Chapter 6 #3
The fiery look in her eyes and smoke coming out of her nostrils send shivers down my spine. Just when I start to get relaxed and comfortable around this woman, she can’t help but demonstrate her true nature as a Celestial dragon goddess. She is incredible—and more than a little bit terrifying.
That son of hers may be in for a world of hurt once she tracks him down.
“There isn’t anything wrong with the orchard itself,” Laurelis says.
“I’ve tested the soil and our water sources, and everything is fine on both fronts.
The leaves are healthy and there’s no sign of rot.
” She waves her hands toward the trees. “My one concern is whether the apples are sentient now. I would hate for someone to pick and eat them should the apples be self-aware.”
Astraea strides forward and stands by one of the shorter trees in the orchard, then reaches out and plucks one of the musical apples, now singing “Tempted” by Squeeze, off the branch.
She closes her eyes in concentration, and we all watch with fascination as her body becomes bathed in an ethereal light and the air around her crackles with magical energy.
Once again, I marvel at how improbable it is that our paths ever crossed in my lifetime. Even though she hasn’t been here for long, I’ve genuinely come to like her, and I know she’s developed a soft spot for Mystic Hollow and quite a few of the town’s residents.
After a minute, the glow surrounding Astraea begins to fade, and she opens her eyes, which have turned the swirling opalescent color that occurs when she goes “full-on goddess mode,” as Ryder likes to call it. She blinks a few times, and they return to a beautiful electric blue.
“I have good news and I have bad news.”
Baxter groans again, crossing his bulging arms over his massive chest. “Start with the good news.”
“The apples are not sentient.”
Laurelis sighs with relief.
“What’s the bad news?” I ask warily.
“I’m not sure how to stop their singing, and I’m equally unsure of what will happen to someone if they eat them.”
Laurelis nods as if in perfect understanding. “Ah, yes, I see where that might prove tricky.”
“We don’t need some kind of Willy Wonka nightmare on our hands,” Baxter mutters.
Astraea waves her long nails at the trees. “Fortunately, for the moment, not all of the apples appear to be affected by this abnormality in the magic.”
“If this continues when it’s nearer to the time of the Harvest Festival, we may have to cancel the apple picking event and pre-pick safe apples for guests to choose from,” Laurelis suggests, a sorrowful expression on her face.
I run a hand through my hair—on my head, that is—and take a deep breath, then let it out slowly.
“Okay, it’s not ideal, but that sounds like the best option we have right now.
We can’t cancel all our orchard events. I’m just worried that people might be a little unnerved by this abnormality.
Nothing like this has ever happened here—at least, not that I’m aware of—so it’s hard to say how folks will react. ”
Baxter puts his hands on his hips as he gazes into the distance, deep in thought.
Shaking his head, he seems to come back to himself.
“I’m afraid there’s nothing for it. Let’s follow Laurelis’s suggestion for now.
In addition, I need to hold a Community Gathering meeting and inform everybody of the situation.
I can’t deceive our residents about what’s going on or the potential risks that could come moving forward.
Especially since we don’t entirely know how bad the magical instability will get and what kind of problems it might pose for day-to-day life.
” He raises a hand to rub at his temple, near one of his horns.
“Folks will just have to decide if they want to preemptively leave until things get resolved safely or stay and wait it out.”
Astraea’s mouth sets in a firm line and she nods. “Yes, we need to let everyone know where things stand and they can decide from there. I will be at the Community Gathering session to answer any questions that I can.”
“I’ll help too,” I offer, then turn to Laurelis. “If you need some extra hands for the apple picking, just let me know. I can send some of our volunteers down the Friday morning before the festival opens.”
She nods graciously. “I appreciate the offer, and I’ll keep you apprised of the situation here if any further…
oddities should manifest. But for the time being, I don’t think there’s anything to be too concerned about now that Astraea has settled the sentience question.
” She smiles and turns her face up toward the sun.
“In fact, the singing from the apples is rather nice. At least they know how to harmonize.”
I suppose that’s a silver lining in all this.
Although they’ve now moved on to Little Richard’s “Tutti Frutti,” and I’m noticing an obvious fruit theme in all their musical choices. If they’re not sentient, is it the ley line node picking the songs? I have more questions than answers.
The portable radio clipped to Baxter’s belt crackles to life.
“Uh, Chief? We have a bit of a situation down at the Clothing Emporium.”
Baxter groans and presses the button to respond. “Is it what I think it is?”
“Yep. Those nudist gnomes are at it again.”