Authors: Ariella Moon
"Ladies and gentleman. When magic is afoot, one never knows what to expect. Please take your seats again." Aunt Terra lowered her chin and addressed the people in the first two rows. "Is everyone fine? A bit jostled?"
Portia examined the spell book. "Amazing. It has transformed again."
"Has the writing reappeared?" Hope tinged Evie's voice.
"I'm afraid to look. The magic feels darker."
I dropped the tote. "Voodoo?"
"I hope not." Evie blinked several times in rapid succession.
Something rustled on the far side of the bookcase. I stepped in front of Portia and Evie and pushed Isis behind me. My breath jammed in my lungs.
"Is this where all the cool kids hang out?"
"Thor!" Relief sprinkled over me like falling stars.
He opened his arms for a quick embrace. His chest felt solid and strong against my ear. I breathed in his lavender-and-sage scent. He tweaked Isis's nose. "Never a dull moment, huh?"
Isis shook her head.
An emerald-eyed woman bearing a strong resemblance to Evie and Portia trailed Thor. She carried extra purses and jackets.
"You grabbed our stuff. Wise move!" Portia said. "Ainslie, Thor, Isis. May I present my daughter Olivia and my granddaughter Evie."
"Nice to meet you." I met Olivia's gaze, flicking onto Evie for a nervous second or two.
"Likewise," Olivia said.
"We need to make our escape," Portia said.
Thor scooped up the black tote and held it open. Portia dropped the grimoire into the bag. Thor recoiled at the book's dank, swampy smell. As he zipped up the tote, he leaned in and said, "Esmun slipped out the front. He's going to meet you around back and escort you home while Terra distracts everyone."
"Excellent."
Behind us, the audience erupted in thunderous applause and a girl yelled, "Woo hoo, Jett!"
Olivia handed Portia her purse. The older woman placed it in the crook of her arm and fished out her coiled key bracelet.
Thor slung the black tote over his shoulder. "There's a back door in the office. I'll walk you to your car." His eyes met mine. "Don't disappear."
"
Me?
Don't you!"
He winked.
"My handbag is in the desk drawer. On your way back, could you—?"
"Will do." He strode down the shadowy hall, trailed by Portia and her family.
I clasped Isis's hand. "Let's find your brother."
We didn't have far to look. Betty and Arthur had returned to their seats. The audience had calmed and were focused on Terra as she pulled names from the hat and awarded prizes. Jett strode toward us.
Isis met him half way and gave him a hug. "You were awesome."
"Beyond awesome," I said. He held out his fist and we knuckle-bumped.
"What happened?" I whispered.
"What didn't?" Jett angled his head and we ducked into the hall. He leaned his back against the wall and slid down until he sat on the floor with his legs sticking out in front of him. He unbuttoned his blazer and closed his eyes.
Isis threw me an anxious glance.
Jett opened his eyes and shifted position, sitting a little straighter against the wall. "I thought I was going to die out there."
"I thought I was going to die for you," Isis said.
"Word." I claimed the opposite wall and sat down.
Jett plunged his fingers into his hair, pushing back his dark bangs. "First the Marine—"
"I couldn't believe it when you pulled his name."
"Me either. Then Betty!"
"Did she see an angel?" Isis asked.
"She—"
The outside door in the office closed. The sound traveled through the mystery school and down the hall. Jett cut off his words and started to scramble to his feet.
"It's okay," I said. "It's Thor."
Jett glanced down the dim hall. "He made it?"
I nodded. "He just escorted Portia to her car."
Thor appeared at the far end of the hall, and my insides cartwheeled. Moonlight streaming through the mystery school windows haloed him. Isis gasped and made saucer eyes.
"Awesome job," Thor told Jett as he settled beside me on the carpet and handed me my purse. "Sorry I missed the opening." He clasped my hand, sending tingles ricocheting through my abdomen and flooding me with calming warmth.
Faint applause sounded from the audience.
"Jett was about to tell us what happened with Betty and Arthur," I said.
"At first, nothing happened. My worst nightmare." Jett's eyes bored into mine before looking away. "Then, boom!"
"The grimoire escaped the tote," I said.
"On its own?" Thor asked.
"I tried to stop it!"
