Cast Away

by Annabel Chase

  Agnes shrugged her bony shoulders. "I may have commandeered a jalopy and left it somewhere near the Oaks to throw people off the trail. I knew you'd come here."

  "How?" I asked.

  She smiled. "Because that's exactly what I would have done." She glanced at Raisa. "No one in their right mind would come here willingly.”

  "Would you like a cup of tea, Agnes?" Raisa asked in her most polite tone.

  "Tea? Do I look like a harpy to you? Don't you have anything stronger?"

  Ah, there was the Agnes I knew.

  “Of course. I thought you'd never ask." Raisa went over to the shelf and pulled down a bottle of Rattle Rum. She poured a small glass for Agnes. "Anyone else?"

  "Go on, sorceress," Agnes teased. "I think it'll do you good under the circumstances. Loosen up that knot that you mistakenly call a body.”

  I wasn't sure about this. The last time I dared to drink with Agnes, I found myself cradling the toilet of her care home bathroom. I wasn't keen to repeat the experience in Raisa’s bone-infested cottage.

  "I'll have one," Daniel said.

  My head jerked toward him. “Really?"

  "It seems like the thing to do at the moment," he said, with a trace of amusement.

  "Peer pressure," I mused. "Okay, fine. Me too."

  Raisa clapped her hands together. "Excellent." She poured three more glasses and distributed them.

  "Bottoms up," Agnes quipped. “Or out, as the case may be." She shook her exposed butt and I winced.

  "Raisa, do we have any clothes for Agnes to wear?"

  The two women stared at me.

  "It's called magic," Agnes said. “Lend me your wand, nincompoop."

  I placed my hands on my hips. "I will if you ask nicely," I said firmly. "Stop calling me names."

  "Nincompoop is a term of endearment," Agnes said. "Do you think I call everybody that?"

  I relented, pulling out my wand. Knowing Agnes, she was telling the truth.

  She snatched the wand and pointed it to herself. "Red as a rose/give me new clothes."

  I watched as her black hospital gown stretched into a black tracksuit. All that was missing was the white Adidas logo.

  Agnes glanced down at her attire. "Comfy and cool. Nice work for an old witch.”

  "May I make a toast?" Daniel asked.

  "By all means," Agnes said. "Then I get to have another drink." She held out her empty glass for Raisa to refill.

  I looked up at Daniel. "A toast to what? Our banishment?"

  He raised his glass. "I'd like to make a toast to Emma. For believing in me. For seeing what was in my heart when no one else did. For seeing the good in everyone, even in the face of doubt."

  Raisa and Agnes raised their glasses. "To Emma," they said in unison.

  “Well, Agnes, I think this might be the first time we have ever agreed on something," Raisa said.

  "Don't get used to it," Agnes said.

  "Agnes, they’ll come looking for you,” I said. “People will be worried."

  She blew a raspberry. "Worry about me? Are you serious? Trust me, they're more worried about the damage I can do out of the care home than they are about what might happen to me."

  I didn't doubt that. Agnes was capable of much mayhem when she set her mind to it. I’d seen it firsthand when she'd stolen my wand and wreaked havoc in the cafeteria. On that note, I retrieved my wand from her grasp.

  "You can't keep my wand," I said, tucking it back into my waistband.

  "You know you don't need that thing," Agnes said. "You're a sorceress. Your magic is different."

  "I know," I said. "But it doesn't mean I can't use the wand. There are still spells I can do that I learned at the academy."

  Agnes frowned. "Yes, the academy. They will be struggling to know what to do with you."

  “They've already decided what to do with her," Raisa said. "They want her cast out, like me.”

  "I wouldn't be so sure about that," Daniel said. “Lady Weatherby is the one who bought us time to come here. She’s appealing to the citizens to let her continue to train Emma.”

  Raisa’s eyes rounded at the news and I worried that one of them would pop out of the socket like it did the last time I was here. I wasn’t in the mood to play catch-the-eyeball.

  "Agnes of the coven, did I really just hear that your replacement made a reasonable decision? Times surely have changed." Raisa clucked her tongue.

