Page 40 of Magical Mirage (Stonewick Magical Midlife Witch Academy #6)

“Okay, so I’m just going to come out and say it.” Twobble eyed me and then Keegan, squinting as if he were diagnosing a mysterious ailment before fastening his gaze back on mine with a twinkle in his eyes. “That was really awkward, Maeve.”

The shock of his words bubbled a laugh straight out of my gut, half-hysterical but needed all the same. He wasn’t wrong.

“Thanks for that, Twobble,” I said, laughing some more.

“Ah, just keeping it real.” He grinned and shrugged. “I mean, not once but…nearly twice to a mirage?”

“I stopped myself the second time, but I guess I had to experience a mirage to truly understand the pull it has.” I glanced at Keegan, who took a step forward and brought me into his arms. “I swore my daughter and mom were here.”

“It makes Gideon’s curse look like child’s play,” Twobble said, hopping onto the dining room table with the air of a scholar delivering a lecture.

Keegan loosened his embrace and slowly stepped back, searching my face. “You okay?”

“I am,” I said, steadying myself with the words. “I will be.”

“Yeah,” he muttered, rubbing the back of his neck. “Unsettling to say the least.”

Nova was already in motion, moving to the hearth with purposeful calm. She pulled a satchel from beside her chair and began laying out bundles of herbs, stones, and a small vial of water that shimmered faintly blue.

“Unsettling isn’t strong enough of a word,” she said, her voice crisp. “The shadows are clever. They’ll use illusions, voices, whatever they can to bend us before they break us. If we’re going to set foot outside, we need charms of the mind, not just the body.”

“Charms of the mind?” Skonk repeated, suspicious. “Does this involve sniffing sage smoke until we pass out?”

Nova arched a brow. “No. Though the sage helps. This is older protective work woven into memory, sight, and thought. Enough to blunt the edge of any mirage.”

Bella leaned against the table. “Can you weave it for all of us?”

“I will,” Nova said, already arranging several flat stones in a triangle on the rug. “But it won’t last forever. It starts strong but wears with every passing minute, and since Maeve is a Hedge witch, it can be more difficult for it to work on her.”

“Well, that’s good to hear,” I chuckled when something hit me.

“Nova, when I was in Shadowick, Gideon referred to Shadowick as a she . And as I was leaving, he told me, If you see her, don’t speak. I asked who he meant, but all he said was, You’ll know. ”

Nova’s brows lifted. “Interesting.”

“Did he think Shadowick herself would try to speak with me? And why would he care?”

“In our world, we often personify places, villages, factions, even the elements, as female,” Nova said thoughtfully. “But it is unusual that he gave you such a pointed warning about the very place he called home.”

I frowned. “That’s what unsettles me. Usually, he liked to throw out the fear about himself. Was he talking about Shadowick alone, or someone else entirely? He didn’t sound afraid, exactly, but the way he said it…” I shook my head. “It just struck me as strange.”

Keegan, who had been silent until now, cut in with a low edge to his voice.

“You seem awfully determined to understand Gideon’s riddles.” His jaw tightened. “Maybe you’re giving too much weight to the words of a man who’s already proved himself wicked.”

I blinked at him, startled. That wasn’t like him. Not at all.

“No, it’s not like that.” I shook my head.

Stella set her teacup down with a huff, recognizing the tension. “I’m far too old to be tricked into seeing handsome men or wild parties I can no longer attend. This better work.”

Keegan’s brows lifted, and he tilted his head slightly. The old Keegan came right back. “When have you ever passed up handsome men and wild parties?”

“That’s what I’m saying.” She grinned. “I’m going into this knowing my weaknesses, and I won’t fall for it. Can’t.”

Twobble grinned, crumbs sparkling at the corner of his mouth. “I’d kind of like to see it.”

She swatted at him with her napkin.

Despite the banter, the air carried weight. We all knew this wasn’t a game. Outside, the shadows pressed harder. I felt them humming against the walls of the cottage, restless, hungry.

Malore.

Nova motioned me forward first. “Maeve. Sit here.”

I lowered myself onto the rug inside the circle of stones she’d created.

The air seemed to tighten around me, humming faintly.

Nova sprinkled a few drops of the shimmering water over my brow and wrists, the liquid cool and sharp.

