A Witch Too Late

by Paula Lester

  He stopped and addressed Denzel, tiny bits of spit coming out of his mouth as he spoke. “It’s pure incompetence in there, just as I expected. And now a threat from the Archsiren. I never! You heard her threaten me, didn’t you? None of you in this office know what you’re doing. You clearly need a new leader. Tell Dustin to call me when he gets back from wherever he’s gotten off to. I want to lodge a formal complaint.” Without waiting for the ghost to acknowledge his order, Dzovag stomped off down the hallway and into the reception area. Cas felt sorry for Waverly for a second, since she’d have to deal with him out there.

  “Lavania!” The words yanked Cas’ attention back to the open door of the Council chamber. She could see Lavania and part of Albert from where she stood but not the other three sirens. “Control yourself. Livings might be unpleasant, but he’s not worth having to go in front of the Tribunal for because you’ve killed him without due process. We all need to decide together what we should do about his request. Personally, I don’t think his new hotel would be such a bad thing.”

  “Not a bad thing? Right on the banks of the hot springs where the humans it would attract might interfere with our fire element? Shiloh, you are the most incompetent nincompoop of a siren we’ve ever had on this council! I’ve been hoping for ages that you’d step down on your own, but you aren’t bright enough to do so.” Lavania appeared livid, and her severe features were drawn back so far she started to resemble a skeleton.

  “Honestly, Lavania. Now you’ve gone and made her cry,” Albert croaked. Cas could see him reach a papery hand in Shiloh’s direction. “Shush, shush. She’s just angry. Don’t take her seriously.”

  “I am serious, Albert, and you should be too. This hotel is a terrible thing for Crystal Springs, and I need to rely on all of you to help me stop it.”

  “We haven’t had enough time to discuss it yet.” Valencia’s voice sounded calm and rational. “Let’s take a break and reconvene in a few hours. Maybe then, clearer heads will prevail.”

  “None of you have clear heads. I’m the only one on this council using their brain today. I don’t care what any of you has to say about it. That hotel is not going up, no matter what I have to do to stop it.”

  Lavania stepped down from her chair, which disappeared back into the wall, and marched out of the room. She passed Cas without a glance. Albert and Valencia followed her out, flanking a sobbing Shiloh. They paused to put their heads close to Denzel, though Cas couldn’t hear what they said. The three sirens continued on, disappearing through a doorway between the council chamber and the reception room door.

  “Come along,” Denzel said, and Cas and Echo followed him into the chamber. Stu sat on his chair staring at his knees. Denzel cleared his throat, and the siren raised his head. “Sir, Echo has returned with Ms. Lorne, and they require further direction from the council.”

  Stu barked out a short laugh. “The council is a little scattered right now.”

  “Sirens Albert and Valencia instructed me to have you make a decision in their stead, sir. They said to assume they vote with you, so you have a 3/5 majority to do as you wish with the newspring.”

  Stu laughed again. “Well, why not?” His eyes moved to Cas. “I suppose someone has to deal with you. What happened with your sister?”

  “My half-sister and I had a short talk, and then she told me she couldn’t help me.” Cas decided not to report the part where Tallulah said the council would have to deal with its own problems. It seemed inflammatory, and the last thing she wanted was to make this handsome siren upset when he held her fate entirely in his hands.

  “Hmm. Not very helpful, is she? Well, I guess we shouldn’t have expected much more. She has a history of doing things her own way.” Stu tipped his head to the side as he looked at Cas. He chewed on his bottom lip for a second. “How long was it since you saw her again? Before today?”

  “Her dad—my step-dad—sent her away to live with our Aunt Petunia when she blossomed. I was thirteen, so that would have been . . .”

  “Your aunt?” Stu’s head straightened, and his eyebrows went up. “Is she magical?”

  “Yes, I guess so. That’s what I understand, anyway,” Cas affirmed.

  “Is she local?”

  Cas glanced at the ghost. Dustin hadn’t mentioned any other living relatives during the earlier council session. “I don’t know. Maybe?

