by Fitz Molly
The tree brushes my face with a limb. Thank you.
I lean forward and kiss her bark. “You’re welcome.”
She brushes Broden’s face, too, startling him, but he takes his cue from me and taps her trunk. “Glad I could help.”
“You didn’t know you’re a healer?” I question him.
He shakes his head. “Nan had it. The touch.”
“Looks like she passed it to you.”
“There you are.” Uncle Odin arrives, hobbling up to the hill to us.
I’m so relieved, I throw my arms around him.
He pats my back. “Broden brought me up to speed. What can I do?”
“Thanks to Broden, we saved Magick Mama, and I believe, removed the hex. With that broken, I should be able to…”
Bramble comes into sight. She’s carrying a cup with her. “I’m back!”
I lost track of time while connected to the tree, but her arrival is nevertheless unexpected. “What happened?”
She hands me the cup. It’s the apple one that was my mother’s favorite. The porcelain is warm and I smell spices.
“Don’t worry, it’s not cider. Just some chai tea.” She rubs her arms. “It’s freezing out here.”
“What about the townsfolk?”
“The only person I found awake was Abilene May. There was no way the two of us could move all those bodies. She wants Broden to assist.”
A shiver runs through me and I start to sip the tea when Broden reaches out and stops me. His eyes are dark with warning.
Baaaa. The unexpected sound jars my already tight nerves and I turn to find Sweet Pea ambling toward us. The kitten is on her back.
The spray-painted axe is still erased, but I see a faint magickal outline of it in her wool. As she comes closer, the outline grows brighter. “Magick,” I whisper to myself.
The sheep turns her dark eyes on Broden and issues another exclamation.
Uncle Odin pets her head. “What was that, my dear?” he asks me.
“Magick,” I repeat. It was too easy to remove the spray paint from her wool. I already guessed it had to be magick related. I hand the cup to Bramble. “Illusion magick. Simple, straightforward illusions!”
I rush to Fairytale Land and the Cinderella display.
“Snow, what are you doing?” Bramble calls out.
Once there, I reach a hand out to where the carriage should be.
It smacks into something soft, but resistant, like a marshmallow.
Broden catches up, the others following me at their various paces.
Flashlight in hand, and the kitten in the crook of his arm, he eyes the empty space. “Care to tell me what you’re talking about?”
“Cross your fingers. Let’s see if I’m right.”
“About what?” Bramble asks. She’s helping Uncle Odin and the two of them are accompanied by Sweet Pea.
“Someone’s been playing me for a fool.” Calling up my magick, I let it course through my veins. “Moon and sun come help me now. I seek the truth here not yet found. Reveal the secrets of this illusion. Show me the reality of this delusion.”
Like a stage magician, I wave a hand through the air.
There’s a sound like the crackle of electricity, and sure enough, the magick binding the space in front of us begins to break. What takes shape brings a gasp from Bramble and a “huh, look at that,” from Uncle Odin.
The giant pumpkin carriage was here all along.
“Could the sleeping potion be an illusion?” Broden asks.
“Afraid not,” Bramble says, letting go of my uncle.
She steps away, removing a twig from her pocket and holding it up. The beam of Broden’s flashlight shows me a piece of thin thread, or perhaps a strand of hair, twisted around it. “The poison is very real, and it’s time you all went to sleep.”
Chapter Nine
“But you don’t have any magick,” I state. “You don’t even like it.”
Abilene May Roberts emerges from the shadows, carrying a jug of cider.
Bramble moves beside her. “I may not, but Abby May does.”
“Hello, Snow.” She winks at Broden. “Direct descendant of a Salem witch, in the flesh. One of the real ones, not those poor girls who took the fall for what my ancestor and her besties did.”
Uncle Odin says, “Huh,” again and gives me a moderately impressed look. “I didn’t see that coming, did you?”
The kitten hisses. Sweet Pea lowers her head. In the pasture, I sense the other animals approaching ever so quietly.
