Page 42 of Reluctant Witch (A Course in Magic #2)

42

Ellie

Before they could do anything else, the chief witch was back, and in his arms was a growling badger. An angry badger that was biting and kicking and clawing. It snarled at them with a flash of sharp teeth.

“I had a talk with Dr. Jemison,” Walt said, holding the badger by the scruff of its neck, keeping it at arm’s length. “She suggested that badgering before siphoning might save Aggie’s life.”

“I can’t do much with a badger’s mind.” Prospero stared at the snarling creature.

“But you needed to face her,” Walt said quietly. “And I wasn’t sure I wanted the boy to try to siphon her over at home.” He shook the badger. “Monahan.”

Dan looked over at the badger-shaped witch and sighed. “I’m sorry. I hope you survive this,” he told her as he approached.

She extended a paw toward him aggressively.

And Ellie moved between Dan and Prospero. She wasn’t going to risk another episode of Dan hurting Prospero, accidentally or not. She suspected that was why the chief witch brought her. He was a canny witch—bring Axell to calm Dan, bring Ellie to stop Dan’s heart, and bring Prospero because there was no way she’d be calm if Ellie went without her.

They stood there, an odd collection of witches surrounding a badger at a campground. Then as the badger struggled against her restraints, Dan did the same as he’d done with Allan. This time, the witch who was being drained flailed and resisted.

But as Ellie watched, she could tell that Dan was doing something. When he stumbled back, half falling, Axell caught him.

Dan rested on his haunches. “She’s unmagical.”

“She knows all about Crenshaw,” Prospero pointed out. She sounded confused. “I can’t do anything with her mind in this shape. Do you want to transform her back?”

“No.” Walt looked vicious in that moment. He held the badger up to his face. “You are powerless, Agnes, but I think I’ll let you remember everything.”

Ellie flinched internally. She wasn’t sure what the chief witch had been like before he assumed this role, but right now, he seemed callous. She watched as he walked over to the edge of the river.

“You might want to all leave before she catches up. I don’t know how fast badgers are,” Walt called and then he tossed the angry badger into the shallows.

Then Walt teleported away.

“Jackass,” Ellie muttered. She grabbed Dan’s wrist, and Prospero extended a hand toward Axell as though she had all the time in the world. Then all four witches vanished.

They arrived at the infirmary, where the doctor was waiting at the door.

“Well?” The doctor looked directly at Prospero.

“She’s a badger, memories intact, life intact, magic gone,” Prospero reported. “No one died, Mae.”

The doctor smiled. “It worked then. She’ll be able to think about it every day.”

“And that’s better?” Ellie asked.

“She’s alive. With life there is a chance for joy,” the doctor said. “So yes, it’s much better.” Then she turned and went back to her infirmary, leaving the four of them alone in the hallway.

Ellie looked around. “So… that encounter went better than the last time.”

“Yes,” Dan and Prospero both said, although she realized that they were obviously referring to different “last times.” Prospero’s last encounter with Agnes and Dan’s last siphoning were both difficult experiences in different ways.

They stood there awkwardly for a moment until Axell said, “You were a bookkeeper, Ellie…?”

“No, I was a librarian.”

“Yes. A keeper of books.” Axell scowled. “We have a library needing a keeper.”

Dan shot him a look that Ellie didn’t quite understand, and Axell added, “You are moving out of the castle, ja ? You can share.”

For a moment, Dan was silent, but then he sighed. “Fine. I liked having it as our space.”

“There’s a library?” Ellie prompted, steering them back to the best news she’d had other than discovering that Prospero loved her. “Where? I walked through the entire village and—”

“Here.” Prospero motioned around them. “The books are in the castle.”

“There was a library here the whole time? Where?” Ellie tried to think of every room and hallway here. Was there a place she’d missed? An area she’d failed to explore? “Does my aunt know?”

“She used to when she first lived here,” Prospero hedged. Then she laced her fingers with Ellie and walked away, pausing to scowl at the two men who were trailing behind them.

“Not scared of you,” Dan whispered loudly. He was lying, which they all undoubtedly knew.

They walked through the hallway to a giant arched doorway. Pillars too wide to wrap her arms around framed the doorway. The doors were massive carved wood with iron detailing. They looked like they belonged on an old castle or cathedral.

“Was this here the whole time?” Ellie asked in low voice.

“Yes,” Prospero said.

“No,” Dan said.

Both statements were somehow true, but she wasn’t sure how. Then Axell opened the door, and she didn’t care. There were thousands of books there, and as she walked around reading spines, she found that none of them were books she’d read.

“Why isn’t this available to everyone?” Ellie looked around. “That will change. We’ll need a card catalogue. And staff…”

She continued to shelf read, scanning titles as she walked, for several moments. Finally, she paused. “Fiction section?”

Prospero shook her head. “There’s some, mixed in with…”

Ellie held up a hand before she could finish saying that. “I’ll need to reorganize.”

Hobs started popping into the room, standing on shelves and tables. Every hob was smiling.

“Lady P likes fiction,” Bernice said from atop a globe.

“How do we get it?” Ellie looked around at them. “Can I get some volunteers to help reorganize? I can make the card catalogue. I need some twigs.”

Ellie started a mental list of things that needed to be managed to make this library fully functional in all ways.

“Friend Maggie would like a law section,” another hob offered.

“These are all magic books,” Ellie said, half asking, half guessing. “People need fiction, too. Plays. Poetry.”

“Make a list,” Axell said. “We can’t stay there long, but I bet a few trips to shop… Perhaps we can bring albums, too.”

“Yes.” Ellie looked around at the hobs and witches watching her. “I have a project. ” She met Prospero’s eyes. “Do you suppose you might want to help now that the conflicts are resolved?”

Prospero gave a nod, but she was smiling in a way that veered on giddy for her. “New books and music? You’ll have plenty of volunteers.”

Ellie’s imagination was running away, and the best part was that with magic, she could accomplish it all. She let out a small squeal and wrapped her arms around Prospero. They’d build up the library, and they’d open it to the public. She could picture it.

“Crenshaw Library,” Ellie said.