Covens and Coffins

by Lily Webb

  “Can you ride? You better hold on tight. I’m not great at flying, but it’s our only way out of here. If the gargoyles see us, we’re done,” I said. Brendan groaned and shook his head, but tried to stand anyway. I helped him up and slipped my broomstick through his legs without him falling.

  “Hold on to my waist,” I said and wrapped his arms around me to climb on the broom in front of him. “Okay, I mean it, hold on tight. We’re blasting out of here.”

  “No, you aren’t,” a cold voice cut through the room and I screamed. I stole a glance over my shoulder and whimpered when I saw Lydia leaning against the far wall, her broom in hand. Without thinking twice, I kicked off, and we rocketed out of the room over the balcony into the air. Brendan squealed in my ear and squeezed me so tightly around the middle I thought I might pass out.

  With panic pumping in my veins, I willed Destiny to fly as fast as she could toward the town hall and the MGPD.

  “MMMMM!” Brendan screamed, and I looked over my shoulder just in time to see a ball of light heading right for us. Instinctually, I swung to the left, and we rolled upside down as the spell crackled overhead. I clutched the broom with my hands and legs, begging Lilith Herself to keep me and Brendan from falling off, and swung again to right us.

  “You won’t get away!” Lydia shouted, but I didn’t dare look back. Instead, I pushed the broom’s handle toward the ground and the winding, busy streets below. Anything I could put between Lydia and me might be the difference between life and death. We whizzed south through the towers of Veilside toward Crescent Street and nearly crashed into the cobblestones, but I kept us in the air.

  Brendan screamed his wordless screams as his toes scraped the street and bystanders howled and jumped out of the way as we tore through town. Despite my better judgment, I glanced backward to find Lydia just behind us, her wand pointed in our direction. I didn’t hear her say the spell, but the sound of the energy crackling at the tip of her wand tipped me off and I swerved to the left in time to dodge it. It collided with the corner of a nearby building, spraying us with concrete debris.

  I zigzagged down the street, pushing the broom to go faster and faster until the town hall came into view. At the intersection of Crescent and Luna Streets, I hung a hard left and screamed when a ball of magic sizzled past my ear, singeing my hair. I nearly crashed into the building on the opposite side of the street, but kept us steady and pushed forward.

  The MGPD was close enough I could read the letters on the sign outside, and I prayed someone had called them already to tell them there was an armed chase going on in the middle of town. But as we raced toward the building and through an intersection, a swarm of fairies in black robes poured out of the alleys behind us, wings fluttering and wands drawn. I pulled up on the broom to halt us. We floated to the ground, and I breathed a sigh of relief when my feet met solid stone and I saw Lydia cornered by more FBI agents than I could count.

  Flora floated at the center.

  “Stop right there, you’re under arrest!” she bellowed and fired off a spell that wrapped Lydia in a magical net. Her broom tumbled through the air and smashed against the ground where it shattered into several pieces. Lydia howled and squirmed against her binds, but they only seemed to grow tighter.

  When Lydia was restrained and safely on the ground, Flora fluttered over to us and threw her arms around me.

  “Never do something like that again,” she ordered.

  “I’ll promise that if you promise never to keep any more secrets from me,” I said. She looked me in the eyes and beamed.

  “Deal,” she laughed. “By the way, I think you're all but guaranteed to win tomorrow.”

  “What? Why?” I asked. Flora pointed behind me and I turned to find Chief Mueller and a crowd of people standing on the street staring at us.

  One of them pulled out their phone and snapped a picture.

  “No one will ever be able to claim you don’t know how to fly a broom again after today. Everyone in Moon Grove has video footage to prove otherwise,” Flora said, and I burst out laughing.

  “I bet everyone at the NWA is eating a lot of, erm, crow right now,” I said, and Flora joined in my laughter.

  “Well done, Zoe. It’s kind of you to bring me back my suspect,” Mueller said, smirking as he strode toward us, his hands on his belt.

  “You’re welcome, I guess,” I said. “Be careful. I think Brendan might be injured and there’s some kind of curse on him to keep him from talking.”

