It makes no sense, but I must return home. I will miss my travels. Being penned into that house scares me almost as much as the Curse, but it seems I’ll be head of the house sooner than I ever wanted, now that Mama has been sentenced to such a harsh fate.
My heart breaks for Agatha because I know exactly how she feels. I’m in the same position, except I don’t have a sister. I always wished for one, someone to share the burden with when I got older.
I keep reading, and it gets worse. Agatha’s aunt also gets Cursed. That’s when Agatha and Fanny set out separately to find another magical place to live. They try to cover as much ground as possible, but most of the eastern American magic spots have been claimed.
July 13th, 1894
Iowan Plains
Today I found a miracle. I have soaked in the magic at Stonehenge, at the Giant’s Causeway, in the Transylvanian forests, at Mont-Saint-Michel, but it’s not until now that I have tasted magic that makes my whole being feel alive. And in Iowa!
The place is not much to look at, and it is hot as Hades. It is a wonder that such a plain speck of earth could hold so much power and promise, but I must have it. I will have it. This will be our new home, where Fanny and I can be safe from the Curse. I cannot stand leaving this place for one second, fearing that someone else may claim it before I return. So I have written to Fanny wherever she may be, and we will build anew.
The magic—it is deep and dark and strong, and I know the Hemlock family will be safe here for many generations.
I read on, enjoying the descriptions of this very house being built. It took many months, and apparently a lot of money for the period. Money isn’t really an issue for us if we need. Years of family treasures, plus the ability to conjure precious gems, helps.
My heart doesn’t speed up until I find another surprising entry:
May 3rd, 1895
Willow’s End, Iowa
Glorious news! Fanny has discovered another highly magical spot in this area, and we are working to secure it. Buying land here has become increasingly difficult in the last year, as there seems to be a town springing up from nowhere. They are calling it Willow’s End, due to all the willow trees that have been planted to combat the terrible summer heat. Let us hope they grow quickly, for the sunny months are upon us.
I’ve never heard of another magical place in the area, and I can’t help wondering why we don’t know about it. Surely Nana would have mentioned this to me if she knew. As I read through the next few years, Agatha mentions Fanny building another house in the area off and on. They have plans to have many daughters, to rebuild the Hemlock name to what it once was. Everything seems absolutely perfect unticlass="underline"
January 27th, 1900
Willow’s End
Fanny is dead, and I feel as though someone has stolen half my heart. I tried to secure her house, but it has become curiously bound to the people who moved in. I think perhaps the spell was supposed to bind to me if I’d gotten there soon enough, but it was the day of Fanny’s death that my daughter decided to enter this world.
It is lucky Geraldine came easily, for I had to do it on my own. Now we are the only Hemlocks in existence, and I’ve never felt so alone in my life.
My throat goes dry. I tear through the pages, searching for any more information about this mysterious “other house,” but Agatha says nothing, save she misses her sister. She never mentions if Fanny was also lost to the Curse, and it seems strange that she wouldn’t mention that. She specifically talked about everyone else being Cursed, and yet not Fanny?
How did she die, then?
Witches don’t usually die from sickness, since we can fix almost any bodily ailment. Same with accidents. There are only two things that could have happened to Fanny—old age or murder. She was younger than Agatha, so that leaves murder, either by the Curse she concealed from Agatha or something else.
Or someone else.
Could she have discovered what Nana and I have? Did she know about the men with magic?
I jump from my seat too quickly, the book hitting the floor with a loud smack. Fanny’s history—there has to be more information in hers. There is something weird about this. I can feel it.
But it’s not on the shelves. I check the histories nearest Agatha’s about forty times before I allow myself to believe it’s missing. How could it be missing? I deflate when I realize that it’s not missing; it’s just not here.
It’s at Fanny’s house, wherever that is.
TWENTY-TWO
I stand at the front door, and Nana hovers over me to the point that it’s suffocating. But I let her because I have to go to school today. I still haven’t been able to protect Gwen or Adam past the barrier, and the thought of them being attacked next makes me ill. As much as I want to stay in Willow’s End, it’ll be easier to find them at school than orchestrate some scheme to make them stay in our ultra-fortified town.
“This will heighten your magical senses,” Nana says as she drapes a charm over my neck. It glistens like abalone shell. “And this is the strongest spell repellent I have. Also, one to boost your magic so you don’t have to use as much.”
“How long did it take you to make these?” I ask. She forced me to bed after dinner, insisting that I needed my strength today.
“For-freaking-ever,” Maggie moans from the living room couch. “I should know, since we only finished an hour ago.”
“We do what must be done, Margaret.” Nana holds out several extra necklaces and a bag of spell pearls that look like candy. “These charms are for Gwendolyn and Katherine, for protection and hiding and solidarity. You must stay together. Try to feed the boys these pearls—they have everything they need. But mind you, the spells won’t last as long as the charms, if you catch my meaning.”
“Nana . . .” The thought of guys digesting spell pearls isn’t a good way to start the day.
She holds her hands up. “Pleasant or not, you must know. Margaret and I will make more and—”
“Why can’t I go to school with Jo?” Maggie pulls herself up. Her long braid is messy, strands of hair sticking up in every direction. “I could help protect them.”
“Too complicated,” Nana and I say at the same time. Getting her a school guest pass, having her shadow me in classes, not to mention how Gwen might see Maggie as yet another person I was paying more attention to—the trouble outweighs the benefits.
Maggie pouts.
“I need you here to help with more potions anyway.” Nana unlocks the door and looks me straight in the eye. “I’ll be watching. If you see anyone suspicious, do not let them get near. If you were Cursed . . .”
I hug her. “I know. I’ll be careful.”
The bus honks, and I have to run to make it in time. As I scan the rows, I spot Gwen’s bright blond ponytail. She has her face turned away from me, since she’s chatting with Winn and Adam behind her. Kat and Billy are across from them, flipping through papers on who-knows-what.
I make my way to them and drape the charms over Gwen’s head. “I owe my grandma a hundred beetles for these.”
She lets out a little squeak, touching them with one finger. Then her hand wraps around them, and she looks at me with the same sad eyes she wore the first day she sat with us. “You didn’t have to do that.”
“Yes, I did.” I sit next to her. “Nana gave those to Kat. I had nothing to do with it, but I should have thought about how you’d feel, and didn’t. I’m sorry.”