Chapter 23
The shrieking beeps of the smoke detector jerked Morgan from sleep. She scrambled out from under her blankets and bolted down the stairs into the kitchen. Wisps of smoke led her to their coffee maker, but it was the eruption of green stems and coffee-plant leaves spilling out that halted her on the threshold.
”What in the world?” Fiona”s voice echoed Morgan”s shock from just behind her.
Morgan could only shake her head and shrug. The magical disorder they”d grappled with was clearly escalating.
Shutting down the smoking appliance, the sisters migrated outside to inspect the garden. The herbs had taken on a life of their own. Peppermint and spearmint towers loomed over them, and fennel fronds performed an airy dance in the slight breeze.
Morgan furrowed her brow. ”Never seen herbs skyrocket like this, even with a touch of magic.”
Fiona”s frown mirrored her concern. ”The alignment”s really ramping up,” she said.
Something caught Morgan”s eye near the fence—a fluttering figure she mistook for a seagull. But as it launched into the air, they made out a tail that streamed far beyond its body. Even Belladonna seemed disturbed as she watched the bird fly awkwardly over the ocean.
”It”s starting to affect things outside of the forest. We have no time to waste.” Morgan turned back toward the kitchen.
Luke, Jake, and Cal had shown up.
Mateo came in from the front hall and stopped short. ”What”s up with the coffee machine?”
”The alignment,” Morgan said.
Mateo raised his brows. ”Jolene isn”t going to be happy about that.”
Johanna burst into the room, apron strings flying. ”I”ll get a pot going in the other machine. Who”s up for pancakes?”
Despite the burgeoning supernatural storm, Johanna”s normality was a comforting constant, and they all needed to eat before tackling the forest again.
Jake and Mateo set the table as the room filled with the scent and sounds of sizzling bacon and frying eggs.
Jolene strode into the kitchen, eyeing the bizarre plant sprouting from the K-Cup machine. ”Please tell me there”s still coffee.”
Johanna gestured warmly to the pot she”d brewed in their old coffee maker. ”Fresh batch just finished. Have a seat, and I”ll bring you some pancakes.”
Jolene sank into a chair with relief, accepting the mug Mateo passed her way.
Luke set down his fork, glancing around the table. ”Did anyone come up with any brilliant ideas overnight for how to handle the alignment?”
Head shakes and murmured ”no”s” answered him.
”It feels right that we need a spell,” Morgan said, ”but for what exactly?”
”The stones, the ley lines, the epicenter... there”s a few options,” Fiona replied.
Jake nodded slowly. ”We need to get it right, though. We don”t have time for second-guessing.”
Morgan set down her mug. ”You”re right. We need to think through this logically.”
Jolene tapped her fingers on the side of her mug. ”Our goal is to get to the epicenter and stop the stones from aligning, right?”
Everyone around the table nodded.
”Okay, so we”ve got the sticks covered already,” Jolene continued. ”The herbs let us walk over the portals, no problem.”
Fiona chimed in. ”And I have my stones that will help neutralize the alignment crystals” powers.”
”Exactly—the stones are handled too,” Morgan said. ”So it makes sense the spell must be for whatever is preventing us from reaching the epicenter itself.”
”Yes, but what, exactly, is preventing us from reaching it?” Mateo asked.
Jolene straightened, speaking up. ”Maybe Celeste had some insight overnight.”
Calvin looked up from his pancakes, brow furrowing. ”Hey, where is Celeste anyway?”
* * *
Celeste satcross-legged on the rug in the mansion”s library, eyes closed in meditation. She took slow, deep breaths, focusing her energy and intention on connecting with Rebekah. Rebekah hadn”t really given her any useful information thus far, but no other spirits seemed to want to talk to her. Perhaps she had just been asking the wrong questions.
As Celeste centered her awareness, she sensed Rebekah”s presence nearby. Opening her eyes, Celeste was not surprised to see the ghostly figure of a woman in a pale-blue dress hovering near the shelves of leather-bound books.
”Rebekah, I need your help,” Celeste said. ”What do you know of the celestial alignment that is coming and the Dove family? Have you heard stories from your elders about it?”
The spirit tilted her head thoughtfully before responding. ”As I”ve told you before, I do not possess firsthand accounts, my dear. However, whispers from my grandmother”s era do mention the Dove siblings in a good light.”
