Maybe magic makes everything more intense here.
One road leads to another, and by the time I get to Main Street, I’m alone with my thoughts. The lack of traffic around here is unnerving. I’m used to cars and transportation buzzing down the streets at alarming speeds.
Here, the few cars that pass do so at a leisurely, respectful pace, garnering waves from people tending to their manicured lawns.
The occasional maple leaf spirals down from overhead branches, and I pull the collar of my jacket up to protect my neck from a stiff breeze. My footsteps echo off the sidewalk, creating a rhythm that matches my racing heartbeat.
Two-point-three million dollars.
The number is bouncing around in my skull like a pinging ball in a video game. Maybe I was used to having money while I was growing up, but I don’t remember, and that hasn’t been my experience over the last five years.
Asher and I have had to fight for every?—
The snap of a twig sends an icy jolt up my spine.
I slow down and glance over my shoulder. Nothing. Just nice houses with landscaped hedges and tree-lined streets as far as the eye can see.
Though I don’t see anything, the sensation of not being alone out here persists. Call me paranoid, but I’d swear the heat of invisible eyes is warming my skin.
“S’Nark?” I call softly. “Is this you being creepy?”
There’s no response. I mentally gauge that I’m more than halfway to town. Closer to continue forward than to go back.
Not that Iwouldgo back. I’ve never been one to tuck tail and run.I take a deep breath and get my feet moving.
The trees seem to lean closer to the road here, their branches creating a canopy that blocks most of the sunlight. Shadows shift and dance in my peripheral vision, but every time I turn to look directly, I see only bark and leaves.
I pick up my pace.
The feeling of not being alone intensifies as I round a bend. My skin crawls with the certainty that something watches from the tree line. Not something friendly, either. Whatever lurks in those shadows carries a weight of malice that makes my newly awakened magic recoil.
“Get it together, Poppy,” I mutter, breaking into a light jog. “You’re being ridiculous. It was likely only a squirrel.”
But my body disagrees. Every instinct screams danger, urging me to run faster, get to safety, find people and the comfort of civilization.
The first buildings of Emberwood finally come into view—a blessed sight that makes my shoulders sag with relief. The oppressive sensation of being watched fades as I cross the street and find the bank Vale mentioned.
I slow to a walk again, trying to catch my breath without looking like I just fled something terrifying. Because that would be crazy. Right?
First National Bank of Emberwood sits on the corner of Main and Elm, a stately brick house with white columns and a plaque that reads “established 1892”. The clock above the entrance reads 4:15 PM, and the hours on the glass beside the door say it’s open until 5 PM.
Perfect. I’ve got forty-five minutes before they close.
I climb the steps, find the safe deposit box key practically burning a hole in my pocket, and push through the heavy glass doors into blessed normalcy.
“All right, Mom, let’s see what you left for me.”
CHAPTER TEN
Istumble out of the bank half an hour later, my soul shaken to my core. The late-afternoon sun feels too bright, too harsh against the sting of emotion in my eyes. The letter of goodbye my mother wrote me… her instructions about taking care of Dad and my sisters… it’s all wrong.
That’s not what happened. Dad died. We were separated. Everything she wanted is gone. I failed before I even had a chance to carry out her wishes.
The two witch starter boxes, like the one I was given when I turned sixteen, remain inside the bank, locked away in the safe deposit box. I have no idea where my sisters are or when I will be able to give them their gifts.
I didn’t even want to risk bringing them out of their safe place to take home. Not after the crawling sensation between my shoulder blades that told me someone was stalking me.
I quicken my pace toward the diner, my sneakers slapping against the sidewalk. Asher must be almost done emptying the delivery truck. And now, knowing that money will soon be a forgotten worry, we can indulge and eat out for the second time this week.
