There’s never a dull moment around here.”
I flopped down in my chair nearby. “You’ve got that right.”
“I think I got the gist of what happened, but was there anything I missed?”
“The long and short of it is that someone in a mask who claimed they needed it to protect their identity came to Madame Astra for a reading, then torched her shop with vials of fire and ran off with her crystal ball.”
Heath raised an eyebrow. “Vials of fire, hm? That sounds unsettlingly familiar.”
“Don’t panic. The fire these created was red, not green.” I shuddered at the memory of the rash of inextinguishable magical fires we’d seen in town a few months prior while an arsonist ran loose.
“That’s something, I suppose. But I can’t fathom why anyone would want Madame Astra’s crystal ball.”
“Neither can I, honestly. I kind of figured it wasn’t anything special, but she said as much a few minutes ago. It’s all for show.”
“She also said that the attack seemed personal. I think you might be on to something with your theory that this was a warning shot.”
“Yeah, maybe, but I’m still not sure it was Carter Norwood trying to scare her. I saw the thief; they didn’t have anywhere near the same build as Carter. They were much smaller, and besides, Carter doesn’t strike me as someone who’d be able to sprint away from a crime scene.”
“I gather he’s not the type who enjoys sweating,” Heath said with a wry smile, and I couldn’t help my laughter.
“No, I think he’d rather pay someone to do that for him.”
“Exactly. Who’s to say that isn’t exactly what happened here though?”
“Maybe, but that’s not the only mystery I have to solve.”
Heath’s eyes searched mine. “Meaning?”
I pulled my wand from my robes and sat it on my desk. His gaze shifted from it to me and back again. “I’m not following.”
“The weirdest thing happened while I was chasing the thief. I tried to cast a spell, Ligo, to stop them. But it, well, backfired or something. I dunno how to explain it.”
“What do you mean by backfired, exactly?”
“Well, for starters, my wand let out this weird sound and a flash of light that almost knocked me off my broom, then it zapped me. It was like it was refusing to follow orders or something.”
“How bizarre. I’ve heard of wands malfunctioning before, but that’s usually because they’re damaged, visibly or otherwise. Are you sure there’s nothing wrong with yours?”
I lifted it off the desk and turned it over in my hand. Nothing looked out of place. “Not as far as I can tell.”
“And this was the first time it’s ever happened?”
“Yeah. I’m a total klutz, but I swear I haven’t dropped it or sat on it or anything, so I don’t really think that’s what’s going on. But you know what, now that I’m thinking about it, some other weird stuff has been going on with my magic.”
“Like what?”
“Well, for instance, when
I tried to read Madame Astra’s thoughts, I felt unbearably queasy and I couldn’t get into her head. I thought I might get sick right there across from her.”
“I see. I’m no Healer, but this sounds like classic symptoms of exhaustion to me.”
“Does that really happen? Like, when a witch or warlock gets sick, does their magic go all wonky?”
“It’s not common, but it’s also not unheard of.”
“Huh. I guess I have been feeling a little off lately. I couldn’t even bring myself to eat any of Beau’s homemade vegetable soup the other night, and that’s definitely not like me.”
“Maybe you’re coming down with something then. It wouldn’t surprise me given everything that’s going on. You come into contact with lots of people, so you could’ve picked up a bug.”
I wasn’t sure I agreed, but I couldn’t think of any other plausible explanation.
“Regardless, once the illness subsides, your magic should return to normal. On that note, I think you should probably go home and get some rest. Today more than most has been an eventful one.”
“That’s the second time this week you’ve told me that. I don’t want you to think I’m turning lazy on you.”
Heath chuckled and shook his head. “Zoe, there are many words I could use to describe you, but lazy has never once crossed my mind. Now go home and get some rest. We can pick this up tomorrow. It’s not likely we’ll do anything other than make ourselves crazy by poring over the details tonight.”
“All right, all right, you win,” I joked, though honestly the thought of going home early and curling up on the couch in front of the PV with Beau and Luna sounded delightful. “Good night.”
“Sleep well,” Heath said and left my office in a swish of robes. I followed him moments later with all my belongings in my hands.
“Time to punch out,” I told Umrea as I pulled my office door closed behind me. She nodded and walked behind me wordlessly. Outside, I mounted my broom and kicked off into the sunset. It was a beautiful evening, the sky blazing with reds and oranges as the sun sank below the horizon, bathing the roofs of Moon Grove in warm rays and casting long shadows across the cobblestone streets.
A few minutes later, we lowered toward my house and I noticed the lights were on, which meant Beau must’ve gotten home from work early too. After all the day’s excitement, I couldn’t wait to fall asleep in his arms on the couch.
I told Umrea goodnight and strolled through the front door. Beau came tearing from the living room to meet me, his eyes wide. He gripped me by the arms. “There you are! Where have you been? You’ve had me worried sick.”
“Whoa, it’s okay. I’m okay. What’s going on?”
“What do you mean, ‘What’s going on?’ I heard about what happened at Madame Astra’s shop. I’ve been trying to get ahold of you all day, but you haven’t answered.”
Dread slid down my throat as I realized I hadn’t checked my phone since I’d called Heath to tell him I’d be late. “Oh, Beau, I’m so sorry! It’s just been a crazy day. I’ve been so busy—”
“I’ve heard,” Beau interrupted and jabbed his thumb over his shoulder at the muted PV. I leaned around him and gulped when I saw the coverage. Shaky video footage of me on my broomstick hurtling through the streets of Moon Grove repeatedly looped while closed captioned words scrolled across the bottom of the screen.
“But you’re home now and you’re okay, so I guess that’s all that matters,” Beau said and pulled me into his arms. I breathed in his familiar, comforting scent and hugged him back. We stayed that way for what felt like forever, and I hoped he’d never let me go, but eventually he did.