  "Jacinda Ruth may be uptight and rigid, but she is my daughter and I know her well. It doesn’t surprise me in the least that she is one of the first to come around."

  "Like she was with you?" Daniel challenged her. "I haven't seen her glued to your bedside."

  Agnes lowered her head. “We will take time, I recognize this, but it will happen. She's already been to see me since the youth spell. Some relationships require more care than others. You of all people should know that.” She gave him a pointed look.

  I polished off the rest of the alcohol in my glass and tried to ignore the burn in my throat. I couldn't understand the appeal of the stuff. It was vile.

  "How long do you plan to hide out here?" Agnes asked.

  Daniel and I exchanged looks. We hadn’t gotten that far in the conversation.

  "Until Spellbound calms down and Emma is safe," Daniel said. "It only takes one resident to do something stupid."

  The idea unnerved me. I'd investigated enough murder cases since my arrival to worry that he was right.

  "You are welcome to seek refuge here for as long as it's needed, pet,” Raisa said. "You can always put a glamour on the cottage so that no one can see it. Even if they came looking, they wouldn't find you."

  "I could do that?" I queried.

  "It's a basic spell for a sorceress," Raisa said. "It would be more complicated for a garden variety coven witch."

  Agnes nodded. "She speaks the truth. You have untapped, raw power, Emma."

  "I don't really want to hide for any length of time," I said, hating the idea of leaving Gareth and Magpie alone for too long. Sedgwick could fend for himself. “I’d only like to give everyone a chance to process the news and be rational."

  Raisa snorted. “You may overestimate them then.”

  I gave my head an adamant shake. “No. I don’t think so. They’re good-hearted. Every single one of them.” Even the ones I didn’t particularly like—Jemima, Hugo—I believed they’d come around in the end.

  “I want to help you,” Agnes said. “Tell me what I can do. I may be old and tucked away in a home, but I can still be of use, whether my coven believes it or not.”

  “I believe in you, Agnes,” I said. And I believed in me, too. “You know what? I’m not going to hide here at all.”

  Daniel flinched. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean I’m going home.”

  Daniel glared at Raisa. “What did you put in the alcohol?”

  I touched his arm lightly. “Nothing, Daniel. I’m not drunk or under a spell. I think going home and facing reality is the best option. I’ll put another protective spell around my house if I have to, but I’m not going to let fear control the situation.”

  “Sometimes fear is healthy…” Daniel began.

  I stopped him with a look. “I’m going home, Daniel. If I stay here, it feels like giving up.”

  Raisa nodded solemnly. “I do not disagree, pet. When I turned my back on Spellbound, it was a form of giving up. I never did work through it.”

  No. She became complacent and died alone. And I refused to let that be my fate.

  Chapter 22

  We landed on the road in front of my house and I was shocked to discover a crowd already gathered on my front porch. My first instinct was to grip Daniel’s shirt, but he gently dislodged my fingers.

  “Look closely,” he said. “They’re carrying flowers, not pitchforks.”

  Flowers? I squinted. Sure enough, I saw flashes of color between the familiar bodies of my friends.

  My friends.

  The
remedial witches were there, of course, along with Astrid and Britta. The friendly neighborhood harpies. Markos, Demetrius and his crew, the Gorgon sisters, and Lord Gilder. I inhaled softly, drinking in the moment. Alex held a sign that must have been left over from the shifter protest. Piss Off was crossed out and replaced with We Love You, Emma.

  Astrid approached us as we came up the walkway. “You okay?”

  I nodded, struggling to get my emotions under control. “What happened after we left Swan Lake?”

  “Chaos,” Astrid said. “I went straight to Elsa’s and unearthed where she’d stashed the Obsession potion. She’s in custody now, demanding to wear her wedding dress instead of the regulation jumpsuit.”

  Naturally. “Is her use of the potion on an unknowing participant considered a major crime?”

  I thought about all the times I’d dabbled with magic and made a mess of it, most recently at Daniel’s bachelor party. No one was planning to arrest me. On the other hand, Elsa’s use of magic was almost like kidnapping or holding someone against his will. When I thought of it that way, it seemed much more serious than magical brownies.