"Good thing you didn't. People assumed I had made it fly through the air. You gave me great street cred."
"But it seemed like Betty and Arthur saw something sad in the crystal." I scrunched closer to Thor. He squeezed my hand.
Jett glanced at Isis. "I suspect they saw…the end. But the part I saw was cool."
"What did you see?" Isis asked.
"Blackness, then two new stars being born."
"Two?" I asked.
"Arthur will follow her," Thor explained.
"Oh." A bittersweet heaviness settled over me. I remembered my almanac and pulled it out of my handbag and read aloud.
December Twenty-First
Yule/Winter Solstice
Moon in Leo
Tarot: Three of Cups.
Friends and family gather in joyous celebration and abundance.
"Cool," Thor said.
"It says abundance, so I bet we raised lot of money," Jett added.
"Wait until word gets out," Thor said. "I saw a reporter. She's probably looking for you, man."
"I'll go out in a sec," Jett said.
Isis crouched beside me and studied my face. "You're sad."
I sniffed and shook my head, trying to flick off the bad thoughts as though I were a dog shedding bathwater. If Jazmin were here, she'd swear I was looking at the worst-case scenario. Again.
"Ains?" Thor said.
"It's my parents." Though it was about Evie, too, and having no control over my reputation, my past, or my life. I wrung my hands with invisible soap and water. "They aren't here. Otherwise," I lied, "everything would be perfect."
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Moonlight augmented the old car's weak headlights. After rehashing the evening's events, Aunt Terra, Uncle Esmun, and I fell into silence. Aunt Terra had shut off the car radio at the commercial break several miles back. The wind whistled through the cracks in the creaky car, layering in more dust.
When I heard an airliner take off, I knew we were almost home. Sure enough, Uncle Esmun swung onto their street and seconds later pulled into the driveway.
"We be here," he announced.
Aunt Terra unfastened her seat belt and twisted in her seat to face me. "Thank you, again, for tonight."
"You're welcome." I unhooked my seat belt and pushed open the door. Stepping out into the cool, clear night, I closed the door behind me. My gaze swept upward and found stars. "Wow."
The other car doors thudded closed. Aunt Terra hooked her arm through mine. "Pretty amazing, huh?" She steered me away from the street lamp illuminating the driveway. "The light on the top of the mountain is the Palm Springs tram."
"I've never seen so many stars. We're always fogged in at home."
"Happy solstice," Uncle Esmun said.
"Happy solstice," Aunt Terra and I said as one.
"It's late. I'm whipped." Uncle Esmun jostled his keys and headed to unlock the gate.
"Would you mind getting the mail?" Aunt Terra asked.
"Sure." It was an odd request. The mailbox was a scant few yards away, and Aunt Terra was closer to it than me. She followed Uncle Esmun into the courtyard and into the house. The kitchen light flicked on. Its fluorescent glow shone above the bougainvillea spilling over the courtyard wall.
The back of my neck prickled as I approached the mailbox and lowered the lid. A small padded envelope sat on top of a few bills and advertisements. I pulled it out and read my name printed in Mom's familiar handwriting.
"Oh my!" I tore open the envelope as the phone inside it began to ring. "Hello?"
"Hi, love bug."
"Mommy! Did you guys make it back home safely?"
"We sure did. How was your solstice event?"
"Amazing!"
"Good. You can tell us about it over breakfast tomorrow."
"What?" I flipped over the envelope and realized there was no address on it — just my name.
"Terra told me about a place close to the condo with awesome breakfasts."
My heart went into turbo drive. I glanced up the street, half expecting to see the Mercedes. "Are you and Dad in Palm Springs?"
"Yes! We drove down. We have a suite at a nice boutique hotel. Sorry we didn't make it in time for your event. There was a pile-up on Highway Five."
"Are you okay?" My skin crawled with imagined horrors.
"We're fine. Just tired. I know you must be, too, after your big day. We'll meet you guys at the restaurant at seven o'clock tomorrow morning. Okay?"
"Do Aunt Terra and Uncle Esmun know you are here?"
"Of course! My sister keeps a good secret, doesn't she? I can't wait to see her!"
I glanced at the kitchen light. "I'll say."
"Love you."
"Love you, too, Mom." I snapped the phone shut, gathered up the rest of the mail, and sprinted for the gate.
