Magic & Misdeeds

by Annabel Chase

  Tell her these are going to be the legs. He gestured to spare pieces of wood next to the stump.

  “He’s adding these pieces as legs,” I translated. I jerked back to him. “Egads, you’re not trying to build me some kind of Pinocchio boyfriend, are you?”

  Marley’s blue eyes sparkled. “Are you making an altar?”

  Raoul nudged me and pointed to Marley. See? She gets it.

  I shook my head. “I don’t understand. It looks like a stool.”

  “No,” Marley said. She pointed to the candle and incense burner. “It’s for you. A personal altar where you can read from the grimoire.”

  You can decorate it with whichever deities you want, Raoul said.

  “Did you get all of these things at the dump?” I asked.

  Why do you sound so surprised? The dump is basically paradise for random stuff.

  “This is very sweet of you,” I said. “Don’t feel like you have to go out of your way for me though. I’m not sure how often I’m going to be standing at the altar in the cottage. I’m lucky to make it to the monthly coven meetings.” I attended because I knew that if I didn’t show up, Aunt Hyacinth would come looking for me to drag me there by the hair if necessary.

  “Some of these things must’ve been hard to get,” Marley said. “The incense burner looks brand-new.”

  The raccoon shrugged. They were offered to me as gifts.

  “Which goddess do you want to have on your altar, Mom?” Marley asked. “I like that famous one of Venus.”

  “I think we’d better let Raoul finish making the altar first before we decorate it,” I said. I wasn’t sure I wanted to see a raccoon with a drill. Probably best if I avoided the work area that day.

  I went to the refrigerator to find food for Marley and me. “I’m sorry I abandoned our plans to play. How did you and your friends make out? Were you able to complete any of the challenges?”

  Marley took a seat at the table. “It was okay. We ran into a bunch of other players, but everyone else seems so serious. It kind of takes the fun out of it.”

  I gave her a sympathetic look. “Are you rethinking your goal to be a girl gamer?”

  “I saw girls here and there, so I feel better about it.” She fidgeted with her hair. “I also don’t love the fact that the game involves killing. I know it isn’t real, but I didn’t feel very good whenever I killed a werewolf or a vampire.”

  I brought two glasses of dandelion iced tea to the table and offered one to Marley. “That’s because you’re a girl after my own heart.”

  “I don’t know about that,” Marley said. “You’re from Jersey. You have violent tendencies.”

  “Only when someone is really aggravating and deserves it,” I said diplomatically.

  “Did my dad like these kinds of games?” she asked.

  I was taken aback by the question. Marley rarely asked specific questions about her father.

  I sat in the chair adjacent to hers. “He played casually, but it wasn’t really his thing either. He used to listen to audiobooks in his truck, especially when he had long distance deliveries.”

  Marley lit up. “Really? I didn’t know that. What kind of books did he like to listen to?”

  “Mainstream stuff like Stephen King and John Grisham. Sometimes a Robert Ludlow book. The Star Wars books. He liked to keep his mind occupied while he drove. Otherwise, it was too monotonous.” Karl didn’t complain very often about his job, probably because he always took steps to improve whatever bothered him. It was one of his better qualities.

  “Can I read Stephen King?” Marley asked.

  “No,” I said without hesitation.

  Marley swallowed her iced tea. “Why not? If he’s so popular, why do you think I won’t like him?”

  “Because I woke up this morning to find you in my bed after a bad dream again,” I said. “You’ve made progress since we’ve moved here, and the last thing I’m going to do is set you back by putting The Shining in your trembling hands. Let’s leave Mr. King until you’re a bit older, please. For both of our sakes.”

  “Fine,” Marley huffed.

  I reached for an apple in the fruit bowl and passed it to her. “Have a snack and I’ll make you a quick lunch. Dinner will be late because I’m going to go back out and talk to gamers about Clark.”

  Marley pulled out her wand and said, “Scelerisque.” She tapped the apple with her wand and a chocolate coating appeared.

