said as energy emanated from Helena.
August shuffled over to Frankie, pushing themself up to their feet, stepping between Helena and Ragana.
Frankie turned and saw Demetri shakily walk over to Mat.
Frankie couldn’t get to Remmy, who was clear across the room, trapped against the wall. He tried taking a step forward, but the sheer pressure from Helena forced him to slide back.
Mat raced past Frankie, arms outstretched, pushing against the barrier, but before he could reach Helena, she waved an arm and flung him back, ramming him right into the wall to Frankie’s side.
“Are you alright?” Frankie asked.
“No,” Mat wheezed. “We can’t let her finish the spell.”
“Le pouvoir de tous, en un seul maintenant,” Helena shouted.
Frankie felt like the strength was sapping out of him, draining from the top of his head. His eyes fluttered and fell on the silver locket around Helena’s neck.
“Her locket!” he shouted, remembering what Harriett had said in the memory he and August were in. “It’s protecting her. We can’t do anything.”
Mat frowned. “That was you!” he shouted, clutching at his side. “In the attic.”
Helena looked up from the book and held a hand to her locket, her eyes glowing a faint shade of green. “That old witch couldn’t get up there for decades, not after the house knew what she wanted. You know, I almost gave up. Then you three showed up.” She held up a hand, and Mat flew up into the air, colliding with the wall and sticking to it. Helena breathed in, and Mat’s head lolled to the side. “It’s almost all mine.”
August shouted, their voice reverberating with a power that tickled at Frankie’s ears. “By the whisper of winds and the darkest night, with the force of the moon’s ethereal light.”
Frankie blinked as the sensation of energy sapping from inside him halted. A crash sounded at his side as Mat fell free from the wall.
“No!” Helena shouted, locking eyes with August as she gripped the book.
Frankie raced over to Mat, pulling him up and away from Helena.
“I summon thee, La Fusion Occulte,” August continued, their voice shaking.
The book twitched in Helena’s arms, but she held firm. She grinned and looked down at the pages. “Que ces mots résonnent, s’entremêlent, s’unissent.”
Frankie grabbed Mat’s hand and pulled him. “They can’t do it by themself. We have to say the spell . . . together.”
They joined August, Frankie gripping August’s hand. Warmth spread into Frankie’s hand, and a buzz of energy vibrated in his chest. “By the whisper of winds and the darkest night,” their voices spoke as one, and the buzz in Frankie’s chest grew, spreading to his back and his head. “With the force of the moon’s ethereal light. I summon thee, I summon thee, La Fusion Occulte, to merge the magic, in unity, so bright.”
The book lurched, hard, in Helena’s hands. “No!” she shouted. She shut the book, wrapping an arm around it while her other arm waved in the air, trailing a silver light. As she did, glass shards and debris floated up into the air, their sharp edges pointing at the three of them.
Frankie squeezed his friend’s hands, envisioning a barrier around them.
He felt the shards slam into his mind, one by one, stinging and trying to force their way in. Sweat formed on his brow, and he staggered back.
“You can’t stop them all.” Helena laughed.
Remmy strained against the magic holding him against the wall, peeling his back free. “You’re fucking crazy.”
Helena flicked her wrist, and Remmy slammed back against the wall as if pulled by a magnet.
She was right, Frankie couldn’t stop them all. Soon one shard would get through, and then—
First August squeezed Frankie’s hand, then Mat. They were invitations to help, to lend their power.
“Together,” Frankie muttered.
He let them in, and instantly the barrier solidified around them, and the shards and debris that Helena lunged at them were faint annoyances.
August cleared their throat. “The spell, keep going,” they whispered.
Frankie focused on what was written in the book, the words he’d read in the memory with Harriett and Melinda. “Drain from the mystical, the wonder and power. Let it flow into us, hour by hour.”
The shards of glass crashed to the ground, and Helena stared at her hand. The book lurched in her grip again, trying to peel away from her. She clutched it with both hands, holding it close to her chest. “No. It’s mine! I deserve it!”
Frankie continued the spell, August and Mat’s voices echoing behind him, “In the dance of the elements, let it be done. The power of all now merged into one. As we speak these words, let them entwine. La Fusion Occulte, the arcane is mine.”
