by K E O'Connor
Albert closed his eyes. “What you were saying to me... I’m remembering being in the cemetery, and there were corpses everywhere. I asked other people to help me. I did want Luna’s energy. But that can’t be right. I’d never take her power from her. I don’t even know she’s dead.”
I crouched beside him and clasped his hand. Maybe this bump on the head was a good thing. “Albert, that’s right. You’re remembering what really happened to Luna.”
He blinked rapidly at me. “Yes! At least, I think I am. I remember her being in the hospital and she was sick. And then she was recovering, but was taken. Luna vanished. And you were helping to look for her. You haven’t found her, have you?”
I clutched his hand. “Not yet. But I’m not giving up on her, and neither should you.”
“I’ll never give up on Luna.” He shook his head and winced. “What was I thinking, performing a ceremony to take her magic? And why am I only just remembering this?”
“It’s not your fault. There’s strange magic going around that’s making people act oddly, and that includes memory loss. I think it’s linked to the cemetery, and probably that skull you touched.”
He looked at the skull and shuddered. “There’s something very wrong with that. The second I caught it, pain slammed through me.”
“It doesn’t want to give up any secrets.” I let go of his hand, removed the ice, and then pressed my palm against the lump on his head. “I’ll do some healing spells to make you feel better.”
He nodded, then sat quietly as I performed my magic.
I felt terrible for what I’d done to Albert. I hadn’t been convinced he was the mastermind behind this darkness, but I was desperate to know the truth. And he hadn’t wanted to touch the skull. He’d seemed guilty.
But I was an idiot, and I’d been wrong. Albert was just as confused and bespelled as everyone else.
It took a good half an hour of intensive healing before the lump on his head went down. Once again, my magic was drained, and I felt almost too weary to move by the time I stepped away from Albert.
“I feel so much better,” he said. “And I really am sorry I can’t help you figure out what’s going on with that skull.”
“Don’t apologize. I should never have brought it to you.”
“Can you get it out of here? I don’t want it putting off the customers, and I’m hoping its dark energy doesn’t linger.”
“Of course. I won’t bother you again. And I really am sorry. I just... well, I messed up.”
“It seems I’ve been making a few mistakes around here too. I’m... well, I’m not sure how to say this.” He smoothed a hand over his receding hair. “I remember drugging you and your friends and trying to have you burned at the stake. Is that true?”
I patted his shoulder. “It is true, but you weren’t yourself. And as you can see, I’m still here. I wasn’t even a tiny bit charred.”
“I shouldn’t have done that. I’m not feeling myself. I get so angry, and want to... I’m ashamed to say, I want to hurt people.”
“You’re not alone. And I’m hoping I can fix that.”
Albert was quiet for a few seconds. “How about we draw a line under all of this and start again? I don’t mean you any ill will. And you were a good friend to Luna.”
“I’m still a good friend to her. Don’t go giving up on her.” I grabbed the skull and placed it back in the bag. “I’ll get out of your way.”
“Yes. And I’ll go to bed. I have a lot to think about.”
“We all do. Good night, Albert.”
“Good night. And, Indigo, you will help Luna, won’t you?”
The sadness and confusion on his face had me instantly nodding. “Of course. I’m not giving up on her until I know the truth.”
His smile was sad as he showed me out of the store, then closed the door behind me.
I walked away, my head down as I stuck to the shadows. That had been a total bust.
I needed a new lead to follow. I also needed allies on my side, but I wasn’t sure where to turn to find any. Everyone I cared about had either lost their memory or was being too weird to trust.
After casting so much magic again, I was exhausted. Much like Albert, I needed rest, a clear head, and then to make a new plan of action.
Chapter 16
Dawn was breaking through the window as I rolled out of bed the next morning. I stretched and flexed my fingers. I felt so much better after grabbing some sleep, and my magic no longer felt like it was about to spiral out of me and slide down the drain like soiled water.