“Give me the twig,” I order. “We can turn this thing around. If you don’t, Bramble, she’ll let you hang for her, just like her predecessor let young girls take the fall for her witchcraft.”
“She will not.” Bramble hugs the twig to her chest. “We’re partners! Friends! She showed me how to use magick to bind the poison to the tree. Now she can have Magick Mama and run this town like it should be.”
“I let my dislike of Esme mislead me,” I admit to my uncle and Broden. “I honestly believed she did all this to ruin me.”
“She’ll take the fall for your death.” Abilene May smiles. “And for those of your cousins. I have it all planned.”
She raises the jug. “You were supposed to drink some of this, you know. It would have made everything so much easier.”
“Because your magick is so weak, you can’t do it without me being comatose?”
She hands it to Bramble and pulls out a gun. “My magick is not weak.”
“The illusion spell was good,” I lie. “Obviously, you have your ancestor’s skill.”
This appeases her and she offhandedly waves the weapon around, making Broden tense. “I have the cure for the poison and I’ll be the one to wake everyone up. The farm will be donated to the city and turned over to me and the Garden Club. We’ll make millions.”
She giggles and I lunge for her. Broden pulls me back.
“What about me?” Uncle Odin asks. He’s smiling as if this is a game.
Abilene May frowns. “Sorry, pops. You have to die. Your whole family does. Can’t have any witchy competition in town, especially because you know the truth.”
“There’s no reason to kill the sisters,” I argue. “Nor our grandparents.”
“Wrong.” An exaggerated frown creases her face. “They’ll start snooping and the next thing you know, they’ll figure it out. I watch police shows, Snow. I know better than to leave any loose ends.”
“And me, lass?” Broden asks.
She gives him a suggestive look and twists a long strand of her hair. “You were the unexpected element in this equation. I took your arrival as the Universe sending me a gift. It’s cute how you follow Snow around. Now, I’m afraid you have to make a choice. Join me and help turn this place into the biggest tourist attraction in Georgia, or stick with her and die.”
Broden rocks on his heels. “I want a cut of the profits.”
“What?” I round on him. “Are you kidding me? I thought you were a standup guy.”
He shrugs and walks to Abilene May. “You thought wrong, aye?”
Uncle Odin moves next to me. “I really didn’t see that coming.”
My stomach churns. Behind me, the animals have gathered. Sweet Pea bumps my hand. “I did that intention spell,” I murmur. “Magick is never wrong.”
“Maybe you rely too much on that,” Broden says, “and not enough on common sense.”
Bramble snorts and nods.
Neither she nor her partner see Broden covertly wink at me.
Abilene May lowers the gun and leans into his shoulder. “You’re cute. I like your accent. We’re going to have so much fun.”
He puts an arm around her neck, giving her a little squeeze. “We sure are,” he says, and he bobs his chin at me.
A signal.
Tunneling into my magick, I let it gush up and out like a geyser. I throw a protective bubble over my uncle and the animals. On cue, Broden hooks an ankle around Abilene May’s leg
and trips her. She lands on the ground with a loud “oomph.”
Bramble screams and the gun goes off. I feel the air vibrate as the bullet whooshes past me.
Lunging for her, I yank the apple twig from her grasp and shove her hard, sending her sprawling and nearly tripping over Abilene May. “Unwind this hair, unbind this hex,” I chant as I uncoil the strand. In the dark, it’s hard to tell, but I believe it belongs to Abilene.
I toss it aside as the animals rush forward. Broden holds Abilene down but her arm with the gun flails and she’s chanting a spell under her breath.
Hurry!
I yank out one of my own hairs and begin winding it clockwise around the stick. “I cast this spell into the night to bind my enemy and limit her fight. As I will, so mote it be.”
She freezes. The kitten jumps on her arm and bats the gun from her hand. Frost backs into her, splaying his spines and she lets go of a silent scream.
Broden retrieves the weapon and stands. “Nice work.”
“Too much magick and not enough common sense, huh?” I goad.
