“Did you forget the part about Ruthann summoning you to City Hall?”
“For witch school, yeah.”
Mr. Bixby spoke up. “Glad you’re embracing the label, but remember, the lexicon continues for wiener and related words.”
“Hi, Bixby,” Mom said. “I hope you’ve been keeping a close eye on my daughter.”
“I try to keep up, Shelley, but she got ahead of me today. I’m sorry about letting her touch the book.”
“How were you to know it was rigged?” I asked. “Surprised all of us.”
“That it did.” Mom’s voice sank to a more reasonable pitch. “Haven’t heard of such blatant sabotage in decades. Even when Oscar attacked Liberty, he kept it quiet. I still feel terrible about not realizing it sooner.”
“It’s not your fault, Mom. Anyway, she’s back and better than ever.”
“Coasting on your gifts, yes. Meanwhile, all you got was—”
“I know. Magical hiccups. It’s becoming a real problem. Today I popped a few into the library from blocks away. I didn’t even know where to find them.”
There was a long pause. “Janny, that’s not good. You’re leaving a genetic trail for people like Oscar Knight. I guarantee you someone had more than a little bit of Angus in the mix to build such an effective hex.”
“It hit me so hard, Mom. I passed out. Do you think someone targeted me, as well?”
“I considered that but it’s unlikely. It would have meant diluting the power of the hex and clearly, ridding the town of Angus was the primary goal.”
I took the slow route home, enjoying the bridges and springs even in the darkness. Elsa’s headlights made the water sparkle as if it were ice, but because it was constantly moving, it rarely froze. “Why couldn’t they just stick him in jail instead of exploding his mind in a public place?”
“A statement, obviously. Like I said, public hits are rare. No one wants to court police attention. Especially those with ill intent.” She sighed. “I can’t help feeling there’s something bigger afoot. Do you feel it, too?”
“Maybe.” Her psychic abilities put mine to shame, and she often heaped more shame on that very fire.
“Because she practiced,” Mr. Bixby said. “Instead of mooning over a man like Big Red, Shelley honed her craft.”
“Mom must have mooned over my father at some point, because here I am.”
“We don’t talk about that,” Mom said, which was certainly true. I’d heard very little about my father and only had a few memories that lingered. He was handsome and charming. That much I knew.
“Actually, you’re right,” Bixby said. “Shelley fell hard for a hottie.”
Mom started to snicker and caught herself. “He got the better end of that deal, trust me. But we have more pressing matters, don’t we?”
“Yeah, for sure. Mom, I need to get rid of these hiccups. Now. The sunflowers are leaving a trail of genetic crumbs right to my door. Even the small dose I got of Angus’s hex was horrible.”
“I knew the very moment it happened,” she said. “Nearly fainted myself. Your grandmother had to bring painkillers and an icepack for my head.”
“If I want to avoid being targeted like that, I need to nip this hiccupping problem in the bud, so to speak. How can I do that fast? Liberty told me her problem faded over several years. I may not have that long.”
“Don’t say that. I’m already so worried about you that I booked a flight for the morning.”
“Stay with Gran. What if they come after her? A rigged box of chocolates could—”
“Don’t.” The admonishment came from Mr. Bixby. “I love that lady, even though we haven’t formally met.”
Nothing he could say would soften my mother more. Gran was one in a million and completely without magic. The gated community Mom had found for her was no longer secure, as I knew to my peril.
“There is a doctor,” Mom said. “I’ve seen her now and then for small magical matters. Festering rashes. Vanishing eyebrows. A tongue so swollen it wouldn’t— Well, never mind.”
“Good thing the doc tucked your tongue back in, Shelley,” Bixby said. “You won’t see the likes of your hottie ex again with that sort of malady.”
“I don’t wish to see the likes of Janelle’s father, but yes, the doctor has successfully treated me. Since she sees everyone in town of a magical bent, she’s the holder of many secrets. I don’t fully trust her.”
“You don’t trust anyone,” I said. Only an oversized, lolling tongue would take my proud and private mother to someone like that. “I want to give this doc a try.”
She was pacing on Gran’s kitchen tiles now. I could hear the thud of her rubber-tipped shoes. Though she liked a heel she was eminently practical. “Are you sure there’s nothing you could do to calm your nerves, Janny? You’ve tried all the standard things?”
“Everything short of drugs, either of the prescription or street variety.”
Mom gave a squawk of dismay. “Never try street drugs in Wyldwood. Almost always laced with magic.”
I laughed. “I have no desire to overdose on magic, especially after today.”
Bixby leaned into the phone. “Shelley, I can assure you Janelle’s far too uptight to be a stoner. I’m not seeing a single instance of substance use in her mental files.”
“Stay out of my mental files.” I shook my finger at him. “Mom doesn’t need to know how boring I am.”
Finally, Mom laughed. It was a nice laugh—all the nicer for being so rarely heard. “The life you’ve led sounds adventurous to me. And you haven’t had a boring moment since you came back to Wyldwood.”
“That much is true. Although I treasure the quiet days at Whimsy selling baubles and hanging out with my friends.”
