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The Mystic Cupcake felt anything but mystic when I arrived. For the first time since arriving on Heavenly Haven, the air felt cold. The night sky looked... ordinary. It was that feeling—the feeling of normalcy—which shook me up more than anything. One thing Sweetland Cove was not... was normal.
I shivered as I reached for the door handle. Slater had said to come in through the front. He probably wanted a better view of the street to make sure I wasn't followed.
"Hello?" I called, opening the door and stepping inside.
"Hey, Ava," Slater said. Again, there was that tone of normalcy. As if he were greeting me at a Sunday baseball game instead of under such inauspicious circumstances.
"Come on in," he said. I noticed the black winter gloves he was wearing even though it felt hot inside the store.
I shut the door behind me and stepped slowly into the bakery I had come to think of as my second home. Eleanor and Trixie were nowhere to be found.
"Where are they?" I asked.
He made a series of tsking noises as he shook his head.
"Aren't you going to ask me how I am, too?"
I paused and sucked in a deep breath.
"Where are they?" I asked again.
"In back," Slater replied. He looked toward the door to the backroom as if he were waiting for me to take the lead.
"You're perfectly welcome to go back there and say hi. Oh, by the way, thanks for texting me. I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't asked me to go keep your aunts safe. I assure you, they are the safest they could possible be under the circumstances."
I kept my eyes on Slater as I made my way to the back.
"Eleanor...? Trixie...?"
I pushed the door open and terror filled me.
Eleanor and Trixie were sitting back to back, tied to a chair. It was the first time I had seen Eleanor's hair so unkempt. Trixie's own hair was an obnoxious shade of neon orange. I had no idea whether she'd done that to herself earlier in the day or if this was some kind of sick torture device Slater had used on her. They were grunting at me and gesticulating wildly with their heads.
"You taped their mouths shut?" I yelled.
"They wouldn't shut up," Slater said. "Not even for a minute."
He folded his arms across his chest. "Oh, and those ropes are enchanted. Dark magic. Not that weak white stuff you witches use. So Eleanor and Trixie aren't going anywhere."
On the baking table beside them, a single stem of boxie quill lay waiting. The purple stem looked like it had been sharpened to a fine point, ready to draw blood from whoever dared touch it.
A new noise, like a muffled mew, sailed through the room, followed by a muffled bark. I turned my head and realized Tootsie and Rocky sat collared and chained to a towel bar at the back of the room. Their mouths had also been taped shut and their paws were tied together.
"Tootsie! Rocky!" I said, running to them.
"They're perfectly safe," Slater said. "I wouldn't worry about them just now. Not when we've got this other issue to contend with."
"What other issue?" I asked.
Slater turned to grab something from a shelf and I could see a bite-sized hole in the back of his jeans. Whatever had happened, I was pretty sure that Rocky had taken a good-sized chomp out of him first.
"We have a problem, Ava," Slater said. "We need a solution."
I waited for him to continue, since he clearly enjoyed hearing himself speak.
"First, you need to go."
"I'm not going anywhere without my aunts."
"No," he said, shaking his head. "You really are a dim-witch, aren't you?"
"At least I'm a witch, not some wannabe warlock poser!" I cried.
Slater's face reddened to the shade of Grenadine.
"Is that what you think?" he growled. "That I want to be one of you?"
Tootsie flopped onto her side and began rolling on the tiled floor. She looked like she was scratching herself. I wondered how long they'd been tied up here. And where was Snowball?
"Don't you know what your dad did?" Slater asked. "He killed my father!"
"And your dad killed my mom. At least my dad acted in self-defense."
"So did mine!"
"What are you talking about?" My head was throbbing.
"Your mother was the most powerful witch my father had ever encountered. She was using her powers to try and gain even more power. Because she was selfish. Just like you." He was walking the floor, circling my aunts like a vulture.
"My mother was a good witch," I said. "Nothing you can say will change that."
Eleanor and Trixie were still struggling against their ropes.
"My father hated witches. The whole lot of you are nothing but trouble."
"So this whole thing is about revenge?" I asked.
"Revenge? Revenge is only a part of it. Don't you see? I'm picking up where my father left off. I'm going to rid the world of witches. Starting with Heavenly Haven. Starting with you."
I had no idea where my wand had come from. But Slater was suddenly pointing it right between my eyes.
"When I said you need to go, I meant you need to die."
"You can't get rid of all witches," I told him, stalling for time. "That's insane."
"I can if I show the world what evil creatures you are. That you're willing to kill anyone so long as it suits your purpose."
"Oh, roses," I muttered.
I finally understood. "You were trying to frame me for the murders because you wanted people to think there was a serial killer witch running rampant on the island. You wanted humans to think that."
"I thought I'd be able to get people worked up enough that they started asking questions. That those who didn't already know about witches would find out."
His eye was twitching.
"Too many of us already know, but we're supposed to pretend like we don't. We choose not to do anything about it. Well, not me. And not my father."
He rose the wand high in the air.
"How do you even know how to use that thing?" I asked him.
"Polly showed me. Why do you think I've been dating her?"
I gasped.
I thought you liked her."
"She's a witch. She has useful information, nothing more. When you arrived on the island and lost your wand, Damon found it. Who do you think he brought it straight to? Me! And I brought it to Polly."
"You mean he just gave it to you?"
"Of course not. I always loved Damon. But I had to have that wand. I didn't know if I'd ever get another chance like this again."
"And Brendan?"
"He was a wizard. I acted as though I liked him so I could learn from him."
"You said I'm selfish, but you're the one killing people for your own gain."
"Brendan found the wand in my apartment and got suspicious. What was I supposed to do? I thought when I killed him it would be the perfect opportunity to have Sheriff Knoxx catch you in the act. I called and tipped him off, but then your father showed up."
"You could have stayed off the island and gotten on with your life," I said. "You didn't need to come back here."
"How was I supposed to move on when I grew up without a father? After I kill you and your aunts... when the world sees what cold-blooded killers witches are... they'll hunt down you all down. In every part of the world. And I'll lead the charge."
Slater jabbed the wand toward me and began reciting whatever spell he meant to cast. "Oobleckio—"
"Slater, please! Don't!"
My aunts' terrified faces cried out to me as Slater steadied his wand.
"Mama!" a tiny voice suddenly yelled.
Slater looked to his left as a streak of white rushed past him. Before either of us had time to blink, Snowball was sailing through the air. She bit down hard on the wand and caught it between her teeth. She landed on her feet and a stunned Slater stood staring at his empty hand.
Then Snowball scurried out the door and disappeared back into the night she'd come from.
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