Enchanted

by Barbara Bretton

  He didn’t deny it.

  “Where’s that fabulous embroidered cloak?” she asked.

  “The day is hot. I left it at the waterfall.”

  So he had already discovered the waterfall and, more than likely, the portals the waterfall concealed.

  Wendy didn’t back down. “Next time you might want to say you’re sorry.”

  Their eyes locked and for a moment I felt like a fifth wheel.

  It turned out the baby didn’t want me. She wanted her daddy. She poked him in his arm with a chubby finger. She made noises that were just on the verge of being actual words. She aimed her best toothless smile in his direction but he just wasn’t there.

  And then she began to cry. All the magick at her command (and that was considerable) wasn’t bringing her daddy back to her and it was clear her heart was breaking. In the silence of Proctor Park, her cries were heart-wrenching.

  “Do something,” I said to Gavan. “You understand Rohesia’s magick. Try to undo the spell.”

  I guess that got Rohesia’s attention because, just like that, she was no longer in the faded cloud; she was there among us, tall and resplendent in carnelian red robes shot through with silver threads. I wasn’t sure if she was real or a hologram but it didn’t matter. Her powers were strong and they poured from her in waves. But they were different from the powers at work in our world and at odds with much of the wonders the mortals had wrought into existence since she last walked in our dimension.

  A major disturbance in the force, for sure.

  Part of me wanted to unleash every micron of magick at my command and blow Rohesia away for trying to harm Laria, but I knew I had to be careful. Until she undid whatever unholy magick she had used to freeze-frame Luke and our wedding guests, I needed to hold my fire. We might not be so lucky next time.

  None of us said a word. I wasn’t sure we were breathing. I wiggled my finger, just to make sure we hadn’t become statues too.

  Laria, however, abruptly stopped crying and turned her attention from Luke to the magnificent female standing before us. Laria’s huge golden eyes widened as she studied the beautiful Fae with an intensity that quite frankly made me a little nervous. She was only eight months old but there was definitely a very old and very wise soul at work inside that chubby body. (Not to mention more magick than I will ever possess in my lifetime.) She was also unpredictable and impulsive, courtesy of her mother.

  Rohesia stood very still and allowed the scrutiny. I sensed a slight softening of her expression as the newest Hobbs sorceress boldly took her measure.

  I was both scared and proud when Laria held out her arms to Rohesia in the classic baby human request to be held.

  Rohesia hesitated.

  Her eyes met mine.

  I shook my head.

  “I don’t trust you,” I said. “You tried to hurt my child.”

  “It was a terrible mistake in judgment,” she said. “I am ashamed. Magick should never harm magick. My anger overflowed.”

  “How do I know it won’t happen again?”

  “You don’t,” Rohesia said. “All you can do is trust that it will not. I give you my word.”

  “And will you trust the mortals who are part of our lives and help keep them safe from harm as well?”

  “I will learn. Gavan has made it clear that there can be no other way.”

  I glanced over at Gavan. Hard to imagine Rohesia baking up a batch of chocolate chip cookies for the grandkids. I wondered if she knew how to knit.

  “This is my wedding day.” I felt myself growing stronger with every word. “You will undo the spell you cast on my friends and family. You will free Gavan and me from the betrothal. Luke and I will marry as planned.” I took a deep breath and plunged into the deep end of a very murky pool. “And tomorrow you and Gavan and I will talk about reuniting our clans.”

  Rohesia had been a leader for a very long time. She was used to being the Alpha dog in the pack. But here in Sugar Maple there was only one leader and it wasn’t Rohesia. She needed to understand that up front. We both did.

  I watched quietly as Rohesia’s gaze traveled the expanse of Proctor Park where the wedding was taking place. She took it all in: the mortals and the magicks; the young and the old; the humans I loved and the two who shared my blood.

  I didn’t want to open up our little town to an Old Magick clan of strangers but I had no choice. Their lives were at stake and Aerynn had established Sugar Maple as a refuge for magicks in peril. Turning Rohesia and her community away was not an option.

  She was frightened. I saw that now. Everything she knew, everything she understood, was about to be stripped from her as she led her clan into a strange new world. She needed to find the strength to lead and to inspire. But first she had to learn our ways and make them her own. Otherwise, the future looked bleak.

