by Amy Boyles
She nodded. “Yep. When I woke up this morning, he’d left. The dog’s gone. I don’t know where.”
I fisted my hands. “I know where. One way or another Ellis got that dog.” I gritted my teeth. “We’ve only got one choice. If we want to save Christmas, we’re going to have to steal that dog.”
TWENTY-FOUR
There was no way I’d be able to break into Ellis’s house during the day. I’d have to wait until nighttime and hope the coldhearted man joined the rest of the town at the caroling event.
“Ellis has Arsenal, and that dog is wearing the stone that will break the cold spell.”
I was on the phone with Axel. I was pretty sure I sounded like a madwoman because as soon as he answered, I skipped hello and went straight into spewing the facts.
“Merry Christmas Eve to you,” he said sleepily.
“Are you asleep?”
“Late night. I was working extra protection spells on my mother to keep her safe from the prison wraiths.”
What a good son he was. And he was mine, all mine. Well, maybe not all mine. I didn’t need to get all weird as if I owned him.
“Okay, it’s good you did that. But we’ve got to get Arsenal back from Ellis. That dog is wearing the stone around his neck.”
I heard a shuffle. It sounded like Axel was getting out of bed. “You’re sure?”
“Positive. Cookie said I’d seen the stone before, and then I thought about it and figured the stone would need to be connected to someone or something in order to work such powerful magic. The stone on Arsenal’s collar is magical. I can tell. It’s the dog. We need him.”
“And he’s with Ellis?”
“Has to be. He’s not here.”
“Let me get dressed and call Garrick. He might be able to help.”
I exhaled a shot of air. “Oh, let’s hope so. That could save us.”
“Literally,” Axel said, “from freezing to death. It’s subzero outside.”
I shivered. “Better hurry.”
We hung up. I trotted downstairs to finish helping with the decorations. The house was trimmed by hand within a couple of hours, and it smelled like absolute heaven. If I’d died right then, I would’ve drifted off with the best smells on earth filtering into my nose.
I took Hugo on a very short walk after. It was so cold neither of us could stand to be outside for too long. By the time we returned, the windows were completely covered in ice and poor Jennie the Guard-vine hung limply around the porch.
I patted her buds. “We’ll get this figured out soon enough, Jennie. Don’t worry.”
Hugo and I went back inside. The fire was roaring, and the food was about ready for the Christmas Eve meal. The sun was also beginning to set, and I had yet to hear from Axel.
“What’re we going to do about the caroling?” I said. “It’s colder than a witch’s…well, you know. It’s colder than that outside.”
“I hear they’re going to build a big bonfire,” Amelia said.
“That should help some,” Cordelia said.
Betty’s phone pinged. She shuffled over to it and glanced at the message. “The mayor says the fire isn’t staying lit. It’s the cold.”
“That’s no good,” I said. “We need everyone out there.” Because I need to make sure Ellis is not in his house so I can steal Arsenal. “I’ll be right back.”
I returned to my room and called Axel. “What’s going on with the dog hunt?”
“It’s a no go,” Axel said. “I haven’t been able to reach Garrick. I’m guessing he’s too busy with the investigation.”
I nibbled my bottom lip. “We need to get everyone together so we can get Arsenal away from Ellis. The bonfire won’t light.”
“Then there won’t be any caroling. If Ellis thinks Arsenal is as important as you think, he won’t let the dog out of his sight.”
“But everyone goes to the caroling, right?”
“Right. It’s Magnolia Cove and witch tradition. They’ll be there. If the mayor can’t keep the fire lit, I can try to help, but I don’t know how much I’ll be able to add. He’s pretty powerful.”
I tapped my temple. There had to be a way. If there was a will, there’s a way.
It hit me like a bolt of lightning. “I’ve got it!”
“What?”
“Just meet us down there, okay? Meet us at the caroling bonfire.”
I hung up before he could utter even an inch of protest. I ran downstairs.
