Chapter Twenty-Two #2
‘Yeah, but we don’t know how to stop her!
’ Bianca said. ‘We don’t have a clue why Luke is the key.
I finally got an answer about that opening ceremony today.
A friend of a friend connected me to a witch in Scotland who’d heard it before.
Shadows banish, the night is bright, this place is safe, both day and night, combined with spilling rainwater on the earth is old magic designed to be used by a non-magical person.
One hundred years ago, someone, likely a witch or some sort of magical being, put an enchantment in the mayor’s swearing-in ceremony that gives the mayor limited magic powers, basically the ability to do just this one spell.
The words and the ritual, when recited by a person sworn in as the mayor of Moonbeam Hollow, protects the festival from witchcraft. ’
Blair’s eyes widened. ‘Why would a witch do something to keep witches away?’
Bianca shrugged. ‘Maybe a witch-for-hire. Or maybe not a witch at all.’
Blair exhaled. There was a lot she didn’t know about the magical world. ‘So, if the mayor doesn’t do the spell—’
‘Then Hecate is free to use that lightning magic of hers to destroy the festival,’ Bianca said. ‘This was probably why wiping her memories was one of the first things Hecate did.’
‘Is it too late to get someone else sworn in as mayor?’ Belinda asked.
‘I doubt us three can insist the town has a swearing-in ceremony,’ Blair said.
‘Maybe if one of us was on the town council. And we don’t know for sure that the ritual would protect the festival, anyway.
Not to mention, that only protects the festival.
Hecate has been wreaking havoc on the town, too. ’
‘The spinach was our only option, so I used magic to grow it from seed in only a week,’ Bianca said. ‘I got the seeds in the mail the day I suggested the dinner.’
‘Okay, the Swedish spinach explains why we could see into Luke’s mind easily,’ Blair said, ‘but why was he eating so much of it? He hates spinach.’
Bianca nodded. ‘Yeah, I wish I’d known that before. I added an addictive kale strain to the curry. I bred it after I overheard someone saying they wished kale was as addictive as crack.’ She paused. ‘I think my kale is more addictive, though.’
Belinda huffed a laugh at that, and Blair couldn’t be mad at her – addictive kale was kind of funny.
‘This doesn’t explain why he was possessed,’ Blair said.
‘That’s why I called Lotta – she’s the one who sent me the spinach seeds.
She said that the increased susceptibility to invasions can also result in an increased susceptibility to spirit possessions.
But Lotta said it had only happened twice, and both times, the spirit was someone who died recently.
And they were related to the living person they possessed.
I have no idea why this happened to Luke. Even Lotta said it shouldn’t have.’
‘But it did.’ Blair exhaled. She could feel a knot in her stomach.
‘Kass knows more about spirit possessions, but he’s in a terrible mood,’ Belinda said. ‘He’s not talking. I’ll speak to him in the morning.’
Blair shook her head. ‘Of course Kass is in a bad mood. He’s here to stop us from doing stupid things like this! We shouldn’t be putting anyone at risk! If nothing else, you should have told me what you were planning, Bianca. It was irresponsible, dangerous and careless!’
‘I know,’ Bianca said quietly.
Blair could see it in Bianca’s face that she really was sorry. But maybe sorry wasn’t enough here. ‘You want me to treat you like an adult, and then you go and give some magical vegetable to my . . .’ Somehow friend-with-benefits didn’t seem like the right term here.
‘You kind of did the same thing when you gave him that potion at his first book club meeting, though,’ Belinda said.
Blair looked at her. ‘You knew about that?’
‘I mean, it was pretty obvious.’
‘No, what I did was worse,’ Bianca said. ‘He actually got sick because of me. Blair made him a little . . . happy.’
Blair sighed. She didn’t know what to say. Luke Caldwell had been back in town a mere month and look at the effect the Briarwoods had already had on him. He should leave – go back to the city and work on tall buildings and be safe from witches, both dead and alive.
But Blair and her sisters needed him here. He was the key to stopping Hecate.
‘I think you should tell him,’ Bianca said. ‘About Hecate and her sisters, and about the prophecy. It’s time to tell Luke what we are.’
Blair shook her head. ‘No. Not an option.’
‘What are you afraid of, Blair?’ Belinda asked.
‘Um, we’re supposed to be secret witches? We promised Mom and Dad we would never tell anyone so witch hunters won’t find us.’
Bianca shook her head. ‘I’m not saying we should tell just anyone, I’m saying we should tell Luke. We’ve known him forever. And he’s your . . .’ Her voice trailed off.
‘My what?’ Blair asked.
Bianca looked at Belinda. ‘Tell her, Bel.’
Belinda smiled small. ‘I’ve seen it in both your futures. It was clear as crystal tonight after he ate the spinach. Hell, I saw it back when you were teenagers, too. Luke’s your person, Blair. Your soulmate. No one will love you like he does, and you’ll never love anyone like you love Luke.’
Blair shook her head. ‘I don’t love him. It’s casual.’
Bianca smiled. ‘Liar.’
‘And you know he loves you,’ Belinda said. ‘He always has. You two are like . . . Anne and Gilbert. You pretended to be rivals, but you’ve always had feelings for each other.’
Of course, Belinda would have a literary reference to compare them to.
‘When he was gone for so long,’ Belinda continued, ‘I knew he’d come back. I didn’t know when, but it was destined. I think you can tell him the truth. This won’t scare him away.’
Bianca snorted. ‘Yeah, if falling head first into a plate of palak paneer didn’t scare him away then nothing will. You heard what he said when he was feverish.’
Blair did hear him, but she’d thought it was the fever talking.
Not allergic to anything except being away from Blair.
And as much as she’d been fighting it, her sisters were right.
Blair did love him, too. As much as she ever had.
Actually, more than she ever had. Because the Luke she knew now was all the good parts of teenage Luke – smart, hilarious and optimistic, but now he was an adult.
A capable, caring, loyal and incredibly sexy adult who could not only make her body feel better than anyone else in the world but also make her laugh.
He brought her sunflowers and ice cream.
She could talk to him for hours about everything and nothing.
He made her forget the weight of the world on her shoulders and just let her be Blair.
Best of all, he understood why she loved this town so much, because he was from Moonbeam Hollow, too.
There was no one else in the world who she fit with like Luke.
And Bianca’s prophecies were never wrong.
‘I can’t tell him,’ Blair said softly. ‘It’s too big. I can’t tell him because . . .’
‘He won’t hurt you,’ Belinda said. ‘He’d do anything to protect you.’
‘Yeah, maybe but . . . he’d see me differently.
He’d realize that we can’t ever be on the same plane.
Maybe he won’t even trust me, especially after he finds out what really happened tonight.
’ She looked down at her hands. To open herself up like that .
. . to tell Luke who she really was, was too terrifying to even consider.
Bianca sighed. ‘Okay. We’re not going to force you. You know what you’re comfortable with. And we have less than one week to figure out how the hell Luke is going to stop Hecate.’