Where are you going?

“I thought I’d go to the library. I have some research to do.”

Jade leapt up onto the back of the couch.

What are you researching?

“Witch families in Woods Crossing.”

You want to find out more about the Farrows.

“Yes. You coming?”

In the end, Jade came with me, sitting quietly on a comfy chair while I perused the aisles for any local histories. It was close to closing, and I’d had no luck, so I reluctantly approached the librarian.

“I’m looking for some kind of local history or anything about the Black and Farrow families.”

The older woman looked intrigued. “Are you a member of either of those families?”

I eyed her warily. It felt silly to distrust a gray-haired old lady, but Chandra was an old lady, too.

“My name is Sage Lightwood-Black. I have some Blacks in my ancestry.”

She smiled warmly. “Celeste’s granddaughter.”

I gave a nervous laugh. “Is it that obvious?”

“You look just like her. Hold on a minute. I’ve got something in special collections that might help.”

The librarian went through a door behind the desk, then reappeared a few moments later holding what looked like three ordinary leather-bound journals.

“These belonged to your grandfather, Alder,” she explained. “Celeste donated them to the library shortly before she died. He did a lot of research on the Black family. This is one of the best local genealogies recorded. He wrote quite a lot about the Farrows as well. I think you’ll find it useful.”

I stared down at the journals, awestruck.

“Thank you. This…this means a lot to me.”

Her smile grew wider. “They’re yours now, honey.”

I could hardly believe that I held in my hands a written record, from my own grandfather, about our family. I wasn’t given to flights of fancy, but somehow, this felt like a sign, like grandma put the journals here for me to find.

Chapter Fifteen

Isat in the chair next to Jade and opened the first journal. I loved Grandpa Alder’s tidy, slightly slanted script.

I’m writing down my research and the things I have observed in the hope that it can help someone in the future. These happenings are written from my perspective, and so may be biased, but I’ve tried to stick to the facts.

Grandpa was a natural writer. I found myself drawn into the story, so absorbed by his tale that everything else around me faded.

He began his journals with the story of how he and Grandma began courting.

They’d started dating at Faith’s engagement party, the same party where Jade had killed a man named Nick. The man had an inkling of witchcraft and knew there was something unusual about Grandma and her sisters. He’d crashed the party, and when he wouldn’t leave, Jade had killed him.

She’d claimed she was trying to protect the sisters, but they had to give her some kind of consequence or the Witch Council would take action. So, she’d become a cat.

The story continued with Chandra’s betrayal, revealing the murder to the council. As punishment, Celeste, Faith, and Willa had all been put on magical probation, fitted with a sort of magical bracelet that limited their powers for three months. In that time, Chandra formed her own coven and heavily recruited a good amount of witches.

By the time Grandma and her sisters had gotten their powers back, they were outnumbered and outmatched.

“Sorry to bother you, honey, but it’s eight. We’re closing up.”

I looked up to see the librarian smiling down at me. Jade lifted her head, her tail flicking back and forth.

“Sorry! I’ll be out in a couple minutes.”

She chuckled. “It’s all right. I’m glad to see those journals are interesting.”

When Jade and I arrived home, I sensed the four barrier walls still sitting, waiting for me to put them together. I’d been struggling with getting the walls to join together to form corners. All I wanted to do was curl up and keep reading Grandpa’s journals, but I knew I had to protect the house.

After several minutes of excruciating effort, I locked the walls in place. I felt much more secure, but the effort wore me out completely.

***

It was slow the next morning at the shop, but I didn’t mind. I had more time to keep reading Grandpa’s journals, so that’s what I did.

At around ten, the bell rang. I looked up to see Maria coming in, and gave her a warm smile.

“Hi!” she greeted me. “How’s business today?”

I laughed. “Slow. Thanks for stopping by.”

“No problem! I figured I’d come and say hi. It’s been a while since I last saw you.”

I finished arranging some herb sachets and came around the corner of the counter.

“I know, it’s terrible. I’ve been so busy running the store and trying to learn magic. I only found out when I first moved here, so I have a lot to catch up on.”

Maria’s expression was a mix of concern and encouragement. “You’ll figure it out soon enough.”

I shrugged. “I hope so. It feels like studying for an end-of-year test after having missed the entire class.”

She laughed. “That would be overwhelming! But just take it one day, one spell at a time.”

Again, I got that strange feeling I’d gotten at the library last night, that Maria had almost been prompted to visit me just as I had so many questions about magic and the Farrow family on my mind.

“Have you known that you’re a witch your whole life?”

Putting down the oils she’d been eyeing, Maria gave a brief smile. “Yes. I come from a minor witch family. As such, I’ve never really been much good at magic.”