“Is it Agnes?” the vampire ghost asked.
“I don’t know yet.” I leaned down to plant a quick kiss on Diana’s cheek and rushed from the room. Could she really have left town with Agnes without letting the old witch say a proper goodbye? And why slip away without telling anyone?
I hurried to Sigmund and started the car. The 1980’s green Volvo wasn’t in any condition to go fast, even with its magical engine, but I gave it my best shot. Of course, if Sedgwick had already spotted Lady Weatherby leaving town, then I was too late. If nothing else, I hoped Agnes left her forwarding information so that I could stay in contact with her, though I doubted Lady Weatherby would allow it.
I passed Britta on the side of the road and the deputy gestured for me to slow down. I gave her a thumbs up and sped up the moment she was out of view. I parked in a loading area at the care home and raced inside. I tried to cut straight through the waiting area and into the building, but a diligent receptionist stopped me.
“You need to sign in,” she said, barely looking up from her crossword puzzle.
I scribbled my name and grabbed a badge from the desk. The door opened as someone left, and I slipped right through the doorway and kept going. My mind was a blur of thoughts and emotions. I ran down the corridor, fearful of what I would find. The thought of an empty room was enough to bring tears to my eyes. I skidded to a stop in the doorway and nearly broke down at the sight of the elderly witch in her nightgown with a deck of tarot cards stacked in front of her on the bed.
She turned to look at me with a glare on her wrinkled face. “What’s with the drama? From that crazed look in your eye, you’d think we were never going to see each other again or something.”
I couldn’t stop the tears from coming. Although I managed to choke back audible sobs, the waterworks were on full display. I was so relieved. All the way here, I’d had flashbacks to when the curse had broken and I’d gone to find Raisa—only to find her gone. Forever. Despite the horrible things she’d done, I still missed her. I couldn’t bear to lose Agnes too. She was like family to me.
“I guess you’re wondering why I’m still here,” Agnes said. “Shall I show you with the cards?”
I perched on the edge of her bed. “I’d rather you tell me with words. There’s too much guesswork with cards.”
“It was that new High Priestess on her higher horse,” Agnes said.
Her answer took me by surprise. “Limpet?”
“The one and only. She trotted out some ancient rule about the rights of former heads of the coven trumping modern agreements like Powers of Attorney.”
“Did you know about the rule?” I asked.
Agnes gave me a pointed look. “Do you think I’d have been in danger of leaving if I had? Good thing your father’s been around the block a million times. He’s the one who told her about it.”
I coughed. “Calix?”
The elderly witch nodded. “I’ll give him credit. He’s tough for a measly demigod. I was pleasantly surprised. I thought he’d end up being as lame as your husband, like maybe that’s the reason you’re so attracted to that Winged Wonder.”
I was so thrilled by her presence that I let the insult slide. “I’ll have to stop by the hotel to thank him.” Maybe even invite him for dinner.
“Oh, he won’t be there.”
“How do you know?” I asked.
“He came here with Limpet to talk to Jacinda Ruth, to make sure the High Priestess followed through, I think. You missed a heated discussion.” She cackled softly. “Your father has a commanding voice. If he didn’t look a hundred years younger than me…”
I held my hands over my ears. “That’s enough, thanks.”
Agnes reached for a folded slip of paper on her bedside table and handed it to me. “He asked me to give you this.”
I took the note and saw my name scribbled across the front. “What is it?”
“An apology and a ‘ta ta for now,’” Agnes said.
I squinted at her. “You read it?”
Agnes shrugged her bony shoulders. “What’d you expect? You can’t leave me with a juicy apple and not expect me to bite. I’m too old to have any will power.” She took the tissue box from the table and placed it on the bed between us. “You’ll probably want this too. I know how emotional you get.”
I unfolded the paper and began to read.