Power flowed into Frankie, Mat, and August, bringing in unseen winds and swirling around them. The hum in Frankie’s mind grew louder and louder, and his nerves burned like they were on fire.
Mat and August held out their free hands, and the book yanked free from Helena, flying across the room and stopping in midair in front of the Mandrake coven.
Finally, Remmy dropped from the wall, landing on his hands and knees.
Helena slumped, the power draining from her. “No. No! You’ll pay for this. I’m still in the HOA. I’m still—”
“You think they’d keep you after this?” Demetri shouted.
She glared at him and clenched her hands. “If you all thought it was bad before, then you just wait until—”
“Until what? It’s over. You lost. Henbane Hollow will kick you out,” Remmy groaned.
“No,” Helena said. “They can’t. I have to stay. I won’t.”
Pages flipped in the book, stopping on a page about familiars. They were bonded to a coven, through and through. Creatures who helped the coven and the community. Frankie got the hint and felt the magic rise in his throat. “Helena,” he spoke, his words rippling energy in the air. “Turn into your other form.”
Helena’s eyes widened. “No, wait. I can fix this. I can.” She contorted, her body morphing before them. Dark fur sprouted from every pore, her fingernails darkened and turned into claws, and she shrank in size. Her face shifted, elongating into a snout, while her eyes became round and glassy. In mere seconds, she was a small, trembling raccoon standing where Helena had moments before.
Helena the raccoon sniffed the air, her tail twitching as she looked left and right. She bared her fangs at Mat and let out a low growl.
“Should we do this?” August asked.
“She’ll have a choice,” Frankie said, scanning the page. “This or leave Henbane Hollow forever.”
Before Helena had a chance to escape, Mat started, “By threads of fate . . .” The words left his mouth, and energy hummed in the air. Helena immediately stopped baring her fangs and stared, dazed, at Mat.
Frankie leaned in, joining Mat and August as they read from the book. “We form these ties, a spirit untamed, willing to advise. In fur or feather, scales or skin. Bound to our coven, shared magic within. A companion true, let the journey begin.”
Raccoon Helena’s eyes glazed over for a moment, the words washing over her. She cocked her head to the side, considering for a moment.
“Shared magic within,” Mat repeated. “You’ll have magic. Our magic. It’s not exactly what you wanted, but it’s something.”
Helena squinted at Mat then looked at the windows.
The pages flipped again, and Frankie chimed in. “You can go, but the book wants us to banish you from Henbane Hollow. Or stay with us, show us what magic you know, help us fix Henbane Hollow, and maybe the neighborhood won’t grab their torches and pitchforks if they see your face again.”
Helena looked to Ragana for a moment, dropping her head. Green magic swirled around her, lifting her hair on end before settling on her and vanishing beneath her fur. Her coat changed, appearing lighter and shinier.
“So, that’s it then?” August asked. “Helena is—”
“Hel,” Helena’s voice spoke in Frankie’s head. “It’s Hel now.”
“So, uh. Did you just turn Helena into your familiar?” Demetri asked.
“We did. And it’s Hel now,” August said, walking up to her and picking Hel up.
Mat grabbed the book out of the air and closed it, tucking it under his arm. He looked over at Hel, who appeared to be in heaven as August scratched her head. “Every coven needs a familiar, right?”
“But Helena? I mean, Hel?” Demetri asked, limping toward Mat.
Mat shrugged. “She accepted it. Better than her being banished or us battling constantly. She’s a Mandrake now.”
“Hel was the nickname her mom gave her,” Ragana said, sitting up from the wall and wincing.
August joined Ragana, and Hel hopped down and onto Ragana’s lap, her little paws feeling at Ragana’s head. Little sparks of light floated around Ragana’s head, and she sighed, resting a hand on Hel. “Thanks, cousin.”
Remmy jumped over the table, clutching at his side before wrapping a massive arm around Frankie and planting a kiss on his lips. “You did it!”
“I can’t,” Frankie said, straining for breath. “I can’t breathe.”
“What now?” Demetri asked, walking over to Mat’s side.
Hel carefully looked at Mat, hopping off Ragana’s lap and crawling toward him. She pointed at the book, then out the window.
“We give it back,” Frankie said. “We give the magic back to Henbane Hollow and let people live the way they’re meant to.”