by Zoe Arden
"Your father's fine," Eleanor said. "He's already with Magic and Human Affairs."
"He said he didn't want to wait to face his inquisition on Jon Pratt," Trixie piped in.
"That he'd waited long enough already," Eleanor finished.
"Magic and Human Affairs?" I muttered.
"Don't worry," Sheriff Knoxx said as Dr. Dunne successfully got everyone to exit my room. "He'll be fine."
I just wished I knew what was going on with The Council right now. What if I never got to see my father again?
* * *
CHAPTER
FORTY
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.
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* * *
For the first time in my life, I belonged somewhere. …
* * *
.
The bakery was packed. It was a good thing my aunts had used a triple expansion charm for this evening.
"I told you people would come," Trixie said loudly into my ear.
"I have to admit, you were right."
"Of course I was right," Trixie said. "It's our 'Yay! Ava's not a killer!' party."
My cheeks reddened and I hurried to find Damon before Trixie could start dragging me around to everyone and introducing me as "The Witch Formerly Known As the Bakery Reaper."
"Damon," I cried when I finally found him. He was holding two glasses of punch.
"There you are!" he said. "I thought you'd slipped away from me."
Damon still had no recollection of our first kiss that day in the bakery, and I had no intention of bringing it up. Besides, I was hoping for a new first kiss with him. Maybe tonight?
"I'm not going anywhere," I told him.
Just then Lucy came running up to me, grinning. "You have to see this," she said and pulled me away from Damon. I shrugged an apology and ran with Lucy to the edge of the dance floor. "Look!" she shouted.
There, in the middle of the floor, was my Aunt Eleanor dancing with Sheriff Knoxx. They rocked and swayed awkwardly together. Both blushing. Both looking like they were having a great time.
"They're so cute!" Lucy said.
I had to agree. Now if only I could get back to my own date.
"Let me know if they start kissing," I said and went to find Damon again. He was still holding my punch when I returned.
"I thought Lucy stole you away from me," he said.
"She did, but only for a minute."
He handed me my cup and I took a sip. It was sweet and cold and made my nose tingle.
"So," I said, venturing to ask a question I really didn't want to ask. But it had been bothering me since... well, the whole time I'd thought Damon was the killer. "Are you... I mean, do you..." I sighed. Just spit it out. "You're okay with me being a witch?"
Damon's eyes widened. He suppressed a laugh. "I'm here, aren't I?"
"Yes, but Polly told me you broke up with her after you found out what she was."
"I broke up with Polly because she was a dark witch, not a witch in general."
"So, it really doesn't bother you that I'm a witch, too?"
"As long as you don't threaten me, I think we're good.”
"Threaten you?" I gasped. "I would never! Did Polly do that?"
"Yeah. As soon as I broke things off. She told me if I told anyone what I knew about her, she'd turn me into a toad."
"But you told Slater, right?"
Damon shrugged. "I had to tell someone. I was going out of my mind. When I found out that he'd started dating her, I freaked out. I tried over and over again to talk him out of it, but he wouldn't listen. For a while, I'd thought maybe she'd cast some sort of spell on him. But I guess Slater was even darker than she was."
I understood now why, at times, I'd sensed a dark cloud hanging over Damon. It was Polly and her stupid threat. I suddenly realized my questioning Damon like this was dragging the party down.
"Let's dance," I said.
Damon brightened immediately and set his punch cup aside. "It would be my pleasure."
Out on the dance floor, Damon spun me and twirled me until I broke into a sweat. When the band finally took a break, we made our way to the tables for some peppermint rejuvenation cookies and more punch.
"Hi, Damon," a woman said from behind us. We turned to see Megan standing there. She was wearing a red dress and looked very pretty. "Hi, Ava." She smiled at me, though the smile didn't quite reach her eyes.
"Hi, Megan," I said. "How are you?"
"Oh, I'm great." A boy of about eighteen came running up to her.