Celeste was surprised to hear Rebekah speak well of the Dove siblings. She leaned forward eagerly. ”How were Sofie and Maynard seen in a good light back then?” she asked.
Rebekah floated languidly around the library, ghostly fingers trailing over the leather-bound spines. ”From what I recall of the whispered stories, they joined forces to wield some ancient magic that stopped powerful dark forces from wreaking havoc.”
The spirit paused by the window, gazing out at the herb garden. ”Of course, the details escape me.” She turned back to the books, leaning close and taking a big whiff, then closed her eyes blissfully. ”Ahh, the scent of leather-bound books always stirs my heart.”
Celeste pressed for more information. ”Were Sofie and Maynard around during your time? You said the stories were from your grandmother”s era.”
”Yes, they existed then but were quite young,” Rebekah replied. ”As you know, those two are ancient and powerful sorcerers. In my time, they were not close siblings. More like feuding rivals.”
”Feuding?” Celeste asked. ”What was their feud about?”
Rebekah shrugged, her filmy blue sleeves billowing. ”Ah, the complexities of family. Siblings often quarrel, do they not?”
Celeste thought for a moment. She didn”t remember much conflict with her own sisters. But perhaps understanding the ancient feud between Sofie and Maynard held the key to unlocking the current mysteries around the celestial alignment.
”Well, my sisters and I usually get along,” Celeste admitted, watching Rebekah drift around the library. ”We have our disagreements, of course, but nothing like a centuries-old feud.”
Rebekah paused in her ghostly meandering to face Celeste. ”Well, my dear, it”s not so for everyone. Perhaps that difference holds some clue to your dilemma.”
Celeste furrowed her brows. ”You mean the way we work together as sisters might be key to solving this?”
Rebekah merely smiled, her translucent form flickering like candlelight. ”Perhaps,” she said cryptically before moving on to inspect another row of books.
Celeste sighed in frustration. She appreciated Rebekah”s guidance but wished the ghost could be more direct. With the celestial alignment approaching and its effects growing stronger by the day, they didn”t have time for riddles.
Celeste watched as Rebekah”s ghostly form slowly faded away, leaving her alone in the library once more.
She stood, stretching out her legs that had started to tingle after sitting cross-legged for so long. The smells of sizzling bacon and brewing coffee wafting in from the kitchen made Celeste”s stomach rumble.
Celeste made her way toward the kitchen, where she could hear the clinking of plates and hum of conversation. Her sisters, along with Luke, Jake, Mateo, Calvin, and her mother, were gathered around the large table.
”There you are!” Fiona said, looking up from her plate of pancakes. ”We were just wondering where you were.”
Celeste gave her a wry smile. ”I was chatting with Rebekah, trying to get some insight about the Doves and the alignment.”
”Learn anything useful?” Morgan asked, handing Celeste a mug of coffee.
”Maybe,” Celeste replied vaguely, taking a long sip of the hot, fragrant drink. The caffeine helped further pull her mind back into focus.
As the group settled in around the table, passing platters of food, Celeste recounted her conversation with Rebekah. She shared the spirit”s recollection of whispers about Sofie and Maynard joining forces long ago.
”Joining forces?” Mateo said incredulously, through a mouthful of bacon. ”Hard to imagine those two working together after everything we”ve seen and heard.”
Celeste nodded. ”I know. But Rebekah seemed certain the story came from a reliable source.”
”Perhaps they were different people back then,” Morgan suggested thoughtfully.
”Or it”s more fiction than fact, tales twisted over centuries of retelling,” Fiona added skeptically.
Celeste sighed. ”I wish Rebekah could have given more concrete details. She hinted that the way we sisters work together might hold some key to solving this whole alignment situation.”
”How do you mean?” asked Johanna as she refilled coffee mugs around the table.
”Well, we generally get along and collaborate despite our differences,” Celeste explained. ”Rebekah made it sound like Sofie and Maynard”s relationship has been marred by feuding and rivalry for ages.”
Johanna snorted. ”I wouldn”t say you girls always got along.”
Morgan frowned. ”Of course we did.”
”Maybe you do now, but when you were little, I had to do a lot of refereeing,” Johanna said.
