The Girl and the Witch's Garden

by Erin Bowman

  Piper again touched her chest, wishing she could feel the locket beneath her fingers. “Grandma mentioned that you said something when she told you Dad wanted me to stay here for the summer. What was it?”

  Sophia swallowed uncomfortably. “You don’t want to know.”

  “Yes, I do. I mean, I didn’t want to hear it at the time, back in the garden, but if I’m going to stay here, I think I should hear it now.”

  Sophia looked at the floor, and it was painfully quiet for a long time. “I said, ‘You really think we have to?’ ”

  Piper pulled back, feeling like she’d been slapped. Her mother hadn’t been under Melena’s control then. How could Piper believe that her mother had truly changed if this was how she’d felt two months earlier?

  “Piper, you have to understand how ashamed I was,” Sophia said softly. “I’ve always been a hollow, and my mother made me feel worthless because of it. But I never felt more empty than when I left you and your father. I thought proving myself to your grandmother would make me feel complete—that I’d find what was missing in my life. And when it didn’t, I’d been gone so long that shame kept me from coming back. I didn’t know how to make it right, so I just … decided not to. I hid. I tried to keep you away, knowing how hurt you’d be to learn I was fostering other children. It was cowardly and wrong. I’m so sorry.” She squeezed Piper’s hand reassuringly. “Your grandmother turned her back on me, and then I made the same mistake with you. I’m glad she brought you here for the summer, even if her motives were wrong; it brought you back into my life, and I don’t feel quite so hollow anymore.”

  Piper nodded, not able to fully understand. How could her mother make the same mistakes her mother had? How could she push away someone she was supposed to love?

  “I wasted the last decade,” Sophia went on. “I never changed my last name back to Mallory, because I always thought of myself as a Peavey—as bound to you and your father. But now he’s gone. I missed the chance to make it right with him. I don’t want to miss the chance with you.”

  Piper knew this was where she was supposed to make her choice, but it felt too large of a decision. She wanted Sophia to be the mother she’d always longed for, but she also couldn’t trust her fully, not after the last several years.

  “I don’t know if I forgive you,” she said honestly.

  “That’s fair,” Sophia said. “I’ve done years of harm. But I hope you’ll at least let me try to make it right. Things are going to change here at Mallory Estate, I promise.”

  “Can I stay the rest of the summer,” Piper proposed, “and see how I feel then?”

  “Absolutely.” Sophia clapped her hands together. “We can take it one day at a time.”

  “And can we hang out a little—not just during classes?”

  “Come to my room whenever you need me. The second floor is no longer off-limits. I’ll plan some fun outings for us too. And I’ll do the cooking from now on, and we can eat every meal together.”

  “Camilla might fight you on that,” Piper pointed out. “That girl loves her cooking.”

  “Speaking of Camilla, she was looking for you—she and the others. I think they’re out in the garden.” Sophia patted the back of Piper’s hand, then stood and exited the library.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine The League of Artifact Protectors

  Teddy was sitting on the steps between the stag statues. Piper crossed the patio and sat beside him. In the distance, she could hear the rest of the gang playing a game of tag in the garden.

  “Hey, you’re up,” he said in greeting.

  “I am,” she replied.

  “I have something for you.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out her amplifier. The locket dangled from the silver chain, winking in the afternoon light. He’d even mended the chain where Melena had snapped it while in her falcon form. “Everyone searched for the first week and then gave up. But not me. I kept at it till I found it. It was hanging from the western Fate’s shears. All that time searching the ground and it was dangling at eye level.”

  Piper threw her arms around Teddy and squeezed him tightly, only letting up when he muttered that he could barely breathe.

  “Sorry,” she apologized, sitting back and fastening the latch behind her neck. She touched the locket, feeling balanced at long last. It wasn’t that she needed the amplifier, but she felt more like herself with it, as if her father were with her.

  “You were right about my mom—she was on your side,” Piper said. “I’m sorry I didn’t believe you.”

  Teddy shrugged. “Hey, from where you were standing, she looked downright evil. I get it.”

  “But still. I called you overly trusting.”

  “Which I am. But I appreciate the apology. That’s something Yankees fans can’t do—admit fault.” He peered at her seriously. “Are you sure you’re feeling okay?”

  Piper laughed, and it felt good. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d laughed.

  Julius sprinted into view, tearing for the steps with Camilla on his heels.

  “I tagged you, Julius Gump,” she called. “Quit running. You are out and you’ve been out since the infinity pool.”

  “Steps are base!” he yelled over his shoulder, and plopped down beside Piper.

  Camilla stopped several paces away and hunched over, hands on her thighs. “Cheater,” she said between ragged breaths. “You just made that rule up.”

  Julius shrugged. “You can join me on base or keep playing, even though you know Kenji will win. He always does.”

  “True.” Camilla climbed one of the stag statues and sat on its back.

  “I’m still really sorry I didn’t tell you about my dad,” Piper blurted out. “That was an awful thing to do to you guys.”

  “You said all this already.” Camilla reclined on the stag’s sloping back, turning her face toward the sun. “Quit stressing. You’re forgiven.”

  “And we’re really sorry about your dad,” Julius said. “The elixir broke and spilled, which is about as permanent a concealment as I can think of, and Mrs. Peavey and Mr. Frederick Mallory are working on our adoption status. Meaning our situation turned out fine. So instead, let’s talk about the fact that you have two affinities. You have to teach me! I want two!”

