14. You Better Watch Out #2
That one talks like Louise Demain, Delilah thought, and she filed that away for later consideration. Assuming there was a later.
“You said you wanted to speak with us,” she said as confidently as she was able.
“Fine. Speak. What the hell are you doing, putting up this bootleg Bellagio directly in our backyard? And what about the ridiculous ‘living museum’ tours? They clearly don’t make you any money—there aren’t enough people on the buses. So what’s the point?”
The burgundy woman leaned forward, her hair catching what little light existed in the chamber. “The point, my dear, is negotiation. We wanted your attention, to let you know we’re serious. And now that you’re here, we’re offering you a deal.”
“A deal,” Scarlett repeated flatly.
“Indeed.” The woman gestured expansively, as if presenting them with a magnificent gift.
“We propose that the witches of Oak Haven allow us unfettered access to the magical powers of the oak grove. In exchange, we’ll allow you to continue living in your little town.
We’ll even extend casino privileges. We know how rarely Oak Haven witches get out, after all.
You’ll probably find it quite exciting.”
Delilah blinked several times. “Let me get this straight. You want us to hand over the source of all our power, and in return, you’ll... what? Allow us to exist? Toss us the occasional comped drink at the nickel slots?”
“You misunderstand,” the woman said, though her tone suggested she understood perfectly well that Delilah understood perfectly well. “This is a question of sharing resources. Everyone wins.”
“That’s not sharing,” Scarlett’s voice was tight. “That’s surrender.”
“It’s not a real offer,” Delilah said. “It’s Don Corleone’s version of an offer.”
Cold laughter echoed through the chamber. “Perhaps it is.” A new voice from the shadows, deeper than the others and somehow older. “As they say, it’s a nice town you have here... shame if something happened to it .”
More mocking laughter drifted down. The burgundy woman added, “Like it or not, you have two choices. Share the grove willingly, or we destroy your little town and leave you with nothing.”
The temperature in the room seemed to drop several degrees. Something moved in Delilah’s peripheral vision, but when she turned to look, there was nothing there. Just shadows playing tricks. Or shadows playing for real.
“Actually,” Delilah said, surprising even herself with how steady her voice sounded, “there’s a third option. We could just send you all packing. Like we’ve done every other time magicians have tried to take Oak Haven.”
The burgundy woman’s laughter sounded like icicles breaking. “Oh, child. You think this is like those other times? We were just toying with you then. This is the big one.”
“What do you even want our grove for?!” Delilah exclaimed.
“Back when we thought you were just a bunch of sideshow entertainers, your obsession with us at least made a little sense. But look at this place! Look at you guys, with your burgundy robes, skittering around in the shadows like a bunch of Walmart Voldemorts. You built a fifty-story casino overnight! Surely you don’t need the grove’s power, not really. So what’s it all for?”
“It is our obligation,” the burgundy woman intoned. “We seek justice long denied.”
“What are you talking about?” Delilah turned to her sister. “Scar, can you make that one make sense?”
“You’re the ones who won’t leave us alone,” Scarlett pointed out. “You dummies want justice ?! What about justice for Oak Haven? Or hell, justice for me personally? You kept me in a birdcage for a year—remember that bit?”
“This discussion is at an end,” intoned the lead magician. “Take our offer back to your coven. Let all the witches discuss it. I suspect there are wiser ones than you. For your sake, I hope that there are.”
“We’re not giving you our grove.”
“Then,” said the deep voice from the darkness, “we take it. You have until sundown to accept our terms.”
A single blink, and the sisters were standing outside the casino entrance, squinting in the sudden bright lights and noise. No smoke, no dramatic exit; just there one moment and here the next.
“Wow,” Scarlett breathed. “Del, we’re in deep shit.”
“I know.” Delilah scanned the surroundings for any sign of Jasper and Nate. “And honestly? I felt better when I thought this was about stealing our oak grove. I do not care for whatever honoring their ancestors might entail.”
“Yeah, that’s pretty dark. What does that even mean?”
“No clue. Do you see the guys? We should grab them and get out of here.”
Whatever power these magicians had, it wasn’t penny-ante stage tricks. This was old magic. The kind of magic that made Louise Demain seem downright stable by comparison. And Delilah had just told them, essentially, to go fuck themselves.
I suppose Tiny Tim said it best, she thought grimly, God bless us, every one .
As the quartet trudged back toward home, the sky was just beginning to lighten. The morning air was crisp and extremely cold, the kind that made your lungs feel scrubbed from the inside out. The casino’s garish lights receded behind them like a bad hangover.
Jasper walked slightly behind the others, still trying to make sense of the incredibly vivid dream he’d had. Flashing lights and strange people... some sort of game show... an evil council meeting? His subconscious really had outdone itself this time.
I’m returning that Brandon Sanderson novel to the library, he thought, the first chance I get. But as he studied the backs of his three companions, he had another, different thought: What am I doing here?
The last thing he remembered with any certainty was.
.. what? The county clerk’s office. Right.
And then there was that liquor license with the impossible address.
And... after that, things got fuzzy. Like someone had smudged the ink on his mental ledger.
Through the haze, a crystal-clear memory flashed through his mind: Delilah turning her whiteboard around to reveal the exact same opinion about the Dewey decimal system that he held.
The synchronicity made his chest tighten.
