Page 93 of Witches of Dubious Origin
Berry Blue Acres was on the crest of a hill that, in daylight, would offer a sweeping view of blueberry bush–covered hills that led all the way to the ocean. At the moment, all we could do was crawl through the pouring rain, trying to see by the light of the lightning flashes to find the old barn that I remembered being on a side road before you reached the main farm.
“There! Through the trees!” Olive tapped the window on her side of the car.
Jasper cut the wheel to the right and the SUV bounced across the pitted old dirt road, stopping in front of a traditional red barn.
“This is exactly the sort of place where people get murdered in horror films,” Tariq said.
“Who cares? We need to regroup,” Olive countered.
“Olive is right,” Miles said. “With Eloise…er…Ariana gathering her forces, we need to come up with a plan before we tangle with her again.”
“You could just leave me, you know,” I said. “It’s the book she wants and my blood that she needs to open it.”
“No!” They all responded at once, even Olive.
“I was hoping you’d feel that way.” I sank against my seat in relief. “But good manners behooved me to offer.”
“The BODO department does not leave anyone behind,” Miles declared. He said it in a way that made me realize it must have come up before, because of course it had.
“Let’s get inside,” Olive ordered. “Park the car around the back, Griffin.”
Jasper nodded and we all climbed out. The high grass surrounding the old barn was soggy and had thoroughly soakedmy jeans before we reached the large sliding door. Tariq grabbed the handle and heaved the door to the side. It made a screech of protest before it finally moved just enough for us to squeeze inside.
Olive manifested a glowing orb between her hands, which she sent floating up above us. It illuminated the empty barn, with its decayed remnants of hay and vacant stalls.
“Ziakas, craft more light,” Olive ordered. She gestured to Miles and Tariq. “We need a moment to recover.”
“Oh, right,” I said. I cupped my hands just as Olive had taught me and closed my eyes. In my mind, I pictured the same orb Olive had created and when I felt the warmth unfurl inside me, I opened my eyes and blinked.
Miles and Tariq were shielding their eyes from the glaringly bright red light shining through my fingers. “Sorry!” I closed my eyes and dimmed the light in my mind. When I opened them again, it was a gentle pink. I opened my hands and let it drift up to the ceiling.
“That’ll do,” Olive said. It felt like high praise.
There was no equipment in the barn, nothing to use to defend ourselves. I truly hoped Ariana couldn’t find us. If we could just wait out the storm until the ferry was running again, maybe we could get off the island without her knowing. Then I thought of her pirates waiting for us and I felt queasy.
Was this what my mother’s life had been like, always on the run? Had she chosen to hide from Ariana in a different timeline for all those years because it was the safest place she could find? I was heartsick at the thought. It occurred to me that everything she had done, she had done to keep me safe.
“All right, Zoe?” Jasper’s sharp raven gaze—I couldn’t think of it as anything else now—studied me.
“Yeah, I’m good.” I opened my backpack and pulled out the book. “I need to know what the book was trying to show me.”
“Absolutely,” he said. I had lost Olive’s sunglasses in the fray and I raised my eyebrows in silent question, to which he answered, “Yeah, still bloody.”
I glanced away, relieved that I didn’t have access to a mirror.
“Hey.” Jasper cupped my chin with his hand and tipped my face up. “Don’t feel bad. Just ask Tariq about the time he made a potion that turned Miles’s hair into a flight of butterflies.”
“Ha!” I heard a laugh from behind me and turned, pulling my chin away from Jasper’s disturbing touch to find Tariq doubled over, slapping his knee. “That was a good one.”
“And I once found my consciousness linked with a dove instead of a raven,” Jasper said. “Doves are lovely to look at but quite thick.”
“Don’t forget the time Miles attempted time travel and caught himself in a loop where he glitched in and out of his office for three days.” Olive joined in.
“I had vertigo for a week.” Miles shook his head at the memory. “Why are we oversharing?”
“Zoe’s got vampire eyes,” Olive said. I noticed no one shared any mishaps from Olive. Either she was perfect—highly possible—or, more likely, they were afraid.
“Don’t worry.” Miles patted my hand. “When we get home, Tariq will brew a potion to set you right.”