“I know exactly how we can get a bonfire going for the caroling tonight?”
“How?” Betty said.
“Yeah, how?” Amelia added.
I pointed to the fireplace. “We take the heart.”
All three women gasped. “Absolutely not,” Betty said.
“We have no choice,” I argued.
Betty planted herself in front of the fire, blocking me from it. “The heart is the most sacred fire in this town. We can’t use it to keep a few people’s toes warm and toasty for some caroling.”
“We have to,” I said. “We have to use this fire for the town. The caroling isn’t about us.”
It was actually about me dividing Ellis from Arsenal. That’s what it was about.
“What if something happens to it?” Amelia said. “Then we wouldn’t have a town. We wouldn’t have Magnolia Cove.”
“It’s safe here,” Betty said.
“But we’re not safe,” I argued. “Cordelia.” I turned my focus on her. I needed someone on my side. “What do you think, cousin? We’re not safe from the cold. We need to keep the townspeople safe. The fire can do that.”
She shrugged. “How will you transport it?”
“In my hands,” I said.
Betty gasped. “You’re going to simply carry the heart fire through town?”
“Of course. Listen, the heart fire is our key to getting out of this mess. I know it is. Do any of you trust me?”
Silence surrounded me. “I need someone to trust me, here. I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t believe in what we had to do. The town needs the heart fire. Not just us.”
Betty glared at me. “This isn’t tradition, kid.”
“I’m not exactly a traditional witch. Don’t forget, I only just discovered what I am.”
“She’s got a point,” Cordelia said. “Since Pepper hasn’t studied magic the way we did, she thinks about it differently. Comes up with solutions we wouldn’t think of.”
“Those solutions aren’t always right,” Betty snapped. “You might be putting us at risk by taking the heart.”
“We’re already at risk. I need Ellis to be part of the caroling. I need Arsenal because that dog is wearing the stone that could stop all of this. Please,” I begged.
Betty’s lips stiffened. She moved away from the hearth and pointed to it. “Why don’t you ask the heart yourself? See what it wants to do.”
I folded my arms. “Is that a joke?”
She shook her head. “Absolutely not. Ask.”
I raised my chin and strode up to the fire. I cleared my throat. “Mmm. Mr. Heart Fire, would you please let me carry you into town so we can save Magnolia Cove?”
The face appeared in the flames. “No.”
I nearly tumbled into it. “No? Is that it? That’s your answer.”
“Yes,” he said in a deep, throaty, incredibly masculine voice. “No. I will not go.”
Think, Pepper. “Fine. If you don’t go, you can stay here and then the freezing cold will ruin Magnolia Cove. We’ll all freeze to death and so will you. Shards of ice will eventually take you and there won’t be anyone left to be your conduit so that you can blaze freely. You. Will. Die. Alone.”
I added alone just to be spiteful.
Suddenly the fire perked up. “I will go. Take me. Take me right now and I will heat the town.”
I smiled. “My pleasure.”
TWENTY-FIVE
The entire town ringed the heart fire. The blaze was hot, keeping the nasty cold at bay. Folks were over
joyed to be able to stand in front of the town Christmas tree and sing carols. The heart fire, for what it was worth, seemed to enjoy it as well.
“Where’s Ellis?” Axel stood beside me. He’d just belted out “O Holy Night” beautifully, and we were waiting for the next song to start up.
“I don’t know. He’s got to be here.” I searched the crowd. “There!”
Sure enough, Ellis Mobley stood at an outer ring, looking angry and spiteful as ever.
“Wonder if he’s got the dog,” Axel said.
“Why don’t we go over and see? If not, you keep him talking while I search out Arsenal.”
He nodded stiffly. “Sounds like a plan.”
“You okay?”
“Just cold.”
We made our way over as the town sang “Away in a Manger.” By the time we reached Ellis, the song was halfway over.
“I don’t see the dog,” I said.
Ellis spied us. He opened his mouth, and I pushed Axel toward him. “Keep Ellis busy.”
