An orange cloud curled up in front of Damien. She skidded to a halt and screamed. A flash of white told me that the owl had swooped above the cloud.
I gasped and looked around, not quite believing what I saw. Maybe like the melting doors and moving nails, this bird had been conjured out of the thick, strange air.
But of course that wasn’t really what was going on. There was a much simpler explanation for where the owl had come from.
Michael was standing in the doorway. The young man was pale, but calm. He had two snowy owls on each arm. One had shockingly blue eyes, like the sky trapped in a diamond.
“What did I miss?” he asked.
Chapter Thirty-Four
A moment later, Quinn came charging back into the dance hall. I couldn’t help but notice that he was without a Vixen captive. Maybe the other members of the Young Witches group had caught one, but I doubted it.
His eyes went to me first, I noticed smugly.
Once he had assessed my condition and realized I was fine, and drying out after his water bath, he scanned the rest of the room. Michael was talking quietly with Jackie, who hadn’t met him before. She still looked upset, but somehow Michael was oddly calming. His monotone way of speaking proved soothing in a crisis. Not to mention that the owl was now busily trying to clean Jackie’s hair. The owl appeared to like the bright color, and when Jackie realized what it was doing she nearly smiled.
Meanwhile, they had bound Damien tightly, and she sat on the floor next to me, snarling. “You’ll never get away with this,” she spat out. “The Vixens will make you pay.”
Quinn strode over. “Aren’t you just the middle woman?” he asked sharply.
“You have no idea what I am!” she countered.
He actually rolled his eyes, deliberately making it clear that he was not impressed with her. That only enraged her more.
“You run their errands and you take the fall for them. They messed up by letting Kyle see their faces, and they expected you to fix it. Good job you did at that,” said Quinn.
He was taunting a suspect.
She snarled at him.
Sometimes I really loved Twinkleford.
Damien fell into a dark silence, but her eyes bore into Quinn’s. If I had been Quinn I would have been very glad that she was tied up. But he didn’t look fazed by the glare. He had probably seen worse, possibly from his own ex-wife.
“Where is everyone else?” he asked me.
“They went after one of the Vixens who attacked the dance hall,” I said.
He nodded, but made no move to find them. “I’m sure they’ll be back soon. We don’t appear to have much luck tracking down the Vixens right after an attack,” he said.
“There are a lot of witches this time,” I pointed out.
Damien snorted. Quinn also did not look convinced. His black uniform was ripped, so I scanned him for injuries.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
“Oh, fine,” he nodded, glancing down at the tear in his uniform. “At least there were no poisonous lizards this time,” he said.
“If we haven’t killed them, they’ll be back,” said Michael, wandering over with Jackie, who kept glancing sideways at him.
“They’ll be back,” Jackie said quietly. “The queens are supposedly dealing with the Vixens, but there’s no evidence of that today.” She had a red mark on her shoulder and she looked shaken. “Maybe I’ll talk to my mom about it. I’m sure that when she hears about what happened today, she’ll have a lot to say anyway.” Jackie sounded a bit dejected about that prospect. As the mayor of Twinkleford, her mother always spoke forcefully. Given that her daughter’s life had been threatened, this time would be no different.
“We have to do more. The Vixens are doing more. These skirmishes haven’t ended in tragedy so far, but they will,” said Michael. His voice was quiet, but we all turned to listen. Even Damien stopped snarling. She had started to drool a bit and I quickly looked away.
I’d had no inkling how crazy she was when I met her at the bakery. I wondered if her coworkers knew. The guys had acted pretty unconcerned with everything, so maybe they didn’t notice or didn’t care.
“I have to get back. Are you finished with me?” Michael asked Quinn.
“We can take it from here. Thank you for coming. You arrived just in time. I know you don’t often leave your home,” said Quinn.
“With this much protection I could do with leaving it more often,” said Michael with a slight bow. “Ladies.”
Awkwardly, he sort of glided away.
Just then there was a commotion at the other end of the dance hall and all the other Young Witches came tumbling in. They stopped short when they saw Quinn, Jackie, and me standing over Damien. This was going to be some explanation.
Hannah braced her hands on her hips. Her blond hair had gone stringy and her skin was pale. “I demand to know what happened,” she said.
“In a minute,” Quinn replied, as a commotion from outside interrupted us.
Chapter Thirty-Five
My grandmother and Lowe had come, with Gill and a lot of other townspeople trickling in behind them. Gill scanned the crowd with terrible concern until his eyes landed on my cousin. Then the tension in his face seeped away and the goofy glint returned.
Quinn went to talk quietly with Hannah and Taylor while Kelly came with us, figuring she’d get a less official explanation that didn’t involve being close enough to Hannah to smell her perfume.