  “Abuse of magic tends to be a lesser charge,” Astrid said, “but Elsa’s abuse is fairly egregious.”

  I didn’t disagree.

  “Daniel, when you have time, I’d like to ask you a few questions,” Astrid said. “You probably know more than you think you do.”

  He kissed the top of my head. “I’d like to get this one settled in first, if that’s okay.”

  “I don’t think a quiet evening is in the cards for her yet,” Astrid said. “I think she’ll want to join me for my next stop.”

  My brow creased. “Where are you going?”

  “To the Mayor’s Mansion,” Astrid replied. “I hope we can resolve this peacefully.”

  I blinked. “Peacefully? Wait. What?”

  “Mayor Knightsbridge is being charged with obstruction of justice and the destruction of crucial evidence in a criminal matter. I’m going over to arrest her now.”

  I gulped. “You’re arresting Mayor Knightsbridge?”

  Astrid cast me a sidelong glance. “Of course. What did you think would happen?”

  I felt torn. On the one hand, I understood why. On the other hand, she was protecting her daughter. If my mother had lived, I had no doubt she would have been similarly devoted to me.

  “Will she need to step down as mayor?” I asked.

  “If she doesn’t step down voluntarily, then she’ll be forcibly removed.”

  I blew out a breath. “All of this because of me.”

  Astrid’s blue eyes bulged. “Because of you? Emma Hart, are you out of your mind?”

  My shoulders sagged. “If I hadn’t insisted on proving Elsa’s guilt and stealing the vial, the mayor wouldn’t be in this predicament. I’m the one who brought the vial to her.”

  Astrid grabbed me by the shoulders and stared at me. “Listen to me right now. You are not responsible for this. These women are grown fairies that know better. The mayor is responsible for her actions. Elsa is responsible for her actions. You did not create this mess. Understood?”

  I sniffed. “I guess. So will the council elect a new mayor?”

  Astrid released her grip on me. “No, we’ll hold an election. The council will probably appoint an interim mayor, though.”

  “Lucy?” I asked hopefully.

  “Most likely. She did a commendable job when the mayor was under the youth spell.”

  A silver lining at last. Lucy deserved the town’s trust.

  “Astrid, do you think the mayor will come quietly?”

  Astrid snorted. “Hell no. That’s why I’m not going alone.”

  “I don’t know that I’m going to be enough…”

  “Not just you,” Astrid said. “I’ve asked the entire town council to meet me at the mansion.”

  Oh.

  “Peer pressure?” I queried.

  “To start with,” Astrid said. “Lady Weatherby is prepared to use more forceful methods of persuasion, though.”

  What a day. I felt for my wand along my waistband. Even though I technically didn’t need it to perform magic, I liked knowing it was there. A security blanket.

  Daniel squeezed my hand. “Good luck.”

  “Ready?” Astrid asked.

  “Never, but that doesn’t seem to stop me from moving forward.”

  The members of the town council stood in a semi-circle outside the Mayor’s Mansion when we arrived. No one looked pleased by the turn of events. My knee-jerk reaction was to apologize. Years of training by my tough grandmother.

  “Why are you sorry?” Lady Weatherby snapped. “You’ve done nothing wrong here.”

  “I feel like this is all my fault,” I admitted.

  “Lying about your origin is your fault,” Lorenzo Mancini said coolly. “This matter rests entirely in the lap of Mayor Knightsbridge and her daughter.”

  “But lying about her origin isn’t a crime,” Maeve pointed out. “And, as far as I’m concerned, her reasons for withholding this information were justified. It’s not like she showed up in Spellbound, knowing what she truly was.”

  “We’ll never know for certain, will we?” Lorenzo asked.

  “We do know,” I said. “Because I told you that.”

  Lorenzo glared at me. “The way you told us you were a witch?”

  “I never told you I was anything but human,” I argued. “You told me I was a witch at the emergency town council meeting. Or have you conveniently forgotten?”

  Lorenzo’s jaw tightened. At least he stopped talking.

  Security guards appeared at the oversized front door, their expressions grim. Not a good sign.

