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Repair work was going on in the ballroom. After everything we had been through, I had decided to replace the windows with clear panes. Stained glass filled with battle scenes had lost their appeal.
Well, except for one window.
In it were five smiling figures standing shoulder-to-shoulder with one another – a World Walker, an elf, a witch and her apprentice, and a small, little dwarf swinging a battle-axe.
William MacKay came out of the ballroom, wiping his hands, and came over to lean on the counter. He had a big old grin on his face.
"Like the window," he commented.
"Hope you don't mind," I said, flipping through the registration forms for the day.
He leaned forward. "Is my hair really that messy?"
"Yes."
"Fair enough," he replied.
"Did you fix it?" I asked.
"Not a portal in sight." He hooked his thumb back to the ballroom. "There will always be a little bit of a weakness there, but it'll make for a heck of a haunted ball anytime you need to throw a fundraiser."
I laughed. "Thank you for helping me. I didn't know who else to trust."
"Anytime, Miss Spell."
I leaned my hand on the marble counter. "And what of you? What are you up to now that this mess is done?"
"Figure I'll take any of the girls to Earth who want to head over there. I took that last Jane Doe out to Santa Monica. Totally random, met this far out psychic chick reading tarot. Maybe we can all do a group outing to see her. Peer through the layers of time together or something."
I held my index fingers to the side of my temples and closed my eyes. "I see hot dogs and roller-skating in your future."
I heard him laugh, but the bell at the counter rang. I opened my eyes to see who it was.
"Oh." My spirits sank. "It's you."
Miss Trudy and six of her older sisters stood behind the counter.
"We need to talk," she said. Her nose wrinkled as she judged the construction mess.
William gave me a wave and headed to the door. "Catch you on the flip side!"
I released a heavy sigh, wishing my coven hadn't come strolling in here to ruin everything again. I knew that this moment was coming. I knew it. You can't go blowing up the bad guys with magic you're not supposed to touch without the hammer dropping on you somehow. But sometimes you have to face the music.
I lifted my chin, pulled back my shoulders, and walked into my office.
Precious was leaning against my desk.
"Precious? What are you doing here?" I asked. I didn't want her to have to share a room with Miss Trudy after what Miss Trudy had done to her. "Why don't you go work the counter—"
Miss Trudy stepped in and cleared her throat. "She came and talked to us and told us about what you did to save her."
"We also remembered," blurted out one of the elder witches. "We remembered everything!"
"What did you remember?" I asked slowly, not entirely sure what she was alluding to.
The ladies all clucked and circled the room, settling into my various chairs like chickens finding places to roost. "We remembered that man came to us and the way he made us do things we didn’t want to do. We remembered the reports we ignored and the people we wrongly punished. We remembered."
"It is unfair what happened to you, Miss Spell," said another. She lit the fire and took it upon herself to start brewing tea, like this was her home and this was a normal conversation. She pointed at Miss Trudy. "He even made her come down especially hard on you for killing that vampire. Blinded her to justice!"
"I wouldn't say I was completely blind—" Miss Trudy squirmed. "I mean, yes, it was an unfortunate incident and I may not have taken all aspects of events into my choice of justice, but still—" I could tell she didn't want to admit that she had fallen prey to John Doe. The other women sat expectantly. Finally, she spat, "We will not be taking away your powers permanently." One of the witches elbowed her to continue. Miss Trudy's face looked like she had been offered a sour milk popsicle to suck on. "And we'll be reducing your sentence by a month."
I couldn't believe their gall.
"Excuse me?" Precious said, almost coming unglued. "She just saved everyone's sorry butt and you're only shaving a month off her sentence?"
"Her duty is to her sisters and our safety! She should have come to us when she realized who John Doe was and what he was doing!" Miss Trudy scolded.
"I discovered what he was and what he was doing the moment he tried to kill me," I pointed out.
Miss Trudy shifted uncomfortably. "Well, that's neither here nor there."
"It's entirely here," I stated for the record. "It happened here. Right here. In my home."
"I suppose we could reduce it another month," said Miss Trudy, consulting with the other witches.
"Are you even listening to yourselves?" Precious asked, aghast. "This is bananas!"
That was the moment Miss Trudy decided to turn on Precious. "Young lady, perhaps we should be asking why you didn’t come to inform us once you discovered what was going on."
And now my hackles were raised. I could put up with them being rude to me. That was part and parcel with this group of social climbers. But this? This was unacceptable.
"I have been quite accommodating of your rules and your regulations. I have attempted to survive within the constraints that you have placed upon me. But you do NOT speak to my apprentice that way." I walked over to the door and flung it open. "GET OUT! I renounce my membership in your coven. I am done with you."
"Please, Miss Spell!" protested Miss Trudy in shock. "Your family has been a valued member of our circle for generations."
Since they weren't leaving, I strode over, picked up the back of one the chairs, and tumbled the woman out of it. "I do not acknowledge you. I do not follow your rules. YOU HAVE NO AUTHORITY OVER ME! GET OUT!"
And with those words, suddenly, the block that had been there disappeared.
Just like that.
Like a dandelion down.
It vanished.
It was like it had never been there at all.
"Oh," I said, feeling my power flood through me. "OH!" I gazed down at my hands as the ley lines flowed once more through my veins, illuminating my inner light. I regarded the women as a flicker of fear flitted between them, as they realized I suddenly understood what was going on the whole time. "The prison existed only because I believed it was there."
"Now... now... Miss Spell..." said Miss Trudy as they rose.
"You need to get out of my hotel. Check out is NOW!" I began firing bolts of lightning at them, chasing them down the lobby with my fire. They skidded on the marble and tripped on the deep red runner. Precious raced after us, sending a few shots of her own. I delighted in the shrieks every time they hit.
Precious stopped by the counter and wrapped her arms around Ajax. She rested her cheek on his bandaged head and they watched the women screaming and yelling as they ran down the front steps, through my healing garden, and out the broken gate.
"AND STAY OUT!" I shouted before slamming the oak door behind them.
I turned to my team, delicately brushing a long, red strand of my hair into place.
"Always thought you had a warrior spirit in you," commented Ajax.
"We should get her an axe," Precious reflected.
"Axes all around!' Ajax exclaimed, lifting his fist in the air.
Suddenly, we all stopped.
Overhead, it sounded like a boulder was being rolled into place.
After all this time.
All these months I had prayed they would return.
They had come.
We had guardians on the eaves.
They knew this place was full of something worth saving.
"The gargoyles have returned," I whispered. Tears welled in my eyes. "The gargoyles have returned!" I ran over and hugged my chosen family, my heart overflowing with love for these two friends who had risked everything for me and this old place. "The gargoyles have returned and all is right at the Know Spell Hotel."
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