The Curious Curse of Faerywood Falls

by Blythe Baker

  “Yes,” I said. “That’s why I came in here. I wanted to make sure someone wasn’t in trouble.”

  “A brave thing to do,” he said. “Well, there doesn’t seem to be any evidence around to indicate she was attacked or harmed in any way. No footprints but her own, no bruises on the body…it’s likely that she perished from natural causes. The EMT’s think heart attack, but they won’t know until after the autopsy.”

  I frowned. “But then why would she have screamed like that?” I asked.

  He shrugged, turning off the screen of his tablet and tucking it back underneath his arm. “Sometimes heart attacks are painful,” he said.

  “But she sounded terrified,” I protested.

  “It wouldn’t be the first time someone was afraid of their own death,” he said. “And she could’ve been crying out for help.”

  I sighed. “I don’t know.”

  “It’s also possible that you heard someone else screaming in the area,” he said.

  “That’s too much of a coincidence,” I argued, my brow furrowing.

  “I agree with you,” he said. “Which is why I sent some guys to search the area for someone who could’ve harmed her, or for someone else in distress.”

  I sighed. Something about this whole thing just didn’t seem right. It was like they were giving up too easily, and for some reason, that really frustrated me. But what could they do? If the EMT’s said she likely died from natural causes, if those were the signs, then…

  Was it possible that I was just wrong? Could the scream I heard have been from someone else?

  “What is it about you that you keep stumbling onto these poor people?” he asked, his gaze piercing. “It’s like someone’s got it out for you or something.”

  A chill ran down my spine, and Athena shifted uncomfortably against my back. “I don’t know,” I said. “But I keep wondering the same thing.”

  “Well, how about you just leave this to us, alright? I know you were all wrapped up in the case with Burt Cassidy, but you shouldn’t have to suffer through seeing so much death. Thank you for alerting us to what happened, but you should do your best to put it behind you,” the sheriff said. He hesitated, glancing back over his shoulder at the place where Olivia’s body had been found. “What I can’t seem to explain, though, is what she was doing here in the cemetery after dark…”

  “Maybe she was visiting a loved one’s grave?” I asked.

  Sheriff Garland clicked his tongue in frustration, and let out a heavy exhale. “It’s possible…but some of the graves she was found near are over a hundred years old.”

  He shook his head and put his sheriff’s hat back on his head.

  “Alright, why don’t you hop in with me and I’ll take you back to your aunt’s?” he asked. “She can get you back home from there.”

  We hooked up my bike to the bike rack on the back of the car, and he took me the last few miles to the lake. He undid my bike and set it out near the steps up to the lodge before turning back to me.

  “Alight, I’m off. I’ve got a boatload of paperwork to fill out now, so if you’ll excuse me, Miss Huffler, I need to be getting back to the station,” he said.

  “Of course,” I said, holding out the folded shock blanket to him.

  “You keep it,” he said, holding his hand up. “Really, I mean it. Next time, let’s meet at the gas station or maybe at Abe’s antique shop, alright?”

  I smiled at him, but it was somewhat strained. “I agree. That sounds a lot better than in the middle of a cemetery.”

  He nodded. “Thanks again for letting us know. And I’m sorry. Again.”

  “It’s not your fault, Sheriff,” I said.

  He gave me another nod before turning and walking back toward his car.

  “Oh, Marianne!”

  It was my aunt. She’d just opened the front door and was hurrying down the steps of the lodge to meet me. She threw her arms around my neck, pulling me in close.

  “Thank you, Sheriff,” she said, waving over my shoulder at his car.

  He honked as he started down the driveway.

  She pulled away, her eyes narrowing as she looked at me. “Twice now, dear. You haven’t even been here two full months and yet you manage to stumble over yet another dead body?”

  I shrugged off my backpack and set it down on the ground. I unzipped it and Athena hopped out.

  Thanks, she said. She blinked at me once before scurrying around Aunt Candace’s legs and into the warmly lit lodge.

  I knew the fox would want to talk about everything later, but for now, she knew I’d need to talk with my family.

