Collards & Cauldrons

by Bella Falls

  “I’d like to see you try and enforce that if she doesn’t want to go back with you.” I crossed my arms and stood toe to toe with Ethan, craning my neck to gaze up at his tall stature.

  He sighed and placed his sunglasses back on. “I can assure you, my family is bigger and more powerful than yours.”

  “Don’t bet on it.” Nana held out both her hands in front of her and Matt stood on my other side. “I think we outnumber you at the moment.”

  “Three against one is not that many,” Ethan scoffed.

  “No,” Mason said. “But Charli’s got a much bigger family than you anticipated. Look around you.”

  All of my friends stood in solidarity with me, including David and Agent Giacinta. We couldn’t see his eyes behind his glasses, but I watched his Adam’s apple bob with a hard swallow when he counted our numbers.

  Abigail approached me. “I should go with him.”

  After all of my bluster, she wanted to give in. “You don’t have to. We can help you. I promise.” The thought of losing contact with her erased my anger.

  “I believe you.” She touched my arm. “But if I voluntarily go back with him now, I think I can convince our grandmother that your powers are gone. Make sure they close their files on you.”

  Realizing she was willing to face whatever fed her fear about the family on my behalf, I wanted to beg her to stay and ask my grandmother to find a way to fix things.

  Abigail grinned. “Don’t bother arguing. I can be stubborn, too.” She winked. “I learned that trait best from my cousin.”

  I threw my arms around her and hugged her tight. “Will you stay in touch?”

  “Imph trmph” she muffled into my shoulder. I eased my hold on her and she spoke again. “I’ll try.”

  “Don’t just try,” I insisted. “And when you’re ready, you come find me again.”

  I let her go with reluctance. Ethan smirked and jerked his head for Abigail to leave with him.

  “I will find a way to keep up with her. As you can see, I’ve got friends in lots of places.” I indicated at the agents still in the room. “If I hear that she’s been harmed in anyway, I assure you there will be consequences.”

  Ethan turned on his heel and walked away. “I will be sure to pass that along. Good luck with your chosen family. Come along, Abigail.”

  “I don’t need luck,” I bellowed at him. “I’ve got love on my side.”

  My cousin offered me a sheepish wave and hurried off. Watching her walk away with that villain broke something in me. I clutched my stomach, a queasy unsettled sensation overwhelming me.

  “Are you okay, Birdy?” Nana asked, holding me up by my middle.

  “No,” I uttered, my voice empty and lifeless.

  “But you will be.” She kissed the top of my head, sealing her promise.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  The hotel insisted we leave instead of staying one more night. None of us could blame them since my grandmother had been a catalyst for the immediate changes in its fae work force.

  David offered to stay to assist with the transition and to help others like him understand their choices. Nana and Mason assured him that when he was ready, one of them would travel down to pick him up and bring him to Honeysuckle.

  Peyton and Meg left together as one unit. I knew they both had a lot of healing to do, but they had each other to lean on. Through their struggle and the outcome of their circumstances, I understood far too well the importance of family.

  All of my friends left on the bus headed back home. Since Matt had driven his car to Charleston, Nana thought it best I travel home that way instead of the bus. Everyone spoke about me but nobody dared to speak to me. A desolate silence held my fragile sanity together by a thread.

  Mason escorted me to the car and tucked me into the backseat. The detective allowed me a slight bubble of space but continued to be there for me. I would have protested that I didn’t need him, but any words I could form to say so wouldn’t have been true.

  Leaning my head against the window, I watched the afternoon sun highlight the beautiful historic houses that lined the Charleston streets. Intricate wrought iron artistry decorated the gates and fenced in secret gardens, and it saddened me to know how all of the iron work had been corrupted to oppress so many for so long. At least now, I could admire their beauty without guilt.

  We drove over a bridge spanning across the water. A snowy white egret spread its wings and soared next to us. The orange glow of the last afternoon sunlight dappled through the trees as we drove down two-lane roads, and I closed my eyes to watch the dance of light and darkness against my lids.

