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  “Willa, what’s going on?” Ethan demanded. “Who’s this?”

  Willa opened her mouth to attempt an answer, but Wynter stepped in. “My name is Wynter Craig. Your daughter and Simon just helped me escape from the basement of Ruby Plate’s old house where I was held captive for the last five months by a man named Holmes.”

  Willa’s parents stared blankly as she held her breath for what they would say to Wynter’s straightforward, but shocking, answer.

  Her dad ignored Wynter and turned to Willa. “Okay, did I just hear that correctly?”

  “Umm, yes,” was all Willa could manage.

  “You rescued this woman? Whom that creep Holmes had in his basement? No one in town trusts that guy, but kidnapping? Really?” Ethan’s eyebrows climbed his forehead.

  Willa nodded.

  “Where are the police? How did you even know she was there? Why would you go alone? What—” Ethan’s questions were stalled by his wife’s hand on his arm.

  “Let’s all sit down and Willa can explain. Okay? Let me get you three some water; you look like you’ve been through a lot.”

  They all sat at the glass-top round table, on which Sarah set three tall glasses of water. Wynter immediately gulped down her entire glass, Willa’s parents staring uneasily as she did so. Willa took Simon’s hand under the table and turned to her parents.

  “I know you guys don’t like talking about it, but I saw Wynter in a dream. It was the most powerful dream I’ve ever had. I knew I needed to help her.”

  Ethan cut back in, looking more uncomfortable than before. “But if you saw her in a dream, why didn’t you call the police? It’s not your job to rescue kidnapped women.”

  “Dad, please,” Willa tried to soothe. “It’s more complicated than that. I don’t know exactly how to explain it—”

  “I do,” Wynter stepped in again. She turned to Sarah and Ethan. “The police would have been unable to help. Only Willa and Simon, with the assistance of the ghost of Ruby Plate, had the power to free me.” Wynter paused, narrowed her eyes slightly. “Do you know what your daughter and Simon are?” Ethan furrowed his brow and Sarah looked down at the table. “They are witches, and so am I.”

  Ethan laughed mirthlessly. “You’ve got to be kidding me? Are you some kind of crazy person?”

  Wynter’s expression remained calm and in control. Willa’s head was pounding, her palm sweating into Simon’s. There’s that word again—witch, witches. Images of black hats, bubbling cauldrons and green skin flitted through her mind, but none of them matched Wynter or what they’d just experienced. So, what does it really mean?

  Wynter continued, “Willa dreamed about me because of her gift. She and Simon are both incredibly talented witches, but they’ve never been trained.”

  Simon said, “Wynter, are you serious?”

  She turned to him. “Of course. Simon, you were part of the magic in that basement tonight. You’ve seen it with your own eyes, felt it with your soul, and you know what you can do. Haven’t you always wondered why?”

  Willa and Simon exchanged a weighted look.

  Ethan shook his head and said, “Craziness aside, I still don’t understand why my eighteen-year-old daughter saved you from a kidnapper.”

  “He wasn’t a kidnapper. He was also a witch, a Dark witch. He captured me in hope of forcing me to join his Dark covens so that they could form a Covenant, which is the most powerful of witch circles.”

  Ethan threw up his hands. “I’ve had enough. I don’t care why or how you got here, but I want you out. Now!” Willa’s dad stood, knocking his chair back to the floor. Wynter rose calmly and Willa jumped up to defend her.

  “Dad, calm down! You’re totally freaking out. Can’t you just listen for once? She’s telling you the truth.”

  “The truth? Willa, this is nonsense. Sit down. I don’t want to hear—”

  “No! I will not sit down and you will hear what I have to say.” Willa balled her hands into fists and her face felt hot as a sunburn. She’d never stood up to him before. “You guys have never listened to me about what I can do. You’ve always pretended like the dreams and the ghosts don’t exist. Well, they do! And Simon is the same as me. He can sense emotions, hear my thoughts and heal people. He healed Wynter in the basement. She was almost dead!”

  Her dad’s eyes widened and his face flushed bright red. He jabbed at finger at Simon. “So this started with him? I knew he couldn’t be trusted. I knew I should have put my foot down about you dating a boy I didn’t know.”

