Page 57 of Never Been Witched (Starfall Point #3)

Epilogue

Plover

Several months later…

It was a funny thing, to see one’s purpose fulfilled.

Plover stood at the window overlooking Shaddow House, admiring the way the moonlight shimmered on the thick blanket of snow.

There was a lovely sense of rebirth in an early Michigan snowstorm. The world was new once more.

For years, Plover thought he didn’t know how to handle anything new. And yet, the universe insisted on throwing these new things at him. Like Miss Riley.

For decades , Plover had watched the Denton family try and fail to recover the locks.

But it took an unknown Denton—raised away from the family, the house, the magic—to crack the puzzle.

Riley did things in her own way, instinctive and unorthodox, relying on non-Dentons, which had only been done a few times in the family’s history.

But despite all the obstacles, she had managed it.

Centuries of Denton effort, ending in a confrontation with an “evil hamster” and a library volunteer.

Plover had not seen that coming. It had quite the effect on Edison, knowing that he’d harbored Riley’s nemesis at his workplace for years, and Plover understood his need to mourn someone he’d thought was his friend.

But now, the moon was brighter, the wind crisper—not that he could feel either, but somehow, he got the impression. He tilted his transparent face toward the bright, full moon. It was…pleasant.

Plover wasn’t certain how he felt, now that the coven had decided not to destroy the locks for the time being. But his ladies, and young Joshua, seemed to have a plan, and since his days of living, Plover’s role was not to question his employers, but to trust in their plans. And with his family?

He’d learned to trust them implicitly.

Plover turned to see Miss Mina sitting in one of the lounges, poring over college catalogues, while Josh was sprawled across the couch in that boneless way of his. The young people had brought a sense of life and joy that had been missing from the house for the better part of three generations.

How deliciously odd it was for an old, deceased man to only find a family after death, but here he was, the patriarch of a large, loving, extended-kin group of choice. He only wished his beloved Nora was here to be a part of it.

“The whole family went on a campus tour,” Mina was telling Miss Alice. “We saw the freshman dorm.” She paused to shudder. “Super haunted. At least two ghosts per floor.”

“Well, you’re more prepared for that than most underclassmen,” Alice said as Riley unlocked the basement door. Collin dropped a kiss on Alice’s forehead as he passed her. She beamed up at him.

Plover still wasn’t sure if the young man was good enough for Alice, but she seemed to love him completely—even if she wasn’t aware of it herself—so he would abide.

Mina swore, “I am salting everything. ”

“I signed you up for a monthly salt delivery for your graduation present. Salts from around the world!” Riley told her from the basement stairs, making Mina laugh. “Surprise!”

The unspoken part was that the entire group was all grateful Miss Mina was going to be able to leave the island to attend school.

For a while, there was some concern that the magic would choose Mina or Josh as its new Steward, in the same way Miss Riley had been selected without her assent.

Riley had taken some short trips without the customary discomfort Dentons experienced while traveling away from Starfall Point.

For now, it appeared that Shaddow House was loosening its grip on all of them.

The ladies came up from the basement door, hauling the candelabra and the small wooden trunk they’d used to store the locks. It seemed more dignified than a cardboard moving box.

Plover joined Miss Natalie, watching the coven set up their ritual space in the atrium.

It seemed wisest to do this in the most open space in the house, even if it was surrounded by glass.

It might have been more advisable to do this outside, but it seemed like the sort of thing that would attract attention, opening a giant hole into the beyond.

Josh and Mina sprinkled a large circle of herbed salt near Miss Eloise’s fountain. Eloise eyed it suspiciously.

“Don’t worry, sweetie, you don’t have to leave until you feel like it’s time,” Riley assured her.

“Still feels weird that we’re not destroying these things,” Caroline muttered as they arranged the locks on the pedestal.

It didn’t feel hostile any longer. It didn’t feel positive , but neutrality was probably the best thing they could ask for right now.

“For all we know, Jeff is going to come looking for them.”

“I really don’t think so,” Riley said. “He seemed completely in shock when I stopped by to offer my condolences. There wasn’t a hint of dastardly plotting or threats.

And if Jeff does come for them, he’s in for a fight.

We’re stronger now. We know who he is. Besides, we might as well put the locks to some good use, considering all the problems they’ve caused. ”

Plover and Natalie joined the “associates” of the coven outside the circle.