I crept down the stairs after showering and dressing and checked on Olympus. He was stirring on the couch, but his eyes were still closed.
I headed into the kitchen, brewed coffee and filled a thermos with it, then took out two tins of my favorite peaches and placed them in my bag, along with the skull, feathers, and ghost jar fragments.
Then I made a mug of coffee and headed into the living room, planning to leave it for Olympus so he’d find it when he woke.
He was sitting up, looking bleary-eyed. His hair was adorably sleep ruffled and stubble dusted his usually clean-shaven chin.
“Hey! I didn’t mean to wake you. It’s still early. Go back to sleep,” I said.
His face brightened when he saw me. “You’re such an angel, looking after me so well. I don’t know what happened last night. I didn’t mean to fall asleep on you. I didn’t do anything inappropriate, did I?”
I repressed a grin. “Don’t worry about it. Drink this.” I handed him the coffee.
“Where’s yours? Aren’t you going to stay with me? We have so many plans to discuss.”
I backed away to the door. “No time. We have a whole village to save, remember?”
“Five minutes. We can talk about wedding themes.” Olympus went to set his mug down on top of the pile of Magda’s journals.
I grabbed the mug and set it on the table. “Don’t get a coffee ring on those.”
He rubbed his eyes and yawned. “What are they?”
“Evidence. Although I’m not so sure they’re that useful. I keep reading through those journals, expecting them to give me more guidance, but nothing has shown up. Maybe Magda really knew nothing else about the coven.”
Olympus leaned forward and lifted one off the pile. He opened it and flicked through it. “It’s a shame Magda can’t be at our wedding.”
“No one’s going to be at our wedding.”
He glanced at me. “You’re still thinking about my proposal, though? Am I still in with a chance of winning your hand?”
I walked over and sat next to him. “Think about something else. Anything. Don’t you have things to do for the Magic Council?”
“I will need to book time off for our honeymoon. Do you like warm sandy beaches, or are you more into exploring?”
I shook my head. Olympus had his bedazzled heart set on marrying me, and nothing else seemed to matter. “I’ll let you know.”
He grinned and nodded enthusiastically before returning his attention to the journal. He traced a finger down the page he was looking at. “Magda wrote some odd things in here. This whole page is devoted to being careful around loved ones.”
I slid him a glance. She’d got that right. At the moment, I couldn’t depend on anyone I cared about. “What else did she say?”
“It doesn’t make sense to me. Magda repeated several times that you shouldn’t always trust loved ones. Aren’t they the people you should trust the most? I trust you with my life.”
“Maybe hold off on being too trusting around me,” I said.
“I’d never doubt you. You’re the perfect woman for me.” Olympus set down the journal. “And Magda didn’t get everything right.” He gave me a meaningful look.
Olympus may not think Magda was such a wise woman, but she’d raised me well, and I knew when to pay attention when she dispensed words of wisdom.
“Will you invite any family to our wedding?” Olympus said.
“Nope. There’s no one to invite.”
“You don’t have any living relatives left?”
“Not a single one.”
He took hold of my hand and kissed the back of it. “I’ve got plenty of family. And your friends will come, won’t they?”
I sighed. “I reckon they will.”
His warm smile tempted me to play along, and just for a few minutes, think about planning a wedding with a cute guy. I’d definitely take wedding stress over corpse wandering stress and missing friend stress any day. But I didn’t have time to indulge in fantasies.
“Olympus, close your eyes. I’ve got a surprise for you.”
He gave my hand a squeeze, and then obediently closed his eyes. I didn’t like to keep drugging him with magic, but it was better if he stayed out of the way. If he wandered into this big mess when he wasn’t himself, he could get killed.
I leaned in and gave him a kiss which sent him slumping back on the couch. I made sure he was comfortable, there was food down for my familiars, or should I say, my pets, and then left the house.
Olympus could fix himself food when he woke up, which wouldn’t be for several hours. And that gave me time to tackle my next task.
