Page 6 of Hallow Hill at Halloween: Part One

After a little cheer, Evie said, “Candles are burning. You’d better make a wish before your opportunity expires for a whole year.”

My head jerked toward the cake. Yes. The candles were burning down, but gosh. It was just such a gorgeous sight, I didn’t want to let go of the moment. Once it was relegated to memory, it would never be the same.

“There’s no way I can blow out all these candles,” I said, “but I will make my wish and try.”

I closed my eyes, made a wish, took a deep breath, and blew. It seemed my breath had been boosted exponentially because all the candles were suddenly extinguished at the exact time I ran out of air. As partygoers applauded, I turned around and scanned the room. Sure enough, Fie was behind me with a smile and a twinkle in his eye.

They say it’s good to have friends in high places. That’s true. It’s also good to know a wind devil when you need more breath.

I smiled and mouthed, “Thank you.”

Just as everyone had settled down in front of generous portions of red velvet cake with cream cheese filling, my favorite, Ivy arrived in human form in a cute and outrageously colorful outfit that could have been worn by Twiggy in the sixties.

Flashing her megawatt smile, she waved and sat down next to Lochlan.

I put my fork down. “Ivy. There aren’t words to express how thrilling that was for a human brought up on the Wonderful World of Disney. It was the very essence of magic. Thank you.”

She blushed beautifully and tucked the chin of her heart-shaped face. “It was fun. And you’re welcome.”

Lochlan cleared his throat. “Well, on that note, let the ritual continue.” I wished he would stop using that word. He turned toward the bar. “Jeff?”

Jeff smiled, nodded, bent down behind the bar, then reappeared holding a small box with elegant wrapping. Black satin paper and six different kinds of gold sparkly ribbon tied into a wonder of a bow. He hurried over and placed the box on the table in front of me.

“What’s this?” I glanced over at Keir, who was smiling like the Cheshire cat. I caught myself wondering where Cheshire was before bringing my focus back to the moment at hand.

“It’s a token of our regard,” Keir said proudly.

“Our?” I looked around the room.

“Yes, my lady. Everyone had some part.” He looked pointedly at the box. “Aren’t you curious?”

“Curious?” After all this time, I still found it hard to tear my attention away from the sephalion’s penetrating gaze, but with practice, had learned how to do it in a pinch. I looked down at the box. “Oh yeah. I’m, uh,socurious.”

The normally noisy pub had gone quiet as the grave as people waited for me to open my present and react. I hoped I’d used the extra-heavy-duty-dryer-than-dry deodorant, because the performance stress was taking a toll.

I fumbled with the beautiful ribbon for a couple of minutes without making any headway toward opening the package and, in truth, I hated to destroy such a magnificent example of wrap perfection.

Keir leaned over. “Do you need help?”

I didn’t look up. “I don’t know what you’d do that’s different from what I’m doing. Unless it might be using your teeth.”

I heard his delightfully wicked under-the-breath chuckle. “At your service.”

“Okay.” I handed it to him. He looked it over, turned it around, pulled on one end of one ribbon, and the entire bow surrendered. “That is absolutely not fair.” He smiled. “You used magic,” I accused.

He shrugged.

“Rita,” Lochlan urged quietly. “Your fans are very anxious.”

“My, um…” I looked around. “Fans?”

“Supporters, or fans as you Americans say. Neighbors. Friends. Whatever,” he said impatiently.

“Alright. Alright.” I lifted the box lid and there, sitting like royalty on a cushion of sumptuous black velvet, was a huge yellow stone that reflected a kaleidoscope of colors. The slightest movement would cause the stone to reflect an entirely different array. It was the last word on mesmerizing. “What is this?” I breathed.

“It’s the Tiffany Diamond!” Lochlan said proudly.

“The…” I looked from him to the stone. “Oh,” I laughed. “You mean it’s a very good copy. Well, indeed it is. Evie and I saw the real one when we went to New York to tour Columbia. It was…” I looked down at the stone in my hand. “Exactlylike this one.”

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