Pawsitively Betrayed

by Melissa Erin Jackson

  “All right,” Edgar said tightly.

  Raphael sucked in a shaky breath. “Yeah?”

  “Yeah,” he said, then crossed the distance and pulled his father into a tight hug. “You can start by buying me all the pancakes I can eat at the Catty Melt.”

  “Deal,” Raphael said.

  “Your wallet is going to regret that,” Amber said.

  Letting his dad go, Edgar craned his neck until he made contact with Kim. “You wanna get pancakes with us?”

  Kim, eyes wide, nodded so vigorously, her head nearly snapped off at the neck and rolled away.

  “Is this a party or something?”

  Amber grinned. A very sleepy, very confused Willow was sitting up in bed.

  “You feel okay?” Amber asked.

  “Yeah,” she said. “But I’m starving. Can I get some of those pancakes, too?”

  An agonized cry sounded next to Amber and she looked over in alarm to see her no-nonsense, practical-in-all-ways aunt full-on sobbing. Amber had never seen such a sight in all her life.

  “Aunt G!” Amber yelped, turning so abruptly toward her that her back muscles temporarily seized up. “What’s wrong?”

  “I’m just so relieved!” Aunt G wailed. “My girls are okay!”

  Thanks to another round of detoxifying tinctures slipped to them by Simon, and a muscle repair concoction from Aunt G—which was basically a magically enhanced protein shake—Amber and Willow were able to leave the hospital by that afternoon.

  From the bits of information Amber got from her friends and family, the WBI had descended on Edgehill while Amber slept and had indeed used devices to wipe memories of magic from the non-witches’ minds. The timing was suspicious, according to most, as if the WBI had been hiding in the wings while Amber and her witches did all the heavy lifting, and the WBI materialized only to be the cleanup crew.

  Chief Brown had been reported to say, “I thought the mind-wiping tools were a myth!” Thankfully this revelation hadn’t made him faint the same way he had when Thea had been turned into a hamster.

  Memories of the giant cats who terrorized the parade, the noxious gas that had knocked out the group of volunteers at the community center, and Amber’s rogue, vicious toys were all stuff of weird dreams now.

  When she got back to The Quirky Whisker, under the tutelage of Aunt G, Amber’s apartment turned in to a toy-making workshop. The non-witches were assigned the tasks of assembling plastic flower wreaths and sanding the plastic discs needed for Amber’s various spells.

  An assembly line of witches were then set up to layer spells on plastic discs, fusing the discs to the body cavities of the toys, and then fusing the plastic parts together. It took a few tries to get the kinks worked out—the giraffe that had accidently been enchanted to bark like a dog being the happiest of mistakes.

  Amber, who was functional but barely so, divided her time between managing the line and working on a single animated toy: a blue Pegasus for John Huntley. She hoped he too had his mind wiped of the strange evening where a black-haired woman had stormed his bus and put him and his entire staff to sleep.

  Somehow, by five in the evening, all the pending toy orders had been filled and Amber had finished her line of exclusive Here and Meow designs, and John’s custom toy. Which meant she could actually enjoy an evening at the festival without worrying about getting her inventory done on time. Tomorrow, she would be able to set up her booth for the last day of the festival.

  All the visiting witches agreed to stay for the evening as well. Zelda was thrilled about sharing the festival with her daughter. Up until a few months ago, Zelda had been convinced she’d never set foot in Edgehill again, let alone attend the town’s beloved annual festival. Even Bianca agreed to attend the Here and Meow that evening, as long as Amber and Kim agreed to go to The Great Seeding the following morning.

  Though Melanie Cole’s rose garden memorial would be unveiled in the morning at Balinese Park, they’d be able to attend both events. Neither Kim nor Amber had any idea what The Great Seeding was, and they were both scared to find out—especially when Bianca instructed them to wear rain slickers.

