A Touch of Magic

by Annabel Chase

  Dr. Hall nodded. "Sometimes that can happen. If you don't focus fully enough, you end up in a different dream or memory than the one you wanted."

  "I would definitely remember this one," I said. "It was an absolute nightmare."

  Dr. Hall looked quickly at Beatrice. "A nightmare? What happened?"

  "I need to think," I said. "There was a woman. She was blond and blind, I think. We were trapped in a stone room with no way in or out. No sunlight. She was doing a spell."

  Beatrice giggled. "Well, that doesn't sound like much of a nightmare. Sounds more like one of Lady Weatherby’s academy classes.”

  I gave her a sharp look. "Trust me, Beatrice. It was a nightmare."

  Dr. Hall handed me a drink. I knew she was genuinely concerned when I tasted the liquid and realized it was more water. I took a grateful sip.

  Beatrice cocked her head. "Should we try again?"

  "Absolutely not," I said. "It will take me the rest of the day to decompress from that one."

  "I agree," Dr. Hall said. "Besides, it'll cost me a small fortune. We’ll try again during another session."

  She went behind the bar and poured herself a drink. "I need to calm my nerves. Just watching you stressed me out.”

  "Oh, yes," I said, unable to hide my sarcasm. "Because you wouldn't dream of having a drink otherwise."

  Dr. Hall held out a glass to Beatrice. “You look like you enjoy throwing a few back. Can I interest you in one?"

  "No, thank you," Beatrice said. "I need to get back to the office. Markos will be expecting me and I like to please him.”

  I bet. “I’m sure you’re doing a great job.”

  Beatrice fixed me with a bright smile. “So sorry about the bad experience. Even so, it was a pleasure working with you, Emma. I hope we can do it again soon."

  “Sure,” I said and hoped she didn’t hear the hesitation in my voice. I watched her go with rising dread. I suddenly had the funny feeling that the nightmare may have been no accident.

  "Can you please turn off the magic mirror?" Millie demanded. "I'm trying to work on my special project for Lady Weatherby and that noise is distracting.”

  The remedial witches were gathered in the secret lair for quality time together.

  “That noise?” Laurel huffed. “That noise is Diana of Themyscira. Daughter of Queen Hippolyta.” She inclined her head toward the screen. “And that dude’s wrath upon this world is seriously over.”

  I couldn’t resist a smile. I figured Wonder Woman would appeal to the witches, and Laurel seemed the most engrossed in the film. She was at that ideal impressionable age.

  “Her outfit is interesting,” Millie observed. “Maybe we should wear little golden circlets like hers instead of black hats.”

  “We rarely wear black hats,” Sophie said. “And Lady Weatherby wears the twisted antler headdress.”

  “That’s tradition,” Laurel said. “Every head of the coven has worn that headdress for time immemorial.”

  I peered over Millie’s shoulder to see what she was working on. On the table was a red gemstone set in a gold necklace. Her wand rested on the table beside it.

  "Is this your amulet that will make you look beautiful to everyone?" I queried, reaching out to touch the gemstone. After much cajoling, Millie had told us a little bit about her spell before the movie started.

  "It isn't to make myself beautiful,” Millie said, swatting my hand away. “It’s to make myself look like the ideal beauty to the person looking at me. I call it the Beauty in the Eye of the Beholder spell.”

  “That’s a long title,” Laurel commented, coming over to investigate. "So how will it work when I look at you? I'm not even sure what my ideal beauty is."

  “And what about mine?” Sophie asked. “I think it might be the guy in the Wonder Woman movie, now that I’ve seen him.”

  Begonia stood behind Millie's chair. “Will you look like Demetrius Hunt when I look at you?"

  Millie slammed her fist on the table. “Stop asking questions. I don't know, okay? I'm completely making this up. I don't know what’s going to happen."

  Laurel addressed her calmly. "Yes, but you need to know exactly what you’re trying to achieve with the spell in order for it to be successful. It’s one of the basic tenets.“

  "I don't need lessons from a thirteen-year-old," Millie snapped.

