Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 87608 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 438(@200wpm)___ 350(@250wpm)___ 292(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87608 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 438(@200wpm)___ 350(@250wpm)___ 292(@300wpm)
“I’m not sure. Normally, as I string the different pieces, I set the spell for each item. That’s how I was taught.”
“Is there someone you can ask?”
“There is, but it’s more of a she’ll-tell-us-if-it’s-wrong thing.”
Delia nodded.
Since the ladders I made were for luck and prosperity, for happiness and warmth, and weren’t actual wards, it was possible that Delia and Cass infusing their own joy at being in my house with me would do amazing things to the ladders. As we sat together and started assembling them, I caught the distinct smell of lavender.
Cass inhaled deeply. “I love lavender. It reminds me of my mom.”
“Okay, good,” I told the girls. “My grandmother says we’re on the right track.”
When Argos came in, he jumped up on one of the chairs and watched us for a bit.
“Oh, he’s so pretty.” Cass leaned over to scratch under his chin and pet him. “Black cats are my favorite.”
“Mine too.” Delia petted him as well. “I fell in love with him the first time I was here.”
He was preening under their ministrations and flattery, and I was shaking my head. “You need to go away,” I told him. “We’re working.”
The look I got through slitted eyes told me I was nuts.
When I went to the cupboard for tea, hot chocolate with chilis was scooted into my hand, and though I was sure my grandmother was wrong, I called over to the girls and asked if they’d like some.
“Oh yes, please,” Delia replied. “I love spicy cocoa.”
“I’ve never had that, but it sounds yummy,” Cass agreed.
I could have sworn I heard my grandmother’s tut of pride. She did always know best.
It was fun to have company. I got to hear about all the boys in their classes, and somehow it got turned around to when I was in high school.
“Well, way back in the day,” I began, and they both laughed, “the people I went to school with were not happy with the fact that I liked boys instead of girls.”
“That’s so dumb,” Delia assured me. “Who even cares?”
“I don’t think anyone should, but they did.”
It got dark early in November, so Troy came by to pick up Delia and bring me lavender- and rose-infused honey because he was one of the nicest men on the planet. He wanted me to have them before they sold out at the festival.
“And are those two beautiful ladders Delia’s working on for me?”
“Don’t sound so surprised,” I groused at him.
“I need you to do your part, though,” he told me, smiling.
Picking them both up, I whispered the words of enchantment that had been in my family for centuries, and the two ladders shimmered for a moment.
“Did you see that? They sparkled,” Cass said, utterly stunned, as I passed them to Troy.
“I mean, I thought…” Delia trailed off.
“That Xan wasn’t really a witch?” Troy teased her.
She looked at him with wide eyes.
“You thought he was just an amazing baker, made beautiful things, had an encyclopedic knowledge of all things weird and had a green thumb?” He chuckled.
“Well…yes.”
“There’s still magic in the world,” he told her. “You just have to look and see.”
Quick nod from her.
“There’s magic in things you love, like lavender, honey, or sweet black cats,” he mused, stroking Argos, who began purring. “Or in friendship and windy days.”
I smiled at him because he and Rita and I had stood outside in the wind on many occasions together.
“But that doesn’t mean that some folks, like Xan, can’t get up to some mind-blowing magic now and then.” He winked at me.
“Stop. People think I’m nice. You’ll scare them.”
He scoffed. “Not these two.”
Delia sighed. “I heard the horse, but…”
“What?” Troy’s breath caught, and he turned to me. “What did she say?”
“It’s fine,” I soothed him. “Both girls have been hearing him, but we fed him today, so everything’s good.”
His exhale was deep.
“You know about Skokse?” Delia asked her uncle.
“Oh yeah. After my father died, I heard him a lot at night, running past my window. My mother thought I was nuts,” he said, smiling at his niece. “But Xan’s grandfather told me what to do, and the next night, I stuck my hand out the window with a piece of apple, and he took it. Never been so scared in my life.”
Delia was beaming at him. “Do you see the lady on the bridge too?”
“No. I’ve never seen her, but I do hear the dogs baying.”
“The dogs?”
“You don’t hear any dogs,” I insisted with a scowl. “You hear the geese as they fly north. That’s what that is.”
He grunted. “I know the difference between the sounds of baying, and the sounds of geese,” he countered. “I don’t care what dogs you keep here because I know they can’t pass the property line between mine and yours. And also, just having them around keeps my hens safe all fall and winter, and I don’t have to worry until spring, and by then Rufus can take care of them.”