Shiver Me Witches

by A. A. Albright

  Jared had abandoned his usual outfit of jeans and a T-shirt, in favour of a full-on vampire costume. He even had a frilly shirt on, and was wearing fake teeth. Pru was much the same, except instead of a frilly collar she’d opted for a plunging neckline. Greg went bright red when he saw her.

  ‘I see you had the same idea as us,’ said Pru when we sat down.

  Greg just giggled, while my hand went to the pointed black hat I was wearing. I’d teamed it with a long black dress. I’m ever so imaginative. Wait, that’s not the right word, is it? Let’s go with unoriginal, dull, and maybe even a little bit corny.

  ‘Where’s the broom and the fuzzy familiar?’ asked Jared, setting a large glass of red wine in front of me. ‘I don’t think I’ve seen the broom for a few days, now I come to think of it.’

  ‘You and me both,’ I admitted, sipping my wine. ‘Hey, your mam’s cheered up about Dave pretty fast. She was so upset earlier on. What changed?’

  Pru came around and sat beside me. ‘She told us that she wasted enough years on our dad, so she’s hardly going to waste time being sad about a genie who betrayed the whole town.’

  I was just wondering how to reply to that one when Maude walked in. I knew the others couldn’t see her – even on Halloween you needed to be a witch to actually see the ghosts that walked the earth. Sure, everyone and their mammy could see the pirate ships and their resident ghosts – but pirates have always done as they pleased.

  ‘I’ve just been dusting your bedroom,’ Maude said, giving me a small curtsy. ‘I saw your note but …’ She bit her lip. ‘I’m afraid I could only read my name.’

  ‘Ah.’ I nodded gently. ‘That’s okay. I was just inviting you to go to the pier tonight. I think you can do that on Halloween, can’t you?’

  Her head tilted to the side. ‘I can, but … why are you looking so excited, Miss Smith?’

  ‘Just be there at ten,’ I told her. ‘I have it on good authority that the Lilting Lass might finally be about to return.’

  She smiled widely. ‘I shall be there at ten. But perhaps I might just go and dust your telescope until then.’

  ‘Whatever makes you happy, Maude,’ I said, watching her run out of the room and up the stairs. I wasn’t sure what would happen when she and Billy met again, but I had the feeling that I’d be dusting my own telescope from now on.

  The dining room was filling up with poker players and tourists alike, but still no Dylan. I glanced at my phone, but no message or call had come through in the two seconds since I’d last checked.

  I should be angry with him, really. It was well after eight, and this was my first Halloween in Riddler’s Edge. His dayturner virus might be a good excuse for us to be apart romantically, but it was no excuse when it came to him being a bad friend.

  I should march over there, that’s what I should do, I thought. I should march over there, and if he was at home and standing me up, well then at least I could have a good argument with him before I headed to watch the pirate boats alone. A really good argument. Possibly one where I threw things and stamped my feet.

  Oh, sweet lady of the flowers, I really was becoming just as bad as Dylan Quinn.

  Just as I was giving myself an inner talking-to, Pru nudged me and said, ‘When you march over to the lighthouse, will you say hi to Dylan for me?’

  ‘Are you reading my mind?’

  She rolled her eyes. ‘I’m reading the expressions on your face, Ash. And they’re very telling. You should definitely go and have an argument with him. And while you’re at it, have one for me. Because if he’s not there to watch the boats come in, then I will tell every single woman who comes to have their fortune read that they’re going to fall in love with a tall, handsome garda detective called Dylan. I’ll even tell them he has a lighthouse, and that even though he seems like he’s not interested, he definitely is.’

  I brought my hand to my mouth, stifling a laugh. ‘Y’know, I almost wish you were serious. But you’re right. I’m going to go talk to him. I’ll see you at the pier at ten?’

  She gave me a tight hug. ‘See you then, my wonderful witchy friend.’

  ≈

  When I left the Vander Inn, the town was in party mode. No one was being quite as raucous as when they were under Biddy’s enchantment, but they were still having a mighty good time. Margaret and Mossy had thrown open the doors to their Magical and Haunted Mansion, and guests were spilling out over their lawn, while ghosts intermingled with their loved ones. Mossy was dressed as Dracula with Margaret as his creepy bride. I looked on fondly as they sat on a bench together, enjoying a drink, with no idea that Heather and Rachel were seated on either side.