She murmured in the old tongue, words that slid through the air like threads.

For a moment, the weight in my chest eased. The whispers that had haunted me since the darkness retreated into silence.

“It’s working,” I said softly.

Nova nodded. “Good. Now the rest of you…one by one.”

Bella stepped in next, steady and silent.

Ardetia hesitated, her fae glow flickering faintly, but finally joined.

Twobble leapt into the circle with the enthusiasm of a child, nearly knocking the stones askew.

Skonk dragged his feet, muttering the whole way.

Keegan came last, kneeling across from me, his eyes never leaving mine.

When Nova finished, the air in the cottage felt brighter, though the shadows at the window raged darker in contrast.

“There,” Nova said, gathering the stones. “Not unbreakable, but enough to keep your minds yours for now as best we can. Magic is rarely unbendable, and that goes both ways.”

“I say we take the most direct path,” Ardetia said, glancing at each of us. “It will save us the most time, and I believe time is our only weapon with the charms.”

Bella shook her head. “It’s also the most exposed compared to tunnels.”

“Exposed,” Skonk said grimly, “means less chance of shadows sneaking in behind us. They’ll have to face us head-on. And if we’re running, I prefer seeing what’s trying to eat me. Silver lining.”

“Finally, something we agree on,” Twobble said, balancing precariously on the back of a chair. “Open skies for us.”

Stella exhaled, tugging her shawl tight. “Fine. But if anyone forgets me in a ditch, I’m haunting you forever.”

“Then it’s settled. Above ground. We move quickly, we stay close, and we don’t stop until we’re inside the Academy.” Nova let out a deep breath.

Keegan’s hand brushed mine, unseen by the others. His grip was warm, grounding. He was back to his old self, but the other side of him worried me because I knew it wasn’t him. It was whatever had happened to him the night of the Moonbeam.

“We’ll get there,” he murmured.

I wanted to believe it. I had to.

Nova swept the stones back into her satchel, then stood tall. “We leave at dawn. The Wards are strongest at first light. Tonight, we rest. Tomorrow, we move.”

But even as she spoke, the cottage shuddered. The shadows outside pressed so close to the windowpanes that they rattled. The latch on the front door groaned.

“They know,” I whispered.

Everyone turned toward the sound. The front door bulged inward, just slightly, as if something vast leaned its weight against it.

Twobble’s voice was small, uncharacteristically serious. “What if dawn doesn’t wait for us?”

The silence that followed was thick enough to choke. My birthmark throbbed in time with the shadows’ pressure. I knew, with a certainty that chilled me to the bone, that whatever was outside wasn’t going to wait.

We had to move. We had to reach the Academy tonight.

The answers were waiting.

The door gave a low groan, the wood bending as though something vast leaned its whole weight against it. Every hair on my arms lifted.

“Ah,” Stella said brightly, though her eyes darted. “Well. I suppose that answers the question of whether we wait until dawn.”

“Out,” Nova commanded, her voice steady, cutting through the dread like a blade. “Now.”

The latch rattled. The shadows hissed against the windowpanes, leaving streaks of frost where they touched, even though it was a warm summer night.

I grabbed my wand from the table, Keegan already at my side. His jaw was set, but his hand found mine for the briefest squeeze.

Twobble leapt from a table and landed in a heroic crouch that immediately turned into a tumble. “I’m ready! I was born for emergency exits!”

Skonk pulled him upright by the scruff. “You were born for pastries. Move.”

Nova swept a warding circle of salt at the door.

Her hand shook only slightly as she murmured words older than the hills. For a moment, the shadows recoiled, but the reprieve was thin, fragile.

“Go,” she said again, and the tone brooked no argument.

Bella opened the kitchen door with a clang of iron hinges.

“The woods,” she hissed. “Keep low.”

We spilled into the darkness.

The night was alive. The forest noise pressed close around us, with crickets chirping and toads belching.

The sky overhead was no longer sky. It writhed with tendrils curling and coiling like smoke with a heartbeat and covered the stars.

“Stay close!” Nova’s voice rang clear from behind.

Keegan’s hand hovered at my back, ready if I stumbled.

His wolf was close to the surface. I could feel it in the heat radiating off him, in the low growl he couldn’t quite hold in. And that worried me. I wasn’t sure he could live through another change.