  I gave Laurel’s arm a reassuring squeeze. "I think we all have something to learn from Laurel. She’s very smart.”

  "Of course we do," Millie muttered. "Why wouldn't Pollyanna Sunshine believe we have something to learn from everyone?"

  "Millie," I began carefully, "I genuinely believe that. It doesn't matter how smart or stupid or young or old someone is. We all have something to contribute to the community at large, even if it’s simply our sunny disposition.”

  Sophie bumped me with her hip. "Maybe you should have run for mayor."

  I waved her off. "No way. Not with my sorceress background. That’s too big of a hurdle to overcome. Besides, I think Lucy will make a phenomenal mayor. I would never do anything to subvert that."

  "Well, if you wouldn't mind giving me a little peace and quiet, I might be able to make this spell work,” Millie said.

  Sophie took out her wand and lowered the volume on the magic mirror. "Is that better?"

  "Yes," Millie said. "But I would also appreciate it if you would give me breathing room. I can't work when you’re all clustered around me like this. It's suffocating."

  I gestured for everyone to back away. Millie wasn't being entirely unreasonable. If she needed to concentrate, then it was only polite to give her the space she requested.

  "Why don't we go play cards on the other side of the lair?" Laurel proposed.

  "That sounds like a good idea," I said. "What kind of cards do you have in mind?"

  We followed her over to the small card table on the other side of the room and Laurel retrieved a pack of tarot cards from a nearby shelf.

  "Oh, I’ve seen those before," I said. "Agnes has a pack like that she uses at the Spellbound Care Home."

  Laurel shuffled the cards. "She’s probably much more skilled at handling them than I am. My grandmother taught me a few games, but she was no head of the coven.”

  My grandmother had taught me how to play gin rummy with a pack of regular playing cards. She and my grandfather used to play with two other couples. I’d fall asleep on the couch at the Houstons’ house with the TV remote in my hand while the older couples played well into the night.

  "I'm all for games," I said. “Not so sure about reading my future with them, though. I remember Agnes freaked me out with prophetic images.”

  "I can't promise you that nothing weird will happen,” Laurel said. "Sometimes the cards have a mind of their own."

  I shuddered despite my warm cardigan.

  The four of us sat down at the card table and Laurel fanned out the cards, facedown. “Choose seven.”

  I held up my hands. “Someone else do it. I’d rather not.”

  Begonia wiggled in her seat. “I’ll play.” She swiped seven cards and flipped them over. “Hmm. I don’t remember so many of the same card being in a single deck.”

  I glanced at the seven cards. Three were of a naked woman with a star behind her and four were of a woman in an oval wreath clutching a white wand.

  “You’re right. That is weird,” Laurel said. “There shouldn’t be so many of the same one in the deck.”

  “You’ve probably got two decks mixed together,” Begonia said. “That happens at our house all the time.”

  “What do they mean?” I asked.

  Laurel tapped her finger on the naked woman. “She represents The Great Mother.”

  “That doesn’t tell me much,” I replied.

  “She represents freedom,” Sophie said. “I remember that from class last year.”

  Begonia snapped her fingers. “That’s right.”

  “And what about the other one?” I asked.

  �
�She’s the creepy one,” Begonia said.

  I stared at the genial-looking woman on the card. “She doesn’t look creepy.”

  “She represents both creation and destruction,” Laurel said.

  “Creation and destruction?” I echoed. “Then why is her wand white? Shouldn’t it be black?”

  “The white wand represents the ability to create her own reality,” Laurel said.

  “Ha,” I said. “I knew quite a few people like that in the human world. No white wand required.”

  “It’s a divine power,” Sophie added.

  A victorious shriek from Millie jolted us to attention. She was on her feet and dancing a jig, clutching the necklace in her hand.

  "You've finished already?" Begonia queried. "I thought this was going to be a complicated surgical procedure. Like separating conjoined twins. Hours of preparation.”

  Millie glared at her. "I need to test it out, of course, to make sure it works. Who wants to help me?"

  I raised my hand. "I guess I would be your best bet, since we all know my ideal beauty is tall and blond with turquoise eyes and a missing halo."