Celeste listened thoughtfully as her mother described how she used to help her daughters reconcile after arguments when they were young.
”I guess you”re right. We didn”t always get along perfectly,” Morgan admitted, leaning back in her chair. ”I remember a few blow-up fights between Fiona and me as teens.”
Fiona laughed. ”Oh yeah, like when I deleted your save file on that video game you were obsessed with.”
Morgan shot her sister a mock glare. ”I was so mad! But Mom made us bake cookies together, and we ended up laughing about it afterward.”
Johanna smiled at the memory. ”Sometimes, all it takes is a reminder of how much you care for one another. Finding common ground can mend the deepest rifts between siblings.”
”Easier said than done with Sofie and Maynard,” Jake said dubiously, shaking his head. ”We can barely get them in the same side of town, let alone baking cookies together.”
”Jake”s right. Those two have avoided each other for centuries, it seems,” Jolene added. She absentmindedly stroked Belladonna, who was curled up in her lap. ”I”m not sure how we”d convince them to meet or what we could do to get them to reconcile.”
Celeste thought for a moment, gazing out the window at the woods beyond. She recalled Rebekah”s conviction that she and her sisters held the key.
”Maybe this is where the spell comes in,” Celeste finally said.
Fiona leaned forward, brow furrowed. ”What exactly would this spell do?”
Celeste took a sip of coffee, gathering her thoughts. She set down her mug and explained.
”Well, since Sofie and Maynard are both interested in the ley lines and claim they actually both want the same thing—to stop the alignment from causing harm—I think I could try a gathering spell.”
She paused, seeing that she had everyone”s attention.
”The spell would draw Sofie and Maynard closer to the epicenter,” Celeste continued. ”It would bring them to the same physical space, in close proximity.”
Morgan”s eyes widened. ”You mean right here in our backyard?”
Celeste nodded. ”Exactly.”
”Okay, so let”s say we get them here with this spell,” Luke said slowly. ”Then what? How do we actually get them to see they should work together?”
Celeste sighed. ”That part, we”d have to figure out. But first, we need to get them in the same place.”
As if on cue to emphasize the urgency, the old grandfather clock in the library chimed loudly. Celeste counted ten slow gongs marking the late-morning hour. Time was slipping away.
”We have to try something. We”re running out of time,” Morgan said decisively, standing up from the table. ”If your spell can draw Sofie and Maynard here, then let”s do it. We can work out the rest, but we need to act fast.”
Celeste felt a swell of gratitude and relief at her sister”s confidence in her. The others around the table also voiced their support.
But then she sighed, deflating the brief surge of hope her spell idea had inspired.
”There”s just one problem,” she said regretfully. ”In order for a summoning spell to work, I would need to have something that belongs to each person I”m trying to draw in.”
They sat in disappointed silence for a few moments, the only sounds the ticking clock and Belladonna”s purring. Celeste racked her brain, trying to think of any possible solution.
Suddenly, Morgan perked up. ”The lumiscope!” she exclaimed. ”That”s something of Sofie”s we already have.”
”You”re absolutely right,” Celeste said, feeling a spark of hope reignite. ”The lumiscope can draw in Sofie.”
”But we still have nothing from Maynard,” Luke pointed out grimly.
Before the gloom could settle back in, Fiona jumped up from her seat. ”I know!” she cried. ”Hang on!”
She rushed from the room before anyone could respond. They heard her running up the stairs, and moments later, Fiona came running back in, clutching a small pouch.
”I can”t believe I didn”t think of this sooner,” she said breathlessly, holding up the bag. ”The two stones, the nonmagical ones, are still here. I had a feeling I should keep them, and I guess this is why.”
Celeste”s eyes lit up. ”Of course! Those originally came from Maynard, so they”ll work.”
”When can you do the spell?” Morgan asked.
Celeste considered for a moment. ”Give me a few hours to gather some other ingredients from around the property and prepare.” She stood, filled with a sense of purpose. ”I”ll need to find a space outdoors where the energy flows strongly. If you all can scout around, that would help.”
As everyone dispersed throughout the house and yard, Celeste cradled the stones and lumiscope gently. She sent up a silent prayer that these objects would be enough to bring Sofie and Maynard together.