22
Mystic Hollow Community Page
New post from Mayor Croft: Happy Halloween! Don’t forget to post your videos with #mystichollowisthebest!
“And then I said, ‘The party is back on! I am not doing the rituals with you! You do some and I do some and after that, I don’t want anything to do with you,’ ” I tell Laney. “I haven’t seen her yet today, but I think she’s been gathering her own materials for the ritual.”
“Well, I’m glad she isn’t coming to your party,” Laney says with a sniff. “I can’t believe she cast a spell to make you invisible to boys. Tonight is going to be epic.”
“As long as the world doesn’t end.”
“Which you won’t let it.”
I nod. Usually I’d be so excited to be having everyone over to my house.
I sent a party evite out to the grade right after my fight with Harry.
Colton was the first one to RSVP. Ryan said yes as well and so did Hunter.
It looks like there are tons of people coming, which I keep reminding myself is a good thing.
I won’t invite any vampires in. There has to be some Hadley magic still working in this house.
And then I can keep an eye on all my classmates, duck all the magically lovesick crushes from my past, and make sure the Headless Horseman doesn’t rise.
Piece of cake.
At least Laney and I don’t have to waste time with decorations.
This house already looks haunted with torn wallpaper and cracks in the walls.
Laney came over early to help me clean up the best we can and put away any witchcraft items I don’t want out at the party, even though I do need some for the spells later.
We’re also trying hard to keep the garden gnomes outside, but it’s an uphill battle.
“There’s something I don’t get though,” Laney says, yelling over the ABBA album she put on for cleaning. “If Harry confessed about the spell and you both apologized, why is the house still falling apart?”
“I don’t get it either,” I admit. I look over at the nearest wall.
The cracks have splintered, snaking in every direction.
Plus, as an added bonus, green goo is oozing out of them too.
I can’t shake my uneasiness. Is this party a good idea or a bad idea?
Am I wrong about casting the rituals separately?
Mom did say the spells have to be cast by “hearts that beat as one” or whatever.
I shove another handful of candy pumpkins into my mouth.
“But it’s definitely her fault. This whole thing is her fault.
Which is why, as far as I’m concerned, I don’t even have a sister anymore. ”
The house rumbles. Laney and I jump as a crack carves along the floor.
“You don’t think the house is going to fall down around us, do you?” she asks. “Maybe we should have the party outside.” She looks out the window at the lake and swallows a scream as one of the kraken’s tentacles pulls a deer under the murky water. “What was that?”
“A kraken,” I say, starting to panic that Laney might be right. But outside is no better. The garden gnomes have taken over all the flower beds, uprooting my mother’s favorite lilies and growling at the squirrels.
“Kat!” Laney protests. “I take it back. People are not safer at the Hadley House. This is the gateway to hell. There’s a portal to the ice realm in the kitchen. A kraken in your lake. The only place that’s safe is the greenhouse!”
“Actually, that’s off-limits too,” I say, gnawing on my lip. “Victor, our Venus flytrap, seems to have grown five times his size overnight. I’m worried he might have acquired a taste for something bigger than flies.”
Laney drops her feather duster and stares at me. “OMG. You’re keeping Audrey from Little Shop of Horrors in your greenhouse?”
This is one Broadway connection I don’t think my aunts would appreciate.
“It’s going to be okay. I put up signs.” When I gesture at the “Danger, Keep Out” that I handwrote on printer paper and taped up in the kitchen, greenhouse, and by the lake, Laney’s frown only deepens.
“Everyone is still safer here at the house than they are walking around Mystic Hollow. It’s better if we keep everyone close.
Colton texted me he’s telling everyone he knows to be here.
He’s texted me a ton today, actually. He said he can’t wait to see me again tonight. ”
“Yeah?” Laney asks.
I sigh deeply. “And it’s all because of the spell, isn’t it?”
She gives me a sad smile, then pulls me in for a hug. “I’m sorry, Kat. This really sucks.”
“That’s not the worst part,” I mutter into her shoulder, as she squishes me closer. “I don’t even think I like him anymore.”
As we do our best to mop the walls—they’ve started bleeding now, which is mixing with the green goo for a truly appalling sludge—I fill her in on how Colton only wanted to talk about himself and how he was so in love with himself.
“That might be the only thing you have in common,” Laney says with a small smile. “You both love Colton Croft.”