  “Marley Rose, what do you think you’re doing?”

  Marley smiled. “Making my apple edible?”

  I stared at the chocolate-covered apple. “Did you learn this at school?”

  “Sort of,” she said. “I might have improvised a little.”

  I wasn’t about to dissuade her from challenging herself. “Can you do one for me? Make it caramel, please.” I plucked another apple from the bowl and set it on a napkin in front of me. Marley performed the spell again and I smiled with delight to see caramel dripping down the sides of my apple.

  “That looks good,” Marley said.

  “Finally, a useful magic trick,” I said. “This is what Hazel should be teaching me.”

  Raoul snickered. Tell her you’ll draw runes in the caramel coating.

  I licked some of the caramel off my apple. “I don’t care what grade your teacher gives you, Marley. I give this spell an A+.” I polished off the apple in record time and downed my iced tea before whipping together two sandwiches for lunch.

  “I hate to eat and run, but I need to get back out there while the gamers are still wandering around town in full force.”

  “Should I come with you?” Marley asked.

  “How would you feel about being left on your own for an hour or so?”

  Marley chewed her lip. “Are you sure you’ll only be an hour?” I could see the anxiety flaring.

  “It’s daytime. I thought you might want to give it a try.” Sometimes she seemed eager to be more independent and other times she seemed to want to retreat into a childlike state. “I won’t force you if you’re not up for it.”

  I’ll keep an eye on her, Raoul said. I was planning to work on your altar anyway.

  Would you mind working on it in the back garden? I asked. No offense, but the thought of leaving Marley alone with a raccoon and a tool doesn’t sit well with me.

  Why not? You leave her with Alec all the time.

  “Hardy har.”

  Oh, ye of little faith, Raoul said. I can operate a drill.

  You don’t even have opposable thumbs, I countered. Forgive me if I lack confidence in your skills.

  PP3 began to bark in the other room. “Someone needs to go out,” I said.

  “I can take him,” Marley said. “It’ll give me a chance to check on my herb garden.”

  “After that, would you like to go and see Artemis?” I knew the elderly witch would be happy to keep Marley company while I worked. Her house would likely still be overrun with players anyway. Marley could join in if she wanted and I’d feel good about having Jefferson watch over her unseen. It would give the illusion of independence.

  “What about Florian?” she asked. “Then you don’t have to go out of your way.”

  “Florian is busy with the tournament,” I said. “I can see if Mrs. Babcock is around, but she tends to be busy at Thornhold during the day.”

  “No, that’s okay. I’d like to see Artemis and Jefferson.” She giggled. “Not that I see Jefferson.”

  She can hang out with a ghost, but she can’t read Stephen King, Raoul said.

  The only thing creepy about Jefferson is his relationship with Artemis, I replied.

  I’ll take your word for it, the raccoon said.

  My phone buzzed and I glanced down to see Magnus Destry’s name. I snatched the phone to my ear. “Hey, Slytherclaw. How’s it going?”

  “I finally had a chance to poke through the archives and I think you’ll be quite interested in what I found.”

  “You found a file on Ivy?”
>
  “I found better than that,” he said. “I found the transcript of the meeting where she was removed from power as written by the coven’s scribe at the time. Very detailed.”

  “Can I see it?”

  “I’m afraid I can’t remove the papers from the archival room,” he said. “It’s against coven rules.”

  “Can you screenshot them? Then you can just text to them to me. Nobody has to break any rules.”

  “There are a lot of papers here, Ember.”

  I drummed my fingers on the table. “Then what do you suggest?”

  He was quiet for a moment. “How adept are you with invisibility spells?”

  Excitement stirred within me. “I can do that! When do you want me there?”

  “How about now? No one’s around.”

  “I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

  “Who was that?” Marley asked.

  “I’ll tell you when I have more information,” I said. I had a premade sachet for an invisibility spell in the pantry, so I hurried to put it in my pocket. Unfortunately, I wasn’t going to be able to brag to my tutors about this because I couldn’t let them know I was using the spell to break into the archival room. Stupid scruples.