  “Well, there we go. We’ll send you to her for safe-keeping. I don’t think we’ve gotten a report from the peacekeeper squad we sent to your house to find the stone yet. Denzel, please find out where the aunt lives so Echo can take her there. When is Dustin going to be back?”

  “In a few hours, I believe, sir.”

  “Yes, okay. I’m sure he’s doing something for Founder’s Day. Boy, we could all use a good celebration. I’m getting together with some witches who are coming into town for the festivities. If we can keep the sirens from cursing each other until the drinks start flowing tonight, we should be good, eh?”

  Stu climbed down from his chair while speaking and clapped a hand on Denzel’s shoulder, but his fingers passed through the assistant’s wispy body. The ghost merely nodded.

  Stu left the room before Cas could say anything else. She was relieved that she hadn’t been cursed or sent to Sitegard or anything, but the thought of visiting her aunt made her feel uneasy. “I haven’t seen Aunt Petunia in decades,” she said. “I guess I blamed her along with my step-dad when Tallulah was sent to her and I had to go to boarding school. I wonder what she’s like now.”

  “I guess we’ll find out,” Echo said matter-of-factly. He sounded eager to get going.

  “She lives at 14 Crowhead Lane,” Denzel said from across the room, reading a large, open book. “Same house she lived in when Ms. Lorne’s half-sister stayed with her.”

  Cas felt a rush of gratitude toward the assistant for remembering to add the half. It was a petty thing to insist on, but Tallulah had never been a pleasant person. Saying they were connected by one parent made Cas feel better—as if it somehow added a layer of separation between them.

  Gratitude toward a ghost? Cas hoped she wasn’t losing her mind. On the heels of that emotion, another wave of exhaustion overcame her.

  “Crowhead. Crowhead. I don’t think I know where that is. Which courser do we take?” Echo asked.

  “The one to the old lodge,” Denzel replied. “It’s abandoned and up for sale, so the humans aren’t using it right now. Take the courser there and walk four blocks up Serene Street to Crowhead. It will be the fourth house on your right, I believe.”

  “Thanks, good sir. We’ll see you later.” Echo headed toward the hallway, and Cas followed him.

  They were silent as they made their way back through reception, past Waverly, down the hover-lift, and across to the courser stop on the main floor. Cas picked Echo up without remark, and he called the courser. When it stopped after their ride and let them off, they were inside an empty ski lodge lobby.

  The lodge was built with logs, and hardwood floors ran throughout the entire lobby. One wall was covered with a giant fireplace surrounded by beautiful stonework. A long desk, also made of logs, sat to one side, and skis and boots hung on the wall opposite the fireplace. Cas couldn’t imagine the skill it had taken for someone to carve the logs that made up the rails of the spiral staircase in the center of the room.

  There were several cozy sitting areas, and the wall behind the desk was entirely glass. It looked out on a slope that was covered with greenery now, but Cas knew that winter’s snow would transform it into a formidable ski hill.

  “Wow, this place is nice,” Cas breathed.

  “I suppose,” Echo sounded bored. “It reeks of mildew.”

  “True.” The air was warm and dank inside the lodge. None of the furniture had been covered. Who knew what was growing in here. It looked as if one day someone had locked the doors and walked away. Everything was covered in a thin layer of dust. “It could use a good cleaning and airing out, I guess.
Get some new furniture and can you imagine it all decorated for Christmas, with a giant tree right over there?” Cas gestured to one side of the room.

  “It’s for sale, you know.” Echo jumped out of Cas’ arms and headed for the door.

  Cas followed him, still rubber-necking to take in all the details of the beautiful lobby. “I’m sure it’s a million dollars. But oh, wouldn’t it be fun to own a place like this?”

  They stepped outside, and Echo looked around for a moment to get his bearings before trotting off down the sidewalk. “It might not be too much money. It’s small, and the owners might want to unload it. If you’re interested, you should check it out when this is all over.”

  When this is all over? What did that mean? From what Cas could tell, her life would never be the same. Not so long ago, she had wanted some adventure. Now, she just wanted a quiet night sipping wine on her back porch.

  “No, I don’t think so, Echo. This place is for someone who gets this world, and I don’t think that’s me,” Cas said.

