Chapter Seventeen
Blair said nothing for several long moments, the weight of this news heavy on her chest. How could her hometown, the place her parents had immigrated to when they faced danger in their home country, actually have been built on a foundation of hating .
. . murdering witches? Blair felt sick to her stomach.
She loved Moonbeam Hollow. She always had.
This place had been a refuge for her family, the place where she and her sisters had grown up, made friends and had mostly thrived in.
The idea that it had hatred of witches built into its town charter was too much to wrap her head around.
Blair looked at the printed pages of the charter that Belinda had given her. And right there, in section one, it said:
Rights of Inhabitants: All residents of Moonbeam Hollow shall declare themselves to be of natural constitution, and shall thus enjoy the right to fair governance, the use of public infrastructure, and the protection of their property, subject to the ordinances and by-laws passed by the Council.
If any man or woman be found to be unnatural or a witch, that is, hath or consulteth with a familiar spirit, they shall lose all rights to governance in Moonbeam Hollow and shall be banished.
‘Is this real?’ Blair asked, voice shaking.
‘As real as the three of us sitting here,’ Bianca said. ‘It says banished, because government-sanctioned killing was frowned upon in 1926, but we think witches were actually killed, not banished.’
‘But 1926 wasn’t that long ago,’ Blair said. ‘There were no sanctioned witch hunts in North America in the twentieth century, were there?’
‘Yeah, that’s what I thought,’ Bianca said. ‘But I did some research, and there were pockets of violence against witches here in Ontario in the 1920s. A lot of it was swept under rugs and hidden even back then. I have no doubt that the handful of cases I found was only the tip of the iceberg.’
Belinda nodded. ‘Remember – the law against “pretending to practise witchcraft” was only repealed in the Criminal Code of Canada in 2018.’
Blair did know that. She’d always found the addition of the word ‘pretending’ to be telling – the Canadian government couldn’t make practising witchcraft illegal, because then they’d have to admit that witchcraft was real.
So they’d added the word pretending so they could still punish witches without acknowledging that witches had power.
‘At least it doesn’t appear Moonbeam Hollow is proud of this history,’ Belinda said. ‘That’s probably why the council wouldn’t share the charter with me.’
Bianca’s nose wrinkled. ‘If they aren’t proud of it, then why didn’t they change the charter in the last hundred years? Towns update their charters all the time.’
That was true. And Blair had to assume that everyone in the town council knew about this charter.
‘If it makes you feel any better, Moonbeam Hollow hasn’t executed or banished any witches since it was incorporated,’ Belinda said. ‘That I can find, at least.’
‘Doesn’t make me feel a whole lot better, no,’ Blair said. ‘Why did you say witches were seeking revenge?’
Belinda took the pages back from Blair. ‘A feeling I had. I didn’t make a prophecy or anything, but when I was near the tree, and when the mayor lost her memory at the festival, I got a strong sense that revenge was behind it.’
Blair stilled. Belinda did make a prophecy – she just didn’t know it.
At the time, Blair had a good reason for not telling her sister.
Belinda knowing that the Briarwood sisters were somehow the cause of the destruction of the festival would be devastating for her.
Belinda internalized a lot, and Blair hadn’t wanted to distress her.
But her sisters had been working on this mystery, anyway. In fact, they’d had better results in their searches than Blair had. She glanced at Kass, who was glaring at Blair with his squinty, judgmental face. He clearly thought Blair should tell Belinda about the prophecy.
Blair sighed. ‘Actually, you did make a prophecy.’
Belinda’s eyes went wide. ‘What? When?’
‘The morning after the council meeting when the mayor lost her memory.’
Belinda’s eyes narrowed with anger. ‘And you didn’t tell me? I had a headache for days after that! I even wondered if I’d made a prophecy and no one noticed! And you knew I had and didn’t tell me!’
‘I didn’t want to upset you!’ Blair said. ‘I thought I could handle it on my own. That’s why I went to the festival grounds today.’
