Chapter 9 Danni
DANNI
The hair on the back of my neck was standing up before we even reached the front steps.
"You sure about this?" Harmony asked, casting a sideways glance at me as she held the charm stone in one hand, her other hovering near the doorknob.
"No," I admitted. "But I need to find out what’s going on."
The cottage loomed in front of us, deceptively cozy with its pumpkin-lined porch and little hanging wind chime shaped like a crescent moon. If not for the unsettling whisper I’d heard in the bedroom earlier, I might've found the whole thing charming.
But that voice—deep, smooth, masculine—still echoed faintly in my head.
"I can’t wait to hold you again."
A chill ran down my spine.
I shoved the memory away as Harmony opened the door.
Together we stepped into the living room.
Everything was just as I left it, right down to the slightly smoldering fire and the faint scent of fresh baked bread in the air.
My footsteps echoed faintly on the hardwood floor, and even though Harmony was right beside me, I felt alone—exposed. Like the house was watching me.
I clutched my ratty bathrobe tighter around me, heart thudding, eyes darting to the hallway.
"Bedroom's down there?" Harmony asked, following my line of sight.
I nodded.
"Yeah. Second door on the left."
The hallway seemed longer now, darker. My feet didn’t want to move, but I forced them forward. Each step felt like walking into the past—like memories were rising up out of the floorboards, trying to grab at my ankles.
We reached the bedroom, and I hesitated in the doorway. The broom was still lying where I’d dropped it when I bolted.
I picked it up like a sword and crept toward the bed.
"Do you feel anything?" Harmony asked softly behind me.
"Like something’s watching me," I whispered. I used the broom to cautiously lift the quilt. Ducking down, I peered under the bed only to see…
Nothing.
There was only darkness beneath the bed. But that wasn't all I sensed. There was a weight to the air, a hum of presence—a male presence, though I don’t know how I knew that. My skin prickled.
And then there was the smell…
It wasn’t unpleasant—just faint. A whisper of fur and cedar with just a slight hint of some darker, masculine spice.
It was earthy and comforting in an inexplicable way.
The scent made my throat tighten and my chest ache like I was about to remember something important—something I'd forgotten a long time ago.
It also brought tears to my eyes. Not because it was sad, but because it felt like home. Like safety. Like someone who had once held me tight and whispered that everything would be okay…
And then—
A flash.
A memory? A dream? I don’t know—it came over me and all of a sudden I was someplace else.
I was young—maybe ten. The room was dark, but the hallway behind the door was lit with a red-gold glow. Someone on the other side of the door was pounding on it—angry and shouting.
“You get out here, little girl and take your punishment! You know what you did wrong—I’m gonna belt you ‘till you can’t sit down for a week!”
The words were shouted in a loud, angry voice.
I could feel fear filling me, sharp and suffocating.
My breath caught in my throat, and I couldn’t breathe…
couldn’t breathe. The lock on my bedroom door was a flimsy thing.
Any minute he was going to get in and beat me—hit me and hurt me and Momma didn’t care…
wouldn’t even listen when I tried to tell her what he did.
But then, between me and the door, something moved—a dark figure.
Not a man—a monster—a shadow, tall and broad. He stood there, silent and still, a barrier between me and the man who wanted to hurt me.
The shadow boy… he saved you, whispered a voice in my head.
And just like that, the image vanished. Like smoke whisked away by a sudden breeze. I blinked and winced, pressing a hand to my forehead. What the Hell had that been about?
"Danni?" Harmony touched my arm gently. "You okay? You look like you have a headache."
"I—" I blinked, dazed. "I just had a memory. Or at least… I think it was a memory. But it’s gone now."
She frowned.
"Maybe you should tell Madam Healer about it. It could be important."
I nodded slowly, still shaken.
"Maybe. I don’t know." I took a deep breath. “But we can’t just stand here all day—let’s try your charm.”
Harmony held up the charm.
"Okay—ready?"
I took a step back and nodded.
Harmony closed her eyes and chanted softly:
"Power bound and purpose true,
Tell us what we need to do.
Harm or no harm, now reveal,
What intent this room conceals."
The charm stone in her hand flickered to life. The plain gray surface began to glow and change colors. First, we saw a soft green glow.
