“Only Bryony,” said Gabriel. “I don’t understand her.”
“There’s more going on in her head than her sweet smile and pretty blonde hair reveals, isn’t there,” said Vanessa.
Gabriel frowned. “What makes you say that?”
“I’ve known Bryony and Ivy since we were children,” said Vanessa. “We went to witch school together. We weren’t close, but I always saw them around. The two of them always hung out together, never had any other close friends. It was the two of them against the rest of the world. Does that make sense to you?”
“Yes, I know what you mean,” said Gabriel. “Sometimes I feel they have a brick wall up against everyone else. They let you in so far, and then just as you think you’re getting somewhere, the wall slams back into place and you’re left feeling bruised and wondering what you did wrong.”
“Sounds like Bryony has done a number on you,” said Vanessa. “You know, there are plenty more single women available in Old Sarum if you are looking for a date.” She fluttered her overly long black eyelashes at him.
Gabriel inwardly cursed. He hadn’t meant to speak his thoughts aloud. “I’m not interested in anybody else.” The ale was loosening his tongue but he didn’t care. “I wish I could find out why Bryony is so guarded.”
“You must know the legend of the Thornheart witches,” said Vanessa. “Don’t you think it’s odd that none of the women in the family have husbands?”
“It’s unusual,” said Gabriel. “I wouldn’t say odd. What’s the legend you speak of?”
“That family is a cursed one,” said Vanessa. “None of the women can ever marry.”
“That can’t be true,” said Gabriel. “Why would someone curse them to never be able to marry?”
“It’s a legend shrouded in mystery,” said Vanessa. “Someone took a dislike to the family and wanted to make sure the women could never further their lineage. It goes back generations, maybe hundreds of years. The Thornheart women have been secretly getting pregnant and having children before it was acceptable for a single woman to do so. It’s the only way their powers could have continued.”
“So they were cursed never to have children?” Gabriel scrubbed a hand across his forehead, an ale induced headache threading through his thoughts.
“No, that’s not what the curse is focused on,” said Vanessa. “The Thornheart women are sneaky. They figured out a way around it. They picked suitable men, became pregnant by them but never fell in love. I can’t believe you’ve never heard of this legend.”
“I don’t tend to listen to rumor,” said Gabriel.
Vanessa pouted. “It’s more than a rumor. It’s a fact. You've only been here a year, so maybe you're too new to know all of their secrets. But it may explain why Bryony is so prickly around you.”
“Hold on a second, does that mean Bryony can never fall in love?” asked Gabriel. “Is that what triggers this curse?”
Vanessa shrugged and inspected her painted nails. “The details are foggy, but I don’t think any of them would risk marrying in case it triggered the curse. As for falling in love, well, you don’t see any men around them for long.”
“So she could like me?”
“Oh, you sweet thing,” said Vanessa. “Don’t waste your affections on somebody you can’t have. There are so many other women around here who would welcome your attention.”
Gabriel nodded but his thoughts were elsewhere. Bryony Thornheart might like him. A small sliver of hope slipped through Gabriel. If he could discover what the curse was and get rid of it, Bryony would be free to date him.
“Why don’t we go out?” asked Vanessa. “There’s a dance this weekend and I’m looking for a partner.”
“Thanks for the offer, but I’m working,” said Gabriel, still thinking through the possibilities attached to this curse.
“Change shift with someone,” said Vanessa. “I bet you’re a good dancer.” She walked over and traced a hand down Gabriel’s broad chest.
“I can’t,” said Gabriel. “But thanks for the information. And you’re sure this curse is real?”
Vanessa pouted again and stepped away, sensing defeat. “As much as it pains me to say, the Thornheart women aren’t unattractive. Surely at least one of them would be married by now. Unless there’s something repellent about them we’re all missing.”
“There’s nothing repellent about any of them.”
“Ivy Thornheart is not much fun to be around.” Vanessa ran her fingers through her black hair. “I’m sure she did this to me.”
