Page 63 of Magical Melee

“Enough mystery for one day,” I muttered, turning toward the bathroom.

“Frank, I’ll be in the shower if you need me.”

Oh. My. God. I was talking to my dog and expecting him to answer.

I put my witch pajamas from Skye on the small cabinet and turned on the hot water. The tiny room instantly steamed, and I stepped inside the tile surround.

The hot shower was exactly what I needed. The steam arched around me as I stood under the continuous stream and let the water wash away my disbelief.

I was in a magical cottage with a goblin lurking outside.

No biggie.

My thoughts wandered back to Keegan stepping in at the laundromat, Twobble introducing himself, and Nova’s cryptic messages.

My life felt surreal. It was as if I’d stumbled into some twisted version of reality where nothing could be taken at face value.

In fact, this new life had wrapped its tentacles around me so tightly that I thought for a brief moment that my dad hadn’t died. The thought left me exhausted and craving something I couldn’t have.

That’s how much I wanted to believe in magic. Believe in something that would bring back the one man who loved me unconditionally.

Even at forty-five years old, my dad still left a mark.

His absence, even more so.

I let out a heavy sigh after drying off and slipped into the jammies. The fabric warmed my skin. Frank had been curled in front of the fireplace, and I wandered over to one of the shelves where a book with a worn leather spine leaned against a brass bookend.

Lifting it off the shelf, I noticed an embossed candle with an ignited wick on the cover. I ran my fingers over the soft leather as I thought back to that night at the gate.

“What do you think, Frank? Is this one of those answers I’m supposed to stumble upon?” I chuckled to myself and sat down on the oversized couch, tucking my legs under me.

I opened the first page and looked down.

The Village of Stonewick

Precincts

Maple Ward

Butterfly Ward

Flame Ward

Stone Ward

I wondered where all these were in Stonewick. My best guess was that the Butterfly Ward was in town where the hidden garden resided and maybe this little cottage was the Stone Ward since it was a stone structure, but the Maple and Flame wards made me curious.

I flipped to the next page with a quickened pulse.

Stonewick Magical Midlife Witch Academy

“How quaint,” I muttered, tilting my head as I stared at the words.

A school?

“Frank, did you know about this?”

He stretched his paws almost like a cat and laid back down in front of the bit of heat being thrown off from the embers.