“No, Pepper,” Axel protested, but I’d already walked away from the crowd, figuring that Arsenal was back at the house.
I glanced over my shoulder. Axel had stayed behind and diverted Ellis’s attention.
Good boyfriend.
I stalked into the darkness. Whimpering caught my attention. “Hey there, little guy. What’re you doing here?”
Leashed to a pole sat Arsenal. His tail swept the snow when he saw me.
“Let’s get you out of that.” I untied the leash and patted his head. My fingers moved down his collar until I found the stone.
The blue blazed like a diamond. “So this is it. The stone that’s caused so much chaos. What’s so important about it?”
I snapped it off the collar and rose.
“Not so fast.”
I whipped around. “Ellis.”
Ellis Mobley’s mouth split into a sinister grin. “Just what do you think you’re doing?”
What had happened to Axel? He was supposed to keep Ellis busy.
“You think your little friend could keep me when the prison wraiths are on their way to take his mother?”
“What?”
He sneered. “I see you found the stone. I could never find it. Cookie had spelled it so that I wouldn’t be able to see where she’d hidden it, but in your hands I can see it quite clearly.”
I gripped it tightly. “You can’t have it. I need the stone to break the weather spell Cookie cast on us.”
He threw his head back and cackled. “You think that stone will simply break a weather curse? Is that what you think?”
“Well, I did until you said that.”
He shook his head and tsked. “That stone is so much more than that. It can change the weather anywhere. With it, I will be rich. Rich! Can you imagine this stone in the hands of the government? They will pay handsomely for it. But Cookie,” he spat, “Cookie would never give it to me. She hid it. Finally I couldn’t take it anymore.”
“So the night of the house showing you sneaked to the basement, erased the protection spell and then snuck up to the pantry while everyone was on the hunt. You murdered your wife,” I finished.
“Oh I did. I’ve never been a powerful wizard.”
“Hence the power tools,” I realized. “So you erased Cookie’s protection spell when she was busy and the house was full of people.”
“It was a coincidence that the Karen woman showed up. It was perfect, really.”
A scream split the air. I jerked back.
Ellis sneered. “Like I said, the prison wraiths are here for Karen. Once they take her, it will all be over. I’ll be free to do what I want. You will be dead—frozen to death, of course, along with Arsenal. Can’t have him telling anyone, now can we?”
I glanced at Arsenal. A single word popped in my head—wraiths.
Yes, the dog had finally spoken. It didn’t seem that he was afraid of the wraiths. It seemed to be a different message, one meant for me and only me.
I focused on the bit of heart flaming inside me. “Prison wraiths,” I screamed. “Here! Here stands the guilty!”
Ellis scoffed. “You think you can call them? You think you can make the wraiths come when I’ve already set them on the guilty party?”
Well, I actually didn’t know, but I hoped so. It wasn’t until a shadow smeared the sky that I was certain. “I would say yes.”
The smug smile on Ellis’s face vanished. He glanced behind him. “What? No! No, it can’t be!”
Ellis turned as the black cloud fell toward him. “No! It isn’t me! It’s the woman. I told you!”
The prison wraith spoke. It was screeching and horrid sounding. “We hear! We saw your heart. You are guilty!”
“No,” Ellis screamed. “No!”
But it was too late. The shadowy prison wraith wrapped itself around Ellis and sucked him into the darkness.
I held my breath. Being that close to the wraith made me feel like I was touching death. It was a horrible feeling, full of hopelessness and loss.
I bowed back as Axel lit the darkness. He was like a beacon of light slicing through the black.
“Pepper.” He wrapped his arms around me. “What happened?”
“Ellis admitted he killed Cookie. I called the wraith to him, and it took him away. Your mom?”
He brushed a loose strand of hair from my cheek. “Fine. She’s fine. I thought it would take her, but then it left.” He smiled weakly. “To come here.”
“Yes.” We hugged each other. I lost myself in him but then remembered. “The stone! I have it.”