“You look like you’ve been through the wringer,” he said after he’d given me the once over.
“Thanks,” I scoffed. “But I feel even worse than I look. I think I’m getting sick.”
He frowned at me in his I-told-you-so kind of way. “Here, come inside and sit down. I’ll warm up some leftover soup for you,” he said and took my things out of my hands to put them away.
An unexpected wave of exhaustion washed over me, leaving me so tired it was all I could do to stumble to the kitchen and fall down into one of the two chairs at our tiny table.
“Have you even been eating and taking care of yourself?” Beau asked over the clanging of pots as he pulled one out of the lower cupboard. Honestly, I wasn’t sure.
“The last thing I remember eating is the breakfast you left me this morning.”
Beau shook his head with his back to me while he dumped the soup into the pot and set it on the stove to warm. “And I bet that’s how you’ve been all month. You’ve gotta slow down, Zoe, otherwise you’re gonna fall down.”
“Yeah, well, after today, consider that a lesson learned. That’s part of why Heath sent me home early. He thinks I might be sick too. I’ve been having issues with my magic acting all weird lately, and we think that’s why.”
“Sounds like he could be right,” Beau said and stirred the soup. “But what exactly do you mean your magic has been weird?”
“I had a spell backfire on me today during the, er, chase scene you saw on PV.”
Beau turned to face me, his expression puzzled. “Is that what happened? I couldn’t tell from the video if the thief had hit you with a spell or if it was something else that stopped you.”
“No, it was me. I tried to cast a restraining spell and my wand zapped me. Heath said it’s not abnormal for a witch’s magic to go wonky when they’re sick, and I’ve been feeling a little under the weather for a while, anyway.”
“Yeah, I picked up on that when you didn’t eat any of the soup I made for you and slept like the dead for twelve hours straight,” Beau said with a smile to take the edge out of his words. The soup must’ve been close to ready because the scent of its spices drifted into my nose, but even though I was much hungrier than I’d realized, the smell of the food turned my stomach.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine,” I lied. I didn’t want to refuse his soup twice in one week. “My stomach’s just a little uneasy.”
“Probably because you haven’t fed it since this morning,” Beau said and switched off the stove. He pulled a bowl from the dish drainer by the sink and poured the soup inside, then walked it over to me with a spoon. I sat staring at it, not at all sure I’d be able to eat.
Beau frowned. “Do you think you might need to see a doctor?”
“No, it’s not anything that bad,” I insisted, though I wasn’t sure of it myself.
I took the spoon from his hand and scooped a healthy amount of the soup into my mouth to prove my point. It was delicious — everything Beau cooked was — but my stomach betrayed me as it rumbled and flipped. Still, I swallowed the soup and went back for another round, hoping eventually it would adjust.
Before I knew it, I’d scarfed down the entire bowl. Beau smiled at me, his eyes twinkling. “See? You must’ve been starving.” He took the bowl and spoon and washed them in the sink, and I went to the closet where Beau had hung my bag to get my phone out and see what other calls and texts I’d missed.
I scrolled through all the alerts mindlessly as I shuffled to the couch and plopped down on it, sending Luna flying from where she sat on the middle cushion.
“Do you even look where you’re going anymore?!” she hissed as she crawled to the opposite end of the couch.
“Sorry, it’s been a long day.”
“Excuses, excuses,” she said and curled up into the corner between the cushion and the arm of the couch.
Beau sat down where Luna had been a few moments earlier. “Thanks for keeping it warm for me, Luna,” he said as he stroked the soft fur in the space between her eyes. She started purring instantly. As much as she tried to pretend not to like Beau, little moments like this proved otherwise.
Beau reached for the remote on the coffee table in front of us and wrapped an arm around me. “So, what do you want to watch? I’m sure you don’t want to see this again,”
he said and changed the channel away from the report of my escapades.
I nestled into the warmth and comfort of his chest with my phone still gripped in one hand. “Doesn’t matter. Something mindless would be nice.”
“Mindless. Got it. How about Real Housewitches of Moon Grove?”
“Perfect.” He put the show on, but less than five minutes into it I’d already dozed off. A few moments later, however, I jolted out of the strange space between sleeping and wakefulness with my stomach roiling.
“Are you okay?” Beau asked, but all I could do was shake my head and run for the bathroom. I got inside, kicked the door shut behind me, and dropped to my knees in front of the toilet just in time.
Yup, I was definitely getting sick.
Beau knocked lightly on the door. “Zoe? Is something wrong?”
“I’m okay, the soup just didn’t agree with me.”
“Oh no, I’m sorry. Is there anything I can do?”
“No, I’ll be out in a few minutes. I’m just gonna freshen up first,” I said, horribly embarrassed. Beau and I had been living together long enough now that we’d seen more than our fair share of each other’s unattractive bodily functions, but I’d never gotten sick in front of him before.
I stayed kneeling in front of the toilet for a few minutes just to be sure there wasn’t anything more waiting and realized my phone was still in my hand. I couldn’t explain what possessed me to do it, but I unlocked the screen and tapped into the app store to search for Answers by Astra.
The app was the first in the search results, but I drummed my finger against the side of the phone while I contemplated whether I should download it. My interest in the app was twofold: I wanted to know if it would even work now that Madame Astra’s crystal ball was M.I.A. and I wanted to know what the future held for the bug I’d clearly picked up.
The app took forever to install — probably due to the lousy signal in the bathroom — but when the crystal ball’s icon finally appeared on my home screen I tapped eagerly to open it. The canvas of stars appeared, followed by the animated crystal ball. I didn’t wait for the animation to finish before I touched the text box to type my question: “Am I getting sick?”