It was to be a clandestine nighttime gathering, as most workings of the coven needed to be.

Their dress wasn’t exactly ceremonial—jeans and sweaters—but there was an air of gravity.

The candelabra sat in the center of the circle, the locks arranged carefully on their cups.

They raised their hands, making a series of gestures that reminded Plover of an orchestra conductor.

Overhead, a swirling vortex of empty black opened, like a wound in the air flowing up from the copper coils.

It was still, so very silent, and the sight of it filled Plover with a dreadful longing.

There was something waiting for him inside that void.

Behind the coven, a haze of ghostly mist started to gather—so many spirits, dozens of them, were drawn to the void.

Ghosts that Plover hadn’t seen in years were edging forward, curious expressions on their silvery faces.

Eloise, however, swam to the far end of the fountain and stayed as far away from the empty space as possible.

“Anyone who wants to move on, you’re more than welcome.

I understand that maybe you didn’t, uh, feel ready to walk into the light the first time it appeared—well, when you died, and you didn’t know how to get it back in the time since, but here’s your chance.

We’ve enjoyed hosting you here at Shaddow House, but don’t feel the need to stick around on our account.

” Riley looked at her sisters, cringing.

“I really should have prepared a speech or something.”

“No, it’s fine,” Alice assured her, motioning for the ghosts to release their hold on this world. “It’s sincere.”

“Are you sure about waiting to ‘evict’ our more hostile guests?” Caroline asked.

“This is a lot for one night,” Riley said. “We need to leave something for tomorrow.”

“We’re shoving the clown ghost through, though, right?” Mina asked. “Whether he wants to go or not?”

Riley nodded sharply. “Oh, yeah. It’s all part of my anti-clown-ghost initiative.”

The figures surrounding them solidified and multiplied, edging forward toward the void. They reached for it and seemed to sag in relief as the void accepted them. They floated upward in droves, like embers from a bonfire winking out into the ether.

“Weird. It’s like I can feel their connection to their house fading away,” Riley murmured, cracking her neck as if the effort exhausted her.

Josh stared up into the void. “It’s like there’s more space in my head, less noise.”

Mina opened her mouth as if to make a joke, but Ben raised his hand and told her, “Don’t.”

Mina pinched her lips shut and contained herself.

“I feel something approaching,” Caroline said, frowning. “It feels like someone walking up to the front door.”

“She’s asking for permission,” Josh agreed, tilting his head as if listening. “Which is a nice change of pace.”

“She kind of looks like…” Riley peered into the darkness and suddenly her mouth dropped open. “Aunt Nora?”

Plover’s head snapped up. A distant shape came into focus within the void.

Plover saw a handsome woman, her iron-gray hair swept back from her face in a neat chignon, and if his heart still beat, it would have stopped still.

She was just as elegant and lovely as he remembered her—all high cheekbones and gray eyes that only he knew as laughing and playful.

She was in a dress in peridot green that brought out the fathomless depths of her eyes. It had always been his favorite.

“Bert,” Nora Denton whispered, reaching out as she materialized in front of him. “I miss you.”

“Oh, Nora.” Plover blinked, as he was warding off tears he couldn’t physically shed. “I have missed you so very much. You left me here without you.”

Nora moved her fingers gently down Plover’s cheek. It was warmth and love and everything he’d missed in both planes of existence. “I didn’t mean to.”

“I know,” he said, pressing his hand against hers. To feel her touch, finally. It was a balm to his soul he’d never thought possible.

“You seem tired,” Nora said. “We’re not supposed to get tired.”

“In the words of the children, ‘I’ve had a lot going on,’” Plover said.

“But you’re not ready to leave,” Nora said, shaking her head.

“The young ladies have completed their primary task, but they still need me,” Plover said.

“For supervision,” Mina muttered.

“For guidance,” Plover told her, a gentle note of chastisement in his tone. He turned to Nora. “I can’t leave them just yet.”

“I understand,” Nora promised. “I never could have moved on, seen what I’ve seen, if I hadn’t known you were here to protect Riley.”

“Your name is Bert?” Josh asked.

“That’s what you got out of that?” Mina asked.

“I’m trying so hard to break the tension,” he replied.

“It’s short for ‘Filbert,’” Nora told them.

“Really? Filbert Plover?” Riley gasped. Plover nodded.