Bramble is frozen, too, only her eyes move as she stares at us in fear.
Uncle Odin frowns at Abilene May. “The best formula seems to be a bit of each, I’d say. You two make a good team.”
Broden grins. “You didn’t really think I’d hook up with her, did you, now?”
The kitten rubs against his leg. Percival and Sweet Pea flank me, looking for head scratches.
Uncle Odin winks at Broden. “Good to keep them guessing, isn’t it?”
Relief sweeps through me at diverting Abilene’s plans and keeping those I love safe. “Just watch yourself, Scot.”
He glances at the frozen women. “What should we do with them?”
Wishing for some petty revenge, I decide to test his dedication. “You’re handy with a lot of things around here. Ever buried a body?”
“Not your style,” he asserts without missing a beat.
“As usual, you’re correct,” I admit. “Let’s wake Robyn, and we’ll turn them over to her.”
“You know how to wake the town, my dear?” Uncle Odin queries.
“Of course.” I wiggle my fingers. “Magick.”
Chapter Ten
Once Abilene May and Bramble are tied and gagged in my kitchen, I unbind my spell from the apple stick. Because it was originally used to poison the tree and town, I break it and drop it into my cauldron.
Allowing a mixture of herbs, oils, and the apple wood to bubble, I chant a fine fettle spell for restored health and well-being over the liquid. Finally, I pack the brew and Broden and I take our perpetrators, Runa, and the kitten to town.
Much of the night is spent waking those who’ve fallen under Abilene’s hex and convincing Robyn of the truth of what happened. My story is backed up when Bramble turns on her partner and shares the entire plan from start to the hoped-for finish.
Once everyone is restored to a state of lucidity and Abilene May and Bramble are in the county lockup, I’m completely exhausted. The sisters and Matilda bless me over and over.
But there’s one last person to wake.
At Esme’s, I brush the last drops of my potion across her lips and whisper, “Troubled one with sleep’s unease, remove the cause of this disease. Sleep eternal nevermore, and dissolve the source of illness borne. So shall it be.”
Her body breathes deeply, but she doesn’t open her eyes.
Runa whines, the kitten jumps on the bed.
“Why didn’t it work?” Broden asks.
Esme is as stubborn as I am. “Patience. Give it a moment.”
All of us watch. On her next inhale, her fingers twitch, her eyes move under the lids.
The kitten sits on her chest and sniffs at her. A tiny paw reaches out to pat Esme’s cheek.
Realizing I won’t be sad if she doesn’t wake, I sigh all the same. My ego doesn’t take well to failure, and I’m not about to live with guilt on my conscious, so I pinch her, hard, on the arm.
“Ow!” Her eyes fly open and she sits straight up, flipping the cat off and staring at us. “What are you two doing in my bedroom?”
“Saving you from a life in a magickally-induced stupor brought on by a hex.” I slip the cauldron’s handle over my arm and head for the door. “You can thank me later.”
“What…who? I…”
I leave her babbling.
Broden catches up to Runa and I outside on the sidewalk. “I filled her in. She said to tell you she’s grateful.”
I glance at him from the corner of my eye as we walk to Main Street. “Sure she is.”
The kitten strolls past. The wolf-hybrid is ten times her size, yet she holds her head high and saunters side-by-side with her. “Did you name the cat, yet?”
The night is crisp and cool. Broden chuckles into it, the sound easing my tired muscles. “Thought I’d leave the honors to you.”
“Let me think about it,” I say, and we fall silent, enjoying the walk under the stars as we head home.
Halloween is a huge success.
Magick Mama is happy and flourishing once more. The hexed cider is gone, and Broden keeps the press going all day to turn out fresh.
The line to see and sit in the giant pumpkin carriage snakes through Fairytale Land, past the pumpkin patch, around the parking lot, and out to the road by evening. Esme comes by with a peace offering—a receipt showing she’s paid the land taxes for the next year in my name. I thank her and put her to work helping Nonni in the shop.
