by K E O'Connor
Everything was quiet, as it should be in a graveyard. The wind gently stirred the leaves on the trees, and a few birds twittered around, but other than that, it was peaceful.
I walked over to the grave where Albert and his group had summoned Luna.
There were still a few feathers on the ground as I pressed my hand into the dirt. I got a faint flicker of the stripping magic Albert had attempted to use, but not much else.
I walked around the grave, picking up faint hints of magic. Albert had meant business last night. He’d desired Luna’s magic. If that red mist hadn’t grabbed her and taken her away, there’d be nothing left of her.
I paused by a crumbling headstone. Was I looking at this the wrong way around? I’d always assumed the mist was making trouble for the village, but what if it saw Luna was in danger and had rescued her?
I shook my head, not convinced by that. Whenever there was trouble, that red mist showed up and stirred it up even more. Maybe it got jealous because it thought it was about to lose something it wanted. It took Luna so no one else could have her.
I closed my eyes and took myself back to the previous evening. It had been chaotic, and I could easily have missed something. The corpses had been jumping at anyone who got in their way, Albert and his group had been using difficult magic that could easily have gone wrong. Then Storm’s hellhound showed up and attacked Olympus. It had been one mess after another. And after the mist took Luna, there’d been that weird pulse that had shot across the cemetery. It must have hit everyone. Could that be the cause of the memory loss?
I opened my eyes and let out a yelp, leaping back and hitting a headstone. A short, thin woman with narrowed eyes that glowed purple stood right in front of me.
I crashed to the ground and lay there gasping. “Holy broomsticks! Where did you come from?”
She walked over to me, leaning heavily on a pointed stick. When I looked at it closely, I realized it was a long bone from some kind of animal that had been sharpened at the end. At least, I hoped it was from an animal and not some unfortunate cemetery resident.
“What are you doing in my cemetery?” Her voice was low and gravelly.
“Your cemetery? Are you Silvaria Digby?” I struggled to my feet.
“I might be. What’s it to you?”
“I’m Indigo, I mean, I’m Indy Archer. I was hired by the Magic Council to investigate the corpses coming to life. Well, not coming to life, but you know what I mean. The corpses walking around. The undead rising.” I waved my arms in the air, doing a passable impression of a zombie.
“You were here last night,” she said.
“That’s right. Do you remember seeing me?” I was relieved someone else had witnessed what happened. I was beginning to doubt myself.
“Of course I did. You caused a mess. What were you playing at?”
“We weren’t playing at anything, Silvaria.”
“Miss Digby. You were all throwing magic around like it was cheap candy on Halloween. It’ll take me days to set this place right.”
“Sorry about that. I was here with my friends—”
“Storm and Odessa?” she said. “They’re friends of yours?”
“Yes. And you definitely saw them here with me?”
She scowled. “I have eyes in my head. You were watching Albert and his friends do that ceremony around the grave. He paid me double to make sure it was ready in time. I don’t know what the hurry was, it’s not as if Luna is even around to go in that hole. But he demanded the grave was dug so he could perform his ritual.”
“Did you know what he had planned?”
“It’s not my business to question customers. He wanted a hole dug, he paid me for the job, so I did it.”
“Albert wanted to take away Luna’s magic.”
Miss Digby shrugged. “So what? The dead can’t do much with magic.”
“What if Luna’s not dead?”
She glared at me for a second. “It’s still none of my business. And I don’t want you poking around here anymore.”
“You don’t want your corpse problem solved?”
“No! I made a mistake filing a report with the Magic Council. I’m better off dealing with this on my own.”
“But I’d like to help,” I said.
Miss Digby sniffed and adjusted her grip on the bone stick. “Why? What’s in it for you?”
“Well, it’s my job. And I like this village. I don’t want to see it overrun with shambling corpses. And last night, those corpses weren’t friendly. One of them bit Odessa.”
“That was her fault. She shouldn’t have been messing around in here.”
I resisted the urge to argue with her. It looked like Silvaria Digby was a glass half empty person.
“Since you saw what was going on last night, did you also see a mist appear? It happened when Albert summoned Luna. It pulsed out across the whole cemetery.”
“I didn’t watch the whole time. I’ve got better things to do than waste my time staring at idiots making fools of themselves.”
I pressed my lips together. “So you didn’t see a red mist?”
“I can’t say I did. Now, you should leave. I’ve got work to do. I need to clear up the mess Albert left behind. And I suppose I should fill in the empty grave, or someone will fall in it and injure themselves. I don’t want to have to deal with a claim for compensation because some half-brain stumbled into it.”
“No! Don’t do that. There could still be useful information here.”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “Useful information? What exactly are you investigating? You said you were interested in the corpse problem, but we’ve been talking about Albert, Luna, and some odd mist you claim to have seen.”
“Can’t I be interested in both?”
Her top lip curled. “You’re the same as everyone else. You say one thing, but you mean another. You’re only here because you want to get something.”
Silvaria Digby was as spiky as the stick she held. “I really do want to help with your wandering corpses. Why don’t you tell me more about them?”