I needed an ally. Although the potential ally I had in mind had badly let me down the last time we worked together, but I didn’t know who else to turn to. And Silvaria Digby owed me after abandoning me to the marauding corpses.
I walked to the cemetery. The early hour meant there was no-one around to point the finger and yell at me, but I still hurried along and kept my head down to avoid being noticed.
I entered through the cemetery gates easily. The magic barrier Silvaria had put in place was gone.
Inside, it looked pristine and untouched. You’d never have known that just yesterday there were gangs of overexcited corpses bounding around.
I did a quick check of my deceased scarecrow friend and was pleased to see Shamrock hadn’t been moved. I gave his head a quick pat and then left him alone. I’d be back for him as soon as I had a spare moment, and once Odessa was her old self and could repair him.
It took me about twenty minutes to walk around the cemetery, looking for Silvaria. She wasn’t the easiest cemetery guardian to find. Anyone would think she didn’t like hanging out with the living.
I’d done two circuits and was getting irritated when I heard footsteps marching toward me. I turned to see Silvaria stomping over, bone stick in her hand.
“I see you’re not wearing that ridiculous ghost hunter hooker disguise anymore.”
“It’s nice to see you, too,” I said.
“How are you not dead?”
“It’s no thanks to you. You abandoned me in the middle of the corpse apocalypse.”
She huffed out a breath. “It’s survival of the fittest in this place. It’s a rule I’ve lived by for years. It works.”
I looked around. “You have little competition here when it comes to survival rates.”
Silvaria scowled at me. “So, what happened? Did my residents decide you weren’t tasty enough to eat?”
I wasn’t revealing my scarecrow helper to Silvaria. “You left your barrier in place. I could have been trapped in here.”
“That’s the whole point of a barrier. It keeps things in, and unwanted things from creeping out.”
“I’m hardly an unwanted thing.” I yanked back my anger before I said something I’d regret and ruin the one chance I had of finding an ally. “Silvaria, I’m not here to argue. I’m here to call in a favor.”
“I don’t owe you anything.”
“Not true.” I raised my eyebrows and glared at her.
She rolled her eyes. “Fine, maybe I panicked. But those corpses wouldn’t stop coming, and since I figured you were messed up in getting them all twitchy, I decided to leave you to it.”
I pulled out the thermos of coffee and tinned peaches. “I haven’t had breakfast yet. Do you want to join me?”
Silvaria sucked in air through her teeth as she studied my offerings. “It’s not the worst idea I’ve ever heard. Follow me.” She walked to the back of the cemetery where there was a small, tumbledown looking storage shed. She pushed open the door and walked in.
The inside didn’t match the exterior. It was almost cozy, with a large armchair in one corner, throw cushions scattered around, and a small heater that lifted the chill from the worn wooden frame.
Silvaria dropped into the seat. “You’ll have to sit on the floor. I don’t have visitors often, so I’m not set up for company.”
“No problem.” I poured the coffee, then opened the tinned peaches. I handed her a tin.
She wrinkled her nose, but took it. “So, what do you want from me?”
I took a sip of my coffee. “I’m trying to understand you.”
Silvaria snorted a laugh. “You want to play head shrink?”
“No, but you act like you don’t care about anything, and you said you wanted to give up and let the corpses take you.”
“I wasn’t lying. It would have been an easy out.”
I nodded. “But then you vanished.”
“And...”
“And I think you aren’t as cynical as you make out. You want to be a part of this community just as badly as I do. And you don’t want Witch Haven to be wiped off the map.”
She waved a hand in front of her face. “My escaping had nothing to do with wanting to be a pillar of the community.”
“So why flee when you had a chance to end it all?”
Silvaria gulped down several peaches. “I don’t like leaving a mess behind. If the corpses had gotten me, there’d be no one to clean up the cemetery. I haven’t been to bed yet because I’ve been working on putting everything right.”