"Oh," Harmony breathed, relieved. "That’s good. No harm intended. See?"
But just as the words left her mouth, the green shimmer deepened—rippled—and slowly shifted into a new color.
It was a deep, regal purple—it pulsed like a heartbeat in the palm of Harmony’s hand.
Her eyes went wide.
"Wow. That…is new."
I swallowed hard.
"If red means harm, green means good, and yellow means neutral, what does purple mean?"
"I have no idea," she admitted. "I've never seen it turn that color before. We definitely need to talk to Madam Healer. She’ll know. Come on—let’s go see her."
I nodded and looked down at myself with a sigh.
"Okay. I just wish I wasn’t wearing a bathrobe for this."
Then it occurred to me that the cottage had provided me with food and had even drawn a bath for me earlier. At least, I assumed those things were for my benefit. I wondered if maybe it might have provided some clothes as well.
It was probably just wishful thinking, but I crossed the room anyway and opened the closet. There was a long string hanging down and I pulled it to turn on the light, more than half expecting it to be empty.
Instead, it was full. And not just full of any old clothing—these were my clothes from back home!
“Oh, perfect!” I breathed as I rifled through the many clothes hanging in the closet.
My sweaters…my scarves…all the warm things I’d knitted for myself over the years. All of them were hanging neatly in a row.
And beneath them, folded neatly on top of the small dresser which occupied the bottom half of the closet, I found a pair of my favorite yoga pants.
I stared in wonder.
“All my clothes—all my Fall clothes, anyway! Who brought them here? Was it the cottage?”
“It might be.” Harmony nodded thoughtfully. “Houses often have a kind of magical sentience here in Hidden Hollow. Since this is your grandmother’s cottage, it may be looking out for you the way she would have when you were little.”
She came over to run her fingers along the edge of a moss-green cardigan I had made for a trip Craig and I had taken to New England years ago.
"Danni, these are gorgeous. Where did you get so many beautiful sweaters?"
“Oh, I made them.” I smiled proudly. “Knitting is a hobby of mine. In fact, I used to wish I could open my own knitting shop. But that was before…”
“Before what?” She looked at me curiously.
I shook my head.
“Never mind. It just didn’t work out.”
“Well, I say you should open a shop. These are beautiful.” She ran one of my scarves—a long crimson one with an intricate pattern—through her fingers. “And they’re exactly what people need here, since it’s always Autumn in Hidden Hollow.”
“Wait…it is?” I frowned at her uncertainly. “Seriously?”
“I know—it surprised me too.” She laughed.
“But yes, this is a magical town and the Town Council took a vote and everyone decided that Autumn is their favorite season. So we have Autumn almost all year round. Except for one month of Spring in April, one month of Summer in August, and one month of Winter in December—the rest of the time it’s Fall, during peak leaf season. ”
“Sweater weather almost all year round,” I breathed. “This town really is magical.”
She laughed.
“Exactly what I thought. I come from the South and it’s so hot all the time.”
“Oh, me too!” I exclaimed. “I hate it there, but we were stuck because of my husband’s job.”
“Oh, you’re married?” She raised her eyebrows in surprise.
I shook my head, a lump forming in my throat.
“Not anymore. He, uh, died.”
“Oh, Danni—I’m so sorry.” She squeezed my arm gently.
“It’s okay,” I said, even though it wasn’t. “That’s how I found my way here—there were two keys in the things he left me in his will. One of them allowed me to draw a door to this place and the other one fit the lock to the cottage.”
“It sounds like you were meant to be here,” Harmony said softly. “Hidden Hollow calls people with magic in their blood to come here and it usually calls them at a time of great stress or need.”
“Oh, I don’t have any magic in my blood,” I protested.
She gave me a small, mysterious smile.
“I thought the same thing. But here I am.”
“Well…” I wasn’t sure what to say to that.
“Since I have my clothes, I’d better get changed,” I remarked and pulled out a navy-blue sweater with a V-neck that I’d knitted years ago.
It was always one of my favorites to wear because it had a vertical pattern running down the sides that made me look slimmer.
