Epilogue
Christmas Eve
Calli and Malcolm stood in her living room, suitcases in hand and their familiars ready to travel.
“Ready?” Malcolm asked her as he picked up the old baseball from its now permanent place on the coffee table.
They could have used her grandmother’s archway.
She’d learned that her grandmother’s archway had been designed to allow anyone with Skycaster blood to travel through it to any location they desired.
When Malcolm had suggested using the archway, she’d smiled and instead tossed him the baseball.
She liked the idea of using it, given how much she’d learned it meant to Reginald, her new father-in-law.
Calli took his other hand. “More than ready.” She was eager to spend time with Malcolm’s family for Christmas.
It had been hard for her to admit that since her parents had died, she had pushed away thoughts of her parents for so long that she’d grown cold inside.
But loving Malcolm… being accepted by his family…
it had changed everything. It had given her back what she’d been missing in her life.
She was going to be meeting with Lady Batsford after Christmas to discuss taking a seat on the council as the first hedge witch. It was a victory for hedge witches everywhere and one step closer to an equal treatment between the two kinds of magic in the witching world.
“Take us to Boston,” Malcolm whispered.
In the blink of an eye, they landed in the center of Reginald Wellesley’s study in Boston. The room rattled a brief instant when a rusted metal ball rolled off a display on Reginald’s desk and hit the floor, then rolled to a stop at Calli’s feet. Persephone eyed it curiously and swatted
She picked up the cannonball, examining it. “What’s this?”
“It’s a cannonball that bounced off the sides of the USS Constitution,” Reginald said from the doorway, having heard their arrival.
“My many-greats grandmother, Agatha, was hidden in the crow’s nest during the war of 1812 when the Constitution faced off against the British vessel HMS Guerrière.
The Constitution was made of oak and blessed by my ancestor with fortification spells.
The cannonballs bounced off the hull, and the Americans on the ship named her “Old Ironsides.” She’s the oldest active warship still in service. ”
Reginald came into the study and hugged Malcolm as Calli put the cannonball back on the display. No sooner had he stopped hugging his son, he turned and opened his arms to her.
“Merry Christmas, daughter.”
She hugged him tight, thankful for having a father in her life again. He’d even walked her down the aisle when she married Malcolm last month beneath a clear autumn sky, followed by a shower of gold and burgundy leaves, thanks to Sage’s spells.
“Sarah’s baking up a storm in the kitchen. She’s looking forward to some help, from both of you.”
Calli giggled. “I think it would be better if Malcolm stayed away from the kitchen. The last time he assisted me, he burned a pumpkin pie.” She shot him a heated look. “Unless it’s breakfast. He can cook a wonderful breakfast.”
Malcolm’s face turned red as kissed her cheek.
Reginald snapped his fingers and their luggage vanished, transported to their room upstairs.
Persephone scampered out of the study to track down Reginald’s familiar, the black cat named Onyx, whom she loved to pester. Hades followed behind dutifully to keep her from getting into too much trouble.
Calli found Sarah in the kitchen, covered in flour smudges and wearing an apron that read “Mrs. Claus is out. I’ll have to do.”
“Calli, honey!” Sarah opened one arm for a hug before resuming rolling the dough on the counter. “You’re just in time to help with the cookies.”
The scent of cinnamon and ginger hit Calli’s nose. “Gingerbread?” she asked hopefully.
“Of course. Malcolm told me it was your second favorite after pumpkin,” her mother-in-law said. Calli’s heart swelled with a joy that was simply too big to stay inside her. She was positively glowing with happiness.
“Oh my…” Sarah murmured, staring at her with a look of wonder.
“What is it?”
“Why… you’re glowing, honey… Malcolm told me you did that sometimes, but I didn’t quite understand what he meant.”
“I’m what?” she asked.
Sarah lifted up the nearest shiny pot and let her glance at her reflection. A shimmery glow hovered faintly at the edges of her body… like muted starlight.
“I rather think that must be something a hedge witch does when in love,” Sarah mused, ever the scientist. “I would love to study you, dear.”
“Mom! No! Calli is not a sea lion, okay?” Malcolm hollered from the other room.
Sarah’s face pinkened and she looked apologetic. “Sorry, scientist,” she replied to which Calli only laughed and hugged her mother-in-law again.
“Maybe we can study it later when the men aren’t around,” Calli whispered. “Now show me the gingerbread.”
She helped her mother-in-law prepare the cookies while Malcolm and Reginald decorated the house with garlands and bewitched them with wispy lights, creating a warmth in all the rooms in the house.
When they were done, Calli and Sarah sat on the couch to enjoy a Christmas movie together and drink some wine while dinner finished cooking in the oven. A yelp came from the kitchen that sounded suspiciously like Malcolm.
“Calli! One of these gingerbread men just bit me!” He shouted.
Calli buried her face in her wine glass to stifle her giggle.
She had hexed the cookies to bite Malcolm if he tried to eat one before dinner.
Sarah burst out laughing just as Malcolm stalked out of the kitchen, an evil grin on his face as he headed straight for her.
She knew exactly what kind of punishment he would exact and with a squeal, and she had every intention of leaping up from the couch to run straight for their bedroom upstairs.
She knew once she ran, her warlock husband would give chase.
“Calli, did you hex him again?” Sarah asked with a teasing glint.
She winked at her mother-in-law. “Oops…”
Thank you so much for reading Oops I Hexed Him Again!