"There you are. You keep running away from me." He paused and looked at us. "Hi, I'm Conner. Conner Stevens."
"Nice to meet you," I replied.
"Come on," he said to Megan. "Some of the gang are getting together for Ghosts in the Graveyard at Whisper Crossing. Wanna go?"
Megan shrugged.
"Aw, it'll be fun. Before we start, we're gonna take turns calling on Sara Sweetland's ghost to come and tell us our future.”
"That's silly," Megan said.
"I don't think so. People say they see her ghost all the time by that angel statue marking her plot. Come on, now." He yanked Megan's hand lightly. She reluctantly followed after him.
My mind was running wild. Sara Sweetland? Was that who I'd seen that night at Whisper Crossing? Her hair had been the exact shade as mine, and she had looked so familiar. Was it possible we were related? Surely my aunts would have told me if we were.
"Maybe we should go for a walk outside," Damon suggested. "Somewhere a little more private."
"Good idea," I said, my heart hammering. I'd barely had five minutes alone with Damon since the party had started. When he'd asked to be my date for tonight, I'd felt so happy I thought I could fly. I didn't want him to start regretting his decision.
"Let's hurry before someone else comes over."
"Too late," Damon said.
"Ava!" my father called to me. He was waving and smiling as he crossed the room. Just behind him, I saw Felicity and Lincoln talking with Trixie and Dr. Wallace. The doctor had come over to me earlier in the evening and apologized for missing the heriotza necklace when I was in Mistmoor Hospital.
"I'm human and though I know a lot, I learn every day that there are still deep holes in my knowledge," he'd said.
I'd assured him it was okay.
My dad walked quickly across the room now, pausing when he saw me with Damon. His smile faltered.
"Hello, Damon."
"Hello."
We stood awkwardly together for a minute before my dad sighed. He reached out a hand and offered it to Damon. Damon looked quizzically at me then shook my father's hand.
"I just... I want to apologize for telling Ava... for thinking that you were... a bad person just because you're the nephew of Jon Pratt."
It turns out that the first time my father had seen Damon in Coffee Cove, he'd recognized him as a Pratt. Damon's mother had, in fact, changed their last name after Jon killed my mother. So had Slater's mom. They'd both been worried about repercussions. I couldn't blame them.
"Thank you, sir," Damon said.
"Call me Eli."
"Okay... Eli."
I could see that Damon wasn't entirely sure what to make of this new development. The last time he'd seen my father, my dad had acted like he was a serial killer.
"Tell me, Damon. Being a human, do you golf?"
"Actually, yes. I do," Damon said.
"Many years ago, long before Ava was born, I happened upon a little golf course in Colorado unlike anything I'd ever seen. It's a former clay mine, and you can actually find fossils while you play. Dinosaur tracks run between holes eleven and fifteen."
"Dinosaur tracks?" Damon asked, sounding excited. "Really?"
"Oh, yes." My father pulled out his phone. "I have some pictures on here somewhere." He busied himself with his phone for a minute.
"You know, when I was a kid, I wanted to be an archaeologist," Damon told me.
"I don't get very good reception insid
e, I'm afraid," my father said. "Why don't we step outside for a minute and I can show it to you?"
To my surprise, Damon went.
I was standing by the punch bowl again, alone this time, but I'd never been happier.
Trixie and Eleanor came up to me just then.
"We thought we'd never get a minute alone with you," they said, presenting me with a small box.
"Oh, you didn't have to—"
"Nonsense," Trixie said. "Just open it." She was wearing lemon yellow stockings with a white knee-length dress and pink pinstriped jacket.
Eleanor was dressed in differing shades of brown, but silver jewelry dangled everywhere.
Inside the box was a phone.
"It's a Witchmobile," Trixie said proudly.
"Thank you so much. Both of you."
"Well, we need some way to keep better track of you, dear. Especially if you and your father are going to be staying with us," Eleanor said.
"My dad is staying?"