  Simon tensed beside her, but held his tongue.

  “Dad! This is not Simon’s fault. Quit trying to blame this on someone else. This is me—this is who I am!” Willa was yelling now, all control lost. “Why can’t you just see it and accept it?”

  “Stop yelling at me, Willa. You may be eighteen, but I’m still your father.”

  “ENOUGH!” All eyes turned to Sarah, who was still sitting in her chair, hands folded in her lap. “Sit down, Ethan, and shut up.” She looked at Willa with sad, weary eyes. “Sit down, honey. I have something to say.”

  Willa sat down, her blood still racing with anger. Simon put his hand on her thigh and it helped to calm her a bit. She kept her eyes locked on her mom.

  After a deep breath, Sarah began, “Wynter is right. Willa is a witch. I’ve known it her whole life.” Willa’s jaw dropped and her breath caught in her chest. “My mother, your grandma, was a witch. She could do things with the air, but she kept her powers mostly hidden. I didn’t inherit the magic, but she told me about it.” Sarah slowly inhaled and then plowed forward.

  “You never got to know her, Willa—she died when you were three—but we weren’t close anyway. I hated that my mother was different than other mothers. I hated the rumors that flew around this town because of who she was and who her family was. Because she wasn’t the only one. Many of the women in our family had magic.” She blinked back tears. “Willa, I’m so sorry. I was only trying to protect you. I thought it would be better to ignore it, instead of embracing it. I thought you might outgrow your powers if we didn’t do anything to encourage them. That was a mistake and I’m very truly sorry.”

  “You knew? All along? And never told me?”

  Sarah nodded penitently. “I’m sorry.”

  Willa scoffed. “I was so confused, so lonely. My whole life! You let me be that way because you were bitter about your own mother, because you didn’t want a witch for a daughter?”

  Sarah broke into sobs and shook her head. “No, that’s

  . . . I’m sorry, Willa.”

  “Stop saying that!” Willa’s blood was on fire, her heart palpating irregularly. Part of her felt bad for yelling at her mother, the remorse on her face was genuine, but the hurt outweighed the guilt.

  “Willa,” Simon said quietly and she spun around to glare at him.

  “No, this is so wrong. I can’t believe she would do this to me.” Willa turned to Wynter. “I want to know everything. I want to learn. If I’m a witch then I will be one the right way.”

  Wynter nodded. “Willa and Simon, I can help you both, but our first priority is to get us to safety. Holmes was not working alone. Others will come and they will know what happened.” At Simon’s questioning look, she added, “There are ways with magic to find out and they will use them.”

  “So, we’re in danger?” Simon asked sharply.

  “I’m afraid so. My home is not far from here. It’s safe and protected, hidden away deep in the mountains. I suggest we all go there now. My husband, Rowan,” her voice caught on his name slightly before she could go on, “and I will keep you safe and can help you learn, help train you to use your magic as it is meant to be.”

  Ethan dared to interrupt. “No! Absolutely not. Willa, you are not going with some stranger. . . .”

  “Yes, Dad, I am, and Mom will let me go.”

  Ethan looked over at his wife, who was slouched in her chair still crying silent tears.

  “We have to let her
go, Ethan. If that’s what she wants.”

  “But Sarah . . .”

  She shook her head, the look on her face was enough to stop him. Willa nodded once and stood, an odd and slippery feeling of triumph at the defeated look on her dad’s face.

  “Wynter, would you like to shower and get some fresh clothes before we go?”

  Wynter smiled briefly. “Thank you, Willa. I suggest you both pack for an extended trip. It may be a while before it’s safe to return to Twelve Acres.”

  Simon hated the emotions of anger and hurt cascading out of Willa. He’d never seen her so mad and he wasn’t sure how to help fix it. Her mother had betrayed her—he understood that better than anyone—but her parents weren’t like his. Willa’s parents were good, loving people. Overprotective perhaps, but there was nothing sinful in that. He didn’t want to see their relationship destroyed over this.