Eventually, everyone in town that I had ever seen before was there. The drunken goats, all sorts of cats, vampires, and werewolves, not to mention the ogres and the ghouls and the pixies and fairies buzzing overhead. The throng of witches and warlocks was overwhelming. In the back of the crowd I saw Gael, her thin face drawn and her cheeks pale. When she caught me looking at her she rolled her eyes and turned away. I had suspected her for nothing. Hannah’s mother and the other queen witches were making their way through the crowd, brushing past other townsfolk as if they didn’t exist.
Speaking of unpleasant townsfolk, I soon spotted another one. Cynthia was there, glaring around at all of us. When she caught sight of me, I imagined fire coming out of her eyes and consuming me. I checked my hair to make sure it wasn’t singed. It wasn’t, but it was fluffy and ugly. I tossed my hair and pretended she wasn’t there.
The whole town had heard there was a Vixen battle. The government’s hope of keeping the presence of the Vixens quiet was out the window now.
Bethel rushed over. “What happened?”
“It’s a long story,” I said.
“Is everyone okay?” Lowe demanded.
“Mostly,” I said. When I saw that my response alarmed my family, I hastened to add, “No one died. I’ll tell you when we get home.”
Jackie’s mother wasn’t there yet, but her chief assistant had arrived. An official-looking man with a long face that reminded me of a wolf took Jackie in hand. She waved solemnly. “I’ll catch you all later. Duty calls.”
“Speaking with your mother isn’t a duty,” said the man. Jackie didn’t answer that one.
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” I assured her.
“Maybe. I might still be explaining things to Mom by then,” she said dejectedly.
The throng kept growing, and Bethel started urging me to leave. Even in the stress of the moment, I was fascinated. The ghouls were especially interesting. The vampires stood like sentries watching the proceedings. Since one of their own had recently been murdered, I was sure they watched these events with some satisfaction.
“Shall we go?” Bethel asked, eyeing the queen witches with distaste. I realized that if I didn’t get her out of there she would give them a piece of her mind. Given that she had so few pieces left, I told her we should go. Her face instantly lightened. Lucy the hat bird chirped her appreciation from the top of Bethel’s head.
We made for the trolley. I hoped today’s colors were cheerful; we needed something bright to set off the horror we had ju
st lived through.
When we were almost home, Lisa and Lucky materialized out of nowhere to escort us. Various other witches and townsfolk tried to speak with Bethel and me, but my grandmother wasn’t having it. In general, when I imagined angry beings I tried to think what a cat thrown into the middle of a lake would look like at being forced to swim. Never having seen it myself, all I could imagine was murderous eyes, furious hissing, and the best, most miserable swimmer I had ever seen. That type of fury was flaming from my grandmother’s face now.
Even so, we made it home without an outburst, if only barely. The cats were waiting for us at the edge of the property. I counted six of them forming a protective circle around us.
“Think we should hear the rest of this story in the back pasture? If we’re close to the unicorns, we just might live,” I murmured to Lowe.
She smiled slightly. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”
“It feels like I did,” I whispered. She nodded sympathetically.
Luckily for us, Bethel was in fact making for the unicorn pasture. Lisa and Lucky peeled off, preferring not to get in the middle of the coming family drama. I didn’t want to be in the middle of it either, but I didn’t think it would do any good to say so to Bethel.
My grandmother listened to the story, the unicorns standing nearby watchfully. Her expression ran the gamut of emotions I knew she was capable of: anger, definitely annoyance, and fear. Then there was one that I didn’t recognize.
The pasture had turned cold by the time I’d finished. The unicorns had gathered around us to shield my grandmother from the oncoming winds. I couldn’t help but notice that they were less concerned with Lowe and me. By the time I finished talking, I was so tired that my shoulders were sagging.
“What’s that face?” my grandmother asked me. Despite being much older than I was, she didn’t show how tired she was.
“Just couldn’t read your expression there,” I said as my eyelids drooped.
She smiled a bit and took a step forward. “That face was pride.”
She drew Lowe and me in for hugs.
That evening I sat in the study with Bethel and Lowe nearby. Tiger had come in for a quiet chat with those witches who could speak cat. His tail swished lazily back and forth as he heard about the events of the day.
When we got to the part about Damien’s arrest, he gave me an impressed look. I just rolled my eyes back at him. I hadn’t yet gotten annoyed that the cats had conversations I couldn’t hear, but it was only a matter of time.
Instead of feeling impressed with myself, I just felt foolish.
Quinn hadn’t come to the cottage yet. He’d arrested the feather trader, saved the day, and come charging into the dance hall to help. After all that I expected him to come to Bethel’s, but he still wasn’t there.
I sighed as Bethel checked her watch. She had her feet up and had taken her socks off. She kept wiggling her gnarled old toes as she asked, “Did you learn anything from this whole process?”
Lowe and I exchanged glances, but my cousin was not going to help me out with this. Her look said that I was the one who’d been at the dance hall, so this was my problem.
“I learned a lot about cauldron work,” I told my grandmother. “You helped us in the field. The mixing of ingredients is a delicate process. There are many ways for it to go wrong.”
