Page 18 of Magic Blooms

seventeen

The next morning I awoke naturally and with no extra help from Lorraine. Why hadn’t she come bursting into my room like each morning before?

We’d all gone off to our respective bedrooms the moment Fawn had arrived last night. Surely, nothing could have happened while I slept…

Unwilling to waste any more time wondering, I popped to my feet and raced down the stairs and into the kitchen, where I found not only Lorraine, but also Joshua and Jasmine already seated around the table with both coffee and breakfast before them.

While I was coming down the stairs, I’d heard murmured conversations, but the moment they caught sight of me, everyone grew silent and still.

“What’s wrong?”

Lorraine and Joshua each exchanged a look that made me roll my eyes.

“I’m not a child. Just tell me.”

Lorraine sighed and raised her eyes to meet mine. “Fawn has requested your presence while getting her ritual ready for her vision quest.”

“I’m not really sure what help I’ll be,” I hedged.

Lorraine stood and moved toward the stove.

At the same time, a frigid breeze rushed into the kitchen, announcing Fawn’s arrival.

“Oh, you’ll be plenty help, indeed,” she said, taking up the seat Lorraine had just vacated.

I studied Fawn as I waited for her to reveal more about her plan and why she needed me to be a part of it.

Seeing her close up like this was quite daunting.

Her bone structure was perfect, and her skin was totally unblemished despite the clear webbing of her veins.

She probably used to be an attractive woman, but now the tinge of evil that clung to her like a second skin would prevent her from ever being called a beauty again.

When she didn't provide any additional clarification, Jasmine spoke up. "My name’s Jasmine. I run the local magic shop. I’d be happy to offer you any provisions you might require for tonight’s ritual."

Fawn looked Jasmine up and down with clear disapproval. "No. I doubt you can provide what I desire."

I had to take a deep breath to hold myself back.

"I'm impressed with your power. You'll be my right hand in the ritual." She looked up at me and smiled, reminding me that I’d been so caught up in the moment I hadn’t even bothered to take a seat yet.

I slumped down into the only available chair. “I don’t do dark magic.”

“All the more reason you’ll be of great use,” Fawn countered

“And what if I refuse?”

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.”