‘Blair, you need to stop treating us like kids,’ Bianca said, shaking her head.
‘I wanted to keep you safe,’ Blair said. ‘Both of you. Mom told me to keep you both safe before she died . . . I made a promise.’ Blair’s voice cracked. She looked down.
‘Blair,’ Belinda said, voice still cold. ‘I’m an adult. I deserve to know what’s happening in my own body. Not telling us about bad things doesn’t keep bad things away from us.’
Blair bit her lip. Belinda was right. She was an adult. So was Bianca. Blair was no longer their legal guardian.
Blair looked at Belinda. ‘I’m sorry. I should have told you. I was so scared after what happened to the mayor, and I wanted to keep you two safe. You were so unsteady when you were sleepwalking. Kass and I were so worried. But . . . it’s your body. I was wrong – we shouldn’t have kept it from you.’
Belinda’s head whipped to Kass who was still on the armrest of Belinda’s chair. ‘You knew, too?’ She looked even more upset that the cat would betray her than Blair.
Kass’s big yellow eyes looked apologetic. He rubbed his face on Belinda’s arms, clearly feeling a lot of regret for hurting his favourite person.
‘Don’t blame Kass,’ Blair said. ‘I asked him to keep it from you.’
They were all silent for a while. Blair felt terrible. All she’d wanted to do was protect them.
Finally, Bianca closed her computer. ‘New Briarwood rule – we are no longer allowed to keep anything from the other two—’
Kass meowed loudly.
‘Sorry, Kass, new household rule. We’re not allowed to keep anything from the other three if it relates to the attacks on the Moonbeam Hollow Fall Harvest Festival. We have to trust each other, or we’ll never get anywhere in finding the cause. Deal?’
‘Deal. I’m sorry, guys,’ Blair said. She meant it.
Belinda didn’t say anything, only nodded. She was clearly still hurt.
‘What did the prophecy say?’ Bianca asked.
‘I wrote it down.’ Blair took her purse and found the note. ‘The festival is theirs. The three sisters. Witches. They want to destroy it. They want revenge on those who took their lives and legacy. It is justified. Trust must be earned again. Go to he who makes tall buildings. He is the key.’
Bianca frowned. ‘Who are the three witch sisters?’
‘Us,’ Blair said. ‘We’re three sisters, and we’re the only witches in town.’
Belinda shook her head. ‘It’s not us,’ she said. ‘I know it’s not. The revenge feeling I’m getting is definitely from someone else.’
Bianca raised one eyebrow at Blair. ‘Why’d you automatically assume it was us? I mean, Shakespeare wrote the three witch sisters trope because it happens a lot. Witch families often have three girls for an unknown reason.’
Bianca was the only one of them who had travelled extensively, and who’d met many other witches, so she’d know. For the first time ever, Blair wondered if her sheltered life here had been worth it. ‘Even if three witch sisters are common, we’re the only ones here, aren’t we?’ Blair asked.
‘Yeah, maybe, but the town hasn’t taken our lives and legacy,’ Bianca said. ‘Our parents died while they lived here, but Dad was killed by American witch hunters, not Moonbeam Hollow ones. And Mom died of natural causes. There is no reason the festival needs to earn our trust again.’
‘I thought it was us because I didn’t know, until today, that there were ever any other witches in Moonbeam Hollow,’ Blair said.
She looked at Belinda. ‘Or any witch history at all. If the culprits are three witches who want revenge on the town for murdering them before it was incorporated, then they’re long dead. Do you think it’s their descendants?’
Bianca shook her head. ‘Can’t be. It said their lives and legacy have been lost. I’m thinking there are no descendants.
It sounds like we’re dealing with vengeful spirits, not living witches.
And I’d bet that opening ceremony is a ward to keep witches away.
I’m going to ask around, but I think that’s why the spirits went after the mayor and Earl – to prevent the ceremony from happening. ’
‘I agree,’ Belinda said. ‘We’re looking for spirits, not living witches. Who is he who makes tall buildings?’