  Aunt Candace drew me into the warm lodge, making me sit down on the overstuffed leather sofa in the living room, before disappearing to get me a drink. Bliss appeared a few moments later, tying her sopping wet hair up in a towel as she hurried into the room. Apparently my arrival had caught her right out of the shower.

  “Mom told me what happened,” she said, her eyes wide as she plopped herself down on the couch beside me. “Girl, what is with you? I’m starting to think that one of your faery abilities is finding and tracking dead bodies.”

  Athena hopped up onto my lap, circling her own tail a few times before settling down in a small, orange ball, staring up at me with one dark eye.

  “I was just riding by the cemetery when I heard a scream, and Athena and I went to investigate…” I said, stroking Athena’s back with my hand.

  “And the woman was dead when you got there?” Bliss asked.

  “Yeah,” I said, my voice catching in my throat. “Sheriff Garland said it’s possible I heard someone else screaming nearby, but…”

  “That’s too much of a coincidence,” Aunt Candace said, returning with a tray of tea and cookies. She set it down on the coffee table in front of me before perching on the edge of the armchair across from me, her hands knotted in the folds of her canvas apron. “What did they discover?”

  “They say its natural causes,” I said. “Heart attack or something like that.”

  “How strange,” Bliss said.

  “I know,” I agreed. Athena was starting to make contented noises that were almost like the purring of a cat, and the sound and slight vibration from her chest was soothing me. “The whole thing just reminded me of the weird circumstances that surrounded Burt Cassidy’s death. They thought he’d been attacked by some kind of wild animal at first, but in the end, it was that spell that Silvia Griffin had used to freeze his heart.”

  Bliss’s eyes widened and she leaned forward. “You’re not thinking…”

  I shrugged. “I have no idea. That magic book is still out there somewhere, and I have no idea where it is.”

  “But sweetheart, not every death in Faerywood Falls is because of some kind of magical incident,” Aunt Candace said, pouring some tea into a mug with the lodge’s business logo on it. “You could ask Cain Blackburn, the mortician. There are more than enough normal deaths. Accidents, sickness, old age…not everyone who dies is murdered.”

  “I’m certainly not saying that,” I said. “But I’m almost positive this poor girl was screaming in fright. That means something caused her to be fearful. And then when I reached her not even five minutes later, she was dead.”

  “It does seem suspicious,” Bliss said. “What was she doing there after dark all alone?”

  “That was Sheriff Garland’s exact thought,” I told her. “Like I said, this seems way too similar to how Burt Cassidy died. And he was killed because of a spell in that magical book.”

  “And Silvia didn’t say anything about where the book might be before she died?” Aunt Candace asked, passing me one of the steaming mugs.

  I took it, careful not to spill any of the hot liquid on poor Athena. Her eyes had closed, and from her steady breathing, I assumed she’d fallen asleep. “No, there wasn’t time to think about the book any more, before Silvia was swept over the side of the cliff,” I said. “It’s like she was storing it in some kind of magical locker or s
omething. It’s like cloud storage, but…she actually stored it in a cloud. She just poofed it in and out of existence. The last I saw of it, the book was in her hand. Then she went over the cliff’s edge and the book was nowhere to be found.” I looked more closely at Bliss. “Do you know how she did it?”

  “It’s higher level spell work, but yeah, I kind of have an idea,” she said. “Now, I wouldn’t be able to do anything like that right now. Like I said, still learning. Still got a long way to go.”

  “Is that book gone forever then?” I asked. “I mean, if she’s not alive to access it, then could someone else?”

  “Yeah, in theory,” Bliss said, squeezing the towel on top of her head, trying to draw some of the water from her hair. “Which I guess would then lead to the next question, which is who could’ve accessed it?”

  “Was she close with anyone?” I asked. “I know you said that no one on the council of eleven really liked her…”

  Bliss sighed, looking down. “Well, she does have a younger sister.”

  My stomach dropped. “And you waited until now to tell me this, why?”