  Amber had easily succeeded in convincing Jack to join them, but Kim didn’t have any luck with Edgar. Edgar had a good excuse, though—he and his father were going to begin repairs on the house. Amber had sent the trunk of grimoires off with the men, too, knowing the books could be better stashed in Edgar’s house than in Amber’s tiny apartment. The Henbane men weren’t sure when the FBI was going to come for Raphael, so they wanted to spend as much time together as possible.

  Amber had all the faith in the world that if anyone could find a way out of this mess for Raphael, it was Thea Bishop.

  As the group all piled out of The Quirky Whisker, splitting off into groups that would caravan to the fairgrounds near Angora Threads, Amber noted that a black SUV was parked at the curb a few doors down. Amber stood in the middle of the still-deserted sidewalk outside her shop as she stared at the vehicle.

  Jack realized a moment later that she wasn’t beside him and turned back. “You okay?”

  The driver and passenger side doors opened and out stepped Agent Howe and Agent Barker. They moved toward her.

  “Yeah,” she said. “I’ll meet you guys at the car, okay?” She was riding to the fairgrounds with him and the Harrises. Willow and Kim were riding over with Simon and Bianca.

  Jack kissed her cheek, then headed after Betty and Bobby who had already crossed the street.

  The agents, still in their black suits, stopped before Amber.

  “Good to see you up and about,” Agent Howe said, hands in the pockets of her slacks. “That was a lot of magic use for someone as untrained as you.”

  Agent Howe clearly had never issued a compliment in her life.

  “What she means,” Agent Barker said, “is that the WBI is grateful to you for the work you did.”

  “With no help from you, I might add,” Amber said. “You were too busy trying to get your hands on my mother’s grimoire, and the Penhallows stole it out from underneath your nose anyway. Then when we needed you, you were nowhere to be found.”

  Agent Howe pursed her lips. “We were cleaning up the mess in your wake. This whole thing was a PR disaster waiting to happen. Do you know how many memories we had to wipe? Our backup needed backup.”

  All this talk of memory wipes got Amber thinking. “Is the WBI the reason why so many witches forgot the truth of what the council did?”

  The agents exchanged a look, but neither answered. Which was answer enough.

  “We’re heading back to headquarters now,” Agent Howe said. “Know that the WBI isn’t currently planning to get the Henbane grimoire into our custody. The higher-ups are willing to admit that your actions kept Edgehill and magic safe at the same time. The book is safest with you. The WBI is hard at work trying to track down the network and who was in it. Kieran is getting his sentence reduced in exchange for coughing up the names of those in the network. If the Penhallows—or their sympathizers—become a threat again, we’ll be back. And we probably won’t ask nicely next time.”

  With that, Agent Howe turned and walked away.

  “Nicely?” Amber muttered.

  Agent Barker shrugged. “Enjoy the festival, Amber.”

  She remained in the same spot on the sidewalk until the agents got back in their car and drove away. Amber truly hoped she never saw either one again.

  The entrance to the fairgrounds was marked by an arch made of cat-shaped balloons. Amber, hand-in-hand with Jack, followed Willow, Aunt G, Kim, Bianca, Simon, and the Harrises. On one side of the entrance were the restrooms, and booths to buy tickets for games and rides. To the left was a fenced-off area lined with human-sized cat beds where tired festival goers could rest. A giant screen had been erected near the front of the enclosure that played a perpetual loop of funny cat videos.

  The first of the food sections came up next. The staples of popcorn, giant pretzels, and lemonade we
re there, but so were elaborately decorated cat-shaped sugar cookies, a Coffee Cat food truck, and a Mews and Brews stand. Rumor had it that there were elaborately crafted hamburger buns that had been dyed with food coloring to look like cat faces.

  Cheers and shouts drew them to the game section, which featured carnival games where only cat-related items were available as prizes. Basket toss, lawn bowling, and sack races were the most popular options. Kim, Bobby, and Amber entered a very competitive sack race. Bobby smoked them all, winning Betty a giant stuffed cat. When Jack gallantly volunteered to try his hand at winning Amber one from a ring toss game, she declined. She wasn’t emotionally ready for more giant cats just yet.

