Chapter 27
Aunt Scarlet looked up at the stained-glass window and shook her head, marveling at it once again. Alethea had caught her aunt staring at it on several occasions over the last few days, each time her aunt running over to her and enveloping her in a hug. Alethea couldn’t remember ever seeing her aunt this happy before, and she was so grateful that she had stayed the full week.
It had been an emotional one to say the least. After saying goodbye to her friends, Alethea was glad she had her aunt there so the house didn’t feel quite so empty. After they had hugged for the thousandth time, Priya had restated her promise that she and Jake would be staying at the BB for a long weekend in the fall during the Harvest Festival, Danica quick to remind them that it was only a couple months away. “You’ll be back here before you know it!” Alethea waved as she watched the Wrangler, U-Haul trailer in tow, drive down the road and disappear from sight, Dandelion sitting stoically on the front steps next to her.
Although her sadness kept creeping in, she barely had time to think about anything else except magic. She and her aunt talked for hours each day, her aunt filling in so much historical information and even instructing her on the basics of witchcraft and spellwork, like a schoolmarm. If Alethea had any chance at figuring out who cursed her, she was going to need to get up to speed with her magic and fast. One of the first things Aletha had shown her aunt was the hidden room and the hope chest that was now in the master bedroom, and they went through the contents of the trunk together.
“These are all your old tools of magic. I packed them away once it was clear you had been cursed. I didn’t want you to accidentally harm them since your brain was unable to process what they really were.”
“Who’s this, Aunt Scarlet?” Alethea was pointing to the sepia image of the woman on the front of the trunk.
“That’s your great-great-great grandmother, Beatrice.” Aunt Scarlet wore a proud expression. “She was the first in our line to come to the new world. Beatrice had heard about some of the atrocities and hardships that had been happening on the new continent and decided to come here and see how she could help.”
Alethea raised her eyebrows.
“Beatrice was known as one of the great Travelers.”
Hearing that term made the hairs on the back of Alethea’s neck stand on end. “Traveler?”
“Oh, yes. There have been many powerful Travelers in our line over the years.”
“Um, what does that mean, exactly?”
“A Traveler is a witch that goes where they’re called. I actually suspected that you might be one when you started spouting all that nonsense about going to college in the city. I thought at first, maybe you were being called there, that perhaps your powers were coming back, but it didn’t make sense for you to be drawn to the city.”
“Why not?”
“Because that’s not how it works. Travelers are drawn to areas of nature that need their help, not to people and machines. Although there’s always the exception to the rule, most witches stay as far away from cities as possible. So much of a witch’s power comes from the elements of nature and the earth itself. All of the unnatural technology dampens our powers, the lack of nature is the equivalent of putting on a pair of noise canceling headphones.”
“Is that why you were so upset about me leaving?”
“Of course it was! I know it’s hard for you to understand but it would be like a fish deciding they wanted to live on dry land. It was unfathomable but you were so insistent, I realized there was no way I could stop you.” Her aunt’s eyes filled with tears. “Alethea, I am truly sorry that I failed you, failed your parents, by not doing more to protect you.” Tears were streaming down her aunt’s face now, her body pouring out the guilt from within.
“Aunt Scarlet, how can you say that?” Alethea wrapped her arms around her aunt in a big bear hug. “You gave up your life to come raise me and you did everything in your power to do the best job you could. I know that now, even though at the time I may not have understood it.”
She and her aunt embraced for a long while before they continued sorting through the contents of the trunk, Aunt Scarlet explaining what each item was to Alethea and how to use it.
“Aunt Scarlet, the spell in Brent’s Nan’s grimoire said it was for the Traveler. That’s a strange coincidence don’t you think?”
“It did? Well then, no, I don’t think it’s a coincidence at all, dear. I suspect you’re a Traveler after all, and that’s why you’re here now. Fate has called you here and now your powers are restored.”
Alethea tried to let that sink in. “What I don’t understand is how this trunk ended up down here from the attic.”
“Oh, well that’s easy. Once the curse was broken, Queenie knew you’d need your belongings back.”
Aunt Scarlet noticed Alethea’s incredulous look. “Queenie’s quite exceptional for a haunted house, dear. One of the best I’ve ever known.” A strong smell of roses filled the air, and her aunt smiled to herself. Haunted house? Alethea thought back to Wilbur running out the door, literally shaking in his boots. Maybe he wasn’t as off his rocker as they had thought.
“But why in this room, why not in my old bedroom or in the hidden room.”
Her aunt looked at her flatly, remembering how much Alethea still had to learn. “Because dear, it’s your house now. Won’t you be taking the master suite as your bedroom? There are six other bedrooms for heaven’s sake, I’m sure that’s more than enough for the guests.”
