It had been Aunt Rowena who had asked Bridget to conduct the spell. The Marigolds were only one piece of the puzzle that had created the Windsor Stone, and that’s where Aunt Rowena had started her search. That meant the other founding families of this coven were next up in rotation.
Bridget had probably come to town in order to try and grab something that belonged to my mother for the spell to be done correctly. Ted or Leo had mentioned that she usually worked for the highest bidder. It stood to reason that she was working both sides, and she’d put herself in the perfect position to choose a side. She’d know before anyone which individual from the founding families might be able to activate the stone.
I might not give you enough credit, Raven. Well done. Do you see that, Mistress of the Dark? Your daughter just solved this mystery on her own, which means there’s no reason for us to be here now. No one tried to kill you, we haven’t been turned into toads yet, and it sounds as if we can all go home. What do you say?
“I say that we now hold the upper hand,” my mother whispered through the smile she was giving the audience. “This is to our advantage, Raven, and we should—”
“The coven needs to split the Windsor Stone.”
My statement still had the previous silence reigning over the room. It didn’t help when Aunt Rowena cackled out a laugh that resembled the famed Wicked Witch who Leo was always referring her to in conversations.
“This is your suggestion?” Merrick asked in disbelief. He too barked out a laugh as if to say to the others that I was clueless. “Nonsense. This has been a waste of our time, and—”
“Raven is giving all of you the chance to end this war,” Rye said, motioning toward the back where Bridget was standing near the door. “Miss Gablore, did someone approach you to find out which of the Marigolds might be the one who could activate the stone? Did someone also approach you to weaken Aunt Rowena? I’m guessing yes to both questions.”
Bridget had been caught unaware, and she glanced around to all her fellow witches and warlocks as if to say she had no idea why she was being singled out. Everyone could see right through her innocent façade, though. She was wise to remain silent.
The Wicked Witch of Windsor now realizes that we know about her grand plan. I’m just going to scoot behind you so that when the toad spell gets hurled our way, it hits you first. I’m a little queasy when it comes to eating flies, but I’ll do my best to make sure you’re fed, Raven.
“It doesn’t matter, Bridget. We know you were just trying to keep the peace.” Rye paused and made sure to scan the crowd, all but imploring them to listen to our advice. “The Marigolds weren’t the only ones in this coven to have a hand in creating the Windsor Stone. That means each descendent of those families who remain inside this neighborhood could be the individual who unlocks the stone after all these years. If such a treasured artifact could be made back then, then it could be split in two and renewed with the powers of those still here.”
The fact that Merrick and Aunt Rowena were looking at each other guardedly to monitor the other’s reaction was a good sign. Angelica could be a problem, given that she was whispering angrily in Merrick’s ear. Ruby seemed indifferent. I’m pretty sure she would fall in line with what Merrick and Angelica decided on, but she had shown today that she had a mind of her own.
Debatable. With that said, no one has turned into toads yet. That’s a win in my book. I’m pretty sure we stand a chance of getting out of here in one piece.
“What Rye says holds merit,” I declared, hoping that the two of us could convince the coven that there were other ways to go about getting what they wanted without having to resort to black magic. “We know that we’re not part of this coven, but we still have family among you. By extension, that means we want what’s best for those here.”
You’re stretching the truth there, Raven. Right? Because let me tell you, I still harbor a lot of pent-up resentment on behalf of my beloved Rosemary, even though I can’t quite remember all of it right now. I must have eaten the generic catnip. It was no help at all in the memory department.
“Please think about this truce,” Rye put forth, bringing this meeting to a close before anyone could ask us too many questions regarding my premonition. We also didn’t want either side to accuse the other of utilizing black magic, although I was pretty sure I knew who put the hex bag on Aunt Rowena’s property. I had a feeling that Ruby wasn’t keen on being left out of the decisions, but it didn’t matter right now. We had a solution, and they’d all be smart to think it over. “If you decide to try and search for a way to split the Windsor Stone for each faction, then we’d be happy to help. I’m sure the answer lies somewhere in the family grimoires. We just need to search for it.”