  “Because she’s not really as bad as Silvia was,” Bliss said quickly. “I mean, she’s not super pleasant to be around, with her nose always in the air, but she’s not exactly like Silvia was…”

  “You mean capable of murder?” I asked.

  “Exactly,” Bliss said with a firm nod.

  “So she’s a spell weaver too?” I asked.

  “Yes,” Bliss said. “She’s second in line to join the council.”

  “Why does the council keep choosing these sorts of people to govern the spell weavers?” I asked angrily. “Wouldn’t they have known that Silvia had a few screws loose?”

  “Yes, but she was a talented weaver and knew a great deal,” Bliss said. “She’d seen the best and worst the world of magic had to offer time and time again.”

  “And that gave her the right to turn around and murder some poor guy who was at the wrong place at the wrong time?” I asked, my eyes narrowing.

  Bliss’s hands flew up defensively. “Listen, I’m not defending her in any way. I’m just saying she was talented. The council’s been reeling a little since her death.”

  I pinched the bridge of my nose, sighing heavily. “Alright, well is her sister capable of using this spell book that Silvia stole?”

  “Using it? Probably,” Bliss said. “But having access to it? I have no idea. She and Silvia would’ve had to form a sort of pact to access one another’s spells. And it’s not like Silvia’s stuff would just disappear after her death. It’s still hidden. They were close enough, though, that I suppose Silvia would’ve told her. Either that, or maybe she left her instructions somehow…”

  I shook my head. “Left her instructions? After her death?”

  Bliss folded her arms. “There are some things that I’m not at liberty to discuss,” she said, somewhat coolly.

  “Why not?” I asked. “You were so willing to share just a few minutes ago.”

  “I can’t say more without betraying the secrecy of the spell weavers,” she said. “You’ve gotta understand that there’s a lot I know that you just wouldn’t understand, and definitely never would be able to, since you’re not a spell weaver. It’s not that I don’t want to tell you, but I can’t really afford to get in trouble with the council again.”

  “How’d you get in trouble?” I asked.

  “By telling you so much about Silvia,” she said, her face paling somewhat.

  I sank back against the couch, suddenly weary. “I’m sorry I got you in trouble,” I said.

  “It’s alright,” Bliss said, her usual pep seemingly returning. “Look, I don’t know if Delilah Griffin took the book or not, or if she was the one who killed that poor girl tonight. But my suggestion is to just not go looking for trouble, Marianne. These weavers have a lot of power. Delilah too. Like I said, she’s in line for the council eventually. So don’t take her lightly.”

  “Yeah, but someone’s got to do something,” I said.

  “Why does it have to be you?” Bliss asked.

  I hesitated. The image of that poor woman sprawled out in the cemetery made my heart ache. “Because…something happened tonight, and I was too late to help. And if that book is to blame, then I need to find it and take it out of play.”

  Bliss sighed, shaking her head. “You’re not gonna butt out of this, are you?”

  “Sweetheart, please listen to your cousin,” Aunt Candace said. “You may have walked away from your encounter with Silvia unscathed, but that doesn’t mean that the next time will end the same. And I don’t want Sheriff Garland coming to my door to tell me something terrible has happened to you.”

  I grudgingly agreed not to get involved with anything else that night. I thanked Aunt Candace for the tea and scooped Athena up in my arms before starting toward the door. It wasn’t a far ride down to my cabin beside the lake, and I wanted some time to clear my head. The fresh air would help.

  Athena drowsily crawled into my backpack as I started toward the front doors. I passed by the check-in desk, where a group of five or six tourists were being waited on by the desk clerk, Mr. Terrance.

  I overheard some of their excited conversation as I grabbed the shock blanket from the coat hook near the door and pulled on my shoes.

  “…haven’t seen a doctor about this, have you?” asked one of the older women.

  “Of course not,” a much younger woman, maybe her daughter, said from beside her. “What would some old doctor tell me? That I should get my eyes checked if I claim I’m seeing ghosts while out for what should have been a pleasant afternoon hike?”