"Hasn't he told you?" Eleanor asked. "The inquisition absolved him of any crimes. So he's decided to stay on Heavenly Haven a little longer before going back to New York."
I was excited to hear my dad would be staying, but as I watched him talking to Damon through the front window of the bakery, part of me worried I might never get a new first kiss with Damon. Not at this rate.
Damon saw me watching them and nudged my dad. They smiled and waved. I waved back. Whatever happened, at least I was home. For the first time in my life, I belonged somewhere.
* * *
Epilogue
.
Lucy tugged on my sleeve. "It's five," she whispered.
I slammed the book shut with a loud bang that echoed throughout the Sweetland library, which was surprisingly large. Apparently, they had used a permanent expansion charm to add more room to the inside of the building.
"Five already?" I cried.
Librarian Kelso looked up. "Sssh!" she whispered before returning to her stacks.
"Yeah. You better hurry. This stuff can wait till later."
"True. I'm pretty sure Sara Sweetland isn't going anywhere."
I hit the print button and printed out the article I'd been reading on the library's microfilm. About thirty years ago, some reporter named Colleen Gambit had done an entire expose on Sara Sweetland and Patrick Mistmoor, claiming that Sara's death was the result of a curse placed upon her and her entire family. Sara had died not because of some tragic love affair gone wrong, but because she was protecting the child she had delivered. Her and Patrick's child.
"Come on," Lucy urged. "You'll be late."
"I'm coming already," I said.
"You know you still owe me about a bizillion more cupcakes," Lucy teased.
"Yes, I know. I'm working on it."
"I think tomorrow I'd like..." She pursed her lips and tilted her head as I gathered my things. "Butterscotch. Cake bars. I've been having trouble sleeping lately."
"You have?" I asked as we headed out the door and back to my place.
"Yeah. Just the last few nights. I'm sure it will pass."
"I've had trouble sleeping the last few nights, too," I told her. "Bad dreams?"
She scrunched her face. "Not that I remember. Actually... I don't remember dreaming at all."
I was about to comment on the fact I couldn't remember my most recent dreams either, but when we stepped outside, the fresh air and sunlight made me forget everything except my plans for tonight.
At home, Eleanor and Trixie poked their heads into my bedroom. My father had the one down the hall. He kept passing back and forth, trying to get a peek into my room, but Eleanor and Trixie were blocking the doorway.
"Out of here, all of you," Lucy shouted. "You'll see her when she's ready."
Lucy finished my hair and applied the last touches of eyeshadow. "All done," she said, patting my shoulders.
I opened my eyes and looked in the mirror. I couldn't believe what Lucy had managed to accomplish. My face was luminous. My lashes black and lips red. My hair, already a bright golden color that made most women jealous, somehow looked that much brighter and more golden. Yet it looked like I was wearing no makeup at all. A natural beauty.
"One day, you'll have to teach me how to do this."
"Sure thing," Lucy said. "As soon as you don't owe me anymore cupcakes."
I laughed and got out of the chair Lucy had sat me in. My aunts' house, which I had finally come to think of as my own, was decorated for Christmas. Holly and mistletoe hung everywhere. Gold and silver garland were stuck to the walls like it was growing out of them. A giant Christmas tree filled the downstairs living room. We had all decorated it together—Eleanor, Trixie, my dad, and me. Even Rocky, Tootsie, and Snowball had helped.
I still thought it was strange to be so decked out for a winter holiday when it didn't feel like winter. More like spring. I slipped into my gown and twirled once for Lucy. I felt bad she didn't have a date for tonight. Next year, I would have to make sure Damon got one of his friends to ask her.
"You look beautiful," Lucy said.
The dress I wore made me feel beautiful. I'd found it in a vintage shop on the island. It was ice blue and had tiny, sparkling jewels threaded throughout. A sparkling blue tree branch made entirely of what looked like real sapphires—though I was sure they couldn't be, not for what I paid for the dress—climbed up from the bottom of the skirt, wrapping loosely around the bottom, and ending at the neckline.