I don’t trust her, but I took Broden’s advice and performed an intention spell with a lock of her hair I lifted last night. She no longer intends me or the farm any harm and so for now, I’ll allow her to repay some of her karmic debt by lending a hand for the day.
Belle and Leo drop off an antique mirror to replace the broken one. A new enchanted apple rests under the glass dome. It has a certain glow that brightens whenever Broden draws near.
We sell out of all the baked goods—Ruby taking over the kitchen. The gift shop is stripped as well.
There’s only one apple left by the time I call it a day and Broden shuts the gates.
I tell Ruby not to worry over cleaning up the mess in the kitchen, and she, Nonni, Poppi, and Uncle Odin leave with a few pumpkins and gourds in hand to return to Enchanted for the downtown trick-or-treat celebration.
In the kitchen of my house, Runa idles in front of the fireplace, the kitten settled next to her. I cut the remaining apple in half and offer it to Broden when he comes in to tell me the farm animals are in the barn for the night.
He takes a big bite and chews. “Half were near asleep before they finished their last meal, worn out from the busy day.”
“You’re welcome to head to town for the trick-or-treating,” I tell him. “The adults get to put their names in a variety of drawings sponsored by the Chamber.”
He takes a seat at the table and kicks his feet out in front of him, finishing off the apple piece. “Never was one for sweets, although I did steal a chocolate praline from your cousin’s display. It was sorely good.”
“I’m considering offering her a business deal where she could use my kitchen to make her candies. We would then sell her products in the shop year-round. Christmas is bound to be a profitable season for them.”
He hooks his hands behind his neck and stares at the fire. “Makes good sense.”
“On occasion, I may surprise you with it.”
We share a smile.
“Your magick is worthy, too.” His gaze flicks to mine. “I’m here for as long as you’ll have me, so I’m hoping you’ll be finding plenty of tinkering for me to do around the place.”
Warmth fills my chest at his steady look. I lean on the sink and nibble my half of the apple.
“I have a secret to confess,” he says.
The fervor in my chest cools. “Is that so?”
“Before I arrived, I heard rumors about your enchanting beauty all up and down the state. I came here to discern fo
r myself.”
The apple in my stomach sours.
“You are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen,” he continues, “but I knew from the moment I met you, you were extraordinary. Not because of your bonniness, but due to your heart. I admit—I have a bit o’ the Sight. Your aura is filled with gold, Snow. You’re a good person, through and through.”
I may have used magick to test his intentions, but he simply looked at me. “I was that easy to read?”
The quirk of his lips confirms it.
“I never could read auras,” I confess. “Bet it makes things easier.”
“A built-in lie detector, it is.” That gaze stays on me. “The Sight nudged me to come to America after my mam passed. It was like she was guiding me here. To you.”
There’s a funny tickling in my chest. “I’m glad you listened to that nudge.”
The kitten eyes me, stretches her too-skinny frame, and saunters over. She sits at my feet and meows.
Bending down, I stroke her fur. “You’re going to be a beauty when you grow up. We just have to put some meat on your bones.”
“Your nan was sneaking her food all day. She’ll be plumped up in no time.”
She rubs against my hand, purring. “You really do need a name,” I tell her, lifting her to stare into her eyes. “I think we’ll call you Jinx.”
She meows again and I think it sounds like ‘yes.’
Broden sits forward, his big body only inches from ours. “Thought you said she wasn’t cursed.”
My breath catches at the scent of him. His nearness makes my pulse hop. “She’s not, but she’s definitely cast a spell on me.”
He chuckles, that steady gaze intense on mine. “The two of us are welcome to stay, aye?”
He’s cast a spell on me as well. One I’m in no hurry to break.
“Ceud mìle fàilte,” I answer.
A hundred thousand welcomes.
A grin as big as Magick Mama spreads across his face. “Thought you didn’t know any Gaelic.”
“Figured I’d better learn if you’ll be hanging around. Can’t have you cussing at me in a foreign language.”
Reaching out, he pets the kitten. “Looks like we’re home, Jinx.”