A Witch Before Dying: A Wishcraft Mystery (32 page)

“The Anicula can’t fall into the wrong hands. It needs to go to someone who appreciates its power and can protect it. You, Darcy.”

“Me? What makes you think you can trust me with it?”

“I’ve been watching you,” he said. “I see the way you are with your sister. With your aunt. With Mimi Sawyer. The Elder verified that you’re the right person to trust. You will figure out what to do with it.”

I was honored and at the same time horrified. What was I going to do with the Anicula? Could I cast a spell on it like I had Melina’s diary?

“When I stole the Anicula,” Jonathan said solemnly, “I hid it in the one place she’d never think to look. Under her nose.” He reached into a smashed shadowbox on the floor next to me and pulled out Elodie’s baby rattle. He shook it and it made a clunky thunking noise. He passed the rattle to me. “Good luck to you, Darcy.”

He rose and made his way out the front door.

I watched him go, then worked the rattle apart. Inside was a small teardrop opal.

The Anicula is shaped as a small teardrop. Because, my father said, it had brought so much pain to those who abused it.

I wrapped my hand around the stone and thought of Patrice and how she’d taken revenge on Jonathan, of Elodie and how her good deed of wanting to protect her mother from Jonathan’s womanizing and help her friend at the same time had gone horribly wrong by indirectly causing Patrice’s death. Of Zoey, who would do anything for love, and of Jonathan, who finally learned that love meant making the ultimate sacrifice. And of Roger, who would have given his life to save his enemy’s daughter—because she was, in a way, his daughter too. And even of Andreus and his strange wisdom. His words floated back to me.

You must remember that things, that people, are not always as they appear.

As I stood up, the stone warm in my hand, I knew what I had to do with it.

I just didn’t know how.

“W
hat gave me away?” Mimi asked, her big, dark eyes troubled.

I clapped my hands twice (the trick Godfrey taught me), and the diary appeared in my palms. “Watch,” I said. I dropped the book on the table and it automatically fell open to the spell page. The page that had the instructions for a recantation spell.

Mimi sighed.

“Plus, Cherise mentioned how a recantation spell had to be cast within an hour of her spell. There were very few people who knew when she was going to be here.”

Mimi scrunched her nose.

“But I didn’t really know for certain until yesterday, when you were so distraught and went storming off over the green with the dog. You were upset that Ve was well. But what I want to know is why you did it. Why did you cast those recantation spells that kept Ve ill?”

In a small voice, she said, “I didn’t want her to marry Sylar.”

“Why?”

“Do you ever watch them when they’re together?” she asked. “Really watch them?”

“I…I think so.”

“They laugh. They smile. But they don’t really look at each other. They don’t look at each other the way…”

“What?” I prodded.

“The way you and my dad look at each other. They don’t look at each other like they’re in love,” she went on quickly. “And I don’t think anyone should get married if they’re not in love.”

I let out a slow breath, not quite knowing where to start. I decided to bypass the whole part about me and Nick and said, “But that’s not for you to decide.”

She slumped on the swing. “So I heard.”

“Ah. So that’s what the Elder was talking about.” I recalled what she had said to Mimi in the meadow.

You cannot always control what is going on around you. Nor should you, even if you believe you’re doing the right thing.

I added, “She knew what you were up to.”

Mimi threw her hands in the air. “How does she know? I still don’t understand.”

I put my arm around her and drew her close. “Maybe it’s not for us to understand, but for us to just accept.”

“I don’t have to like it.”

I laughed. “No. You don’t.”

“Are you going to tell my dad?” she asked.

“Nope,” I said. “You are.”

She looked aghast. “Why would I do that?”

“Remember that whole responsibility thing the Elder was talking about? Taking responsibility for your actions is part of that.”

Her lower lip jutted. “I think I’m going to go watch
Survivor
with Ve and Archie.” She stomped off, and I smiled. Sometimes she reminded me a lot of a teenaged Harper.

Missy lifted her head, and I patted it. “Want to go for a walk?”

She jumped up and wagged her tail.

I grabbed her leash from the mudroom and set off around the village green. The Roving Stones tents still flapped, but for some reason it didn’t feel so ominous anymore. I circled around and waved to Mrs. P and Vince inside Lotions and Potions.