The doorbell downstairs rang.
"Just in time," Lucy said.
When I stepped into the hallway, my dad smiled.
"Oh honey, you look beautiful."
"Thanks."
My aunts gushed as I came down the stairs.
"Oh, my roses! You look just like your mother!" Eleanor cried.
"Just like her," Trixie agreed.
I opened the door and Damon stood there in a dark blue suit and white necktie. His eyes matched the gemstones in my dress.
"Wow," he said when he saw me.
"Wow yourself."
We'd gone out a few times since this summer, but it had always ended with a friendly goodnight. One of us saying, "This was fun, we should do it again some time." We'd never seemed to get past the friendship stage of our relationship somehow. But I knew tonight would be different.
Damon handed me a blue wrist corsage. I put it on and he beamed at me. "Shall we?" he asked. He looked at my dad, who stood nearby, his eyes misting.
"Oh, Dad," I said, hugging him tightly.
"They're right, you know. You look just like your mother."
"I'll get her home safe, Eli. Don't worry. And we're still on for next weekend, right? You owe me a rematch, remember."
My dad smiled. "I still say it was a fair game."
"How was I supposed to know it was a bewitched golf course?"
"You could have asked," my dad said.
"Or you could have told me before that giant alligator popped out of the water and ate my golf ball."
My dad smiled. "Next weekend."
"A human course," Damon said, steering me toward the door.
"You're on. I don't need magic to win."
"Zane and I will see you down there." Eleanor waved.
"Me, too," Lucy cried. "I just need to hurry and get myself ready now." She'd turned down several wizards who'd asked her to the dance and decided to go stag with Trixie instead.
"After seeing how things turned out for Polly and Slater, I think I'm through with men for a while,” she'd told me.
My dad had declined to go altogether, saying he'd rather stay home and watch an old movie.
At the dance hall, the entire room had been trimmed to look like a Christmas store exploded inside it. People were wearing elf hats and Santa costumes. Women were wrapped in garland. Damon spun me onto the dance floor before I could even comment on anything.
"I'm anxious to get you in my arms," he said and I felt myself heat up.
I nuzzled my head agai
nst his chest. I could hear his heart beating.
I lost count of all the dances we shared.
The band struck up a new slow song. Eleanor and Sheriff Knoxx were dancing together a few feet over.
"I've never met a witch like you," Damon said.
"What about a woman like me?" I smiled.
"That, too."
The lights around us were dim. The music was soft. Damon leaned down and kissed me. His lips were like butterscotch. My heart exploded. I wanted the moment to last forever. It was perfect.
When the song ended, I lifted my head and saw Lucy smiling at me. I blushed.
The wizards in charge announced that they would be announcing Miss Snow Queen. My aunts had urged me to enter, but I'd declined. I'd had enough attention since arriving in Sweetland. I needed a little break.
There was a drum roll and then... "Miss Lucy Lockwood!" There was a round of applause as Lucy took the stage. She was wearing a pale pink dress that glittered under the lights. I cheered louder than anyone and looked around the room for Megan. I wasn't sure if she'd ended up coming, but it seemed a shame to miss her big sister up on stage. Then again, Megan had a bit of a jealous streak in her.
"Thank you!" Lucy cried. She was about to make her speech.
Suddenly the lights went out.
"Oh, come on!" someone cried. "Let's get the lights back on."
There was a flicker of light, which brought a fresh round of cheers, and then they came back on.
"Speech! Speech!" some of the crowd was chanting.
Only there was no one on stage to give a speech. Lucy was gone.
I looked around and didn't see her anywhere. Trixie and Eleanor ran up to me. "Where'd Lucy go?" they asked.
"I don't know. Do you see her?"
"Not anywhere," Eleanor said, sounding worried.
Sheriff Knoxx finally caught up to my aunt. He was panting. I guess Eleanor was in better shape that he was, which I found slightly amusing, considering he was the sheriff and all.