Alethea glanced at the balcony and remembered her wish. She sat with her aunt in the master suite, her bedroom, for hours that afternoon, Aunt Scarlet patiently explaining the rudimentary fundamentals of the craft. How Alethea should take a ritual bath each evening, how to do basic protection and abundance spells. Alethea couldn’t believe how quickly that week had flown by. Brent had stopped over a few times, dropping off pastries and flowers one morning and a small lunch on another occasion. He never stayed long, saying he didn’t want to disturb their important time together, he had just wanted to say a quick hello. As much as Alethea hated to see him leave, she appreciated that he was giving her space. She wasn’t sure she could really concentrate on magic lessons from her aunt when Brent’s biceps were a distraction in themselves. Except for a couple walks downtown and occasional breaks to play with Dandelion, Alethea and her aunt had pretty much managed to stay focused on magic the whole week. Alethea knew she was still a newbie and had a lifetime’s worth of knowledge to learn, but at least she felt like she had a grasp on her powers now.
And now here she was with her aunt, in the entryway of her very own Victorian home, looking up at the stained-glass window, getting ready to say goodbye.
“It really does look exactly like you,” her aunt marveled for at least the tenth time. “And Beatrice.” The faintest hint of Jamaican Blue Mountain wafted through the air and the front door creaked slightly ajar.
“Oh good, that’ll be Brent then.” Aunt Scarlet nodded to herself.
Alethea heard his footsteps coming up the steps, and as he walked into the house her heart skipped a beat, as it did every time she saw him. He looked particularly rugged today, wearing a teal, light-weight flannel shirt. The weather was beginning to cool down in earnest now, the heat of the summer behind them as the breeze carried in the cool mountain air that rolled down into the valley. The color of his shirt brought out his eyes, like two shining emeralds.
“Merow!” A gray figure darted in the door behind him.
“Sorry, Zax insisted on coming along, too.”
Alethea bent down to give the cat a welcoming scratch as Brent helped Aunt Scarlet with her suitcase. At the sound of Sir Zachery’s entrance, Dandelion came padding down the stairs, rubbing against Aunt Scarlet’s shin to say goodbye, then the two cats disappeared into the dining room.
Brent hoisted Aunt Scarlet’s luggage into the trunk of her Uber and then walked back up the front steps to stand with Alethea. She had refused Brent’s offer to drive her to the airport, wanting to help support the gig economy in town, she had said. Her aunt could be so eccentric sometimes, but Alethea realized she wouldn”t want it any other way. Aunt Scarlet’s pink scarf fluttered in the breeze as she waved to them from the black SUV, and they waved back until she was out of sight.
The summer was officially over, but instead of feeling a sense of melancholy, Alethea actually felt excited at the coming change of season. It was like she had just opened up a whole new world of possibilities and she couldn’t wait to see where they would lead her. Standing next to Brent and thinking how good he looked in a flannel shirt, she had a feeling that autumn would be bringing her all kinds of new adventures. “So now what?” she asked.
“Hmm, let’s see.” He wrapped his arms around her from behind, and his embrace was exactly what she needed at that moment. “How about a first date?” She tilted her head back to look up at him. “How does dinner and a movie sound? If you’re free tomorrow night, I could pick you up around six? Of course, if a date-date is too much too soon, we don’t have to…”
But Alethea didn’t give him a chance to finish his sentence, cutting him off. “A date tomorrow sounds lovely. Now shut up and kiss me.” She spun around to face him, kissing him hard on the mouth. Once she finally drew back, her lips on fire from his touch, the look on Brent’s face gave her a thrilling sense of satisfaction. She had been wanting to do that again ever since they had first kissed.
After Brent had gone inside to collect Sir Zachery, he said his goodbyes and drove away in his truck. Alethea watched him go from the front door, giggling at the giant lopsided smile that was still plastered across his face. She thought about their upcoming date the following evening. What was she going to wear? Maybe there was a spell that could conjure up a new outfit for her.
Alethea couldn’t stop smiling but she wasn’t sure that she wanted to, really. Instead of working long hours in a concrete high-rise, she would be practicing magic and running a BB out of her Victorian mansion! Not to mention, dating a guy who made her feel like she could accomplish anything. Alethea danced through the house, going from room to room, humming as she went, Dandelion trotting behind her. She was a witch! An actual witch that could cast magic spells and make laundry do itself! Dandelion’s ears twitched and Alethea heard a gentle buzz, like the sound of a small insect, coming towards her. Her wand rounded the corner, flying through the air until it stopped and hovered right in front of her. She smiled with delight and reached out to take hold of it. Once in her grasp, the wand darted through the air to and fro, until suddenly a giant burst of flower petals exploded all around her like confetti. Dandelion began darting after the petals, chasing them as they fell and trying to catch them underneath her paws. Her wand buzzed about happily, apparently enjoying a good frolic as well.
For the first time in as long as she could remember, Alethea felt truly happy. She wasn’t doing what she should be doing. She wasn’t seeing what she wanted to see. Her eyes were opened to the truth. She didn’t know exactly what she did want and that was okay for now. She was allowing herself the chance to figure that out. She walked up to the staircase and stopped on the landing, looking up at the stained glass window, the colored light cascading down onto the walls and stairs in all its brilliance.
Sometimes things have to fall apart so they can be put back together the right way.
Alethea heard that familiar voice again in the back of her mind, recognizing it for the first time. It was her own.