  As a sliver of waning moonlight shone down over the sea, I thought I spied the pirate ships in the distance, and I hurried my steps. But while a romantic reunion between Maude and Billy now seemed imminent, I wasn’t too sure what my own meeting with Dylan would be like. Before the Púca magic took over, we’d been awkwardly avoiding each other and arguing whenever we were forced into the same space. Now … now he was still avoiding me, and I wasn’t so keen to carry on that same old trend.

  We were never a couple. We never could be a couple, according to him, unless there was some sudden and miraculous cure for the dayturner virus. It was mutating all the time, becoming more and more contagious, so I understood why he was afraid of passing it on to me. But this frustrated limbo we were living in? Maybe Maude could wait for centuries, but I really couldn’t see myself doing that for any man – especially when he couldn’t even bother to call and explain why he’d stood me up. Maybe it was time to tell him: either we were going to be a couple, or I was going to move on and put him out of my mind for good.

  I was mentally rehearsing my poignant goodbye speech when I spied something familiar – a fuzzy black tail swishing from side to side, down in the rocks to my left.

  ‘Fuzz?’

  The cat looked up at me, his yellow-green eyes wide and innocent, and said, ‘No I wasn’t.’

  Just behind him, I could see something small scuttling quickly away. ‘No you weren’t what?’

  He sighed and sprang up onto the path. ‘Chasing crabs. I thought you were Princess Preciousbottom.’

  ‘Ah. Your girlfriend. Why would she care if you were chasing crabs?’

  ‘She doesn’t hold with hunting. Likes her food to come out of one of those small fancy packs. Thinks that anything else is beneath her. She says if we’re ever going to be together, then I’ve got to start behaving more like her.’

  ‘Hmm.’

  ‘Hmm? Do you really think that’s helpful? Just tell me what you think and get it over with.’

  There was a bench just ahead, so I sat down and Fuzz hopped onto my lap. ‘What I think,’ I said, tickling him behind his left ear, ‘is that Princess What’s-her-name doesn’t know what she wants. She thinks she wants this well-behaved guy, this house cat or whatever. But she fell for you, Fuzz, just the way you are. A rough and ready cat who likes to hunt. I’m telling you, if you became the kind of cat she thinks she wants, then she wouldn’t fancy you anymore.’

  He looked up at me. ‘So what you’re saying, in a nutshell, is that women don’t know their own minds. Just as I’ve always suspected.’

  ‘No. I’m not saying that in a nutshell. Not at all.’ I cleared my throat. ‘I’m saying it on a bench.’

  Fuzz let out a little laugh. ‘You have a weird sense of humour.’

  ‘Good. Because I live in a weird town. Now come on. Hop down little guy, and go see Princess Fancy Food. I’ve got places to be.’

  He stayed put. ‘I don’t think that’s wise, Ash. Not if you listened to your own advice, anyway.’

  ‘Hmm?’

  The cat rolled his eyes. ‘Y’know, putting a question mark at the end of your “Hmm” doesn’t make it any less irritating. So stop hmm-ing me, because you know exactly what I mean. Detective Dopey is an argumentative so-and-so, and so are you. But you both like it that way. You’re both weirdos. So if
you’re going over there for an argument, it’s probably not going to end in an argument. Because like I just said, you’re both enormous weirdy weirdos. If you really want to call it a day, then the best thing you can do is just walk away.’

  ‘Hmm,’ I said, just to be annoying. If anything I was annoyed. As usual, my crab-chasing kitty was more sensible than me. Not when it came to his own love life, of course, but how many of us are sensible when it comes to that? ‘Okay, okay. I’ll leave it for now.’

  He let out a little sigh, said, ‘Good,’ and settled back onto my lap, purring loudly. For a while we just sat there, looking out at the ocean together, until eventually Fuzz said, ‘Oh look – the broom is back.’