  I jerked awake when the car turned down a dirt road and bumped through a pothole. Matt slowly drove to a small parking lot next to a wooden cottage and pulled into an empty spot up front.

  Nana got out of the front passenger seat and opened my car door. “Time to get out, Birdy.”

  “Where are we?” I asked, not budging.

  “When you unbuckle your seatbelt and get out, you’ll see.” She tapped her foot on the ground. “Now or never.”

  I leaned back in my seat. “You go. I’ll wait here.”

  Mason got out and walked around until he blocked my view of my grandmother. Leaning over, he unbuckled me.

  “I’m not a child,” I insisted, holding back my lower lip from pouting.

  “I know. But your grandmother is going to get her way, so why fight it?” He offered me his hand to help me out.

  Matt looked at me in his rearview mirror. “Come on, Birdy. I think you’ll appreciate what Nana’s set up for you. Plus, if you don’t get out now, I’ll make sure to find every pothole from here to Honeysuckle to make sure you can’t sleep on the way home.”

  My brother rarely backed down from his threats. “Jerk,” I mumbled.

  “Brat.”

  My lips twitched up despite my mood. Trying to pull up my big witch panties, I accepted Mason’s offer to help me out of the car. He held onto my hand for a brief extra moment, but I refused to meet his concerned gaze.

  I pulled out of his grip. “I’m fine on my own.”

  “I know,” he answered in a steady tone. “But we’re all here in case you aren’t.”

  A breeze rustled through the leaves of the trees and tickled the hanging Spanish moss, cooling our skin still warmed from the lingering heat and humidity of the day. Voices carried in the air and my curiosity fueled my steps toward the sound.

  “Wow.” I stopped moving, too overwhelmed to do anything other than stand in awe.

  A large live oak filled my view. Much like our Founders’ tree, it stood in the middle of a clearing, its massive trunk making our native town tree seem like a sapling in comparison. Limbs grew out in twisted and gnarled arms, some of the thick branches dipping into the ground and back out. A few of the largest ones required braces to hold them up.

  Matt stood next to me. “Wow is right,” he exclaimed. “I’ll never not be amazed when I see the Angel Oak.”

  When my brother spoke the name of the tree, a rush of memories flooded my mind. Mom and Dad had brought us to visit many years past. My brother and I had chased each other around, giggling and scrambling under and over the branches of the tree.

  Nana passed us. “Stop dawdling, we’ve got work to do.” Her demeanor broke the spell of amazement the tree cast on us.

  More aware of my surroundings, I took stock of the group of people waiting for us under the canopy of the Angel Oak. I recognized only a few of the faces watching us, surprised to find some of the witches from Charleston who had wanted change standing behind Mama Lee, John D, Titia, and a bunch of people I didn’t know.

  The fairy agent left the side of the matriarch and flitted over to me. “This is very much like the tree in your town, no?”

  “It is, Agent Giacinta,” I confirmed. “They’re both live oaks. They live a long time.”

  “Call me Gia, please.” Her wings fluttered, scattering lavender dust into the air. “The ener
gy here is palpable. The roots must tap into a natural line of power, much like your tree. I imagine generations of people and other beings have been drawn to it like we are now.”

  “Enough chit chat,” demanded Nana. She gestured for me to join her next to Mama Lee.

  The older woman beckoned me into her arms. She kissed my cheek and hugged me close. “Oh, child, I knew you had struggles comin’. But change doesn’t happen without a few bruises.” She pushed me away from her and checked me over like she had before. With a wink, she let me go. “You’ll be fine soon enough. But you need one more push.”

  I didn’t know how much more I could take and wanted to thank her and refuse at the same time. Nana placed her hands on my shoulders, holding me in place. She leaned in behind me, her breath tickling my ear. “Running away will only delay the pain, not end it. It’s time to push through and fly, my little bird.”

  The sky glowed pink and orange with the oncoming setting of the sun. “We gonna run out of time,” Mama Lee announced. “Let’s form a circle around the tree.”