She nodded soberly. “Yes, that’s true. You must be very careful with that process. It helps to have two experts working with you when you start. Bara is not known to step outside her lab often, but I imagine you caught her attention.”
“I guess so,” I said.
“Did you learn anything else?” she asked.
I made a show of thinking about it, but I knew what she wanted me to say. She wanted me to say that I would stop snooping. She didn’t like that I had embraced the process so thoroughly.
At last I said, “I learned that I need a hobby here, and I think I’ve found one.”
Over her shoulder Lowe smirked, but before Bethel could respond there came a knock at the door. Tiger had been placid a moment before, but now the cat bounded off the couch and raced out of the room.
“I think we all know who that is,” said Bethel. “Shall you see him alone? No, of course not. What do you take us for? Individuals who would wait up without hearing the conclusion? Go let him in.”
My grandmother was one of the most confusing individuals I had ever had the misfortune to live with. I hurried to the front door.
Quinn Merchant was indeed the one standing there, waiting to be let in. For the first time since I’d met him I thought he looked tired. There were dark circles under his eyes and the smile he gave me was tiny.
“I thought you might still be up,” he explained.
“Wanted to hear the news,” I told him. “How are you doing?”
He shrugged. “Kelly’s family is glad the case is solved. At least for now.”
“Is Kyle going to be safer?” I wondered.
“He’s going to be safer in that Damien has now been revealed for what she is,” he said. “There’s no more worry that Kyle will tell anyone, since we already know. We just have to hope that he doesn’t know who any Vixens are, or any of their secrets. But for that he does have to wake up. I’m hoping Damien’s arrest will send them a message, but I doubt they’ll take it in. If they keep coming after him, it won’t end well for anyone.”
“Has Damien said anything?” I asked.
“No, not yet,” he said. “She’s hissing and spitting and being furious. She’s threatened such a long list of individuals that I’m not sure whether to fight with her or give her a prize.”
“Must be a difficult decision, though I don’t think sheriffs give prizes for being the most difficult criminals. That might just encourage some of them,” I said.
“Oh, right. I didn’t think of that. Good point,” he said, his eyes twinkling. “I’d be fired for certain.”
The moon was behind him. His hair looked silver in the light, and he appeared more boyish that way. If I looked carefully, I could see that he was favoring one leg over the other because of his injury. Otherwise he stood tall.
“The Coven Council wouldn’t fire you, would they?” I asked. The possibility had never entered my head. I tried to imagine the Twinkleford Sheriff’s Department without Quinn. I failed.
He shrugged. “I have no idea. No one wants the job. That’s how I got it in the first place. My dad wanted better things for me, so he tried to ensure that I wouldn’t get it. I told him there was nothing better than helping the town that had saved my life.”
Unspoken between us was another reason. He was just as determined as I was to find out who had caused the explosion that had ruined his leg and killed my mother.
“It’s the only place I want to be,” he assured me.
I smiled. “That’s a good thing. If you weren’t around to keep Bethel in line I’m not sure what would happen.”
“Chaos. Pure and simple,” he laughed.
We stood there on the porch in the cool air and moonlight. Now something else was unspoken between us, and I was having trouble stringing coherent thoughts together. He looked really good in the moonlight.
Suddenly his face brightened. “How many dates do we have to go on before I can ask you to be my girlfriend?”
I coughed, too shocked to do much else.
“A few?” I managed to get out.
He nodded his head as if that was a serious answer. “You realize that’s not an actual number?”
I nodded numbly.
“Okay,” he said, “I guess you’re right. I’ll just have to decide what a few is. All we’ve done is go to dinner. We haven’t done anything impressive yet.”
“What would that be?” I asked.
His smile widened. “You’ll just have to wait and see.”
My heart beat in my chest. If we kept standing there I was liable to fling myself at him and start kissing him. To stop myself from being foolish, I cleared my t
hroat and stepped back into the house, clearing the way.
“Come in. Bethel wants to talk to you. Get ready for a long night,” I said.
“Are you coming too? This is going to be the fun part,” he said, following me into the cottage with Tiger tagging at his ankles and talking away in cat.
I would have given anything to know what the cat was saying.
The End
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By Addison Creek
Witch of Mintwood Mysteries
Witch Way to Mintwood
Witch Some Win Some
Spell by Midnight
A Witch on Mintwood Mountain
Witch Raising Situation
Witch Way Round
Witch Wish Way
White Witch Wonder
Muddled Mintwood Murderer
Wonder Wand Way
Miraculous Mintwood Magic
Witch of Mintwood Mysteries 1-3
Witch of Mintwood Mysteries 4-6
Witch of Mintwood Mysteries 7-9
Witchy Minter Wonderland
The Jane Garbo Mysteries
Spooky Business
Spooky Spells
Spooky Spider
Spooky Spindle
Spooky Skeleton
Jane Garbo Mysteries 1-3
The Rhinestone Witches Mysteries
Pointy Hats and Witchy Cats
Rhinestone Way
Rhinestone Way Page 22