  “Roger, but don’t worry, we’ll break it. We’ve got a lot to ask you, Mr. Norwood,” Mueller said as he helped Brendan off my broom. Brendan moaned something at me that sounded like “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome, but you won’t be thanking me once we get that curse lifted. You’ve got a lot to answer for,” I said. Brendan’s expression fell, and he nodded somberly. Whatever else he’d done, he seemed remorseful about his actions.

  “Come on,” Mueller said, and escorted Brendan toward the station. Flora nodded her head at her agents and a crowd of them hauled Lydia forward in her binds. She scowled at me as she passed.

  “You’ll pay for this, I swear. A Crowe never forgets, I’m the Black Wing, I’ll—”

  “Never fly again because I clipped your wings,” I interrupted. “Where are your sisters?”

  “We already have them in custody,” Flora said, and Lydia’s scowl morphed to a look of shock. “Take her away.” Lydia said nothing as the agents carried her into the station.

  “What about everyone else? Are they okay?” I asked.

  “Yes, your family and friends are all fine. As I expected, once Lydia figured out you weren’t in the stadium anymore, she went straight to the Crowe’s Keep so I split my forces and had some agents escort your team back to your house. You were right, Lydia must’ve known you’d come,” Flora said.

  “She wasn’t there when I went inside,” I said. “I would’ve seen or heard her if she was.”

  “Maybe she followed you then,” Flora said.

  “I guess it doesn’t matter. We have her now,” I said. “I still can’t believe she faked her own death and her sisters were in on it. Where did you find them?”

  “At the town gates, trying to migrate like the scared little birds they are. They didn’t make it,” Flora said, smirking. “Speaking of, do you know what we call a group of crows?”

  I shook my head. “No, what?”

  “A murder,” Flora said.

  I could only laugh.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Moon Grove’s town hall was so full of noise and commotion that I couldn't hear myself think. A dozen or more ballot boxes lined the floor in front of me, and lines of people waiting to cast their votes fanned out in front of them and spilled out into the street.

  On the raised dais that overlooked it all, I sat with Lorelei and Ruby to my right. Heath’s high-backed chair denoted his position of authority at the head of the table, and the eleven other members of the Council filled out the ranks. When I glanced down the table at him, he smiled and winked at me.

  In the front row of the crowd, all my family and friends had gathered, each clutching a ballot. Grandma beamed and waved at me with tears in her eyes, and Raina rubbed her shoulder.

  “I love you, Sugar,” Grandma mouthed, and my breath caught in my throat. More than anything, I wished I could hug her. My eyes burned but I fought back the tears. I had to stay composed.

  Instead, I mouthed the words back to her and she melted in Raina’s arms.

  Heath cleared his throat and held the tip of his wand to his Adam’s apple.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for joining us. The time has come at last to elect our next Head Witch,” he said, his magically amplified voice carrying through the room and hushing the people gathered.

  Heath stood and opened his arms to everyone. “As you all know, this is an important time in our collective history. For the last few months since our beloved Claudette Riddle passed through the Veil, w
e've been without a Head Witch,” he said.

  “For the health of the community, and due to unforeseen events, the Council and I have refrained from holding elections to replace Mrs. Riddle,” he continued. “But today we are extraordinarily lucky to have three well qualified candidates to choose from, and never have we needed a strong leader as much as we do today. But before I officially open the vote, I'd like to give the three of our candidates a chance to offer closing words. Zoe, would you do us the honor of starting?”

  Gulping, I nodded and stood. Heath walked the length of the table and placed his wand against my throat. I cleared it and looked out at the audience hanging on every word I hadn't yet said.

  “Thank you, Mr. Highmore. I wish I'd known you were going to ask us to do this, I would've prepared something,” I said to scattered laughter. “First, thank you all for your support during this election and prior. I know it's been difficult to accept an outsider like me into your community, and not least of all thanks to the trouble I've stirred up since I got here.”

  Laughter tore through the audience.

