Chapter Nineteen
Costume Crisis: Werewolf Edition
Miles
Imight have stayed up way too late reading over Ivora’s diary. There might be the imprint of a leather cover on my cheek, but I know the answers are there. My neck protests as I sit up, a stark reminder that I’m not a young pup who can’t get away with sleeping on the couch.
The coffee table is littered with the late-night scribbling of a mad man determined to solve a mystery.
Feeling more like a detective and less like a wolf, I can’t seem to move beyond the question plaguing me.
Which is why, in less than an hour, I find myself standing at Bellamy's shop, still sporting bed hair, or in this case couch hair.
Bellamy is in a winged back chair by the hearth when she peeks over the massive, ancient book she was reading, I think. “Did you fight with one of the squirrels this morning for your mail?”
“Uh, no? Why?”
She shrugs her dainty shoulder. “You look like you did.” She goes back to reading her book.
Walking over to where she’s sitting, I read the title of her book: The Stages of Decomposition and What They Mean. Yikes.
Thankfully the chair next to her is empty and there’s already a stack of books next to it. Grabbing the one on top, I read the title to this one. Banishments and More.
I flip the book open, not paying attention to the words on the page. Trying to keep the tone light, explorative. She hasn’t been receptive yet to this question. But, it won’t hurt to try again.
“You know, I hear that curses are one of the hardest to perform. Something about the witch having to give up something. I think it’s about how all magic has a cost?”
Her eyes flicker to mine before returning to her book again. She has one hell of a poker face. I’ve yet to get more than a glance from her when I ask these questions. It’s been a few days since Elora gave me the diary, and yet, Bellamy hasn’t divulged anything more.
Lady Bandit and Nyx are both staring at me as if they both think I’m an idiot for even trying. Well Nyx looks like he’s wondering why I’m here at all. Flicking my fingers between my eyes towards him, I remind him I’m still waiting for him to slip up.
I flip a few more pages, trying and likely failing to make it seem like I’m not here just to learn something from her. As if I’m not prodding her for what she knows.
“Bellamy,” I say as I roll my eyes towards her.
Her eyes flick to mine, boredom shining clearly in them.
“How exactly is a familiar gifted to a witch?”
Nyx flicks his ears in my direction as Bellamy narrows her eyes. “Why?”
“No reason. Call it educational. I mean I was gifted Hops, but that’s different. So, I was just curious how it works with, you know, real witches.”
From somewhere near the counter, Sir Hops-A-Lot croaks. Loudly, while glaring at me. I swear on my wolf’s soul that toad is cursing me in his mind. I might not hear it, but I know.
“Don’t look at me like that,” I mutter.
Bellamy smirks as she continues to read. “He’s not wrong though.”
I cross my arms over my chest and huff like a child who was told no to candy before dinner. “It’s not fair that you all are talking, but pretending you aren’t.”
Bellamy lowers the book an inch, her eyebrow arching. “If you asked more like an adult and less like a child trying to sneak a peek at their Christmas presents…then maybe you would get a real answer.”
My mouth drops open as I blink at her. “So you’re saying there is an answer.”
“I’m saying I know the answer and if you want to know bad enough, you’ll figure it out. Or…you won’t.”
“That’s cruel.”
“Is it though?”
Hops croaks again, as if in agreement with her. “Traitor,” I mumble.
Nyx yawns, snuggling in closer to Lady, but his tail flicks once in my direction as he glares at me with a half-lidded eye. He’s mocking me, I’m sure of it.
I point between them. “One day, mark my words, I’m going to catch you both mid conversation. And when I do—”
Bellamy tilts her head, her lip twitching as she holds back the smile trying to break free. “You’ll what? Write it in your wolfie diary? ‘Dear diary, Bellamy talked to her familiar today. I knew it was real’.”
“Maybe,” I grumble. “Depends on how much sass you give me. It might be more about how charming you find me.”
She scoffs. “Keep dreaming, Dog Boy.”
I groan dramatically and push to my feet, pacing the shelves behind her.
I know she’s trying to pretend that I’m not here.
My fingers run along the spines of the books.
So many different titles to choose from, so much I could learn just from her collection alone.
I can sense her curiosity, she wants to know what I’m doing.
It’s in the stiff set of her shoulders, the way she hasn’t flipped the page yet, and how she’s staring at the same spot on the book.
“If you aren’t going to answer my questions about familiars or curses, at least help me with something useful.”
She looks up, wary. “Useful how?”
“What can I expect tomorrow?”
Her eyebrow quirks as she watches me. “What do you mean? Like will there be zombies walking around or blood pouring down the street?”
I stop mid-step and whirl to face her fully. “Those are possibilities?”
She laughs, but she covers her mouth quickly. Trying and failing to keep me from knowing it happened.
“You are far too gullible," she says with a shake of her head. “I hope you have a costume though.”
“Costume!? You waited until the night before to tell me that I needed a costume? How am I going to find a costume before tomorrow?” I pace back and forth, shaking my hands up and down in front of me. “It’s not like you have a costume store in this town…or wait do you?”
Bellamy fully laughs, loud enough that it startles all of us. I stop pacing, Nyx stops licking Lady, and even Hops tilts to the side to see from the desk. We are all watching in fascination as she continues to laugh.
I don’t know whether I should laugh along with her or call Elora because her sister has finally cracked. Both seem plausible at this point.
She laughs long enough that tears fall from the corners of her eyes, her face is red, and the rest of us are holding our breaths.
When she finally tapers off her laugh, wipes her eyes, and blinks up at us, we all are hovering around her watching.
“Honestly, you are too easy to rile up. I’ve never in my life laughed this hard, nor have I actually enjoyed someone’s company. Thanks for that,” she says as she wipes her eyes with the sleeve of her sweater.
I just stare at her. I’m pretty sure that I need to call Elora, or someone. I glance over to Nyx who is blinking slowly at her with his head tilted. Even he seems concerned.
“Bellamy…you alright?”
“Yeah, why?”
I frown as I shrug my shoulders. “No reason. So, does that mean I don’t need a costume or…”
She waves her hand. “You don’t need a costume. But, there will be a lot of interesting events tomorrow. Halloween isn’t the same here.”
“We have Samhain back home, but we don’t have magic or vampires.”
She chuckles. “Fair enough.”
Her chuckle lingers in the air like the smoke of her incense, soft and warm and way too rare.
I don’t think she even realizes how much she’s giving away in this moment.
She looks so different when she forgets to keep her walls up.
There’s a certain softness in her unguardedness.
I don’t know that anyone has seen this, maybe only Elora.
As for me? I should be tearing through Ivora’s diary, focused solely on the curse, on the puzzle that is keeping me awake at night.
But all I can think about right now is how beautiful she is with cheeks warmed from happiness instead of anger.
And for the first time since I came to Pumpkinridge, I finally feel hope that she’ll accept me.
Because, maybe, just maybe, I’ll get to hear her laugh again.