He took it from me. “This is it? Wow. Do you know how to break it?”
My gaze drifted out to the heart fire and the scattered townsfolk surrounding it.
I nodded. “Yes. I know exactly how to break the spell.”
TWENTY-SIX
I threw the stone into the heart fire. It cracked open and kicked the cold temperatures out on their butt before anyone in Magnolia Cove ended up freezing to death.
You could say I saved Christmas, but it wasn’t me. It was the heart fire. Cookie had given me the right clue all along.
“Use the heart,” she’d said.
And she’d been right.
By the time I awoke Christmas morning, the cold had retreated, Ellis was in prison and Karen was safe.
All in all I deemed it a perfect holiday. I tromped downstairs with Hugo at my heels.
“Merry Christmas!” I announced.
My cousins and grandmother were already sitting by the fire sipping hot cocoa and coffee. I poured myself coffee from the pot and settled down with them. Hugo curled at my feet, and Mattie padded down the stairs.
“Merry Christmas,” she said.
“Merry Christmas,” we shot back.
I smacked my lips. “Who’s ready to open presents?”
“Before we do that,” Betty said, “I wanted to tell you how very proud I am.”
I swiped away a slash of bangs that had covered one eye. “You are?”
“I am. We all are. You found the killer and broke the spell Cookie had placed on the town.”
I grinned widely. “Are you so proud of me that you’d like to take the piece of heart fire back?”
She cackled. “If I must, then I’ll do it.”
“Yes, you must. The heart fire isn’t mine. This is yours to keep safe.” I shook my head. “I’m not ready for so much responsibility.”
Betty rose and placed a hand on my forehead. “Exhale and release the fire.”
Magic stirred in my core. On an exhale I felt the fire shoot from me. I blinked my eyes open in time to watch the fire settle back with its other half in the hearth.
“Well, that was nice,” I said. “Glad to be rid of it. And I’m glad your powers aren’t broken anymore.” I wrapped my arms around her. “We can’t do with a broken Betty Craple.”
“Thank you.” She knuckled a tear from her eye.
“Now,” Amelia said energetically, “
let’s open presents.”
We spent an hour opening gifts and eating breakfast. The rest of the day was for playing with the new magical things we received.
From Betty and my cousins I received my first potion-making kit. It had everything I would need to make the perfect potion.
“Thanks,” I said.
“You’re going to need that,” Cordelia said.
“Why?”
“Oh, because the first of the year is always a big deal when it comes to potions.” Amelia smoothed her spiky hair. “You know how regular people make New Year’s resolutions? Well, here we make New Year’s potions.”
“Sorry?”
“It’s a competition,” Betty said. “The person who makes the best and most creative potion gets a prize.”
“Cool,” I said, inspecting the box to see what it contained. “Thanks.”
Amelia clapped her hands. “Who’s going to the wishing snowman tonight?”
“I am,” I said. “Are you?”
“Of course. I made a wish,” Amelia said. “I want to see if it’s granted.
I caught Betty’s glance. Amelia made a wish. Would that wish cause her possibly latent genie powers to come forward?
There was no way to know except to watch and see. I spent the rest of the day working on my potion-making kit and relaxing. By the time I met up with Axel that evening, I was ready to give him his gift.
Axel, Roger and Karen arrived for a true Christmas feast that Betty had put together with magic, thankfully.
Not that I minded cooking, but sometimes I just wanted to relax.
Karen gave me a huge hug. “It’s been wonderful meeting you.”
“Same here.” I gave her a squeeze.
Her eyes shone. For the first time I realized they were Axel’s eyes. “My son is lucky to have such a brave young woman beside him. You saved me. Thank you.”
“It was nothing.” I mean, what was I supposed to say?
“It means the world to us.” She gave me another hug, and we sat down to eat.
Since the temperature had finally shifted to bearable, Axel and I took a walk after dinner to help the food move through our systems better.
“It’s a beautiful Christmas evening,” I said.
