Chapter 7
Gunnar Briggs was a bear shifter, and Mattie had dreamed about a bear chasing her. That was … weird.
Weird enough that she didn’t want to think about what it might mean. But she couldn’t help but admit she’d never dreamed about being chased by a water dragon.
Did that mean she hadn’t liked Aaron as much as she thought she’d liked him? Or maybe it didn’t mean anything at all. That was probably a healthier way to look at it.
She drove to the first satellite hive site. There were only four hives here. She parked, got out, and grabbed a pollen patty from a box in the back of her truck.
Unlike every other beekeeper she’d ever met or seen, she didn’t use a suit or smoke around her bees. She didn’t need to.
She had magic. And about the only thing it was good for was bees and honey.
With a flutter of her fingers, she sent out a happy vibe to her hives. The bees weren’t her pets. They were more like friends. Or maybe coworkers was a better description. Friendly coworkers. She took care of them, and they gave her a livelihood.
The bees began to gather, the sound of happy buzzing filling her ears. They gently swarmed around her. They were pleased to see her, probably in part because they understood she was bringing them food.
“Good morning, bees. I hope you’re all healthy and safe.”
To her, their buzzing sounded like music. She could pick up the variations in tones and understand them, at least when they wanted her to.
Some of the hive guardians flew around her now, telling her they were happy to see her.
That made her smile. “I’m happy to see you, too.”
The speed of their flying increased, and soon they began to converge in front of her. It only took a few seconds for the shape to become recognizable. They had taken on the form of Blueberry, creating his silhouette in the sky.
“I’m sorry, he isn’t here with me today.” Had they gotten the news from the other hives that Blueberry was away?
As the image of Blueberry that the bees had created dispersed, she could sense a change in their mood. They were a little sad that Blueberry wasn’t there. She understood. She felt it, too. As much as the bees loved Blueberry, she loved him even more.
“I promise he’ll be back soon.”
Their mood lifted slightly. A few of them landed on her, but she had no fear of being stung. It had never happened yet. She smiled at them. How many times had she imagined what it might be like to be a bee? To spend her life visiting flowers?
After setting out the pollen patty, Mattie stepped back to watch the bees enjoy it. They did a little dance before returning to the hive to let the others know.
She loved watching them. To her, they were endlessly interesting. Soon lines of bees began leaving the hives to feast.
While they were doing that, she made her rounds.
She checked each hive, removing the lid and looking at each frame to make sure there was no sign of rot or mites. She checked on the queens, looked to see if the laying patterns were good, anything that might be an indicator that she needed to help the colony in some way.
The last hive needed one frame replaced. She grabbed a spare from her truck and took care of that.
While she worked, she thought about all the things she wanted to get accomplished today. The garden needed some tending. She didn’t mind a few weeds, at least not the flowering kinds, but the intentional flowers had to be looked after. She couldn’t have them choked out by less helpful plants.
There was a lot of wax to be dealt with. Some still needed to be cleaned, some would be melted down into blocks, but most of it would be turned into candles. She liked making candles, and she had a lot of customers for those, too.
All of them other witches in town.
She was a fan of beeswax candles herself. They gave off the loveliest aroma of honey, and who wouldn’t want their house to smell like that?
She took one last look around before getting into her truck. She checked to make sure there were no bees hitching a ride in her hair, then headed off to her next satellite apiary. This one was a little farther up the mountainside and had only two hives at the moment.
By the end of summer, she predicted one of those hives would be ready to split. She was always happy to have another hive. The more bees, the better in her book. That meant more honey, more wax, and for the vineyard, plenty of pollinators to help produce great fruit.
She even made a little mead on the side, a type of wine that started with honey.
As she pulled into the second site, her phone rang. She parked and turned the engine off, then answered as soon as she saw the name on her screen. Alice Bishop.
The most powerful witch in town. When Alice called, you answered.
Mattie sucked in a breath, a slight anxiety tightening her belly. It was a little like wondering if you were about to be called into the principal’s office. “Good morning, Alice.”
“Good morning, Matilda. I hope you’re well.”
“I am, thank you.”
“Wonderful. I am in need of candles. Pillars and tapers. Do you have any available?”
“I’m out checking the hives right now, so I’m not home to look, but I think I’ve got some pillars. Probably nine and six inches. No tapers, but I’d already planned on pouring some when I got home. How many do you need?”