  “Not you, Birdy,” Nana explained, guiding me to the large trunk of the Angel Oak. She placed my hand on its rough bark. “You stay here, and no matter what, don’t let go.”

  “Vivian, she needs someone to ground her,” John D called out.

  “I will,” Matt declared.

  Mason spoke at the same time. “I can do it.”

  “It’s your choice, Birdy,” my grandmother offered. “I need to stand with Letitia.”

  Mason had been a grounding force for me the whole time I thought Nana was in trouble. No, we weren’t who we used to be, but something had been building between us even when we weren’t paying attention. But whatever was happening right now, it felt too real and important.

  “I want my brother,” I declared, choosing the family member who’d always been there for me.

  Matt joined us and took Nana’s place beside me. He slipped his fingers through mine and curled them into a tight clasp.

  Pointing at a branch, he chuckled. “Remember that photo of you, me, Mom, and Dad standing in front of this tree? I think we took it right over there.”

  The weathered picture must be in some album tucked away in a box in Nana’s attic. I remembered us laughing a lot when it was taken. “Dad was leaning back on it with Mom holding me in her arms and you standing in front of both of them.”

  “And then Dad bought us ice cream bars to eat in the car,” Matt mused. “He never let us eat in the car.”

  “But he did that day,” I recalled. “Do you know what’s going on right now?”

  My brother shook his head. “But I trust Nana that this is important. If you get scared, just concentrate on being here with Mom and Dad. And I’ve always got you.” He squeezed my hand three times, and I responded in kind.

  Mama Lee raised her hands in the air. “Brothers and sisters, friends old and new, y’all are welcome here on this land. There was a time when all of us wouldn’t have been able to share the same space, but today, we remember the past and gather together to build a better present and future. Through us, we will begin the healin’.”

  Standing between her great-granddaughter and her son, she closed her eyes and sang out a verse. Her kin answered her in song. They repeated the same pattern of performance, and I found myself entranced.

  The sky darkened from pink to red above us, and I craned my neck to watch the last light filter through the canopy of the oak. The bark of the tree tingled beneath my skin and tendrils of power wove into me, holding me in place.

  “Whatever happens, I’ve got you, Birdy,” Matt promised.

  Mama Lee and the circle surrounding the two of us focused their intent, and energy shot through me like an icy knife. Matt grunted, and the temporary pain disappeared for a moment until another flash of power hit me. Again and again, the magic ripped into me, and I gritted my teeth, holding back the screams, drawing strength from my brother. He acted as my lightning rod for the energy, absorbing the run-off and sending it back into the earth.

  One final hit wrenched me wide open and energy poured into me like liquid into a glass pitcher until I could hold no more of it.

  “Steady,” Matt ordered.

  “I can’t. It’s going to—” A shriek lifted in the air when the bomb of magic exploded out from my body. Someone snuffed out the sun, and darkness swallowed the world around me.

  When I blinked my eyes open at last, cicadas sang their night tune and stars filled the sky. My stomach rumbled like distant thunder when I caught the scent of delicious food.

  “She’s awake,” Matt declared. He thrust a glass into my hand. “Drink all this down.”

  The liquid cooled the embers of fire still warming my insides. I licked my lips. “That doesn’t taste like normal sweet tea.”

  “It ain’t.” Mama Lee shuffled over and placed her hand on my forehead. “It’s swamp water.”

  I spit out my next gulp, and she cackled.

  The great-grandmother’s namesake, Titia, rolled her eyes. “Stop messing with her, Granny. It’s just a mix of lemonade and sweet tea, Charli.”

  “The sugar will help you recover faster, so stop expelling it and drink it all down.” Nana’s rough tone didn’t hide her underlying concern for me.

  “I’m fine,” I assured everyone around me. Attempting to stand, dizziness hit me and I sat back down. “Or I thought I was.”

  “Here, you can finish my glass and I’ll get another.” Mason took my empty one away and switched it with his.

