Eva
Iclear the sigil off my desk after the call with Sorren.
I don’t get the feeling he’ll visit for Samhain.
I know he wants to, but protecting the peace down there is important.
Leaving the office to visit his Earthside girlfriend is not high on the list of priorities for the CEO Mephisto Inc. I can’t say I blame him.
Aside from those calls, the newly awakened witches are the only thing keeping me going.
The excitement over their new magick is contagious—it has revitalized the coven.
There’s been another unexpected outcome: we’ve even been having discussions with the Holloway coven.
Turns out, they were appalled to learn what Lena had been up to.
I don’t know if it will ever happen, but the possibility of reuniting is there.
My phone lights up and buzzes on the kitchen table.
Riley
Class tonight?
Yep. I’m going early so I can prep the stations. I’m excited to start conjuring with them!
Riley
Want to come over after?
I’m beat. Raincheck?
Riley
As long as you’re not sneaking off to wallow about Sorren.
Mind your business. See you tomorrow xoxo
At the register, Kaylee shifts nervously back and forth, taking a customer’s order. We hired the cute sixteen-year-old witch to help out at the café. It’s been a fun adjustment, and we’re grateful for the help.
I go to the espresso machine and wait for her to call out the order. Kaylee hands me the paper coffee cup with the order in smeared ink, completely illegible.
“Uh. Kaylee, I can’t read this. What did they order?” I say as kindly as possible. She is really sensitive, and Riley has made her cry twice already.
“I don’t remember, I panicked! You were in the office and my mind went blank.” Her eyes well up with tears.
“It’s okay. I got this.” I step around the counter and up to the stylish woman in a perfectly tailored pantsuit and tight ponytail. “Excuse me, so sorry. What did you order again?” I ask.
This time my mind goes blank when Grant steps up next to the woman and puts his arm around her waist.
“Hey!” I say, awkwardly loud. It’s the first time we’ve seen each other since the breakup.
“Hi Eva. How are things?” he asks.
“Great. Just great. Things are great.” I fumble my words with a nervous laugh. Pull it together, Eva.
“Great,” he responds with a tight smile.
“Americano with skim milk.” The woman mercifully breaks up the uncomfortable exchange.
“Perfect.” I smile and go back behind the counter. The ritual of making the drink calms my nerves. I’m genuinely happy for Grant, it looks like he found someone who matches his new life.
I hand her the coffee with a heartfelt smile. “Enjoy.”
After work I go straight home, out of habit more than anything else.
A place that was full of laughter and warmth feels too quiet, too empty.
Still, I don’t want to be anywhere else.
My house has gone back to its previously cluttered state, the fridge full of old takeout containers.
I’ve even been sleeping in the spare room—his smell on the pillows and blankets is equally comforting and painful.
And to top it all off, the bookkeeping is starting to fall behind again.
I need to figure out how to do that on my own. I am an independent woman who relies on no man, or demon. But it’s so much better when Sorren is here with me.
It’s going to take time. It can’t hurt this long forever.
But then I think of the look on Grandma’s face in the cavern. Her heartbreak lasted a lifetime, even beyond. If it happened to her, it could happen to me too.
Knowing she is getting her second chance with her demon almost makes it all worth it. She deserves all the happiness in this world and the one below. Even with no idea how we would make it work, I hold onto the slim chance that Sorren and I have a shot.
Catrick Swayze ambles down the stairs, making a beeline for his food. I intercept him halfway and hold him to my shoulder for a quick cuddle. He presses his face against my neck with a quiet purr.
“I miss him too,” I whisper. When the cat gets restless, I place him in front of his food on the counter.
These last few weeks, I’ve been getting to class early. Sometimes being here by myself is too sad. Other times, I can’t muster the energy to leave. Today the quiet feels oppressive, and I need to get out. I grab the basket of freshly cut herbs along with my keys — may as well get to class.
Outside, I breathe in the cool air deep into my lungs.
The maple tree’s reds and oranges have deepened.
In a few weeks the leaves will start falling, and the naked branches will lose all their autumn charm.
But I don’t dread it. I love the way they practically fall over night, blanketing everything in color.