My most sparkling ray of sunshine,
I know this will be difficult to read after we have been apart for so long, but I have decided to give you the break from me that you need and deserve. My arrival was ill-timed and I wish to return when you and your family are better settled and have time to indulge an old demigod like me. Please do not take this as any type of personal rejection or abandonment, no matter what your internal monologue leads you to believe. I very much wish to stay and assist you and my beloved granddaughter in developing your many skills, but now is not the right time for me to intrude. I cherish our time together and look forward to our reunion. When you have all the time in the world, you can afford such acts of grace.
All my love,
Calix
P.S. - Your father
I let the paper go and watched it drift onto the bed. “He left.”
“Don’t look so glum. He’ll come back. He said so.”
The heart palpitations were swift and immediate. “But what if he doesn’t?” In my experience, when loved ones left, they didn’t come back.
Agnes gave me a look of pity. “You woke him from a supernatural coma and delivered him a prepackaged family. He’ll come back and, when he does, you’ll be ready for him.”
“You’re right. I’m not ready now.” But how could I not be ready to include my biological father in my life? What was wrong with me?
Agnes lifted her deck of cards and shuffled them. “Dearie, you don’t have space in your life right now and that’s okay. I mean, I guess a space would’ve opened up if you’d let my battle-axe of a daughter take me away, but you didn’t and I’m grateful.”
“Calix didn’t,” I said softly.
She slid three cards from the deck and placed them facedown on the bed. “He did it for you.”
He knew how much Agnes meant to me. I picked up the note and pressed it to my chest, trying to stave off the mix of emotions.
“If you’re going to cry, take the box of tissues and do it in the privacy of the care home bathroom like the gods intended.”
I plucked a tissue from the box and dabbed at my eyes. “Thank you for passing along the note.” Knowing Agnes, she could just as easily have destroyed it or conveniently forgotten about it.
“I know you didn’t ask me, but he’s doing the right thing,” Agnes said. “Your life is in such a stressful state right now. He’d only distract you from the time you should be spending with your own family. The only thing I’d caution against is letting the rift go too long. Then you’ll be Jacinda Ruth and me in about a hundred years and change.”
And he was a demigod. He’d still be around when Diana and I were ready to have him back in our lives, not that I planned to wait that long. I only needed time to get my bearings in life. In the meantime, I’d focus on becoming the best mother and wife I could be so that, eventually, I could be the best version of a daughter as well.
“I’m glad you’re here, Agnes. I don’t know what I would’ve done if you’d gone.”
“Curse Jacinda Ruth to the deepest pit of the underworld, I hope,” Agnes said.
“She was only doing what she thought was best,” I said. Like Calix.
Agnes flipped over the three cards on her bed. “Ha! I should’ve known I’d see these cards today.”
“Why? What did you get?” I leaned forward to examine the three cards—the Star, the 4 of Wands, and the Ace of Cups. The happiest and most fortunate of cards.
Her thin lips curved into a vague smile. “Exactly what I wanted.”
Also by Annabel Chase
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While you’re waiting for the next book in the Spellbound Ever After series, you can check out my other series:
Federal Bureau of Magic cozy mystery:
Great Balls of Fury, Book 1
Fury Godmother, Book 2
No Guts, No Fury, Book 3
Grace Under Fury, Book 4
Bedtime Fury, Book 5
Three Alarm Fury, Book 6
Hell Hath No Fury, Book 7
Starry Hollow Witches:
Magic & Murder, Book 1
Magic & Mystery, Book 2
Magic & Mischief, Book 3
Magic & Mayhem, Book 4
Magic & Mercy, Book 5
Magic & Madness, Book 6
Magic & Malice, Book 7
Magic & Mythos, Book 8
Magic & Mishaps, Book 9
Magic & Maladies, Book 10
Magic & Misdeeds, Book 11
Spellslingers Academy of Magic
Outcast, Warden of the West, Book 1
Outclassed, Warden of the West, Book 2
Outlast, Warden of the West, Book 3
Ghoul's Paradise (Spellbound Ever After Paranormal Cozy Mystery Book 7) Page 17