  Wanting to stop being the center of attention, I obeyed and replenished with more swamp water until I figured my bladder might burst. “What smells so good?” I asked.

  Matt put his arm around my shoulder. “She must be feeling better if she’s only concerned about eating.”

  Whatever had happened to me at the Angel Oak left me ravenous. My brother escorted me with care to the picnic tables and food set up in the night air.

  No stranger to good food, my jaw dropped when I surveyed the many tables full of huge pots of steaming goodness. The generous bounty would give one of our many potlucks in Honeysuckle a run for its money.

  Someone placed a plate in my hands, and I followed the line through the buffet of goodness. Before long, I’d loaded it up with fried chicken, fried okra, macaroni and cheese, collards with some of that delicious ox tail stew poured over them, and a tiny scoop of dirty rice. I had to skip the Lowcountry boil of shrimp, smoked sausage, corn, and red potatoes because of a serious lack of space.

  During the conversation that flowed while we ate, I found out I’d been loaded back into the car and taken to Mosquito Beach, a part of the Sol Legare Preserve on James Island. The backyard belonged to Mama Lee, and she and her community had contributed to the food. I expected more people to be present, but only those whom I recognized surrounded me.

  A little lavender dust floated onto my shrimp and grits, and Gia set a small plate of food next to me. “In my home country, we know how to cook, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen people eat as much as you.”

  I scooped up a bite of stew and collards. “It helps feed our magic as much as our bodies,” I explained. “Or at least that’s my excuse.”

  The fairy agent pouted. “If I eat as much as you, I will gain a…una pancia.” She poked her belly. “It’ll become hard for me to fly around.”

  “You could never be too fat to fly. Trust me, I know a certain cupid who manages it.” She didn’t need me to tell her how hard Skeeter had to work at it though.

  It took a few trips to the buffet plus two helpings of sweet potato pie and a generous serving of bread pudding before I filled my giant hole of hunger. Mama Lee packed up leftovers in a cooler for us to take back with us.

  “You sure you don’t wanna stay the night?” she asked, walking us back to the car.

  Nana hugged her goodbye. “I think we’re all anxious to get back. My grandson will be fine to drive, and he’s got help in case he gets tired. Thank you, Letitia.
”

  “My dear friend, thank you for what you’ve done. Some of the wounds in our area may never fully heal, but through your efforts, a lot of good has come. At least some of the pain the troubles have caused may have a chance to be healed.” The elder matriarch patted my grandmother on the back.

  I opened my car door, but Mama Lee held me back. “Give me your mojo bag, child.”

  I slipped the leather cord off and handed her the requested object.

  “You don’t need it anymore, but you take this one home with you.” She gave me a different one in exchange.

  “What’s this one for?” I asked, curious to know what she’d sealed into the soft cloth.

  “A little of this and that.” She watched Mason as he got into his side of the car. “Keep this close to you and watch what it brings into your life.”

  “That’s all you’re going to tell me? Not that it will bring me luck or fortune?” I couldn’t say the other thing I suspected she wanted the mojo bag to bring me based on her admiration of the detective.

  She stroked my cheek with her wrinkled hand. “What fun would life be without a few surprises. Take it easy for the next week or so. You’ve still got some leftovers from our tree’s magic runnin’ in you.”

  In my hunger, I hadn’t thought about what had happened to me at the Angel Oak. Placing my hand over my chest, I searched to figure out if I felt different. “I will,” I murmured.

  “Move over, Mama, and let me hug this girl goodbye.” John D enveloped me with his long arms. “When you get home, you put my painting up somewhere you can see it every day.”

  I gasped. “You’re giving me one of your lithographs?”

  “Nope, not a copy.” He chucked me under my chin and winked. “I think seeing our tree will bring you joy and help you heal.”

  Titia waited her turn. “I hope you’ll return sometime and let me share some real Lowcountry fun with you.”

  I didn’t know when I’d have the courage to come back, but I promised her when I did, she’d be the first I’d call.