Tourists laughed and window-shopped.

A tiny orange kitten sat in the window of Spellbound Books. I peeked in and saw Marcus moving another large bookcase while Harper supervised. What would happen with them, I wasn’t sure, but I hoped it would work out.

As I neared the Charmory, I was surprised to see the lights on, and even more so when I saw Elodie in the window, taking down the crystals that hung there.

When she saw me, she waved me inside. Missy bounded ahead as we went in, and I blinked at the store’s transformation. Gone was the magical, colorful wonderland, replaced now with cardboard boxes that reminded me a lot of Patrice’s house.

“What’s going on?” I asked.

Elodie set a crystal into tissue paper and carefully rolled it. “Andreus Woodshall made me an offer I couldn’t refuse.”

“What kind of offer?”

“He wants Connor and me to join the Roving Stones. We accepted. It’s time for a change.”

“Wow,” I said as Missy sniffed around.

“It’s a good time,” she said. “Roger’s out of the hospital and doing well. Thankfully, the gunshot missed all vital organs. Things here have been settled,” she said quietly. “I trust you to take care of my mom’s place and to have that yard sale. It’s time to start living my life. Our lives. Mine and Connor’s. We’ve been in limbo for so long. It’s time to move on.”

“When will you leave?”

“After my mother’s funeral next week we’ll meet the
Roving Stones in Portland, Maine.” She wrapped another crystal. “I think Andreus asked us to join only because he thinks I have the Anicula, but that’s okay. I’m going to embrace the opportunity. Connor and I always wanted to travel.”

“What you said yesterday about not wanting the Anicula if I found it…is that still true?” I just wanted to be sure.

She nodded. “I’m not going to even ask if you did find it. I don’t want to know. If you did, do with it what you will. Just be careful.”

The tear-shaped stone was burning a hole in my pocket. “Will there be a wedding soon?” I asked.

“I hope so, Darcy. But I’m not sure. The curse…” She pressed her lips together, and I could tell she was trying not to cry.

“I’m not sure you are cursed,” I said softly.

“Why do you say that? Look at all the things that have happened. That’s not just bad luck.”

Okay, maybe she was a little cursed, but she hadn’t been responsible for her mother’s death, and she needed to know that to truly move on. “Jonathan’s powers as a Foodcrafter weren’t taken away by the Elder.”

Her hands stilled. “What are you talking about?”

“Your mother wished them away. And also wished that whatever food he made would make people ill.”

Confusion played across her face. “Who told you that?”

“Jonathan. Apparently, it was in retaliation for the breakup.”

She sighed. “Which was my fault.”

I couldn’t argue with that, but it was likely Jonathan’s relationship with her mother wouldn’t have lasted anyway. “But don’t you see? She misused the Anicula, too.”

Holding my gaze, she said, “We were both cursed.”

Again, I couldn’t argue. “Curses are made to be broken, Elodie. Maybe you can change your fate.”

Closing her eyes, she said, “I can’t change the past, as much as I’d like to.” She pulled her shoulders back, lifted her chin. “I bet you regret taking on this job.”

Laughing, I said, “I can’t say you didn’t warn me.”

She sighed. “Maybe you’re right, Darcy, about my fate. I can’t change what I’ve done or what’s happened, but I can move on. Try to put this behind me. Start with a clean slate.”

“I think that’s a good plan.” I happened to have one of my own. “But are you ready to put it into action?”

“Do you have something in mind?” she asked.

I smiled. “What are you doing on Sunday?”

“Why?”

“There is a wedding all planned—it just doesn’t have a bride and groom anymore. I think it’s the perfect day for you and Connor to get married, don’t you?”

Darkness was falling as Missy and I headed home. I had a lot to do before Sunday, since Elodie had readily agreed to what I had in mind.

A loud bark had me turning around. I screamed as Higgins rose up and put his paws on my shoulders. He licked my face.

“I think he likes you,” Nick said, tugging the dog off. Missy pranced around Nick’s ankles and he bent down to pat her head. “Oh, are you talking to me again?”

She licked his hand. I wasn’t quite sure what had gotten into her where he was concerned, but she seemed to be over it. I wiped drool from my cheek with my sleeve. “Ew. Dog slime.”

