Page 4 of Sweets and Sycamores
A faint rumbling sound interrupted her thoughts. She stopped and strained to listen; it came from the road she left behind with each step, growing louder and louder.
The ground appeared clearer under her feet, and she watched as two round lights looking like tiny moons headed toward her. Allie took a few steps back as the object of the weird light and roaring sound came into view and stopped next to her.
“You all right, miss?” a thick voice asked from inside the vehicle. Cars were objects of new magic, and in Green Creek, almost everyone drove one. They weren’t as popular in this area,where old magic dwelled, so Allie guessed the man was not a local.
A mix of fear and intrigue traveled through her body. The driver could be dangerous, but so could sleeping under the stars. Allie sent a tendril of her magic to Read the stranger’s aura and intentions. This she was capable of as a Witch, and it had never failed her. Allie felt nothing malicious or reckless about him. Instead, a genuine warmth welcomed her magic from a resounding empty place; the man had no magic.
This discovery gave Allie the courage to approach the open window. The seat next to him was empty, but the backseat was packed with boxes and bags.
“Good evening.” She forced a cheerful voice. “I’m looking for accommodation for tonight, do you happen to know a place nearby?”
“You passed the Hungry Chestnut?”
Allie told him about both inns she’d visited.
“Where are you headed?” the man asked. A simple question that rendered her speechless.
“I don’t know.” Allie told the truth with an awkward smile. Who wandered this earth with no direction or target?
“I’m going north, to Sycamore Falls.” The man paused for a moment, looking over her and her duffel bag. “Do you want a ride?” he asked and leaned over to open the door on her side. Allie considered for the length of a breath, but was there anything to consider? This was her only option, and it gave her a destination. Something about having a place to go to made Allie feel better, more confident, and she opened the door wider and slipped inside the car.
“Thank you. I’m Alecsandra,” she said on instinct. He regarded her for a long moment, his eyes resting on her red curls. Allie expected to hear an excuse masking his sudden change of heart, like a prior engagement, or that he didn’t haveroom for her because he had someone else to pick up. He wouldn’t be the first person to run fast and far away from her, or at least to refuse helping her after he noticed she was a Witch.
“I’m Brandon,” the man said and started the engine. Closer to him now, with the clear moonlight trickling through the windows, she could see him better: a tall man with short dark hair and sharp features, maybe a few years older than she was. Brandon wore a wide smile that brightened his brown eyes, and Allie’s instinct was that she would be safe with him. In any case, she had a hidden weapon of her own.
If anything went wrong, she could just sneeze and set his car on fire.
They traveled in silence, and Allie fought the urge to doze off. Being asleep was being vulnerable, and as kind as Brandon seemed, she was still in an enclosed space with a stranger. The vehicle tilted back for a long portion of the road, climbing hills upon hills. The temperature dropped, and Allie wished her only sweater wasn’t at the bottom of the bag.
“We’re almost there,” Brandon said after a bit over an hour, according to the digital clock on the board. “Have you ever been to Sycamore Falls?” She shook her head. “You’ll love it there. It’s new magic,” he said proudly.
“Wonderful,” Allie mumbled. Sam’s blue eyes and ruffled blond hair came to her mind. Allie winced, shaking the image away. She had loved living in a place with new magic, and this was the perfect moment to separate it from her ex.
“Where are you from?” Brandon asked her.
“Pearls Fields.”
“Ah, I see. It makes sense now.” Allie threw him an inquisitive look. “Pearls Fields is old magic, right? I’ve never been, but I hear it’s one of the places where people refuse to let new magic in.” Allie remembered how the villagers and her coven sisters had protested loudly and violently the last time the mayor brought the idea of allowing new magic up for discussion.
“I’ve lived there most of my life,” she explained, conveniently leaving out her time south with Sam, “so I’m not bothered by old magic.” Even if new magic made life easier, and made her feel...stronger, somehow.
“Then what made you leave Pearls Fields?”
Allie thought about how to answer this best and decided on: “A learning experience.”
Brandon nodded, as if he agreed this journey would be exactly that for Allie. As if it sounded familiar.
“Do you know of any places in Sycamore Falls where I can work for a little while?”
“There might be a place,” Brandon said as he turned the wheel. They descended the last hill, and Allie could see a town taking form in the shadows of the night. Twinkling lights vibrated in the woolly darkness, surrounded by pure black. The teeming, intense lights fought the night bravely, and Allie thought this might be a town like Green Creek. Maybe bigger.
“You can’t see it now, but Sycamore Falls is bordered by mountains covered in dense forests and hidden waterfalls. It’s breathtaking during the day,” Brandon said in a dreamy voice.
“I can’t wait to see it,” Allie replied and was surprised to note it was true.
Brandon drove the car closer and closer to the city, where a myriad of lampposts lit the paved road. They crossed a bridge over a wide river—Dahlia River, Brandon told her—and Allie could see houses and buildings lining both sides of the street. So close together it seemed crowded, just like Green Creek,but so much better than living isolated. Allie had loved having neighbors, restaurants and shops that she could walk to, lots of light at night, movies and television, fairs and carnivals on the weekends. Activities that people in old magic towns did not want to engage in, as they preferred to keep to themselves and their families.
Her life in Green Creek with Sam had been like a dream, until he’d jolted her awake.
