Chapter 12 Danni
DANNI
Harmony led me down Main Street, right through the center of Hidden Hollow.
I took the opportunity to really look over my new town.
The sun had dipped below the horizon, and the streets were beginning to glow with string lights and softly flickering jack-o-lanterns.
Each stoop and storefront was decked out in autumn splendor—pumpkins, cornstalks, and garlands of dried leaves in red, gold, and burnt orange.
It was quaint. Cozy. Almost too perfect, like something from a Hallmark Halloween special.
And then there was the magic. Was it magic? Whatever it was, I could feel it here, humming just beneath the surface of things like a current under my skin. Not threatening, exactly, but ever-present.
Goldie’s Diner sat at the corner of Main Street, its windows glowing warm and golden. The painted sign above the door had a whimsical flourish to it—a swirling script in glowing neon. Inside, shadows moved and laughter echoed. I froze on the threshold—it looked packed inside.
Harmony paused beside me.
“You okay?”
“Just a little overwhelmed,” I admitted. “It’s been a weird day.”
She gave my arm a gentle squeeze.
“Come on, you’ll like the girls. They’re very welcoming.”
The bell above the door jingled as we stepped inside. A wave of warm air enveloped me, carrying with it the scent of cinnamon, apples, buttered waffles, and fresh-brewed coffee.
The interior was cozy and inviting. There were normal-sized booths but also extremely large ones as well.
I supposed those were to accommodate the larger residents of the town.
Like the enormous Minotaur I saw sitting at one extra-large booth eating what looked like a salad made with hay instead of lettuce.
My eyes were drawn to a long booth stretched under a large window that looked out on Main Street, where a whirlwind of leaves danced past.
The booth was already full.
I recognized Goody Albright at once. She was sitting beside several other women—some younger than me and a few my age.
One of them—a woman with golden curls and sharp green eyes—was wearing a waitressing uniform as though she’d stopped work to sit down and chat with the rest. All of them turned when Harmony and I walked up, expectant looks on their faces.
I’m not an extrovert—the opposite in fact. Having everyone looking at me felt very overwhelming—for a moment, I wanted to shrink into my sweater and disappear.
“Everyone,” Harmony said brightly. “This is Danni. She just inherited her grandmother’s cottage here in the Hollow.
And Danni, this is Goody Albright, who you already know…
Goldie—she owns this diner…Celia, who owns The Lost Lamb bakery…
Sarah, who works with Celia…and Willow, who owns the new magical ingredients shop that just opened not long ago. ”
I tried to fix everyone’s name in my mind and nodded nervously at them all.
“Hi, er, nice to meet you,” I said faintly.
The woman in the waitressing uniform, who Danni had said was Goldie, beamed at me.
“Welcome! We love when new witches come to town.”
“Oh, I’m not a witch,” I said quickly, my heart thumping.
The women exchanged glances. They weren’t mocking, more like amused.
“Neither was I. Not at first,” Willow murmured, sipping her tea.
“You will be,” Sarah said with a wink.
“Well, you’re safe here,” Celia said. “Whatever brought you to Hidden Hollow, trust that it’s exactly where you need to be.”
“And who you need to be with,” Harmony added meaningfully.
“Whatever the case, you’re welcome here,” Goody Albright said, smiling. “And since the magical bubble around Hidden Hollow doesn’t allow anyone who doesn’t have magic in their blood to pass through into town, I believe you’re in the right place.”
I slid into the booth beside Harmony, feeling a little dazed.
“Is it always like this? So warm? So…friendly?”
“We stick together,” Goldie said simply. “Especially when it comes to the town magic.”
“Speaking of that,” Goody Albright said, setting down her mug. “Madam Healer sent me a magical thought message. I hear there was a strange reading on your Harm-or-No-Harm harm charm tonight.”
Harmony nodded and relayed the events again. The green glow…the flash of royal purple.
Goody frowned, her brow furrowing.
“Purple isn’t a danger color. But it is rare. It usually indicates a powerful emotional bond…or desire.”
Desire.
My stomach did a slow flip.
“There’s a…a presence in the cottage,” I murmured. “I saw it—well, I saw its eyes. And I can feel it even when I don’t see it. Madam Healer said it was male. It seems familiar, but… I can’t quite remember why.”
Goody looked at me over the rim of her mug.
“Do you want to remember?”
I hesitated.
“Yes…No. I don’t know.”
“You don’t have to take the hard path,” she said gently. “I have a memory tea I can give you. It’s quite mild—brings back little pieces of your past at a time, rather like opening an old photo album.”
“That sounds a lot better than the alternative,” I said gratefully. “Madam Healer had a memory potion, but she made it sound like I’d be drinking the magical equivalent of Fireball if I took it.”
That got a laugh out of the whole table.
“Goody’s teas are always lovely,” Harmony assured me. “You should try it.”
