“Yeah, just a few broken cups.” Jasper called back. “You?”
“About the same.” Malcolm looked around, not sure what he expected to see. Fortunately, there were no dramatic cracks in the cobblestones of the main street or smoke rising up from the bowels of the earth. The extent of the damage seemed limited to the general disarray of shop shelves. Witches and warlocks were already weaving spells to put their stores back to rights.
Jack Hollow, the werewolf, stood outside of Zombie Pies fixing an advertisement for two-topping pizzas which had fallen over. He waved at Malcolm to signal he was okay.
Malcolm took a deep breath and realized the sweet, inviting air of the town was still there, but a fresh cold wind had been added to it, bringing in the foreign smell of… outside.
Leaves scuttled along the cobblestones like colorful spiders, clustering in the corners of shop doorways, then swirled in eddies around the town square statue, which depicted a witch on a broom with a cat as they flew over a large moon.
Malcolm’s skin prickled with goosebumps as he studied the town. It still felt warm, cozy, and autumnal in all the right ways, but that sense of safety was gone. Every instinct in him screamed in warning.
A storm was coming. He was no weather warlock, but he could sense it. The wards must have been regulating the weather around the town too. Now that protection was gone as well. What had he done?
Zelda’s shop door chimed behind him. He turned to see Calli and Zelda step outside. A breath of relief escaped him to see that his little hedge witch was okay.
We’ll figure this out… somehow, he thought.
“Everyone seems to be safe,” he said. “But the wards are definitely down.” Calli and Zelda shared an odd look.
“What?” he asked.
“Nothing,” Calli said too quickly for him to believe her. He kept no secrets from her, but he wasn’t going to pressure her to do the same.
“We need to—” but Calli’s words died as her gaze moved to something behind Malcolm.
He turned around just in time to see a large tour bus barreling toward the center of the square. It came to a wheezing halt right beside Zelda’s shop, brakes squealing shrilly. The door creaked open, and a harried tour guide stumbled down the steps, followed by a gaggle of tourists, cameras out and selfie sticks in hand. Their heads swiveled from side to side as they took in the Halloween festival preparations. Several of the seniors pointed out various shops and twittered excitedly about the charm of the little town.
“Where the hell are we, Rick? This isn’t Boston…” the woman demanded as the driver scratched his head.
“Hell if I know, Steph. I took the same route I always take. Hang on, let me get the map.” The driver reached around to pull a map out of a pocket in the back of his seat.
The bus was filled with non-magical humans. They’d arrived far earlier than anyone was ready for them. He looked to Calli and his sense of dread deepened as he saw the color drain from her face. He had to fix this.
He stepped toward the crowd of tourists, trying to catch them before they wandered off, wondering how he could fix this.
“Hey there!” he called out to the driver, tourists, and the tour guide. “Welcome to Moonstone Falls. We are a magical Halloween-themed town.” He waved toward the shops. “Here you’ll find treats, spooky sights, and we have a fall festival in two weeks that will make for a magical autumn memory if you come back by this way around October 31st. You might even start believing in magic while you’re here.” He added with a wink. Then he pointed toward the town hall. “We have themed pamphlets in the lobby about what you can see and do while you’re here.”
The tour guide squinted slightly, looking in the direction he was pointing. “Thanks. Come on, Rick. Park that thing in a spot somewhere and grab some pamphlets.” The woman leaned in close to Malcolm. “Thanks for that. You just saved our bacon. I’ve got no idea how we ended up here, but we’ll make the most of it.”
“Anytime,” said Malcolm.
The driver pulled the massive bus to the side of the road so it wasn’t blocking the main part of the street. Then he and the guide headed into the town hall. Mayor Thornfield was ready for them at the door, and gave Malcolm a grateful look before ushering them inside.
“That was quick thinking,” Calli said as she joined him by the bus. “Sage will spread the word about the barrier failing and tell all the witches and warlocks in town to hold back on their magic use. Finnigan will take his human form while outside and the lagoon monsters will stay home until we figure out how to get the wards back up.”
“How did they put the spells up in the first place?”
Calli bit her lip, thinking before she replied. “I really don’t know. Each year, the witches and warlocks in town gather to cast a strengthening spell on the wards. But how can that work if the wards are completely gone? There’s nothing to strengthen.”
“Is there anyone who would know how to cast the original spell again?”
“Maybe my grandmother? But she hasn’t been seen in her painting since she told you about the prophecy.” Calli’s shoulders fell. “I don’t know where else to look.”
Seeing her look so lost, so hurt, when she was usually such a positive energy in the world, was like a punch to Malcolm’s gut.
He remembered a name. “What about Ivy Greenlee? At the B&B? She’s an older witch. Perhaps she has seen something or heard something at some point that might give us a lead? If I remember what my father said, all witch communities pass down information through generations, especially important spells.”
Calli glanced at her shop and nodded. “That’s a good idea, but…” She looked down the street toward Pages & Potions. “I should get back to the bookstore and assess the damage.”