“Ivy’s okay,” said Gabriel. “She’s just protective of her sister. And if this curse is true, I understand now why she behaves the way she does.”
Vanessa shrugged. “If you’re not interested in asking me out to the dance, I’d better go. Plenty more people to see.” She turned and flounced back to her car.
Gabriel walked away slowly, absorbed in his own thoughts. The red bloods were still suffering from the magic they were under, and there were no clues to help figure out who inflicted the magic on them. And now this information about a curse Bryony and her family were under. He shook his head. Old Sarum was nothing if not an interesting place to live.
The news about the Thornheart curse was fascinating. Gabriel had to know more about it. Perhaps he could help Bryony, and her whole family, get free from the curse. Then he would know if she liked him or not. With another shake of his head, he continued home. The first thing he needed to do was sleep off this ale. Then he needed to never drink again. Then he would help Bryony.
Chapter 17
“That last spell was a joke. This toad is defective. And if one more idiot customer comes in asking about the benefits of dried four leafed clovers, I’m going to curse the lot of them.” Ivy thumped her hands on top of the counter.
“The spell was fine. Your toad is also fine. And our customers aren’t idiots, they’re just curious about the magical properties of dried clover leaf. Witch Radio did a report on it, so everyone wants to know more.” Bryony shelved the last book in her hand and walked over to the counter, scooping up the baby toad and shuffling him into his box out of Ivy's way. “Time for us to close?”
Ivy glowered at her sister and then sighed. She’d been out of sorts since the family dinner last night, mulling over everything her family said about not putting themselves at risk of harming anyone by falling in love.
She’d always assumed love was for wimps, but every now and again, Ivy found herself wondering what if? What if she did find somebody she loved? She’d never sacrifice her sister for the sake of that. But a long life as a witch on your own was a difficult thing to consider at times.
“Let’s close and get out of here. I’ve had enough of magic for one day,” said Ivy.
“I’ll take you to dinner. My treat,” said Bryony. “We don’t have much food in the apartment, and I hear they’re doing a new type of burrito over at Dolores’s diner.”
“Dolores’s food is good,” admitted Ivy. “Fine, but after that, we’re going to Bubbling Brews. I need something to take the edge off after today.”
“Just for one,” said Bryony. “We’ve still got to work on Agatha’s curse this evening.”
“Something strong and alcoholic will help us be more creative with our thinking about this annoying curse,” said Ivy. “I think better when I’m relaxed.”
Bryony laughed as she switched off the store lights. “Okay, we can try your method.”
“I’ll leave Spike in charge of the red blood,” said Ivy. “Don’t want him waking up and causing havoc in the store.”
“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” asked Bryony. “The last time you left the two of them alone, the red blood’s arm got chewed.”
“It was only his jacket sleeve,” said Ivy. “It’s a horrible jacket anyway. And Spike was just being curious. He didn’t really want to eat him.”
“Well, fair enough, but I’ll leave Sweetie here, too. She can watch the red blood from her perch in the
corner.”
“Between the two of them, I’m sure they’ll keep him safe.” Ivy grinned evilly at her sister.
After Spike and Sweetie had been given their instructions and were installed on guard duty, Bryony locked the store and the girls walked arm in arm to Dolores Woodsmith’s diner, Enchanted Feasts.
Ivy pushed open the diner door and was hit with an enticing smell of Mexican spices and salsa. The diner was a low roofed building, with wonky floors and small wooden tables, set with bright red tablecloths. A mariachi band was setting up in one corner and most of the tables were full.
“Looks like it’s going to be a lively evening,” said Bryony.
“We can always go somewhere else,” said Ivy.
“No, the food here is amazing, you said so yourself,” said Bryony. “And I love Dolores’s themed evenings. They are so much fun.”
“We have different ideas of what’s fun.” Ivy grudgingly followed her sister to a seat in one corner of the diner and they sat down.
“What will it be, girls?” Dolores rushed over to their table, her red hair set in perfect spiral curls around her long face and her silver eyes shining. “We’ve got burritos, burritos or burritos.”