I flick some goo at her. “Yeah, right.” I sigh. “It’s not like I can expect to find a guy who actually has things in common with me. Like, who would that be?”
Laney gives me a look. “Yeah,” she says sarcastically. “It’s not like there’s one guy who’s been literally trying to do all the same things you do, all the time. Who challenges you to be the best version of yourself and gives you free coffee.”
My cheeks burn. For some reason, I don’t want to tell Laney that Zach has fallen to the love spell, too.
Because does that mean that I secretly had a crush on him this whole time?
I look at Great-Aunt Aida’s portrait for answers, and I swear, if she had laser eyes, she would have hit me with them by now. The hand in her portrait has moved as well, and she’s now pointing directly at us, which doesn’t feel like a good sign.
“Can I say something to you without you getting mad?” Laney asks. Her nose is running and her breath appears as she talks. I’m not sure if the temperature is still dropping from the ice realm or it’s from Eleanor appearing behind her.
“You’re my best friend. You can say anything,” I tell her.
“I’m happy you finally have some boys paying attention to you.
Even if it’s just a spell. Really. And you are the smartest, most hardworking person I know, but all this,” she says, looking around at the crumbling house, “is a lot without also having to perform magic tonight. Are you sure you’re up to doing this alone? ”
To be honest, the closer it gets to sundown and the rituals, the more nervous I feel.
Mom and Dad texted me and Harry this morning reminding us about what herbs to gather, where to place the sigil, what spells to say and when.
Harry and I answered separately. The first spell has to be done at moonrise, then the other right before midnight.
She raided the dried hydrangeas from the greenhouse, which are the first thing we need to burn, and I’m pretty sure all the ceremonial tapers are missing from our mantel.
No matter how mad I am at Harry, the thought of doing this alone still makes me sad.
It’s fine, though. There are more hydrangeas in the garden, and I’m pretty sure we have a pack of birthday candles in the junk drawer.
I try to put on a brave face for Laney. “I’m going to be fine. We’re almost done cleaning, so I have plenty of time to gather ingredients for the spell. We’ve got plenty of time.”
There’s a growl in the kitchen, followed by a crash, and Laney and I jump.
“That does not sound like a garden gnome,” Laney whispers.
“It’s not,” Eleanor says. “A creature has entered the ice realm in the kitchen. White. Large. Furry. Lots of teeth. He does not seem to be enticed by the candy bars like those gnomes are.”
Laney and I look at one another. “Yeti.”
“But it’s fine,” Laney says, glaring at me, “because you put a handwritten sign on the door.”
I frown at her. “Should I have printed it out? Would Comic Sans help this situation?” The doorbell rings. “That must be the first of the trick-or-treaters.”
“This is so exciting!” Eleanor exclaims. We both turn to look at her in surprise. “What?” she asks, looking embarrassed. “I died before this holiday really became something fun. A day where everyone celebrates witches. How grand!”
“Just don’t scare anyone,” Laney says, giving Eleanor a sideways look.
“Like I could,” Eleanor says with a grin. “They’ll just assume I’m part of the decorations!”
She isn’t wrong, unfortunately.
I open the door and find a grown man. Laney and I relax a smidgeon. At least Eleanor won’t scare an adult. Plus, he might get a kick out of her clothing; he looks like he’s part of a historical reenactment.
“Greetings,” he says, sweeping the pilgrim hat from his head in a flourish-filled bow. “I seem to have lost my way. Pray tell, which is the road to the great colony of Roanoke?”
“He’s dead,” Eleanor whispers from behind me. “He might not realize it.”
I try to give him my best smile, but when I look him in the eye, I can see the oak tree through him, and that still makes me a little queasy.
“Just a moment.” As covertly as I can, I pull out my phone.
Will Google have directions to a sixteenth-century colony?
As I’m busy checking the directions—better switch to walking because I doubt this guy has Lyft—Laney nudges me. “Twelve o’clock,” she murmurs.
I look down our drive to see Justin Tremble returning. He’s carrying four bags on each arm.
“Hey,” I say weakly as Justin bounds up the steps, the bags swinging. “What are you doing here?”
He grins. “I heard you were throwing a party. And since you mentioned you liked whipped cream, I bought every can I could find. In a three-hour radius.” He leans against the doorframe with the sort of smile that says he thinks this is totally normal and looks at the pilgrim. “Hey. Cool costume, dude.”
“Good tidings,” says the pilgrim with a nod.