Silvaria cared, she just didn’t like to admit it. And that meant she might agree to help me. “You did an amazing job. I hardly recognized the place when I arrived.”
Her scowl softened. “I take pride in my work. Besides, no one would do half as good a job as me. If I’d been dragged away by those corpses, Witch Haven cemetery would be in ruins. I didn’t want that on my conscience.”
“But you didn’t mind leaving me behind?”
“Don’t take it personally, but I don’t like the living. They talk too much, and they’re always asking for things.” She lifted one shoulder. “And I had a feeling you’d be able to handle yourself. And you did, since you’re here, talking to me. Talking a lot, I might add. I’ll get one of my headaches if I’m not careful.”
I ate a slice of peach. Despite her surly manner, Silvaria hadn’t given up on life. “Now I know you do care about this place, I need your help with a puzzle.”
She lifted her chin, but didn’t speak.
I finished my coffee and opened the bag I’d brought with me. “I found some weird things in the cemetery. Things I can’t explain. Maybe you’ll know how they’re all connected.” I lifted out the pieces of ghost jar, the feathers, and the skull.
“I found some of those feathers when I was tidying up,” Silvaria said. “I didn’t like the feel of them. And when I burned them, they fizzled.”
“They’re connected to whatever took Luna’s energy. The magic in them is weak, but it doesn’t feel positive. The same goes for the skull, although that’s bubbling with something nasty. I found it in an open grave that was tucked away in the trees.”
Silvaria’s gaze lifted to the door. “That can’t be right. There are no grave sites among the trees. I’m not permitted to dig there because it makes the roots unstable.”
“Someone did. That’s where I found the skeleton. And I believe the magic contained within the bones is dark enough and powerful enough to stir up everyone here.”
Silvaria slurped up the last of her peaches and thumped down the tin. She stared at the skull in silence for a minute. “So that’s the source of my problems?”
“I think so. Have you had any more wandering corpses since I took this away?” I said.
“No, no
t that there were that many left. I can’t believe one small witch did so much damage.”
“I’m more powerful than I look.”
“What’s with those pottery fragments?”
“They belong to a ghost jar. I captured a spirit in it. The jar was taken from my house, and I found it smashed in the cemetery. You need to keep an eye out for a malevolent spirit. If it’s hanging around your graves, it’ll only cause problems.”
“It’s an interesting mix you’ve brought me.” A gleam of interest lit Silvaria’s eyes as she leaned closer. She touched the feathers, then the pieces of ghost jar. “I’m not getting much off those. I know grave magic, and it’s not emanating from these items. These weren’t used to wake my dead.”
“What about the skull? Be careful if you handle it. It’s given me a nasty jolt.”
Silvaria touched the skull. She drew back slowly and rubbed the tip of her finger.
“Did you feel something?”
She looked at me and her eyes narrowed. “I’m not sure. Is this a test?”
“No, I really need your help. What did you sense?”
Silvaria made a grab for the skull, but I caught her hand. “Careful! This skull blasted Albert Black across his bakery when he touched it.”
“What’s Albert got to do with this?”
I grimaced. “It’s a long story. Just go easy with the skull. If it can make an entire cemetery of dead people get up and walk, it’s got power.”
Silvaria touched the feathers again and then turned her attention back to the skull. She placed her palms on top of it and closed her eyes.
I chewed on my bottom lip as I waited to see what would happen. Her forehead was scrunched in concentration and her eyes squeezed tight shut.
When she looked at me, anger burned in her gaze. “Is this a joke?”
“I’m deadly serious. What did you feel?”
Silvaria leaned back as far as she could, as if she didn’t want to be anywhere near me. “You need to leave. And take those cursed items with you.”
“Silvaria, wait! I don’t get it. What did you feel when you touched the skull?”
She reared up out of her seat, snatched up the items and stuffed them in the bag, which she thrust in my hands. “Go!”