Rye and I stood side by side while waiting for the murmuring to cease, finally witnessing Merrick and Aunt Rowena come to a conclusion. It was clear that she was more against the idea than he was, but she was still willing to see how far Merrick would go with such a truce. They each separated to speak with their side, all gathering togethering in two separate circles. Too many bad things had happened to clear a path back to a complete coven, but there were times that a clean break could be beneficial to the growth of new blood.
“I think I’d like to have a word with this Bridget Gablore,” my mother said in the politest manner possible, telling me that she was still holding a grudge against the blonde witch who’d technically done nothing but fill her role here at the coven. “I’d like to stress to her that doing anything against the Marigolds would be very unwise.”
I knew that I wouldn’t be lucky enough to head back home without a scratch. Why do I always have that itsy-bitsy flame of hope when I know that one of you dowsers will extinguish it? Raven, corral your mother just this once, please.
“Mom, I’m pretty sure that Aunt Rowena was the one who asked Bridget to see which one of us might be able to restore energy to the Windsor Stone. Let me speak with her first, please.”
“You saw this woman trying to—”
“Did you not hear a word I said?” I tugged on my mother’s arm when she would have advanced forward. “She wasn’t trying to hurt you, Mom. She was using grass and dirt in the incantation to see if you had a special connection to the afterlife. We all know that each of us are given specific abilities, so it stands to reason that Aunt Rowena wanted to see if that connection might be us.”
My mother took the time to scan the room, probably thinking back to her childhood. Nan hadn’t wanted Mom to have anything to do with the coven, but she’d confessed that she’d snuck up to the coven now and then back during her teenage years in order to be around those who understood her plight.
“What a mess.” My mother shook her head in despair over what had become of the coven. Traditions were steeped in generations of the past, and it was customary to want to hold onto them. Unfortunately, there came a cost when witchcraft was associated with the lineages. “I don’t know why you’d risk coming here, Raven. They’d probably all be better off if they went their separate ways.”
Uh-oh.
Whenever Leo just randomly blurted out uh-oh, that meant a memory had resurfaced from long ago. Usually it was single word that could trigger a snippet from before the necromancy spell, which was the exact type of magic that we were trying to prevent in this war. More pieces of this mystery began to fall into place, and I quickly spoke to Leo before walking toward Aunt Rowena.
“Leo, not another word.”
“What does that mean?” my mother demanded as she traded concerned looks with Rye. I wasn’t about to give up the goods right now, especially when I wasn’t sure how my mother would react upon such a revelation. “Raven, get back here this instant!”
We need to skedaddle, Raven. Right now!
“How could you forget something like that?” I asked under my breath. The idea that the stone stopped working after Nan was excommunicated from the coven had occurred to me, but I’d dismissed it due to several reasons. “Was Nan the one w
ho had been able to communicate with those in the afterlife? Is the theory about our ancestors being angry that the coven excommunicated her right?”
Honestly, I don’t think my beloved Rosemary had known the stone had stopped working. We cut all ties to the coven and built our life in Paramour Bay. I do know that she was able to communicate with her great-grandmother through the stone from time to time when we were here. After being banished, we never thought about the Windsor Stone again. I’m as gobsmacked as you are, but I don’t think it’s a good idea to stay here. Would you slow down? I can only waddle so fast and—oomph.
“Aunt Rowena,” I whispered, yanking her arm so that she wasn’t so close to the group. Leo had run face-first into my boot, but he recovered by the time I had turned my back on the others so that they couldn’t read my lips. “Was Nan the one who was able to communicate with our ancestors through the Windsor Stone? And I mean solely her? And don’t give me the runaround.”
Aunt Rowena’s lips pursed in annoyance, and I realized that Leo and I were onto something. It was time for the truth. Well, at least from Aunt Rowena. There might be something else that Leo had forgotten, and I hoped it stayed that way until we were safely back in Paramour Bay.