Ahead of him, Scarlett and Nate were whispering intensely, their heads close together. Something about a “bullshit offer” and how “Mama was going to lose her mind.”
Delilah hung back a bit, eventually falling into step beside him. She looked exhausted.
“You holding up okay?” she asked, her voice surprisingly gentle.
“I, uh...” Jasper adjusted his glasses. “This is going to sound completely insane, but am I dreaming right now?”
“Ummm, don’t think so?”
“I had the most vivid dream that you and I were teammates on some ridiculous game show. And we kept giving the exact same answers to all these personal questions. Wild, right?”
Delilah’s eyebrows shot up. “You believe that you dreamt that?”
“I know, I know. Too much late-night television, clearly.” He laughed nervously. “Sorry, I don’t usually share my bizarre dreams with strangers.”
Something flickered across Delilah’s face. Amusement? Concern? It was gone too quickly to read.
“That does sound like quite a dream,” she said carefully.
“But the weirdest part is, I can’t quite remember how I ended up here with all of you.” He stopped suddenly, as if just realizing something crucial. “Good grief, where are my manners? We haven’t even been properly introduced, have we?”
He extended his hand, as if clinging to a small bit of normalcy might anchor him somehow.
“Jasper Hopkins, pleasure to meet you. I’m the archivist with the county.
Which I guess is probably why I’m here? I don’t really know,” he admitted.
“But I don’t normally wander through forests at dawn, I promise. I’m usually quite boring.”
Delilah took his hand, her grip firm and somehow reassuring.
“Delilah Melrose,” she replied. “My family owns Stargazer Inn. I’m usually a little too boring to take strangers home, but something tells me you could use a room?”
“Well, I am exhausted,” he said. “But I’m afraid I don’t have a reservation.”
She grinned. “Bah, we’ll figure it out.”
Ahead of them, the trees began to thin, revealing what appeared to be a picture-perfect New England town nestled in the valley below. The sight hit Jasper with a wave of déjà vu that left him slightly dizzy.
Have I been here before? he wondered. It feels familiar, but I can’t quite...
“Home sweet home,” Delilah murmured beside him, and there was something in her voice, a noticeable mixture of relief and dread, that made him want to comfort her. But he had no idea why she needed comforting or why he felt qualified to provide it.
“It’s beautiful,” he said instead. “Like something from a Christmas card.”
“It won’t be if those magicians get their way,” Scarlett called back, having apparently overheard him. “Which is why we need to figure out how to stop them.”
“Magicians?” Jasper echoed, blinking in confusion.
Nate gave him a look that was almost like pity.
“Man, he’s completely scrambled. That forgetting spell is brutal.
Yeah dude, the magicians. You and I literally just discussed it, when we were having a beer at the casino.
Remember? I was telling you about how these magicians keep trying to take over our town? ”
Strike that, Jasper thought. It’s definitely pity.
“Hey, Scar,” Nate said to his companion. “I know he’s supposed to forget Oak Haven the moment he leaves, but shouldn’t he remember a conversation we had five minutes ago?”
Scarlett approached Jasper and peered into his eyes like a doctor performing a neurological exam. “You reckon all the shit that the magicians are doing is making everything worse?”
“Oak Haven?” Jasper repeated, increasingly wondering if he was in fact still asleep. “Is this still part of my dream?”
“You’re not dreaming, Jasper,” Delilah said gently. “But it’s... complicated.”
“A little sleep might help,” Nate suggested. “Let’s all meet back at the inn to talk strategy tomorrow. Obviously the town’s going to reject that ridiculous excuse for an offer, but the question is, what do we do next?”
“Works for me,” Scarlett agreed. “Not that I’ll be able to sleep, but I can stare at the ceiling and catalog all my regrets for a few hours. That’s always fun.”
With that, he and Scarlett headed off down the main street, leaving Jasper alone with Delilah.
“C’mon, let me get you settled at the inn,” she offered, not quite meeting his eyes.
“That’s very kind, thanks.” Suddenly he became painfully aware that he was just standing there, staring at her like an idiot.
But he couldn’t help it. The way the moonlight caught in her hair, turning the dark strands almost blue.
The determined set of her jaw that suggested she was keeping about seventeen different emotions locked inside.
“What?” she asked, noticing his stare.
“Nothing, I just...” He cleared his throat. “I keep having this feeling that we’ve met before. Which is impossible, because I would definitely remember someone like you. But there’s something about you...” He trailed off, unsure how to explain his unexplainable sense of connection.
Oh, fantastic job, Hopkins, he thought. Very smooth. She’s definitely not going to think you’re a total creep now.
But instead of backing away slowly, which would have been entirely reasonable, she said, “Yeah, well. There’s something about you too.”
For a moment, they just stood there, surrounded by the impossible perfection of a town Jasper was certain he’d never visited, yet somehow knew in his bones.
“Come on,” Delilah said finally. She gently took his elbow and guided him in the direction of the inn. “I’ll show you to a room with an actual bed, where no one will try to quiz you about your coffee preferences.”
“That was part of the dream!” Jasper exclaimed. “Or, wait... was it? Did that happen? Oh God, I don’t even know what’s real anymore.”
Delilah’s laugh was warm and genuine. “Welcome to Oak Haven, Mr. Hopkins.”