  “But throughout it all, I've always had one goal in mind: justice. Even when I knew better than to stick my nose in where it wasn't wanted, I did it anyway where I thought it would help. Sometimes it worked, others it didn't. But I always wanted to help,” I said. “If I'm lucky enough to be elected as your next Head Witch, I'll carry that same spirit with me in everything I do. I might not be the most skilled magician, and though I know how to fly a broom now, I'm not going to win any awards for that either, but I'm doing what I've always done: try, to the best of my ability. Thank you,” I said and sat down as the crowd erupted in cheers.

  I couldn't hold my tears anymore. Heath rubbed my shoulder and moved on to Lorelei.

  “Lorelei?” Heath asked, and she stood. Heath cast the amplifying spell on her as well.

  “Thank you,” she said, her beautiful blonde hair shimmering in the light. She launched into a speech, but her words didn't register. All I could focus on was Grandma, Beau, Raina, Mallory, and Flora in the line directly in front of me. They all looked like they'd never been happier.

  As Lorelei finished to applause and Ruby stood to take her turn, my mind wandered to my parents. I didn't remember much of them, but I didn't need anyone to tell me they'd be proud of me in that moment. The look on Grandma’s face said everything.

  It was hard to believe that just a few months prior I’d shown up in Moon Grove with little more than my cat Luna, who I didn’t know could talk until we arrived, and the clothes on my back. So much had happened in the time since that had changed me in ways I never would’ve expected — discovering a secret magical community has a way of altering people’s worldviews like that.

  But more than anything else, I’d proven to myself and to everyone in town how strong, resilient, and determined I was, often at the risk of my own life. I’d gotten myself into more dangerous situations than I could count and I’d survived them all thanks to my own quick thinking. So as I stared out at the crowd of eager voters waiting to elect their next Head Witch, I felt more confident than I’d ever thought I could.

  Even if I didn’t win, I felt accomplished. I didn’t know what might’ve happened to Brendan if I hadn’t intervened, and Lydia, Ivy, and Eden might’ve gotten away with everything and more had I not. Besides, I was sure Mitch would take me back in a heartbeat at The Messenger if I lost — assuming he’d forgiven me for leaving in the first place. Part of me would miss reporting, anyway.

  “Thank you, Ruby,” Heath said as Ruby finished her speech, snapping me back into the moment. She sat down and Heath stepped around the dais to address the crowd directly.

  “Thank you again to all our candidates for everything each of you have done to better this community. You’re all invaluable assets and Moon Grove wouldn’t be the same without you,” he said, and the audience cheered us. “But let’s not delay any further. At this time, I’d like to officially open the ballot boxes for voting. Good luck to you all,” Heath said. He waved his wand and slits in the ballot boxes slid open to accept votes.

  I watched with a lump in my throat as the first voters dropped their ballots inside. Each time a new ballot was cast, the box shot out a cloud of gold glitter. Heath sat down beside me and when I looked over at him, he was smiling so brightly it must’ve hurt.

  “You know, several people told me along the way that it was a mistake to keep postponing this election. I begged to differ then and now. Everything in due time, Zoe. Everything,” he said.

  “What do you mean?”

  “We needed time for the right candidates to emerge,” he said, his eyes twinkling.

  “You aren’t supposed to show favoritism,” I said, and he chuckled.

  “True enough, but I think you know as well as I do what’s going to happen here today,” he said. “Which reminds me, it’s time I cast my vote as well.” He produced a ballot from his robes, waved his wand at it, and we watched as it floated down into the nearest ballot box.

  The process moved much faster than I thought it would. I wasn’t sure how many residents there were in Moon Grove, but the system fared well. Within an hour, every vote had been cast and the town hall emptied as people retreated to nearby bars and shops to wait for the results.

  “You’re free to go, Zoe. We’ll announce the results outside on the grounds in the next hour, but I’d start rehearsing your speeches in the meantime,” Heath said. “You know, just in case. Remember, Zoe, magic is in the mudane—”

  “And works in mysterious ways, just like my mom always used to say,” I finished his sentence. Heath beamed at me.

