Chapter Twenty-Three
Sealed with a Hex
Bellamy
What have I done? I don’t even know how I possibly shattered the barrier or how to even begin putting it back together. All I’ve ever done over my life was ensure that it was safe for another year. Now, because of me, there is no protection for the residents of Pumpkinridge.
I never knew that my power was that strong, or that I was capable of doing such destruction.
I’ve always had this inkling that I could be that strong, and that the power within me was not something to mess with.
But now, seeing the last wisps of the barrier fall to the ground, I really don’t think I should exist.
I try to attempt to push to my feet, but Miles, sensing my change in mood, reaches out and only grips my hand in his. He doesn’t say a word, doesn’t try to talk me out of my thoughts, he simply is just there. And for the first time in my entire life, I realize I actually have someone in my corner.
“I know it seems overwhelming right now. I also know you’re scared, but you have the means and the ability to put up a new barrier. One that won’t cost you magic every year to renew. One that will always protect us.”
“You don’t know that,” I say.
Elora holds her finger against the side of her nose, wiggling it. Reminding me of our little inside joke. “You know I already know.“
Miles, being the most supportive, golden retriever, squeezes my hand gently and says, “I have all the faith in the world in your abilities.“
Elora comes over and places her tiny delicate hand on my shoulder. She says, “How about instead of doing it all alone, you let us help you this time?“
“I– I think I would like that.“
I look between the two of them wondering how I got so lucky to have these two amazing people in my life. Thinking about how I almost threw it away before I ever gave it a chance.
Scrambling to my feet, I brush off my dress, and look at both of them.
“Okay, the first thing we’ve got to do is make it back to my shop.
I’m pretty sure that somewhere in my shop is Ivora’s book on how to do barriers.
I’ve never done one before, so this is gonna be a test of my knowledge and power. ”
Both Miles and Elora stand up, brushing themselves off with a look of determination in both of their eyes, then let me know that they will do anything they can to help me.
We all rush back to my shop, bypassing the last remnants of partygoers and mingling ghosts.
Nobody seems too concerned when they see the three of us running down the cobblestone paths.
Instead, it seems that they only shrug their shoulders, as if it’s a normal occurrence to see the light witch and the dark witch with a wolf running down the streets of Pumpkinridge.
My hands shake as I try to put the key into the lock of my door. I’m so scared that I’m gonna get this wrong and only make things worse. I swing open the door and whisper an incantation to illuminate the room.
Both Miles and Elora look around as if maybe the book will just magically appear in front of us. When no such thing happens, they both look to me with curiosity in their eyes, as if I hold all of the answers they seek.
“Not really sure what I’m looking for here, but maybe you could give us the title and we can help look for it?” Miles says nervously as he scratches the back of his neck.
Elora lets out a soft chuckle. “Yeah, I’m not really sure either so it would be helpful to know what we’re looking for. Especially since you have at least 100 something tomes in here.”
“It’s going to be ancient, leather binding, and the title is quite literally, ‘Barriers 101.’ It seems our great-grandmother was rather blunt.”
Miles laughs. “Huh. That must be where you get it from.”
I cut my eyes at him. “Watch it, Dog Boy. You’ve only just barely gotten into my good graces.”
We spend what feels like an eternity looking through all of the books along my shelves, pulling out the ones that we think might be right only to find that they’re not.
“Uh…is it normal for a book to growl? I’m pretty sure this one growled when I touched it. Now I’m concerned it might bite me.”
Elora snorts. “Miles. Don’t touch a book that growls.”
“Okay,” he says shakily as he pulls his hand back. “I’ll just…uh, move on.”
I shake my head as he takes a more careful approach to the next shelf. He is a walking accident waiting to happen. I’m not sure which will happen first, a lost finger or him cursing himself.
It doesn’t take him long to walk into another situation, but this time he opens the book and it throws confetti in his face. That, my friends, is the prank book. Designed to prank someone who doesn’t know the proper way to approach it.
His face is hilarious as tiny pieces of confetti cling to his eyelashes as he just blinks at us, shock and confusion written all over his face.
“Serves you right for opening books that you don’t know anything about,” I huff.
“How was I supposed to know the prank book would actually prank the person opening it?”
I can’t help but laugh. “It’s kinda in the name, don’t you think?”
He whines as he wipes his face, then moves on to the next row of books.
Miles sneezes, and a bubble floats out of his mouth. He stares at it in horror, as it expands in front of his face before popping against his nose.
Elora is dying as she holds her side, tears streaming down her face, laughter ringing through the air.
Me? I’m biting my cheek, praying I don’t give away how much I love him already. “Don’t worry,” I say as I snort. “It should wear off…eventually.”
“Eventually!” he croaks.
