Page 74 of Big Witch Energy

Now that Mina’s emotions were somewhat contained, Caroline finally noticed the papers and notebooks spread across the parlor’s coffee table. Riley had been taking some pretty serious notes on her family tree, and…

“Um, Riley, when did you have time to test my DNA?” Caroline asked, pointing to the reports on the table.

“Did you know you drool in your sleep?” Riley asked. “Especially when you’re on pain meds?”

“Rude,” Caroline gasped. But even in her distress, she was grateful to have something to focus on besides her mess with Ben. She would grasp on to anything at this point, even ill-gotten genetic infographics.

“I used a private lab. I was checking for any sort of genetic markers that were unusual—good news, there weren’t any. There’s not a single marker for any sort of cancer or any gene-based disease. And I started thinking—isn’t that in itself, weird? So I did some digging on genealogical sites, and no one on your father’s side of the family dies of disease. If they don’t leave the island, they live a long, long life. The people who marry into the family? Completely normal life spans and incidence of disease compared to their demographic. And that includes accidents. But any offspring they have with your father’s side seems to pass along the disease-proof gene,” Riley said.

“I’d never thought about it,” Caroline conceded. “But yeah, I guess that’s weird. Also, I’m assuming Edison helped you with this.”

Riley looked offended. “That’s rude.”

“Sweetie, there are charts involved,” Caroline said, giving her a sympathetic look.

“Fine,” Riley huffed. “But I was thinking, it’s extremely odd for Rose’s ghost to be so intertwined with different family members. So, what if the attachment object isn’t an object…it’s you?”

Caroline frowned. “Sorry?”

“What if Rose is so attached to her family that the attachment object is your blood, literally? She can go off the island with you because she’s attached to you. She’ll protect and nurture you as long as you stay in her good graces. But if you break her rules, she can…I don’t know, mess with your nervous system. When you think about it, human bodies are this awkward engineering wonder that shouldn’t work, in terms of physics and physiology. So much can go wrong with every step we take. All it would take is a split second of her messing with your inner ear, preventing your optic nerve from communicating the right information with your brain—hell, making you place your foot wrong when you put it down, and bam—you step out in front of a bus or step off a ferry gangplank. Bottom line, she makes you pay dearly.”

“That’s sick,” Caroline breathed.

“Does Rose strike you as a particularly well-adjusted person?” Mina asked.

“Good point,” Caroline said. “So…why hasn’t she hurt me in the last few months, now that she knows I’m aware of her?”

“You’re pissing her off, but you’re not violating the terms of her ‘user agreement,’” Mina said. “Rose strikes me as a stickler for the rules.”

“So, how do we get rid of the attachment object when I’m the attachment object?” Caroline mused.

“Very carefully?” Riley guessed.

There was a long moment of silence.

“Do you want to go back to talking about your fight with my dad?” Mina asked.

“Double nope,” Caroline told her.

***

It took a few hours before Caroline felt comfortable that Mina’s magic was under control enough for her to go back home. As mad as she might be, Caroline did not want anyone or anything in Ben’s house to be subject to magical teenage tornados.

Regular teenage tornados were bad enough.

Caroline promised Riley she was going to retreat to her cottage and drown her sorrows in ice cream—a strategy Plover did not support, but Riley contributed a pint of Regina’s Rocky Road Trip. She’d changed into some real pants and a T-shirt she wouldn’t miss in case of an ice cream mishap when her phone beeped. Sticking her spoon in her tub of ice cream, she checked her screen. Will’s girlfriend had texted her.

That was…weird.

Tabby never texted her. Because they didn’t need to talk to each other really, and there was no point in it when she could just text Will. Plus, Tabby lost her phone so often that there was maybe a forty percent chance she would see any phone communications.

The text read, Will says the Rose is finally ready for inspection! Come by ASAP. Your mom is so excited.

Tabby had attached a photo of Will and her mom, talking in the barroom at the Rose. Will’s hand was raised, and his head tilted toward her as if he was trying to explain something. Her mother was looking into the camera with a stern expression.

Tabby added a second text that read, As excited as your mom gets.

Caroline laughed for what felt like the first time all day and tucked her phone into her back pocket. This was what she needed. Distraction. She rushed out of the kitchen, realizing about halfway to town that she’d left a perfectly good tub of Regina’s ice cream on the counter.

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