  Gavan appeared at my side and we held up our hands to her.

  “Release us,” he said. “Take the first step into our future.”

  The rings blazed with light, flickered, then opened wide so we could slip them off. I handed mine to Gavan.

  “For when the right one comes along,” I said. I tried not to notice the quick glance he stole at Wendy.

  “We will stay to observe but not participate.” Rohesia paused, then added, “With your permission.”

  I appreciated how much that cost her. “Of course,” I said. “In a few days, this will be your home too.”

  “There is much to learn,” she said with a small shake of her head. “Nothing here is as I thought it would be.”

  “Nothing ever is,” I said lightly. “Welcome to Sugar Maple.”

  Epilogue

  CHLOE

  * * *

  “--my husband, my partner, my soulmate in good times and bad, in health and in sickness, for now and forever.” My voice shook with emotion as I finished pledging my life, my heart, my forever, to Luke.

  As promised, Rohesia undid the freeze-spell and it was as if nothing had ever happened. Once again, the sky was sunny and bright. Laughter and excited whispers mingled with bird song.

  And the man I loved was about to become my husband.

  I didn’t think it would matter. I thought we were already married in all the ways that really counted.

  I was wrong. Standing here in front of the people we loved and who loved us in return, taking these very private vows for all to hear, was life-changing. Now everyone knew what we had always known: our family was forever.

  Cyrus beamed a smile at us as we exchanged rings. “And now it is my honor to declare Luke MacKenzie and Chloe Hobbs forever joined in marriage as witnessed here today by beloved family and friends.” He gave Luke a wink. “This might be a good time to kiss the bride, son.”

  Our crazy, over-the-top, Hollywood-style kiss had everyone cheering as sparks crackled and snapped when our lips met.

  “How do we explain that?” Luke asked with a laugh as Elspeth handed a giggling Laria to him.

  “We don’t,” I said, feeling reckless. “Let them chalk it up to love.”

  “You’ll bring me up to speed on things later,” Luke said as we started up the aisle.

  “How did you know?” I should have realized not even the best magick spell could fool a good cop for long.

  “I’m a cop,” he said. “And besides, that damn ring is gone.”

  There was so much to share, so many things to tell him. Our town was going to change over the next week or two and I wasn’t convinced the changes would be welcomed with open arms. I would have to call a town meeting tomorrow, after speaking with Rohesia and Gavan, to bring everyone else up to speed. Not exactly the honeymoon most brides dreamed about.

  But then again I wasn’t most brides.

  I was Chloe Hobbs. Sorceress. Knitter. Wife of Luke MacKenzie. Mother of Laria. Cousin of Wendy. Sister-of-the-heart to Janice and Lynette and Lilith who always had my back.

  And I was getting stronger every day.

  Coming June 15, 2018
>
  Entangled - The Homecoming

  When a young mother and her baby daughter go missing during an early snowstorm, Sugar Maple is suddenly thrust into the spotlight. If Luke and his squad of magickal deputies can’t locate them ASAP, Sugar Maple will be Ground Zero for every news organization in the country.

  And it couldn’t be happening at a worse time. Rohesia and the Old World magicks are making the transition to the earthly dimension and it isn’t going smoothly.

  Hiding in plain sight had never been more dangerous.

  Hungry news crews are poised to overrun Sugar Maple as the search for the missing hikers intensifies. They’re looking for the next big story but little do they know the one they uncover just might be the biggest story of the century.

  * * *

  The Sugar Maple Chronicles - Book 6

  The Secret Language of Knitting

  The knitting vocabulary can be confusing to civilians (a.k.a. muggles) so here’s a short glossary to help get you up to speed.