  It didn’t take long for them to arrive at 14 Crowhead Lane. The house was a tiny, mint green bungalow with white shutters and a tidy walkway. Cas hesitated for a second and took a deep breath. “Well, no use dragging this out, I guess.” She walked up to the door and knocked.

  She had to knock two more times before the door opened a crack. An eye peered out from under the safety chain. Above the orb was a short forehead and a shock of white hair. Below it was a delicate nose and bright red lipstick that hadn’t quite managed to land entirely on the lady’s lips. “Who are you?” she croaked.

  “Aunt Petunia, it’s Cascade.” Cas smiled as warmly as possible. She hoped her mother’s sister would recognize her.

  Instead, nothing happened. The eye continued to stare, but the door didn’t open further. The woman’s face didn’t twitch. Maybe she was hard of hearing.

  “CASCADE,” she said louder and smiled again.

  The door slammed shut, and she jumped. Cas glanced down at Echo. She couldn’t believe she’d been rejected by another family member. Two in one day was a little much for anyone to handle.

  Then Cas heard the clanking of a chain and the door opened. She could see her aunt’s whole face now, plastered with a grin that was almost as wide as her open arms. “My dear!” the old lady cried. “I’ve missed you so! Come in, come in. Give your auntie a hug.”

  Cas stepped forward into her aunt’s embrace and closed her eyes. Perhaps things were going to work out after all.

  Chapter 7

  Cas stepped out of the embrace and smiled into her aunt’s kind face. The lady smiled back, though her haphazard lipstick made it look clownish. They stood there smiling at each other for a few moments before Petunia spoke. “You’re very pretty, dear. Who are you?”

  Cas blinked and felt her smile slip away. “Um. I’m Cascade Lorne. Your sister’s daughter.”

  “Oh, that’s right!” Petunia’s face lit up for a moment but then it fell again as she shook her head and made tsk-tsk noises. “It’s a wonder you turned out so good, considering what your mother did. Getting into trouble with those friends of hers all the time—yes, a bad deal for you for sure.”

  She frowned, sighed, and shook her head again.

  Cas cast a sidelong look down at Echo. What was that bit about her mother? But before she could gather her swirling thoughts and ask for more details, Petunia said, “Ah, well, that’s all over now, rest her soul. Come in, dear. I’ll make us some nice tea and cookies.”

  Petunia turned and walked into the front hallway of the bungalow, which looked dark and a little uninviting to Cas from the front stoop. She glanced down to make sure Echo was with her before she moved forward.

  The sight of the short hallway they entered was alarming. It had a slight odor, like cheese left in the fridge for too long. Cas stepped over a green polka-dot umbrella missing half its canopy. Shoes of different sizes littered the space. Men’s shoes, ladies high heel pumps, and flip-flops in various colors lay where they’d been tossed. But from what Cas could see, not one of them had a match. Then there were the hats. For some reason, they were in pairs, tacked along the wall in a haphazard pattern.

  Echo sniffed at a man’s sneaker as large as his head. “Huh, what do you know? Entraps.”

  “No, what do I know?” Cas answered in a hush tone. Her heart had picked up an extra beat. This hallway didn’t bode well.

  “It’s nothing, really. Your auntie has a flair for storing spells in everyday objects. Apparently, she has a thing for shoes.” Echo craned his neck to look up. “And headwear. Let’s hope she didn’t study with the necromancy guild. Who knows what we’ll find in the kitchen.”

  Cas’ shoulder brushed against a black-checkered sunhat and sent up a cloud of dust. She sneezed.

  Petunia called over her shoulder, “Be mindful of the hats, dear. They get frisky.”

  Cas didn’t know how a hat could get frisky. But she cast a wary eye back at the sunhat. The thing shivered as the wide brim curved to form a smile.

  “Here we are, dears,” Aunt Petunia said as she entered the kitchen. “Much nicer in here. I keep old, pesky incantations in the hallway. They tend to build up like junk mail.” Petunia moved over to a yellow gas stove.

  “This is better,” Cas said under her breath as they stepped into the new room. She breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of a small, yet uncluttered kitchen filled with natural light. The double set of windows were even framed with frilly curtains decorated with marigolds.