  “Nothing to teach. Everything I know I learned from the best”—she winked at Julius—“and besides, every affinity you have is already inside you. Right?”

  “Unless you killed someone to get that force-field trick,” Teddy joked.

  Julius gave him a serious look. “Do not repeat that around Kenji. He still thinks it’s possible that Mrs. Mallory killed someone to get her second affinity.”

  “Wouldn’t that mean he also thinks I killed someone?” Piper said.

  “He might think that, too,” Julius said with a groan.

  “So is she really gone—my grandma?” Piper asked.

  “No way,” Camilla said from the statue. “I mean, the HOM hasn’t found her yet, but she’s a powerful magi. She’s out there somewhere, hiding, biding her time, maybe tracking down other artifacts.”

  “So what do we do now?” Piper looked between her friends.

  “Search for Mrs. Mallory?” Teddy suggested.

  “Make sure the other artifacts are safe?” Julius proposed.

  “What are we, the League of Artifact Protectors?” Camilla snorted.

  “I like that,” Piper said with a grin. “It has a nice ring to it.”

  “I’ll tell Kenji!” Julius leaped from the steps and sprinted into the garden, where Kenji was surely waiting to ambush him.

  “What about school?” Camilla shouted after him. “Mrs. Peavey isn’t going to let us jet around the country after summer ends.”

  “We’ll figure it out later,” he yelled back.

  Camilla rolled her eyes. “Julius!” He kept running. “Ugh. Of all the ridiculous ideas.” She slid from the statue and chased after him.

  “She loves him, even if she’ll never admit it.�
�� Teddy gave Piper a sideways glance. “Should we join them?”

  There was no saying where the rest of the summer would take her, or what the months following it would hold. But one thing was certain—Piper Peavey was excited for the journey.

  She took off running.

  Acknowledgments

  First and foremost, I would like to thank my agent, Sara Crowe, who encouraged me to write this story. I’d been sitting on the idea for nearly two decades when I first mentioned it to her. I didn’t feel ready to write it and wanted to wait a bit. For what, I’m still not entirely sure, but Sara swore I was ready, that I just needed to start. I am grateful for her gentle nudging. She was right (as she is so often). Once I took the plunge, the story came out willingly, and I’m very glad it is now on paper, in the world, instead of existing solely as an idea in my head. Thanks also to the incredible team at Pippin Properties, for championing this book alongside Sara.

  Many thanks are also due to my editor, Krista Vitola, who saw something special in this story, took a chance on it, and knew exactly what I was trying to accomplish with Piper’s tale, even if all the right words weren’t yet written. Krista’s thoughtful queries and suggestions guided me through revisions, and this book is stronger because of her.

  To my extended Simon & Schuster BFYR family, for all the hard work they put into this project, with particular thanks to Catherine Laudone, Shivani Annirood, Laurent Linn, and Justin Hernandez, whose gorgeous illustration brought Piper to life so perfectly on the cover.

  To the writer friends I rely on for support and inspiration, especially Susan Dennard, Alex Bracken, Jodi Meadows, and Sara Raasch.

  To my parents, for planning a trip to Brookgreen Gardens during a vacation when I was a teen, where the elaborate grounds and stunning statues set my creative gears in motion, and to my sister, for being my biggest fan from the very beginning.

  To Rob, for believing in me and supporting this dream, even during the hard seasons, and to my children, who make it all worthwhile.

  And lastly, many thanks to you, the reader. You are the key that makes this all possible. Holy hallows, I’m grateful.

  About the Author

  © MORIS PUCCIO

  ERIN BOWMAN is the critically acclaimed author of numerous books for teens, including the Taken trilogy, Vengeance Road, Retribution Rails, and the Edgar Award-nominated Contagion duology. The Girl and the Witch’s Garden is her middle grade debut. A web designer turned author, Erin has always been invested in telling stories—both visually and with words. When not writing, she can often be found hiking, commenting on good typography, and obsessing over all things Harry Potter. Erin lives in New Hampshire with her husband and children.

  Visit us at simonandschuster.com/kids

  www.SimonandSchuster.com/Authors/Erin-Bowman

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  This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Text copyright © 2020 by Erin Bowman

  Jacket illustration copyright © 2020 by Justin Hernandez

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  Jacket design by Laurent Linn

  Interior design by Tom Daly

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Names: Bowman, Erin, author.

  Title: The girl and the witch’s garden / Erin Bowman.

  Description: First edition. | New York : Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, [2020] | Audience: Ages 8-12. | Audience: Grades 4-6. | Summary: While living with her estranged mother at mysterious Mallory Estate, twelve-year-old Piper Peavey must undergo three trials to obtain from the enchanted garden an elixir that might save her dying father.

  Identifiers: LCCN 2019037537 (print) | LCCN 2019037538 (ebook) | ISBN 9781534461581 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781534461604 (ebook)

  Subjects: CYAC: Magic—Fiction. | Gardens—Fiction. | Friendship—Fiction. | Mothers and daughters—Fiction. | Cancer—Fiction.

  Classification: LCC PZ7.B68347 Gir 2020 (print) | LCC PZ7.B68347 (ebook) | DDC [Fic]—dc23

  LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019037537

  LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019037538