“In fact, I have some with me. I was working on a new batch just this afternoon and I asked one of my brownies to bring it to me when I got Madam Healer’s message.”
Goody reached into her enormous purse and pulled out a glass vial with a cork stopper. The liquid inside shimmered faintly.
“Here. Steep this in boiling water and drink it under the light of the moon. Sip slowly and let the memories come in their own time.”
I took the vial carefully, holding it like it might break.
“Thank you.”
“We’re glad you’re here, Danni,” Goldie said warmly. “Especially now.”
“Why now?” I asked, surprised. Had they been waiting for me?
The women exchanged another look between them.
“We’re preparing for the All Hallows Eve ceremony,” Celia said. “It’s how we renew the magical bubble that protects Hidden Hollow.”
“It keeps out the bad things—the evil Creatures that can’t coexist with regular Creatures and magic users like us,” Sarah added.
“Creatures?” I raised my eyebrows in confusion.
“Monsters,” Sarah explained. “Like Orcs.” She smiled. “I’m mated to one of those.”
“I am too,” Harmony admitted, grinning. “I love my big, growly Orc. But Celia’s with a Demon and Willow’s Heartmate is a gargoyle. Well, he used to be a gargoyle. But it turns out he’s more of a Fallen Angel. Oh, and Goldie is mated to not one, not two, but three huge, hunky Werebears.”
“Only because I’m half-Succubus and I need more than one guy to keep me happy,” Goldie said, grinning.
“Wow…” I looked around the table. “So you’re all married to supernatural creatures?”
“All but me,” Goody Albright said, smiling sadly. “I had my love many years ago. Since my darling Ethan died, I’ve had no love to give to anyone. He was a Blood Lover in case you’re interested,” she added. “What I believe you younger girls call a ‘vampire.’”
“You were mated to a vampire?” Sarah’s eyes grew wide. “I didn’t know that!”
“Not many do since my beloved has been dead these many years. I always think of him this time of year, near All Hallows Eve.” Goody Albright sighed again.
Then she straightened up and shook herself, as though brushing off old memories like cobwebs.
“But now we must get down to business. The town’s bubble must be renewed, and we need a full coven to cast the renewal spell properly. ”
“Unfortunately, we’re a witch short,” Celia said. She smiled. “Or we were until you turned up, Danni.”
“Wait…what? You think I’m supposed to join your coven?” My voice cracked slightly.
“We think Hidden Hollow brought you here for a reason,” Willow said, smiling. “Just like it brought all of us. The town calls magical people it needs to it… people who need to get away from the Human World.”
“You don’t have to decide anything now,” Goody Albright said, patting my hand comfortingly. “But just know, whatever you decide, you’re not alone. We’re glad to have you here, Danni.”
“How did you come here, if you don’t mind me asking?” Willow said, raising her eyebrows. “I was chased here by a Hell Hound,” she added, grinning.
“I got a magical invitation from my Great Aunt who had disappeared years before,” Celia added.
“A leprechaun brought me an invitation after my Mom died,” Sarah put in.
“And as I think I told you, I was just running to the ladies room at my work to cry and instead I ran through a door that led me here to Hidden Hollow,” Harmony added.
“I’ve always been here, right from the town’s founding after the Salem Witch Trials,” Goody Albright said, smiling. She winked at me. “I’m older than I look.”
“Wow…” I stared at all their expectant faces. “I’m afraid I don’t have a really exciting story to tell. I just got two keys in my late husband’s will that led me here. One helped me draw a door and the other one opened my Grandma’s cottage.”
“Oh, is that the new place I saw on the way here that just appeared on that empty lot at the end of Main Street?” Willow asked, looking interested.
“The very same,” Goody Albright said, answering for me. “Danni’s grandmother was a very powerful witch who left Hidden Hollow to marry a mortal man with no magic.” She shook her head and made a tsking sound. “Such a waste of a good witch!”
“So…was the house hiding itself until Danni appeared or what?” Sarah asked. She looked at me. “I inherited my grandmother’s house too. It was just waiting for me to come back here.”
“Exactly.” Goody Albright nodded. “I believe the cottage was waiting, dormant, until the rightful heir returned. Which is you, Danni. And if you’re anything like your grandmother, I do believe you will have formidable magic…when it comes to you.”
“I don’t know about that,” I said uncertainly.
“Of course not—you haven’t drunk the memory tea yet.” She patted my hand. “Don’t worry—all things come at the proper time here in Hidden Hollow. In the meantime, we’re just glad to have you here.”
My throat tightened. I looked around the booth. All these women sitting here, their lives transformed by this impossible place.
And now… here I was, too.
Outside, the wind howled softly and blew another swirl of golden leaves across the windowpane. I felt a shiver go down my spine.
Maybe I had been called here after all.
Maybe I wasn’t crazy to believe in the monster under my bed.
Maybe I had finally come home.