I’d like to go on record that I’ve had my quota of surprises today. Whatever it is that—
“I deserve an answer, Aunt Rowena,” I demanded, cutting off Leo just in time. The last thing we needed was for her to realize that we might hold the golden key to everyone’s problems. Unfortunately, I would never allow it to be used. I had to protect what was left in my care. “Was Nan the last one to use the stone?”
Mum’s the word. Zip. I’ll even tie what’s left of my whiskers together.
“Yes.” Aunt Rowena tilted her chin in that defiant way she’d mastered. “My sister was the last one to use the stone, and it has been silent ever since. Benny, is there something you’d like to get off your chest?”
Mr. Leo to you, and all I have to say is that you should wear a hat with a feather in it the next time you visit Paramour Bay. The brighter, the better.
“Aunt Rowena, were you going to have Bridget see if Mom or I were able to reactive it somehow? Were you going to ask Bridget to do a spell to see if our bloodline would be the key to reviving the Windsor Stone?”
“Yes, and I make no apology for it. Our lineage might be the very key to unlocking what has been the heart of this coven for generations. Speaking of your premonition, where are they?”
I was quick to notice that Aunt Rowena didn’t mention the relics by name. She didn’t want to draw attention to herself, which was the one smart thing she’d done recently. I wasn’t doubting her intelligence, but her thirst for power seemed to be dulling her common sense.
“May I have your attention?” my mother called out, taking all of us by surprise. As a matter of fact, most of the witches and warlocks seemed to have already reached an agreement regarding our offer. And now that I had figured out what Leo’s uh-oh meant, I didn’t want to draw any more attention our way. “My daughter and I realize that we might…”
“Leo, do something,” I muttered, hoping there was a way to put a stop to what my mother was about to offer the coven.
Get them all hats with feathers sticking out of them?
“…so take us to this Windsor Stone, and we’ll see if either one of us can communicate with the other side. If it is found that one of us can indeed speak with our ancestors, then we’ll get to decide which faction leads the coven from this day forward.”
I always wonder how a situation can be at the lowest of lows, and yet your mother somehow finds a shovel to take us down another level. It is rather impressive, isn’t it?
“Raven, what is your mother doing?” Rye asked, having made his way over to where I stood with utter panic in his gaze. I didn’t blame him, especially since my mother had taken it upon herself to completely ruin a chance to separate the coven in a peaceful manner. “Do something before she ends up ruining what we’ve spent most of the morning trying to accomplish—a compromise.”
Unfortunately, it was too late to take back my mother’s offer. Everyone was excitedly agreeing to her proposition. I could almost envision each of the councilmembers rubbing their hands together in anticipation of trying to lure one of us to their side.
What would happen if they knew the truth? I’d figured it out myself, which mean that it wouldn’t be long before the others did, too.
I was thinking of buying myself a feather and going out in a blaze of glory.
“There’s no need to go that far,” I said reassuringly after kneeling closer to him. His left eye was bulging in and out in time with his heartbeat, and his crooked whisker was twitching uncontrollably upon making the connections. “Leo, I need you to go and stay with Beetle. Seriously, stay there until I come and get you.”
You’ll get no argument from me. Go figure—miracles do happen.
The fact that the black tourmaline hanging around my neck had warmed in the most comforting manner told me that miracles did indeed happen when one was truly needed. Nan was close by, and she’d found another way to communicate with us. At least, she had discovered a way to guide us without actually having to cross through the veil or put Leo in danger.
I gently put my finger to my lips so that only Leo could see that we were in this together. The realization that had come to me was that it wasn’t a Marigold per se who would be able to compel the magic from the Windsor Stone.
No, that right was reserved for Leo, and for him alone.
He was the part of Nan that had been left behind. Until he left this plane of existence to join her on the other side, the Windsor Stone would remain in an unconscious state.