  Willa leaned over her bed, roughly shoving clothes into a duffle bag. She’d taken a fast shower before Wynter and was dressed in a fresh pair of jeans and a lime green hoodie. Her wet hair hung down around her face, swinging with her jerky movements. “Willa, are you sure you want to leave like this? Why don’t you go talk to your mom? I’ll get this stuff—”

  “No,” Willa said sharply, “I don’t want to talk to her.” She shoved a pair of jeans into her bag with unnecessary force. “There’s nothing to say.”

  Simon bit his lower lip, wanting to say more, but also wanting to avoid turning her anger on him. “Okay,” he mumbled.

  Wynter emerged from the bathroom a completely different person. Her sculpted face was scrubbed clean and glowing. Her hair was washed and plaited. She wore one of Willa’s mom’s old white T-shirts and a long black maxi skirt, and although he guessed the two women were about the same age, something about Wynter made her appear younger. She grinned at them. “That’s the best shower I’ve ever had.”

  Willa smiled, handed her a pair of flip-flops, and turned back to her bag. “I think I’m ready. We’ll stop at Simon’s apartment and . . .” She turned back, her face scrunched. “Then I need to stop at the museum. I can’t leave without telling Solace. Is that okay?’

  Wynter nodded, “Of course, as long as we hurry.”

  Simon took the bag from Willa, slung it over his shoulder, his arm placed around her shoulders. “Okay, let’s go,” he said.

  Willa’s mom was waiting at the bottom of the stairs, her dad nowhere in sight. Sarah’s eyes were still watery, her face splotchy. She held her hands in front of her, gripping them so tight her knuckles were white. Simon frowned and Willa tensed beside him.

  “Do you have everything you need?” Sarah asked quietly.

  “Yes,” Willa said, not looking at her.

  “Umm . . . okay. Will you call or at least text me when you get there safely? Keep me updated, so I know everything is all right?”

  Willa exhaled, still not looking at her mom. “Yeah, okay. We gotta go.”

  Sarah nodded. She looked like she had volumes more to say, but she just kept nodding. She moved to give Willa a hug, but Willa stepped away and opened the front door.

  Wynter stepped in instead and said, “Thank you, Sarah. I know this is all very strange and upsetting, but I promise to keep Willa safe.” She handed Sarah a piece of paper. “This is Rowan’s phone number. Just in case.”

  Sarah nodded some more and new tears slipped down her cheeks. Simon tried to catch Willa’s eyes and prompt her to say something more, make it better before she walked away, but she wouldn’t look at him either. She took a few steps out onto the porch, looking toward his Jeep.

  Simon put a hand on Sarah’s shoulder. She looked up at him with pleading eyes and he offered her a small smile. She exhaled and turned away.

  Willa looked around the Life in Early Twelve Acres room with a despondent sense of finality. She hadn’t bothered to turn on any of the lights and the room was a collection of shadows, the darkness complimenting her mood.

  What have I done?

  In rescuing Wynter, she’d flipped her whole life upside down. Things would never be the same. Not only was she leaving the only home she’d ever known, a place she loved, but she’d left without giving her mom a hug. She couldn’t see past the harsh glare of her anger, of the betrayal of being lied to her entire life. It wasn’t fair and it wasn’t right, no matter what reasons her mother claimed.

  She looked down at her set of museum keys, shifting them in her hands. Who knew how long it would be before it was safe to come back? She didn’t really even know what the danger was or how it would be resolved. She felt blind, fumbling out in the dark for a solid grip, unsure if she’d find it.

  She slipped the keys into the pouch of her hoodie and took a deep breath. “Solace? I need to talk to you,” she called out.

  Almost immediately her ghost friend appeared, smiling. “Willa! I don’t normally see you this time of day. Shouldn’t you be sleeping?”

  “Yeah, normally. Umm . . . something has happened and I have to leave town for a while. I’m not sure how long . . .”

  “What?” Solace screeched. “You can’t leave.”

  “I don’t want to, but I have to. Simon and I helped rescue a woman from the basement of Ruby Plate’s house. Now we’re in danger. We have to go until it’s safe to come back.”

  Solace’s face was washed in shock, her eyes wide with hurt. “No! If you leave I’ll be alone. I don’t want to be alone again. No! Please don’t go.” The ghost’s form shimmered and fluttered so much Willa could barely see her.

