Chapter Twenty
“ A n empath?”
My mind was on fire with questions, all flickering around in my skull, leaving me with a burning forehead and an aching stomach.
This whole time, I’d been pondering my mysterious witch heritage, questioning if it was real.
I even daydreamed about what sort of ethereal powers would eventually burst from within me.
I had imagined myself wielding fire. Water. Ice. Maybe even plants, like Rowena did. Or maybe I had one of the rarer, more subtle powers, such as healing, enchanting, or divination.
But an empath? My ability to perceive others emotions was something I’d always assumed was an odd quirk of being a magical creature. It was always so subtle, such an innate part of my being, I had never questioned it.
Once again, I found myself asking how I could’ve been so stupid.
“Yes. Well, technically, it’s called clairsentience , but most witches use the term ‘empath’,” Rowena explained.
She took my hands in hers as we sat next to each other on the couch.
They were cold, like they always were. I had no idea how Rowena managed to survive in Maine when her extremities seemed unable to regulate themselves.
“You said it’s one of the rarest witch abilities?”
I didn’t recall seeing it mentioned in my books. There were plenty of sections on elemental magic, enchantment work, and even for predicting the future – which I had always thought was the coolest power. If empath witches were mentioned anywhere, it had been too brief for me to pay much attention.
“Even rarer than divination witches,” Rowena replied, her icy hands still clasped in mine. “There hasn’t been an empath in Wisteria Grove in my lifetime. In fact, I don’t know if there has ever been one here. There are probably only a handful in the entire state of Maine.”
“Wow.” Maybe that was why there was so little mention of them in my books. “But you said it was one of the most powerful witch abilities of all? That doesn’t seem right. Feeling if others are happy or sad, or calming down someone who is upset, doesn’t seem all that impressive.”
“Empaths come into their power later than other witches,” Rowena explained.
“Something about how our brains mature. You’ve only been able to do subtle things until now, but once you start honing your power?
You’ll be able to read minds. Project your thoughts into someone else’s head. Even command them to do your bidding.”
I recoiled, looking visibly disgusted. “That’s horrible.”
“I mean, if you use your powers for selfish reasons, yes. Witches theorize that’s why so few empaths exist. They’ve always been the ones most frequently persecuted by humans,” Rowena sighed.
Her fingers had warmed from the heat of my ever-burning palms and were no longer cold.
“Scholars and authors of witch literature don’t write much about them because of it. ”
The loud, metallic thud of a bell, ringing repeatedly in a singsong pattern, interrupted us before I could respond.
“Crap,” Rowena cursed under her breath. She abruptly left the couch and hurried over to the window, pulling back the tiniest sliver of the heavy curtain.
She hovered there for a few moments, dark brown eyes scanning the scenery beyond the window, until she finally relaxed and pulled the curtain back into place.
“What was that bell?” I asked.
Rowena sighed, her face twisting into a frustrated scowl. “Emergency town hall meeting.”
“About the werewolves?”
“They may have left. Broad daylight isn’t exactly conducive to their hunting strategy,” Rowena replied. “But they’ll be back. I’m sure of it.”
I nodded, still not understanding why the werewolves had chosen to attack during the day at all. It seemed futile. And desperate.
I wasn’t their kin. They couldn’t possibly be that eager to get their claws on me.
But they were, and it was terrifying. It made my skin crawl with unknowns and what-ifs, and my father’s face and voice kept flashing through my head.
I couldn’t begin to imagine how angry he’d be once I was tossed at his feet back in Hollenboro.
“And on top of that…” Rowena paused. I noticed she had moved, and was standing in front of what looked like a poster. “We have another problem.”
“What is it?”
Rowena turned to the side, and I realized the artwork on the wall wasn’t a poster. It was a calendar.
She pointed to the last Monday of the month. “Tonight is Halloween.”
“Tonight!?”
Gods help us. I had been so caught up in everything going on, so lost in my newfound relationship with Rowena, I’d lost track of what day it was.
“And tonight…” I gulped. “It’s also the full moon, isn’t it?”
“Yes.”
“So… we’re screwed. Completely and utterly screwed.”
Not only would the werewolves be back that night, but they’d be frenzied — full of feral rage with their humanity lost under the blinding moonglow in their eyes.
If they came looking for me tonight? It would be a bloodbath. The worst werewolf attack that Wisteria Grove had ever seen.
And it would all be my fault.
“Rowena,” I choked out her name. She turned toward me, and my throat suddenly felt choked and dry, like it was full of wood chips.
“We need to face the truth,” I declared.
“Nettie…”
“I have to leave. Now.”
“No,” Rowena declared, a mix of anger and fear boiling in her voice. “We’re not out of time. We have options. We can figure out a plan, and–”
“Rowena. Please. I have to go,” I swallowed hard, forcing my emotions down. “Wisteria Grove is in danger because of me. The longer I stay here, the more likely someone gets hurt.”