  “Step aside, Cameron,” Wayne said to the guard on the left. A fellow troll.

  “I’m afraid I can’t, sir,” Cameron replied. “Mayor’s orders.”

  Lady Weatherby swept up the front steps, her black cloak dragging behind her. “And the town council’s orders are to step aside.”

  “We work for the mayor,” the other guard said. “We don’t answer to the town council, ma’am.”

  “I’m not ma’am,” she hissed. “I am Lady Weatherby, the head of the coven in Spellbound. Now move aside before I turn you both into toads. Permanently.”

  The two guards exchanged glances before opting to abandon their posts.

  Lady Weatherby pushed open the doors and stepped into the grand foyer. The rest of us trailed behind her. Lucy fluttered toward us, her wings twitching anxiously.

  “The mayor is indisposed…” Lucy began.

  “In the name of the town council, where is she?” Lord Gilder demanded.

  Lucy drifted to the floor. “In her office.”

  The group moved down the hall without another word. Although they weren’t quite the angry mob that chased me onto Curse Cliff, this smaller group was far more intimidating.

  Lady Weatherby didn’t bother to knock. She tapped the door with her wand and it blew off the hinges and onto the office floor. Talk about a badass.

  “Mayor Knightsbridge,” she said, breezing into the room with her usual air of regal authority. “We are here to remove you from your office.”

  Juliet held up a finger. “Both literally and figuratively, I might add.”

  Mayor Knightsbridge remained behind her desk, clutching her wand. “You don’t have the authority. The vote needs to be unanimous and I disagree.”

  “Your vote doesn’t count under the circumstances,” Maeve said.

  “You’re loving this, aren’t you?” the mayor spat at her. “You’ve always been competitive with me.”

  Maeve frowned. “Believe me when I tell you that this brings me no pleasure whatsoever. You are one of us, but you’ve broken our trust. You’ve broken everyone’s trust.”

  “I had to protect my Elsa,” the mayor objected. “Can’t you understand that?”

  “I can and I do,” Maeve said gently. “But if Elsa had committed murder and you help
ed her hide the body and lied to law enforcement about it, you’d be facing charges then, wouldn’t you?”

  “That’s different,” the mayor insisted. “We’re not talking about a murder. We’re talking about a marriage. She’s a gorgeous fairy who would have doted on him. Daniel never would have known that he was unhappy with her. And if he doesn’t know, how is that harmful?”

  “Because it wasn’t real,” I shouted. It was infuriating. Did she really not understand how wrong it was?

  “Who’s to say what’s real?” the mayor asked. “If Daniel believed their love was real, why does it matter that it was fueled by a potion?”

  Lady Weatherby looked down her aquiline nose at the mayor. “If you cannot see the line in the sand, then I cannot help you.”

  “I see the line,” the mayor said. “Only it’s in a different place from yours and not so deeply embedded.”

  “Lay down your wand,” Astrid said, stepping forward. “We’d like to do this peacefully and without magic.”

  Mayor Knightsbridge surveyed the group assembled in front of her that included some of the most powerful figures in Spellbound. By herself, she didn’t stand a chance and she knew it.

  “Fine,” she said, and offered her wand to Lady Weatherby. “I’ll go without a fight, but I am telling you now, I will not spend a single night in a prison cell.”

  Astrid placed a clamp on the mayor’s blue wings to keep her from flying away. “I’m afraid that won’t be up to you.”

  “Mayor Knightsbridge, we hereby relieve you of your duties as mayor of Spellbound,” Lord Gilder said.

  “We appoint Lucy Langtree as interim mayor,” Juliet added.

  Lucy fluttered into the office, her face ashen. She’d clearly been eavesdropping outside the doorway. “Are you sure?”

  “We can think of no better replacement until the election can be held,” Lorenzo said.

  Lucy broke into a bright smile. “Oh my goodness. Thank you. I promise to do my best to serve this town.”

  “We know you will, Lucy,” Wayne said.

  Astrid escorted the disgraced mayor from the mansion on foot. No fluttering for the fairy. “Now you and Elsa can be roommates again. If you’re lucky, maybe she’ll let you have the lower bunk.”