  Millie gestured me forward. "As much as I don't really want to look like Daniel, let's give it a try." I crossed the room to stand in front of her as she slipped the necklace over her head. The amulet began to glow as it rested against her chest.

  "How does this work?" I asked. "Am I just supposed to stare at you and watch for a transformation?"

  Millie shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine.”

  Sure enough, Millie's appearance began to change. She was already a tall girl, but the person in front of me grew taller. Instead of Daniel’s short hair, though, her brown hair lightened and grew longer, past her bottom. Her skin became translucent and her brown eyes changed to…

  I screamed and clamped a hand over my mouth. When I saw the whites of her eyes, I knew exactly who I was looking at—the figure from my nightmare in Dr. Hall's office. This vision was certainly not my ideal beauty. Far from it.

  The figure in front of me began to scream as well. Before I knew it, all the remedial witches were screaming. I covered my eyes and tried to calm myself. I knew this was Millie standing in front of me. Only Millie.

  "Take off the amulet," I insisted. "Take it off!"

  I dropped to my knees and cowered.

  "It's okay, Emma," Sophie said gently. I felt a light hand on my shoulder. "She's taken it off."

  "It's me, Emma," Millie said. When I felt her crouch down in front of me, I dared to open my eyes.

  "I'm sorry, Millie," I said. "I'm not trying to ruin your special spell, I promise.”

  Millie frowned. “I know. The spell obviously didn't work. If I didn't look like Daniel, then who did I look like?"

  I shook my head. "I don't know who she is. She's the figure I saw in a nightmare. Beatrice induced it in Dr. Hall's office."

  “Beatrice from the coven?” Sophie queried and I nodded.

  Millie recoiled slightly. “Wait. I looked like an old hag?"

  "She's not a hag exactly," I replied. "She's no beauty, either. Whoever she is, though, she has immense power. I can feel it whenever I’m near her."

  Laurel whistled. "Stars and stones, Millie. You’re lucky Emma didn't freak out and zap you with her lightning powers."

  "It's not like I did it on purpose," Millie snapped. "I'm trying to create an ideal beauty spell. Obviously, I have more work to do."

  She turned on her heel and walked back to the table.

  "We’re happy to help you," Begonia offered. "Lady Weatherby didn't say that we had to work alone."

  Millie refused to look at us. "I don't need help. I can do this on my own. I just need peace and quiet."

  The rest of us took our cue.

  "We can go to my house," I said. "Laurel, bring the cards and we can play them there. I'm sure Gareth will enjoy peering over my shoulder and telling me which cards to play."

  "But that's cheating," Sophie objected.

  "Not when you suck at cards as badly as Gareth does," I said with a smile.

  Chapter 6

  Speech Night was finally here.

  The assembled crowd waved signs for their preferred candidates and I noticed green and yellow flags that seemed to represent Spellbound. I’d never been to a political rally before, not to mention in a paranormal town, so this was a fascinating experience for me.

  “Lucy’s getting ready to start,” Daniel said, giving my shoulder a squeeze. Although it seemed silly, I got butterflies in my stomach every time he touched me.

  Lucy stood at the podium, more poised than I’d ever seen her.

  “She looks like she could command an army while kissing your baby at the same time,” I said.

  “Good thing I don’t have a baby,” Daniel said. “I wouldn’t want it in the middle of a battle. That’s child abuse, plain and simple.”

  He grinned down at me and my heart exploded. I would never grow tired of looking at that gorgeous face. Not ever.

  “You do want a baby, though,” I said. “Right?” The question popped out of my mouth before I had a chance to think it through. It was a fairly serious topic for the middle of a Speech Night crowd.

  Daniel’s expression became inscrutable. “I haven’t given it much thought.” He tilted his head toward the podium. “Why don’t we talk later? Lucy deserves our full attention.”

  Was that a cop-out? I wasn’t sure. I pushed the exchange out of my mind and focused on my friend’s speech. We were there to support her, after all.