“Oh, that’s so pretty!” Harmony said, admiring it. "You should sell them. Seriously. This is witch-level craftsmanship."
I blushed with pleasure.
"Well, thank you. Here—you should have one.” I nodded at the closet. “You’ve been so kind to me.”
She backed away.
"Oh, no, I couldn't. I know how much work goes into handmade things. I wouldn't feel right."
I nibbled my lower lip.
"What if I give you a scarf instead?" I pulled the scarlet one she’d been admiring earlier out and handed it to her. “I can make these in no time,” I promised. Which wasn’t exactly true, but I am a very fast knitter. “Please, I want you to have it.”
“Well…” Her eyes lit up as she accepted it. “Thank you—it’s beautiful. But I’ll only take it if you promise to teach me how to make one too. I’ve always wanted to learn to knit."
I felt a warm glow in my chest.
"Deal. I’d love to teach you."
Harmony grinned and wrapped the long red scarf around her neck.
“I can’t wait! But for now, get changed so we can go see Madam Healer. Her office hours are almost over and she’ll be going home for the night soon.”
“Okay.”
I tucked the V-necked cardigan, yoga pants, and a pair of soft ballet flats under my arm. On instinct, I opened the top drawer of the dresser. Inside, I found socks, underwear, and bras in my size. But these were all new, with the tags still on them.
Wow, the cottage was really looking out for me. Just like my Grandma would have.
I paused, my hand resting on the edge of the drawer. My reflection caught in the small mirror on the back of the dresser. I looked tired and pale, I thought. But there was a glimmer in my eyes that hadn’t been there in a long time.
Maybe it was hope.
“I’ll just be a minute,” I told Harmony.
I took my bundle of clothes, slipped into the bathroom, and shut the door.
The bubble bath I’d seen earlier was gone now.
The tub was empty and bone-dry, but there were five bottles of bubble bath neatly lined up along the sink—lavender, rose, pumpkin spice, mountain lake, and one unlabeled that shimmered with a faint silvery glow.
Clearly the cottage wanted me to have choices—I liked that.
I ran my hand over the bottles and smiled.
"Later," I whispered. I had always loved bubble baths as a kid, though I had switched to showers as I got older. Maybe it was time to take up my old habits again—if I could stay here.
I took off my bathrobe and pajamas and hung them on the hook on the back of the door.
Then I finally got dressed. The new underwear and bra fit me perfectly which was nice—I’d been needing to buy new ones for ages.
The yoga pants and the V-necked navy-blue sweater made me look sleek and—if not exactly slim—at least not lumpy and huge, which was how I felt in my robe.
I checked my hair and makeup in the bathroom mirror—still pretty good, despite the crazy day I was having.
On impulse, I opened the medicine cabinet and found all new makeup waiting for me along with a hairbrush, a toothbrush and toothpaste, and various other things I would need if I wanted to stay here permanently.
The hope I’d seen in the mirror began to rise inside me…but I pushed it back down.
Don’t get too excited about finding a new home, I told myself. You still don’t know what the thing under the bed wants with you.
The shadow boy.
I frowned and pushed the thought away. I would take things one step at a time and right now I needed to go with Harmony to see this Madam Healer and find out what the Harm-or-No-Harm charm was trying to tell me.
I slipped on my little black ballet flats—I would have to see if the cottage might get me a pair of boots later—and I was ready to go.
Opening the bathroom door, I went back into the bedroom and saw that Harmony was still admiring my sweaters.
“Can you teach me how to make one like this?” she asked, holding out the sleeve of a moss-green cardigan with corded rib stitching around the cuffs.
I laughed.
“I think we’ll probably start you on a scarf first. But sure, eventually you can learn to make one.”
“I’m so excited for my first lesson! But we’d better get going,” she said.
I nodded agreement.
“I’m all ready.”
“Good—let’s go.”
We made our way back through the cottage and out the door and I didn’t feel anything bad, though I did still have the feeling that something or someone was watching me. Whether it was the cottage itself or the presence under the bed, I couldn’t tell.
It was time to find out what, exactly, deep purple meant on a charm that was only supposed to glow green, red, or yellow.
And maybe—just maybe—find out who the shadow boy really was… and why my heart ached at the thought of him.