“I’d like two dozen tapers and a dozen pillars, the nine-inch if you have them. Otherwise six of each size will suffice.”
“I’ll see what I have when I get home and let you know. I can deliver them to you tomorrow, if that’s all right?” Getting to visit Alice was always interesting, even if it was only for a few minutes.
“That would be fine. Thank you.”
“Thank you for the business.”
They hung up, and Mattie smiled. Alice was about to clean out Mattie’s stock of candles, including the ones she had yet to make. Somehow, the woman had a sixth sense about when Mattie was about to produce new stock. Or some kind of spell that alerted her.
It was almost like Alice wanted Mattie’s candles all to herself.
Mattie laughed softly. She didn’t know if that was true or not, but it was quite a compliment. They were the best candles in town, even if she was biased.
She was about to get out of the car when her phone rang again, this time with a number she didn’t know.
“Hello?”
“Mattie?”
That rough, grumbly voice was unmistakable. Gunnar. “Yes.”
“Is the imp with you?”
No hello, no how are you, no pleasantries. She rolled her eyes. “No. Why would he be with me?”
Gunnar sighed. “I don’t know. I just thought …” More sighing followed.
She braced herself. “What happened? Let me guess. You made your first wish? Was it accidental or on purpose?”
Another breath that sounded halfway to a growl. “Accidental.”
She nodded knowingly, not that he could see it. “What did you say?”
“That I wished he would disappear. He’s annoying as—”
“So he vanished?” She already knew that was what Blueberry had done.
“Yes.”
“Why call me then? You got what you wanted.”
“Because … if he’s really gone, you’re going to be mad.”
She blinked, surprised at the man’s insight. “Yeah, you’re not wrong about that, but Blueberry’s not gone. I guarantee you that. Unless there’s a chance he got trapped in something?”
“No, no chance of that.”
“M’kay, but if he is and you let him out, you’re going to end up with—”
“Three more wishes. Yeah, I got that part.”
She rolled her lips in to keep from laughing. He really was not having a good time with all of this. “Well, he’s probably fallen asleep somewhere while invisible. I’m sure he’ll show up soon enough. Not that you’ll see him unless you undo the wish.”
A brief moment of silence followed. “I can undo the wish?”
“Just wish for the exact opposite of what you wished. Say ‘I wish Blueberry would be visible again.’ That should do it.”
Gunnar snorted, which sort of sounded like a laugh. “Yeah, I’m good.”
She pursed her lips. He might think he’d solved his problem, but he hadn’t. Blue would prove that just as soon as he woke up from his nap, but she wasn’t about to tell Gunnar that. He could find that out for himself. But she did have a question. “I have to ask, how did you get my number?”
“I, uh … asked someone at the sheriff’s department.” Before she could comment, he said, “I work closely with the department in certain instances. Like tourists who go hiking and get lost. That kind of thing.”
“Birdie?” Mattie smirked. “What did you tell her?”
“That I needed help with the imp.”
“I see. I suppose it’s good that you have my number since you’re keeping him from me.”
“Trust me, I don’t want him. If I could give him back, I would.”
“Yes, I know. Be nice to him. I get that he can be a lot to handle, but he’s a chaos imp, not a bunny rabbit.”
Another snort. “If he was a bunny, I’d have eat—um, never mind. I should get back to wor—”
“If you hurt him, I will hurt you.” Tiny sparks edged her vision, her magic at the ready. Not that she could do anything with it.
“Whoa. I am not going to hurt him. I know he’s important to you.”
She took a breath, calming herself down. “That’s right. He is. You’d better be feeding him, too.”
“I gave him a slice of pizza.”
She waited for Gunnar to finish. When he didn’t say anything else, she said, “Is that all?”
“So far, yes.”
“Oh my stars, you really don’t know what you’re doing. The more you feed him, the happier he will be. The happier he is, the less trouble he gets into.”
“Oh. That’s good to know.”
She stared at the roof of her truck. “Anything else I can help you with? I have bees to take care of.”
“No, I guess that’s it. Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.” She was about to hang up on him, then realized that wasn’t very polite, regardless of his grumpiness. It was her turn to sigh. “Please take care of him.”
“I’m doing my best.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” He hung up.
For a moment, she wondered if there was a spell someone could cast that would cause him to make his wishes faster, but that wasn’t exactly the way magic was supposed to be used.
Even if it would be beneficial for both of them.