Page 59 of Magical Melee

She tilted her head as if details were irrelevant. “The door was open, wasn’t it?”

I opened my mouth to argue but thought better of it.

With Nova, things rarely seemed to follow conventional logic. I took a step closer, my resolve hardening. “I need answers.”

She motioned for me to follow her through the beads to the tarot room, but before I started, she turned and snapped her fingers.

The door behind me locked on its own. I hid my surprise by staring at the floor.

Everything was fine. I was NOT losing my grip on reality.

She gestured to the chair opposite her usual spot at the reading table. “Sit. Ask your questions.”

I hesitated, feeling the weight of the moment. Was I really ready for what she might tell me? With a deep breath, I took the seat, Frank settling at my feet.

“That night,” I began, my voice steadier than I expected. “The night I walked through Stonewick and ended up in that garden with you. Was it real? Or was it just a dream?”

Nova leaned forward and rested her hands on the table. “Does it feel like a dream to you?”

I hesitated, remembering the sensations—the chill of the air, the texture of the stone statues, the way the garden had pulsed with life.

The feeling that I was being watched had never left since that night in the garden.

“No,” I admitted. “It felt real. Too real.”

She nodded, her gaze never leaving mine. “That’s because it was real, Maeve. Dreams and reality are not as separate as you might think. Especially here.”

“But how?” I pressed. “How could I have been there with you and then woken up in my bed as if nothing happened? And how did you know exactly what I was thinking? What I was feeling?”

Nova’s expression softened, and for a moment, I thought I saw a flicker of sympathy in her eyes. “I’ve told you that Stonewick is a place where the boundaries between the seen and unseen blur. You’ve only begun to scratch the surface of what you’re capable of.”

I blinked, my mind reeling. “What I’m capable of? What are you talking about? The most I’ve done is drink some tea, weed a few dead plants back at the cottage, and nearly fall over with a heart attack from Twobble.”

Nova leaned back, folding her hands in her lap. “You’ve met Twobble.”

It wasn’t a question. We were finally on the same page.

“Is there anything or anyone else I should know about who might creep up on me in the cottage?”

She chuckled. “Oh, there’s plenty.”

“He’s promised me answers.”

Nova nodded slowly as a smile crept along her lips. “Tempting, isn’t it?”

I ignored her. Of course, it was tempting. A little green man offering answers seemed like the only logical hope to keep what bit of sanity I had.

Logical!

I closed my eyes and shuddered before opening to see Nova watching me.

“The tea. Was it a hallucinogenic?” I pried.

She frowned and shook her head. “That would be illegal.”

“True, but I’m at my wit's end here. My daughter is at college, and I’m what… entertaining goblins, drinking magical tea, and…”

“Saving Stonewick from a fate worse than anything you can imagine.”