  “Yes, yes she did,” he said. “Sometimes I forget it’s you and not her I’m talking to. You’re so much alike.”

  I smiled and made my way down from the dais where my family and friends greeted me with hugs from each of them.

  “You made it, Sugar,” Grandma said, her eyes still red and raw from all the crying she’d been doing.

  “It’s not over yet,” I laughed.

  “I know it ain’t, but it don’t matter a lick what happens, far as I’m concerned. You’re a winner in every way,” Grandma said and threw her arms around me again. When she released me, Beau waited behind her. His hug was just as tight and loving.

  “I loved your speech, it was great,” he said. “If you don’t win on that alone, I’ll be stunned.”

  “Really? It was completely off-the-cuff,” I said.

  “He’s right, you nailed that,” Mallory said. “Not bad for making it all up on the spot.”

  “Thanks,” I laughed and pulled her in for a hug. “Everything I learned, I learned from the best.”

  “Oh, please. You don’t have to kiss my butt until you win, and that hasn’t happend — yet,” she said.

  “But even if it doesn’t, you gave the other two a real run for it,” Raina said. “I’d be shaking in my robes right now if I were them or their staff.”

  “Come on now, don’t jinx me,” I said.

  “She’s telling the truth,” Flora said. “I can sense it, remember?”

  “Oh, I remember,” I said, and flashed her a knowing look. I hadn’t dared tell anyone else about Flora’s second career as an FBI agent, as much as I’d wanted to, and I hadn’t been able to ask her all the burning questions I had about it either. But there’d be plenty of time for that in the future.

  “Let’s go get some fresh air. Lilith knows I could use it,” I said, and led them all out onto the front lawn of the town hall. There were still dozens of people gathered, and many of them went out of their way to introduce themselves and shake my hand.

  And when a head of golden hair above a toothy grin swam into view, I almost stopped breathing.

  “Good afternoon, Zoe,” Rowley Darkmoore said, and offered me a hand to shake. He looked as crisp as ever in royal blue robes, which I’d never seen him wear. His hair was gelled to one side, and his ocean blue eyes sparkled in the sunlight.

  “Mr.
Darkmoore? What are you doing here?” I asked, and he laughed as I shook his hand. My entire team seemed to tense up for me, ready to strike in my defense at any second.

  “The same as everyone else: voting. But please, call me Rowley,” he said.

  “I assume you didn’t vote for me?” I joked.

  “Now, now, sharing votes isn’t good ettiquette,” Rowley said. “Anyway, I just wanted to thank you for finding Brendan. It means a lot to me, despite what he’s done.”

  “I have a good feeling he’s going to try to right his wrongs,” I said.

  “I hope so, for his sake and for the NWA’s. I have a question for you though: are you still in support of wand reform?” he asked with a smile, the twinkle in his eyes intensified.

  “As a concept? Yes. But I think that measure died along with Lydia Crowe’s reputation,” I said.

  “I’m glad to hear you say so. Anyway, I won’t keep you, I’m sure you have a lot to attend to and speeches to rehearse. Congratulations on a well run campaign, Ms. Clarke, and good luck in the final results. If you should win, I look forward to working with you,” Rowley said, and left me standing with my mouth hanging wide open.

  “Wow,” Raina said. “That was a surprise.”

  “Yeah, you’re telling me,” I said, speechless. Maybe I’d misjudged Rowley and the entire NWA — or maybe Rowley was just trying to get his hooks into me in case I won the election. No doubt he worried about my position on wand restrictions, but even I wondered about it now that Lydia and her bill had gone down.

  “I’d keep my guard up around him if I were you,” Flora whispered in my ear. I couldn’t ask why in front of everyone else, but I took her words to heart.

  “Hey, that reminds me: are you here for work, pleasure, or both?” I whispered back. She threw me a devious smile.

  “Both,” she said and nodded to several fairies mingling in the crowd. Had she not pointed them out, I never would’ve noticed anything about them, but now that she had, it was obvious they were all FBI agents. They did their best to avoid looking suspicious and diverted their eyes every time I looked their way, which only made them conspicuous.