  The older woman rolled her eyes. “We are three hours behind our usual time, dear. Maybe you and Jim just tried to do too much too soon.”

  “I know what I saw, Mother,” said the younger woman, folding her arms. “It was a ghost. And it was…it was terrifying.”

  The man standing beside her put his arm around her, drawing her close.

  The older woman rolled her eyes. “I can’t believe you’re buying this, Jim.”

  I pulled open the door and stepped outside, my heart starting to beat faster.

  “You think it really was a ghost?” I asked Athena in a quiet voice. Other guests were arriving by taxi, pulling their suitcases from the trunk.

  My guess is that young woman is telling the truth, Athena said.

  “Maybe those guests are from Faerywood Falls originally?” I asked, hopping onto the back of the bike, strapping my helmet on.

  Maybe…she said. Or maybe the young woman has some sort of latent magical ability, and being here just drew it out of her. Like it’s done with you.

  I frowned. Strange things were happening in this otherwise sleepy little town. And it all seemed to point back to my arrival a mere six weeks ago.

  I took off into the night, my mind racing.

  Maybe my aunt and cousin were right, and the woman in the cemetery did die by natural causes.

  But something felt very off about the whole thing. And I was going to find that missing book.

  3

  I kept my promise to my cousin and my aunt. At least for a few days. At first, I thought maybe I had overreacted a little. Seeing a dead body was not exactly normal or pleasant. I wondered if maybe the shock of it all had warped my sensibilities.

  But as the days went on, I found that I couldn’t stop thinking about Olivia Foster and the circumstances around her death. The one question I couldn’t answer, like Sheriff Garland, was why she’d been there all alone and at night? It was like something out of a movie. Finding a dead body in a cemetery. It seemed too perfect, too planned.

  Was it murder, though? Just like last time, I had no way of proving anything. It was just a feeling in my gut.

  Four days after finding Olivia’s body, on my day off, I pulled myself from my bed after a night of tossing and turning, thinking about the whole thing.

  You’ve got this look in your eyes, Ath
ena said from her perch on the small dining table. Her tail flicked anxiously. Determination is written all over your face. What do you plan to do?

  “I need to have peace,” I said. “I need to find out what the autopsy showed about that woman’s body.”

  Why? Athena asked.

  “If her death is ruled natural, then I’ll know I’m worrying for nothing, and that Aunt Candace was right,” I said. “But if something else is at work, then I need to track down that Delilah Griffin and demand the magic book back.”

  You’re so convinced it was the book, Athena said.

  “And why wouldn’t I be?” I asked. “It’s all too similar to what happened to Burt Cassidy.”

  Well, that and you want the book for yourself, Athena said, licking at one of her paws.

  My cheeks burned and I looked away, turning around to face my wardrobe. “No, that’s not it,” I said. But then I sighed. “Alright, I guess that’s part of it. But it’s not totally selfish. I just don’t want anything like what happened to poor Burt Cassidy to happen to anyone else.”

  Do you think taking one magical book off the table is really going to change anything? Athena asked.

  I froze, halfway through pulling a shirt over my head. After a second, I pulled it down over myself, straightening the wrinkles and folds. “I…hadn’t thought about that, I guess.”

  Athena blinked at me, her dark eyes piercing. Even so, I think your goal is an admirable one. And if it will help you to sleep better, then perhaps we should humor your curiosity and go speak with the Lord Blackburn himself.

  “Lord Blackburn?” I asked. “I’ve never heard him called that.”

  It’s what some of the animals call him. Apparently, at one point, he was a Lord or something back when he lived in Europe.

  “Interesting,” I said. “No wonder the Blackburns are so wealthy.”

  I finished getting dressed, brushed my teeth, and scarfed down some cereal.

  How long will you be gone? Athena asked from her same perch on the table.

  I stared at her from the doorway. “Wait, you’re not coming?” I asked.

  I won’t exactly be allowed inside the mortuary, she said. It’s best if you go alone and I can enjoy the warmth and sunshine from here instead of through the car window.