I’ll get it!”
I trotted toward the front door of Ivywood Hollow. The doorbell had been ringing all day with deliveries. Most were food and supplies. The B&B was reopening in a few days. But some were for the special family event we had planned. One that was long overdue.
“It’s probably the roses!” Izzy shouted from the kitchen.
“Did you order them from Nixie?” Nora’s voice came from the top of the stairs. “If it’s her, I’m not here.”
“I thought she was your friend?” I called back to her with a laugh.
“I only said that to make Izzy happy and you know it,” Nora grumbled. “That girl has far too many questions. Tell her I’ll stop in at the shop tomorrow to settle up. She can pester me then.”
I smiled. Nixie was totally Nora’s friend.
I opened the door.
At first all I could see was a towering bouquet of yellow roses.
That’s right. Yellow roses.
Nora always had plenty of flowers on hand, but she thought it might be nice to have one bouquet as a tribute to Constance, given that she was the one responsible for finally bringing tonight about.
Nixie’s face peeked around the bouquet. Her jaw dropped when she saw me.
“Hi,” I said. “Why don’t you let me take those from you?” I reached for the bouquet but hesitated at the look on Nixie’s face.
“I have three questions,” she said quite seriously.
“Only three?” I asked, taking the arrangement from her and placing it on the floor.
“First, where did you get that dress?”
I looked down at my black silk gown. “Nora made it for me.”
“Will she make one for me? That actually wasn’t one of my questions, but I’m adding it to the list.”
“She might,” I said with a smile. It really was a beautifully tailored dress. “Do you have an occasion in mind?”
“Who needs an occasion? I will wear it every day. I will wear it every night. I will wear it always and call it my precious.”
“Okay, then,” I said with a chuckle. “Next question?”
“What is going on here tonight?” she asked, trying to peek her head farther in the door. “It’s something magical, isn’t it?”
I positioned myself to block her view. “I have no idea what you are talking about.”
“Brynn! You are killing me! Can I come to whatever this is?”
I smiled. “No. Not tonight. Tonight is for family.”
She sighed and her eyebrows formed a peak, resembling that of a sad puppy. I hated to admit it, but the girl was growing on me.
“Was that your third question? I’ve lost count.”
“I probably just need to accept it, don’t I?” she said, voice full of resignation.
I raised an eyebrow.
“I’m a witch hunter. You’re witches. You’re never going to confide in me.” Her shoulders slumped. “I’m going to spend my entire life believing in something I’ll never have proof of. Truth is, I probably did make the whole thing up. I mean, my family thinks I’m nuts. Maybe they’re right.”
She was about to go on, but I reached out and grabbed her hand, effectively derailing her.
“What are you doing?” she asked, straightening her dejected posture.
“Nixie, please be quiet. I’m still not back to full strength, so I need to concentrate.”
Her eyes grew incredibly wide. “Why? What is happening right now?”
“Close your eyes.”
“But—”
“Do it before I change my mind.”
Nixie snapped her mouth shut and squeezed her eyes closed.
“Do not tell Nora about any of this. Or Izzy.” I stared at Nixie’s hand and murmured a few words under my breath. “Okay, open your eyes.”
Nixie let out a happy shout. “No! No way! It’s the flame!” Pure joy came over her face as she stared at the small pink flame swirling in her hand. “I can’t believe this!”
I smiled. It was a nice little fire. And it perfectly matched the color of her hair. I felt quite proud of myself.
“I have to do something!” Nixie went on. “Nobody is going to believe this! I need to take a picture.”
Just then the flames went out.
“What happened?” she gasped, looking back and forth from her palm to me. “Where did it go?”
I tilted my head to the side. “Where did what go?”
“Oh,” she said, wagging a finger. “I see what you did there. It’s a secret. I won’t tell a soul. You can trust me, Brynn.”
I laughed.
“But that can’t be it. You have to show me more.”
“I think that’s enough for one day,” I said, moving to shut the door. “Thank you for delivering the flowers.”
She peeked her face into the closing space. “But you will show me more, right? This isn’t the end. Because I’m pretty sure that was the best thing to have ever happened to me.”
“Good night, Nixie.”
“Good night, Brynn. And thank you for the you-know-what,” she said with a big wink. “Talk to you later!”
I clicked the door shut and leaned my back against it.
“What was that all about?”
My aunts, looking quite beautiful in their own silk gowns, were staring at me with their arms crossed over their chests.
“Nothing.”
“Mm-hmm,” Izzy said. “Well, let’s set up. The moon is almost in sight.”
I twisted my hands together.
She rushed over and gave my shoulders a squeeze. “Don’t worry. It will be all right.”
“Nonsense!” Nora shouted.
We both looked at her.
“It won’t be all right.” A smile spread across her face. “With the three of us together—”
“Four.”
We turned to see Gideon coming down the stairs. Both Izzy’s and Nora’s eyes widened at the sight of him.
My aunts may have been surprised, but I wasn’t. Something had changed in Gideon since we had put out all those fires. We had talked about it, and he was warming to the possibility that he could maybe find a way to live outside of the attic. At least for some of the time. He had been experimenting with his poetry, and he was starting to believe that through it, he might be able to get some warning of larger visions before they came to pass and it was too late for him to do anything about what they revealed. Like mini visions before the visions. So far, he said the clues they offered were much more opaque, hints to where things might be headed, but he thought with practice, it could give him more control over his gift. It was hard to say if it would work or not, but he seemed happy with the prospect of things changing, so that was all that mattered to me.
“Gideon,” Nora gasped.
“No,” he said, holding up a hand. “No fuss from any of you, or I’ll go back upstairs.”
“Right,” Nora said sharply, but her eyes were glistening. “As I was saying, Brynn, with the four of us together, tonight will be perfect.”
“For Adam,” I said.
“For Adam.”
I clutched hands with Izzy as Nora strode over to the roses resting on the floor.
She planted her hands on her hips and stared down at the arrangement. “Disgusting.” She then scooped them up and marched past us, calling out, “Well, is everyone coming?”
“We’re coming,” I said. “We’re all coming.”