  “Welcome, friends and families,” Lucy said. “Tonight marks a momentous occasion in the Spellbound history books. Another Speech Night for a new mayor.”

  The crowd erupted. Flags and signs waved wildly. They seemed very excited over public speaking.

  “As you know, I worked closely with the previous mayor to make sure that the citizens of Spellbound were cared for and their voices heard.”

  I noticed that she didn’t mention the previous mayor by name. The Knightsbridge name was forever sullied, thanks to Elsa and her mother’s blind devotion.

  Lucy went on to talk about how she’d continue the good traditions, while looking to reshape those that were no longer necessary. How she wanted to bring together the community instead of divide it. In my mind, she managed to strike the right balance.

  “So, thank you, Spellbound, for being the best paranormal town in the world. It would be my greatest pleasure to continue to serve as your mayor.”

  The applause nearly burst an eardrum, but I powered through it for Lucy’s sake. She fluttered off the stage to make way for the next speech.

  “She’s a great speaker,” Daniel said.

  “And she’s one hundred percent authentic, which makes it even better,” I replied.

  And now it was time for the inauthentic speaker.

  Hugo’s hooves stepped up to the podium and the centaur cleared his throat, making an obnoxious noise that reverberated in the cool evening air.

  "Citizens of Spellbound, I am here tonight to persuade you to bring back the quality of life that's been missing in this town ever since Mayor Knightsbridge dug her manicured nails into it.”

  Daniel gave a low whistle. “Well, there’s an amazing first line.”

  “It's time to take out the fairy trash and return Spellbound to its heyday as a place for all paranormals to live harmoniously. My opponent, specifically Lucy Langtree, is simply a return to the old guard. She was the former mayor’s right hand for years. If you think anything will be different in Spellbound under her rule, you are sadly mistaken."

  A smattering of applause indicated that a few people agreed with Hugo’s sentiment. I was surprised anyone could agree with that. As much as I disliked Mayor Knightsbridge, I never saw evidence of any of the things Hugo was claiming. It sounded like scare tactics and fear mongering to me. It also seemed to be stirring the pot against fairies, which seemed fundamentally unfair to the group and at odds with his ‘harmonious’ comment.
Fairies comprised one of the larger populations in Spellbound, so it was only natural that we’d see them in leadership roles.

  “Miss Langtree is not the kind of leadership Spellbound needs right now. Her good friend is a sorceress, for Nature's sake. Whatever next? Will she be threatening us all with curses if we don't support her campaign?"

  I heard a few boos in the crowd in response to that statement.

  Daniel pulled me closer and whispered, “Ignore him. He’s kicking up minotaur shit for no reason.”

  I disagreed with that assessment. It was for a reason—to cast aspersions on Lucy’s character, and mine. The longer Hugo spoke, the more annoyed I became. He wasn't talking about any pertinent issues. At least Milton cared about the community and was trying to come up with solutions to problems. Hugo was a blowhard.

  "As I'm sure you’re all aware,” Hugo continued, “the town council has approved the formation of a committee to revise the sentencing guidelines for convicted criminals in this town. As the former sheriff here, I can tell you that’s a huge mistake. Miss Langtree supports this committee. She supports the modification of the shifter ordinances. She thinks it's perfectly acceptable for werewolves to urinate on your flowers and for werelions to fornicate on the border of your property. Those are not the values I was raised with in Spellbound and that is not the kind of town we want to raise our children in.” He pointed to Lucy with an angry and accusatory finger. “Miss Langtree doesn't even have children. In fact, she has no family of her own. How can a fairy like that understand what the normal citizen of Spellbound is concerned with? She’s out of touch, more concerned with glitter appointments than hard issues.”

  Well, that was a new low. Lucy was one of the most caring and compassionate residents in Spellbound and he was attacking her based on her marital status. Although Hugo was married, I’d bet all the coins in Spellbound that his wife was miserable.

  By the time he finished speaking, he’d worked a portion of the crowd into a cheering frenzy. The jubilant sound made me uneasy. He didn’t really have a chance at winning, did he? Could there be that much hate in the hearts and minds of Spellbound voters? The possibility saddened me.