****
December Twenty-four
Moon Void of Course, 7:55 p.m. Pacific Standard Time
Tarot: The Star (Major Arcana XVII)
Be filled with hope, healing, and enlightenment, for this is a time of new beginnings.
Dad is sober. Mom is guardedly happy. Three days had passed since their arrival in Palm Springs, and no one had mentioned divorce, one way or the other. I texted Jazmin about it and she replied:
Believe in the best-case scenario and have a great Christmas!
We'll see.
I breathed in cinnamon and clove incense. Wired last-minute shoppers crowded Spiral Journeys. Their conversations rose above the Goddess chants piped in through speakers flanking the mural. I shouldered my way through the throng, keeping my head down as I headed toward the back to fetch my handbag. Rounding the bookcase, I nearly crashed into Jett.
"Sneaking out on us, huh?" he asked.
"Yeah. We head home tomorrow after Christmas breakfast and presents. Which reminds me. I stashed a couple of gifts beneath the register for you and Isis."
"Hope mine's a brownie."
"Something better."
Fire red sneakers,
a
nd a new princess outfit for Isis.
"Wait until tomorrow to open them."
"Deal. But you have to open yours now." He reached into his hoodie pocket and withdrew a small box tied with a red satin ribbon. "Merry Christmas from Isis and me."
"No way!"
"Yes, way. Open it."
I untied the narrow ribbon and lifted the box lid. Cradled on a black velvet pouch was a small crystal ball. "I love it!"
Jett shrugged. "It's a thank-you gift. I'm going to do fire fortunes in one of the back rooms." He shook his head. "I can't believe I'll have paying clients."
"I knew you had the magic."
"You, too." He nodded toward the customers pressing around us to get to the bookshelves. "Break is over. I better get back to work." He took a couple of steps, then halted and pivoted. "Mac left a package for you. I put it on the glass table."
"Seriously? From Mac?"
"Yep." He held out his fist for a knuckle-bump. "Watch out for aliens."
"You, too." I shifted his gift to my left hand, then bumped his fist. No erratic energy sparks. "Merry Christmas."
"Back at you. Oh, and Evie is waiting for you." He pointed toward the door at the end of the hall.
My smile collapsed. "Thanks." Anxiety pooled at my feet and swirled upward.
Jett waved, did a one-eighty, and got three steps before a customer stopped him with a question.
I drew in a deep breath, then released it. My parents and Thor would arrive in fifteen minutes.
The cavalry.
Squaring my shoulders, I navigated the shadowy hall and opened the mural door. Evie glanced up at me from her seat at the glass table.
"Hey," I said.
"Hey." She half rose to greet me. "How are you?"
"Tired and footsore. Busy day."
Her expression brightened. "Your aunt and uncle have a great store. It reminds me of Sage Mage back home."
"I'll have to check it out." I glanced down at the bulging white envelope on the table. It was addressed to me in Mac's precise scrawl.
"Some guy dropped that off for you."
I slid it toward me, wondering if Mac had given me a UFO book.
"I'm allergic to incense. That's why I'm hiding back here."
"What are you doing?" I asked.
"Research. I think the spell book has gone voodoo on me."
"Good luck." I wondered where Portia and Evie's mom were.
"Thanks. I'll need it." Evie shifted in the chair. "I was a year behind you at Carter," she said, referring to my old middle school.
I sank into the nearest chair.
Here it comes.
"I figured you must have been."
"I had Yearbook with Sophia. She was super nice."
My lips curved into a weak smile. It almost felt like Sophia was in the room with us.
"I tried to find you a couple of years ago, but you had disappeared."
I flinched. She made me sound like Sophia. "Find me? Why?"
Evie closed the book she had been reading. A blush blossomed up her throat and spread across her cheeks. She had a true redhead's porcelain skin. Zero pores. She fanned the pages of the paperback. "My father had died in Afghanistan." Her voice cracked. "It's complicated, but I felt responsible for his death."
"But how could you—?"
Her hand shot up like a stop sign. "I know. It doesn't make sense. But the shock and grief…" She shrugged.
"Yeah. I know." I met her eyes.
Evie averted her gaze and pressed her lips together. After a moment she said, "I'm an only child."