  At 7 pm, they they grabbed seats at the Cat Stage for the last show of the evening. Amber sat between Jack and Kim, and Kim kept up a steady commentary on how much work she’d put in booking the cat troupe.

  “Shows like this often feature dogs who can walk on their hind legs and bark on command and whatever,” Kim said. “Well, these cats can do all that and more. And the coolest thing? They’re all previously feral cats or cats that were days from being euthanized. The organization donates at least a third of their proceeds to cat shelters and spends a lot of time in the community offering education on spay and neuter programs, and encouraging people to adopt adult cats, who need homes and love just as much as kittens.”

  After the show, Amber wondered if she started today, how long it would take to train Alley or Tom to do a backflip. She was working through the logistics of such a task when someone called her name. Jack and Simon were deep in conversation ahead of her, and Bianca was passionately explaining the ins and outs of The Great Seeding to Kim, so none of them noticed when Amber lagged behind and turned around.

  It was Connor Declan. “Uhh … hey,” he said, wringing his hands as he closed the distance.

  Amber stared at him, wondering if the WBI had paid him a visit. “Hi.”

  “So … uhh …” he said, giving the back of his neck a scratch. “I talked to an Agent Howe earlier.”

  Amber felt Willow sidle up next to her.

  Connor swallowed. His gaze skittered to Willow for a moment, then back to Amber. “She straightened things out for me. I know now that the information Molly and I got was flipped. You guys—both of you—were the good guys and Molly and I were manipulated.”

  “We’ve been friends for years, Connor,” Willow said. “Why didn’t you just talk to me when you doubted me? I can’t tell you who to spend time with, but there’s a difference between being dedicated to your job and having tunnel vision. Molly is so relentless in furthering her career that she doesn’t care about consequences. I know your career is important to you, too, but you let it go too far this time.”

  “I know,” he said quickly, his hands held up, placating. “I broke things off with her.”

  “Really?” Amber asked.

  “Yeah,” he said. “Well, the WBI also sort of hired her. They apparently work with … uhh … people like her because she can get insider information in ways they sometimes can’t. She’s leaving for a hybrid town next week.”

  Amber and Willow shared a bewildered expression.

  “Willow, I know I haven’t always handled things the best way with us,” he said. “But I was hoping maybe we could give this—you and me, I mean—a try.” He looked so hopeful, so vulnerable, Amber almost ran screaming in the other direction. The emotion on his face was so raw, Amber felt like she was seeing something too intimate. Not to mention he was doing so while they were surrounded by bustling tourists.

  “You mean you want to give me a try now that Molly is leaving,” Willow said. “I’m your backup plan again.”

  “No,” he said urgently. “With everything that’s happened … it’s made me reevaluate everything, you know? Made me really think about what’s important to me. You’re important to me.”

  It took Willow a moment to speak. “I’ve waited since high school to hear you say that,” she said. Connor grinned so wide, it looked like it hurt. “But you should have known I was important to you before all this.”

  “I did know,” he said. “Honestly. All I want is a second chance to prove it to you.”

  Willow looped her arm through Amber’s. “Sorry, Connor. I need to be with someone who thinks I’m important from the start.” Then she turned Amber around with her, and they walked away.

  “I know that wasn’t easy, Will,” Amber said after a minute. When her sister didn’t reply, Amber glanced over to see tears running down her face. Amber let her sister have her quiet moment with her thoughts, but she didn’t let her go.

  At 9:00 pm, Amber and her companions were at the back of the fairgrounds before a stage. Aunt G and Zelda were together in the nearby food court with alcoholic beverages, exchanging stories about the good old days. Amber already knew those two women left together were going to be trouble.

  Kim—since she “knew his people”—had snagged a bunch of tickets for the John Huntley concert. There were a good two rows of bouncing, prematurely screaming teenage girls lined up before them, but Kim had gotten them premium seats.

  Just before the concert started, Amber spotted a girl in a front row seat turn around and scan the crowd. Amber guessed she’d been looking for a parent or friend, but she spotted Amber instead.

  “Amber!” Tammy cheered.

  “Tammy!” Amber cheered back.