  My eyes lit up as I realised Fuzz was right. The broom was heading towards us, coming from the north. ‘Broom!’ I stood up, cuddling Fuzz in my arms and grinning. ‘Where have you been?’

  Even though it might not be able to reply with words, it certainly seemed to be trying to communicate. The tail end nudged a little, towards the way it had come.

  ‘I think it wants us to follow.’ Fuzz looked up at me. ‘Actually, I think it wants you to get on.’

  He might be right. Even though we were ready and waiting, the broom still hadn’t started to fly again. In fact, it was lowering itself until it was about waist height with me.

  ‘No way I’m getting on. I don’t even like flying in Greg’s Wizardly Wagon, let alone on a broom. And even if I was a champion flyer, I’d feel funny about riding this broom.’ I patted its bristles. ‘No offence or anything, broom. But you just seem like you’re alive to me. It’d be too weird.’

  The broom wriggled with what seemed like a touch of impatience. Fuzz, not sharing my reservations, hopped on board. ‘Aren’t you curious?’ said the cat.

  ‘That’s your job. Cats are curious. Witches are sensible. If the broom wants to lead me somewhere, then I’ll just follow right on behind.’

  ‘Uh huh. And what if it wants to lead you somewhere that’s quite a distance, and by standing around like a stubborn idiot you’re wasting the broom’s valuable time.’

  ‘Valuable time?’

  Fuzz gave me an all too clever look. ‘Weren’t you the one who was saying it was awfully coincidental that the broom did its last disappearing act during Midsummer, which is a well-known soft time, and now at Halloween – yet another soft time – it’s gone and upped and left. And I’m telling you all of this even though I know you know all of this. I might be a curious kitty, but right now you’re being a scaredy-cat.’

  Well, who wouldn’t be terrified of being dozens of feet up in the air, on nothing but a piece of wood? But … maybe flying wasn’t the only thing I was scared of right now. The broom wanted to take us somewhere – possibly to get some much-needed answers. What if those answers were scary as heck?

  ‘Fine.’ I threw my leg across the way I’d seen Grace do, and clutched the shaft. ‘Let’s get this ill-advised show on the road.’

  ≈

  Flying on this broom was a whole different experience to being in the Wizardly Wagon. It was creaky and jerky, and the shaft had splinters. Yet somehow, I was no longer scared. I could feel the power, coursing from the broom. I could see it too, a glittering, golden light, shining out of the wood and surrounding me. A light that felt familiar and warm. A light that made me feel completely at home.

  We flew over the Wandering Wood, to a point where forest met cliff. There was a tiny spot of land down there with only one tree upon it – a hawthorn in full, bright-red berry.

  The broom dipped itself down, coming to a gentle hover so that Fuzz and I could dismount. Once we were on the ground, I saw it: something that I should have known would be here – Arnold Albright’s cane was leaning casually against the hawthorn tree, and it was glowing with silvery-white magic.

  25. The Year of the Crow

  The longer I gazed at the cane, the more magic I could see, shimmering and swirling in the air. And it wasn’t just that I was seeing more of it because I was concentrating harder on the object – the magic was actually increasing before my eyes.

  I snapped my head to the broom, and saw that it was doing exactly the same. Magic was spiralling so fast around both objects that I could barely see anything but the golden and silver haze in the air.

  But my, what a haze!

  ‘Is it just me,’ said Fuzz,’ or is something even more magical than usual about to happen?’

  I knew what he meant. From the day I met Arnold Albright for that job interview, my life had been growing more magical by the day – and not always in a positive way. I’d seen dark magic, witch magic, wizard magic, Púca magic … I’d met vampires, werewolves, weredogs and chaos demons …

  But what Fuzz and I were watching here and now was a step above it all. For a moment, the light became so blinding that I shielded my eyes. When I uncovered them again, the broom and the cane were lying motionless on the ground, while a man and a woman stood next to them and gazed at me.

  She looked so like me. Her hair was a little redder, just like in the photos. But her eyes – particularly the look in her eyes – made me feel like I was looking into a mirror.

  I turned my attention to the man. He looked around the same age as the woman, but I had the feeling that this was a man who could look any age he wanted. Who could be anything he wanted. Because I was one hundred percent sure that the man standing in front of me was Brian the Brave.