  Willa’s heart broke. “Solace, I’m so sorry. You know I wouldn’t leave you if I didn’t have to, and it’s only for a little while.”

  “How long?” Solace held her hands twined together at her chest.

  Willa blinked. “Actually, I’m not sure.”

  “So you might never come back!”

  “Solace, please. Of course, I’ll come back.”

  “But this stranger is more important to you than your best friend?”

  Willa sighed. “Solace . . .”

  “No, no. It’s fine. Go off, leave me. I’m just the ghost of a dead girl, after all. Why would you stay here with me? Go!” With that Solace disappeared.

  “Solace! Solace! Don’t do that!” Willa yelled and then stood waiting, but Solace didn’t come back. Willa wanted to sink to the floor and sob. First her mom, now Solace. She wasn’t sure she could stand under the emotional onslaught. Her body ached with exhaustion and her mind felt smashed, deformed by all that had happened tonight.

  What am I doing?

  Was it really worth giving up her comfortable life to follow Wynter into a world she didn’t know anything about? Should she turn around and tell Wynter they weren’t coming with her? That they’d been happy to help her, but their life was here in Twelve Acres, as it always had been. What about school? Her job? Did she really need to know more about this whole witch thing? Had her mom been right to hide it from her?

  The questions pulled at her heart, but her soul had one clear answer: Go! She’d wanted nothing more her whole life than answers, but these weren’t the simple, written-in-the-pages-of-a-book kind of answers she was hoping for. These answers required sacrifice.

  Am I strong enough?

  Willa looked around the room one more time, then turned to leave. By the time she made it back to Simon’s Jeep, her cheeks were wet with silent, determined tears.

  Chapter 14

  Waning Half Moon

  June 1931

  “Amelia, you must push. Almost there. Come on, sweetie.” Camille’s head appeared in front of Amelia’s half-open eyes. Her graying blond hair was mussed and damp with sweat, but she smiled. Amelia was so grateful that Camille was there. Just when she thought she’d lost all the strong women in her life, Camille Krance stepped in and had done so much to help.

  Amelia blinked, rolled her head languidly to the side.

  “Come on, now,” Camille demanded sweetly.

  Amelia took a painful breath and
lifted her head. She groped for her legs, grabbed behind her knees and did as Camille instructed. Searing, burning pain split her world in two. Flashes of silver spotted the blackness behind her eyelids. The pressure grew unbearable, the pain a coagulated mess so thick she couldn’t even cry out.

  Camille said something, but Amelia’s ears were clogged with pain.

  Then, all at once, the pressure was gone and something warm and wet was set on her chest. “She’s beautiful,” Camille whispered and kissed Amelia’s sweaty forehead.

  She opened her eyes, the fog of pain gone, the world suddenly bright and dazzling. Before her was a red face, round and perfect, two silver-blue eyes studying her. In an instant, Amelia loved her; it filled every space inside her. She laughed joyfully. “Sun and moon! Hello, little one.” The baby watched her mother, her tiny hands folded under her chin, her tongue moving in and out between pink lips.

  Amelia stroked the tuft of wet, dark hair on her baby’s head, trailed a finger down her chubby cheeks and laughed again. “Hello, my Lilly. You are the prettiest flower ever created. Oh, I love you.”

  Solace stepped around the bed and laid a blanket over Lilly. She leaned down to look at the tiny face. “Oh, Amelia, she is the prettiest baby I’ve ever seen! I’m so happy for you.”

  Amelia looked up and smiled at her friend. “Thank you, Solace. I’m so grateful to you and your mom,” Amelia smiled at Camille. “Thanks for being here with me while Peter is gone.” She laughed. “He’ll be so mad he missed his little girl’s entrance into the world.”

  Solace stroked Amelia’s hair. “Of course. It was an honor for us to be here.”

  The new mother turned back to her child, studying every curve of her baby’s face. Touching her, nuzzling her, loving her. The potent magic in the room took on a Lightness and beauty that Amelia had never felt before. Holding her own creation, she felt closer to the earth than ever before. The music of it sang in her blood.