A Sinister Spell in Faerywood Falls

by Blythe Baker

  “I know,” I said. “I just want to see these fireflies…”

  Mom had said that they’d found me in a basket in the forest outside the lodge. This was that same forest, wasn’t it? What did this place know about me and my past? What secrets did it hold about my life, and where I’d come from?

  I hobbled out from underneath the branches, my sneakers scraping against the dead pine needles and fallen twigs. I probably wouldn’t be able to walk with my injury for long, but with the help of my bike to support some of my weight, I would likely be able to make it home, now.

  As I turned to look down the path, the fireflies had grown in numbers. Hundreds of them glimmered along the path, lighting the way through the darkness.

  “It’s almost as if…” I mumbled, staring dumbfoundedly at them all. “They’re showing me the way out…”

  Maybe they are, Athena said from the ground beside me. We should follow them.

  I stooped to pick up the bike, wincing a little as I tried to keep as much weight off my ankle as possible. I knew I couldn’t ride it, but walking it along beside me seemed doable.

  Slowly and steadily, Athena and I started making our way along the hiking trail. The fireflies parted as we walked toward them, blinking and encouraging us onward.

  It wasn’t long before a sign in the trail caught my eye. I hobbled over toward it, and surprisingly, a few fireflies floated closer, shining their lights on the wood for me.

  My eyes lit up. “Athena, it’s this way. We’re almost home!” Relief so sweet I nearly teared up washed over me.

  The fireflies continued to float along the path, and it wasn’t long before there was a break in the trees, and I could see the moon reflecting off the lake.

  “We made it,” I said. I turned around and looked at the group of fireflies, my heart swelling. “Thank you so much. I couldn’t have done it without you.”

  Two or three fireflies closest to me floated over and landed on my arm. They flickered their lights on and off a few times before taking off again to join their friends.

  I smiled. It was like they were saying, You’re welcome.

  I started toward the lake, and in the distance, I could see Mrs. Bickford’s lamppost shining in the night.

  There was an SUV parked alongside the lake. I saw it as we drew closer to the water’s edge. It wasn’t the first time I’d seen a car here, but I wasn’t sure people did a lot of fishing in the middle of the night. I didn’t see any tents around, and campers were always told not to sleep so close to the cabins.

  It would have been nice if the owner had been around. Maybe they could have given me a ride. Alas, the front seat was empty, and no one else was in sight.

  At least, that was what I thought, until I saw a fishing boat bobbing against the shore as Athena and I walked past the SUV.

  My heart filled with hope. It must have been close to dawn, and this person was already out to do some prime fishing.

  I could just make out the shape of a man inside the boat, wearing fishing gear. He was perfectly still though. I wasn’t surprised. Fishing was a very silent and inactive sport. At least, most of the time.

  “Um, sir?” I asked, hobbling closer to the water. “I really hate to interrupt you while you’re fishing, but could you possibly drive me a short ways down the road to my cabin? I was riding my bike home from work and I think I sprained my ankle.”

  The man didn’t reply. He didn’t even move.

  Maybe he was hard of hearing.

  I made my way closer, careful not to slip in the rain-soaked grass, and repeated my request. “Sir, I’m sorry to bother you, but would you mind giving me a ride? I think I sprained my ankle on my way home from work, and I – ”

  I had made it up to the side of the boat. The man’s fishing rod was hanging over the edge, the bobber dangling in the water, but the line was loose.

  The man, likewise, was sitting back in the boat. No, not sitting. It was more like he was lying back, sprawled out at a strange angle.

  My heart skipped as I leaned in closer. “Sir? Are you all right?”

  His eyes were glassy and unfocused. His skin was so pale it was almost like paper. Bloodless. Lifeless.

  With horror, my eyes fell to his neck, which was partially exposed. Right where his jugular vein would be, there were two dark holes with blue and purple bruising around them.

  He was dead.