  Movement caught Cas’ eye. She watched in amazement as a straw broom with a wooden handle danced its way across the floor. It skirted around her and Echo before moving on to get some crumbs from under a tiny kitchen table.

  The broom wasn’t the only thing in the kitchen moving on its own. A giant knife sliced fresh bread, and sandwich fixings floated out of the refrigerator to land on the countertop next to it. A dish sponge soaped plates in the sink.

  Despite very ordinary things performing actions that weren’t ordinary at all, Cas felt the kitchen was very pleasant and homey.

  Petunia sat down on a bar stool to watch the knife work, and she glanced back at her visitors. “Would you like a roast beef sandwich?” she asked them in a kind tone.

  “Yes,” Echo answered without hesitation, jumping onto the stool next to the old lady.

  “Sure,” Cas said, a little hesitant. “I don’t remember when I ate last.”

  Petunia peered at her and tsk-tsked again. “You do look a little frail, dear. We can’t have that. Your dear mother would want me to feed her daughter well. Sit down here, and I’ll get you a nice, thick sandwich.”

  “Okay. Thank you. Um, could you explain what you said before about my mother? Something about it being a shame I have to deal with what she did?” Cas felt a surge of anxiety, fearing Petunia would reveal something horrible about her mother. Suddenly, the knife stopped slicing bread. It hovered in midair, shivering a little.

  “What on Earth?” Petunia said. Her forehead scrunched. The wild lipstick around the top of her mouth looked like it was heading up into her nose as her lips pursed. She slapped the counter. “Stop that, knife. What’s wrong with you today?”

  As if answering, the knife hovered for another millisecond before it shot across the room, whizzed past Cas’ ear, and dove toward the broom handle. The broom seemed to sense the incoming danger. It dodged and careened across the room, the knife following closely. The broom knocked things off shelves and left a cloud of dust as it desperately tried to evade certain impalement.

  Petunia screeched, placed one hand atop the other, and flicked her wrists in unison. But nothing happened. “I know these spells better than a dog knows bones. What. Is. Going. On?”

  She repeated the motion once, twice, three times. Each time became more urgent than the last. But Petunia couldn’t reclaim control of the household spells she’d placed on the knife and the broom.

  In fact, things only seemed to get worse. The soapy
water in the sink began to swirl like a whirlpool. Dishes shot across the room like out-of-control missiles. They crashed and broke on the floor.

  Cas shrieked and ran for cover under the tiny table. Not that it provided much protection.

  As if in response, the dishes flung themselves out of the sink, and the knife chased the broom at a more fevered pitch.

  “I think this might be you, Ms. Lorne,” Echo said as he climbed onto the counter. He dodged a flying coffee cup before snagging a slice of roast beef and hauling it back to safety under the table. He dropped it. “You must calm yourself.”

  Cas pushed herself further under the table. “What? Me? I’m not doing this!”

  “No, but I suspect you’re disrupting your auntie’s spells. I can smell your anxiety and spurts of magic coming off you.” He chomped down on the roast beef as the broom handle narrowly missed clocking him in the ear.

  “Ach! My home! My kitchen! My things! They’re all getting ruined!” Petunia screamed as she hopped around the kitchen. Her hands swung in the air. “You must be a demon!” she shot at Cas. “Who are you, anyway? Why are you here? Get out, get out!”

  “Aunt Petunia, it’s me, Cascade. I’m so sorry about this.”

  “Cascade? Why, she’s only a little girl! You can’t be her. Tallulah!” She shouted the name louder than Cas would have thought possible for someone of her height. “Come down here and help me get these demons out of the house! They’ve ruined my spells!”

  Cas and Echo exchanged glances. “We’d better go,” Echo said, and Cas nodded.

  The dishes had finally stopped flying out of the sink. Cas made a break for it when the knife chased the broom to the far edge of the kitchen.

  Cas’ stomach clenched as she realized this was the last family member she knew of. No one was coming to her rescue. As the broom escaped and renewed its scramble to avoid being impaled, Cas said, “Aunt Petunia, I’m so sorry about this. I’ll leave so you can put it all right again. Take care.”