Page 40 of Magic Blooms
Joshua groaned while Jasmine sucked air in through her teeth. Apparently I wasn’t playing this the right way.
Fawn’s face remained expressionless as she regarded me. “You won’t,” she said simply, then rose from her seat and made her way up the stairs.
I grimaced, happy she was going but unnerved by the fact she would soon be back.
“You can’t say no to what the council demands,” Joshua told me with a look of sympathy. “And they’ve already declared that we all must do whatever we can to help Fawn.”
“Maybe, but I’m not a resident here. They may govern you, but they don’t have any say over what I do.”
“While you’re here, you’re under our laws,” Jasmine said pointedly.
“Stop making this even more difficult than it already is,” Joshua hissed, then leaned back in his chair.
“Is this what you want me to do?” I asked Lorraine, who had just placed a warmed up bowl of grits before me. “To help Fawn?”
“We know it’s a lot to ask. We do. And none of us likes how you’ve now been pulled into the center of it.” Lorraine moved toward her own seat, but then thought better of it and leaned over the table, pressing both hands into its wooden surface as she spoke. “But, think of it this way, tonight is the full moon, which means it’s time for Fawn’s ritual, but also yours. Once you help her with whatever she needs, you’ll be on your way home. You’ll never have to think of her or Elyria again. But we will. This is our home. Which means we’re stuck with whatever happens—or doesn’t.”
I hated the thought of letting them down, of their memories of me being tainted by my refusal to help protect their home. I still had many doubts about Fawn, but I didn’t have any about my friends. If they needed me, then I would step up—even if it pained me to align myself with someone so unequivocally evil.
“There’s time for both?” I squeaked.
“From what Fawn has told us so far—which, admittedly, isn’t a lot—she needs the day of the full moon, but not the moon itself. She’ll likely aim for a time when the sun is still high, which means we shouldn’t have any problem doing your ritual tonight,” Lorraine revealed.
“I have everything ready,” Jasmine said with a tight nod. “I can get it all set up, too. All you need to do is show up and be ready.”
“What time?” I’d only just woken up, but already my mind hung heavy with fatigue.
“Ten,” said Joshua at the same time Lorraine said, “Eleven.”
They glared at each other for a moment, but then Lorraine clarified. “We’ll have everything taken care of by the time you get to us. We’ll set up the ritual out on the back patio. It will be tight, but if you get to us by eleven, we should be all ready to go.”
“I will. I’ll make it back by eleven,” I promised.
Joshua remained unconvinced. “I don’t want you putting yourself in danger. Do whatever Fawn asks, no arguments. Even if that means you don’t make it back in time. If you have to wait another month, then you have to wait another month. It’s not worth putting your life in?—”
“I said I’d be there by eleven, and I will,” I snapped. I wasn’t staying one day longer than I needed to. Not anymore. The previous glow of Elyria had dimmed for me. Now it was overshadowed by the council and by Fawn. I took a deep breath as I thought about what the day might bring.
“Don’t let him scare you,” interjected Lorraine. “Fawn may be dangerous, but she’s driven. She probably wants to get out of here as much as we want her gone. If you get in the way of her goal, she’ll be dangerous. But if you just help her, you should be fine. Remember, right now, she considers you an ally. Make sure she continues to do so.”
eighteen
After a quick breakfast, Lorraine sent me up to my room to rest until Fawn needed me. While there, I took stock of the few possessions I’d collected during my time here. The dresses. The lost and found items. A brush. A small handheld mirror.
How I wished I could bring them back to Vilea as mementos of my time here, but Jasmine had made it very clear that the more we tried to shove through the portal, the shakier the magic holding it open would become.
This was it.
I was finally going home, back to my parents and my future with Dante, and leaving all I had gained here firmly in the past. I hated that my time here was ending with Fawn rather than my new friends, whom I probably would never see again.
Would I leave behind the new aspects of myself I’d discovered? The bravery? The purpose? I couldn’t imagine I’d have much use for them at home, or that Dante would want a strong-headed wife who wasn’t afraid to ask questions, take action, pursue goals at any cost.
My only hope now was that I had made a difference in this place, that despite not liking her methods, my aiding Fawn would save Peach Plains from a grim future.
What’s done is done, Joshua had said.
A gentle knock sounded on my door, and I turned to see Lorraine and Jasmine on the threshold. Their serious faces told me why they’d come even before either spoke a word.
“Fawn is ready for you,” Jasmine confirmed with a nod.