  13

  The tea in my hands was hot, but I hardly noticed it. The fireplace that I had been parked in front of was warm too, the logs crackling and popping. There was no cozy fox curled up in my lap, because Athena had made herself scarce once I reached the lodge, but the blanket that had been wrapped around my shoulders was well made and almost as soft as Athena’s fur.

  Not that any of it really mattered, not anymore.

  The sun was up now, filtering in through the tall windows of the lodge, bathing the wooden floorboards in a bright light. The warm scent of cedar filled my nose as I watched Aunt Candace stare blankly at the back of the head of the man standing in front of me.

  “And you didn’t see anyone else around?” the man asked. He was Joe Garland, the local sheriff to Faerywood Falls. He was a tall, muscular man with a balding head, but he had kind eyes and was patient with me. His sheriff’s hat lay forgotten on an end table near the fireplace.

  I shook my head. “No. I hadn’t seen anyone else for a long time. I was just trying to get home.” I looked down at my ankle. Bliss, who’d apparently spent some time working as a nurse’s assistant, had wrapped it up for me with an ice pack, trying to get some of the swelling down. By the time I’d reached the lodge, my ankle was so swollen that I could barely get my shoe off. It was now propped up on a cushy ottoman, and I had instructions not to walk on it again until I absolutely had to.

  Sherriff Garland sighed and typed a few notes on his tablet. “Well, we appreciate you being willing to answer our questions,” he said. “I’m sorry you had to see something so unpleasant, Miss Huffler.”

  I shook my head. “It’s all right. I just feel so bad for the poor man.”

  “We will make sure that his killer is found,” the sheriff said. “My boys have already taken care of the body and are investigating the area as we speak.”

  I knew that was supposed to give me relief, but the memory of the fisherman’s dead form was still too starkly fresh in my mind.

  The sheriff hesitated for a second, glancing at me.

  “What is it?” I asked, shifting uncomfortably beneath his gaze.

  “Just one thing…” he said, looking through his notes. “Could you describe one more time what the wounds looked like, when they were fresh? I want to make sure that I got the details right. Anything, even if it’s small, could help us determine the killer.”

  I swallowed hard. There had been a perpetual lump in my throat since I’d told Aunt Candace and Bliss what had happened. “He was…really pale. His face was bloodless. And there was bruising on the side of his neck, and in the middle of it all, there were two black holes, like he’d been pierced or something.”

  “How big were the holes, exactly?” he asked.

  I sighed. I’d already answered this. More than that, he could surely examine the body and see for himself. But I supposed he had to have it all on record.

  “It’s better if you get it all out now, dear,” Aunt Candace said from behind the sheriff. “And then it will be over and you won’t have to talk about it again.”

  I steeled my nerves. She was right. “They were…I don’t know. Bigger than a needle, but narrower than a pen or a pencil? And there was no blood anywhere. If he’d been stabbed, I’m guessing it would have been everywhere.” I heard myself saying the words, but it was almost as if they were coming from someone else.

  Aunt Candace let out a sigh, and she looked over at Bliss, who could only shake her head. There was something to that glance that I knew they wouldn’t admit in front of the sheriff, but I wanted to know what it meant.

  �
��All right,” the sheriff said, making a final note. “I just can’t believe it. We’ve lost too many people around here lately. There is some kind of bloodthirsty animal out there. It’s becoming too bold. We’re going to have to deal with it.” He shook his head. “Well, I’ve got to get this information to the station so we can start compiling suspects, even if there probably aren’t any aside from some wolf or something. You take care of yourself, Miss Huffler.” He turned and picked up his hat, inclining his head to Aunt Candace and Bliss. “Ladies, thank you for contacting me and letting me come and speak with her.”

  “Of course, Sheriff,” Aunt Candace said. “We want to make sure that the killer is caught, too.”

  He bid us goodbye, and Mr. Terrance walked him back out to the foyer.

  I let my head fall against the back of the chair, letting out a heavy exhale. I looked over at the women who had started toward me. “I’m sorry about all this.”