“That’s some choice,” said Ivy.
Dolores chuckled. “You get to decide the heat in them. I’m going for hot, extra hot, and blow your head off. You choose.”
“Can you make mine on the mild side of hot?” asked Bryony.
“The same,” said Ivy. “And two pints of bramble beer.”
“Make mine a half,” said Bryony.
Dolores jotted down their order. “Coming right up. Enjoy the show.” She dashed away to the next table of waiting customers.
“So, why such a glum face today?” asked Bryony.
“This is my default look,” said Ivy. “You know I rarely smile.”
“You smile enough for me,” said Bryony. “What’s wrong?”
“The curse is bothering me,” said Ivy.
“But we’re making progress with Agatha’s kiss curse,” said Bryony. “Hopefully, by the end of tomorrow, we will have found out who cursed her.”
“I don’t care about Agatha’s dumb curse,” said Ivy. “I mean our curse.”
Dolores returned with the bramble beers. “Food won’t be long.”
“Thanks,” said Bryony to Dolores’s already retreating form.
Ivy scooped the foam off the top of her bramble beer and sucked the sweet-and-sour bubbles off her finger. She studied her sister’s perfect face, her blue eyes looking back at her with clear concern. “Doesn’t it bother you?”
“Our curse is always on my mind,” said Bryony. “I hate that a sacrifice should be made if either of us ever finds true love.”
“You know I’d do it,” said Ivy. “If you ever truly fell in love and wanted to marry, you could do that. I want you to be happy.”
“But I wouldn’t be happy without you.” Bryony grabbed Ivy’s hand. “And there’s the problem. If I ever meet someone I want to be with, then I lose you.”
“As much as I hate whoever cursed the family, I do admire them,” said Ivy. “It’s the perfect curse.”
“It’s the suckiest curse ever.” A rare frown crossed Bryony’s face. “But it is clever. Although I do wish you’d stop chasing away all of the attractive men. I’m not going to fall in love with any of them, but they are nice to look at.”
“I don’t chase them all away,” said Ivy. “Some of them flee the village before I get to them.”
“Only because they know you’re coming for them.” Bryony smiled at her sister, a large foam moustache on her top lip where she’d taken a drink from her beer.
Ivy reached across the table and swiped the foam from Bryony's face. “You’re better than any lousy husband. I’ll never find a man who can make brownies like you do.”
“And I’ll never find a man who looks out for me the way you do,” said Bryony. “Who needs men when we have each other?”
“Grab it and growl, girls.” Dolores slapped down two enormous plates of salsa covered burritos, along with a tray of tortilla chips.
Ivy scooped up her first burrito and tucked in, happy to have a distraction from the difficult conversation with Bryony. She loved her sister and would do anything for her. Even if that meant sacrificing herself to this stupid curse her family were under. She hated to think Bryony was deliberately avoiding finding happiness just to keep her alive. Sure, Ivy didn’t want to die, but she also didn’t want to see her sister lonely. And that was the cruel twist of the curse; if either sister fell in love, the other one got sick. And if they went on to marry, then that sister died.
“These burritos are great,” said Bryony.
“It’s good food,” said Ivy. The mariachi band started and all conversation had to end as the raucous strumming of guitars and the loud wailing of the singers filled the room.
An hour later, the food and beer were gone and Ivy sat at the table, an amused grin on her face as she watched Bryony being danced around the other tables by one of the warlocks who served behind the bar. Wherever they went, Bryony attracted attention from men.
Their curse didn’t work on all men, but it was effective on a high enough number that it made Ivy want to strangle any male who walked through the door of the Love Cauldron, for fear that he would be the one Bryony finally fell in love with.
Ivy paid the bill and rescued her sister from the arms of the dancing warlock. “Time to go. We’ve got curse business to deal with.”
The warlock reluctantly released Bryony and returned to the bar. “Don’t forget me, pretty lady,” he called out as they left.
“She already has,” shouted back Ivy, before slamming the door behind her.