  I dropped Marley at Haverford House and drove straight to Silver Moon headquarters. I activated the spell so that no one saw me enter.

  “Hey, girl,” I said, as I passed beneath the witch statue at the top of the building.

  Magnus was right. The building seemed deserted. I bypassed the cavernous hall where we held our monthly coven meetings and headed toward the staircase that led to the lower level.

  The coven definitely gave more attention to the main level than the underground rooms. The corridor was dimly lit with a low ceiling and a damp chill. I wanted to call for Magnus, but didn’t want to risk revealing my presence in case someone else was within earshot. Just because they couldn’t see me didn’t mean they couldn’t identify my voice.

  I spotted Magnus lingering in the doorway of a room at the end of the corridor. He was as glued to his phone as the players in the game. When I was certain the coast was clear, I sidled up to him.

  “Why aren’t you participating in the tournament?” I asked.

  He jumped and scowled at me. “A little warning next time, please.”

  I smothered a laugh. “Sorry. It was too good to pass up.”

  “I’m a devoted auror in Wizards Unite. I don’t have time for other games. Perhaps next time your cousins will arrange an event for the superior game.” He tucked his phone into his cloak pocket. “This way.”

  I trailed behind him as we passed by rows of filing cabinets. “You don’t have the transcript out and ready?”

  “I couldn’t risk it in case someone came in,” he said. “Not to worry. I know exactly where to find it.” He rounded a corner and I followed.

  “They certainly put it in the deepest, darkest recesses of the archives,” I said.

  “Not an accident, I’m sure.” He stopped at the end unit and twirled his wand to open the top drawer. An unmarked brown folder floated down into his waiting hands.

  “How did you find it?” I asked. “There’s nothing to identify it on the outside.”

  “I used a spell, of course,” he said. He frowned. “I want to hand this to you, but I don’t know where you are.”

  I plucked the folder from his hand and opened it. The notes were lengthy and dense.

  “I must warn you,” he said. “The notes of the meeting are detailed, but don’t tell you the whole story, if that makes sense.”

  “You mean they were cautious about what they said during the meeting,” I said. The coven knew this would be the official record of the proceedings. They likely chose their words carefully to protect themselves from later scrutiny.

  “It was an unprecedented event,” Magnus said. “Never before had a High Priestess been forced to step down.”

  “You forgot the worst part,” I said. “I don’t think Ivy would’ve minded the High Priestess part. It was losing her magic that would’ve been the most upsetting.”

  I skimmed the pages of small script. Gardenia didn’t realize how fortunate she was to record coven activities with technology instead of writing by hand.

  “They torpedoed her with questions,” I said. “Sometimes Ivy’s answers don’t seem connected to the questions.”

  “No surprise there. The coven believed her immense power was impacting her mental state. You can see references to that in the transcript.”

  As I continued to read, I could practically feel Ivy’s anguish in her responses. It must’ve been heartbreaking to feel that your own kind—your magical family—had turned against you.

  I began to skip the questions and focus only on Ivy’s answers. Some of the words weren’t in English. They weren’t in Latin either, but I didn’t recognize them. There was something almost rhythmic about them.

  “Do you know which language she’s mixing in?”

  Magnus glanced at the transcript. “I assumed they were the ravings of a lunatic.”

  “You don’t really believe that the intensity of her magic drove her crazy, do you?” I asked.

  Magnus puckered his lips, debating. “No, I think it was more likely that the coven wished to present her that way to justify their actions.”

  “I knew you were a conspiracy theorist at heart.”

  “A concentration of power makes others uncomfortable,” he said. “It’s a natural reaction.”

  “Is that why you’re not a fan of Aunt Hyacinth? Because you think she’s too powerful in Starry Hollow?”

  “Make no mistake, Ember. Your aunt isn’t even on the same continent as Ivy Rose in terms of power.”