Another round of laughter starts as we all move to different shelves.
I’m this close to throwing my hands up and saying that it’s all doomed to fail, when all of a sudden I hear Miles squeal like a little girl.
He’s shaking a book in front of himself as if he just found the Golden Egg in an Easter Egg Hunt.
I’m talking arms wailing, pure elation on his face, and even a squeal of happiness.
He runs over to me, shaking the book in my direction. “I found it! This is gotta be the one, it literally says ‘Barriers 101’ like you said it would!“
“Well if you would stop shaking it for a half a second, I can check that,” I say while trying to hold back a laugh at his dopey behavior.
He stops moving, just barely, the man is practically vibrating with the excitement of being the one to have found it. Grasping the book from him, I look over the front cover and realize it is in fact what we were looking for.
Flipping through the first few pages, bypassing the things that say warning, don’t do this, read this first, until I find the exact hex that Ivora used to create the original barrier.
But there’s one small problem: one of the main ingredients is glamour. A form of magic that I never felt the need to learn. Mostly because we have Fae who live in our town and that is their magic.
My shoulders droop as I come to realize that I can’t, in fact, do the barrier. I set the book down and begin to pace back and forth, trying to figure out how exactly I will pull off putting the barrier back up.
Miles, the ever watchful man that he is, notices immediately the change in my mood. He walks over and grabs the book that he had just given me and flips it open to the page I was just reading. He has no idea what he’s reading, but he still tries, even though I know it’s a lost cause.
“If the spell is right here then why do you look defeated?”
“Because,“ I sigh. “It’s calling for glamour magic, a form of magic that I never learned. I know that she says that I’m capable of doing it, but it takes time to learn a new form of magic. Time that we don’t have.”
His eyes light up like I just told him the most amazing news yet I didn’t.
“So all you’re missing from the spell is glamour magic?“
“Yup.”
“Okay so I know you’re not #TeamPlayer. But, Clarissa is known for her glamour magic. What if, hear me out, we asked for her to help us with it?”
“I—I don’t know, I’ve never asked for help. Let alone, felt like anyone in this community would even bother.”
“I think now is a perfect time for you to try that out. Don’t you agree, Elora?”
Of course she’s going to agree. If I know anything about my sister, which I’m pretty sure I do, it’s that I know she’s already seen this.
“I think it’s a great idea. Thank you for suggesting it.“
Miles puffs out his chest, as if he’s readying himself for battle. “How about I go? Ask her while you and your sister work on whatever else you might need?”
I cut my eyes at him. I can already tell that these two are always going to gang up on me. He doesn’t even wait for me to answer. He just smiles, pecks me on the cheek, and whirls around out the door. Leaving me and my sister in the wake of all his bubbly sunshine.
I heave out a sigh. There’s never going to be another quiet day. Elora, sensing what I’m thinking, comes over and wraps her arm around my waist, resting her head on my shoulder.
“I know it seems like a lot right now. But this is the best thing for you. This path is your most beautiful path. And I can’t wait for you to see what happens next.“
“Does it ever get tiring? You know, always knowing what’s gonna happen?”
She lets out a soft breath that you wouldn’t be able to hear unless you were near her. “Sometimes but… then there’s times like this where I see the beautiful future and I’m glad to know you’ll be at peace for once.”
I suck in a breath. I never really thought about how hard it must be on her to always see the good and the bad things that are going to happen to those that you love.
To dream and pray for them to make a different decision just so you know they go down the better path.
I’ve always just been annoyed by her constant nagging.
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry for all the years that I never considered the toll your magic takes on you. I’ve always been so consumed by my own magic, my own fate, and in my own tragedy, that I never stopped to consider what you were going through.”
She holds her head up a little, her eyes scanning mine, a gentle smile curves her lips, and I think this might be the only time we’ve ever been this close.
“Bells, you’ve always had to face a demon.
A demon that only you could face. But I have my own things to be sorry about.
I’m sorry for all the years that I wasn’t there for you.
All the times that I let those visions be the wall between us.
I’ve always just wanted what was best for you.
Even at the expense of our own relationship. ”
I suck in a breath, determined not to cry again today. This is far too many emotions that I’ve expressed in such a short period of time. So in the only way I know how, I shake it all off.
Wiping up my face furiously, I suck in what tears are trying to fall. Before moving away from her arm, flipping open the book, I run my finger down the list of ingredients needed, and the exact way to do it.
“Shit, we have another problem.”
Elora comes and stands next to me, looking over my shoulder at the words on the page.
“It seems we might need more people from the community than I originally thought.”
How are we going to convince an entire town that has shunned me since I was born to help me?
I think with horror, they are more likely to burn me at the pyre before ever lifting a finger to help me.