  ‘I …’ I began.

  ‘We …’ said Abby, grasping Brian’s hand. ‘I …’ She looked up at him, then back at me. There was so much longing in her eyes. In both their eyes. But not just for each other. Sure, I could see that this couple were madly, truly in love. But I could also see that a whole lot of the love shining in their eyes was shining right on me.

  There was so much love, in fact, that I had to look away. How did I deal with this? These were my parents. My actual parents.

  ‘I …’ I said again, thinking one of us had better get to the point soon.

  ‘We …’ said Brian. Even though his hand was bound tight to Abby’s, I could see how much it was shaking. All of him was shaking – all of Abby, too. Every few seconds, they’d twitch, as though they were trying hard to stay on the spot instead of rush towards me.

  Brian and Abby. Now that they were standing in front of me, it felt so strange to call them by their first names. I mean, they were my parents. Mam and Dad. Criminy!

  Fuzz leapt into my arms and looked from me to them. ‘One of you is gonna have to explain what’s going on here. I know who you both are. You’re Abby Albright – the long-lost Albright who everyone knows is my witch’s mother.’ He glanced at the tall, handsome man. ‘And you’re Brian the Brave. That being the case, why the heck have you been inside a broom and a cane all these years?’

  Abby cleared her throat. ‘It wasn’t through choice,’ she said. ‘It was …’ She chewed on her lip. ‘I’m sorry, Aisling, but … can I please hold you now?’

  I took a step back. A strange move, you’ll be thinking. After all, these were my parents standing in front of me and, if I was honest with myself, I wanted to grasp them tight and never let go.

  ‘Promise me,’ I said. ‘Promise me that it wasn’t your choice to abandon me.’

  A breathy gasp came out of her mouth, and she shook her head. Brian was silent, but there were tears spilling from his eyes. ‘I would never in a million years abandon you,’ she said. ‘I left you in a human enclave for what I dearly hoped would be a short amount of time. You have to believe me.’

  I did. I believed her completely, and Fuzz knew it. The little cat looked up at me, said, ‘Go hug them. You know you want to,’ before jumping from my arms and springing to the ground.

  I would dearly love to be able to explain what it felt like to hold my parents. But the emotions were so big, so numerous, and so confusing that I wouldn’t know where to begin. As they held onto me, though, my overriding feeling was that my parents were frail. Frail, and fright
ened.

  ‘You don’t have long, do you?’ I said as I eventually pulled away.

  My father gave me a sad but proud smile. ‘No. I should have known you’d figure that much out. It’s only because it’s Halloween that we’re able to return for a short while. The next time will be the Winter Solstice in December. And as much as I want to just hang out with you and hug you and, well, hug you some more … we don’t have much time to explain.’

  I nodded. ‘Okay. I already know how you met – at Felim Moon’s farm. And I saw that letter you wrote to Arnold, Abby, about falling pregnant and getting married. So maybe start there?’

  My mother wiped her eyes and said, ‘Let’s all sit down, and I’ll begin.’

  ≈

  ‘When I first fell pregnant, I was as terrified as I was excited.’ She reached out and stroked my cheek. ‘Not terrified of having you. Terrified of how my father would react. I was having a child with Brian the Brave, a member of the sióga. You know Arnold long enough, I think, to understand why I would be wary of his reaction. And Brian was happy to wait until I was ready.

  ‘But as time passed, and you grew, it was as though I began to grow, too. Not just my great big fat belly – which I hid from everyone with a little bit of magic and a lot of enormous sweaters – but my confidence grew too. And my resolve. I didn’t want you to live a life like I did. Being scared of your own family. I wanted to be better for you. Brave for you. And so I decided, it was time to tell my father the truth. I hoped it wouldn’t mean I would have to say goodbye to him forever because, despite pretty much everything about him, he was my dad. And I loved him.’ She took in a shuddering breath, and looked at Brian.

  ‘We talked last Midsummer,’ said Brian. ‘Abby filled me in on everything she’s heard you say to your friends. We know the story Arnold told you. It was a version of the truth, I suppose. But not the full one. Because as you can clearly see, your mother never died.’