And I know spring will return. As Grandma Iris used to say, “You don’t get the spring without the winter. ”
Basket in hand, I unlock the door and step into the dark classroom. The remnants of lingering magick skitter across my skin, it feels different from that of witches who have spent years practicing. It’s more like a flower with a sharp thorn.
My blood magick has also bloomed, now a constant companion. I work with each novice to connect to their ancestral powers. Some are already showing inclinations. The witches whose magick was fading have also experienced a resurgence. A happy ending for almost everyone.
It’s not just me and Paige anymore, the novice class has at least a dozen volunteers every week.
“Eva! Guess what?” Callista bursts into the classroom with her mom, Selene. “Watch this.” She closes her eyes and slowly raises her hands, her body follows and she levitates a few inches off the ground. It reminds me of the morning my magick awakened.
“That’s amazing! I’m so happy for you!” She floats over to me and wraps her arms around me in a tight hug. Her happiness and hope for the future pours right into me.
Paige arrives alone, surprisingly, since Mom has been coming with her more often these days. We’re all invested in this next generation of witches, it’s been just what the coven needed to keep going.
“Where’s Mom?” I ask.
“She’s visiting Lena at the assisted living place.”
“What?” I would never have guessed that. Every time the two of them interacted it was obvious they hated each other.
“Robin and Lena were friends before the split. Your mom is healing through focusing on those good times between them.”
My chest expands with love for all the strong and wise women in my coven.
This is what will get me through. This will be enough. I’ll teach the new witches how to connect to their bloodline’s power. That will be what fulfills me. I don’t need romantic love or kids of my own. I’ll make these new witches my purpose.
It’s a nice thought. Maybe someday it will feel true.
The room fills up with giggling witches, and I throw myself into the class. We harvest leaves and buds from herbs. We go over when to chop and when to crush. How rolling a basil leaf before cutting it releases more of its stored energy.
We manage to get through the class without any fingers getting hurt. Well, other than mine. Luckily my fingernail caught most of the sharp blade, and I sucked away the dot of blood before anyone else could see and tease me for being so distracted while holding a knife.
Sorren would have fainted at the sight.
Class is over too soon, and it’s time to go back to my cold and empty house.
I take the long way home to look at the Halloween decorations throughout town, anything to cheer myself up.
Giant spiders on ropes, twelve foot tall skeletons, foam tombstones on manicured lawns, it all makes me smile.
I love the jack-o-lanterns lit up at night.
My mom and I traditionally do the carving while Paige scoops the seeds and roasts them with salt, a perfect snack after we get our cheesy witchy decorations up.
I can’t remember the story exactly, but I vaguely remember that the first jack-o-lanterns came from when someone trapped a demon. I laugh at the funny coincidence.
The truck rumbles into my driveway. The porch light’s on, and the kitchen is lit up. Did I forget to turn it off before I left?
I step up to the front door tentatively, still on edge from the ordeal with Lena. A familiar tingle runs through my finger tips as I turn the knob as quietly as possible to step into my house.
This feeling can’t possibly mean what I think it means.
The fireplace is bright and warming the room, but it does little to ease the idea that someone is in my house. I freeze at the sound of someone moving around in the kitchen.
“Hello?” I call out. A burglar who starts a cozy fire? That can’t be right.
Sorren, in his human form, steps around the wall with a giant smile and leans against the archway between the kitchen and living room.
I’m in his arms in a blink. The happiest of tears streak down my face and collect on his soft flannel shirt. I sniffle and wipe at the wet mark on his chest.
“It’s not Samhain yet! How did you make it?” I hiccup and squeeze him again before he can answer, reassuring myself that he’s standing in my house and not worlds away.
“I signed everything over to Malachi and came right here.”
“But the Board!”
“My evil half-brother is blackmailing them,” he says proudly. “They have to do whatever he says or he’ll ruin every last one of them.”
I like this morally gray side of him. Especially when it means we get to be together.
“I love you. I want to stay if you’ll have me.” His eyes beg me to accept him.
I think for a moment, searching for the perfect words.
Something big enough for this kind of love.
How do you tell someone that when they are gone, nothing feels right?
The sun loses its shine. Home feels hollow.
Coffee turns bitter and pizza is just greasy.
He needs to know that I never want to be apart, and that my soul is his.
“Verweile doch. Linger yet, my love.”