Twobble and Skonk darted between us and the underbrush like a two-goblin honor guard, muttering loudly about being absolutely unafraid while tripping over roots.

Behind us, the cottage groaned and then shattered with a sound like glass splitting. The shadows surged forward.

Poor Miora.

“Run!” Nova yelled.

Branches whipped my face as we tore through the woods. I didn’t dare look back, but I could feel them. The darkness spilled fast and hungry, brushing against the edges of Nova’s protective work around our minds.

Keegan pulled me left, down a narrow deer track, his grip iron-tight on my arm. “This way. Ridge ahead.”

The others followed with the goblins surging ahead.

Bella darted past us in a flash of motion, more fox than woman, weaving through the trees like light itself. “Clear here! Hurry!”

Stella, trailing with her shawl clutched tight, muttered, “This is no way for an elegant lady to travel.”

Ardetia moved with eerie grace, her fae glow soft but steady, illuminating just enough for us to see the rocks before we cracked our shins.

“They’re following the sound of our fear,” she said, voice lilting and strange. “Keep your minds steady. Do not feed them.”

“Easier said than done,” Skonk wheezed.

Twobble tripped, rolled, popped back up, and shouted, “I am not afraid!”

The shadows hissed louder.

We broke through a thicket and stumbled into a clearing. The ridgeline loomed ahead, the outline of the Academy’s spires faintly visible beyond the trees…so close and impossibly far.

“They can’t cross the Wards,” Nova called, breathless but strong.

“We don’t know that,” I said between breaths. “We just hope that.”

“Hope is all I’ve got.” Nova laughed as something slammed against the ground behind us, hard enough to make the earth tremble.

I whirled despite myself.

A figure rose out of the shadows. Not solid. Not human. A towering silhouette stitched together from smoke and malice, its eyes two burning hollows.

It was her, the woman Gideon spoke of.

It opened its mouth, and the forest filled with whispers.

Maeve.

I froze. The sound rooted me in place, icy vines winding up my legs.

Keegan’s arm wrapped around my waist, hauling me forward.

“Don’t listen. It’s not real.” His breath was hot against my ear, his growl vibrating in my bones. “Stay with me.”

But I knew it was. Gideon had handed me a warning, but why?

I stumbled, then ran, clinging to Keegan’s strength.

Nova shouted words I didn’t know, flinging powder into the air. The whispers dulled, but the figure kept coming, its steps soundless yet earth-shaking.

Bella reappeared at the edge of the clearing, eyes bright. “This way!”

We plunged into a clump of lanky pines again, our breaths ragged, our bodies burning. The shadows clawed at the edges of Nova’s work, scratching at our thoughts, but her spell held. Barely.

Twobble popped out of a bush, twigs in his hair, shouting, “I’m still alive!”

“Don’t jinx it,” Skonk panted.

The ridge loomed closer. The Academy’s call tugged at me, sharp and insistent.

“So close,” I whispered.

Keegan’s hand tightened on mine. “We’ll get there.”

A scream ripped through the woods, high, tearing, inhuman. The shadow-figure was closer than it should have been. Its arms stretched unnaturally, smoke-limbs sweeping toward us.

Nova skidded to a stop, whirling with her staff raised.

“Go!” she shouted. “I’ll hold it!”

“Not alone,” Ardetia snapped, light flaring at her fingertips. She stepped beside Nova, fae magic sparking like fireflies caught in a storm.

Keegan pulled me onward, dragging me up the ridge. “Don’t look back, Maeve.”

But I did.

And I saw the shadows splitting apart, a mouth opening wide in the figure’s chest, whispering.

Come back.

My knees faltered. For an instant, the pull nearly dragged me off the path.

Keegan caught me, steady as stone. His wolf was in his eyes now, sharp and burning. “Don’t you dare leave me.”

The ridge rose beneath our feet, the ley line humming louder, the Academy’s spires clearer against the horizon.

But the shadows didn’t stop. They climbed after us, faster now, the forest dimming as if the night itself had turned predator.

We were close. So close.

And yet, with every step, the whisper grew louder, threading through my bones, the broken plea pulling me back even as the Academy pulled me forward.

Maeve…

I knew, with bone-deep certainty, that reaching my family was the only hope we had.

If I could reach them in time.

I could stop her caress.