  Then the lights on the stage came to life, and the members of John Huntley’s band started to make their way out. The crowd went nuts, and Amber and Tammy shared another delighted squeal.

  Willow and Kim sang along to all of John’s songs, note for note. Amber and Jack realized they only knew a few of them, so they just danced extra hard when they were clueless.

  “You’re amazing, Edgehill!” John called out after a few songs. “This next song is for a girl I met recently.” The crowd of girls before him booed, but John didn’t seem to notice. “I’m only just getting to know her, but I can already tell she’s pretty special. This one is for you, Willow.”

  Amber, Kim, and Willow screamed as if they were sixteen-year-olds.

  It was a good night.

  Epilogue

  Early on Sunday morning, Daisy and Lily Bowen arrived at Amber’s booth in the fairgrounds to help her set up. Amber hugged them both fiercely in turn. It had only been a few days since she’d last seen them, but it felt like it had been half a century. As they worked, the sisters mostly wanted to know if it was true that Willow and John Huntley were “a thing.” Amber didn’t know what they were. All she knew was that he was going to come by to pick up his custom animated toy later that night, and then was going to take Willow out for dinner next week—just how that would work with a celebrity as big as Huntley, Amber didn’t know. Maybe Willow could hire out a WBI agent whose sole job was to keep the public from finding out any information about Willow.

  Amber buzzed with nervous energy. She knew the WBI had wiped the memories of the rogue toys from residents’ and tourists’ minds, and she also knew that her magic hadn’t been the reason why Toast the Bear exploded. Yet she was concerned that the events of the last few days had ruined her business.

  Amber was partially underneath the tablecloth on the long table in her booth, checking her supply boxes underneath, when someone cleared their throat. She had a sign on her table that said she wasn’t open for business for another ten minutes, but she tamped down her mild wave of annoyance and stood up, mostly pleased someone wanted one of her wares so much that they wanted to try to get one early.

  She gasped.

  “Hello, Amber.”

  “Grandma?” she ventured.

  Then her gaze jumped to the man next to her. Her grandfather. And beside them were Betty and Bobby. Her grandparents grinned at her.

  “Oh my God,” she said and ran around the table to hug them both in turn. Something about them, even though she’d never met them before, felt so much like home—like her parents—that she burst into tears. Th
e next thing she knew, she and four elderly people were all sobbing. Daisy and Lily, who had dark teal blue hair today, went about their setup tasks as if nothing about this situation was strange.

  When they’d all managed to calm themselves down, Ivy Henbane took Amber by the face, her hands a little cold but soft. “Please don’t be cross with Betty for keeping us a secret.”

  Amber shook her head. “It’s impossible to be upset with Betty about anything other than withholding cupcakes.”

  “Oof,” her grandma said, letting Amber’s face go. “I tried one of her German chocolate cupcakes. That was your mother’s favorite, you know. Perfection!” She made a chef’s kiss with her fingers.

  Amber laughed.

  “Now, young lady,” her grandpa said, his voice shaky with age, “the Harrises are going to take us around this festival for a bit. Don’t worry about entertaining us. We’ve got a lot to catch up on, but we can do that tonight, hmm?” Then he and Ivy both kissed her on the cheek.

  Betty and Bobby hugged Amber again.

  Over the next couple of hours, Amber’s business was so steady that her concerns melted away entirely. Sally Long came by with little Noah and bought a walrus he named Cement. Sally showed no sign that she remembered anything about the altercation from a week ago.

  Amber knew she had the WBI to thank for that, but she refused to do so to their faces.

  Claire Petrie came by the table too, and Amber handed her daughter Wendy a sea green, exclusive Here and Meow cat. Amber was certain the color was still a little too close to “seasick green,” but Wendy gasped when she saw the toy and said, “Thanks, Miss Amber! I love Minty!” And off she went, stopping after a few feet to show off her toy to a friend.

  Amber was still smiling to herself when her phone buzzed in her pocket. She and the Bowen sisters had been so busy, she’d hardly had a chance to slow down, but she was a content kind of exhausted.