  BIND OFF - See “cast off”

  BSJ - Baby Surprise Jacket, probably EZ’s most popular design

  CAST OFF - To secure your last row of stitches so they don’t unravel

  CAST ON - To place a foundation row of stitches on your needle

  DPN - Double-pointed needles

  EZ - Elizabeth Zimmermann, the knitting mother of us all

  FAIR ISLE - Multistranded colorwork

  FO - Finished object

  FROG - To undo your knitting by ripping back (“Rip it! Rip it!”) row by row with great abandon

  KITCHENER - Grafting two parallel rows of live stitches to form an invisible seam

  KNIT - The basic stitch from which everything derives

  KNITALONG - An online phenomenon wherein hundreds of knitters embark on a project simultaneously and exchange progress reports along the way

  KUREYON - A wildly popular self-striping yarn created and manufactured by Eisaku Noro under the Noro label

  LYS - Local yarn shop

  MAGIC LOOP - Knitting a tube with one circular needle instead of four or five double-pointed needles

  PURL - The knit stitch’s sister―instead of knitting into the back of the stitch with the point of the needle facing away from you, you knit into the front of the stitch with the point of the needle facing directly at you

  RAVELRY - An online community for knitters and knitwear designers that has surpassed all expectations

  ROVING - What you have after a fleece has been washed, combed, and carded; roving is then ready to be spun into yarn

  SABLE - Stash Amassed Beyond Life Expectancy—in other words, you won’t live long enough to knit it all!

  SEX - Stash Enhancement eXercise—basically spending too much money on way too much yarn

  STASH - The yarn you’ve been hiding in the empty oven, clean trash bins, your basement, your attic, under the beds, in closets, wherever you can keep your treasures clean, dry, and away from critical eyes

  STITCH ’N’ BITCH - A gathering of like-minded knitters who share knitting techniques and friendship with a twenty-first-century twist

  STRANDED - See “Fair Isle”

  TINK - To carefully undo your knitting stitch by stitch. Basically to unknit your way back to a mistake-free area

  YARN CRAWL - The knitter’s equivalent of a pub crawl. Substitute yarn shops for bars and you’ll get the picture

  Who’s Who in Sugar Maple

  THE RESIDENTS

  CHLOE HOBBS - The half-human, half-sorceress de facto mayor of Sugar Maple and owner of Sticks & Strings, a wildly successful knit shop. As the descendant of sorceress Aerynn, the town’s founder, Chloe holds the fate of the magickal town in her hands.

  LUKE MACKENZIE - The 100 percent human chief of police. He came to Sugar Maple to investigate the death of Suzanne Marsden, an old high school friend, but stayed because he fell in love with Chloe.

  PYEWACKET, BLOT, DINAH, LUCY - Chloe’s house cats.

  PENELOPE - Chloe’s store cat. Penny is actually much more than that. She has been a familiar of the Hobbs women for over three centuries and has often served as a conduit between dimensions.

  ELSPETH - A three-hundred-something-year-old troll from Salem who kept house for Samuel Bramford. She has been sent to Sugar Maple to watch over Chloe until the baby is born.

  JANICE MEANY - Chloe’s closest friend and owner of Cut & Curl, the salon across the street from Sticks & Strings. Janice is a Harvard-educated witch, descended from a long line of witches. She and her husband, Lorcan, have five children.

  LORCAN MEANY - Janice’s husband. Lorcan is a selkie and one of Luke’s friends.

  LYNETTE PENDRAGON - A shifter and owner, with her husband, Cyrus, of Sugar Maple Arts Players. They have five children: Vonnie, Iphigenia, Troy (originally named Gilbert), Adonis (originally named Sullivan), and Will.

  LILITH - A Norwegian troll who is Sugar Maple’s town librarian and historian. She is married to Archie. Her mother was Sorcha the Healer, who cared for Chloe after her parents died.

  MIDGE STALLWORTH - A rosy-cheeked vampire who runs the funeral home with her husband, George.

  RENATE WEAVER - Member of the Fae and owner of the Sugar Maple Inn. Renate and her husband, Colm, have four grown children: Bettina, Daisy, Penelope, and Calliope.

  BETTINA WEAVER LEONIDES - Harpist, member of the Fae, occasional part-time worker at Sticks & Strings. Married to Alexander. Mother of three children: Memphis, Athens, Ithaca.

  PAUL GRIGGS - Werewolf and owner of Griggs Hardware. He is Luke’s closest friend in town. He is married to Verna and has two sons: Jeremy and Adam. His nephew Johnny is a frequent visitor.