“If you can read, everything I know is in the report I filed with the Magic Council.” She shook her head. “I wish I’d never bothered. Waste of time. If you want something done, you do it yourself.”
I needed to handle Miss Digby carefully if I was going to get anything useful out of her. “What if you walk me around the place? You can show me where the first corpse emerged. Maybe that’s the root of the problem.”
“You can walk around on your own if you must, but there’s nothing I can show you that’ll help.” She waved a hand at me. “You get out of my way. I’ve had enough misused magic in this place to last a lifetime. Go on, get.”
“I’ll just take a quick look around before I leave. But if you change your mind, I’m happy to investigate the problem. Maybe someone’s cursed the place, or is trying to use the corpses to do their bidding. Or maybe—”
“There are a lot of maybes in that sentence and nothing definite. Once you have proof of what’s going on, maybe we’ll talk. Otherwise, I’m not interested.” Miss Digby turned and hobbled away.
“I’ll be here if you change your mind. Or you can find me at Olympus Duke’s office. Or ask for me at the Magic Council.”
Miss Digby glanced at me over her shoulder. “I’ll be glad when this whole place is gone, then I’ll have nothing to worry about but myself. I may finally get some peace.”
I watched as she headed across the cemetery, grumbling under her breath. There was a woman who needed a break from the dead.
My mouth twisted to the side. I hated to admit this, but she sort of reminded me of myself not so long ago. I always refused help, thought the world was out to get me, and just wanted a quiet life where I wouldn’t be disturbed. But that way of doing things had gotten me a one-way ticket to lonely town.
Despite Miss Digby’s insistence that I leave, I had no plans to go anywhere just yet.
I walked to the spot we
’d hidden in as Albert cast his spells and hunted around, but there was nothing useful there. I headed back to the empty grave and walked around it twice. I picked up a couple of the feathers and put them inside my jacket. Russell had been less than pleased when I’d revealed those feathers last night, which suggested there was something bad attached to them. Maybe if I did a reveal spell, it would show me something useful.
I did a slow circuit of the whole cemetery, keeping half an eye out for any corpses that might pop up to say hello, and poking around to find anything to give me a lead as to why people’s memories had disappeared.
I stood on something that crunched under my boot. I lifted my foot and looked at what I’d stepped on. It was a piece of broken pottery. I knelt and picked it up, turning it over in my hands as I brushed off the mud.
I sucked in a breath. It was a piece of the ghost jar that had been stolen from my house. I’d recognize the marbled coloring anywhere.
Why would someone bring this into the cemetery? I stared at the piece of ghost jar, then hunted around to see if I could find more fragments. I discovered several large pieces, which suggested someone had either dropped it or it was smashed onto the ground. And once it had been broken, the ghost inside would have been freed.
I looked around, worried I might not be alone. Why would anyone want to set that ghostly monster free? There wasn’t an ounce of goodness in either of the ghosts I’d tackled in Luna’s apartment.
After I was convinced no malevolent ghost was watching me and waiting to strike, I gathered up as much of the ghost jar as I could find and slipped it into my pocket.
I hurried back to the gates and took one last look at the cemetery. Something dodgy had gone on here, and I wasn’t sure I had all the pieces I needed to figure out what that was.
Chapter 11
“It’s unnatural for a cat to play fetch with a ball.” I scooped up the small ball Nugget kept bringing me to throw for him.
He hopped up and down on his paws. “Play ball, play ball.”
I tossed the ball, and he raced off after it.
I shook my head and frowned. Even though watching him chase a ball was adorable, my mood was glum. I’d spent the whole day trying to figure out what had happened at the cemetery and kept drawing blanks.
I’d tried half a dozen spells to get any magic to reveal itself from the feathers and the ghost jar, and I’d gotten zero results. If there’d been any power in these objects, it was gone. These clues had led me straight to a dead end.
My bad mood was also not helped by the fact my familiars were becoming useless. Well, not useless in the sense that they were still adorable animals, but they were behaving like normal pets. Nugget was only saying one or two words, and spent the rest of his time either wanting to play, sleep, ask for head strokes, or demand food. Hilda had spent all afternoon designing an enormous web in one corner of the room and hadn’t come over to me for hours. And Russell had spent all day sitting on the roof and didn’t seem to want to be in the house anymore.
As well as being frustrated by their change in behavior, I was also worried. These were my familiars. I drew my strength from them, and they helped me when I was in trouble. I wouldn’t toss them out if they regressed into being normal, everyday pets, but what was happening to their magic? It felt unnatural.
It must have something to do with the spells cast last night, but I couldn’t figure out what that was, or how to reverse it.
On my way back from the cemetery earlier in the day, I’d gone to Olympus’ office to see if he’d come back. There’d been no sign of him or Monty, so I’d collected my things and Magda’s journals.
Olympus hadn’t even locked the door before going off on his supposed vacation. Anyone could have walked in and taken what they liked, but it seemed he didn’t care there were confidential files on a desk and his few belongings were still in the back room. Olympus had simply upped and left.
I’d even done a quick check through his things to help me figure out where he’d gone, but everything was untouched. It was like he woke up in the morning, walked straight out the door, and didn’t look back.
