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.”
I let out a low chuckle. “I’m sure you’re a lot better at it than I am. You probably had all the basic spells memorized by the time you were ten.”
Her expression soured a bit, and I wondered if I’d pushed too far.
“I’m sorry,” I continued. “I was just excited to find out I was a witch. It’s all so fascinating, but I didn’t realize there were so many dynamics to it.”
Maria’s usual smile sprang back into place. “Oh, it really is fascinating. It’s part of the reason I studied the occult when I was in college. There are witches of all levels out there, who all have different specialties. Mine fall more in the range of domestic magic. I can help you cook a perfect souffle, or help your houseplants thrive, but I’m pretty useless with spells or potions.”
“Your food really is incredible. I was wondering how Tim doesn’t weigh three hundred pounds when he lives with such a wonderful cook.”
She laughed, her cheeks reddening slightly. “That’s very kind of you to say. I only cook fancy things for company or special occasions. But it is nice to be able to cook a good meal, and I enjoy doing domestic things. If I were good at other, more powerful types of magic, Tim and I wouldn’t be able to live a nice, quiet life, like we prefer.”
My mind wandered to the break-ins and the fact that I needed strong, magical barriers over my own home to keep intruders out. Though I loved living in Woods Crossing, I could do without that particular issue.
I sighed, wondering what other problems might come while I was living in Grandma’s house.
“I can’t say I disagree with that. A quiet life is looking better and better.”
Maria’s forehead furrowed with concern. “Is everything okay, Sage?”