“But Nettie–”
“I won’t be able to live with myself if someone gets hurt. Or bitten. Or worse. Please, I have to go while I still ca–”
“No!” Rowena exclaimed, her shout shattering the tension in the air like an earthquake. She let out deep, choking breaths, her chest visibly shaking as twin tears slipped down her cheeks and onto the hardwood.
“Rowena…”
I extended a hand in her direction, and she tackled me like a wolf, both of us sinking into the couch as she wrapped her arms around me. She squeezed me with so much force that I feared my ribs would break, yet it was my own tears that caused me to fall apart in her arms.
“I’ve lost so much,” Rowena sputtered through her sobs.
“My mother. Aster. Juniper. My friends. This whole damn town I’ve been trying so hard to win back.
Please, Nettie, don’t leave me. I don’t think I can handle any more loss.
If I lose you–” She sobbed, struggling to speak through her cries.
“–I might fall apart. Everything else around me already has.”
Rowena…
I could utter her name over and over, whispering sweet nothings into her ear about how it would be okay. Utter some jargon about the power of fate and our gods working in mysterious ways, like my father always did.
But it was all futile. This love affair between the two of us didn’t have a happy ending.
It never stood a chance. My choices were to leave now and pray I could slip past the prowling werewolves, or surrender myself to be dragged back to Hollenboro.
Me staying in this town, by Rowena’s side, wasn’t an option.
It never was.
“I could leave,” Rowena declared. “I could come with you.”
“Rowena, no,” I stated firmly. “That café is your whole life. I won’t let you abandon it for my sake.”
“But I’m willing to. For us. We can–”
“Rowena,” I bit my lower lip. “Please, no. I’ll be consumed by guilt if you give up your café because of me.”
Maybe, in a different situation, we could have done it. We could have packed everything up, leaving the empty building behind, and set up shop elsewhere. But now? We had no time. Either the werewolves or the villagers would catch me before I could even help Rowena pack a single box.
“I’m so sorry, Rowena,” I finally broke down, falling limply into her arms. “I wish things were different. I’ll miss you so much. I–”
“Uh, Nettie?”
I froze. “Yes?”
“Your ears and tail are back out.”
I lifted a hand to the top of my head and felt soft red fur.
“Why does that happen when you’re nervous?” Rowena asked.
I let out a long groan and shrugged. “I don’t know. It started happening recently. They pop out when I’m stressed or angry. I hate it.”
“I think I know why it’s happening.”
I cocked my head, my wolf ears perking up. “Really?”
“Yes. Your witch abilities are interfering with your werewolf abilities,” she explained. “In other words, your emotions are causing you to shift because you’re an empath.”
“ That’s why?” I exclaimed. It did make a lot of sense.
“I think so,” Rowena continued. “Sometimes, when I’m out running in my wolf form, plants will sprout near my paws. I can’t control it. It’s just a part of me.”
“Wow. That’s incredible. I wish I could make flowers bloom at my feet in wolf form.”
Rowena chuckled. “I’d argue what you have is even more incredible, though. And I owe you thanks. For calming me down… I really lost control back there. I’m so sorry.”
I nodded. Rowena imprisoning Juniper in vines was wrong, but I knew how much pain and frustration she had pent up inside her. The incident wasn’t just about me – it was the tipping point for six long years of broken friendship.
“It’s okay. But I don’t think I’m the one you need to apologize to.”
Rowena sighed, her gaze drifting down into her lap. She looked uncomfortable, but she knew I was right.
“I’m just so glad you calmed me down.”
I smiled. “Me too. It’s good to know that I can do–”
“Nettie. Wait.”
Rowena’s head snapped up, eyes as wide as serving dishes. She looked like she’d just been electrocuted.
“You can calm people down,” she announced in a startled, robotic voice.
“Um, yes, I can. Rowena, are you okay?”
She bolted up from the couch, pacing from the window, to the door, then back to the window again. She muttered rapidly under her breath, her voice too low for me to understand what she was saying. It was as if she were trying to solve a problem.
Or formulate a plan.
“Nettie!” she exclaimed, suddenly spinning back in my direction. “We need to go down to the town hall and join the meeting. Right now.”
“What!?” My heart lurched out of my chest. “Are you insane!?”
Gods, she isn’t really going to turn me in, is she?
“No, Nettie, you don’t understand.” She rushed in front of me, kneeling next to the couch and grabbing my hands in hers. “I figured it out. I know how you’re going to stay in this town.”
“What are you talking about?” I asked, wary-eyed, with a little voice in the back of my head wondering if Rowena had gone mad. “How on Earth are you going to persuade Wisteria Grove to let me stay?”
“Because…” Rowena grinned. It was a maniacal, thrilled, overjoyed grin, as if she’d just made a momentous discovery. “...I know how we’re going to stop the werewolf frenzy.”