“Hey . . . Ellis . . . there’s someone pointing a gun at us.”
She followed his sight line. It was Max.
“She’s pointing it at you, actually,” Ellis said.
“I assume you know her?”
“That’s Maxine.”
“Any chance you could get her to lower the gun? Confronting my mortality twice in five minutes is a bit much.”
Ellis motioned downward. Max lowered the gun but held it at her side and kept her eyes fixed on Keith.
He looked at Ellis. “Are you with someone now? Is she . . . ?”
“She’s not my girlfriend.”
He stared at Max again.
“She and I are renovating the house—that shack behind her. She’s teaching me some carpentry skills.”
“How’s that going? She seems a little intense . . .”
“It’s going okay.” She put her hand on his cheek to turn his attention away from Max and her gun. “Can we get back to the spell?”
“Yeah, definitely. Will you help me with that?”
She kept her hand on his face, and he leaned into it. His face felt good, familiar. As if they had parted only months ago.
“Before I help you with it, you need to know about me. I’m not a good witch.”
He smiled.
“Seriously. I’m a bad witch. You have to be okay with that.”
“Bad like you might turn me into a toad?”
“Bad that I regret and don’t ever talk about.”
He looked uneasy.
“Agreed?”
“You’re doing it again. Like you did that night when you invited me into the woods. I had no idea what I was getting into.”
“Caveat emptor,” she said.
“What does that mean again?”
“Let the buyer beware.”
“Damn, you are the most mysterious woman I’ve ever met.”
She stroked his cheek. “Do you like that?”
“Apparently, I do. I can’t stop thinking about you. You’ve wrecked me.”
She gestured for him to follow her. “Come on.”
“Where?”
“To help you with the spell.”
“In the shack?”
“In the shack.”
“That’s a seriously witchy-looking house.” He gazed around the twilit acres as they walked. “And these giant trees with the moss hanging down. This place suits you, Ellis.”
“I call it the Wild Wood.”
Max was getting in her truck to go home. She’d seen Ellis touch Keith’s cheek, now knew she could leave them alone together. She smiled when Ellis waved from the front door. Quercus flopped down on the porch, panting heavily from the heat.
In the bare living room, Keith immediately spotted Gep on the fireplace mantel. The blue pony was one of Ellis’s very few belongings.
He took Gep off the mantel. “This is why I’m here, you know.”
“I thought you were here to be freed from a spell.”
“I am. But I decided to risk entering the witch’s realm because of this pony. When I saw you’d kept it, I supposed there had to be a reason.”
“I told you why. He’s a good luck charm.”
“Why would a powerful witch need a good luck charm?”
“I use whatever presents itself to make my magic.”
“If I take it back, will the spell be removed?”
She took the pony from his hand and returned it to the mantel. “I’ll divulge no secrets.”
Outside, one of the barred owls called, “Whoo-a!”
Keith smiled, looking out the window at the forest. “Is the owl your familiar?”
“There’s a pair that might have a nest hole out back. Come see.”
She led him to the screened porch. “Their nest might be that hollow in the big chestnut oak over there. I sleep out here so I can be close to the owls and all the other night sounds. You should hear when the flocks of black-bellied ducks fly over at night.”
He looked at her mattress, a lamp, and several bags of clothing on the floor. “So you’re basically camping in the woods again.”
“But with a toilet, shower, and kitchen close by. And a fan.” She pulled the chain to turn on the overhead fan.
“How very civilized. But no air-conditioning?”
“It’s broken, and I can’t afford a new system yet. For now, I just don’t wear clothes.”
He grinned. “Really?”
“No one can see this house. And if someone tries, Quercus would put a quick end to their peeping. He hears anything that moves out there.”
“So I noticed.”
Even in the dim twilight, she could see how much the heat and humidity were making him sweat. He was dressed for October weather in Ohio, in khaki pants, long-sleeve button-down shirt, T-shirt, and closed shoes. She was barefoot, wearing shorts and a tank top with nothing under. When Max was around, she had to wear clothes, but she wore as few as possible in the muggy weather that wouldn’t abate until closer to December.
“Speaking of clothes, you need to shed a few,” she said.
He lifted his brows. “Do I?”
“You look hot.” She gestured toward the mattress on the floor. “Have a seat. That’s my couch, dining room chair, reading recliner, and bed. Take your pick.”
“Do I have to say which I chose?”
“It’ll be your secret.”
He sat down. She sat next to him while he took off his shoes and socks. She slid off his shirt and T-shirt. “Better?”
“Much. Are we starting the spell removal?”
She stroked her hand on his chest. “You know, you’re much too trusting.”
“Am I?”
“Here you are in a witch’s lair at night, and you assume I’m going to remove that spell?”
“You aren’t?”
She rose up on her knees and almost but didn’t quite kiss his lips. “Maybe I’m going to make it stronger instead.”
“That would be bad,” he said, taking her in his arms.
“I told you I am.”
He pulled her down to the mattress, holding her against his chest. “Bad witches like to be on top, if I remember correctly.”