  FRANK - One of the more garrulous vampire retirees at Sugar Maple Assisted Living.

  MANNY - Another vampire retiree who pals around with Frank.

  ROSE - Frank’s and Manny’s love interest. She is also a retired vampire who resides at Sugar Maple Assisted Living.

  SAMUEL - A four-hundred-plus-year-old wizard who pierced the veil at the end of Spun by Sorcery. He was Aerynn’s lover and the father of the Hobbs clan.

  SORCHA - The healer who stayed behind in the mortal world to raise Chloe to adulthood after her parents died in a car crash. Sorcha is Lilith’s birth mother.

  AERYNN - A powerful sorceress from Salem who led the magickal creatures from Salem to freedom during the infamous Witch Trials. A gifted spinner, she founded Sinzibukwud in northern Vermont (later renamed Sugar Maple) and passed her magick and her spinning and knitting skills down to generations of Hobbs women. Aerynn is responsible for the magick charm that enables Sugar Maple to hide in plain sight.

  GUINEVERE - Chloe’s sorceress mother. Guinevere chose to pierce the veil after the auto accident that took her beloved husband’s life.

  TED AUBRY - Chloe’s human father and Guinevere’s husband. He was a carpenter by trade. Ted was in medical school when he met Guinevere but gave it up to be with her. A very romantic story until Chloe learned her mother had cast a spell on him to bind him to her.

  ISADORA - The most powerful member of the Fae. She is also the most dangerous. Currently Isadora is banished from this realm until the end of time but who knows what the future might bring.

  GUNNAR - The good twin, he sacrificed himself so Chloe and Luke could be together.

  DANE - The ultimate evil twin.

  THE HARRIS FAMILY - They were carpenters in life (c. 1860) but now inhabit the spirit world.

  THE SOUDERBUSH BOYS - Father Benjamin, mother Amelia, and sons David, William, and John are all ghosts who spend a lot of time on the Spirit Trail, which passes through the Sugar Maple Inn.

  SIMONE - A seductive spirit who specializes in breaking up happy marriages. She usually manifests herself in a wisteria-scented lilac cloud.

  FORBES THE MOUNTAIN GIANT - His name pretty much says it all.

  * * *

  THE NEW NEIGHBORS

  ROHESIA OF OLWYN – Leader of a clan of Others who have lived for centuries in
a dimension beyond the mist that has reached the end of its natural life.

  GAVAN OF ERES – Rohesia’s grandson. He is a warrior who was betrothed to Chloe when they were children. He was sent to Sugar Maple to stop her marriage to Luke.

  * * *

  CHLOE’S COUSIN

  WENDY AUBRY LATTIMER – A second cousin (a few times removed) via Chloe’s human father Ted Aubry. She is young, divorced, and a great knitter.

  * * *

  THE MACKENZIE CLAN

  BUNNY - Matriarch, knitter, retired nurse. Born and raised in the Boston suburbs near Salem.

  JACK - Patriarch, sport fisherman, retired welder. Also born and raised in the Boston suburbs near Salem.

  RONNIE - A successful Realtor, father of four. Married to Denise. He still lives in the town where he was born and raised.

  KIMBERLY - Luke’s oldest sister. Kim is a financial analyst, married, mother of one with husband Travis Davenport. They have been married nine years. She and Chloe formed an easy bond right from the start.

  JENNIFER - Another of Luke’s older sisters. She’s married to Paul and mother of Diandra, Sean, and Colin.

  KEVIN - Luke’s younger brother. He has been married to Tiffany for nine years. They have four children: Ami, Honor, Scott, and Michael.

  PATRICK - Another younger brother. He’s newly divorced from Siobhan. They have two daughters: Caitlin and Sarah.

  MEGHAN - The wild card of the bunch. Meghan is the youngest of Bunny and Jack’s children and the least predictable. (Her two-minutes younger twin died at birth.) She has the habit of taking up with the wrong guys and paying for it with a broken heart.

  FRAN KELLY - Retired administrative assistant to Boston’s police chief. Close friend of the MacKenzie family.

  STEFFIE - Luke’s daughter, who was six years old when she died in a bicycle accident.