That was far from normal behavior, given the crisis we faced. Or rather, I faced, since no one else could remember what was going on.
I needed a break from casting magic on the useless clues I’d collected, so I picked up one of Magda’s journals and flicked through it, hoping for inspiration and guidance.
Magda had been full of wise words when I’d been growing up. She was never the kind of parent who’d tell me to accept something because she told me it was that way. She always took the time to sit me down and talk things through. When I messed up, which I did a lot, Magda never let me get away with it. But she didn’t simply give me a clout and tell me I was an idiot, she’d explain why my behavior wasn’t acceptable and that I was letting myself down. Magda used to say that nobody wanted to be remembered for being a giant jerk and a selfish idiot.
I definitely didn’t. Although we’d had a few sessions where I’d dug my heels in and refused to see sense, but Magda never gave up on me. She always wanted me to find the right path.
I’d gotten off that path for a long time, but I was back on it now. Although at the moment, it felt like someone had given me a mighty shove in the wrong direction by taking my friends and familiars memories.
But this was a short-term problem, and I would get them back, no matter what it took. I wasn’t letting go of everything I’d got. Whatever this dark magic coven threw at me, I’d grab it and sling it right back at them.
There was a sharp tap on the front door. I put down the journal, hurried over, and peered out the window. Odessa stood out there, and she was carrying a large hamper over one arm. She waved when she saw me.
I wasn’t in the mood for company, but maybe her memory had returned. I pulled open the door.
“I come bearing gifts.” Odessa walked in and headed into the living room.
“Um, thanks. What have I done to deserve gifts?”
“I bet you haven’t eaten all day.”
“Not true. I ate breakfast.”
Odessa arched an eyebrow as she turned to face me and set her free hand on her hip. “We all know what your version of breakfast is. It comes out of a tin and is eaten with your fingers. Anyway, I’m here now, so you don’t need to worry about food for the rest of the day.”
I sniffed the air and smiled as I inhaled the delicious scents of sugar, spice, and chocolate drifting out of Odessa’s hamper. “What did you bring me?”
“All the treats under the sun. And I have so much to tell you.”
I settled in a seat and tried hard not to drool as Odessa unpacked pumpkin brownies, orange cookies studded with chocolate chips, and pale yellow blondies with pumpkin frosting.
“Is it about last night? Are you getting your memories back?”
She glanced at me. “You’re not still going on about that? It must have been one heck of a dream to make you think it was real.”
I let out a soft sigh. “I guess it must have been. The weird thing is, someone else saw us there. So unless I shared the same dream with Miss Digby...” I trailed off my words.
Odessa’s eye twitched. “Dream sharing has been recorded for hundreds of years. It’s very possible you had a similar dream with someone else. Where are the plates? We can’t eat without plates. And we need something to drink. And napkins. You’re a terrible host. I haul all these goodies here and you don’t even lay out the basics.”
I placed my hand over my heart. “I can’t have you thinking I’m a terrible host. I might miss my slot in Witch Hostess Monthly.” I strolled to the kitchen, grabbed everything she’d ordered, and returned to the living room.
Odessa took the plates from me and inspected them. “That’s better. You can’t eat perfection if you don’t have anything to eat it off.”
“I could have eaten it off my hand.”
She put a blondie on a plate and handed it to me. “So, do you want to he
ar my news?”
“I do. But maybe you should hear mine first.”
“Mine is much more exciting. And it’s true.”
“And mine isn’t?”
Her eye twitched again as she settled in a seat and took a large bite of cookie. She chewed for several seconds before swallowing. “I’m sure you think it’s real, but you’ve been having problems recently. Perhaps you pushed yourself too hard and something got broken.”
I stared at her, my mouth open. “You think I had a breakdown?”
“I wouldn’t put it in such harsh terms, but you’ve had a lot going on. You haven’t long come back to the village, you’ve gotten in trouble with residents, and the Magic Council wants you arrested. And you’re living in this crumbling old house that’s in serious need of updating.”
Several of the windows banged open.
“Careful what you say. This house has feelings.” I took a bite of my blondie.
“Sorry, house. But you have to admit, you’re looking tired around the edges. I blame Indigo. She should spend time and money on you, and make you beautiful again.”
“This house has a perfect rustic charm to it,” I said. “And I have been busy. Mainly having a breakdown if I believe you.”
“Oh! Don’t get offended. I’m only trying to help. Forget I said anything. Anyway, you’re never going to guess what I heard.”
“That the dead are rising?”
Odessa wrinkled her nose. “No, that’s just nasty.”
“Or that Luna’s uncle summoned her to the cemetery last night and tried to take away her magic essence?”
“Now you’re being ridiculous. Are you going to listen to me or not?”
“It depends on if you’re going to listen to me,” I said. “Something weird is going on here, and you’re a part of it.”
“If you’re not going to be nice, I’ll leave.” Odessa began packing up the goodies she’d brought.
“No, wait! Don’t leave. I am starving. And I did forget to eat lunch.” I gestured for her to remain in her seat. “Tell me your news. I promise, I won’t interrupt.”