Page 124 of Magical Mischief

I set my mug down, stood, and laughed. “Well, I guess this is what happens until we can get cell service at the Academy or a landline.”

He chuckled. “That will never happen.”

“Never say never.”

I followed him as the reminders of another time floated through my mind.

I’ll never forget the first time I learned about the pedestal and what it showed me. The cellar smelled the way it always did—cool, a little damp, and there were hints of sage and rosemary from the hanging bundles.

But now it had that faint hum in the air. The kind you feel more than hear. Magic, old and working again.

As I stood in the cellar and glanced around fondly, thinking back to the newness of everything, Bella’s image shimmered on the pedestal. At first, the image was a little wobbly around the edges, but unmistakably her. She looked nervous. Her hair was pulled back, and her mouth set in that way it always did when she was thinking too fast to talk right away.

I was pretty sure it was a fox thing.

“Maeve,” she said when she saw me. “Good. You’re there.”

“I am.” I stepped a little closer. “You okay?”

“I’m fine,” she said, then paused. “I mean, I’m not hurt. Nothing’s on fire. But I didn’t want to send a letter or leave the Academy to tell you.”

My stomach dropped just a little. “What’s going on?”

“It’s your grandmother,” Bella said. Her voice was quiet, like she was trying not to startle anything that might be listening. “Not…she’s not in danger. At least not that I know of. It’s about her past. Something I found in the Archives down in the basement. I’m not sure I was meant to stumble into that room.”

I stepped closer to the pedestal. “Okay. What did you find?”

She hesitated, biting the inside of her cheek as she always did when thinking hard.

“That’s the thing. I don’t want to say over this connection. It’s not as secure as I’d like. Someone could be listening. Probably not. But possibly. I’d rather just show you.”

I crossed my arms, knowing the Academy didn’t show things it didn’t want found. “Okay.”

I took a breath. The pedestal pulsed gently, like it was trying to agree with her.

“I’ll leave right away. I just want to get Frank settled because who knows how long I’ll be away this time.”

The truth was that ever since I learned he was my dad, and he almost got stolen from me, I didn’t want to go anywhere without him.

Bella gave a tired half-smile. “Sounds good.”

I nodded. “You’re sure my grandma’s okay?”

“I haven’t found anything saying otherwise,” she said. “But you know how it is. Sometimes what’s missing says more than what’s there.”

I hated how right she was about that.

“Alright. I’ll be there soon.”

“Thank you,” she said, and just before the image started to fade, she added, “Bring your intuition. You’re going to need it.”

Then she was gone.

The glow faded with her, leaving the pedestal looking dull and heavy again, like it hadn’t done anything but collect dust for the past year. I exhaled, rubbed my hands over my face, andstood in the stillness of the cellar, trying not to feel the weight of all the things she hadn’t said.

Keegan rubbed the back of his neck. “You want me to walk you there?”

I looked over at him and almost said yes for a second.