Just then, the earth around them started to quiver. Shelves rattled around them. Bottles clinked together. Books fell over and display stands crashed to the ground.
Malcolm held Calli as they gripped the table to hold still. Zelda’s eyes grew wide as a distant roaring sound came from outside.
“What was that? What happened?” Malcolm asked as the earthquake subsided and the roar faded away.
Zelda’s face paled, and Calli could understand why. Something felt terribly wrong, but she couldn’t figure out what.
“The boundaries… the wards,” said Zelda.
That was it. On the rare occasions that Calli left town, things always felt different beyond the barriers. Right now, it felt like she was on the outside.
“But… it’s too early for the barriers to weaken,” said Calli. Not to mention they never shook the earth when they did, nor had they ever felt like this. There was an eerie, foreign, exposed sort of feeling.
“No, child. They haven’t just weakened. They’ve vanished.”
Calli reached out with her own magic, and gasped when she realized what the seer had said was true. The wards were gone. Moonstone Falls was unprotected for the first time since the Salem witch trials.
Malcolm stood beside Calli, his body seemingly coiled tight.
“What happens if the wards fail?” he asked.
“Moonstone Falls is exposed,” said Calli. “Every mortal that comes here will be able to remember us when they leave.”
“More importantly, those that mean us harm can’t be kept out,” Zelda added. “We won’t be safe. Vampire hunters, witch finders, ghost hunters. They will soon find out we exist. And those who use dark magic will sense a new nexus of power, and come here for it.”
Calli swallowed hard. “No one will be safe. No one.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
The wards had failed…
A nauseous feeling rolled through Malcolm’s gut as he saw the stricken look on Calli and Zelda’s faces. He’d caused this. Somehow, this was his fault.
A panicked shout from outside the shop caught his attention. He threw out a hand to stop Calli when she took a step forward.
“Stay here. I’ll be right back!” He opened the door and stepped into the street, ready to face whatever was there.
After the earthquake, he feared there might be damage to some of the buildings. Once outside, he saw that dozens of townsfolk had the same idea, hastily leaving their shops, eyes wide, trying to figure out what had happened.
“Mr. Wellesley!” Mayor Thornfield spotted him and crossed the street. “Are you all right?”
“I am! How about you?”
“Just a little shaken.” The mayor’s hands visibly shook as he tried to appear calm. “What was all that shaking? It couldn’t have been an earthquake, could it?”
With a pit of dread in his stomach, Malcolm broke the news to the mayor. “It’s the wards, sir. They’ve failed.”
“The protective wards? Now?” The man paled and tugged at the tie around his neck. “They’ve never weakened so soon before.”
Malcolm had to be honest with the mayor. “It’s worse than that. They aren’t just weakened. They’re gone.”
“Gone?” The man’s face paled. “Gone? We… We must…” He struggled to find the right words. “We must find a way to bring them back. The town is at risk.”
“We’ll find a way to get them back.” Malcolm promised, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that he couldn’t stop whatever was coming now that the wards were down… and he only had himself to blame. Everything was always his fault when it came to magic.
Jasper and Sage stood outside Mystic Mornings. “Mac!” Jasper waved to him with one arm, while the other held Sage protectively around the shoulders.
Malcolm waved back. “Jas! You guys okay?”