  “Oh, sweetheart, you don’t have to apologize,” Aunt Candace said, taking the chair beside mine. “I’m so sorry you had to go through that.”

  Bliss sat down cross-legged in front of the fireplace, facing me. “Are you holding up okay? Or is that still the shock talking?”

  “I’m not really sure,” I said. I pinched the bridge of my nose. “All I do know is that things have been super weird since I moved here. I’ve seen and heard the strangest things…and to be honest? A dead body is sort of at the bottom of my list.”

  Aunt Candace’s eyes widened. “What do you mean?”

  I shook my head. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

  “Try us,” Bliss said.

  I met her gaze, and I saw that she really was challenging me. There was some sort of understanding there, and not for the first time, I felt a rush of affection for her and my aunt.

  So I told them. I told them about the woman at the gas station, and about finding Athena. I told them how I could speak to her with my mind. I brought up Mrs. Bickford again. I explained about the book and what happened both times I’d read it. I told them about the fireflies leading me back home last night.

  It was a relief to get it off my chest. I’d been stewing over it all by myself, and instead of finding answers, all I ended up with was more questions.

  “So…yeah,” I finally said, growing hoarse from speaking for so long. “That’s what I’ve been dealing with lately.”

  Aunt Candace looked over at Bliss. “I think it’s time we tell her,” she said.

  “Tell me what?” I asked, my heart skipping a beat.

  “About the truth of Faerywood Falls,” Bliss said, a sad smile climbing up her face. “The truth about you, Marianne.”

  I looked between her and my aunt, waiting for one of them to speak.

  Finally, Aunt Candace folded her hands in front of herself and looked me dead in the eye. “Faerywood Falls is…well, it’s a special and rare sort of place. It is one of the few places like it still left in the world.”

  “What sort of place?” I asked. “Please, just tell me. I can handle the truth.”

  “Yes, I think you can, too,” Aunt Candace said. “There is…a magical undercurrent in Faerywood Falls. It was here long before the area was settled many years ago. It’s one of the few places in the world that still has any sort of magic available in it.”

  It was like I had been doused in freezing cold water. And yet…it made sense. “I…had my suspicions. But that sounds crazy, you know that, right?”

  Aunt Candace shrugged and glanced over at Bliss, who leaned forward.

  “It definitely does. But because this is one of the few pockets of magic still existing, people who have magic in their blood, passed down from their ancestors without them even realizing it, find they are irresistibly drawn to places that still possess magic. They may never understand why, but they will just keep coming back. It feels like home to them.”

  I scratched my cheek absently. “I mean, I guess this place has been feeling more and more like home to me, too, but isn’t it possible that these people just like this place?”

  Bliss shook her head. “I get why the logical part of you wants to make this fit into your understanding of reality, but it’s just not going to, and you’ll have to accept that sooner or later. Because what we are about to tell you now is going to seem even stranger.”

  “There’s more to it than that?” I asked.

  “Oh, yes, a great deal more,” Aunt Candace said. “People who have magic in their blood are called the Gifted. As it sounds, these are individuals who are aware of their ability to use the magic they inherited. They have the ability to use different kinds of magic and abilities that normal humans cannot. Such folk often find the pull of magic in their veins too strong to ignore, and settle down in these places.”

  “So there are Gifted people living in town here?” I asked. “People who can do magic?”

  Aunt Candace and Bliss both nodded. “Indeed,” Aunt Candace said. “Now, most people in the town are Ungifted, and most of them are unaware of the presence of those with magical abilities. Those who are Gifted try their best to blend in with the others.”

  “So…who are they?” I asked. My eyes widened as I looked at them both. “Are you both Gifted?”

  Bliss’s face split into a grin as she looked at her mother. “Well…I am, but Mom’s not,” she said.

  Aunt Candace nodded. “My ex-husband had magic in his blood. To be quite honest, I don’t think he was aware of it at all. At least not openly.”

  I stared at Bliss with mingled awe and apprehension. “So what are your gifts?”