Nick laughed and stepped closer to me. “He’s not the only one who likes you, you know.”

I suddenly noticed he was holding something. It was a daisy. He handed it to me. I closed my hand around its stem and tried to find my voice. It was hiding.

“Mimi mentioned you liked daisies,” he said. “And
peppermint patties. And old movies. And cartoon-themed T-shirts. She’s not very subtle.”

“No,” I finally said, rubbing delicate petals with my fingertips. “This is very sweet,” I said, holding up the flower. “Thank you.”

Missy and Higgins were tussling in the grass. It looked like Missy was winning.

“Mimi insisted I bring the flower to you,” he said.

“Oh.” I was disappointed. I didn’t want it because Mimi had nagged him to give it to me. I wanted him to
want
to give it to me.

“It’s not what I wanted to give you,” he said quietly.

He touched the tip of my chin, nudging it upward so I would look him in the eye. What I saw there in the shadowy depths stole my breath. My heart.

“Oh?”

He took a step toward me. He was close. So close. Our chests touched. Our noses. Our foreheads. My heart beat a crazy rhythm. Or maybe that was his heartbeat. I couldn’t tell.

His hands skimmed up my arms, along my neck, and settled on my jaw line. His touch was light, delicate. It sent waves of heat spiraling through me.

In a whisper, he said, “I wanted to give you this.”

As if in slow motion, he leaned in, pressing his lips to mine. I melted into him. Into the kiss. I wrapped my arms around his neck, wanting to lose myself in the kiss. In him. If only for one glorious moment.

Somewhere down the block a car honked. Higgins barked. Missy yapped and chased him. Suddenly, I was falling. I landed atop Nick, and he let out a whoosh of air, then started laughing.

I wasn’t sure what had happened until I saw the dog leashes tangled around our legs. I glanced at Nick and started laughing, too.

We spent the next few minutes untangling each other.

A car cruising by caught my attention. It was a pink village police cruiser. Glinda met my gaze with a blank expression and slowly drove off.

Nick hadn’t noticed her at all as he unraveled the leashes. Finally freed, he said, “Darcy?”

I focused on Nick. “Yeah?”

“What do you think about a date?”

My heart was doing that drunken leprechaun thing again. “I’d love to.”
Please not coffee. Please not coffee.

“Maybe you could come over for dinner? We can watch a movie? Even an old one,” he said with a smile. He helped me stand up as he navigated the leashes.

I thought about being snuggled up with him on the couch, eating popcorn. I didn’t even care what we watched—as long as it wasn’t
Survivor
—but I kind of hoped that Mimi would be around to watch an Elvis movie. I tucked my hands into my pockets and felt the Anicula there. I bit my lip. “I’d really love to, but first…maybe we could do something else together. Something a little dirtier.”

His eyes flared, then narrowed. “Why do I have the feeling we’re not thinking about the same definition of dirty?”

Laughing, I told him how I’d found the Anicula. “I want to return it to where it belongs.”

His brows snapped together. “And where’s that?”

“With Andreus Woodshall’s grandmother.”

“Isn’t she dead?”

I nodded.

“Maybe you should tell me what you have in mind. And please don’t tell me you’re planning to dig up a grave.”

“Technically, it’s a crypt. I thought we could break in and—”

He pressed a finger to my lips. “You have the Anicula?”

I nodded.

“Why not just
wish
it back inside that crypt?”

I gazed at him, moved his finger aside, and said, “That would be easier, wouldn’t it?”

“I really don’t want to have to arrest you for grave robbing.”

“Technically, it’s not robbing. It’s returning.”

He kissed me again, and I think I forgot to breathe. He pulled back and said, “Make the wish, Darcy.”

T
echnically, two nights ago with Nick I made two wishes, the second of which sent the Anicula back to its rightful place alongside Grandma Woodshall—a wish that included an addendum that the Anicula never see the light of day again. Better to be safe than sorry.

But my first wish? It was also about being better safe than sorry.

Because even though I’d optimistically told Elodie that curses were made to be broken, I had ensured with a wish that hers would be. Whatever happened to her from here on out was of her—and destiny’s—own making.

It was a true fresh start.

And as I sat here on the village green in a white wooden folding chair, I watched the very beginning of that fresh start.