Shhhh.
Chapter Seventeen
…don’t think you understand the stress this adds to my already taxing schedule of keeping up with you! I’m still losing tufts of my fur, my asthma has been getting worse, and now you’re telling me that I have to live with a bullseye on my backside. Raven, my premium organic catnip can’t keep up at this rate!
I rested my elbow on the side of the driver’s side door of my old Corolla, attempting to rub the throbbing pain away that had taken up residence in my temple. By some miracle, we’d ended up being able to leave the coven without too much of a hassle. Neither my mother or I had been able to make the stone work, which wasn’t much of a surprise given what Leo and I had figured out over the last couple of hours.
I’m going to have to face the inevitable. I’ll just have to hire the Satan’s feathered mini-dragon to be my bodyguard. It will create a bit of conflict between me and Skippy, but I’m sure…
Leo continued to go over his options now that some of his memory had returned about the Windsor Stone. With him still on this side of the veil with us, the connection that the stone had with the afterlife could only work with him.
Who knew what the factions would resort to upon such a discovery?
It was the reason that we needed to keep this secret to ourselves. Between my not-so-good lying skills and Leo’s memory problems, we might just need to utilize a bit of magic to help us along in that department.
…and you know, there’s nothing wrong with a bit of security now that I have a big red bullseye on my backside. Did I mention that the glitter on my right front paw was a bit warm today? One has to wonder if that glitter-bombing cretin didn’t leave it behind on the orders of my beloved Rosemary. She might have given me the ability to sense danger like you, in which case…
Leo continued to ramble on and on about the fairy that we’d managed to ensure had safely crossed through the veil on one of the cases we’d dealt with last year. I had originally thought that leaving behind a glittery lipstick kiss had only been done in a mischievous way of saying thank you.
Had it been more than just mischief?
I wasn’t sure what were true signs being left behind by Nan anymore, but I was grateful to be driving away from the coven that was still in disarray. The only good t
hing to have come from Mom and I not being able to cause the stone to work was that both factions were now communicating with one another. I shoved away my guilt that they were looking for a way to split the stone on our suggestion, when it was now obvious that nothing they did mattered in the grand scheme of things.
…that I think about it, I’ve always had a deep desire to hold a lot of power. I’d be able to stop the squirrelpocalypse in its tracks, have premium organic catnip laid in front of my front paws as if I was royalty, and basically have all witches and warlocks serve my every command. I didn’t realize that with so much supremacy came death threats. That’s what would happen, too. I’d be nothing but a tool to be used for…
Thankfully, my phone rang.
I’d called Liam first thing after walking to the car in order to catch him up on what had transpired at the coven. After leaving a message, I quickly spoke to Heidi and told her that we were driving back to Paramour Bay in what could only be considered a caravan. Rye led the way in his truck, followed by Beetle and my mother in his VW bug, while Leo and I brought up the rear.
“Why is Leo howling like that?” Liam asked before even saying hello. To me, Leo’s words were coming across loud and clear. To anyone else, it sounded like he was madder than a wet hen. “The meeting with the two factions didn’t go as planned, did it?”
“Actually, the coven is considering our help in figuring out a way to separate the Windsor Stone. They just don’t know that nothing they do matters.” I made sure my phone was on speaker so that I could concentrate on the road in front of me. The sky was overcast, so at least I didn’t have to worry about the sun being in my eyes. “Leo and I discovered something that cannot leave this phone call. Not to anyone. My mother, Rye, and no one at the coven knows the truth. It needs to stay that way.”
Some might question why I would be willing to share such delicate information with an outsider of the coven, but Liam wasn’t an outsider to me. He was my other half. I’d never expected to find someone upon moving to Paramour Bay. It wasn’t that I had gone looking for love, especially after finding out that my entire life had been a lie. Even so, there wasn’t one moment of my life that had been lived out in the last year and a half that I would change. Not one, and particularly not Liam.
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