  Maybe that was the point. Maybe my aunt longed for the power that Ivy had and that was the reason she’d hoarded Ivy’s possessions all these years.

  “That being said,” he continued, “I have an innate distrust of anyone with too much influence.” He waved a hand. “Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely and all that.”

  “You really do sound like Sheriff Nash,” I said. “He can’t stand that my aunt has any influence in town when she doesn’t hold an official title.”

  “The Council of Elders is hardly unofficial,” Magnus said.

  “They’re not elected or held accountable to anyone either,” I said.

  “Trust me, if they ever veered out of line, I feel confident that there would be strong objections.”

  I turned my attention back to Ivy’s answers. I set the folder on a nearby table and pulled out my phone. Every time I encountered a random word that seemed to have no connection to the text, I typed it into my notes app. By the time I’d been through the entire transcript, I had a list of twenty-five unfamiliar words.

  “Do you think these are all the same language?” I asked.

  Magnus peered at the list. “Quite possibly. You’ll have to research each one to know for certain though.”

  “Easy enough,” I said. Marley would help me. She’d love to tackle a mini-project like this one.

  “I’m sorry the transcript wasn’t more illuminating,” he said. “When I saw the length of it, I assumed there would be more actual information.”

  I put away my phone and returned the folder to the wizard. “Thanks, Magnus. You’re a rock star.”

  I had a feeling there was more here than either of us realized. Ivy hadn’t only given answers to the coven’s questions, I was fairly certain that she’d given me the answers to mine as well.

  Chapter Seven

  I decided to stop by the Vox Populi office to research the words on the list I’d made from Ivy’s ramblings. I sailed through the front door, singing to myself, and was surprised to see Bentley hunched over his desk.

  He glanced up sharply. “Who’s there?”

  I realized I was still invisible and removed the sachet from my pocket.

  Bentley tipped his chair backward and nearly fell. “Stars and stones, Ember! Are you
trying to kill me?”

  “No, but now I know how to go about it.” I shook the sachet.

  “Why are you doing an invisibility spell?” he asked. He gave me the once-over. “Oh, I see. You haven’t showered today.”

  I glared at him. “I showered. I even combed my hair when it was still wet.”

  Bentley shrugged. “Okay then. I’ve got nothing.”

  “What are you doing here?” I asked.

  “I should ask the same of you,” Bentley replied. “It’s Saturday. You don’t even come in here on the days you’re supposed to.”

  I stuck out my tongue and took my seat at the desk next to his. “Do you ever clean up? Who needs that many pencils in this day and age? Don’t you type everything as it is?”

  Bentley placed a protective hand over his mess of pencils. “I like to kick it old school when it comes to my journalism.”

  I choked on laughter. “Bentley, you’re like the Charlie Brown of kicking it old school.”

  “I have no idea what that means.”

  The door burst open and Deputy Bolan stumbled in. I resisted the urge to laugh at his comical entrance.

  “One too many shamrock shakes today?” I asked.

  He eyed me angrily. “Someone needs to fix that.”

  Bentley and I exchanged amused glances. “Fix what?” I asked.

  He pointed to the threshold. “There’s a bump there. It’s a trip hazard.”

  “Maybe for your dainty feet,” I said. “The rest of us manage to get in and out of here on a regular basis without injury.”

  “I have an update on the victim’s phone,” the leprechaun said. “I thought you might want to know.”

  My eyes rounded. “You’re willingly sharing information with me?” Not only that, but he must’ve tracked me here. I rarely showed up in the office on a Saturday.

  Bentley smirked. “He must need help with something. What is it, Deputy Bolan? Is technology stumping you?”

  Deputy Bolan pressed his thin lips together. “I need to find obiwandkenobi and I can’t figure out how.”

  “Sheriff Nash couldn’t help you?” I asked.

  “He’s out on duty. This tournament is causing traffic issues in a few places. Players keep stopping in the middle of the road to complete their challenges and we’ve had a few near misses.”