‘Luke,’ Blair said. ‘He’s an architect, and he primarily works on skyscrapers.’
Bianca snorted a laugh. ‘Oh my God, I can’t believe a prophecy told you to hook up with your ex-boyfriend. Apparently, you were helping when we thought you were just getting laid.’
‘I didn’t hook up with him because of the prophecy.
’ Blair had gone to see him that day because the prophecy said he was the key, but that’s not why she’d ended up in his bed, was it?
If so, did that mean that this relationship, or whatever it was, was foretold, and not something Blair chose with her own free will?
But why couldn’t the prophecy have known she would make this choice?
Blair rubbed her temples. This is why she was glad to be a potions specialist instead of a soothsayer.
‘I haven’t learned anything from him, though.
I have no idea why he’s the key to stopping this. ’
‘Keep sleeping with him, anyway,’ Bianca said. ‘May as well have some fun now before these spirits destroy everything.’
Blair rolled her eyes.
‘This all started when he came back to town and started construction on the bakery,’ Belinda said.
‘I know,’ Blair said. ‘And I still feel like there is something he hasn’t told me about why he and his mom decided to come back here specifically. It sounds like his mother didn’t even like Moonbeam Hollow much.’
‘You shouldn’t be in a relationship with someone who keeps secrets,’ Belinda said.
‘That’s why we’re not in a relationship,’ Blair said. ‘This is casual because I’m keeping secrets from him, too.’
They were all quiet for a while.
‘Now that we know we’re looking for spirits from the past, we actually have a direction,’ Blair said.
‘Maybe I can ask for a tour of the bakery. I’ve really only seen Luke’s apartment over it.
I might find a clue as to how this all started, and how he’s the key to stopping it.
Bianca, reach out to your witch contacts to see if they know anything about wards or spells to keep witch spirits away.
But don’t tell them what’s going on here.
I think we should keep this as quiet as possible.
And Belinda, search the archives to find out who these three witch sisters were.
There must be something. Where could you find records from before the town was incorporated?
Maybe Gladys knows something. She used to be a librarian before opening the bookstore, right? Or I can ask—’
‘You’re doing it again, Blair,’ Belinda said, her voice flat.
‘Doing what?’
‘Treating us like children,’ Bianca said. ‘Bossing us around. We should make another rule – we all must communicate with each other, and Blair’s not allowed to be overprotective and bossy.’
Blair blinked. She wasn’t bossy, was she? ‘Of course I’m going to take the lead; I’m the oldest!’ Which made Kass meow loudly. He had a point. ‘Okay, Kass is the oldest, but I’m the oldest Briarwood.’
Bianca crossed her arms. ‘But you’re not our guardian anymore. We should work together to decide what to do next.’
Blair exhaled. ‘Fine. I’ll talk to Luke and look around the building to determine if him starting construction released these spirits. You guys decide what you’ll do.’
‘I’ll look through the archives and other records to find out who the three witches were,’ Belinda said.
‘And I’ll try to find out if that festival opening ceremony is a ward to keep witch spirits away. There are also specific plant experiments I can do on the pumpkins, roses, chrysanthemums and the Moonbeam Oak to determine if the damage was done by someone dead or alive.’
Other than the plant research, everything Belinda and Bianca had said they would do were the things Blair had suggested, but Blair knew better than to point that out now.
‘Okay,’ Blair said. ‘We have a game plan. And we’ll keep each other in the loop from now on, okay?’
Belinda and Bianca both nodded, but Blair wasn’t sure things were okay between the three of them.
Blair put her fingers around the gold necklace she always wore.
She wished her parents were here. They’d know what to say.
Blair didn’t remember clashing with her sisters even once while their parents were alive other than the usual sibling squabbling.
Mom and Dad had always said that as the oldest, she had to look out for her sisters.
But they weren’t kids anymore, and Blair didn’t really know how to look out for them while treating them like adults.
But she’d have to figure it out. Belinda and Bianca were all the family Blair had, and she didn’t know what she would do if her sisters pulled away from her.