  “Well, we should probably first explain how the Gifted are different from one another,” she said. “We are all divided into multiple classes. This is based on our parentage and whatever magics our ancestors had. I am what is called a Spell Weaver.”

  “That sounds impressive,” I said.

  “There are others as well,” Aunt Candace said. “Vampires, Shape Shifters and Beast Whisperers, Psychics and Ghost Speakers – ”

  I gasped. “Like Mrs. Bickford?” I asked.

  They nodded.

  “So she really can talk to her dead husband…” I said.

  Bliss snickered at that.

  “And then there are the Spell Weavers, like Bliss…and then finally, there are Faeries.”

  My eyes widened. “Faeries? Really?”

  Bliss gave her mother a knowing look.

  “What?” I asked.

  “Well, it’s clear that you have revealed yourself as one of the Gifted,” Bliss said. “You obviously have some sort of abilities and are able to detect the magic. Speaking with your fox friend is just part of it.”

  Aunt Candace nodded. She leaned in closer to me. “We are not certain, but we believe that you may actually be a Faery.”

  The words had to sink in for a few seconds. A Faery? Me? “How…how do you know?” I asked.

  “Well, the fireflies were sort of a dead give away,” Bliss said. “But what really sold it was the fact that you borrowed that woman’s ability at the gas station.”

  “How do you know?” I asked.

  “Well, you didn’t have the power before, and now you do,” Bliss said. “It’s simple, really. And you said something happened when she touched you, right? And she had those animals…most people wouldn’t keep squirrels as pets, let me tell you.”

  “But this is where things get a little tricky,” Aunt Candace said, her voice dropping. Her eyebrows knit together in a worried line. “If you are a Faery like we think you are – ”

  “Definitely are,” Bliss interrupted.

  “If you are, then you are the first Faery to appear in Faerywood Falls for a long time. It’s been generations,” Aunt Candace said.

  Bliss nodded. “And because of it, your presence was immediately felt by the other Gifted, because there was a shifting in the balance of magic.”

  My eyes widened, and my heart began to beat faster. “That doesn’t sound like a good thing.”
>
  “It’s not a bad thing, either,” Bliss said. “At least not yet. No one has identified you as the Faery. And that’s good. Some of the Gifted in town will definitely be watching you, since you’re a newcomer, and that makes everyone suspicious.”

  “Why would they be suspicious of me?” I asked. “And why do Faeries shift the balance of magic?”

  “Because Faeries have many abilities,” Aunt Candace said. “Now that you are here, they will start to awaken over time and you’ll discover them. Faeries are the most powerful of the Gifted races because of this. But they also possess what might be considered the supreme ability.”

  “Which is what?” I asked.

  “Remember how I said that you took that poor lady’s ability?” Bliss said with a shrug.

  “Wait…so I can steal powers?” I asked.

  Bliss nodded. “Yep. Permanently. Once you have it, they don’t.”

  I looked down at my lap, my eyes unfocused. This was all too much to take in. “It happened by accident. I don’t even know how I did it.”

  Bliss shrugged. “That’s how all of us started out. It takes time to really understand how the magic works, because even though we have it, it’s still really foreign to us.”

  I chewed on the inside of my lip. “Faeries in stories are known as being tricksters. Is that a real thing?”

  Aunt Candace looked over at Bliss.

  “We aren’t really sure,” Bliss said. “But a lot of myths about the Gifted are true. There are stories of some of the Faeries that lived here hundreds of years ago being manipulative or deceitful, yeah.”

  That was a hard blow. “But I’m not a liar. I don’t want to mislead people or hurt them like that.”

  “That doesn’t mean you will, dear,” Aunt Candace said soothingly. “Unfortunately, it does mean that you might be envied or feared by the other Gifted if they were to find out your secret.”

  “There are some dangerous members of the other Gifted races,” Bliss said. “There are good ones and bad ones in every group, but some are nastier than others.”

  I swallowed nervously. “So…my parents?” I asked, looking over at Aunt Candace. “My real parents, I mean?”