Chapter 3
Ididn’t reach for the book. I couldn’t seem to move. I stared down at it, a dozen emotions chasing each other around inside my head, making me feel almost dizzy.
Who was this stranger?
Where did that book come from?
Was it dangerous?
Was all of this some kind of trap, like I’d touch the book and turn into a toad or something? That sounded about right for Sedgwick Cove.
As I stood there, paralyzed, I heard the woman heave a quiet sigh. I tore my gaze from the book, and looked up to find her looking at me with eyes full of warm sympathy.
“Are you going to take it?” she asked. “It’s kind of heavy.”
I shook my head. “I… no, I don’t think I… not quite yet,” I whispered.
“Fair enough,” she said. “I’ll just put it back in my bag, for the time being. It’s not exactly the kind of thing we should leave lying around, you know?”
I nodded, because somehow, I did know. I watched the book disappear back into her backpack. I felt an odd sense of relief as she yanked on the zipper—like the book had been staring at me, and now I was free from the intensity of its gaze.
It’s a book, I reminded myself. Books can’t stare at you.
That’s no ordinary book, a voice in my head replied.
“Is it okay if we sit down for a minute?” the woman asked, after an awkward silence. “I’ve walked a lot today.”
“Huh? Oh. Yeah, okay. I’m not sure…” My gaze darted to the house, and she didn’t miss it.
“I don’t think anyone’s home. I rang the doorbell before you rode up, but no one answered.”
I bit my lip. Rhi was down at the Sedgwick Cove Library for her monthly cookbook club meeting, I knew that. My mother was probably home, but out in the gardens somewhere, and I felt like a helpless child calling for her. As I struggled over what to do, Jess piped up again.
“I think there’s a stone bench over there, a little ways along the garden fence. Maybe we could just sit there for a few minutes? I’m sure you have questions,” she suggested gently.
I couldn’t think of any nefarious reason she’d want to sit with me on a bench where anyone could see us.
So, I nodded, gestured wordlessly to the bench, and she followed me over to it.
As I sat down, the flowers around me nodded in the breeze, brushing against my legs and arms. A bright cluster of purple asters bent over the fence and nudged my shoulder.
Asters. Asteria.
Like a bolt of lightning, the memory that had been nudging gently against me like those flowers exploded into my mind, a memory trying to break through my initial fears and suspicions about this stranger now sitting beside me.
Asteria had come to me while I met with Xiomara and given me a message.
She had told me this would happen. What was it she said?
The girl will bring the book. Trust her, little bird.
I stared at the young woman beside me. She gave a kind of groan as she sat down and pulled a hair tie from her wrist, which she used to hoist her hair into a messy bun on top of her head, squinting into the sunlight.
Was this her? Was this the woman Asteria had told me about? I swallowed hard, my thoughts absolutely swirling now. Asteria might want me to trust her, but I still had questions.
“Sorry, what did you say your name was?” I asked, hoping against hope that she wouldn’t hear the tremor in my voice.
“Jess Ballard,” she repeated patiently.
“And… that book,” I said, pointing down at her bag, which she had taken off her back and was now leaning against her leg. “Where did you get it?”
“It was… well, kind of an accident that I found it,” Jess said.
She seemed to be choosing her words carefully.
“I work at a school over in England called Fairhaven. We have an extensive antique book collection, and one day some students sort of… stumbled upon that one.” She hiked her thumb at her backpack, in which the book was now zipped.
“You mean it’s a library book?” I asked.
“Well, yes and no. It was technically in our library, but it shouldn’t have been. I couldn’t find a record of it in our catalogue, and it was so different from the other books we had that I decided to get it examined properly by an expert, a Dr. Vesper. And that led me to you.”
“Wait, the person who examined it was also named Vesper?”
“That’s right.”
My mind was whirling. I’d never asked about Vesper relatives outside of Sedgwick Cove, so I had no idea whether what she was telling me was true. Still, it sounded plausible.
“So this Dr. Vesper said you needed to give the book to me?”
Jess paused just a moment too long before she said, “With a little investigating, we were able to determine that you were the rightful owner. I left some of Dr. Vesper’s notes on your family tree tucked in there, that I think will help explain.”
“You said the book is… is different from the other books?” I asked. “What does that mean exactly?”