“You have a good memory.”
“It’s been painfully good.”
“I can fix that.” She stripped off her tank top.
“I feel better already. Your magic is strong.”
“You have no idea. Ready for more?”
“Why ask when your spell has me in unconditional surrender?”
“I seem to remember you have some pretty strong magic of your own.”
“You knew?” he asked.
“I knew. That was no toy pony you hid in my pocket.” She pinned him beneath the weight of her body. “May the best magic win.”
PART FOUR
DAUGHTER OF RAVEN
1
Raven stood a foot away from the wooden fence. She was always careful when she went to the boundary. She made sure her feet didn’t touch a piece of grass that leaned over onto Jackie’s land.
Jackie’s family was busy, hurrying in and out of the house. None of them noticed her standing at the fence. They were packing their car for a long camping trip. To Colorado—Rocky Mountain National Park—Jackie’s mother had told Raven on the last day of school.
Raven watched Jackie’s new father, Mr. Danner, arrange things in the back of the SUV. He’d been Raven’s gym teacher for three years, starting when Raven was in third grade. He and Ms. Taft fell in love right away and married the summer after Jackie finished elementary school.
Jackie came out of the house and gave something to Mr. Danner that made him laugh and pat Jackie on the shoulder. Raven was glad Jackie and Huck had a nice man like Mr. Danner for a father. And Ms. Taft was very happy. Her name was Ms. Danner now—because she hadn’t wanted to keep her ex-husband’s name, Jackie said. Jackie called himself Jack Danner. He had told his friends to call him Jack since fifth grade, but his family still c
alled him Jackie. Raven did, too. He was a lot bigger now, but he would always be Jackie to her.
Raven stepped closer to the fence when Reece came out of the house with Huck. He must have slept over, and the Danners would take him home as they left town.
Reece immediately noticed her. He said something to Huck, and both boys jogged across the lawn toward her.
“Checking out the greener grass on the other side of the fence?” Reece said.
“I guess so,” she said.
Huck looked sad and angry, as he always did when anything about the fence was mentioned. Reece, of course, had made it into a joke since the day she’d told them she couldn’t put one foot on the other side.
“When do you leave for Montana?” Huck asked.
“Tomorrow,” she said.
“Why is everyone going to see more of this nature shit?” Reece said, gesturing at the fields and trees. “If I could get out of here, I’d go to New York City.”
“I’ll go with,” Huck said.
Reece held up his hand for a high five. “Road trip. First one of us who gets a car.”
Huck slapped his hand and looked over his shoulder. “Speaking of trips, I have to get more stuff into the car before Jackie takes up all the space that’s left.”
“Hair products?” Reece said.
Huck snorted. “Yeah, and clothes.”
“Jackie is into hair and fashion these days. He was quite the stud of sixth grade,” Reece said to Raven.
Raven hardly knew anything about Jackie now. She saw him only briefly on the rare occasions his mother brought him to the elementary school.
“I gotta go,” Huck said. “Have a good summer.”
“You too,” she said.
Reece stayed when Huck jogged back to the house. He leaned his arms on the top board of the old wood fence. “You know this is ridiculous, right?”
“What is?” she asked, though she knew.
“This fence thing. Just come over here. Say hi to Jackie.”
“I made a promise. You know that.”
“You were seven when Maleficent made that decree. You’re old enough to know it’s bullshit now.”
“Stop calling her that.”
He sighed and ducked through the opening in the fence. He sat in the long grass, and she settled next to him.
“How’s it going with her?”
“Okay.”
He looked in her eyes. “You can tell me the truth, you know. I live with my own version of Maleficent.”
“There’s nothing to say.”
“There are volumes to say, I bet.”
She watched a grasshopper climb up a grass stem. If she were still seven, she’d think it might be one of Mama’s spies. She didn’t worry about that so much anymore. But she wouldn’t be surprised if Mama were watching her from the trees.
Reece wrapped his arm around her. “Please don’t let her make you crazy. I know how it feels to battle that.”
The weight of his arm felt so good. She had missed that. He’d sometimes hugged one arm around her when they were on the school bus. Or out on the playground. He didn’t care if the other boys teased him.
She leaned into him and breathed in his new grown-up scent.
He hugged her tighter. “I’m always here for you, Bird Girl. Remember that. Anytime.”
“I know.” She smiled. “Do you remember my first day on the playground?”
“That was your second day.”
“Those kids never called me Bird Girl again.”
“Of course they didn’t. Bird Girl is mine. Trademarked. Legally punishable by my fists if anyone else uses it.”
That was pretty much what he’d said to the kids who’d taunted her after hearing Reece use the pet name. Reece and Huck quickly put an end to the teasing. They and all their friends—and Jackie—had been loyal protectors while she was getting used to the bizarre world of elementary school.
They sat quietly watching Mr. Danner pack the car.
“I still haven’t gotten used to Danner being their dad,” Reece said.
“I know. Why couldn’t everything stay the same?”
“Same as what?”
She didn’t answer because she knew what she’d said was stupid.
“You mean the summer we met you?”