“That was such fun.” Bryony danced around Ivy as they walked along the street.
“We’ve got time for a quick drink in Bubbling Brews before we have to meet the family,” said Ivy.
“I’d almost forgotten it was the red blood procession to Stonehenge this evening,” said Bryony. “Are you sure we’ve got time?”
“We’ve got an hour. And we need to discuss Agatha’s curse.”
Bryony stopped dancing. “I hope this mystery man is easy to find. If he was only passing through Old Sarum, he could be anywhere by now.”
“If we can’t locate him, we’ll break the curse eventually. It will just take more time and more magic. Neither of which I’m keen on using on Agatha’s annoying problem.” They reached the entrance of Bubbling Brews, a tiny thatched building, with giant chimney stacks poking out of the thatch, and a mural of an enormous green gargoyle painted on the side of the building, in honor of the owner’s, Wilbert Giggles, gargoyle ancestry.
They walked into the bar and selected a seat close to the open fire. Ivy went to the bar and brought back two more pints of bramble beer.
“I’ll be tipsy if I drink any more,” said Bryony.
“You’re already tipsy,” said Ivy as she sat down. “Half a bramble beer is all it takes with you.”
“You’re right,” said Bryony. “But it always tastes so good.”
“So, tomorrow evening we’ll search for the curse giver,” said Ivy. “Once we find him, I’ll convince him to change his mind about putting this curse on Agatha.”
“I was thinking magic could have been used to make Agatha forget who gave it to her,” said Bryony. “That means they’re a powerful magic user. We need to be careful.”
“Powerful magic doesn’t bother me,” said Ivy.
“Maybe he put the curse on Agatha because he thought he had good reason to.”
“For whatever reason, he needs to pay,” said Ivy.
“It is odd, though, that a stranger comes to Old Sarum and curses Agatha. Why would he do it?” asked Bryony. “I suppose he could have been horribly wronged by a woman. He may have a vendetta against straying girlfriends and Agatha was in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
“I’ve been wondering about that,” said Ivy. “I�
��m not convinced he’s acting alone. Someone asked our mystery man to put this curse on Agatha. Not many magic users can create such an effective curse. None of our suspects can, that’s for sure.”
“Vanessa could have done it.” Bryony sat up straight in her seat, her cheeks flushed from the bramble beer. “She was interested in Bruce when she was in our store. She could have had Agatha cursed knowing she’d leave Bruce when she could no longer kiss him. Then he’d be a free agent for Vanessa to date.”
“It’s a possibility,” said Ivy. “Vanessa can be malicious when she wants to be. But curses are expensive, and she spends most of her money on make-up and those ridiculous shoes she totters around in. But she’s still a suspect. I’d be happy to have a little chat with her. Vanessa could have persuaded one of her older men friends to pay for the curse.”
“I bet she’s not forgiven you for the black hair.” Bryony giggled as she raised her beer to her lips.
“Men like the dark and sultry look,” said Ivy. “She should be thanking me.”
“And then there’s Bruce himself,” said Bryony. “He could be seeking revenge because Agatha left him.”
“He could have found out about her kissing another guy,” said Ivy. “She did that after they had their argument. Maybe word got back to him about what she’d done and he decided to teach her a lesson.”
“So he cursed her.” Bryony raised her eyebrows. “Not Vanessa?”
Ivy shook her head. “But that doesn’t make sense. Bruce still likes her, despite the fact Agatha acted like an idiot.”
“What about Mavis? Her mom’s got exactly what she wanted. Agatha has moved back home to wait on her hand and foot.”
“I wouldn’t put anything past that old dragon,” said Ivy. “But she’d be too proud to get anyone else to do her dirty work.”
“So, when we do find our curse giver, we need to discover who paid him to curse Agatha.”
“My money’s on Vanessa,” said Ivy. “She may have had to go into debt to afford it, but it’s just the kind of malicious thing she’d do to get at Agatha. It sounds as if their competitive streak against each other goes back to their childhood.”
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