Here, Jess bit her lip. “It just… didn’t quite fit in our collection. I’m not sure if someone had put it there by accident, or maybe they were trying to conceal it there. But however it got to be there, it shouldn’t have been.”
“And you came all the way from England to give it to me?” I asked.
“Yup.”
“No offense, but that sounds like an awful lot of trouble to go to. I mean, you don’t know me.”
Jess lifted a hand to her lips, rather like she was trying to smother a laugh. “I suppose you’re right, but… I just wanted to make sure it found its way home.”
“And its home is… me?”
“So it would seem.”
I took a deep breath. “Can I… see it?”
“Of course. It is yours, after all.”
Jess reached down into her backpack and pulled out the book once again. This time, when she held it out to me, I took it.
The very moment the book touched my skin, a frisson, like electricity, shot up my fingers, filling my body with strange, hot energy. At once, I yelped and the book nearly fell to the gravel, but Jess shot out a hand and managed to grab it before it did.
“What was that?” I gasped.
“What was what?” Jess asked, though she sounded more intrigued than confused.
“I… nothing,” I lied quickly. “Uh… static electricity, probably.
Jess only nodded, and placed the book in my lap.
Prepared for it this time, the energy that pulsed gently against my knees didn’t scare me.
Fascinated, I studied the book itself. It was clearly very old, bound in black leather worn smooth and gray in places, but the binding seemed tight.
The edges of the pages were rough cut and the paper was thick and pulpy, like it had been made by hand.
There was no writing on the cover—if there ever had been, it had long since worn away.
Instead, there was a symbol that seemed to have been branded or stamped into the leather—an intricate Celtic knot at the center of a compass rose.
At the four points of the compass, a jewel had been set into the leather, each a different color, each glittering in the sunlight like there was a tiny fire lit inside them.
I didn’t need to be an expert in precious stones to know they were real and probably extremely valuable.
“Wow,” I muttered, in spite of myself.
“Yeah. That’s what Dr. Vesper said too, when she first saw it.”
Heart pounding, I lifted the cover and peeked inside, carefully thumbing through a few pages. The text was handwritten in different hands, some of it clear, other parts illegible, accompanied by sketches of plants, runes, and constellations. I closed it again quickly.
It was a spellbook. I was holding a spellbook.
I looked up to see Jess looking intently at me, like she was trying to read my expression.
“Did you, uh… did you look through this book?” I asked, hoping I merely sounded curious instead of nervous.
Jess nodded. “Of course. It’s really cool, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, yeah, it’s…”
“A grimoire, I think.”
I stared at her.
“That’s what Dr. Vesper called it,” she went on. “She said your family had a history of witchcraft. In fact, that’s what Dr. Vesper studies. She teaches courses on witchcraft and other folk magic and traditions at Cambridge.”
“Oh.”
“Anyway, once I tracked you down to Sedgwick Cove, I realized I must be on the right track. I used to live in Salem, Massachusetts, you know. These New England towns can be steeped in occult heritage. Once I saw your family’s shop downtown, I knew you’d appreciate having this.
There’s probably some cool family history in there. ”
I could feel my pulse calming down. The more she talked, the more it was apparent that this woman wasn’t here to drop a bombshell or expose my family’s magical secrets.
It really seemed like she was just a nice young woman who found something cool that belonged to us, and wanted to return it.
I finally felt I was able to return her smile.
“Thanks for coming so far to deliver it,” I said. “You could have just… just mailed it, or something. You didn’t have to come all this way.”
Jess shook her head, laughing. “An antique like that? Not a chance. I couldn’t have lived with myself if it got damaged or lost. Besides, it was a good excuse to visit the old stomping grounds.
I caught up with some friends down in Massachusetts, and got to relive my college days. Seriously, it was a good trip.”
“Well, thank you. It’s… this is really cool,” I said.
Jess’ smile widened. “Good. Well. Mission accomplished, I guess.” She slapped her knees with her hands and stood up, hoisting her backpack onto her shoulder again. “Any suggestions for a place to grab food on my way out of town?”
“Xiomara’s Cafe,” I said, without hesitation. “Best food in town, hands down.”
Jess grinned. “Brilliant. I think I saw that place right on Main Street. Well, nice to have met you, Wren Vesper.” She thrust out her hand.