When she didn’t reply, he hugged his arm tighter around her shoulders and tried to look at her down-turned face. “That is what you meant, isn’t it? The last thing you and I should want is for time to stand still. We need to get away from this place—from our mothers.”
She couldn’t even imagine that kind of future.
“Aren’t you excited about middle school next year?” he asked. “You’ll have Jackie to talk to again.”
“I wish you and Huck were going to be there.”
“You wish we’d flunked?”
She smiled. “No. I just wish you were there.”
“If only to be with you, I wish I was, too.”
“Do you want to go to high school?” she asked.
“Yeah. One step closer to getting out of this damn place.” He pulled his arm off her. “So what’s this place like in Montana? Is it nice like your house here?”
“How do you know my house here is nice?”
“People talk.”
She remembered Jackie saying that when she first met him.
“The cabin in Montana isn’t anything like the house here,” she said. “It’s tiny and doesn’t have running water.”
“Really?”
“We use an outhouse and get water from a pump out front.”
“My god. No wonder you hate it.”
“I never said I hated it.”
“No, but you have a look of gloom at the end of every school year.”
“It’s really beautiful there. The mountains are right outside.”
“I bet it’s lonely,” he said.
It was. But she wouldn’t say anything bad about the Montana cabin. Mama loved it there.
“Well, look who’s coming,” Reece said. “The boy with the awesomest hair.”
Huck had probably told Jackie that Raven was there. She could see how he’d been quite the stud of sixth grade. He was beautiful. But of course, she’d always thought that.
Raven stood but made sure to keep her feet away from the grass at the boundary.
“Hey, Raven,” Jackie said.
“Hi,” she said. “Ready for your trip?”
“Yeah. We’re about to leave. If Huck would stop loading stuff into the car.”
Raven and Reece shot each other a smile.
“What?” Jackie said.
“Nothing,” Reece said. “Your hair looks nice today, Jacko.”
“Shut up,” Jackie said.
“So much for my random act of kindness for the day,” Reece said, and even Jackie smiled.
“My mom told me about Baby,” Jackie said. “She said you think she might have died.”
“I know she died,” Raven said. “She stopped coming for peanuts three months ago.”
“Maybe she flew somewhere else.”
“She always came to me. Even after we returned from Montana every year.”
She couldn’t hold back her tears. Or come to terms with never seeing Baby again. The thought of her getting plucked and eaten alive by a hawk haunted her. Raven had seen it happen often enough to imagine it in horrific detail.
Reece took her in his arms. “Good job, Jackie.”
“What? I just found out yesterday.”
“You didn’t have to bring it up.” Reece hugged her tighter.
“Jeez, Reece.”
“What?” Reece said.
“Nothing. You’d better come. We’re leaving. Bye, Raven.”
She pulled away from Reece’s embrace and wiped away the tears. “Bye, Jackie. Have fun.”
“I will.” He cast an odd look at Reece and jogged toward the house.
“That’s hilarious,” Reece said.
“What is?”
/> “He’s jealous.”
“Of what?”
Reece grinned. “You know what.”
Raven stared at Jackie’s tall figure, wishing it to be true.
“Oh my god. You too?”
“What?”
“Now I wish I was still in middle school.”
“Why?”
“I want to see this thing play out.”
“You’d better go,” she said. “Mr. Danner is looking over here.”
“Is Jackie looking?” he asked.
“Yes.”
He took her in his arms and gave her a very long goodbye kiss on her cheek.
2
Kids in high school thought a lot about sex. And talked a lot about it. And smirked and joked about it. And speculated about who was doing it with whom. Raven didn’t understand all the intrigue. She supposed that was because she was Daughter of Raven. In a raven’s world, acts of procreation were straightforward survival. If an organism failed to pass its genetics to the next generation before it died, its genes would be forever lost to the earth. Reproduction was a serious business out in the fields, forests, and rivers.
As she’d gotten older, she’d sometimes questioned the truth of her parentage. She’d not met one person who practiced Mama’s ancient earth arts—though, of course, she wouldn’t know how to find them when they were also hiding their true nature. But Raven couldn’t doubt her origins for long when she keenly sensed her differences from other people. At school, away from the comfort of Mama’s fields and forests, she felt distant from the teenagers and her teachers. She could actually feel her raven spirit perched apart from them, watching them with wariness and growing cynicism, which must come from a convergence of her raven and human souls.
She suspected many students viewed her with equal suspicion. She had felt their scrutiny since her first week in elementary school. The children had been curious, even envious, of her group of defensive boys, and that in itself made Raven stand out too much. Jackie’s mother had been as protective, probably had told the other teachers about Raven’s background. Raven knew some of the teachers paid extra attention to her because they felt sorry for her: the homeschooled girl who wasn’t allowed to use computers, phones, or TVs at home and who could use the internet for schoolwork only if absolutely necessary. Mama had been adamant about that when she brought Raven to the office to register her for second grade. Raven had felt odd and pitied by the principal and office workers within minutes of entering the school.
The Light Through the Leaves Page 19
